A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a devotional for my church about patience. We are studying the Fruit of the Spirit this year. We often think of patience as waiting for something. At some level, that may be true. But I think the fruit of patience has more to do with something much deeper...
Romans 12:12 – “Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer.”
Anyone tired of waiting for the world to get better? For that right person for you to come along? For that clear answer? For something to change? For the grief to end?
It’s hard to be patient sometimes with these realities. But what if patience isn’t really about waiting? What if patience isn’t about the outcome, or the answer, or the arrival, or the “end” to whatever it is?
That requires a lot of trust, when things are incomplete, or we don’t know how things will turn out. But maybe patience has something to teach in the discomfort, the incompleteness, the doubt, as an invitation to something in the in-between. So much so that if and when something good comes along, it isn’t necessarily met with relief, or with “finally!” But instead it is met with joy.
I tend to be very patient in chaotic situations, and with other people, but I struggle with patience with myself. But patience, in the holy sense of it, is being gracious with myself when I am self-critical. It’s seeking to be kind when I feel anger, and it’s staying calm in the overwhelm. There’s a wholeness that.
I’m also not very patient with God. I doubt God. A lot. Yet, when I dwell in mystery and let go of guilt about doubt, I often find something really close to the possibility of that God I doubt. And in that, I have found a sense of wonder, an attention to divine details in my surroundings, which is such an enhancement to my faith than any sort of certainty is.
Remember when you were a kid (those who lived before things like Amazon’s one-click, same day delivery) and you would sometimes forget about the package that was on the way? But when the package came you had this joy when you remembered it- saying, “Oh, yeah!”
Or do you remember when you didn’t know the answer to something for a while, because you didn’t have a computer in your pocket, and when you later discovered an answer to a question, you said, “I have always wondered about that!” Is patience the wonder?
What was going on in the in-between when that package was still on its way, or when you didn’t know an answer right away, and you kind of forgot about them?
You were living. You released control. You weren’t really waiting anymore. You were patient, not because you were waiting, but because you were present. Maybe patience is a way of being, and really feeling the fullness of joy, even if it is a rare occurrence on the way to justice.
When we rejoice in hope, we’re still hoping for something. When we are patient in affliction, it doesn’t mean affliction will never happen again, and when we pray in our perseverance, we recognize why prayer matters, and it’s not about an outcome.
And through all of it, perhaps God is being patient. Not waiting for us, but also present- with us…showing up through these small, yet profound moments in nature, in community, in love. Patience may be the thing that reminds us who we are, and who God is, in all of the in-between.
Check out our church’s “Patience” playlist of songs (we have playlists for each Fruit!):
This coming Sunday’s lectionary includes an excerpt from Genesis 3. Exactly a year ago this month, I created a scripture rewrite of the entire 3rd chapter of Genesis for a devotional I wrote during the season of Lent for my church. I was inspired by many an author, theologian, and of course, the bible itself. I am expanding this idea, and creating more scripture rewrites, aiming to create a collection someday, all with hope for wholeness. The Bible cannot be the Living Word if it isn’t evolving as an incessant, dynamic revelation. Neither can we flourish in our spiritual growth if we insist on literalism and a rigid, unchanging God. Unfortunately, the latter view has caused a lot of harm. But isn’t it a marvelous thing, that we are Co-Creators…Isn’t it a healing wonder, that we can see anew…
On the subject of shame, I offer this Scripture rewrite of Genesis 3:
The First Sin and its PunishmentThe First Act of Courage and its Empowering Consequence
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. But the serpent knew God’s hesitation to allow Their Children to be wise and free. It would be a vulnerable act of acceptance of God’s limited power, an honoring of individuality, a seed for potential. So the serpent, in its companionship, planned to help God, for the Divine was in all living things. The snake said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden?’” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ But it almost felt as though God told me this to spark my curiosity.” 4 The serpent said, “Your intuition serves you well. God knows you will not die, at least not right after you eat it. 5 God hesitates because They know that with wisdom and knowledge come consequences like pain and grief. Though your eyes will be opened, you will know good and evil.” 6 So the woman pondered the possibilities, and wondered if humanity could do more good in the world with such knowledge, even with the risks. She intuitively knew God really desired this. She courageously took of its fruit and ate; her role as the heroine of the story coming to fruition, and she also gave some to the man, who, in an amusingly passive way, was also with her, and he ate. 7 The eyes of both were opened, and they knew they were naked. They were in awe of the beauty of their bodies, and they noticed how all bodies are beautiful, in all shapes, sizes, and colors. They realized parts of their bodies were sensitive and needed protection, so now, being the practical humans they were, their labor un-gendered, both sewed clothes to cover themselves. Many years of creativity and self expression grew out of making clothing for beautiful bodies. Prophetically, future strings known as spaghetti straps were seen as just as lovely as what came to be known as sweaters. Colors, styles, and accessories were worn by all, now matter how they identified. Self control and responsibility for actions were never linked to what anyone was wearing.
8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they felt connected to God because they walked the ground, too. They were curious what God would say now that they had eaten from the tree of knowledge. 9 The Lord God called out to them joyfully with Their very first question to humankind, “Where are you?” 10 The man peered from behind a tree and said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden; I am wondering what you think now that I am more like you in what I know. I am also aware of nakedness.” 11 God replied, “Aren’t your bodies amazing?!” So you did eat from the tree I commanded you not to eat?” Then God said, “I confess, part of me really hoped you would eat from the tree. I wanted to protect you, but I also know what a gift it is to have this level of depth. While you will grieve deeply, you will bring forth imagination, innovation, intelligence, creativity, art, service, and meaning in ways I can’t wait to witness, but I hope you will do so with love as your guide. The snake hissed, “For be warned, if love isn’t a guide in human endeavors, evil will have its way.” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit from the tree. She deserves the credit.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “I knew you would be worthy of the serpent’s message. What do you think?” The woman spoke with clarity and authority, “The serpent informed me of your intentions, as well as your concern, all out of your hope and love for us. I pondered the snake’s message knowing I needed to be cautious; I took time to discern, and I trusted my own intuition.”
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Little danger noodle, you are a truth teller. Your mischief threatens the status quo. Blessed are you among all animals and wild creatures; upon your belly you shall go, because it is an easy way to glide along the earth. I hope you have fun slithering this way and that. You will always carry warning to others in this world, and your presence will be a reminder to pause and pay attention. 15 I will put kindness between you and all humans. Now humans will have greater respect for non-human animals, realizing they are animals, too- and consider your well being as fellow creatures in this sacred place.” The snake slithered away warning humans that a concept called, “Original Sin” would later be interpreted, but reminded them that it was never in Genesis 3.
16 To the woman God said,
“Brave and courageous one, you are beloved. Thank God that you…(God paused…), well, thank you for breaking out of the boring in-between world. Remember that the pain of childbirth reveals how mighty the female body is, and the incredible things your body can do. The pain, paired with your powerful ability to bring forth new life, work together in a way your female wisdom and empowerment will understand. You will not just conceive in this way, but many conceptions and ideas will come forth from you. You will experience desire and deserve it. How you “mother” in any manner, will not always be easy. I have learned this now, for even God is learning, but I will be with you. You are so strong. You have full autonomy over your body, and you shall know your own self worth alone, even as you have so much to offer in relationship.”
God had a vision about another way this story might have been written, “I will make your pangs in childbirth exceedingly great; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” God thought, “How might have humanity missed that very warning of a punishing patriarchy, and instead misinterpreted that as something I desired.” God chuckled, “Even if written that way, its a good thing the woman ate from the tree of knowledge so humanity wouldn’t be so dense as to miss such an important point.”
17 And to the man God said,
“You were wise to listen to the woman. You will lead and work with her with mutual respect in an egalitarian society. 18 You are beloved. You too, have much to offer with your unique skills and characteristics. You deserve to live into all of your human emotions, tears, strength, and vulnerability as signs of healthy masculinity. You will play an important role as a father, or in fathering roles, and you will experience the joys and challenges of parenting/mentoring, and I will be with you.
19 To both of them God said,
“Look to nature to see the diversity of life, and manifestations of the Divine. Thanks to the woman, you will no longer be stuck in a world of sameness. More ways of loving will manifest, adding to the glory of creation and my divine way of being through all of humanity. You will reap bountiful harvest when you work the lands with energy and community, sharing the nourishing plants you grow. But you will need to rest while you work and create, and know that it is an important part of your well-being. Take care not to allow production to become priority, self centered, or exploitative. Notice as you work the land, play, or rest among the trees, that you are part of the earth. While we are now co-creators in great privilege and responsibility, remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. Do not be afraid just because you are conscious of your mortality. May death’s natural inevitability provide perspective in your calling as you live in brevity. Look to the trees when they let go of their leaves. It is hard for you to let go, but the leaves that die become nourishment for the soil.
20 The man, recognizing the treasure of a human this woman was, asked if she liked the name, “Eve”. She did. She was indeed a Matriarch, the mother of all the living. 21 Matriarchy thrived. God said to Eve, “Every woman will know that behind her; behind every strong woman, is her sacred female bloodline.”
22 God said to the other gods, as this story was one of many in folklore, with multiple deities in ancient Syrian texts, “See the humans have been made like one of us and now they might reach out their hands and take also from the Tree of Life, eat, and live forever. But now that they have knowledge, may they hold the mystery of what the Tree of Life symbolizes, and may they discover connection to many traditions where the Tree of Life reveals itself, never pitting one against the other.” 23 God looked at humans with love and ache in Their heart, knowing liberation would be an ongoing struggle toward justice. Then God set a cherubim, appropriately made of human and non-human animals, with a flaming sword to symbolically mark the presence of the Tree of Life. 24 The sword was not a symbol of violence, for God despised weapons and their false sense of power, but it signified wisdom in cutting away ignorance to reveal Truth, which was indeed a painful, but necessary endeavor. The Tree of Life was a sacred symbol; a Trinity of rootedness, grounded-ness, and heavenly reaching. The tree’s qualities were remembered by all humans as qualities they also embodied, and they lived with gratitude for life, the earth, creation, each other, and for God’s grace. They celebrated and supported each other in community. Shame was rare in form, lest any man, overcome by evil, ever tried to blame woman for boldly eating and sharing of the tree of knowledge…
I originally watched and reviewed this miniseries in March of 2025 on Letterboxd, but after a recent visit with my son in prison, I decided to watch it again. (It’s a strange coping mechanism for me, to watch shows that reflect similar pain. Others cope by avoiding such shows. We all cope in different ways.) Anyway, I decided to add my review and resonance to the show to my blog.
