Over recent weeks, I've realized how many of my once-sacred givens are now up for debate in my heart and how much grieving this reality has yielded. Maybe you’re in the same place of uncertainty and instability. johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/things-im-... - ThreadSky

johnpavlovitz.bsky.social • 2 days ago

Over recent weeks, I've realized how many of my once-sacred givens are now up for debate in my heart and how much grieving this reality has yielded.

Maybe you’re in the same place of uncertainty and instability.

https://johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/things-im-struggling-to-believe-after

Comments

sirrigglebottom.bsky.social•1 day ago

Thanks for articulating what so many of us are feeling right now and struggling to accept or put into words

wyzwmn68.bsky.social•2 days ago

💙

augustusoctavius.bsky.social•2 days ago

Many people are grieving these days.

nandojourneyman.bsky.social•2 days ago

Reads like growth to me

lindajti1961.bsky.social•2 days ago

I still believe in God, I've read and am aware of things to come. But it is scary 😨. However, I am at peace. I am so thankful that my parents are no longer here to see it today. We have to take a stand, however big or small, against the tyranny. #notofacism #nototrump #notomusk #impeachtrump

crythenreportme.bsky.social•2 days ago

John Pavlovitz will be jailed in El Salvador. Terror is coming for the libshits.

crythenreportme.bsky.social•2 days ago

Face it — Democrats are getting their sorry asses kicked.

bonnielass.bsky.social•2 days ago

I never thought I would see the day that we had a President claiming to be king and an unelected person wrecking the government.

c-lindalou.bsky.social•2 days ago

Me too. But I couldn’t imagine a complicit GOP, a party that has abandoned morality in favor of authoritarianism & hegemony. A GOP complicit in dismantling our checks & balances.

johnminbiole.bsky.social•2 days ago

I am indeed in that same place, John. Your article resonates with me.

I thought the bullies faded away. They didn't.

kismet83.bsky.social•1 day ago

And you are “one of those kind of people the world needs”, John. Thanks once again for your inspiring words. You encapsulated in this piece my own current political existential crisis so perfectly and helps me to find hope that we can make our way out of this horror we see unfolding.

inxanadu25.bsky.social•2 days ago

This article hits home. Thank you!

robbiestar.bsky.social•2 days ago

Not one sentence of self reflection?

I didn’t read it. I’m guessing no.

theboreddm.bsky.social•2 days ago

Like you said, John, the biggest failure of the democrats was not investigating the election. @electiontruth.bsky.social is working hard to prove manipulation, which much of their work to date already suggests. Spread the word so we can push for a complete audit of the election!

heyjayblue.bsky.social•2 days ago

Absolutely feel most of the same losses in what I believed. But we can have hope that the many (and there are more of us) will unite and rebuild even better. But there’s No getting around how disheartening & scary these current realities are.

dolania.bsky.social•2 days ago

Curse words and the word hate cross my mind so much lately that I feel I’m losing my empathy. I don’t want to give in. #staystrong

wabenokwe.bsky.social•2 days ago

You put to much faith in a imaginary friend! And yes so do I but I realized long ago, after your religion being forced on me, they are all just made up to help us feel better. Our stories are all just about good and evil, the good usually winning. Lots of you need to read a certain book again!

barbbengela.bsky.social•1 day ago

Beautifully said, John, and so heartbreakingly true. I, too, have the same dire feelings you have laced with 'the truth is eternal and will set us free'. For about ten seconds. Thank you for writing this. I shall read and re-read it, it says so much, hopefully there will be a positive ending. 🙏

b3tt3rfutur3.bsky.social•2 days ago

I sometimes think we mourn the "death"/refutation of a belief system the same way we mourn the loss of a person. A dream has died & sometimes we need to grieve that. On some level i obviously haven't fully accepted the state of things bc all 3 last elections hit me hard, how many embraced him/them.

b3tt3rfutur3.bsky.social•2 days ago

Im sorry ur going thru this. "A cynic is an idealist who has had their heart broken over & over again." S.o. who truly abandons their ideals/hopes doesn't feel bitter/sad. They just move on. Imo so long as ur hurting, the ideals are still alive inside. The bad stuff hasn't managed to corrupt that.

