Are we catastrophizing our current state as a nation?
"This is the most (or one of the most) important election(s) in our history."
"The country is on the brink of collapse."
"If the other side wins, we'll be a third world country."
"If the other side wins, we'll go backward to the 1950s."
And on, and on, and on, and on...
The othering, especially from the Trump camp because to me it seems more prevalent than in the Harris camp, but maybe I look at too many Trump videos and tweets and not enough Harris, though I'm pretty burned out on all of it at this point. (How 'bout than for a run-on sentence...) So back to othering. The thought ran through my noggin recently, Trump's obsession with Harris reminds me of Martindale's obsession with devil spirits. But it's not just an obsession with Harris. Hmmm, I think that it's more Trump's obsession with "evil" that so reminds me of the second president of The Way; evil and devil spirits were a main focus through his entire tenure as president. And his hollering from the pulpit got louder as the years rolled along. I once asked a prominent Way leader why Martindale hollered so much. I was told it was because he doesn't want the Household to get tricked by the adversary. There were times in The Way that I thought, It seems like the devil is more powerful than God. It was all about control. We followers were treated as children, and we complied. Similarly, Trump's rhetoric paints a picture of the US as a terrible place to live -- for one, a country invaded by foreigners who commit horrendous crimes. How many crimes have been carried out by US citizens in comparison to these 'lawless invaders'? I wonder how many US mass shootings have been carried out by these 'evil people'? (And there, ladies and gentlemen, you have a run-on paragraph.)
No, I do not believe that this is the most important election in history.
Maybe it's one of the most important in this century, which just started 24 years ago.
Looking back, which election was the most important in American history?
Perhaps the very first election?
Or the election that first allowed women voters?
Or the election that first allowed black voters?
Or an election when the US was in a boots-on-the-ground war?
If Trump wins, he wins. (But it won't be by my vote.)
If Harris wins, she wins. (Which would be historic - the first woman US President.)
If Kennedy wins, he wins. (It's a moon shot. I sure wish the debate hosts, or whomever makes the rules, would allow Kennedy as well as other third-party candidates on the stage.)
On the other hand, our country and world may be on a course of soon-collapse regardless of who wins the US presidential election. (Will there be a "bloodbath," regardless of who wins or loses?)
A past friend once asked my thoughts on climate change.
I responded, "What did the dinosaurs do to cause their own extinction?"
Point being, that was one earth cycle.
Eventually, regardless of what humans do or don't do, this current earth cycle too will/may eventually end, perhaps similar to the dinosaur age.
That said, I think we humans have a big impact on climate and environment.
And we are to steward the earth with care and foresight for the future.
Sadly, pollution is kind of like government corruption -- there's so much of it how can we ever clean it up?
But we humans are a prideful bunch...
And as Solomon wrote, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."
So, destruction might be just around the corner...
~*~
I don't know about the hereafter...
But I want to believe there is something good awaiting...
~*~
A couple essays, about our times, which I read after posting the above:
1. Charles Eisenstein: An Us that requires no Them
2. Pilgrims in the Machine: 2030 and Beyond: Are the end times coming, again?
