A Fork in the Road
By
Jens Lelie
for "Unsplash"
By
Jens Lelie
for "Unsplash"
I haven't written very much on my blog over the last six months. A little more than half way through 2025, I became overwhelmed by news of the day. Some of my readers noticed a shift to the inclusion of political topics in my writing and on Facebook. I was distracted by the chaos in our government.
I have to point out that, when Satan moves into the White House, one cannot believably pretend that nothing untoward has happened. But it DID throw me for a loop and I haven't done much blogging since this started. I needed to find my bearings
The primary question is whether or not I should allow this governmental chaos to claim my attention, instead of just continuing on with my meditation and contemplation and ignoring the circus in Washington, D.C., no matter how crazy it gets.
Members of Donald Trump's cult will complain at my characterizing him as Satan, but my guess is that, while his resolutely committed cult members will always refuse to see anything wrong with almost anything he does, those who voted for him because they believed that he was the lesser of two evils, or for some other particular reason, are probably getting ready to concede that there are many problems with his administration because he is an inveterate, constant liar, and his actions have caused chaos for all of us.
by
D.J. Paine
on "Unsplash"
For instance, he campaigned on "no new wars" then went on to attempt to start several himself. We are in the middle of one right now - in Iran, which he decided to start bombing about a month ago. I live in New Mexico, which I believe is some kind of military target. That is a heavy distraction for me.
(I believe that the primary driving force that impels Trump toward war is that he intends to use an active war as the method by which he could suspend the next elections indefinitely, and thereby escape the criminal prosecutions that are sure to immediately follow upon his leaving office. During his last campaign, he said, more than once, that his followers should be sure and get out the vote for him and then it would be the last time they would "have to" vote for him because he would remain in office from that time forward, supposedly. Was I supposed to be spending time warning my fellow citizens of the implications of all this?)
By
Maria Oswalt
On "Unsplash"
Trump also promised to lower prices of groceries "on day one" but, because of the actions of his administration, grocery prices have continued to skyrocket to the point where many of us are having to make drastic cuts to our typical purchases. Like most of the seniors I know, I live on a fixed income and, at the end of the month, even my freezer is bare, which has not been the customary condition in the years I have lived here. I do not like to see my fellow citizen made to suffer because the head of our country does not care about the citizens. I do not want to see anyone suffer.
I am also concerned for our beloved little animals. I have to calculate the exact number of cans of vegetables and salmon to make my dog's food, so I don't run out before the end of the month, and I am also having to stress myself trying to organize my menus a month ahead of time, despite cooking being an extremely painful activity, due to chronic disabling conditions in my joints, making it torture to have to stand in the kitchen.
Charlemagne, BELLY UP!
by
Silver Rose
Many people have said that they have had to cut meat out of their diet entirely. Nor can they relax with a pleasant drive that is not strictly utilitarian because the gas prices have also become challenging to the average budget. This is beginning to appear to be quite serious. I wonder at times if I should be speaking up more about it.
Grocery Display Case
by
Alan Alves
on "Unsplash"
The American people are suffering, and this is the OPPOSITE of what Trump promised. Do I owe them something, since I have a voice?
The complete and immediate release of the entire Epstein files was ALSO vowed, but as soon as he got into office, Trump's administration refused to release most of it, while all of it is being heavily redacted, DESPITE there being an actual LAW requiring it!
At the same time, we are told that Trump's name appears more than a million times in the entire collection, which belies his claim that the two of them weren't close.
Trump additionally keeps asserting that he walked away from Epstein long before he actually did that. He knew what Epstein was all about. He was in Epstein's inner circle, and Epstein himself said that Trump was his best friend. I believe that his death in prison was not a suicide but obviously a murder. There is a lot more to his story than we will probably ever know.
Files
by
George Diama
On "Unsplash"
Trump's lies about the topic of Epstein are the most virulent and persistent, but no one (even the most devoted cult member) wants to let him off the hook about it, due to all the stories and hints and claims about underage girls. We are all tired of pedophiles getting away with savaging our children and grandchildren. There is evidence that the stories about Trump and the underaged are at least partly true, though I suspect that Epstein was far more sophisticated and prolific in that arena than the baby-faced Trump of the 1980's.
