Hello everyone! Bear with me while I juggle writing and public health nursing. Blogs may be fewer and further between for a time, but I am still writing.
Today I want to talk about the Capitol riot and the why of that very fateful day. This has been a few weeks in the making as I needed to sit with it first. As most of you know I rarely go political, but I believe to not address this would be a grave mistake as a Christian.
First and foremost, I want to say that what happened at the Capitol on January 6th was wrong and the work of evil. It was tantamount to rebellion against the leadership that God has established in our Congress at this time in this nation, whether you agree with them or not. I condemn the insurrection and rebellion for what it is, a work of deception and evil. I also believe everyone should be held responsible and accountable that organized it or incited it, including our former president, Donald Trump. We are already seeing this come to pass.
Secondly, those represented at this insurrection and failed coup were not representatives of Jesus Christ, nor have they ever been. They do not care about freedom, our nation, or anyone but themselves and what they want. They worship death and violence and sadly, it follows them. They believed a lie or multiple lies I should say.
And lastly, I want to address the why and the deceptive lies that ensnared those who took part in this, not to excuse them, but to give you a lens into why they would do what we all witnessed on 1/6/2021. My hope is that through holding them accountable, they may see the deception too everything from them, and they will choose to change.
So how exactly do people get themselves into things like insurrections, extremist groups, and QAnon?
It all starts with wanting to belong to something that matters. They want a sense of community. They want to feel like they belong. They want to be loved. Conspiracy and extremist groups offer belonging, love and understanding, yet what they do not tell those they ensnare is that there will be a heavy exacting price to pay – even unto death.
People who join these movements feels they have no voice. They want to be heard. They want to be seen, to not feel invisible. These groups offer this to them as well, but it is a false voice, a false image.
Does a sense of purpose play into this? Yes! When you feel you have no purpose, you will search for one, even in places you should not go looking. These groups offer them purpose and a “righteous cause” to believe in. They offer them something to believe in when many times they have had nothing to believe in and no one to believe in them. Yet, it is an unrighteous cause they are sold a false purpose.
Lastly, these groups offer people who feel powerless, the illusion of power. They play on their fears (which they stoke by lying to them about various things), and offer them a way to overcome fear through power and force - power to change the world, society, their community, etc. You name it, they convince them they can change it through power devoid of love. They package power and sell it at a high price. As you saw on 1/6/2021, they convinced them they would have ultimate power but failed to mention cost. Death and arrest were not mentioned in the brochure nor the propaganda piece they saw on a website, Facebook group, Twitter, Instagram, Parlor, etc. Telling half-truths is still lying and these groups are experts at half-truths.
Standing on the outside, this is quite sad. People who would have otherwise, without the influence of extremist groups, been good citizens, were sold a bill of goods – lies, false hope, false power, false purpose, false love, and false belonging. They got played. This has cost them dearly and will continue to do so for many years without repentance. By holding them accountable and responsible, they get a chance at repentance and change. Without accountability and responsibility, then they have no chance to change.
Where do we go from here?
My hope and prayer as we move forward now is for protection and wisdom for our current president, our current federal law enforcement, and our Congress. It is also my hope that those who participated in the January 6th, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol will come out from under their deception, denounce the lies and the groups they belong to, and repent.
We unify, we pray, we love - that is where we go from here. Love is stronger than hate. Love is greater than death. Love dispels lies. Love has already won!
With love and truth,
Elizabeth
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