At last it’s time to write an article about Trump’s use of alligators. This is the article I really wanted to write when I was getting bogged down in the last post. I wrote the article about Wikipedia first because I suspect its editors may be responsible for my difficulties with readership. That fear made me worry that this more important article would not be noticed. Not that I think writing about it will solve the problem of readers, but this worry was on my mind.
I’ve also been a little worried about presenting this idea here. It has the potential to annoy both the Left and the Right. It could even ruin whatever credibility I have. This concern has put a lot of pressure on me, but these are desperate times and I believe these things are important for me to say.
The Alligator
For about fifteen years I’ve known that the alligator is sentient. She can acknowledge and respond to the kindnesses we perform in her behalf, or in behalf of the earth, and she can bestow spiritual gifts. (I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that the alligator herself is as dangerous as ever.)
I’m saying this now because I believe this knowledge can be a source of hope, and because I believe I have a responsibility to announce her presence.
Why Now?
I haven’t given you this information before now because I didn’t understand how it fit in the conversation. Strangely enough, it was after I was told that the alligator’s gift to me is not Christian that I began to understand.
How is that helpful you ask? When I thought it was a Christian gift it made me very nervous. I didn’t know where it fit in the Christian scheme of things. However, if it’s not Christian it doesn’t imply anything about Christian beliefs.
Again, how is that helpful? Likewise, the idea that it is not Christian does not worry me because I’m not talking about an ideology or a system of beliefs. I’m talking about something real. The gifts of the earth and her creatures, like the alligator, are as real as the Holy Spirit.
Am I’m suggesting a new belief system? No, I’m not. I’ve done a little reading about Pantheism and I have learned that humans are natural theologians. They easily spin new systems of beliefs and pit them against other systems of beliefs.That is not what I’m talking about. And it is not necessary.
How Might This Help With Our Political Chaos?
I hope this can help us see reality. First, it might help our leaders by assuring them that their drastic, destructive plans are not necessary. And if it guides their behavior, it would help the rest of us. On the other hand, if their necessity stems from their determination to rule, they are currently in peril.
But the most urgent reason for this message is the realization that this understanding will put America’s cultural peculiarities into perspective. For example, if the well-being of the alligator is primary, what does it say about someone who envisions the alligator as an inanimate token for his cruel detention center in Florida? How sad is that? Trump’s use of alligators represents the worst sort of poverty.
The Alligator is Ancient
The Alligator is ancient. The distinct genus has been here about 37 million years. And it will be here long after the human race destroys itself, God forbid.
The broader lineage of crocodilians is much older. It’s 80-200 million years old.
Don’t Forsake the Holy Spirit
However the reader responds to this message, it is important to maintain ones connection to the Holy Spirit as well. The Holy Spirit found me before I received this understanding of the alligator. I probably would not have discovered one without the other.
Again, I can’t tell you how you should respond to these things. I can only offer the hope this spirit can serve as an additional source of strength in this strange time.