Sunday Thoughts

Thomas Aquinas wrote that there are two causes of despair. One is the lack of striving for heaven, and the other is an attachment to worldly pleasures. On the one hand, a lack of faith can lead to a lust for material pleasure and on the other hand a lust for earthly pleasure can result in a turning away from God, which leads to despair. A lot of time was spent by Christian theologians on the question of despair, which is a curious thing from the perspective of this age.

It is not that most people have abandoned Christianity, but that it is so rare for someone to give up hope, no matter their conditions. Even the lowest bum thinks better days lie ahead. Much of what keeps people on drugs is the belief that they will one day rise from their condition. In fact, it is only when they begin to despair will they start to turn around their lives. That is not to say there are no people who have succumbed to despair, but that it is a rare thing.

Watching the jubilation from the Trump fans online, I am amazed how they seem to have forgotten what happened in his first term. His party, the other party, permanent Washington, the judiciary and the intelligence community worked to thwart him. It is only reasonable to assume they will do the same this time, maybe without the theatrics. Trump is wiser now and he has some support from the economic elites, but he still faces the orc army of managerialism.

That does not mean it is hopeless. It just means expectations need to be tempered. The most we can expect from Trump is for him to move the ball down the field, so that Vance can start from better field position if he wins in 2028. In fact, one of the top priorities of this term should be to set up Vance to take the baton from Trump and continue the fight. Every mortgage payment in Washington depends on Trump failing, so no one should expect a glorious revolution.

Topics

• Optimism
• The Reagan Revolution
• The Crash
• The Resistance
• The Long Fight