The same thing looks vastly different because of aspect
perception. That was the main point of my
previous blog post, using the widely-known duck-rabbit illusion. In that
article I referred to religious ramifications of aspect perception. This post
is about political ramifications.
What you see in the duck-rabbit illusion depends on whether
you look to the right or the left of the image. In the political world, there
is a huge difference in how the Republican right or the Democratic left sees this
nation.
As is clearly shown
here, in the Oct. 23 edition of Meet the
Press, a recent NBC poll indicates that 79% of Republicans and 81% of Democrats
think that the “other Party’s agenda will destroy America.”
What a huge and crucial difference aspect perception makes!
The two political parties just see and interpret the current situation in the
U.S. in radically diverse ways.
According to Michael Flynn’s perception of America, the
future of the country is in grave danger and can only be saved by “spiritual
warfare.” He is now leading a “holy war” to save the nation.
As you probably know, Flynn (b. 1958) was a prominent U.S.
general, active especially during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In February
2016 Flynn became an advisor to Trump for his presidential campaign, and in
January 2017 he was sworn in as Pres. Trump’s first National Security Advisor
(NSA).
Soon after being forced to resign as NSA, in December 2017
Flynn pled guilty to a felony charge of “willfully and knowingly” making false
statements to the FBI. In November 2020, however, he was issued a presidential
pardon by Trump.
Since then, Flynn has been active as one of the most
prominent leaders of Christian nationalism. As one of the main speakers at the
ReAwaken America Tours, since April of last year he has spoken to numerous
enthusiastic audiences of thousands. On Nov. 4-5 he will be with RAT in
Branson, Mo.
Perceptions of Michael Flynn vary greatly. In the PBS
documentary, pastor Jacqui Lewis is shown as a staunch opponent of Flynn. She
exclaims, “It’s our calling to disrupt fake Christianity. And we're not going
to be nice about it.” Lewis also declares, “It is a battle for the soul
of America.”**
The interviewer, Michelle Smith, comments, “Rev. Dr. Jacqui
Lewis is part of a coalition of religious leaders that opposes what they see as
a hijacking of Christianity by figures like Flynn.”
While not included in the documentary, a group known as Faithful
America is also actively opposing what they perceive to be the false
Christianity of Flynn and his supporters. On their website they identify
20 Christian nationalists whom they say are “false prophets.” Flynn is one of
them.
Flynn’s supporters, though, perceive things quite
differently. This week I checked out journalist Dave Erickson’s book Framing
Flynn: The Scandalous Takedown of an American General (2021) from my local
library.
The blurb on the back of the book says that it is an
“eye-opening and shocking look at the Obama administration’s scandalous set up
of an innocent man—General Michael Flynn—to destroy his livelihood, reputation,
and job with the incoming Trump administration.”
Author Erickson obviously perceives the same man in a drastically
different way than pastor Lewis and Faithful America. They represent the two
sides of Flynn’s “holy war.” The November 8—and Nov. 2024—elections will give
some indication of how that “war” will end.
Which side of the “holy war” are you on, and why?
Please note: I am not in the least suggesting that
one “side” is as true or viable as the other. My use of the rabbit/duck
illusion is only to illustrate how the same thing can be seen in diverse ways,
not how each is equally correct.
_____
* This
program was produced by PBS in cooperation with The Associated Press (AP), and
the main interviewer throughout is AP correspondent Michelle Smith. On
their website, AP,
founded in 1846, claims to be “an independent global news organization
dedicated to factual reporting.”
** Lewis
is the pastor of Middle Collegiate Church in Manhattan.
Here is the link to her informative website.
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