It appears to me that Epstein was much more dangerous than Trump and more active in the pursuit of underaged sex objects, because he seemed to be almost addicted to this lifestyle, and he pursued it as if it was his JOB (and perhaps it WAS an employment, judging from the number of wealthy people connected to him.) In years to come, I am willing to bet that it is Trump's concern for his friends, more than just for himself, that has him worried about the Epstein files.
Looking at the picture of him and Jeffrey (above), Trump looks to be more of a doughy youngster than a sex beast, despite being 11 years older than Epstein.
I could probably do an entire blog post about Trump's friendship with Epstein, but that would be playing into Satan's hands! He would love it if I were to meditate on HIM instead of Christ.
I will just say, however, that, in the interest of fairness, I feel compelled to point out that what Epstein was doing, with the bizarre sex gambits,, parties, etc., was an epidemic among the famous and wealthy during the late 60's through the 1980's, at least. Perhaps it is still going on. But neither he nor Trump invented this sex-crazed world view.
We know, though, that neither Trump nor Epstein is responsible for the vulgar, hideous and sinful destruction of innocence but that it is Satan himself who does this through these people.
The more crazy things became, the more I began to feel that Satan was stealing my attention away from where it is supposed to rest - on Christ. By paying attention to every nutty story, I felt some instability and some discomfort at having to have any of my attention resting on the evil one.
One day I WILL write something about how our society has degraded itself, starting in the 1970's and how we really need to go back to a more innocent time. Sexual profligacy is not good for anyone. Yes, it is sinful - but what does "sinful" mean, other than something tha t is toxic to our spiritual selves? I think a lot of people are confused about this area of our lives and I would like to write about it one day when I feel up to the task. I know one thing, though, you cannot force people to be holy. One must inspire them. Not an easy feat, I am sure.
Woman Praying
by
Josh Applegate
for "Unsplash"
Several historians make the point that Trump's approach to life was cooked in the foul cauldron of the 1970s. He wasn't friends with Epstein until sometime in the mid to late 1980's. But the 1970's formed Trump in a way that made him more susceptible to Epstein's debauchery, even though Epstein was a decade younger than he was.
I was in a position to have some insight into this milieux directly because, in the 1970's, I was very involved in the television industry. I was writing television story treatments for shows like the original "Charlie's Angels, " and doing episodic show development for Aaron Spelling, who had asked me to submit my ideas for a new television series. I was also employed for a couple of years at a start-up literary agency and I dabbled in television production at 20th Century Fox. I was introduced to the business through my father's connections.
By
Benoit Debaix
for "Unsplash"
Obviously, I was familiar with the famous and monied "movers and shakers" of the entertainment industry of that era - at least on the West Coast, and I had to fend off a lot of the frightening perversion that felt like an epidemic. (I remember working as the personal secretary for a very famous actor at his home office during a short temporary job where, even though his wife was typically home all day, the actor was constantly "hitting on me" and I just had to quit that job. He kept asking the agency to send me back to him and I refused. It was a scary time. Men had become predatory.)
Abortion was legalized in 1973. Coming just on the heels of the invention and distribution of the birth control pill in the 1960's, those two factors gave the young female population the relief of a sure-fire method of avoiding pregnancy, thereby eliminating one of the prime aversions to behaving in a "loose" manner.
By
Iryna Studenets
on "Unsplash"
All of those influences, combined with the hippy dippy "free love" propaganda of the 60's, resulted in a huge surge of sexual experimentation that neither Trump nor Epstein invented. My impression is that Epstein developed what I believe to be an absolute addiction for perversion, and he had enough money to create an entire industry out of it. Fame and money can endow a man, who otherwise has only a passing attractiveness, with an allure that could conceivably act like a "sex trap" for young women.