“Adolescence”: An ordinary, healthy, normal family’s worst nightmare come true. No easy “blame the parents” theme. No sensationalize-the-actual-crime theme. This show (thank you), tells the truth that yes, this can really happen to you and your family, to your son…
The immersive tension this show pulls off is so well done, and difficult to watch. I absolutely had to write about it. Just had to. I think we feel compelled to share, write, and discuss something when we see in shows: our lives, ourselves, our experiences, our loved ones, our worlds, and when we can relate, at least at some level, to the shows, movies, and characters we watch- especially ones that are created with such rawness, and realness.
“Adolescence” hit me like a ton of bricks. It cracked my heart open all over again, lifting the lingering ache from the uniquely unwanted pain of moving through my own son’s fall into choices and consequences we could have never imagined would be his. Unlike the “norm” of adolescent learning from poor choices, with hopefully short term consequences, there is no grief like the tears and anxiety from what you hope never becomes the traumatic story of your own children, resulting in long term consequences, and worse- when the harm goes beyond just themselves, to others. “How can this be?” becomes a never answered question, at least not with certainty and clarity, which haunts your every day and every nightmare. It takes up disturbing space in your mind of ongoing analysis with only snippets of probability, and no satisfactory results. “Adolescence” captures this in powerful ways.
No parent should ever have to endure certain outcomes with their children. But we do. Death, suicide, disease, of course. But also, lonely is the parental path of seeing your child endure long term consequences from terrible actions, especially when it causes harm to others. Navigating the criminal justice system with your child as a victim is horrific. And, doing the same when your child is the perpetrator is a story rarely told, horrific in its own right. This show, and the story of my own son, are not just “minor” crimes (which are difficult, too), but when you are grappling with an action you can’t think of little to anything worse to top it, it complicates an already gut-wrenching grief. Such was and is the reality of many parents in a club they wish they never had to be part of, including me. Some of us are “lucky” enough to not be in the larger public eye, because that obviously adds an even messier shamble to endure, but it is still difficult to navigate among your own communities and connections nonetheless. Parents, like myself, who have been through this kind of reality, would never wish it upon any other parent. We all say that about hells we’ve been through, don’t we. (Poor parents with their sweet, tantrum throwing tots, and middle of the night feedings, you have no idea…) In all seriousness- those parents may eventually have teens where they can claim the fun and an actual preference for raising teens over toddlers. It gets so much easier (or better) they say. Well, not always. Or, those parents may find that it is far more difficult than the toddler years, but with expected norms of adolescent angst. Raising teens is tough all around. And then, there are those of us who endure the “not normal”, and it is a lonely, exhausting, unique agony.
I did not quite know what I was running into when I decided to try the show, “Adolescence”. I figured it might be difficult, but my goodness. I thought it might resemble a few similarities to what we’ve experienced as parents, but I had no idea it would be like a mirror was held to me and my partner and the ways we tried to cope. Not many people know the pain of having a child who makes a choice that harms others, and creates long term consequences- life long consequences, while those who love them suffer the ripple effects. The final scene in episode 4 was one of the most real and relatable scenes of two heartbroken, bewildered parents, who also happen to be good parents. While there are differences between those characters and their son, and me and my partner and our son, that scene was a set piece unlike any I have ever seen where I saw myself and my spouse mirrored uncannily, eerily, and truly. #CanRelate! While some children are directly impacted by having poor or neglectful parenting which leads to destructive behavior and/or psycho-social challenges, there is a subset of parents, like myself and my partner, who go through the hell of an outcome that somehow managed to happen anyway, even though their child was the product of a loving home, loving community, good schools, and healthy (albeit imperfect), conscious parenting. There are so many variables out of our control, but parents always hope the foundation will be enough, or will eventually come to the surface. Sometimes it is not enough. And even so, the hope is that it still holds anchors somehow, and that it will be a seed that blooms in future healing. This is our prayer. We parents, even with our own imperfections in these realities are tortured with a cruel and unrelenting specter, haunting us with “what went wrong?” It’s an evil, deceptive demon. Yet, when Jamie’s father asks, “Couldn’t I have protected him?” Jamie’s mother says, “No.” And then his father follows with, “Shouldn’t we have done more, though?” A grace is offered in his mother’s response: “I think it’d be good…in accepting that maybe we should’ve done. I think it’d be okay for us to think that.”
Speaking of the final scenes… it is common for those of us grieving a death, to go into the room of the one gone, or to go through some of their belongings and weep. Some of us do that, while our children are gone, but still living…
While our son was a young adult, 19, and the character in this show a young minor, 13, I found myself feeling in some ways glad ours wasn’t a minor, and also “jealous” (can that even apply?) that my son wasn’t a minor when he was arrested. (Imagine feeling jealousy over “arrest ages” instead of oh, I don’t know, something like the musical your kid has a role in, and the role they have, their acceptance on a sports team, or the college they got into…). Most parents can relate to the truth that when your adult child is in their late teens and 20’s, they still need you, perhaps even more than ever before. Even though I was heavily involved as a parent and advocate, not only all the while of my son’s life, but during the aftermath of his arrest: attending multiple hearings, communicating with lawyers, officers, case managers, therapists, etc., I did not have to be present for booking and questioning. Those moments in “Adolescence” episode 1 are harrowing. Yet, my son is deemed legally an adult and his consequences, because of that, will endure heavily in the immediate, and then ongoing for the rest of his life. But 19 is hardly mature, especially for young men. (He’s now 22.) And of course, his spiral downward started while he was a minor, and even though we saw it, and got him help, the outcome still became a nightmare. Even at 19, brains still have 5-7 years until they are fully developed, and even that is still in question. It may even be longer. While I did see, thankfully, my son’s age used as consideration by his defense and the judges who presided over his cases (there were 2), and it did influence his more lenient than expected outcome (his original possible sentence(s) spanned from 4 years to life), questions still arise over how our criminal justice system and rehabilitation efforts fit with these developmental realities, minor in age or not. My son is one of the youngest in a medium security prison (a private one- that’s a whole other story), with just under 1400 inmates, and he is being held in the cell block reserved for those deemed higher risk in the medium population. (He refers to it as “The Jungle”.) He has endured violence and trauma himself in prison, and also experienced solitary confinement for two weeks at a time, at least once that I know of. (Edit: He experienced solitary confinement again several times. He has been on parole, albeit briefly, and two different prisons since the one mentioned here a year ago, the second and third were/are state run, the second one he was in close-medium custody- a step above medium, but just below max, where he was much more limited in movement, and could no longer work a job. He is now in a third prison in medium custody again, but only because someone had mercy on him when his short-lived parole was revoked and he was sent back to prison and scored above the limit of medium security status. (He also has several prison tattoos- some quite impressive!) I often think about how the incarceration system should have a middle section of population, between juvenile and adult; there needs to be a section for ages 18 to say, about 26-28 maybe, because this decade of our lives, especially for men, has its own unique set of needs. There are however, exceptions to having an older adult mentor on the inside, but this could be a wonderful program incentive for the older adult populations. But I digress into what could become a whole other blog. There is so much to say about ideas for improvement, the prison industrial complex, the flaws, dehumanization, for-profit vs. state run variables and overlaps, staffing needs and high turnover, prison population dynamics and culture, mass incarceration that is unique to the United States, and its sin of white supremacy, disparities, statistics, and more, in our current justice system and incarceration realities- and not to mention the concentration camps and newly planned for-profit detention centers being funneled with billions of dollars and being built under this current authoritarian regime…) Deep breath…
Also potent in this show, in addition to that final scene, was the way the story highlights the older sibling. The firstborn, like my own, pulled at my heart: her role in the show, and the role I witnessed in them both, and in our own horrific circumstances was spot on. The sibling’s story is both heard and unheard. But she carries exceptional wisdom. Aside, and at times centered, but lonely, and filled with meaning that feels as if it will never be fully brought to light, even when it is tried. That’s the truth. A neglect we want so much to avoid, but it’s almost impossible. It is another heartbreak, on top of the other. At the same time, it is also a joy and a healing balm, a space of awe, and another, “How can this be?” asked from a different angle and feeling (also played out in the last scene, ep. 4). While mothers are often the rock in a family, an older sister can be the glue, even if she would have never chosen to be.
Several incidental characters provided wisdom and warnings in their own ways throughout this miniseries. The show never centers the victim, and that’s sticky- DS Frank poignantly mentions how people forget the victim. Often society sensationalizes the perpetrators of crimes, and they become the focus of our fascination. But this show deserves accolades for telling the stories of the detrimental peripherals, and we need those to be seen and heard. It could literally save lives, and at the very least, bring to light the unseen and silent suffering of others on the outskirts of these tragedies. Shout out to actress Fatima Bojang who played victim Katie’s best friend. Her valid annoyances and justified anger were pieces of grief needing to be acceptable.
You might find yourself a bit impatient with the filming and conversations in this show. I was. At first it came across as a potential flaw, or an open door for critique. It’s almost as if the entire filming went unedited. But wait! It did! But, I realized not long into watching, that there was a powerful intent behind this, and one that provided a realism that cannot be denied. God, the waiting, the unknowns, the interviews, the tediousness, the boring yet daunting legalities, the cloudy aura and sound tunnels of shock that come and go in expected and unexpected places (like at your local hardware store), and phases, the slow moving criminal justice system, the dehumanizing procedures that carry the both/ands of necessity and the objectionable. The way life carries on while you carry this surreal reality and knowing in compartments of your mind, heart, like a rock in your shoe, or a brick in your pocket, depending on the day. The way a sense of normalcy, or the new normal occurs, but can be suddenly shattered by the pain, disrupted by an insensitive comment, or distorted by a reminder. And oh my, those harrowing institutional phone calls…
The way the show combines the normal and innocent truths of being a child, like needing to eat (and cereal of all things!) is breathtaking. Reminding your child to eat when they’re not in a good headspace is one thing at the kitchen table, but in a jail holding cell? Showing typical teenage disgust over certain foods, something we might often chuckle at, happens while being interviewed by a psychologist. Having stuffed animals and a space-themed room, inextricably intertwined with personality shifts into anger and acts of violence from the boy who lives there was portrayed outstandingly. These are all parts of who he is. A family in a situation like this, deciding to order take out and maybe watch a movie? Celebrate a birthday? Buy a plant? Aghast! How dare they/we consider something so commonplace! How can something so authentically ordinary be true alongside something so extraordinarily abominable? The how, my friends, is just the truth and complexity of living and grief. It’s what we’d rather deny, or simplify, or what we will always struggle to comprehend.
