Article: ‘Fantasy’ AI Video, Shared by Trump, of Gaza as Luxury Resort Draws Scorn

This story brought out a lot of anxiety in me.  One news outlet called it “rage bait”, and that feels accurate.  It’s taking a lot in me right now not to turn this blog post about belovedness into an op-ed.  But I guess that is the point of this exercise, right?..to get off my self righteous high horse and lay it all at the feet of Jesus?  

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  I am beloved.

The prompt recommended praying for those involved in the story, and to be honest, I thought that might require the least work.  Instead it stirred something in me that I did not expect.  The video in the story was originally created as a joke.  While I could spend the duration of my writing picking it apart piece by piece, I found the Spirit prompting me, “Remember when you joked about something that was out of line?.  Remember when you told a poorly crafted joke about a neighbor’s PTSD, made a crack at your friend’s stutter, or belittled someone you care for?  Remember when the person making videos with immature content was you during that time when you thought you were being funny in college?”

Breathe in. Breathe out.  You are beloved.  

Isn’t that what makes this idea of “rage bait” so powerful?..that it touches a nerve linking our outward frustration to our unresolved anger pointing inward at ourselves?  We rage because we want the world to see us as different from those we call guilty while inwardly we find ourselves holding common space with our own perceived enemy.  

Breathe in.  Breathe out.  We are beloved.  

Lord, fill me with grace for my own past that it might overflow as compassion to those I have labeled my enemies.  Amen.