It was hard not to be filled with despair Monday.
Between watching the obviously orchestrated cut off of funds to Ukraine, the grift occurring with cryptocurrency at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer, the cessation of investigation of money laundering, the announcement that the Defense Department had halted offensive cyber operations against Russia and the instatement of tariffs against our closest neighbors and allies, Canada and Mexico, it felt as though the New World Order, where the U.S. stands with Russia and is run by oligarchs, was complete.
Beyond the utter silence of the Republican Party, which once stood tall in the fight against Communism, I think the hardest part for me was seeing people who I know not to be evil spouting Russian talking points on their social media page and taking the side of the murderous Putin instead of standing up for democracy.
They truly believe the propaganda they have been fed by Fox News and worse. They have convinced themselves somehow that standing up for democracy with Ukraine is wrong and that the actions by this administration are part of a righteous cause.
Sadly, this is exactly what happened in Nazi Germany. The German people were not innately horrible. They just chose to ignore the facts and cling to convenient lies instead of an inconvenient truth for their world view. Sadly, for too many, it is easier to do nothing if the injustice is not impacting you directly.
As I prayed about it this morning, asking God for the courage and strength to move forward in the face of despair, I kept coming back to the passage “Faith, hope and love abide, these three, and the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:13)
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1), which means that, even though I may not see it or feel it now, I can’t give up. Sometimes I wish I was the kind of person who didn’t care what was happening in the world, but that’s not in my nature. And I can’t go off grid permanently, as attractive as that may seem at times. So, I need to have faith that in spite of what is transpiring now, God is still in the mix.
The lies, the abandonment of democratic values and the support of murderous dictators is clearly not the will of God because God never wills sin. So I hold fast and need to be able to heed the words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
Knowing that, I move to hope. I believe despair is the death of hope that when evil triumphs we lose hope and believe there is nothing we can do to change the reality around us and when what is occurring becomes inevitable because we are rendered immobile and feel powerless.
This leads me to love. Love is a verb and the most vital verb in our tool belt against the rise of authoritarianism.
During World War II, FDR said, “The value of love will always be stronger than the value of hate. Any nation or group of nations that employs hatred eventually is torn to pieces by hatred.”
I believe that to be true. Even if the nation torn apart by hatred is our own, it can only be rebuilt with love.
So, I will continue to do all that I do driven by the perfect love that cast out all fear. So, I will not succumb to despair. I will continue to show up at protests, speak up when I see people spewing falsehoods in a loving way that seeks to engage and stand up for values I hold dear.
I will not go gently into the night but instead rage against the darkness in a way that illuminates my spirit by crying out for justice, loving those around me and proclaiming God’s love for everyone. Full stop.
Despair is real. But God’s word is true. And that alllows me to move forward in faith, clinging to hope and believing in love.
