The Fate Of The United States: Repent Or Perish

A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor;
but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days (Prov. 28:16 RSV).

Trump, in his haughty ignorance, continues to prove the prophetic value of the book of Proverbs. On Monday, Trump announced his takeover of public lands for the sake of private interests. Speaking in Utah, he stated that he will downsize Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase national monuments. He said, once again like Bane in the Dark Knight Rises, he is giving it back to the people. The people, however, did not ask for this. The people have access to it when it is a public land. By removing its protected status, the local government can sell it out, giving it to the highest bidder for whatever they desire the land for (such as drilling rights). The people who had access to the land lose it, for, despite Trump’s rhetoric, they will not have control over what happens to the land.

Trump’s doublespeak is clear; he is “giving it to the people” does not mean he is giving it to the public to control and do as they wish, rather, he means he is giving it to some people, to those interest who he considers worthwhile, while he disregards the desires and interests of the public, thinking them to be unworthy of his time and energy. Money and power is what counts to him as being respected. Those who have it, he grants rights and privileges, using words which normally used for everyone to them alone. The dignity of the human person, the rights of the public, are entirely outside of his thoughts. Trump does not see the working class, does not have interest in them, while he uses rhetoric which fools them because it has traditionally been used for their favor. He is equivocating; when he references “the people,” it is not the ordinary citizen with rights, let alone immigrants who are struggling to make their way in the United States, that he is considering, but the corporate powers and rich elite who will buy and sell the land (whether or not they are citizens of the United States). Certainly, he is not interested in those who are most affected by his policy, such as Native Americans who consider Bears Ears to be a sacred place, because he views rights and privileges only along the lines of wealth, ignoring history, and the rights and obligations previous presidents of the United States have felt necessary to defend. [1]

Trump, therefore, calls the evil he does good, because it satisfies either his private desires, or those of his rich friends from whom he expects he will be rewarded. He calls evil, good, because for him there is good to be found, but as with all evil, it is the rejection of justice and the fullness of the good where his actions are to be shown to be evil. He gaslights the country, confusing them as to what he is doing by his sophistry. It is to such a leader the prophet Isaiah preached against when he said:

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/henrykarlson/2017/12/fate-united-states-repent-perish/#Oggf1jQWoukKYm5E.99