The show does a great job of showing people in different roles seen from different perspectives: As the enemy? Or the person doing the right thing? It is often ambiguous and hazy. And we hate that. We want it to be easier to categorize people. It is not ever that simple, unless we cave to denial, generalizations, and full on dehumanization. And these people, these characters, their jobs, their every days, are just like us and ours, and are playing out in larger systems that contain their own complexities and flaws. If this series had been filmed in the U.S vs. the U.K., the weapon of choice might have been a gun, not a knife. Telling. Universally, however, is the underlying message that deceptive, online radicalization can ruin lives, and often goes unnoticed until it is too late, or gets to a point that when it is noticed, it is almost impossible to reel in. DI Bascombe played by Ashley Walters is brought to a new level of understanding by his own son’s explanation of how everything has a meaning in social media and messaging symbols, and then goes deeper into understanding how what happened to Katie, and what happened to Jamie, could even happen to his son. You see him shift into being a more intentional father.
My generation was very much the test subject generation of parenting when smartphones came into play, especially during the modern era on internet accessibility of smartphones around the years 2007-2008. It was so challenging to evaluate, monitor, and know best how to implement and/or withhold. In our family, we didn’t allow our kids to have smartphones until high school. They had flip phones in middle school (and even those were problematic, and e-readers, too!) In addition, they were not allowed to have them in their rooms overnight, and we had parental monitoring installed, limited access to apps, etc. Looking back, I think maybe waiting until mid high school, or better yet not until 18, might be preferable! But I recall feeling like the minority, as many of my children’s peers had smartphones in middle school or even elementary school, and had TV’s and computers in their rooms. If our kids ever accused us of being “strict” that was why. We did not allow any of those in their rooms. And yet- I saw this negative online influence play out for both my teens in varied ways in spite of it all. And it seems as though the dilemma with smartphones, social media, computers, etc., is getting far worse as time progresses. Constant conversation and connection has to matter in the midst of these impossible, overwhelming realities. I so appreciate a show that highlights this fact.
The show was able to capture the truth of denial parents often feel when their child is accused of the unimaginable. As the viewer, at first, you feel the same way about Jamie’s arrest. No way. Not him. Not this adorable child who looks more like 9 years old than 13. Not this white, innocent boy…(because yes, our biases play out in who we deem “more likely” to have committed a crime, based on race, physical appearance, stature, etc.) The show plays out with more assumptions and questions such as these, including: Who is the bully? How does gender apply? What is going on in our society? What influences are seemingly motivating young men and boys to commit violent crimes, specifically against women/girls? It is an unavoidable fact, that toxic masculinity (see my other blog about this very topic), online misogyny, and male rage is playing out in dangerous ways. Make no mistake about the reason DS Frank’s character made reference to Andrew Tate. An appropriate name drop. Make no mistake that incel culture, the “manosphere”, and other dangerous online ideologies (including political), are gathering in young men in all manner of materials, brainwashing them and convincing them that their struggles in school, with girls, with their parents, will be resolved in finding a dangerous sense of “belonging” in various groups, ideologies, cults, and identities, with life altering impact. Some of which are exploited and manipulated into systems that depend on them for power. The wounds around what it means to be a man need to be healed so boys, and the valuable parts of all of us, in the masculine and feminine, are revered and flourishing. Yet, we would be mistaken to ignore the crises mentioned beforehand that can be the direct cause of these wounds.
The soundtrack was excellent. My favorite song that played in this series, and my first time hearing it, was the cover of Sting’s, “Fragile” sung by a children’s choir. (Link below.) The way their innocence and macabre tone created a narrative of tragedy almost incomprehensible by the still maturing brains who voiced it, with piano accompaniment, and a niggling solo ending was perfection, in musicality and metaphor. (Music by Aaron May and David Riley) I added it to my “N. Summer of 2023” playlist, when our particular hell culminated into our own son’s tragic circumstances and subsequent outcomes and experiences. (Yes, I made a playlist of songs about this- grief and lament songs, songs that remind or connect to all of that time, and him, and us. I find it to be just one of many ways to cope. Journaling, running, community, and therapy helps, too.)
There is so much more to say about this phenomenal show. Filming techniques, stellar acting, emotionally captivating, and necessary, authentic storytelling, reflective of real life dangers no family is ever fully protected from, but with which society can do far more to prevent. It’s a clap in our faces to pay attention. Netflix’s “Adolescence” gets 5/5 stars.
“It’s Jamie. Jamie’s ours. Isn’t he?” -Lisa Miller (The older sister played by Amelie Pease)
How Denial About Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, and Racism Perpetuate Harm
The devastation of the Epstein conglomerate, its massive, tangled web of deception and corruption, with a global reach, and decades of dangerous operation is an unveiling that has long held an agenda to keep us blind. Its web weaves and wraps around institutions, financial connections, intelligence agencies, and more, all while exploiting, traumatizing, and abusing children, while still prioritizing the system and structures that enabled the abhorrent actions of the humans within them. We see the current administration working to control the narrative, propagandize the viewer (an ongoing problem), pretending to be accountable (“The most transparent president in history”), with such strategy and calculation, and an obvious cover for those they want to protect, and those they wish to destroy. All of us have been manipulated, even the left in its trust of expertise and the educated, yet the MAGA right has been deeply betrayed in ways that captured their undying loyalty, and used them to continue criminal, greedy, narcissism, all while they suffer, either unknowingly, or in denial, or in the perpetuation of the suffering of others. It is all classic cult behavior. And I’m not just talking about people. The system was designed this way. To exploit. To oppress. To manipulate. To push the divide between the small numbers of the wealthy to the mass numbers of: the rest of us. As painful as it is, we must find a way to see anew. To untangle the illusions. To end the fantasy of an always “great” America. A reckoning is upon us. A rebuilding is in demand.
There’s a social media post by “Kyle Mccabe” going around, originally posted on 2/3/26 that provides an unsurprising, but alarming defense of Tr*mp saying, “Enough with the Tr*mp is a pedophile ‘lie'” and claiming the left are the ones falling for propaganda.
The projection that those of us who see through the Tr*mp administration’s BS, being accused of not seeing past our own noses, is yet another clear indicator that MAGA is a cult. Let’s talk about projection. But before I get to that, if overwhelming evidence of Tr*mp being a child rapist isn’t enough to stop defending such a vile and dangerous POTUS, will blatant racist videos be? I mean, half of us have always known Tr*mp is a racist and a rapist, but MAGA (and Tr*mp defenders, and “both-sides” hiders, who pretend they aren’t MAGA)- what do they stand for, really? Apparently nothing of value. Definitely not the constitution. On 2/5/26, Tr*mp posted an AI video of the Obamas on his “Truth” Social account, in such a blatant, obviously racist way, using a racist idea that has been around forever. Tr*mp lies that he is the “least racist person ever” and yet, he is believed. When he says that, most of us see through it, because what he’s really saying is, “I’m the most racist person ever”. We know this because of his actions over decades of his loser, racist life. But even when it’s blatant? I can already hear MAGA (and the Tr*mp administration): “Well, that’s not what he meant.” “It was just a joke, you snowflakes.” “It wasn’t actually Tr*mp (my idolized cult leader) who posted it.” The excuses are disgusting.
“I’m the least racist person ever.” An account by him called, “Truth Social”. Truth. See? It is perilous when we fail to see.
Asking us to stop calling Tr*mp a pedophile- Gosh, that sounds familiar- Tr*mp also just said that he thinks we should move on from the Epstein files while he berated a female reporter (Kaitlan Collins- we need more like her), using the most classic of sexist deflections by telling her she should “smile more”. It’s obvious guilt trying to change the subject. The vast majority of women (see me raising my hand) have heard this so.many.times by sexist men who cry that they were only trying to be nice or complimentary. Gross. Do we not recall Tr*mp’s ownership of Miss Teen USA, and his comments about going into their dressing rooms? Why isn’t that enough, even without the Epstein files?
The people who want accountability will not be silenced.
The right: “Stop calling Tr*mp a pedophile!” As if this is just coincidental? I guess it will take a lot more than photos, victim statements, eyewitness testimony, phone and email records, bank statements, audio recordings, flight manifests, videos, a person with 34 felony convictions who was held liable for sexual assault, even his own words, who brags about grabbing women by their private parts, and more to even suggest there might be a solid case! Oh, but that’s right- Tr*mp himself said he could gun down people in the street, and they would still vote for him. (And he’s right, even that’s happening, and they still defend him. “But he wasn’t the one who”- No. Just stop it. The denial is nauseating.) In addition to that, it won’t even take obvious child rape accusations for them to even say he should be held accountable to the law and due process! They dropped 3.5 million of 9 million docs, and they were massively redacted. Think the missing files are cleaner? Less violent? Less despicable? It has already been reported that the files not being released contain “death, abuse, and child porn”. We have to read between the lines of, for example, the birthday wish Tr*mp drew and wrote to his pedophile pal, Jeffery- obviously sketched of a young pubescent girl, and with code language for something quite sinister. What do people really think that “secret” is he’s talking about? The “certain things” they have in common? A similar taste in music? Doubtful. C’mon, folks. There is a theme. This is common sense…
If MAGA finally recognizes the projections, do we think they’ll recall “pizzagate” and see the truth of what’s going on here?
Speaking of coincidences- I’m quite sure it isn’t one that the Tr*mp administration has weakened departments that investigate child trafficking… 3800 children have been kidnapped by ICE, too…so far. So much for “save the children”…
“Stop calling the files evidence, they’re only allegations!” Wrong. The Epstein files are collected FBI evidence used in the criminal cases of Epstein and his associates.
“If Tr*mp were guilty, he would already be in prison!” Is the right really that naive? Tr*mp ran for POTUS to avoid prison, people! (He doesn’t care about you.) And filled the SCOTUS with judges who caved to allow him immunity! How is it not obvious to these folks that powerful, ultra wealthy people are getting away with crime? That’s the theme of America! Oligarchy! See why most of us are not shocked about how we got here?
We know who has, and will be trying, to steal elections and get away with it while, yep, you guessed it- the projections about who’s stealing elections and cheating will be spewed by the Tr*mp administration. They are making it harder to vote while passing a bill pretending it is “saving” America. (It’s called the “Save America Act” and it is one of the most dangerous voters suppression bills we’ve seen that will disenfranchise millions of voters. But they pretend it’s innocuous, by calling it the “SAVE” act.) See? Who is this act saving who from? Let’s think about it… (Hint: racism is also a subject of this blog post.)
