Political Discontent In Our Time

By Rod Dreher

THE AMERICAN CONSERVATIVE

06 May 16

Emphasis and {commentary} in red type by Abyssum.

The fact that the Republican Party is about to nominate Donald Trump is just one sign that social and religious conservatives have been thoroughly routed. It’s important to give up false political hope, because trying to defend ground that we have already lost blinds us to what we might yet successfully defend … . False political hope also blinds us to preparing for the long siege ahead, and mounting an effective resistance. To continue the culture war metaphor, we are going to have to live for some time under occupation, but that only means that we have to find within ourselves courage, creativity, and new reserves of fidelity.

If you are the kind of conservative Christian who is used to staying quiet and hoping that this will past, you are not going to make it through what’s coming with your faith intact, and neither will your descendants. This is no time for complacency. Whether Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump is elected this fall, orthodox Christians are facing a difficult and challenging future. The signs of the times are there, whether you want to see them or not. The more you try to convince yourself that there’s a place for you in the emerging post-Christian order, the harder it is going to be to do what you have to do for the sake of your faith and family when the time comes.

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Conservatism After Trump As I see it, the Ben Op (Benedict Option) is, as someone here put it the other day, a form of “Christian localism,” one that would inspire exactly the kind of thing Brooks is talking about here. One gives up much hope of changing the country, and focus on what good one can do locally.