Photo by Thomas Wolf (user Gs970) via Wikimedia Commons.
The Greek word translated as idiot/fool (moros: see Matt5:21-26, on anger management) means someone who cares mostly about himself, having little or no interest in community beyond what they might extract. But Christians are instructed to pray for those having authority over us (1Tim2). This is not an easy assignment when those in authority seem so foolish and selfish.
SO, how to go about praying for our enemies, as instructed by Jesus? He says “love them” — but how? What is love? (I’m certainly not pretending to love what Trumpty-Musky are doing to our democracy!) Here’s a troubling quote posted by Musk, which doesn’t sound like anything anyone in a democracy should ever do:
After a judge blocked a Trump executive order, Elon Musk shared a post with his more than 200 million followers on X that included the judge’s daughter’s name, photo and job, allegedly at the Department of Education. [source]
Democracy is delicate and imperiled by such ugly behavior. (If that judge’s daughter were your daughter, how would you feel?) The “Founding Fathers” were educated, wealthy and elite. They “gave us a republic, if you can keep it” according to scientist/inventor Benjamin Franklin. Yet today science and education are scorned by many Republicans.
History repeats. The Russian revolution had two factions seeking to overthrow the monarchy. Labor, called Mensheviks ; and Lenin’s “internationalists” which funded their organization by robbing banks. US Republicans have two factions seeking to “starve the beast” of government bureaucracy: Steve Bannon’s MAGA ; and Elon Musk’s billionaire’s club, deploying young hackers presently burrowing into Treasury, IRS, Medicare, Social Security, etc. Guess who will win. (Asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton said “…because that’s where the money is.”)
TOUGH LOVE from Republican voters is needed to arrest this impending disaster, yet few elected Republicans are willing to stand up to Musk/Trump, as they know they will be “primaried”. They value their jobs and fear for their families if they resist. Yet our military veterans risk their lives daily to defend our nation and our families ; however Republicans in congress cower, doing nothing to defend the Constitution. Jesus said “greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
If Republican voters don’t protest this takeover to their Republican officials our nation will surely descend into chaos. Absent courageous officials, we have a veritable shituation in which democracy will die in a financial coup d’état perpetrated by billionaires. (Does anybody know what the penalty is for not filing a tax return?) Letting Musk steal our tax dollars is intolerable!
King DonOLD II