“The left is falling for propaganda!” Wow, that’s rich. Propaganda is what got Tr*mp the support he needed from MAGA. His entire propagandist operation shifted the culture, which was right out of the authoritarian playbook of post antidemocratic empires! It was the core element of his strongman leadership gain. If he has been successful at anything, it was pulling off the greatest propaganda operation in history. It’s exactly why he undermines the press, science, and expertise. It’s why all the scapegoats in Tr*mp’s fear mongering propaganda are NOT in the Epstein files. And the right says we are making it worse for victims by calling Tr*mp a pedophile. Really? There are multiple beyond multiple accusations by women and children but we’re “cheapening” victims (Mccabe’s words), and falling for propaganda, if we call Tr*mp a pedophile. MAGA has learned well from their dear leader: Every accusation is a confession. In other words, we’re not the ones falling for propaganda. If Tr*mp and MAGA don’t want us to call him a pedophile, perhaps they should stop protecting and defending pedophiles.
“Tr*mp has been investigated more than any other president in history!” Gee, I wonder why… Speaking of propaganda- do you see? This fact is what Tr*mp uses to pretend he’s been unfairly “attacked” and then uses it to go after those who had the courage to try and hold him accountable for his lies and crimes. Exhausting.
“You should demand facts and honesty!” Ha! From the president who is a proven liar? Who lies on average of 20x/day? Who has a proven track record of tens of thousands of lies from only his first term? “But all politicians” Stop it. That misses the point, and is yet another excuse to not see what is dangerously real about Tr*mp’s massively grotesque pathological lying problem, not just the general understanding of “lying politicians”. Also, we’re not demanding evidence, or facts. The evidence is already there. The facts are clear. The actions are non-stop. The evidence is overwhelming. We’re demanding accountability. We’re demanding justice. We’re asking the investigators, who are presented with evidence, to do.their.job. But once Tr*mp got into power the second time, he learned to make sure he was surrounded by people who wouldn’t hold him accountable, but would rather cover and perpetuate his evil (while most of them profess to be “Christian” and/or wear crosses around their necks and keep defending empire). Christian nationalism is also how we got here. The web of the Epstein power and influence is massively widespread, and connects to the rape culture found in unhealthy evangelical churches. Epstein used Dr. Dobson’s articles to groom his victims. Think about that.
A racist post in a video, a racist trope that has been used incessantly to justify slavery and harm, was shared after the “National Prayer Breakfast” (don’t get me started on that…) where it was said by Christian Nationalist Paula White, that Tr*mp is the “greatest ‘champion’ of Christianity”. See? He’s the “least” racist person; he’s the “greatest” champion of Christianity. He’s the most “transparent” POTUS…The prayer breakfast was used to tap into the base, repeat blasphemy about Jesus, prayer, the bible, and Christianity, to continue the actual propaganda, to excuse hypocrisy for power and proximity to power. It is fraudulent Christianity. It is dangerous when we fail to see.
The racism, the sexism, the cruelty- is the point.
“But Clinton.” “But Biden.” So?! I don’t care! Clinton is mentioned in the files over 50 times. Investigate him. Biden? 0. But they keep on responding, “But Biden this, and Biden that…” (Again, having learned well from their dear leader who does the same thing, always blaming Biden.) Tr*mp is president. He was mentioned 38,000 times in the Epstein files. I want all child rapists held accountable. We don’t care what party.
(It might be relevant to know that Mccabe’s own replies to the comments in his post show him doing the same, predictable, banal thing when people call him out: posting memes about Biden. “Biden this, and Biden that”. It’s all they’ve got.) Mccabe’s FB page is also full of hundreds of fake photos, disinformation, and AI generated crap. That’s quite telling…
When people defend Tr*mp, it just confirms who’s unsafe: those who defend Tr*mp.
We are not going to stop. We’re never going to let this go. We want to know who sent the email asking about a preference to “do” someone or torture them, permission to kill someone, who threatened, who assaulted, and other vile crimes, where torture, and child porn, and abuse, are mentioned over and over again, etc… Why do you think other countries are investigating and prosecuting, but not the U.S.? Because our government is protecting powerful people. There is zero credibility in Tr*mp’s administration. None. There have been no investigations, no arrests, no inquiry, just shoving aside (Patel) the most obvious, most massive trafficking ring, not because there is nothing credible (it already exists and people have already been convicted and jailed for it), but because of the idolization of power, and the actual propaganda that fooled them into fearing the wrong people, so that the most vile, corrupt people in power can continue to exist, hold powerful seats in the U.S., and get away with racism, rape, sexism, crime, cheating, violence, and more while also ripping off the people who bought into his lies! Even Epstein himself, the convicted, appears to be responsible along with Russia, Tr*mp, and others, for fueling the propaganda to deflect the truth, and rile up the MAGA base. Sadly, it worked. Devastatingly, it’s still working.
This isn’t anything new, either. Time and time again, victims aren’t believed, and are silenced, while their perpetrators are tolerated- especially if they are the “useful idiot” as Tr*mp is to Miller, and the agenda of Tr*mpism and authoritarianism. See? Tr*mp is just a continuation of white, powerful men that this country’s systems protects, time and time again. Some use more decorum (JD Vance) as a cover, others have no shame, and don’t bother with caution and civility (Tr*mp). But it doesn’t even matter that Tr*mp is particularly and openly vile. The history of this country has always protected people like him- it is ingrained in this country’s systems of power. That’s the design. Those of us with historical acumen see what’s going on.
It’s a transformative, healing thing: to see anew. It begins to become apparent where the fruit of the spirit manifest. Cultivating these fruit is a lifelong spiritual practice for all of us. It takes great courage to stand against tyranny and corruption, but that is how we bring about Beloved Community. That is how we create the kin-dom of God here on earth, and sometimes, it means naming, with clarity, what’s going on, no matter how uncomfortable it makes us. It is a prophetic witness to denounce such immorality and cruelty.
Still don’t want us to call Tr*mp a pedophile? Still defending him? Even while your lives are getting worse because he lied to you about everything he promised you? Maybe try reading all of the files until you decide to believe the victims, and stop being complicit and on the wrong side of history. Wild isn’t it? Thinking being undocumented is worse than being a pedophile? Fearing DEI more than dictators? Thinking that being trans is somehow “dangerous” to children? (Back to the subject of propaganda. See?) MAGA is mad at the wrong percentages of the population while the billionaires laugh behind their backs. And now we know that Tr*mp posted a racist video about the Obamas. (Guess who doesn’t appear in the Epstein files: the Obamas. Happy Black History Month!) Think all of this horrifying reality of killing people (citizens too) on the streets, kidnapping children, pedophile rings, making a fool of America around the globe, grifting and corruption unlike any other, and blatant racism (it’s not even dog whistles anymore), and more, will make MAGA think twice, this time? I doubt it. But MAGA is a cult, so we remain unsurprised by MAGA’s idol worship, constant boot licking, “both-side-ism” and projections. But you know- it’s still an open invitation for all to finally say, “I don’t want to align with this abhorrent evil anymore.” People are able to break out of cults. Being healed of spiritual blindness is a specialty of Jesus.
It’s been hard to know what to say, or what to write. But all I can think about are their last words, “I’m not mad at you” and “Are you okay?” and the little boy in the blue bunny hat…
On January 7, 2026, she said, “I’m not mad at you.”
He said, “Fucking bitch” after he executed her.
She said, “I’m not mad at you.”
Doing the job the agent should do: de-escalation.
She said, “I’m not mad at you.”
He left her overflowing glovebox of stuffed animals splattered in blood.
She said, “I’m not mad at you.”
They called her a “domestic terrorist”.
She said, “I’m not mad at you.”
They lied about why she was there, who she was, and what she did.
On January 24, 2026, he asked, “Are you okay?”
They violently shoved a woman to the ground.
He asked, “Are you okay?”
They pepper sprayed their faces, as he tried to protect her.
He asked, “Are you okay?” looking out for his neighbors.
They piled on top of him and executed him in the street.
He asked, “Are you okay?”
They fired more shots into his lifeless body.
He asked, “Are you okay?”
They called him a “domestic terrorist”, too.
He asked, “Are you okay?”
They lied about why he was there, who he was, and what he did.
She said, “I’m not mad at you.”
Her partner said, “We had whistles, they had guns.”
He said, “Are you okay?”
His parents said, “Please get the truth out about our son.”
He asked, “Are you okay?”
They said, “It’s like Call of Duty! So cool, huh?”
He stood between fascist, violent thugs, trying to protect her. He said, “Don’t touch her.” Healthy masculinity.
They shoved her to the ground and murdered him in sloppy, trigger happy, cowardice chaos thuggery. Toxic masculinity.
“I’m not mad at you.”
She could have been me; she could have been you. What she did is something I would do.
“Are you okay?”
He could have been me; he could have been you. What he did is something my partner would do.
On January 20, 2026, a 5 year old boy in a blue bunny hat stood in the cold, his little face riddled with fear.
They used him as bait.
A little boy in a blue bunny hat
An empty cubby at his school.
A little boy in a blue bunny hat. 3,800 children kidnapped in 2025.
No doubt there are more, those in prisons and covert encampments, those who weren’t on video. Imagine what’s happening to them.
A little boy in a blue bunny hat.
The system that exploits a child, that kidnaps children, must be dismantled.
A little boy in a blue bunny hat.
He could have been my child, he could have been yours. Like Baldwin said, “The children are always ours.”
Kieth Porter. Renee Good. Alex Pretti. Heber Sanchez Dominguez. Victor Manuel Diaz. Parady La. Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz. Luis Gustavo Unez Caceres. Geraldo Lunas Campos. Killed by federal agents in 2026.
All of whom deserve remembrance and justice, and those before them in 2025, and those before them in years, decades, and generations past who suffered the same terror of oppression and tyranny at the cowardly hands of empire and police brutality.
“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”
They gaslight us. They expect us to believe their lies, and not our eyes.
“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?” Jesus would say and ask the same.
When they (Stephen Miller and ilk) claim “plenary authority” and “total immunity” we should believe what they say. Empire would say the same.
But we remember, that even as those in power impose violence, oppression, death, lies and havoc, the love of Jesus is the ultimate authority, not the authoritarians.
“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”
Phrases we carry with us in resistance, in community, and in Christ, blowing whistles, and caring for each other.
“I’m not mad at you.” “Are you okay?”
