Trump +1294: The Rubicon

Our area is flooded with signs and flags: Trump 2020: No More Bulls---

But with Trump, that's all you get. What a strange moment – the candidate Evangelicals continue to rally around, the same Evangelicals who decried the degradation of the presidential office under Clinton, has brought the office lower than it has ever been in history. For those old enough to remember, can you even imagine such a moment that the unofficial 'Christian' candidate would have an unofficial campaign slogan like that?

Thank you Donald Trump for normalising such vulgarity. Now I (and my kids) cannot leave my house without seeing profanity-laced signage spread across the landscape – and it's fed a larger toleration of such expressions within the culture. The bumper-stickers and all the rest have only gotten worse during Trump's tenure. Sadly, the president does seem to set a tone for the culture. People are sheep in the end. And to those Christians supporting him – Well done! Thank you.

Repeatedly were told this is the most consequential election in your lifetime and you must vote. Some will go so far as to suggest that you're sinning if you don't. The Democrats are pure evil –having enshrined sodomy and abortion in their political platform and popular Right-wing belief also informs the masses that the DNC is made up of socialists and even communists – in other words they're anti-American traitors, or so we are to believe. Bircherism has been re-born even though it still is based on lies and misperceptions.

I never thought the day would come that I would actually endorse something written by Gary North but Scary Gary is speaking the truth when he recently argued that Marxism isn't even on the American spectrum – that neither the Democrats nor the activists on the streets are even remotely Marxists. It's probably the most truthful thing that's ever come out of his otherwise heretical mouth.

The truth is a vote for Biden or a vote for Trump produces the same result – more of the same. That's a wasted vote to use the parlance of democracy activists. I should know. I used to berate people for failing to vote but of course when I actually started reading the New Testament I realised that we have no business voting, participating in the system, endorsing it and its evils. Let the dead bury their dead. Nation will rise against nation, there will be wars and rumours of wars. We're told not to be troubled. Pay our taxes, obey the laws as far as we can. Study to be quiet, working with our hands, praying, worshipping, bearing witness, suffering and bringing glory to God as we are persecuted for being faithful even as we proclaim both doom and hope to a dying world.

It doesn't matter who wins. The consensus circle is pretty small. There will be slight fluctuations in policy – the biggest difference being style. Trump is the ugly and unmasked face of the Wall Street system – the side the Establishment doesn't want the public to see. He may be a 'rogue' when it comes to Atlanticism but Wall Street (which has considerable pull) clearly loves him. He may be on the edge of the consensus circle but he's no outsider.

There are real factions and conflicts within the US Establishment and yet from the perspective of New Testament Christianity they're all evil – all products of lost thinking and evil aspirations. Both factions are pro-Wall Street and pro-Empire. Both parties represent a system of perpetual war and the exploitation (through theft and murder) of other peoples across the globe. To pretend one party is more moral because they don't officially endorse sodomy or abortion – is to miss the forest through the trees.

I fear a Trump victory because it will mean more Trumpism in the Church – more libertarianised theology, more vulgarity, with some of the ugliest aspects of the Christian Right granted greater standing.

I fear a Trump defeat because it will further fuel the already present hysteria and the completely misguided fear of communism – the old bogeyman that was used to convert Fundamentalists into GOP Evangelicals during the twentieth century. A Trump defeat will provoke a dangerous reaction and I can say for the sake of my testimony with regard to Christ – I don't want to even be associated with such people.

There's no good outcome with regard to Ameri-christianity. Either way dark days are ahead as the Evangelical and Confessional worlds are torn apart by two tendencies – one a tendency toward Right-wing Libertarian-type politics, ethics and theology which are an absolute satanic poison and a world-compromising, Middle Class values driven spirit of accommodation and compromise. Both alternatives are unacceptable. Both are given over mammon and thus with it the sword as well. The one faction brandishes the sword – their badge of honour and the sign of their reprobation. The other turns a blind eye to their compromise with Wall Street and the American political order. They refuse to see the sword it 'respectably' wields and in their desperation to stay relevant and mainstream they continue to compromise all across the spectrum of ethics – even while they have scores of 'Bible teachers' churning out materials proclaiming how Biblical and Scriptural are their compromises and capitulations.

I hope for society's sake it's a clear-cut victory for one candidate or the other.

Trump warns that it will be the most corrupt election ever – clearly he's worried that's he going to lose. And yet if he wins we can be certain that the voting was 'perfect' and probably even 'beautiful'.

In the meantime there are real dangers to society. Some have pointed to the events in Portland – federal troops operating outside the spectrum of local control or coordination, coupled with Trump's hint at a delayed election as a flirtation with fascism or even an attempted coup.

Then add in the misinformation floating around in the news coverage and social media and the deliberate disinformation in other cases and the situation becomes even more critical.

Listening to the Family Life Network (FLN), I was appalled to hear their coverage of Attorney General William Barr's testimony before congress – an event that included some grandstanding and drama. FLN decided to ignore the story and focus on the congressional attack against Barr – minus any of the audio. They then cut away to a clip of Right-wing shill Ben Shapiro expressing outrage that congress was trying to discredit Barr by identifying him with Trump. In addition to being a clear case of misdirection and spin it was frankly incoherent and made little sense. But that's all FLN covered. They then moved on to the next story. Nothing to see here. It was a case of egregious propaganda and spin. I am sad to report that tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of professing Christians in the Mid-Atlantic region rely on that station for their 'news'.

