On a Knife's Edge

Democracy and Spiritual Activism

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I was raised in a version of religion that taught all the ills of the world would miraculously disappear when Jesus came back to Earth. Activism beyond beseeching to God in prayer was viewed as a waste of time. That worldview never sat right with me and in my early twenties, when I learned how rapidly humans were pushing fellow species into extinction, a fire of activism lit within me.

Today I’m a Unity minister * and adhere to a worldview that we are all spiritual beings having a human experience (or for other beings a dog, horse, caterpillar experience). In these fraught times when I’m asked whether spiritual practice or direct action is the way to go, I say, “Yes.” There is tremendous power in spiritual practices and staying open to the possibility that there’s much more going on at a spiritual and evolutionary level than we recognize, while also being clear-eyed, strategic, strong and outspoken about what’s taking place right now before our very eyes.

In Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, elven queen Galadriel, sums up the status of the effort to save Middle Earth from complete takeover by the evil wizard Saruman when she says, “The quest stands upon the edge of a knife.” That’s how I’ve felt this week about the status of democracy in America under the current regime – on a knife’s edge.

I have a sense what’s at play here is much more sinister than just a couple of power-hungry billionaires. As I see it there are two main factions driving this. One is comprised of idealogues who believe America should be a strictly Christian nation because we were chosen by God and that we are in a state of constant spiritual warfare in which many liberal policies are viewed as aligned with, or the work of, a literal devil. These are the main authors of Project 2025, which is a literal playbook for transforming American politics and culture into a brazen Christian Nationalist patriarchy.

The other faction is made up of a small elite group of uber-wealthy billionaire corporatists who worship the gods of money and technology. They are mostly ideologically neutral with a mission of shredding institutions, regulations and checks-and-balances that could slow the expansion of their wealth. They are “pro-business” even if it means undermining public health, destroying nature, eroding democracy.

Both factions are harnessing Trump’s insatiable ego and desire for power to move their agendas forward. They are also masterful in utilizing misinformation and propaganda across their huge media network to tap into, and stoke, the fear and outrage of the approximately 35% of Americans who lean far-right.

These are smart, shrewd people who have a vision for our country and world that I find abhorrent. This week they unleashed a barrage of actions undermining democracy, including reducing our ability to vote (especially women), shredding the separation between the Department of Justice and the president, and trying to block states from implementing strategies to address climate change. They also passed a budget resolution that will give billionaires additional tax breaks while cutting essential programs like Medicaid. Trump dropped a social media tip telling his followers it was a good time to invest in the stock market just a couple hours before he pushed pause on the tariffs, sending the markets soaring. Shortly after he gloated about how much money that had made for his billionaire supporters. Many of these actions are unconstitutional and likely illegal but proving that and reversing the damage requires massive amounts of time and resources.

Even with the blatancy of these tactics, so far democracy is holding, due primarily to the lower courts. That of course is why the Republicans this week moved to try to strip the courts of power. A knife’s edge.

So what can we do?