DEAR WHITE EVANGELICALS

Published October 7, 2020 by Nan Mykel

(Strong) words from Christian pastor, John Pavlovitz:
“Dear White Evangelicals,
I need to tell you something: People have had it with you.
They’re done.
They want nothing to do with you any longer, and here’s why:
They see your hypocrisy, your inconsistency, your incredibly selective mercy, and your thinly veiled supremacy.
For eight years they watched you relentlessly demonize a black President; a man faithfully married for 26 years; a doting father and husband without a hint of moral scandal or the slightest whiff of infidelity.
They watched you deny his personal faith convictions, argue his birthplace, and assail his character—all without cause or evidence. They saw you brandish Scriptures to malign him and use the laziest of racial stereotypes in criticizing him.
And through it all, White Evangelicals—you never once suggested that God placed him where he was,
you never publicly offered prayers for him and his family,
you never welcomed him to your Christian Universities,
you never gave him the benefit of the doubt in any instance,
you never spoke of offering him forgiveness or mercy,
your evangelists never publicly thanked God for his leadership,
your pastors never took to the pulpit to offer solidarity with him,
you never made any effort to affirm his humanity or show the love of Jesus to him in any quantifiable measure.
You violently opposed him at every single turn—without offering a single ounce of the grace you claim as the heart of your faith tradition. You jettisoned Jesus as you dispensed damnation on him.
And yet you give carte blanche to a white Republican man so riddled with depravity, so littered with extramarital affairs, so unapologetically vile, with such a vast resume of moral filth—that the mind boggles.
And the change in you is unmistakable. It has been an astonishing conversion to behold: a being born again.
With him, you suddenly find religion.
With him, you’re now willing to offer full absolution.
With him, all is forgiven without repentance or admission.
With him you’re suddenly able to see some invisible, deeply buried heart.
With him, sin has become unimportant, compassion no longer a requirement.
With him, you see only Providence.
And White Evangelicals, all those people who have had it with you—they see it all clearly.
They recognize the toxic source of your inconsistency.
They see that pigmentation and party are your sole deities.
They see that you aren’t interested in perpetuating the love of God or emulating the heart of Jesus.
They see that you aren’t burdened to love the least, or to be agents of compassion, or to care for your Muslim, gay, African, female, or poor neighbors as yourself.
They see that all you’re really interested in doing, is making a God in your own ivory image and demanding that the world bow down to it.
They recognize this all about white, Republican Jesus—not dark-skinned Jesus of Nazareth.
And I know you don’t realize it, but you’re digging your own grave in these days; the grave of your very faith tradition.
Your willingness to align yourself with cruelty is a costly marriage. Yes, you’ve gained a Supreme Court seat, a few months with the Presidency as a mouthpiece, and the cheap high of temporary power—but you’ve lost a whole lot more.
You’ve lost an audience with millions of wise, decent, good-hearted, faithful people with eyes to see this ugliness.
You’ve lost any moral high ground or spiritual authority with a generation.You’ve lost any semblance of Christlikeness.
You’ve lost the plot.
And most of all you’ve lost your soul.
I know it’s likely you’ll dismiss these words. The fact that you’ve even made your bed with such malevolence, shows how far gone you are and how insulated you are from the reality in front of you.
But I had to at least try to reach you. It’s what Jesus would do.”
John Pavlovitz”

WHAT IS A PATHOLOGICAL LIAR?

Published October 7, 2020 by Nan Mykel

Recently, Dr. Drew Curtis began to argue that pathological lying, as had been described historically, was not defined in the manner that contemporary mental health professionals define disorders. Specifically, he noted that disorders are based on four criteria: 1) atypicality (they are statistically infrequent or violate norms); 2) maladaptive (they impair functioning); 3) suffering (they cause emotional distress); and 4) danger (they create risks of harm or loss for self or others). These criteria are used to determine which patterns of behaviors, thoughts, and feelings are simply part of the natural variability of the human experience and which are pathological. From Psychology Today 9=7=20, Hart and Curtis

What personality disorder is associated with pathological lying?

Antisocial Personality Disorder – people living with this disorder often display pathological lying as a key symptom, and may use lies to gain status or manipulate others. Google search

YOU CAN’T TAKE IT BACK

Published October 7, 2020 by Nan Mykel

Two refrains remain from childhood and they keep coming back to me: “The goblins will get you if you don’t watch out,” and “The little man who wasn’t there.”

I WANT TO GET BACK TO POETRY

Published October 6, 2020 by Nan Mykel

Poetry and reading about evolution and making collages is more fun, and doesn’t drive my readers away. What’s more, my stomach gets sour when I think about current reality, but I fear we’re running out of time. All I can do is write this blog. I don’t like pestering phone calls or knocks on my door. If they bother me why wouldn’t they bother someone else? I’ll just continue to self quarantine and wish I still had someone to pray to.