rcancona.bsky.social•2 days ago

I will never again darken the door of a church. They have created the ecosystem in this country that incubated and then let loose the monster that is devouring our country and I’ll never forgive the churches and people who brought us here.

eric2718.bsky.social•2 days ago

SOME churches, definitely not all. There are some good ones that support LGBTQ rights, help immigrants and the poor, etc.

c-lindalou.bsky.social•2 days ago

There are Christians and churches who actually try to follow Jesus of Nazareth’s teachings, who pay attention to the greatest command (love God) & the second one (love your neighbor), who pay attention to the Beatitudes & parables like the Good Samaritan (LGBTQI+/immigrant/other race,etc)

ginad57.bsky.social•2 days ago

I even told my daughter not to have children because this planet is going to greed...

captconvolvuli.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm fascinated by the rainbow variation of contrasting values in our world, directly relatable to age. What each group wants, what each expects, what the oldest recalls and what the youngest have no interest in.
Just ponder that, based on your everyday experience for a moment.

mpvett.bsky.social•2 days ago

I too thought that most people were good, I am grieving that they are not.

lenecharlotten.bsky.social•2 days ago

🙏💙

johnmullinax.bsky.social•2 days ago

Everything you talk about is true if and only if people choose to make it true by the way they live their lives. It seemed more true before because it was. It seems less true now because it is. But it can be more true again.

sroberts323.bsky.social•2 days ago

I am living every single point you make here. I have walked away from the church community for the foreseeable future as I cannot see the God I believe in existing within its walls at this time. The grief for my country and church is very real.

blizzardbella.bsky.social•2 days ago

👏👏👏

dgwats.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’ve never wanted an entire administration to meet their traitorous end by firing squad before. I don’t like it at all.

nomafs.bsky.social•1 day ago

I SOOOO agree!

dermann51.bsky.social•2 days ago

Nope.
An asshole's an asshole. History shows the way.

johnlynker.com•2 days ago

Take solace two ways:
- history teaches us the degredation of societies.
- Gen-Z is sick of this shit & are activating.

Pls keep beliefs & hard realisms in their proper priorities. Best!

saxonraider.bsky.social•2 days ago

ALL religion is Sumerian: flawed, fallible, and meant for the purpose of control. Jesus isn't a religion. Jesus is with I Am and has been given authority. You take Jesus name in vain.

dsnov.bsky.social•1 day ago

It hurts to see the destruction of what I used to hold so dear.

lauralauradavis.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’m sorry friend, I struggle with many of the same thoughts right now. I think groupthink throws a wrench into all of those things that skews it towards the charismatic leader that the group is following.

If that personal is basically good, it will help the followers to access those good parts

the-dudemeister.bsky.social•2 days ago

The normalcy bias is shattered...

dfiantmom.bsky.social•2 days ago

If the current situation was about one bad guy, I could make sense of that. There is always a villain. What bothers me is the entirety of the republican congress and house, and all of the MAGA voters. We are living in a world of villains and their hideout is the church.

shaunamtnmermd.bsky.social•1 day ago

Can I tell you how often your words reflect my spirit? Nearly every recent post. Thank you.

amyspungen.bsky.social•2 days ago

Terrifying reality indeed. Such an eloquent essay, and I agree with every point you make. Thank you, and here’s (barely) hoping.

vpynchon.bsky.social•2 days ago

I do recall the evangelical instruction that we have all fallen short of the glory of god and well, this country, like all others, has been in a state of denial and self-delusion about our fallen nature; we may need this disruption to acknowledge the damage & repair it at last

vpynchon.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’m no longer a believer but Christian values - forgiveness, mercy, and the moral obligation to care for our neighbors, to love! our enemies, remain my ethical compass as hard as it is not to lose hope that the worst of us (as we all are some of the time) will cause the best of us to rise.

gcmahdia.bsky.social•1 day ago

PASS IT ON: TRUMP IS A FILTHY, BASTARD, CRIMINAL TRAITOR ALLOWED TO RAPE, PILLAGE AND TERRORIZE AMERICA BY A COWARDLY, COMPLICIT REPUBLICAN PARTY.
WHO AMONG US IS BRAVE ENOUGH TO RID US OF THIS SCURRILOUS SCOURGE?

wclamp.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm still in the grieving stage.

natashiad.bsky.social•1 day ago

Absolutely. What is happening is unimaginable. No one could have predicted the depravity, greed, and absolute disregard for common decency.

