Mas... I too have pondered the mass insanity that Drumpf has made the appalling reality that we all wake to each day. And I do agree with you and then some! But for every blind, ignorant, hateful, psycho participant in Cult 45's evil agenda, there are ten times more intelligent, caring and truly spiritually oriented people who will prevail with heart and soul.
I consulted Lynda Hill's Sabian Symbols Oracle today on the outcome of the midterms, and drew 29' Aquarius... 'A butterfly emerging from a chrysalis' ..... emerging from the dark, metamorphosis, huge changes in the works, new life unfolding.
Every time I draw a tarot card for Drumpf after the midterms (indictments, impeachment, etc. re: Sir Mueller), the Hanged Man shows up.( I am seeing this as metaphoric, but maybe literal?)
Hopefully Drumpf will be suspended, finito, way gone... and every last creep that is complicit with his insanity.
...for every blind, ignorant, hateful, psycho participant in Cult 45's evil agenda, there are ten times more intelligent, caring and truly spiritually oriented people who will prevail with heart and soul.
I so agree, and also -- Drumpf has brought the dark into the open. He is erasing the complacency many have had about the rights our forefathers fought for. He is causing a whole generation of progressives to rise up. He has stimulated a phalanx of empowered women of all ages to rise up in fury. His cruelty to immigrants has awakened so many to their situation and their humanity.
He is getting close to done for sure. He, like every other power monger in history, is overstepping his bounds. Even Fox turned on him for the latest racist ad when they stopped airing it. His insistance on promoting racism and not the economy is costing Republicans their jobs(hopefully). His minions in Washington are going to start to turn on him soon because he has officially become toxic to them. If this is the blue wave every pollster is expecting, Remaining republicans will throw him under the bus to save themselves and decree that they were against him the entire time.
MAS, I like your basic analysis up there. I believe the essential reason that fundamentalists/evangelicals resonate with Trump is due much more to shared worldview and values, and similar operational modes of processing information and relating to the world, which is all about our consciousness stage of development, and not so much about religious belief. (A person can be a beautifully evolved Christian, after all. Consider Father Thomas Keating, who recently passed.)
Here's a link to a simple image graphic which outlines the stages of consciousness I'm talking about. I personally believe Trump is operating primarily at the Warrior (red on the graphic) or ethnocentric stage, which is highly patriarchal (misogynistic), power-driven, and exploitative. It's all about me-me-me, is preoccupied with instant gratification, and is unable to feel care, concern, or sensitivity for others outside immediate family. It's the stage most toddlers are in, which is healthy and natural. Not so much if development gets delayed and a person never moves passed it, though I guess it works well for gang leaders and mafia bosses.
Developmental theorists say humans fully evolved into this stage around 10,000 years ago, but I'd say this is Trump's center of gravity, and it tells me some real serious stuff went down when he was between 2-4 years old.
Most evangelicals are at the stage directly above this one: Traditional (amber on the graphic). It's all about rules, roles, systems of authority, discipline, and morality (you can see this clearly in middle childhood). This is the first stage in which guilt comes online, and it showed up about 5,000 years ago. Incidentally, about the same time the great mythic, patriarchal religions exploded on the scene.
For most hardcore fundamentalists/evangelicals, this stage is their primary center of gravity. (They never quite make it to Scientific-Rationalism.)
Now, I'd say that Trump has the cognitive ability to talk about Traditional stage values and ideas (rules, laws, some religious ideas, etc.), but we all know he's totally BS-ing when he does because we can feel it. And that's because he hasn't developed that stage of consciousness yet. Without having developed it, there's no way he can fully embrace or care about them.
But if WE hadn't yet brought scientific understanding online, and we were so-so very needing to believe Trump ("because God says"), we'd probably dismiss our feelings and choose to believe him too! He's a con artist to us, but he's a cult figure to them.
As for whether evangelicals think he's the anti-Christ, I haven't heard this (I live in the South and my entire family are fundamentalist Christian conservatives). Most people I've talked with sincerely agree with Trump's policies and opinions—for the reasons you listed. They just faithfully believe that God chose him to lead us toward the Second Coming and the inevitable End-Times.
If they feel any cognitive dissonance about Trump's blatant immorality, I'd say they've completely dissociated from it. It's the same kind of mental gymnastics I see them doing around Israel, frankly. As a rule, evangelical Christians are hardliners on the side of (conservative) Israel, yet most are deeply anti-semitic.
To explain that, here's a pretty decent Newsweek article.
ETA: Jeanne has to be rolling her eyes at my thread derailing, so here: MIDTERMS ARE NIGH! MAY THE LIGHT BE UPON YOU AS YOU VOTE...VOTE...VOTE
(Also, I'm feeling strangely good about Beto? And SO hopeful for Stacey Abrams!)
I believe there was a prediction made I think early on that said that the Republicans will use Trump until he become too much liability to them and then turn on him. Can this be the time?? I am hoping its soon.
Jessi, between now and March I see a house of cards falling. The Tower Card in tarot. (Let's hope it's Trump Tower.)
Indictments; subpoenas; grand jury testimonies; breaking news stories on intel related to Manafort, Weisselberg, Cohen, etc.; findings of a newly formed House Intelligence Committee; powerful investigative reporting by individuals like Ronan Farrow and others—and more.
I see Donald Trump Jr. and Jared Kushner facing difficulty. (Don Jr. may even experience a personal shock in his immediate family.)
There will likely be shake-ups and shenanigans (the firing of Rosenstein?), but I have faith the Mueller investigation will continue to move forward one way or another, and that by July 2019, important members of the GOP will begin breaking ranks, if they haven't already.
Yes, the originator of that prediction was me.
The timing depends on what happens in the next two weeks. If there is enough show of public outrage that GOP operatives feel won’t die out then the GOP leaders will turn of trump. But the problem is that some of the GOP are implicated in the mueller probe so they want to stop it.
Vestralux,
I am getting the feeling Stacey Abrams loses and becomes the "sacrificial lamb" in what fuels a change of campaign laws nationwide. She should win, but because of massive voter suppression and behind the scenes fraud, I feel she loses. That loss isnt in vain, though, as it fuels a huge uprising against voter suppression nationwide to the point something gets done about it. I also dont think it will be the last we hear from her. I see her becoming a very powerful name over the next decade.....possibly even ending up in the White House as VP.
Vestralux,
I hope it all comes soon. Funny you said about Donald JR I have read an article earlier in the day. They are afraid of the up coming indictments that Mueller has. They are worried because he perjured himself regarding the 2016 meeting at the tower.
Jeanne
I feel like in the beginning of his presidency the Republicans were able to control him better but now 2 years in and the puppet has gone Rogue on them. You can see how he hijacked the midterm and made it about him. He makes ads not about the economy or how great he thinks he is..nope instead he makes racists ads that not even fox will air. Nothing great about the candidates. It’s all about him and his delusional mind