The Collapse of Legitimacy
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“When everything is uncertain, everything that is important becomes clear.” — Sister Joan Chittister
Here in the U.S. and in other places around the world, we are witnessing the collapse of legitimacy—not just in our institutions, but in the very moral imagination of those who hold power. Political leaders perform like warlords. Corporate empires thrive on lies and spiritual distortion. We are watching the architecture of trust disintegrate in real time.
Into that vacuum rushes corruption—not as a flaw in the system, but as its design.
Launched last week, Trump’s new cell phone company1 isn’t just a commercial venture. It’s a tool in a larger strategy to build a self-contained world for his followers—a parallel infrastructure of economy, media, and belief. It’s where theology, commerce, and conspiracy blend into a single narrative. In this world, truth is whatever affirms loyalty. Commerce becomes covenant. To belong is to believe. For many, it doesn’t just offer cell service—it offers identity, community, even a sense of spiritual purpose. It’s not just manipulation; it’s myth-making.
But let’s stay clear about what’s happening.
We are living in a time of systemic unraveling: political, ecological, economic, and spiritual.
Authoritarians thrive in chaos. And they are manufacturing it—on purpose.
Corruption is not an accident. It is the operating system.
The world is not ending. But this world, as we’ve known it, may be.
In moments like this, it’s easy to despair. To disengage. To numb. But history has taught us that collapse is not the end of the story. It is the soil for something else—if we choose to show up with clarity and courage.
So the question becomes: what do we do with our disillusionment? Here’s the truth we often resist: there is nothing here to fix.
The system is collapsing because it was built on separation, domination, and illusion. It was never sustainable. The mistake is thinking we can patch it up—tinker with the edges and call it transformation.
But this is not a moment for reform. It’s a moment for relinquishment.
We are not here to rescue the old world. We are here to midwife something more whole. That requires a different kind of courage—not the courage to “fix,” but the courage to feel. To grieve. To see clearly without flinching, and to live into a deeper belonging that does not depend on systems of control.
Let the unraveling do its work. Let what is false fall away. Let what is real—love, presence, sacred interdependence—guide what comes next.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
What illusions have I been holding onto that no longer serve truth or liberation?
Where do I notice the impulse to fix, rather than feel, what is collapsing?
In the face of systemic unraveling, what does it mean for me to stay rooted in love rather than fear?
A Prayer for the Day
For Clarity in a Time of Chaos
Spirit of Truth, When the world spins with distortion, anchor us in what is real. When spectacle tempts us to abandon our values, root us in quiet courage. Let us not turn away from what we see— but let what we see make us more compassionate, more courageous, more awake. May our lives be a signal of another possibility. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
Choosing Truth Over Spectacle
Today, pay attention to the messages that flood your attention—on the news, social media, even in casual conversation. Notice how much of what you’re consuming is spectacle: designed to provoke, to inflame, to distract.
Pause. Breathe.
Choose to give your attention elsewhere: to a friend in need, to a local act of justice, to a sacred text or teaching that grounds you. Choose truth over flash. Choose presence over panic.
If you feel called, write your own grounding statement—one sentence that reminds you who you are and what you stand for. Keep it close. Let it guide your day.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
SOLD OUT!!! July 20-25, 2025 - The Art of Wilding: A 5-Day Expedition in Wyoming for Women Leaders. Click here to learn more in case you want to come next year!
August 11, 2025, 2pm ET - Dr. Andrew Root and I will be hosting a 6 part series on Spirituality in the Secular Age based on his research. The dates are August 11, 18, September 8, 15, and October 6, 13. Mark your calendars! More on this soon.
September 4, 4:30pm ET - I will be collaborating with the Anderson Forum for Progressive Theology to host a conversation with Thomas Jay Oord on Open and Relational theology. It’s a FREE event. Register here.
October 15-18, 2025 - Converging 2025: Sing Truth Conference (all musicians invited!) at Northwest Christian Church in Columbus, OH. Register here!
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-mobile-phone-white-house-business-361455bb3c65593bade7d4edfe4da7e9
Celtic mystic, J. P. Newell, reminds us of Tagore's message: "Let the wisdom that was knitted into us in our mother's womb come forth again in ever in ever-fresh ways, that we may see the infinite world deep in this world and the eternal Soul in every soul...to free ourselves from the limitations of self and nation, religion and race, that we may join the one song- the world-song that is deep in the human soul and the soul of Earth."
Your emails are such spaces of clarity for me leading me towards a great depth of understanding and how to respond to this collective horror we are living through. I read them like a sacred text, paying attention to what words and phrases speak to me and what is my response. Today the words “…to see clearly without flinching” and “let us not turn away from what we see…”
Thank you so much. I carry these words with me through my day.