On the right side of history and justice, are those who stood innocently in their winter hats, who wore Spiderman back packs, the deported, the detained and separated, the vanished, the isolated who fear leaving their homes, those who say, “I can’t breathe”, those who blow the breath of life and alert through whistles of warning, those everyday people refusing to do nothing, refusing to stay silent, those using their privilege, education, and experience to do what’s right, those banging their drums, singing songs of peace, shouting words of righteous anger, arranging rides, writing prayers, donning their stoles in solidarity, writing poetry, lighting candles, calling out the blasphemy of Christian Nationalism and white supremacy, the anti-racist, those who counter the disinformation, those wearing keffiyahs, making phone calls and writing letters, those donating their money, sharing political posts, those who see the cult of Tr*mpism for what it is, or finally do, those who clog the system, who boycott the corporate, who build, who disrupt, who strategize, who share their resources, who coordinate, people fighting for freedom here, and in so many places around the globe, the antifascists with phones, the marchers, the vigil attenders, those who protect trans people, the decent humans who love their neighbor and welcome the immigrant, those who shout, “Chinga La Migra!” Those who call out the xenophobia, those who show up with medicine, food, water, art, and care, with their bodies, minds, and hearts, like the prophets who remind us to love kindness and do justice, like Jesus who said blessed are the peaceMAKERS, and those who say,
Photography is one of my favorite spiritual practices. I love to capture perspectives often missed, or focus in on a detail, play with angles, light, and textures. I try to take notice of the remarkable, or the profound among the plain, the curious, atypical spaces and elements. Photography invites me to pause, wonder, have patience, and pay attention. Like writing (which I also love), photography is a way to communicate things often difficult to articulate. It tries to make sense of Mystery, emotion, and innermost pondering. I hope you enjoy these! (Descriptions/captions under each photo, although they also say a lot without.)
Flying helps bring a different perspective! Red Rocks, Morrison, CO on a crisp, blue sky January day.
Snow and branch contrasts never cease to amaze me.
I took this one after visiting my son at SCF. The emotions I felt internally seemed to be reflected in this isolated, but bright structure. Sterling, CO.
There can’t be a more perfect facial expression for Metallica’s lead singer. And I love the perspective of the crowd below. A unique visual. Metallica concert at Mile High Stadium, Denver, CO.
This one captures the quaintness of Sausalito, CA. I love the sharp color spots on the forefront tree.
Buildings are always fun to photograph. San Francisco sandwiched between the bay and the clouds.
So many points of interest in this one. Angles, the buildings and windows, the sky, the depth. Taken at the crest of Nob Hill, looking down California Street.
B-boy! In black and white. (80’s kid? IYKYK) At Pier 39.
The signs, the books, the reader- and how they’re connected; are they connected? Taken at City Lights bookstore, San Francisco.
Chinatown, San Fran
“That all the trees will be okay…” (Lump in throat, eyes welled with tears…)
Part of the exterior of the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy- a public elementary school in San Francisco’s Castro district, where children are empowered in learning awareness, acceptance, nonviolence, and social justice; that rights are not a given, but must be fought for. Imagine if ALL schools included such a curriculum… I love this photo. The image itself is just cool. But the collage of Children’s hopes and dreams- profound. “Would you like to take a day off?” “I have a dream that one day people won’t kill each other…” and of course, “That all the tree will be okay…”
This was taken at Pink Triangle Park- the first permanent memorial in the U.S remembering the thousands of victims who were identified as homosexual, bisexual, or transgender and were persecuted in N*zi Germany. While this one doesn’t show the pink triangle itself, I love how the pink peeks through the green of the succulents, and is fitting, given it is at the Pink Triangle Park. (We should be paying attention to the way similar persecution and danger is happening to the LGBTQ+ community- especially trans beloveds in the U.S. at a heightened level under current authoritarian/fascists threats…)
Muir Woods, CA (Imagine if you, as the viewer, were going to float upward in this image. Might you go up to the center toward the leaves and the sky? Or might you go up into that open layer of bark?)
Chinga La Migra! The message is important, but I also love the textures, colors, and simplicity of this photo…
Botanical Gardens/Conservatory of Flowers in San Fran. IMO, the photo would not be complete without the bud in the upper righthand corner. Where does your eye go? (I believe this flower is a Dahlia- Ball Type. Are you a mathematical nerd?)
I love when ocean waters reveal so many colors at once. Ship in the distance, a perfect accent. The Pacific.
My cat, Kevin. Cats can be so SHAPED!…
“The tradition of writing prayers and auspicious wishes for others on streamers and allowing them to soar with the winds is implemented in many cultures…” Prayer flags/streamers, including one of my own. Sanctuary Center, Sedalia, CO. Can you hear the softness of the breeze, the whispering dance of the streamers?
Feminine power, the rocks, the tree… Sanctuary Center, Sedalia, CO.
So much symbolism in this photo of the Black Madonna. Look at her face, look at the background, what’s around her, in front of her, to the right of her, how is it relevant to social justice issues at hand? Sanctuary Center, Sedalia, CO.
Inside the chapel at The Sanctuary Center, holding a singing bowl. Again, there is so much happening in this photo- so many curiosities, invitations…
The communion table on World Communion Sunday at Calvary Baptist Church, Denver. Breads and cloths from around the world. (I also arranged the table.)
Glorious fall happening to a maple in our neighborhood.
Have you ever peeked through a skeleton in the way only a cat can? Kevin & Skelly.
It is incredibly difficult to capture the moon the way the human eye can- it’s impossible. But I was kind of happy with this attempt. I actually took it through my car’s windshield sitting in the parking lot after a hospital shift, getting ready to go home. Lone Tree, CO.
“President” Tr*mp was asked on NYE if he had a New Year’s resolution. His bullsh*t answer was, “Peace. Peace on earth.” Know why he said that? Because it’s all he needs to say. He knows his cult of MAGA won’t question it, and will keep peddling a false theology to justify war and brutality in Jesus’ name, while Jesus actually weeps (and does a facepalm). This is abhorrent news today about the bombing and kidnapping in Venezuela, that happened without provocation (the bombing of alleged boats with drugs/terrorists a violent, convenient misleading narrative), and we have an unhinged president, cowardice congress, and a brutal, bully Department of “War” indeed. This administration and their cult of enablers and followers will pretend there is righteousness behind this brutality. They will use blasphemy around words like morality and divine “right”. They will wrap militarism in “patriotism” in a fantasy of America’s “greatness” feeling heroic because they are loyal to the Orange King. It is deeply tragic and utterly embarrassing that MAGA will continue to swallow such ill justifications in the name of nationalism when in reality it is a lack of critical thinking and historical understanding. (Why do you think education is under attack in the U.S. or that we don’t have funding for it, only for war?) No, this is empire. It is sin. I feel sick and sad and mad. This is the predictable result of decades of white Christian nationalism, and propaganda about drugs (remember- Tr*mp pardoned a convicted, massive cocaine kingpin, and others- the “war on drugs” is a facade). I find it quite rich that a corrupt, vile, criminal, grifter, who uses the military against his own citizens, and tried to steal an election is pretending to despise a dictator of another country. He does.not.care. about the well-being of the Venezuelan people. This outcome is the result of fear mongering about human beings, vilifying and scapegoating, all so people will vote someone like him in despite his vile existence. It’s about power and oil, and stealing resources and subsequently refusing to take in the refugees we’ve created. Same as it’s always been. It’s Vietnam. It’s Iraq. (Sacrificing and lying to soldiers about WMD for Cheney’s greedy benefit.) It’s Ukraine. It’s Gaza. It’s xenophobia. It’s transphobia. It’s about corruption and lining the pockets of the wealthy. It’s unconstitutional. It’s American exceptionalism. It’s a distraction. (Epstein, Jack Smith’s damning testimony, the dire state of our economy, etc.) It’s _______. The lie about “diplomacy” under the reality of violence, a theme in the United States of America, goes on. Is Maduro a dictator and a bad guy? Yes. Was this attack legal/justified? No. (Will some foreign country come and kidnap Tr*mp? Aren’t Republicans always going off about “slippery slopes”?) For Tr*mp, it’s not about Maduro no matter what he says. He doesn’t care about the Venezuelan people; he cares about oil and greed. The international order put in place after WWII is being dismantled before our very eyes. This will have global implications. History has shown us the destabilization and horrific consequences when acts like this from the U.S. occur. Write and call your reps. Say something. Lord have mercy. As a chaplain/ordained person, as a follower of Jesus, as a human being for God’s sake, I cannot and will not stay silent about this, nor any of it, and neither should you.
A vile, horrific assassination occurred on 9/10. It is an act that should never happen to anyone. And, Charlie Kirk’s unjustified murder does not erase his harmful legacy. We can grieve his awful, unacceptable murder, and refuse to venerate a person who sowed seeds of hate. We can acknowledge the image of God created in every person, including Charlie Kirk, and we can lament Kirk’s own lack of love in many of his words that perpetuated a harmful ideology; a refusal to live into that Divine Image.
There were basically two different kinds of church services happening across the country this past Sunday. One that I know of, had a giant screen with an American flag and a large picture of Charlie Kirk, and the preacher spoke uncritically about the (mythical) founding of this country as being a “Christian Nation” and then suddenly the service became a political rally/soft launch for a “ministry leader” Victor Marx, whose highest level of education is a high school diploma, and who also wants to run for governor. (That is not to demean anyone who doesn’t have more than a high school education; it is meant to question his qualifications for a high political office, and in ministry. But we shouldn’t be surprised given who is currently in the White House.) On the other hand, other churches were making statements abhorring the political assassination of Charlie Kirk while being honest about the racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, misogynist, cruel legacy he leaves behind. Kirk’s death overshadowed another school shooting that happened on the same day. Yet, some white evangelical churches in America Sunday morning chose to have their own memorial/political campaign/idol worship services of Charlie Kirk, instead of, oh, I don’t know, what some other churches were doing: Lighting candles for children harmed by bullets. Praying for all victims of gun violence. Denouncing the unacceptable act of political violence that killed Kirk, while preaching the truth about his harmful legacy, and calling all of us to examine our own souls, lest we become part of the problem. Maybe holding spaces to process and grieve, and discuss. Holding sessions for advocacy to end gun violence after church. (I attended the CFCU meeting in Colorado yesterday afternoon. Check out their website here):
Imagine the parents of schoolchildren in CO who fought for their lives in hospitals, who were traumatized by, yet again, another school shooting, while flags are being flown half staff for a man who spent his life inciting violence, spewing hate, and tragically and ironically dying by the very gun violence he believed we should tolerate for a “god given” second amendment right. Imagine the silence if the shooting in UT had been of students, and not Charlie Kirk. While more is unknown about motive, it is evident that both shooters in both these cases were not “radical left lunatics” even as MAGA would have us believe otherwise. And the VPOTUS made a propagandist statement today, lying about Kirks words, making dangerous false claims, and blaming the left. Reading the dog whistle of his own dangerous rhetoric should have all of us deeply concerned. It is a projection, because the past decade has been largely dominated by right wing political violence and incitement.
