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Non-Orthodox Christians Targeted In Former Soviet Union
9 years ago
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/armin....._10799414.html
You may be asking yourself why I'm worried about what's happening in Russia or Kazakhstan.
Well, there are a number of factors:
1. Vladimir Putin and his policies have a lot of fans in the US and Europe, both among ordinary people and among politicians. Apparently, according to my father's observations, there are some Alt Right-affiliated groups here in the US right now that have pledged their allegiance to him and have his portrait up in their meeting halls. There is a very good chance that we could soon fall under his sphere of influence if the Alt Right has their way. Even if we are not directly under their influence, if even a few countries outside the former Soviet Union follow suit, we'll have a situation where these sorts of policies have become the norm globally, and that's not good.
2. Fears of terror attacks are at an all-time high, so much so that people are willing to consent to all kinds of stupid laws under the guise of their own safety. Already we have extrajudicial kidnappings, espionage, and murders. How long before a major terror attack causes that to mushroom into even more problems? In my story "Repair Console," I predicted that some time in the 21st century, a General Religions Act would be passed in the US which would basically outlaw everything but mainline Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish groups. It would be touted primarily as a means of punishing Muslims, but it would be enforced arbitrarily against groups considered inconvenient by the state.
3. The church I am involved in has services in a home chapel. Services in homes are precisely the sort of thing that is being targeted in the former Soviet republics.
4. The Gnostic tradition includes many groups that are the subject of the sort of conspiracy theories very popular among the Alt Right. Among my acquaintances are a host of esoteric types, and although I am not a member of an esoteric group (Ecclesia Gnostica is exoteric meaning we have no secret initiatory orders), I am concerned that paranoia will eventually spill over. My lot's thrown in and I'm not going to assume that any anti-Esoteric movement is somebody else's problem.
Let me be clear: I'm not going to cut and run. I am done running. I will take whatever consequences come my way for the path I have chosen and, in the spirit of those who came before, I will be faithful and steadfast against all threats. But I would much rather not have to worry that these sorts of policies might become the norm globally.
You may be asking yourself why I'm worried about what's happening in Russia or Kazakhstan.
Well, there are a number of factors:
1. Vladimir Putin and his policies have a lot of fans in the US and Europe, both among ordinary people and among politicians. Apparently, according to my father's observations, there are some Alt Right-affiliated groups here in the US right now that have pledged their allegiance to him and have his portrait up in their meeting halls. There is a very good chance that we could soon fall under his sphere of influence if the Alt Right has their way. Even if we are not directly under their influence, if even a few countries outside the former Soviet Union follow suit, we'll have a situation where these sorts of policies have become the norm globally, and that's not good.
2. Fears of terror attacks are at an all-time high, so much so that people are willing to consent to all kinds of stupid laws under the guise of their own safety. Already we have extrajudicial kidnappings, espionage, and murders. How long before a major terror attack causes that to mushroom into even more problems? In my story "Repair Console," I predicted that some time in the 21st century, a General Religions Act would be passed in the US which would basically outlaw everything but mainline Protestant, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Jewish groups. It would be touted primarily as a means of punishing Muslims, but it would be enforced arbitrarily against groups considered inconvenient by the state.
3. The church I am involved in has services in a home chapel. Services in homes are precisely the sort of thing that is being targeted in the former Soviet republics.
4. The Gnostic tradition includes many groups that are the subject of the sort of conspiracy theories very popular among the Alt Right. Among my acquaintances are a host of esoteric types, and although I am not a member of an esoteric group (Ecclesia Gnostica is exoteric meaning we have no secret initiatory orders), I am concerned that paranoia will eventually spill over. My lot's thrown in and I'm not going to assume that any anti-Esoteric movement is somebody else's problem.
Let me be clear: I'm not going to cut and run. I am done running. I will take whatever consequences come my way for the path I have chosen and, in the spirit of those who came before, I will be faithful and steadfast against all threats. But I would much rather not have to worry that these sorts of policies might become the norm globally.
This would pretty much require some series of events so disastrous as to decouple if not destroy the entire judiciary system of the United States. The Supreme Court would never back such a law in court (freedom of religion is very clearly established by the courts), and by golly, they would be buried under writs of certiorari from lawsuits everywhere. It would spark a civil war, frankly. More realistically, it would require a civil to have already have happened for such a thing to even be concievable. There are too many checks and balances in our very flawed, but in many ways, very resilient system.
You'd think that warrantless spying and detentions would spark a civil war. It hasn't.
You'd think a war fought on completely false premises would spark a civil war. It hasn't.
You'd think that massive corruption so severe that no major politician has been convicted in decades would spark a civil war. It hasn't.
You'd think a trade deal that would turn our country into a sweat shop nation would spark a civil war. It hasn't.
Point being, nothing surprises me any more. It's like a frog in a pot of water: raise the temperature gradually and nobody notices it's boiling hot.
And the most litigious and heavily-armed sorts- namely the Evangelical protestants- would actually benefit from such a law. They'd be unaffected and indeed, they'd be much closer to their goal of becoming a state religion.
Picture this scenario: Donald Trump is elected president. A series of large-scale truck bombs goes off in coordinated attacks in five or six major US cities (this is similar to tactics used by ISIS but wouldn't necessarily be them). Eager to make his legacy, Trump (or one of his allies in the Congress) introduces a bill that he says will guarantee that a grieving nation will not have to deal with any more attacks. The boiler-plate language doesn't mention any religious minority specifically, but is written in such a callous and careless way that discrimination is in the letter of the law. The media is filled 24/7 with clips of grieving widows and children begging the government to do something. No one in the congress- not least the Democrats who have lost their way and pretty much let the Republicans have their way since the 90s- would be willing to say no. There'd be a few people standing up and saying something about the language in the bill targeting religious minorities. Cue Fox News rolling stock footage of Jonestown (the way Russian and Chinese media love playing up the threat of their own isolated suicide cults) and making their case that religious minorities have no value and pose a danger to society.
And so before 95% of the public even understands what's in the bill, it's signed into law. What little resistance there is gets pushed to the bottom of the docket, mocked in the media, scattered, dispersed, and generally falls apart under intense pressure and a general lack of people's ability in our alienated culture to band together. And at first it's only used on Muslims which would still be a great travesty, but one that sadly few people would fight against.
Then another, even more insane president comes along, sees this legal framework, and decides to make it his own. That's when it gets ulgy.
Yeah, maybe I'm alarmist. But I've thought this through. It seems plausible to me given the direction things are headed.