He's Not The Messiah, He's A Very Naughty Boy!

As many of you know, in a former life I was an evangelical Christian. I still like to keep tabs on what happens in this world. My go to is a website called the Christian Post, who post a variety of articles from Christian thinkers and their positions on real world events. These articles are often thought provoking and an interesting insight into the culture. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I do not. But the real fun is to be had in the comments section that follow each piece. Now I've been around the internet, and I know that there's a lot of crazy out there. But if you want to find it all in one place, then dive into these realms. You want Trump fans? Tick. You want election deniers? Tick. Covid conspiracy theorists, mask objectors, climate deniers? Tick tick tick. It is the wild west. It is the most bizarre enclave you can imagine. So naturally I spend a lot of time there. Now please note that I do not go there to troll, but I do have a tactic that I deploy. I might, for example, gently point out that Trump lost over 60 court cases, that his own Attorney General along with the FBI and local government have failed to find any evidence of fraud. I get some serious flack for that. The insults are predictable, as is the obsession with ALL CAPS and appalling grammar. These good ol' boys and girls do love a bit of Trumpty Dumpty. You'd think he was the Messiah. Any talk to the contrary results in a whirlwind of crazy. I've been labelled as an Antifa lover. I've been told to "Mind my business" more times than I can recall. I've been accused of getting my news only from CNN and refusing to acknowledge the facts. Talking of facts, if you really want to put the cat amongst the pigeons then suggest, as I have, that despite every attempt to get Trump removed, it actually took a small army of gun toting, confederate flag waving Christians to get the job done. You can be certain that it was Trump loving Christians that comprised the majority of the zombie army that blundered into the Capitol building. But when I point this out, well let's just say the results aren't pretty. It was antifa plants apparently. A leftist conspiracy, no less. When I gently invite them to watch the Youtube confessions from the hoarde directly, this results in even greater agitation. You see, what has happened is that many are so far down the rabbit hole that there is no turning back. It isn't entirely unlike lifetime Christian's who've invested body and soul into their cherished belief. I have no issue with the latter, because a person is free to hold the views they wish to hold. I may find them perplexing. I might wonder how it is these views can be reconciled with the way the world is. But most of the Christian's I know here in the UK are just lovely people. Kind, wise, warm, and considered. I expect this is true in America, but they certainly aren't the one's posting on the Christian Post. This appears to be a holding area for the deranged, for the grammatically challenged. For those whom have been bewildered and deceived into believing what many of us find absurd. What is interesting is that if you look at the profiles of some of the people who post, you see that they often hold the same suite of views. Again I refer to climate deniers, mask objectors etc. Now whilst it is amusing watching these people try to square the fact that it was Trumps base that actually destroyed him rather than his real enemies, it is also really sad. These people are reeling. The entire edifice is crumbling, and they've no enemy to point to but themselves. And what we are seeing is a sub section of people having to come to terms with this real time. They destroyed their own idol, sacrificed their own golden calf. And they did so at his command. The die was cast the moment the zombie hoarde set off in the direction of the Capitol. All fired up with conspiracy talk and a hatred of the establishment. All of them signed up to every last dismal lie that Trump ever told and which they had imbibed. An army of the credulous discharged by a conman. How did any of us think this would end? Still, there remains a part of me that hopes there's a way back for these lost souls. They are not all bad. They are just lost right now. Reeling. My nature inclines to compassion for the defeated, and there's never been a defeat so great and as self inflicted as this one. We don't have to agree with these folks. It won't hurt to show a little pity.