Nationalism is a form of collective narcissism, where the citizens possess an inflated self-love of “their own people,” to the exclusion of other human beings. Bryant McGill
Meditation: Our nation is led by a pathological narcissist who evokes the worst traits that our country is capable of: nationalism as collective narcissism. Decisions are being made that sacrifice whole groups of people on the altar of self-adoration. The current leaders justify their oppressive new laws by splitting into declared “good versus bad”, “us versus them”, “Christians versus Moslems”, “citizens versus immigrants”, “healthy versus those with a precondition” . This primitive and narcissistic defense mechanism of splitting causes great suffering for many innocent people. I am afraid that during these next four years many will be left behind. Many will fall through the intentionally cut holes in our social safety net. Holes and road blocks are being established everywhere: The powerful leave others to be without power: to not have a way to get a visa, to not find a way to get affordable health insurance, to have no way to escape bigotry nor get away from increasingly hateful and threatening talk and behavior…
Prayer: God, we pray for our nation that is being torn apart by collective narcissism. We pray for those judged, discriminated against, jailed, and tossed aside. Your heart aches for those sacrificed on the altar of self-idolatry. God, we pray that Your will be done. Let the church become a place of refuge, a beacon of hope, a voice in the wilderness that prophetically claims Your values that are opposite of what is currently happening in this country. Stop the craziness. Let those who Your Spirit leads stand up against the exclusion of the vulnerable, the sick, the stranger and the declared “other”. Heal our nationalist exclusivism and our country’s collective narcissism. God, have mercy. Amen
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4
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