Anyway, I am pretty sure that Trump was acting up and speaking up just like many other wealthy tycoons. It does not make his actions acceptable but we do not have to pretend as if he was the only one either.
By
Igor Omilaev
on "Unsplash"
As far as his lies are concerned: Trump has admitted in one recent speech that he thinks that if he calls the bombing of Iran a "military action" instead of a "war" that he does not have to get approval from the Congress. He is wrong about that, but the GOP has the majority at the moment, and they are not stopping him. We will have to wait until he is out of office, at which time he will be prosecuted for the many crimes he is committing with wild abandon. In the meantime, he is so proud of his ability to hoodwink his followers that he cannot resist bragging about his dishonest methods.
Here is a clip of Trump admitting that he uses the term "military operation" instead of "war" because he knows that he is supposed to get approval to start a war: (You may have to copy and paste into your browser's address bar to get this.)
I cannot stop thinking about how it says in the Bible that Satan is the "father of all lies." Also, I feel compelled to say SOMETHING because Trump's administration is not conducting "business as usual." We are in actual danger of losing our system of government entirely, as he has thrown out the precepts of the Constitution entirely. You can be sure that when we lose our freedoms, that will include our freedom of religion. We do not want THAT.
One of 7 miniatures from a 1470 breviary
by
McGill Library
on "Unsplash"
Some of Trump's promises were kept, however, but we wish he hadn't. He promised to be a "dictator on "day one" and he does not disappoint on that score.
I find it disturbing that we are going through this sudden slide into autocracy because, not only was our entire system of governance based largely upon our reaction to the ultimate of authoritarian governments: the oppressive monarchy of England, against which we raged in the Revolutionary War, but also after wresting our freedom from "The Crown," we created a government that was specifically balanced between three branches of government, all of them being co-equal with one another. But this was necessary in order to avoid ending up with an authoritarian model of some sort. Authoritarianism is SPECIFICALLY what we were trying to avoid, but we suddenly find ourselves in the middle of one, and I have found this to be a compelling distraction. At the same time, what can I do about it? I am disabled, in a wheelchair, stuck at home. What would be my options?
On the way to the extermination camp
by Karsten Winegeart
on "Unsplash"
So what does this have to do with our faith? Jesus was not a political leader. He did not want to be the Jewish Messiah. He knew that his throne would be a cross and his crown would be a crown of thorns. This was always his destiny, not politics. He did not come as a king. If I am to follow Christ, I need to go where he goes - and he does not go into the halls of government.
By
Mauro Fossati
on "Unsplash"
I suppose that we owe it to one another to point out the work of Satan when it is hurting other people, but is that my goal, as a contemplative of the last 22 years? Generally speaking, when I point to something, I should be pointing to Christ, right? Yes, I agree. For the most part, if I am going to exert the effort to point to anything, it should be to Christ, because that is what I am doing with my mind, on a daily basis.
I realized the other day that I reveal to myself, and to the world at large, where my mind is situated, by the manner in which I react to the world and the people therein. What exactly is my reaction, i.e., to what do I point when confronted with evil?
Do I point to the evil and name it? Do I shame the person who hurls evil at me? Or do I point to Christ? Do I love my neighbor? These are important questions, and they are questions that demonstrate how far I have traveled on the road to Christ over the last 22 years, and how many more miles there are left to traverse. I hope I have another 22 years to practice!
By
Kateryna Hliznitsova
on "Unsplash"
So I have decided to do the more difficult thing, and that is to make the effort to remain solidly established in Christ in my reactions to the world, even while the world goes mad around us all, even when people are hurling hate at me (something which happens at an alarming regularity over the last few years.)
Certainly I will have to point out the works of Satan if I feel it will help my fellow human, but I doubt that my warnings would be half as helpful as my encouragement from the perspective of Christ's love. Consequently, while I work to remain rooted in His love, I will also endeavor to leave the majority of the political commentary to the experts who will do a better job of it than me, unless I feel for some reason that I am uniquely qualified.
Please pray for me as I pray for you.
God bless us all!
Silver Rose
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