The holidays are upon us, and as I watch our country goose-step into a dystopian nightmare from an election based on misinformation, lies, threats, disinterest, and the misinterpretation of the character of God and the mischaracterization of “Biblical mandates,” the big question that I’m asking myself is: How then shall I live during these dark, dark times without losing my mind or my hope?
I’m thoroughly exhausted and keep screaming to the heavens: “Will the real Jesus please stand up!”
Everybody I talk to, who understands that #45* represents total moral decay and ineptitude from his head to his toes, is in a state of mourning and has gone into hibernation. They can’t breathe, they can’t talk, they can’t speak about the take-over of this demon and his minions without weeping uncontrollably. They are at a quandary as to how to move on and whether there is anything left that is worth fighting for.
*#45 is what I shall call the next President. If I can help it, I will personally never say his name again. Like Voldemort from the Harry Potter books, #45 will be referred to as “he who shall not be named” (my ongoing act of rebellion against him), nor will I acknowledge that he is our 47th President. Just like he tried to “erase” Biden as the #46th President in his mind and in the minds of his followers by wearing a MAGA hat that said “#45-47” at the January 6th insurrection and beyond, I shall forever refer to him as #45 or Satan’s spawn, whichever first comes to mind.
When I talk to my friends who feel that they don’t have any more fight left within them, I understand their pain over the future loss of women’s rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, human rights, etc. Because in this “new” America, if your rights don’t line up with #45 and his Project 2025 mandates, your ass is gonna be grass within the next four to twenty years and beyond. I get why so many hearts are broken and why so many people are hopeless and want to give up the fight because they feel it was all for nothing given the fact that half of America lost its mind.
My despair far transcends any American rights that are at stake, however—including civil rights. My heartbreak is the fact that the majority of MAGA voters are “Born-again Christians” who feel they are ushering in the return of Jesus by voting for a man who is the total opposite of what Jesus stands for—poor Jesus! I blame the leaders in the Christian Dominionist movement for gaslighting gullible Christians and the American public. Had they exposed #45 for the rabid creature he is, the dude would have gone screaming into the night and we’d not be entering America’s third horrible dystopian era (I consider the other two dystopian eras: 246 years of slavery and 100 years of Jim Crow segregation laws).
With the holidays approaching, so many of my White friends have family and people in their lives who crossed over to the dark side and are in a quandary as to how to handle being with people who think Democrats, Liberals, or anyone who thinks differently from them are undeserving of God’s love. So many of their MAGA friends and relatives are gloating over the triumph of #45’s win and, unfortunately, too many of the MAGA Christian Dominionists are cruel and mean-spirited about the win—eradicating any example of God’s love or familial love that once existed between them.
Personally, I’ve drawn up an action plan for myself, and maybe it will help others.
- I plan to reinvest in love which is the real essence of Christ, not the bullshit these faux Christians have been trying to force down our throats. According to my hero, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” The MAGAs of the world can have at it with their cruelty, bigotry, and hatred—I will not return the favor. In fact, the more they hate, the more I plan to double down on my joy!
- I plan to cultivate fearlessness. The best way to fight evil is to not fear what it can do to you because my fate is ultimately in God’s hands. As my three-year-old granddaughter says: “I am brave and I am strong!”
- I plan to step back from the terror of the news until after January 20th. Right now, the news pundits are doing nothing for me except agitate me to death and gin up fear with their speculative questions. As Whoopi Goldberg says, “no one knows what is going to happen until it happens.” By then, I’ll have a more demonstrative plan of action.
- I plan to do a lot of self-care—starting with professing my daily gratitude for all that I’ve been given by the grace of God. My life has been one where “God’s goodness keeps running after me,” which I don’t plan to forget during these fraught times. I plan to nurture my spirit with Truth and love! I’m going to spend quality time with my family and friends over the holidays, and I don’t plan to discuss politics. I do plan to eat (and eat!), drink (and drink), and be merry (plan to laugh my ass off!).
5. I plan to go see the musical Wicked! Then I plan to relearn the words to the song “Defying Gravity” because I think I’m going to need to know this song by heart in order to recharge my heart on a daily basis in the coming days, months, and years.
6. I plan to adjust my perspective and never give up hope in God. Timing is everything—even with the God of the Universe. I’ve come this far by faith leaning on the Lord, and God has never failed me. Just because Jesus didn’t seem to show up for righteousness in this election, doesn’t mean that He won’t show up—eventually. It just means that we are probably in the eighth episode of a ten-episode streaming series. Maybe in the next two “episodes” of this American series, #45’s moral decay and the ineptitude of his Gollum subservient cabinet, will finally be the rude awakening that shakes Americans out of our merely notional concept of being a “shining city on a hill” that we’ve clearly abandoned for greed and power to living the writing on the Statue of Liberty:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Finally, I do not plan to watch #45’s inauguration or read anything about it. (I didn’t watch his first inauguration, either.) I plan to completely avoid it. After it has passed, I’ll tell you how I managed it. (Actually, my plan is quite clever…stay tuned! I’ll tell you all about it in February.)
In the meantime, during your period of mourning in sackcloth and ashes, if you’d like to read a story about a society that overcomes its dystopian leader and religious disorder that ends in hope, check out my latest book: House of Oz Undone (A Cautionary Tale) for sale on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
Eleanor Tomczyk is a memoirist and humorist blogger renowned for her engagingly funny musings as an ex-Evangelical Conservative Christian (emphasis on the “ex”) and African-American Baby Boomer. Embarking on a new career as a storyteller at 60, she draws on her experiences in White Conservative churches. Now in her mid-70s and a wife, mother, and grandmother, Tomczyk has authored books such as Monsters’ Throwdown, Fleeing Oz, The Fetus Chronicles: Podcasts to My Fetus-self, and House of Oz Undone: A Cautionary Tale. Her multifaceted career also spans roles as a singer, actress, motivational speaker, and award-winning voice-over artist.
Want to learn more about the author? Check out: eleanortomczyk.com
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how the hell did i end up here? 