Thread by @TaylorMatthewD

I've tried to approach this election unflinchingly & w/ clear eyes, but this is the absolute worst case scenario.

We're in an epochal shift in American history of the worst sort, &, while it does not spell the absolute end of Amer liberal democracy, MAGA is a fatal illness. 1/

I've been ruminating since last night over this quote from John Adams:

"Remember Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes exhausts & murders itself. There never was a Democracy Yet, that did not commit suicide. It's in vain to Say that Democracy is less vain, less proud... 2/

"less selfish, less ambitious or less avaricious than Aristocracy or Monarchy. It's not true in Fact & no where appears in history. Those Passions are the same in all Men under all forms of Simple Govt, & when unchecked, produce the same Effects of Fraud Violence and Cruelty." 3/

We're living in the moment the American founders feared most: A populist authoritarian (they used the term "demagogue" -- same difference) has gained power through a legitimate election.

Worse, Trump has the most concentrated, anti-democratic coalition since the Confederacy. 4/

Indeed, for those searching for comparison points from American history, I believe there is no simple parallel for what a threat this poses to our democracy.

It's as if Stephen Douglas had won in 1860, except Douglas was more centrist & pragmatic.

This is something new. 5/

Moving forward, there'll be two narratives of American history: the Trump regime's narrative, bolstered by powerful media on the right + El*n M*sk vs. reality.

The regime's narrative will be: Trump as American savior, January 6th was righteous (if misguided), & restoration... 6/

... of a Christian America. Trump will, almost certainly pardon most (all?) January 6th rioters, whose "bravery" will be celebrated by the regime's propaganda.

I suspect some mainstream media will accommodate, if not embrace, this retelling, cloaked in hearing "both sides." 7/

The other narrative--the complicated story of America's yet-to-be-perfected union, of growing pluralism since the 1960s, of the derailment of that trajectory through a white majority & Christian majority backlash--will be forced to live in the shadows of disfavor & censorship. 8/

I expect -- & I'd be thrilled to be wrong -- we'll see a surge in Christian nationalist & Christian supremacist rhetoric & identities around Trump in the coming weeks & months.

Trump's seemingly "miraculous" re-election on the heels of his "miraculous" survival of the... 9/

...2 assassination attempts will pour jet fuel on the already popular idea that Trump is ordained & anointed by God for office.

Trump gestured toward this in his victory speech.

Christians who choose to resist that theology will be castigated & alienated by many churches. 10/

I'm uncertain about Project 2025 being enacted in all its gritty details, per se, b/c NY Times reporting & my own anecdotal sense indicates that Heritage Fndn is on the outs w/ Trump for trying to bigfoot his agenda.

They may well mend fences. 11/

nytimes.com/2024/10/24/us/…

But the Christian advisers & leaders who surround Trump (formally, his Nat'l Faith Advisory Board + a circle of informal evangelical advisers) have at least as extreme a vision as Project 2025, if not more.

I've spent years studying them. They are effusive & resolute today. 12/

Over the past 10 yrs, charismatic (i.e., supernaturalist) Christian prophets have issued 100s of positive prophecies abt Trump, his divinely appointed destiny, endurance of persecution, etc.

This means that Trump has taken on a quasi-messianic aura for many Amer Christians. 13/

What makes this so dangerous is that, to his followers -- the only segment of the Amer populace he cares about -- Trump can make the case that he has not only a democratic mandate, but that he also has a divine mandate to enact his agenda.

"Promises made. Promises kept." 14/

I am esp. concerned about this "Trump as Jehu" prophecy narrative that has set in in recent months, because it is preparing the ground for Christians to accept & even endorse Trump's threatened violence against his opponents as a necessary purge. 15/

religionnews.com/2024/11/01/onc…

It is well past time that we lay aside any lingering forms of American exceptionalism to recognize that autocracy, kleptocracy, & theocracy absolutely *can happen here*.

Like most populist authoritarians, Trump uses the language of democracy to dismantle liberal democracy. 16/

As w/ Victor Orban in Hungary (Christian), Narendra Modi in India (Hindu), Recep Tayyib Erdoġan in Turkey (Muslim), & Bibi Netanyahu in Israel (Jewish), we are entering a period of US history where an authoritarian leader yoked to a relig nationalist movt has come to power. 17/

We need to learn from resistance movements (including religiously led & inspired resistance movts) around the world how to stand in the face of MAGA hegemony.

Our dream of a pluralistic, liberal, multireligious, multiracial Amer democracy is not dead; it's on life support. 18/

May we have the courage, fortitude, patriotism -- and, for some of us, faith -- to resist the rising authoritarian tide.

May we build a broad-spectrum coalition of conscience & decency (religious & secular) to protest Trump's violent behavior & beguiling propaganda. 19/

By the time Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, 7 slave states had already seceded, but no shots had been fired. Civil war & violence was brewing. It was a liminal moment--like our own.

Lincoln chose to not wallow in despair but cast a humane, hopeful vision amidst such decay. 20/

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield & patriot grave to every living heart & hearthstone all over this broad land... 21/

"... will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature." (First Inaugural)

It got worse after that, but, over time, Amers returned to these humane & democratic promises.

May we do so again. Keep the faith. 22/