All right. Let’s talk about Donald Trump, Jr posing with a gun adorned with crusader iconography as America teeters on the brink of a religious war, why the imprisoned Hillary Clinton image plays into apocalyptic white identity Christianity, and how this country got so screwed up 
I’ve been talking about this awhile, but I’ve taken to calling white identity Christianity, particularly the strain that’s given itself in full to Trumpism, as the Cult of the Shining City. They live in a fictional reality where they’re fighting a supernatural war.
The origins of this group’s madness comes from the linking of white nationalism and Christianity, a merging of myth that originated in the concept that America is God’s chosen country and American’s God’s chosen people.
We’re pretty familiar with the idea of American exceptionalism, but we need to remember what it’s led to. The birth of “Manifest Destiny” in the 19th century was an offshoot of Romanticism, which led to wild nationalism and later Nazism.
By believing America was God’s chosen people we’ve enable unbelievable wrongs because America, as the arbiter of right and wrong, can do anything it needs to advance. This includes the genocide of native people, enslavement, subjugation of other countries, war crimes, etc.
In the 1960’s, as Civil Rights leaders used Christianity as a means of equality, white segregationist preachers changed Christianity’s tenets from kindness to a means of gaining power and wealth. It morphed into a white identity movement meant to maintain white supremacy.
As the cultural wars of the 60s/70s grew in intensity, white identity evangelicals pushed a concept that liberalism was not only wrong but destructive to society and liable to destroy America. Because it was a White supremacist movement in disguise, social justice was included.
During this time white identity evangelicals start adopting apocalyptic appeals to maintain control. Parishioners are told to eschew intellectualism / liberalism for it’s a means for Satan to gain control. At this point, liberals and the devil become interchangeable.
Enter Ronald Reagan, whose occult obsessions blend nationalism and mysticism. His partnership with white evangelicals combined the ideas, leading America into a decade obsessed with satanic threats, apocalyptic culture, and political battles framed as good v. evil.
At this point, the political narrative and religious narrative are intertwined. There are rumors of satanic conspiracies. Liberals aren’t political opponents but evil interlocutors, traitors, some even agents of satanic evil.
Because the Cult of the Shining City views America as God’s chosen country, logic dictates it’s invincible. This is another leftover from Romantic ideals. Like all other rabid nationalistic nations, any losses or struggles are blamed on traitors and evil forces.
You’ll recognize this in Trump’s claims of leaders either being stupid or betraying America. This is the origin of Deep State ideology, which is just an evolution of New World Order conspiracies, which was an evolution of Elders of Zion conspiracies.
The belief is that America, as God’s chosen country, is beset by evil forces and traitors. Because this is a white identity belief, the conspirators are liberals and minority populations in concert to undermine power and white supremacy.
This group, the Trump group, the Cult of the Shining City that views them as saviors, literally believe they’re chosen by God and are at war with evil. Crusaders. Their enemies? Anyone who questions America, be it Iranians or liberals.
If you want to get a headache, go checkout the Qanon narratives. They’re nonsensical because they follow this crazy narrative and strive to connect everyone from Hillary Clinton and Trump critics with worldwide evil movements. It’s a means of continuing the chosen narrative.
At the heart of this is a belief by these people, including Trump, who believe they’re special and ordained by God. Anything they do is righteous as they’re anointed crusaders. Theirs is a holy cause and thus any action is warranted.
Just to reiterate, America’s worst offenses originate from the idea that we are a benevolent, ordained, holy country. It enables horrific behavior. War crimes. Great cruelty. The eradication of whole peoples. This myth is as dangerous as dangerous gets.
