A day… a lifetime ago, i expressed an unkind general sentiment concerning monotheistic political activists in the presence of my children. My words were harsh… insensitive… but not altogether inaccurate. Not sure why the filter failed at that moment, but i decided to try and explain. Starting with this low, omnipresent, internal rumbling in my head… it plays counterpoint to tinnitus accumulated over the years. This rumbling, i have grown to regard as… a “Beautiful Angry Noise.” And on this occasion i let it out, unfiltered. Now i feel compelled to explain, and maybe in the process exorcise some radioactive trepidation felt in the run-up to the 2020 general election.

Where to start?

Ok… from objective observable phenomenon, it seems obvious, to me anyway, that humans can be junction points in a massive interdependent superorganism, greatly enhanced by the global Internet. Unfortunately, this view is not palatable to those inclined to monotheistic creeds, and i believe monotheistic-inclined political activists stand in opposition to the interests of this Earthbound (for now) superorganism. Their anti-science/intellectualism inexplicably damages, and perhaps even hastens humanity’s extinction, and this essential incompatibility between us is, i believe, partially responsible for the gaping political divide in the US and beyond. This essential incompatibility accounts for occasional “anger” prominent in the noise i live with… day in… day out.

The abovementioned Beautiful Angry Noise underscores my personal opposition to the counter-adaptive worldview of monotheistic political activists, but it’s not directed at any particular individual… more toward a xenophobic monoculture, featuring a misguided sense of any individual’s importance. This humming, omnipresent noise is a perfect harmony with my opposition to that xenophobic ethno-nationalist monoculture. A movement that is leading normally stable governments toward authoritarian backsliding… desperate grasps for uncontested supremacy. At the same time, there are opposing movements. Take, for example, Islamic culture’s push and pull with gender politics. As well, take any random puritanical religious fundamentalist struggle with LGTBQ acceptance.

Contrary fringe movements create chaos in sane gaps where people just want to find ways to do right by their loved ones and friends; to be good stewards of the planet; and to survive what amounts to humanity’s “technological adolescence.” If i have to be more specific, i would say the Islamic World’s “Jihad (struggle)” with modernity should be none of my business. Unfortunately, to make it so, my tax dollars should stop funding efforts to keep local populations in non-western oil-rich regions down. When will this fine day arrive? I can name names here though, and I’ll start with any and all family, friends, or neighbors who supported Ronald Reagan or Donald Trump to the office of POTUS. To them… i say… just… stop. Please just stop. I imagine many of these supporters would gladly confess to being monotheistic political activists… or card-carrying “Apocalyptic Christian Nationalists (ACNs).”

But so what? Why would i call out ACNs? Well… it so happens i was once a member, ready for the “days of trouble.” Ready to ascend to Heaven… called by my triune lord and savior, Jesus Christ, Father God, and the Holy Spirit. As a card-carrying ACN, i was convinced that Earth, and everything on it was destined to burn in a “final confrontation” between the forces of good and evil. EVERYTHING burned to the ground, accompanied by the blood-red topping of unspeakable war carnage. But hey… NO WORRIES… according to the creator of the universe… the forces of good are destined to prevail, and the planet will be returned to its original pristine “Edenic” state. All will be right again… with evil purged… milk… honey… and nourishing manna from heaven restored for all eternity.

You see where this is going, right? ACNs aren’t concerned with effects of human activity on the global superorganism (don’t need stinking climate scientists), because… after the final smack-down between good and evil… everything will be restored to Edenic perfection.

So… now we have to find our backbone… because ACNs think they have Donald Trump in their pocket… and THEY DO… because his power 100% depends on the ACN belief that he will ALWAYS act in their interest. It’s no secret they believe Trump is literally an instrument of their triune deity.

Seriously… this is our moment of truth. Do we let Mr. Trump and ACNs burn the world to the ground with superstitious fantasies of good/evil escalating to a global scorched-Earth conflagration…? Or do we return to secular governance with religion and politics conducted in separate cathedrals?

I know where i stand… and i confess getting a bit overzealous in my private conversations… hence this inadequate attempt to explain. Nevertheless, i will continue to channel the Beautiful Angry Noise… but at the same time, i want to reaffirm support of constitutionally guaranteed religious freedom. And finally… with all of that said, can we, PLEASE, also honor our responsibilities? In a world of diverse experience and worldview, we know that freedom is NOT unlimited. Specifically, personal or institutional religious freedom is not equal to that entity’s liberty to cram it down anyone else’s throat. Satanists, Zoroastrians, Stalinists, Muslims, Hindus, Scientologists, Mormons, as well as Evangelical Christians, etc. are free to keep their personal spiritual practice within the privacy of their own homes/cathedrals. If they’ll agree to do that… i will agree to engage our practical differences in the open forum of Democratic Pluralism.

Long live the Beautiful American Stew…!
Long live the separation of Church and State…!
Long live the Beautiful Angry Noise!

What is a “resource based economy?”
How can we survive Humanity’s “Technological Adolescence?”