America’s veneration of white supremacy is a disappointing, but an unsurprising response to the assassination of Charlie Kirk. My stomach has been turning all week as I see flags flown half staff for the death of one who’s life legacy was racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, misinformation, exclusion, and manipulation of young people while using Christianity and the Bible to justify it (often with flawed theology, and anti-anything close to Christlike). Kirk was not an elected leader. He was not even really an “activist” as some have described him. He had a podcast. He.had.a.podcast. Kirk, a college drop out, who often debated students younger than him, and rarely participated in actual debate settings (and when he did, usually lost), has been touted as an excellent debater. But the problem is, people may see him as a skilled debater because he had tactics to redirect, talk over, and overwhelm the other with multiple topics, even as such topics lacked accuracy. But such tactics do not make him right about what he was arguing. To be correct, one would need to substantiate their arguments. Kirk didn’t do that, but it didn’t matter if the perception was that he “won” because he was loud and could misquote lots of bible verses.
What is also disappointing but unsurprising is the way some of my social media contacts/friends/family have been defending him and sharing videos about Kirk from their silos that make him out to be a good Christian, a good man, etc. I can see how one would think that, if all they see about him comes from the Fox News Entertainment channel and the like. We are seeing the massive impact of disinformation and control of the masses we’ve been warned about for almost a decade, and now even more loudly. Kirk was part of that very endeavor- the propaganda that pushes young people, especially young white men, into far right pipelines, and makes them believe they are the persecuted. This whole thing is and always has been, the twisting of patriotism, tradition, and freedom into white nationalism, misogyny, and authoritarianism.
I was the recipient of vitriol and derogatory words this week when I spoke the truth about Kirk. A MAGA hat wearing acquaintance called me “a fucking joke” before he blocked me so I couldn’t respond. He proves my point about the violence and cowardice of MAGA, sadly reinforcing the very behaviors and rhetoric that perpetuate such harm and violence, and ironically, about what they are seemingly mad about- the violence used against Kirk…right? Make it make sense. I realize cruel words are on the opposite spectrum of murder, and yet I know part of what fuels violence…
Charlie Kirk was assassinated. It was vile, horrific, and we should be angry at the loss of ANY life at the hands of guns. But no one should be expected to mourn his life, and some people have good reason not to. While no one deserves to be murdered, we can also acknowledge that while his death was awful, it does not negate that his life’s work was awful, too. As Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley said in his sermon this Sunday, “There is nowhere in the Bible where we are taught to honor evil; and how you die does not redeem how you lived. You don’t become a hero in death, when you are a weapon of the enemy in life.” See a longer excerpt of his sermon here:
Kirk is a man who spent his life and money spreading hate. He normalized it, justified it, and took God’s name in vain by using Christianity to defend it. And just like the current administration and its ilk are rewriting history, they are controlling the narrative around Kirk’s death, whitewashing his comments, and calling him an American hero. His is not. He is a white supremacist. It is precisely why Tr*mp put out a quick public comment blaming the “radical left” without any evidence, with no suspect in custody, no motive. It is exactly why Republican Nancy Mae said, “The Democrats own this” and lied with derogatory words that the shooter was “tranny or pro-tranny” before she knew any facts. It’s why Stephen Miller is quick to project everything he represents on to the left and to call for attacks on the left in Kirk’s name. It is dangerous, and pathetically irresponsible. The truth is, and this has been researched, studied, and well documented, that the threat of domestic terrorism, which is indeed the biggest threat to America, is drastically more of a threat from the right. (49.9% of motivations for political violence come from right wing/white supremacist ideologies. 22.9% is leftist. The gender is 77% male and 0.8% gender nonconforming, and 55.66% white. 76% of politically motivated deaths have been committed by the far right. The far left? 4%.)
Remember when Tr*mp said it would be a “waste of time” to call the family of Representative Hortman and instead began disparaging the Gov. of MN? (He also responded with, “Who?” When a member of the press questioned his drastically different response to Kirk’s assassination vs. his revealing lack of action toward her, her husband’s and their dog’s?) Recall the silence about Hortman’s right wing killer/political violence? Were flags flown half staff for Hortman? Are flags ever flown for children who die in school shootings?
Additionally, can we stop conflating racism and hate with “political opinion”? Having discussions about taxes and how to regulate guns, or address corporate environmental impact, who would be best to support during elections, those are political opinions. Saying Black people were better off in slavery, that MLK Jr was “awful” and “not a good person” and that the Civil Rights Act shouldn’t have been passed, is not only dangerous, but simply racist. We need to separate what we do about governance, from the dangerous extremism of dehumanization, and inciting violence. One is about political opinion, the other is about hate. The selective rage is simply yet another indicator that it’s all about white supremacy. We must speak out against the false narrative about Kirk’s legacy as one of goodness and righteousness, and be honest, even when we are falsely accused of being intolerant, about Kirk’s cruel legacy.
I am troubled by those who defend Kirk, especially those who all themselves Christian. How do they reconcile these verified comments he made with anything good, or Christian? Click the link:
We must refuse to glorify hate. We must respond, in the wake of ALL gun violence, with action. We also need time to process. We can pray. But it is not an excuse for inaction. I have included an excerpt below from the prayer I lead on Sunday. Right before Kirk was killed, his words were words of transphobia and racism. May our words, our legacy, and the seeds we plant, be ones of hope, love, peace, and justice.
Galatians 6:7
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Prayer:
“Breathe in:
The world is loud.”
“Breathe out:
I listen to my voice.”
“Breathe in:
This is too much to hold.”
“Breathe out:
So we hold it together.”
“Breathe in:
I keep my soul honest.”
“Breathe out:
I stay near to myself.”
“Breathe in:
To love and be loved.”
“Breathe out:
My purpose remains.”
-Selected Breath Prayers by Cole Arthur Riley
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God of shared tears:
In response to violence we lament, and wonder how to navigate all that is so heavy, devastating and contentious. Our lives have, once again, been impacted by the relentlessness of this country’s unique problem of gun violence, including yet another school shooting, and one that happened in our home state here in Colorado. Grant your peace and comfort to those injured, either by bullets or in the trauma of such a horrific event. We grieve with all of those affected by gun violence. We confess our anger and frustration at the endless cycle of this specific violence, and we weep remembering all of the lives lost to weapons of war that have flooded our communities. We are tired by those in power who work to prevent any real change. Help us to see our feelings and reactions as your movement in us to rise and work for advocacy and action.
And God, remind us that it is possible to speak out against murder, to hold compassion for those who witnessed the vile assassination in UT this week, and for the friends and family of the deceased, while being honest about the harmful legacy the deceased leaves behind, and all the while, especially standing firmly with those targeted by his cruelty and harmful rhetoric.
Help us to interrogate our own hearts, lest we adopt the same tools of those who oppress, and spread hate. May we have the courage to recognize and dismantle anything about our faith that supports white supremacy, nationalism, engages in dehumanization, justifies violence, exploits others, and defends empire. May we find the strength to follow Jesus’ incredibly difficult call to love our enemies, but to understand truly what that means- not to overlook or excuse harm, but in ways that dismantle violent systems that create enemies in the first place, to resist oppression, to love in ways that allow us to be transformed and to transform. Be with us as we wrestle with the tension and nuance of decrying any death at the hands of guns, while feeling angry about the culture and people that breed the very violence wrongly justified and used against others, and of which they can also become the victims of themselves.
Also, God, we name the exhaustion and sadness over ongoing violence in Gaza, Congo, Sudan, Ukraine. We grieve the ongoing demonization and terrorizing of immigrants. We grieve how division, selective outrage, and media inundation overshadows the cries of the marginalized. Draw us closer to you and to each other. Grant us wisdom and hope in all of the hopelessness.
As we move into the theme of our church year, “Cultivating the fruit of the spirit”, we recognize this fruit seemingly calling to us; a rising reminder in times like these: Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self Control. Manifest these bits of fruit-wisdom in all that we say and do as ones who seek to live out the gospel. Make us instruments of your peace.
We now join together in praying the prayer Jesus taught us, a prayer that reminds us of our sacred belonging- to God, to one another, and to the work of creating beloved community, we pray: Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. ~Amen
If you are grieving today on this 4th of July, 2025, you are not alone, and your grief is a sign of your genuine patriotism as one who deeply cares about “liberty and justice FOR ALL” and whose “love of country” isn’t a bastardized phrase used to exclude and harm. The passing of the deadly, big ugly bill signed today by a petty king-wannabe, isn’t reflective of freedom, it is cruel, intentional class warfare that rips independence from those whom Jesus stood with and gives more of it to those whom Jesus rebuked. It took courage to sign the Declaration of Independence in the face of tyranny, and today, we summon similar courage in the face of another tyrannical government, and we will continue the struggle toward liberation where until we are all free, none of us is.
Tonight, my partner, JohnE and I went to the movie theater to avoid the PTSD-inducing noise from our war-zone sounding neighborhood. When we got home, it was unfortunately still going strong and didn’t end until midnight. Our cats were hunched down in worry. Our dog pretty much snoozed through it all thankfully, in the comfort of his crate, but I felt sad for all the pets and wild animals, the environment, and the anxious. I don’t mind sparklers, fountains, and parades, but I bemoan that some feel the only way to celebrate is to be the most loud, obnoxious, illegal, and inconsiderate. I can’t not think about those in literal war zones, and feel a discord in the midst of fireworks that mimic bombs, made “pretty”. I recall my childhood days of streamer covered bicycles and flag waving parades in the park, and driveway sparklers and fountains finished by 10pm, our tummies full of homemade ice cream.
Today, in 2025, our family: this veteran, this chaplain (who was on call, and worked today), and this MSW student, stand in solidarity with the vulnerable, and the resonant aching hearts of Americans who so deeply care about equity, community, justice, safety, human rights, and access to resources that all people deserve. It is true patriotism to call out injustice, speak hard truths, and grieve the callous indifference of those in power, and those who either ignorantly, or willfully cheer it on. We will rise up and continue the work to make real the vision of an America who uplifts the WE (meaning ALL) in We the People, even though her current leaders strip away rights and trample on the constitution. While we grieve the deadly bill that is a vicious theft from the poor and hard working humans, and a massive emboldening of a terrorizing agency against immigrants, and a greedy, grotesque overflow funneled up to the rich, while it is being sold with lies to make us believe otherwise, we also celebrate the larger make-up of America: the one of resilience, the communities of care, the “good trouble” makers, the true patriots marching in the streets, the woke and the wise, who continue to serve in ways that matter, and who won’t ever give up making the word a better place, bringing about liberation, and being accountable to the “truths we hold…”
“Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference.” -Frederick Douglass
“A poem cannot stop a bullet. A novel can’t diffuse a bomb. But we are not helpless. We can sing the truth and name the liars.” -Salman Rushdie
A blog entry can’t stop a bullet or war, either. But here I am, writing, because I must. I write from a lens of a follower of Christ. Take what resonates, release what doesn’t from your own spiritual identities.
Are we “great” yet?
Will we ever learn?
