So I was talking with this middle-aged lady and, when it was almost over, she asked if I knew Jesus. I sounded neutral, saying he was a great person and all. And I thought she was going to do the usual proselytizing which she did at first.
And then she said that she saw Jesus three times, and she even told me the specific date when this happened. And that's when this started to get rrreeeaaalllyyy different.
It's important to point out, of course, that as I was talking to her, it became clear to me that something wasn't right. She didn't seem outright malicious or evil like she wanted to hurt me or anything. But it seems she's got some problems mentally. I'm really trying not to be ableist here, I'm trying to phrase this the best I can and trying to look at this with compassion the best I can.
A variety of people across the world, from a variety of cultures and personal beliefs, have claimed to have had some kind of extraordinary, spiritual experience. For example, there have been people who have claimed to have had seen the afterlife after having died or gotten seriously injured. The majority report having a pleasant, heaven-like experience, regardless of their beliefs, even if they are atheists, though occasionally some people have more unpleasant experiences. The fact that so many of these experiences have been reported across a variety of places, cultures, and beliefs has made scientists wonder about what's going on, but of course, a conclusive answer has not been found yet so take this all with a grain of salt.
So, why do I bring up these specific spiritual experiences? Because, from my own personal research, the way these experiences change these people tends to be different from I'm going to describe later. For instance, they tend to be more accepting of other people from different cultures and beliefs.
Anyway, given the vibe I got from this woman, I will not try to counter what they have said in this post.
So anyway, they claim that they have seen Jesus three times in one day. And that He is coming soon. (capitalized because Jesus is a widely respected figure and His pronouns are usually capitalized as such) She talks about being born again and that it's not enough to just go to church and all that.
Then she mentions the devastation brought out by Hurricane Helene. She mentions that the "secular media" (red flag) probably underreported hundreds of people dying and there was probably more deaths, and claims that much of the assistance went to "illegal aliens." (This "illegal aliens" part was when I really knew something was off.)
She pulls out her phone and shows me a YouTube channel called Last Days. It's run by a guy that's pretty similar to her. It's a super Christian guy who claims to get visions from God, only he makes videos about it. She also mentioned that he predicted that Trump would get shot in the ear, and her general attitude towards Trump was another red flag.
She claims that the U.S. government is demonic, which is actually pretty true, they don't call it the Great Satan for no reason. And she claims it started with Obama, and she generally mentioned what he did wrong was stuff like rather irrelevant internal policies. I mentioned that I agreed that Obama was bad and mentioned the suffering he brought to the people of Libya and Syria, she brushed that off.
Then she gets to the conflicts in the Middle East. She asks "You're not pro-Palestine, are you?" and I just say I'm neutral but even that seems to have scared her a bit. I mention the two-state solution and the fact that women and children are being killed in this conflict. She kind of brushes off the civilian part as "all kinds of people are dying from this" and mentions a part in the Bible where that land (Palestine) "only belongs to the Jews" and that God will punish those who "try to take their land." In general, she seems pretty pro-Israel and talks about how "the Muslims" are wanting to destroy them. (Edit: I'd like to clarify that I am pro-Palestine and support the end of Israeli colonialism. I only said I was neutral because I feared that being pro-Palestine would've made her get super angry at me.)
It was somewhere after that part that the conversation politely ended and we said goodbye. For most of it, I didn't really provide counters, I just said "uh-huh" or mentioned how I agreed with some of it. I'm just sharing what I remember, I'm pretty sure you can imagine what else she said.
So, what can we take away from this? Firstly, it should be noted that this lady isn't a threat to myself or really anybody else. She just claims to have seen Jesus, which by itself is an extraordinary claim. The "Last Days" guy, from what I've seen so far, despite his large following, doesn't seem very physically dangerous as well. If there's any danger at all, it would be from other people who share similar sentiments and attitudes but are far more organized.
As Marxists, we know that religion is the opium of the masses, the sigh of the oppressed. Under more difficult material conditions, people are more likely to be super religious. As material conditions improve, people are more likely to be more moderately religious or to even abandon religion entirely.
In addition to this, people's mental health tends to decline under worse economic conditions.
People like Donald Trump are usually not seriously supported by people who are economically secure or confident in the future. They are usually scared and suffering, feeling betrayed by the system, and looking for answers.
With wages stagnant, inflation rising, imperialism being weakened, the climate crisis intensifying, the material conditions of those in the imperial core are declining. With the left weak, at least for now, people are turning towards the right instead.
I'd say the main point of this post isn't to say "Look guys, this lady said that God said that Muslims are bad!" It's to give a glimpse of how the decline of Western imperialism is affecting the people at home, and even moreso what they're going to feel once collapse has finally, fully arrived.
Organize. Join a party. Educate your fellow humans about the truth about socialism.
Our future doesn't have to be bleak, we can fight for ourselves a brighter world.
Note to Moderators: Once again, I am really not trying to be ableist, but if you feel this post comes off like I am, even accidentally, feel free to remove this.