POST MUELLER: WHAT TO DO?

Trumpists can spin like tops but Mueller's report has dropped, historians will consider it the bedrock source regarding who did what in the 2016 election (yes, even over Rudy 🤣 ) and, in our time, the gods in DC will continue to heave lightning bolts at each other as this continues to play out on the national scale.

So, I ask myself, what can I - mere mortal in Bethlehem, PA - do to occupy myself (#OccupyMyself ?) while waiting for the no doubt momentous national events to come?

AS A CHRISTIAN: Christians have never been married to one type of government, though I consider myself beyond blessed to have lived in a democratic republic. My duty as a Christian is the same no matter WHO is running the show and no matter WHAT (if any) rules they feel compelled to follow.

It is the duty of a Christian to ally ourselves with the marginalized and unmask and rebuke death's false claim of authority over the human race as that claim is operationalized in deathly and dehumanizing systems of poverty, racism, materialism, militarism, etc.

AS AN AMERICAN: As an American of any or no religious faith, the Trump administration has laid out the core duties of a patriot.

1. INSIST on facts.
2. INSIST on the rule of law under the Constitution.
3. INSIST on humanity and decency in our leaders and ourselves.
4. INSIST on transparency and moral integrity as the standard of leadership even though human nature may fail the test in one specific case or another.
5. INVEST OURSELVES in those civic institutions of a democratic republic that mediate between the consolidated power of the nation state and the atomized liberty of free individuals.

And, yes, that last one especially is a TRULY CONSERVATIVE point of view first articulated by Edmund Burke, expanded upon by De Tocqueville, and now stolen from Yuval Levin by Bill Bekkenhuis. 🙂

I will keep an eye on international and national issues in Washington, DC, communicate with my representatives, and engage in civil protests if necessary.

But with Mueller's report out, our energies are now best expended in our neighborhoods and communities, whether by participating in local politics, supporting the Red Cross or the Boy Scouts, the local fire department, and / or the church or mosque or synagogue or values community of choice.

With Mueller's report, D-Day is over. The beachhead has been secured.

But there's a lot of house-to house fighting - for facts, for decency, for humanity - to come.