“For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.
(2 Timothy 1:7)
In my senior year at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, my curriculum included one extended unit of Clinical Pastoral education (CPE) at Central Ohio Psychiatric Hospital as a Student Chaplain. One of my goals was to learn more about mental illness, and I did see delusional people. One man thought he was Jesus Christ, and it took about 1 week of caring cognitive therapy to bring him out of that delusion. His therapist was East Indian and reminded the patient that Jesus lived on earth in another century and was in heaven. She told this patient straight up that his family said he was (she used his real full name). The mind is an amazing and powerful thing. I saw much that year and learned about mental health issues and how poorly our country deals with them, especially how difficult it is to pay for mental health treatments when needed. I also learned that telling the truth in a safe, calm, and caring environment is the best way to treat delusional people. Most delusions are fear based and love always conquers fear. For true healing though, you never want to play into the delusion!
During the Presidential campaign one political parody TV show had an embedded reporter who attended Trump rallies to interview attendees about their beliefs. It was humorous most of the time to see the responses as he confronted them with the facts that they refused to believe. For me it was also very sad and cause for concern to see so many people who seemed motivated to follow a cultic leader against common sense. They had accepted his news, his view of the world, his statistics, and his alternate reality. All along I kept thinking to myself that governance is not meant to be reality TV.
Part of me understands the reasons why some people would follow such delusions – maybe because of my mental hospital experience. The soon to be former President did the work of rallying a large number of citizens toward the Republican Party (which has failed to provide a policy position statement for this campaign) and this large base seems to have great value for other Republican Party members who are now playing into the delusions in a power struggle. This is not leadership as I learned leadership. Leadership based on fear is short lived because both fear and guilt are poor motivators over the long term. Cooperation, not divisiveness, is the golden attribute to survival and great leadership. As I write this, some Republicans plan to contest the Electoral College vote in the senate today. I do not condone this action. I do not believe it is respectful of our democratic republic. I will remember the individuals who exercised such power struggles and deselect them from representing me as it is in my power.
I see delusional people. They are people for whom Jesus-Messiah died, but some of them do not know this nor how to live this truth nor how to worship God, the ultimate ruler.
What we need to do as citizens, is to reach out to anyone still under the Trump spell and love them back into functioning in our real world. Speaking the truth in love works. Telling them what you value makes more sense. Especially tell them they are valued as human beings and it is going to be okay. Sure, you can place your trust in someone who will let you down, but ultimately God is in charge and cooler temperaments will get us through the crisis du jour. Walk them back to a meaningful life with friends and family. I know this is challenging in a pandemic, but love still rules. Hey, we can all make mistakes. Will it matter in 5 years? Probably not. We will get through this together!
And we must hold leadership accountable for what has happened. I do not value grandstanding. Do you? I think our government is strong enough to withstand assaults and to forgive but, we should not forget. We should live and learn from it. True power comes in humility. That is what Jesus-Messiah teaches. I do not value authoritarian leadership. I don’t think the founding fathers valued it either. I believe God will continue to give us a chance to live together in peace if we do the work to love each other and to take care of each other.
Call to Action:
If you know someone who is still in rally mode for Trump, love them back to reality. Establish a calm caring tone to assure them they are valued. Do not support their alternate universe or conspiracy theories, but speak the truth in love. When words fail, just accept and love them until the words make sense again.
After the coup attempt in the Capitol on Epiphany 2020, I am compelled to add this information: If your friend or family member cannot accept the truth and becomes a danger to his/herself and others you must call your local County Mental Health hotline or a physician you trust for guidence on how to proceed further. Getting professional help when needed is the most loving thing to do.
Okay, I was finally able to read this. Thanks for your thoughts, Jackie. I appreciate your practical-minded optimism. I am not as optimistic myself in the face of this mass delusion, but I I’m glad you are fighting the good fight.
Thanks David for reading it. I guess I have the gift of faith. I also know that not all 72 million who voted for the loser of the election are militant. We have to engage to heal and we have to hold the militants responsible. Keep reading. I value you thoughts as a non-religious person and as a non-Texan.