All of which leads to referring readers to two excellent blogs, both of which refer you to an excellent source re the takeover:

Horty Rex connecting you with https://www.esquire.com/

Diane Ravitch connectng you to: https://coronavirus.house.gov/sites/democrats.coronavirus.house.gov/files/10.2.20%20Political%20Interference%20Report%20%281%29.pdf

IT WILL END SOMEHOW: Mystery 2020

Published October 6, 2020 by Nan Mykel

MYSTERY 2020—it will end somehow

Looming on the horizon, the great adventure story – or tragic epitaph — like the “moving finger,” will have writ on November 3rd the fate of the United States, give or take a few weeks to months., with a harbinger of things to come sprouting Election “night”. Undoubtedly the Proud Boys are “standing by” as suggested by our president.
Recent developments include a shameful debate performance with our president interrupting Biden more than 120 times; the revelation that our president said that the pandemic was good in a way, since he didn’t have to shake so many disgusting hands—AND—upon discharge from Walter Reed Hospital October 5 after three days treatment for covid 19, our president assured the American public —with more than 1,024 of us having died on Oct. 2, — plus more than 210,000 of our citizens now dead and dying after 71/2 months without a federal response effort— that they should not be afraid of the virus.
Those supporters who have lost loved ones due to the virus while taking his advice about the uselessness of wearing masks and social distancing could be having second thoughts about the whole situation; freedom to die, as many attending his wakes—I mean rallies—discovered: At least 12 people who attended a Rose Garden ceremony for President Trump to officially announce the nomination for Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court have tested positive for coronavirus.
An ex-staffer reports the president cares about nothing but himself, which gives him good standing among the world’s dictators. BUT THE PEOPLE, THEY THINK HE LOVES THEM! –Because of being raised in abusive homes or from a lack of a more healthy role model? Well, they’ve got Pence and McDonnell and Barr and Rudy to emulate, also. I am reminded of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and the Emperor Has No Clothes fables.
Our president has maintained that Black Americans have mainly themselves to blame in their struggle for equality, hindered more by lack of initiative than societal impediment. Greg Miller of the Washington Post also reports that our president has muttered that Jews “are only in it for themselves” and “stick together” in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties. (Imagine that! Sounds somehow familiar…).
You may know this reference, but I didn’t: brennancenter.org Protect the Election—“Hidden in Plain Sight: Racism, White Supremacy, and Far-Right Militancy in Law Enforcement,” containing an exploration of 123 instances across the United States.
Our president’s record of shameful federal tax filings and attempts to inject a new member to the Supreme Court contrary to tradition, along with playing footsie with Putin and calling our military names, not lifting a hand in response to Putin paying bounties on our servicemen’s lives and insisting on unmonitored chats with Putin leaves me speechless though not unable to write, thank goodness…..
I can’t think of anyone to share the guilt of the president sacrificing our children to the economy with (without adequate funds for school safety) than Betsy DeVos. Threatening to cut off funds for schools who don’t skip to his beat…
Meanwhile, the closest I can come to humor today is “Swamp Thing” in the Oct. 5th issue of The Nation. While I pride myself on not overt name-calling (can’t remember a thing), I had to laugh out loud at the full page version of Mitch McConnell on page 27. It’s frameable, in my opinion, and by artist Ryan Inzana…

ELECTION DIARY 2020

Published October 2, 2020 by Nan Mykel

After “showing himself” during the first presidential debate with Joe Biden on Tuesday, he tweets on Friday that he and FLOTUS have tested positive for coronavrus. I may be a slow learner, but I believe I have been taught that whatever the president says means just the opposite. Therefore, I am alert to the possibility that this development is not what it seems. Since Hope Hicks is also said to have the virus maybe it’s true. But wait! Time will tell? Or not.

This continuing diary is headed for a denouement upon the winning of the 2020 presidential election. Whether the mystery will have been one of adventure or tragedy lies ahead.

Recently: The NYT revealed Trump’s federal income taxes since 2000: He paid $750 in taxes for two years since 2000.

Although his trick of rude interference overiding Biden’s attempt to speak during the first presidential debate (the viewer couldn’t hear either party very well) worked as interference, it was possible to note that Trump would not criticize white supremacists, and his final words had to do with Proud Boys needing to stand down and stand back. Someone has criticized Biden for “telling the president to shut up,” but what he–understandably–said was “would someone tell the man to shut up?”

A flubbed presidential debate; maybe catching the virus; the reason he refused to release his tax returns surfacing thanks to the NYT ($750 in two of the last fifteen years, nothing in the others.; an attempt to sell our Post Office down the river in order to interfere with mail in ballots and a federal judge’s order to undo recent actions by the P.O. which would interfere with mail-in voting; recently emerging information that very early during the pandemic the post office was prepared to send face masks to everyone free of charge, but was stopped from doing so by the president and….more travesties will have surfaced as soon as this is published on my Mystery Diary/blog. Oh, and he threw a monkey wrench into everything by endorsing Amy Coney Barrett, a female anti-choice activist, for a rush job onto the Supreme Court, during an ongoing election, no less.

Barr’s misbehavior would add a listing of many increasing improprieties, but perhaps you can get the drift of how things are unfolding in the struggle to save democracy. And, the most recent cover on The Nation reads, “Is Trump Planning a Coup D’Etat? Many observers–including Republicans–worry that he is. They’re organizing now to stop him,” and the cover of the October 2nd issue of The Week is labeled “The Chaos to Come–by filling Supreme Court seat, will McConnell open a Pandora’s box?” against background art depicting horror and fear.

Perhaps a funny or two to allay catatonia: Kayleigh McEnany reported that Barrett was a Rhodes scholar. Actually, she attended Rhodes college. To be fair, Kayleigh said later, “My bad.” The second funny (to me, at least) was my believing all along that the group of partiers that set at least one California wildfire–-gender reveal parties—involved transgender individuals announcing their birth sex. “My bad.”

AT HOME: Self-quarantine continues as I water and pinch my petunias, at 85. I am also a recent survivor of pneumonia–upon discharge in early March the hospital wanted me to be discharged to a nursing home…Whew!