But in the process they ignored the fact that congress was especially harsh with Barr because he has repeatedly held them in contempt and refused to appear before them. He finally did, and so yes, they gave him a grilling. But even this was mostly for show with one of the senators publicly shaming him – in a manner probably meant to evoke Joseph Welch and his public shaming of Joseph McCarthy in 1954.

But you wouldn't have known any of this listening to FLN – the radio station that purports to report the news from a Christian worldview. Supposedly the only controversy was that the liberals in congress wanted to use Barr to smear Trump.

There's another layer to the story and that's the fact that despite the way the media wants to present Trump and the way he's perceived by some as a would be dictator – he's actually the weakest president we've seen in a very long time.

His incompetence and inability to organise his thoughts and agenda are palpable. He wants to 'make America great' and yet he has weakened America's hand on the international stage and has as a consequence of the Trumpian vacuum – strengthened the hands of nations such as China, Russia, Germany, Saudi Arabia and other nations (both enemies and rivals) that would project power in their respected regions.

On the international stage he has accomplished nothing and has in fact undercut the political interests of Washington and in other cases the economic interests of Wall Street. The Iran situation is a mess. The North Korea summits were failures. There's been no deal with China. Maduro is still in charge of Venezuela. Trump's government has opposed Russia but has been unable to curtail its economic and energy deals with Europe. The Syrian War was lost.

A would-be authoritarian, Trump is totally inept and infantile and he hasn't the foggiest idea of how to rule or exert his power. Covid-19 would be reckoned a gift by any other would-be strongman. He could have used these events to consolidate his power and if he had wanted to take down the American system or even project raw power overseas – he could have done so.

But instead he has squandered every bit of political capital he possessed and has been left looking like a wide-eyed child subject to tantrum – pointing fingers and blaming others – even while state governors stepped up and took over the leadership role that has for decades fallen to US presidents.

Trump clearly does not have the strategic savvy to organise and order federal troops into cities like Portland. His Bible-brandishing stunt in Lafayette Square was the best he could come up with – and it was just that, a stunt. It played to his base, scared some but largely came across as child-like, a playground charade in response to his embarrassment over the media reports of his being taken to the bunker.

If anything the coordinated application of presidential authoritarianism on American streets has been whispered into his unimaginative ear and the figure at work in the administration that's orchestrating the federal response to these events is clearly Barr. He may be a Trumpite, but more likely he represents the interests of other powers within and behind the US government. A strong advocate of the Unitary Executive theory, Barr must be disappointed as Trump has proven incompetent and incapable of bringing it to bear on the pressing questions of the hour.

Despite Trump's weakness, figures like Barr are acting and pressing ahead. Because while Trump tweets and fiddles and is sidetracked by minutiae there are those worried about what's happening on the streets. And make no mistake – figures like Pelosi and Schumer are not with the protestors. They're just as worried and looking for scapegoats.

Trump has also divided and weakened the US military. He's thrown money at it and indeed even the latest round of subsidies includes provisions for massive military spending. And yet, Trump has weakened the military by his bumbling policies and leadership. The general staff and the military's civilian leaders failed to understand the gravity of the moment and have allowed  politicisation to break out in the ranks – allowing military members in uniform to appear on live television and contradict and criticise not just the president but other military leaders and their actions. Some in the military view him as a hero. Others are appalled at what they are seeing and the way in which discipline has broken down. Even attempting to correct military abuse (such as with the Special Forces) has resulted in White House interference – which only further weakens the authority structure within the Pentagon. There are a lot of officers that are not happy with what they are seeing.

Trump wants the military to act. He wants to turn them loose on the street and yet they continue to resist. Once again Trump doesn't know how to use his power and the military is growing wary of him. One is reminded of the Nixon era when his increasingly erratic behaviour led officials in the White House to warn the Pentagon to effectively ignore him if he were to order some kind of massive attack.

And while it's not going to be said publically there have been hints from DNC quarters that a military action contra Trump (as in a soft coup) would be accepted and approved. The Democratic Party is no more concerned about the Constitution than the GOP and its phoney Originalist camp.

No matter how you look at it – from the standpoint of politics, the economy, social consensus or even America's international standing (it's Empire) – the system is starting to collapse. The cracks have widened and the building is starting to shake. Trump has not made 'America Great Again' – he's driving society (and tangentially the Church) across the Rubicon. The Church shouldn't be affected by a presidency but the dominant theology of the day as well as the multitudes of corrupted teachers and Church leaders have softened the ground and planted the rotten seeds which are even now beginning to bear fruit. In other words their theology has created the conditions in which the Trumpian political climate is certain to affect the Church. Truly they are the Balaams of our day.

And remember Covid isn't done. We haven't yet fully experienced, understood or appreciated the magnitude of the economic fallout or the scope of the sickness and its aftereffects.

The years to come will be dominated by narrative spin and paybacks – probably coming from both sides of the American political spectrum.

Leaders will be looking for people to blame and they will feed and capitalise on the bitterness and anger associated with this period. And there's no escaping it.

2020 represents the culmination of the Trump movement – a second term can only mean further degradation and collapse. 2020 has been an unforgettable year to be sure but with all the frustrations I wonder how many understand that it is in reality a dangerous moment? And this is true not just with regard to society but with regard to the Church. To repeat the already used but still appropriate cliché, a Rubicon is being crossed. But I fear that due to short memories, ignorance and the fog of false teaching, many will miss the moment or at best misidentify it. Despite the Cassandra-like warnings coming from the Right, the US isn't about to fall to communist revolution but (and far more importantly) the American Church is at a crosswords in which a large segments risks falling of the fascistic cliff – leaving the faithful with painfully few options in the years to come.