attikusfinch.bsky.social•2 days ago

I’m really affected. Really affected. It makes me sad but proud too that I value the right things in the is world.

bouley.bsky.social•2 days ago

Same ☹️

madchinchilla.bsky.social•2 days ago

All but the last one. Getting to know the "other" is how we get out of this. It is how public opinion changed so rapidly to support gay marriage (not everyone, but a majority did rapidly).
It is easy (and human) to sit in rural Ohio and think the immigrant is causing your problems till you meet em.

lyrapersonette.bsky.social•1 day ago

Yep. I’ve told my kids that I’m ok with euthanasia if my money & health fails me rather than them having to try to afford caring for me in their homes.
I once thought living to 90 was what I wanted.
No longer sure I want to last till next week.

js-sherlock.bsky.social•2 days ago

As an outsider, the US political structure always seemed fragile. The President has too much power since they are both the head of state and head of government. The US also has a bad track record for holding power to account: Nixon, A. Johnson, Confederate leaders, now Trump.

moonhoneygrove.bsky.social•2 days ago

I so appreciate these essays, John.

(Something something about deep anger and the betrayal of the American Social Contract, disgust, dismissal, dismay, etc, etc)

You're putting into words everything I feel.

srem.bsky.social•2 days ago

Very well put, thank you.

anonmrbear.bsky.social•2 days ago

The feeling that my kids will have a fundamentally different America to live in hits hard.

nomafs.bsky.social•1 day ago

I've got to get my granddaughter out of here.

anonmrbear.bsky.social•1 day ago

Yup, this is not going to end well

expatsy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Call your reps.
https://5calls.org/

maestraoogway.bsky.social•2 days ago

📌

klshoop.bsky.social•1 day ago

Definitely! And how angry and disappointed I am in the choices that others made that affects us all! People CHOSE this chaotic nonsense!

missrevo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes, it’s very difficult to look around you and have faith in humanity.

robbiestar.bsky.social•2 days ago

Leftists are cynical at heart. Hence the hate laws and speech laws. Leftists think the public is stupid. Arrogant hubris.

deepstatedm.bsky.social•2 days ago

Right-wing/fascist/ultranationalists also believe the public is stupid, using them as useful tools to oppress and disinform others to gain and hold power at all costs.

eric2718.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yet more lying right wing bullshit....

robbiestar.bsky.social•2 days ago

It would be classed as opinion.

deepstatedm.bsky.social•2 days ago

A wholly uninformed/disinformed one. Correct.

brnqqsusie.bsky.social•1 day ago

📌

dbug22.bsky.social•1 day ago

Me too. I don’t know what to do on so many fronts.

marinersmax.bsky.social•2 days ago

Ukraine have had years of this. And Georgia, Chechens. Now it’s going to be our turn. A refugee friends three year old son was asked , where are you from? He replied, “My country is on fire”.

mummah.bsky.social•2 days ago

All the time.😢

keelyrait.bsky.social•2 days ago

Only difference is he did not win the election. We have got to make sure our votes are safe for the future!

ryansforbeson.bsky.social•2 days ago

My grief is over how many decent people are getting fucked over by the indecent people. TBH, I’ve felt since childhood there are more bad people than good. So this just proves it to me. I’ve given up on supporting or helping anyone I don’t know isn’t MAGA.

dfowler.bsky.social•2 days ago

Eyes toward the God of the Bible - NOT the Maga god, is literally our only hope. The Bible is a complete picture of mankind's incompleteness.

lei694.bsky.social•2 days ago

I mourn for my grand children's future. My heart is broken for our country.

pb48.bsky.social•2 days ago

WE must be UNITED to stop the BS. WE must.

seasofsalish.bsky.social•2 days ago

Me too. Our daughter graduates college next year. We’re afraid she will be able to find a job.

I know this isn’t as big a hurdle as others have. It still is not how America is supposed to work.

judybaldwin.bsky.social•2 days ago

Agreed. Breaks my heart. But gotta push back on evil until it's defeated.

pb48.bsky.social•2 days ago

Adaptation. WE must be UNITED for PEACE.

liberalbeth.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you, well written. It’s as though we share a brain right now.

craigstrimel.bsky.social•2 days ago

🙋🏻‍♂️

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