I remember visiting the Museum of Nuclear Science and History in Albuquerque NM last summer, and seeing the massive Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), weighing in at 71,000 tons, labeled, “Peacekeeper MX”. Of course, it was used as a deterrent. But I would suggest there is something missing if we cannot notice, and at least grapple with, the oxymoron of such a combination. Peace…true peace, cannot co-exist with bombs. You cannot pretend peace is “power through strength” if that definition of strength involves violence. I know we live in the realities of war and evil. I am not suggesting passivity, but I endeavor to live into a different power, the one Jesus calls us to, not the army of “Christian” soldiers you marched to in a summer bible camp game with creepy song lyrics. It is not the peace during the Reagan years in which evangelical churches literally prayed for a small ICBM multi-entry vehicle, a missile with 4 warheads for selective targets. (Ask my partner about that experience growing up…) The peace Jesus calls us to is a peace that is not deceitful, pretending to be “strength” but it is that of true peace, the one that “begins with me” the one that “begins with a smile” the one that reminds us of belonging, the one that comes out of authentic awareness of who we are, peace as the “means by which we arrive” to lofty goals, the peace of “generosity….and dynamism”, the one that works for justice, not retribution, the calmness of heart in the midst of chaos, the breath of Jesus who embodied peace in ways that defy our learned, defensive behavior to turn to violence, or sit frozen in fear. (Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, Oscar Romero, Eckhart Tolle, Martin Luther King Jr., Jesus Christ…) Perhaps a utopian dream, but the peacemakers Jesus called blessed were not the ones like those sitting in oval offices laced with gaudy smatterings of golden trinkets, and preachers who declare such blessings with their hand on the one who would deport Jesus if he set foot in the U.S., who drops bombs in part to get in on the media attention.
There is not a lot we can be certain of, but when assessing the things that cause suffering in this nation, most of the time, we can be certain they are rooted in one or both of the following: capitalism and white supremacy. The actions that exploit and harm for profit in the industrial complexes of militarism, criminal injustice, war, power, and greed, are cogs in the oppressive, trampling wheels upon human lives and this precious planet’s destruction. The phony passion for violence and profit pretending to be patriotism has serious consequences Jesus would turn tables over. You know who should be the table-turners now? Us. We are the hands and feet of Christ.
In the midst of so much we cannot be certain of, we can be in wonder about the biblical prophets who spoke poetically, with a call for transformation, and to courage. Moral courage. They did not speak with false power. Peace is rooted in courage. The courage of peacemakers, not warmongers. Those prophets of old and their poetry cannot be reduced to ideology. Those prophets also remind us that we would be remiss to avoid the brokenness that is real, rather than denying it in order to focus on triumph and prosperity. Prophets in the Bible, they rose up and imagined a different world. “I am about to do a new thing, do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old, I am about to do a new thing, do you not perceive it?” -Isaiah 43:19. Notice how such a call to a moment of consideration is about the present. Prophecy is not fortune telling. It is truth telling. It is imagination, and creativity. The flaw and poor influence of the popular book series, “Left Behind” got it wrong. The power of prophecy lies in calling out what needs to change, what must be critically examined, and how we should get in the way of cycles that repeat and perpetuate exploitation, violence, and neglect. We see the misguided use of images of lions as representation of a “kingly Jesus” (of which Jesus would decry, for Christ is not of empire), where Christian nationalist exceptionalism pretends to care about Jewish people, when in reality, they portray a superficial pretense for their own salvation at the expense of Jews. Their allegiance to such a flawed eschatology is actually characteristic of antisemitism, which they claim to stand against. They continue to turn a blind eye, or even support belligerence toward Palestinians, ethnic cleansing, and colonialism. Jesus weeps.
I have struggled to find words, or perhaps effective responses for the wrath of evil we are seeing unfold in such a heightened manner under the Tr*mp dominance administration of oppressive power. To blog about it and try to keep up would mean multiple entries every.single.day. in order to keep up! (And some people are doing just that, God be with them!) Admittedly, the overwhelm has prevented me from doing so lately. But I know I am defeated if I do not try. That’s what they want- to overwhelm us to acquiescence. I refuse. Yet, Tr*mp is but a boil in the stench of a cesspool of colonialist, exploitative, false-power that is this country’s long, brutal history. And the infrastructure that brought us to this point will not go away when Tr*mp is gone. It could even produce worse, given that Tr*mp is so flagrantly unintelligent and incompetent with little to say but all-cap lies, and word salad speeches topped with disinformation, off-the-cuff “dumb-assery” and all of the incessant nonsense social media posts in between. (As my firstborn would say in response, “Sir, this is a Wendy’s.”) He is reckless and reactive, and his narcissism will be the death of us all. If his speeches ever make any amount of “sense”, albeit still riddled with cruelty, we can be fairly sure it’s white nationalist Stephen Miller speaking/writing instead, even though he likes to throw in all-cap rants as well. We should be even more concerned over his puppet-master manipulation of Tr*mp (as well as Putin and Netanyahu’s) as he implements his dream of what MAGA truly means: white supremacy, conceited, consolidated power, and greed. Tr*mp may not be stupid, but he was dumb enough to fall into dictator’s hands while he aspires to be one.
Tr*mp’s egomaniacal decision, as are many of his decisions, to drop bombs on Iranian nuclear development sites, isn’t about protection or “peace”. His social media posts have been a continuous barrage (no pun intended) of grandstanding, reflective of how dangerous it is to have a fickle narcissist in charge. After all, Tr*mp is the one who, in his first term, killed the JCPOA even though it was working (with which Obama patiently negotiated- because it takes time and hard work to engage in diplomatic negotiations- imagine that). But Tr*mp’s desire to pretend he is a success and savior, to try to take ownership, argued it was “bad”. (You know, like insisting Biden’s rescued and thriving economy is his, while he seeks to destroy it and later blame it on his adversaries. His favorite go-to in lack of accountability: the banal blaming of Biden…) And of course, predictably, Iran began uranium production again. And make no mistake, Tr*mp’s ego-based dominance, pretending his “brilliant” decision to bomb Iran (which with what we know so far, was largely unsuccessful in destroying anything of significance, while costing tax payers around $45 million), is textbook narcissism. And now, there is an even higher risk that Iran will be emboldened to in fact develop a nuke in the aftermath. Tr*mp and his ilk like to say they are bringing “peace” but it’s not about true peace, especially the peace that Christ blesses in his sacred words, “Blessed are the peacemakers”. It is rather for profit, whether it is financial stakes in companies invested in ongoing violence, war, prison/detainment centers, and gun manufacturing, or the profit of hubris. It is not the true strength of doing the hard work of patience, connection, discussion, community, humility, integrity, empathy, and bridge building. Tr*mp wants the focus on him, to have his ego stroked, and does so through distraction- an ongoing carrot-dangling to either please his sycophants and base, or to get us to forget his tyrannical behavior and utter failures. To act as if bombing Iran was only at war with their nuclear program is gaslighting we will not tolerate. Dropping bombs is an act of war. What his premature decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear building sites is about, has to do with other things in opposition of protection, peace, and diplomacy.
It also comes of no surprise, that in the midst of adding fuel to the fire and risks of escalation, that the SCOTUS lifted a lower court ruling that prevented the Tr*mp administration from deporting migrants to countries that aren’t even their places of origin. That move, by a court that has been usurped by Tr*mp loyalists, elevates fear of violence perpetrated against immigrants here, and in lands they could be sent to. In addition, it is yet another weakening of democracy. It erodes even further, a fundamental principle: that of due process. As Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dutiful dissent, joined by Justices Kagan and Jackson: “The government has made clear in word and deed that it feels itself unconstrained by law, free to deport anyone anywhere without notice or an opportunity to be heard.” There is more money to be made in government contracts with prisons and detention centers, and inhumane realities will rise within them. Even as such immoral practices have and will continue in the U.S. (i.e. Florida’s new detention center- more on that soon), it would behoove us to recall the way historical dictators shipped off human beings to places outside their own country to avoid accountability for the violence they would endure…
Every aim of the FOTUS (no, that’s not a typo; what should we expect when a 34x convicted felon is in charge?), is to consolidate power, and undermine democracy, which with war there, will provide even more leverage to harm us here. So, while the escalation with Iran has its own worrisome risks for many, it is also a rising risk for the United States’ ability to prevent authoritarian, tyrannical rule. Tr*mp’s declaration for “National Emergencies” has been at a record high among presidents, and we’re only 6 months into this fiasco! It is an excuse to deregulate important protections in place, to evade congressional approval, impose idiotic tariffs, and override state officials who are saying no to the administration’s federalizing of the National Guard and troop deployments in our own cities. And while domestic terrorism is the biggest threat to America (most recently evident in the largely ignored by Tr*mp, assassination of congresswoman, Melissa Hortman, her partner, Mark and their dog, Gilbert, as well as the recent tragic murder of two firefighters by a reportedly gun-obsessed young man with N*zi tendencies), Tr*mp will invoke the word “terrorism” even more now, but not in its appropriate direction, but in furthering xenophobia and manipulation to drive fear and islamophobia, and justify “crackdowns” on those who don’t meet “American” expectations. (Tr*mp has been too busy profiting- again- off the American duped by announcing his new cologne line instead of saying anything yet about the assassination of the firefighters in Idaho.) This is white nationalism and fascism in full force. In addition, Tr*mp childishly posted the “bomb Iran” song with total indifference to innocent lives lost. The lyrics in that song are disturbing and disgusting. It is a shameful embarrassment. It is nowhere near any resemblance of true leadership, let alone anything near to Jesus-peace. Tr*mp wants peace? He is peace? I think not.
With the same ignorance of Iraqi people and culture during the Iraq war, we are now perpetuating the same with Iran. How many Iranian people are we currently hearing from about what’s going on right now? (A former professor of mine provided a list of some to follow and read- see list below- I have much to continue to learn in that realm, too!) For the U.S. to fear monger about Iran as a serious threat, whether they are or not, is another ironic position, given the bombing, war, and nuclear weapons stock that outweighs Iran’s reality and potentiality. How many nuclear weapons does Iran have compared to the U.S, Russia, Israel, etc.? Zero. For now…Of course nobody wants Iran to have nuclear bombs, but nobody should. And yes, Iran’s government is tyrannical and dismissive of human rights, but are we also paying attention to the erosion of rights here in the U.S., too? The tyranny that is spreading? We are missing where the larger threats and massive destruction capabilities are truly coming from, in addition to from where genocide and war is funded, and even being exulted, in boastful, toxic dominion rhetoric. Author, professor, historian, Timothy Snyder reminds us in his “5 Things to Remember About War: 1. Many things reported with confidence in the first hours or days will turn out not to be true. 2. Whatever they say, the people who start wars are often thinking chiefly about domestic politics. 3. The rationale given for a war will change over time, such that actual success or failure in achieving a named objective is less relevant than one might think. 4. Wars are unpredictable. 5. Wars are easy to start and hard to stop.”
