The first 100 days of Donald J Trumps presidency have had few tangible results and many notable setbackscourt blocked travel bans, the failed attempt at Obamacare repeal and replace, a stalled tax reform effort. These politically significant events, however, quickly disappear under the bright lights of Trumps presidential life, which is thick with the daily drama of a television soap opera. <\/p>\n
Is Steve Bannon in or out? <\/p>\n
Where is Kellyanne Conway? Has she become an alternative fact? <\/p>\n
Will the disgraced Michael Flynn spill the beans on Trump and Russia? <\/p>\n
Will Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka, the presidents oldest daughter, continue to contribute to unparalleled White House nepotism? Lest we forget, Jared is charged with resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict as well as the total reformation of the federal bureaucracy. For her part, Ivanka will make life better for American women, a role that didnt prevent her from sealing a lucrative Chinese trademark deal during the Chinese Presidents state visit to Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate. <\/p>\n
Will Donald Trump continue to violate the emoluments clause of the US Constitution? <\/p>\n
Will he ever make his tax returns public? <\/p>\n
All of these antics, of course, create a smokescreen that obscures the important stuff going on backstage--the deconstruction of the federal government. As we all know by now, President Trump has appointed cabinet secretaries most of whom are bent on dismantling their departments. Scott Pruitt, head of the Environmental Protection Agency doesnt believe in the science of climate change. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, is an opponent of public education. Whats more, many important sub-cabinet positions remain unfilled, which depletes the power and expertise of government departments. This move is a clever way to deconstruct government. <\/p>\n
Its pretty clear that Donald Trump wants to govern in the same manner he would undertake a real estate development project. In real estate development there are two ways to move forward on a project: (1) raze the existing structure and replace it with something that is entirely new; or (2) keep the existing structure but gut it from the inside and replace it with revolutionary interiors. For anthropologists like me this strategy bears a curious resemblance to what we call millenarian movements. In his classic book, anthropologist Peter Worsley surveyed the characteristics of these movements in Melanesia. Sometimes called cargo cults, millenarian movements, which are both religious and political in character, have occurred past and present and in every corner of the world. In millenarian movements, the oppressive hell of the old order compels a prophet to predict a cataclysmic event that will end the world. When the end comes the structure of the old order is razed like an old building. When the apocalypse arrives, everyone dies except for the prophet and his true-believer followers who inherit the world and build a new utopian society that conforms to the movements worldview. Such was the rationale for the American Indian Ghost dances of the 19th Century. Such was the rationale for David Koreshs Branch Davidian movement and for Jim Joness Peoples Temple. Such is the reasoning of millions of Americans who believe that end of the world as we know it is close at hand. <\/p>\n
There are countless End Times churches in the US. Indeed, the depth and breadth of End Times belief is reflected in the ongoing popularity of the Left Behind book series. Written by the late Tim LeHaye and Jerry Jenkins the Left Behind Series consists of 10 novels about the End Timesthe onset of the apocalypse, the rapture in which true believers are saved and the second coming of Christ who will build a new kingdom of believers. These books have sold upwards of 65 million copies. <\/p>\n
Sensing similarit of belief and practice, End Times believers seem to like Donald Trumps destroy and rebuild approach to governing. Many of them see his ascendancy to The White House as a sign that the End Times are near. Consider what Pro-Trump pastor Lance Wallnau said about candidate Trump in a conversation with the televangelist Jim Baaker. <\/p>\n
Consider this January 3, 2017 statement from the End Times Ministries: <\/p>\n
Consider what Nelle Smith said in a University of Southern California Religion Dispatch (Janaury 31, 2017) <\/p>\n
If you tear down the structure of government, you prepare the world for the End Times and the emergence of the Kingdom of Believers. These are classic millenarian beliefs, which is why so many evangelicals think that Donald Trump is paving the way for a new God-fearing utopia. <\/p>\n
Heres the rub: beyond the predictions for the apocalypse, the expectation for the rapture and the long-desired emergence of new world, millenarian movements dont end well. The prophecies never seem to pan out.The prophets, who like to ask for donations, are often morally bankrupt. As for the movements themselves, they literally burn out, precipitating much bad feeling, widespread injury and needless destruction, all of which makes me wonder if our End Times President, like the millenarian prophet, will slash and burn his way to oblivion. <\/p>\n
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End Times President - Huffington Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The first 100 days of Donald J Trumps presidency have had few tangible results and many notable setbackscourt blocked travel bans, the failed attempt at Obamacare repeal and replace, a stalled tax reform effort. These politically significant events, however, quickly disappear under the bright lights of Trumps presidential life, which is thick with the daily drama of a television soap opera. Continue reading