The hypocrisy of funding billions of dollars for the military industrial complex, funding ICE whose money has run dry in its grotesque excessive use, and pretending “fraud and waste” prevention justifies allowing children to starve, die, and suffer under the dismantling of USAID, the removal and erosion of social safety nets (the Big, Ugly Bill), and complicity in war/genocide is abhorrently anti-Christ. To zip-tie people in wheelchairs as they protest, to enrich the ultra-wealthy at the expense of the rest of us, is utterly disgraceful. Oligarchy and democracy cannot coexist. The idea of selling off millions of acres of public lands for oil, logging, tech-bro profits, and AI environmental destruction, removing tax incentives for clean energy, pushing us over the edge of the already fragile environmental crisis, isn’t reflective of our responsibility to care for the earth. This bill is a moral travesty. People will literally die if it passes. It further militarizes this nation, over-funding cruelty, while decimating funds that support human flourishing, and relieve financial burdens on the poor, middle, and working class. The sickness of excessive racism, materialism, and militarism MLK Jr. warned us of, continues today. Speaking of prophets, the spiritual death he warned about has been spiraling for decades. “A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on war than programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
Tonight, as I post this, we wait with trepidation upon the imminent passing of a bill that will cause such devastation and ruin for decades to come, handing future generations trauma and heavy burdens, while the ultra-wealthy will be the only beneficiaries of money they wouldn’t even know was missing if it were used in humane ways. Profit over people. Only 29% of Americans* actually approve of the bill, which is indicative of the GOP’s loyalty to Tr*mp, not us- even those who voted for him. It is mind boggling, to think this could be our reality as we approach a holiday supposedly about freedom, where fireworks traumatize a large percentage of our population (and devastate wildlife), of this nation’s promises fallen short (see Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave is the 4th of July”), to where our very fought for freedoms are eroding before us.
SCOTUS recently issued a ruling that limits the ability for federal judges to issue universal injunctions. And as is commonplace for the Tr*mp administration, the spin is that our judicial system is weaponized against Tr*mp, when the reality is, the Tr*mp administration is eroding the check of the judicial system so they can weaponize it against others. (The accusations-are-confessions truism is a common thread of Tr*mpism rhetoric and attacks.) “With the stroke of a pen, the President has made a ‘solemn mockery’ of our Constitution,” Justice Sotomayor wrote. “Rather than stand firm, the Court gives way. Because such complicity should know no place in our system of law, I dissent.” It is not hyperbole to acknowledge the existential threat this poses to the constitution, and to the rights of vulnerable people, and to all of us subsequently.
When profit rules over prophets, and when societies have lost their way, concentration camps are built with redirected tax payer/stolen FEMA money, built literally surrounded by alligators as “deterrents” to escapees, and then smirkingly boasted about by a press secretary, who conveniently wasn’t wearing her usual cross necklace while announcing it. (Not that it ever stopped her before in spewing blasphemy and the regurgitation of lies in an effort to normalize it all.) We are not a civilized, enlightened society when we build such camps that profit off the exploitation of and cruelty towards human beings, and sell merchandise with “Alligator Alcatraz” on it like we are attending a concert with front row seats to barbarism and flesh-hungry alligators. I can’t believe this is our current, shameful reality. Only wicked hearts speak about alligator infested concentration camps with glee. As is reiterated, time and time again: Cruelty is the point.
What has unfolded in the first half of the first year of this administration is predictable, pathetic, dangerous, and reckless.
Politics is one of my top interests, yet I do not claim to be an expert. However, it is my/our responsibility to understand and to think critically about it, and to seek out solid resources for guidance along the way. (Beware of false prophets.) My studies and learnings have been largely centered in theology and compassionate care, social justice and intersectionality, and even as that is an ongoing, personal learning and transformation, where I will fall short, and try again, I turn to the prophets of ancient and modern times who reveal the truth and calling for us all. For all the narratives out there about flawed “end times” theology, literally being used to justify war, violence and disarray in the Middle East, I am baffled there isn’t more concern that the U.S. may have elected and put into power the very antichrist they fear and use to justify their myopic, misguided hope of Jesus’ literal return. The idolatry of Christian Nationalism is rampant in the U.S. now, and Tr*mp is at the helm (with white nationalist Stephen Miller commanding his every word and move). Perhaps MAGA has chosen to follow the wrong God. If we share a concern over what the model of an antichrist means, even symbolically, and if we believe that good and evil have very real consequences, we might realize that the moment is now to recognize the anti-christ(s) in our midst. And part of being against all that is anti-christ, is to name evil. Even as Tr*mp is beloved in God’s eyes, as all living beings are, his embodiment of evil brings Jesus to weep. We shall continue to name such evils, and protest their influence.
We must discern those who act for profit from those who are benevolently prophetic. Think about Revelation 13: “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” Much of the establishments’ parties and the spineless have decided the answer is, “we are” and “no-one.” They won’t oppose him; they deem their resistance as futile, and so they legitimize Tr*mp’s positions emboldening his power, while those who have the guts to oppose him risk ridicule and political defeat. Think about Tr*mp’s own life, filled with serial adultery, sexual violence, an irrefutable tapestry of lies, his abhorrent, vulgar language. (No, I’m not talking about the time he said, “They don’t know what the f*ck they’re talking about- which was another example of an accusation as a confession. And even as that certainly wasn’t presidential of him, his speeches in general stink of crassness and indecency, as well is idiocy.) His obsession with materialism and attention, his criminal behavior, his trampling of the constitution, etc., etc. all point to a beast. Think about “the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words” as he panders to professed Christians, demanding loyalty at the expense of the reverence toward the Christ they profess to follow. Think about later passages in Revelation where we are warned about the false prophet who leads people astray, and now we have hoards of evangelical Christians who find comfort in the prosperity gospel, and believe Tr*mp is likened to the persecution of Christ himself. Jesus refused to make pacts with he devil, in direct opposition of Tr*mp cult followers, even some from pulpits, who disregard Tr*mp’s immorality, criminality, as an excuse to further the cause of their “gospel”, making Tr*mp the anti-christ he might in fact want to be. But that is a betrayal of the Gospel, and a trap into playing god by declaring a larger purpose (to the detriment of the vulnerable with which Jesus actually stood), and wherein they become gods themselves. And although we could dive deeper, I will point out one last item about Tr*mp’s anti-Christ-ness. Even if coincidental, it is still a symbolic cautionary to think about the “name of the beast and the number of its name” on the forehead. I’m inclined to wonder if years from now, red MAGA hats in antique stores will make shoppers cringe as when coming across items of clothing with N*zi symbols, haunted and faded, raising moral questions about why one would ever want to collect them (let alone wear them now…).
Tr*mp may not be the anti-christ (that would give him too much credit), but he is an antichrist. We must reject what parades as prophesy but is truly demonic, what parades as Christlike when the words and actions he spews, and some of his followers mimic, only reject Christ, even if they may not realize it. Indeed, the prophecy of Revelation provides for us: “A call for the endurance of saints” to fully reject the fraudulent POTUS and his disciples of deceit, in addition to any power structure that thrives in capitalism, complicity with war and violence, and white supremacy.
Biblical prophets call us to reject Tr*mpism. “Love thy neighbor”, “every good tree bears good fruit”, “pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”, Jesus himself saw through the devil’s temptations, and focus on selfishness and serving of ego, which he knew were not in service to God (Mt. 4:1-11); wicked schemes, false tongues, and haughtiness stirring up strife and doing what is clearly wrong (Proverbs 6:16-19). Let’s see, what else: Psalm 1:1 (sitting in the company of mockers), John 3:20-21(hiding from the light), Psalm 36:1-4 (self flattery), Luke 12:1-15 (greed and abundance of possessions), Proverbs 19:20 (being willing to learn from correction), Isaiah 5:18-23 (what sorrow for those who say evil is good and good is evil…(accusations are confessions), what sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever)- the propaganda, the dismantling of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies, the sin of American evangelicalism scofflaw (Proverbs 26:4-5). 2 Chronicles 7:14, and on and on and on. Whose will will we follow? “God will give them a strong delusion…” 2 Thessalonians 2:11. See the golden idol, with his profit making bible, who also refused to place his own hand upon a Bible as he sworelied his oath of office, bent on revenge. Have we not noticed the symbolism of difference when Tr*mp’s first term and second term presidential photos are juxtaposed? Have we not paid attention to how he thinks only losers have compassion and empathy, all of which flies in the face of the prophet Micah who reminds us that our true endeavor is to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly?
We are all called to do our part. Whether through writing, speaking, marching, protesting, calling congress leaders, making art, writing poetry like the prophets of antiquity, sending notecards, acting in service and protection to others, especially those at risk of being harmed by Tr*mp’s policies, and so much more, God has equipped us with gifts to discern what is false and what is prophetically Christlike. I may not be able to write as well as others already have and will, but I cannot be silent. We are all obligated to share, and say aloud what we know, what we’ve learned, to make connections, to continue to strengthen our communities in the shadow of tyranny. To be the dissenting dutiful. To keep feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the least of these. Many have contributed their voice in profound ways, from whom I have learned from, who inspire me, and give me hope.
Of the profits and prophets, may we discern between them. May we lift people over profit in the way of Christ. For profits will be dressed in false prophecy. And true prophets will be twisted into enemies. But if the prophets you interpret aren’t calling you to an alignment of peace that insists on human flourishing now, you have missed the incessant return of Jesus, happening here and now, most ever so in those whom false prophets would have you fear, loathe, other; in those who are kidnapped by masked agents on the streets, and in the faces of those who lose their healthcare, SNAP benefits, choices, and autonomy, their freedom to love; in the sacred pristine public lands of divinely created lushness where all God’s creatures live, waiting to be sold off, in the faces of those snatched by terrorists, and in the faces of those who lie under the rubble of war crimes.
If you are grieving today on this 4th of July, 2025, you are not alone, and your grief is a sign of your genuine patriotism as one who deeply cares about “liberty and justice FOR ALL” and whose “love of country” isn’t a bastardized phrase used to exclude and harm. The passing of the deadly, big ugly bill signed today by a petty king-wannabe, isn’t reflective of freedom, it is cruel, intentional class warfare that rips independence from those whom Jesus stood with and gives more of it to those whom Jesus rebuked. It took courage to sign the Declaration of Independence in the face of tyranny, and today, we summon similar courage in the face of another tyrannical government, and we will continue the struggle toward liberation where until we are all free, none of us is.
Regardful Reverend 