The Spell of the Enemy
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do not notice the log in your own eye?” —Matthew 7:3 (NRSVUE)
We are living in a time of frightening words: Fascist. Communist. Socialist. Traitor. Marxist. Nazi.
Some of these words refer to real political ideas. Sometimes, they help us see real threats. The current administration has often pushed the limits of presidential power, challenged democratic institutions, and treated vulnerable people as if they do not matter. We need words that are honest about this. If we avoid calling out authoritarianism, it does not make us kinder. It just makes it easier for others to control us through fear.
But when these words show up in our political debates, they stop describing actions and start defining people completely.
“He is a fascist.”
“She is a communist.”
“They are destroying America.”
After we use these labels, we stop listening. We stop asking what fear, loss, or hope led someone here. By calling them the enemy, we feel allowed to ignore them.
The accusation becomes a kind of spell.
When this happens, we start to see our political opponents as less than human. Everything they do seems to prove what we already think about them. Every election feels like the last chance to save the country. Every compromise feels like giving up. Every loss feels like proof that the system is rigged. We stop being curious, because being curious feels risky. This is how a society becomes trapped inside its own fear.
I want to be careful here. The threats are not equal. The Trump administration holds the enormous power of the federal government and has used that power in ways that threaten democratic institutions and place already vulnerable people in greater danger. The growing democratic socialist movement does not possess comparable power, nor does it pose the same threat. Its calls for health care, housing, worker protections, and a more equitable distribution of wealth emerge from real suffering in a country where millions of people work hard and still cannot afford to live.
Being honest about right and wrong means we have to see that difference. It also means noticing how easily we all fall into the habit of turning others into enemies.
If you listen closely to the accusations, you can hear sadness underneath. Factories have closed. Family farms are gone. Small towns have emptied out. Wages have not kept up with the cost of living. Parents who hoped their children would have better lives now see them struggle to pay for rent, health care, or school. The promise at the heart of the American story, that each generation would do better than the last, has been broken. People feel the breaking, even when they do not have words for it.
Some people who support MAGA are mourning the loss of a world where white Christian identity shaped public life. That world gave some people a sense of belonging and meaning, but it did so by leaving others out. For those who grew up believing this was normal and right, its end can feel unsettling.
Many people on the democratic left feel a different kind of grief. They mourn the promise of a multiracial democracy that has not been fulfilled. They are upset by the huge gap between the very rich and those who have to choose between medicine and food. They grieve for lives hurt by racism, unfair work, environmental harm, and being ignored by politics.
These kinds of grief are not the same, but they are both real. When we cannot talk honestly about our grief, we often look for someone to blame.
That might be where we are today. We face losses that are too big and complex to handle, so we turn them into enemies we think we can fight.
We blame immigrants for struggling towns. We blame billionaires for a broken economy. We call MAGA voters monsters and socialists thieves. We take problems that have built up over generations and put a face on them so we have someone to hate. When we are scared, hating someone can feel powerful.
But hate can also stop us from seeing a deeper truth: many of our problems cannot be fixed just by beating one political group. This country was built on stolen land, enslaved labor, cheap energy, and the idea that growth could go on forever, even though the planet has limits. Both major parties have relied on this system. Both have promised that, with better leaders and policies, things can keep going as they are.
But now, the system is destroying the things we need to live. Our soil is worn out. The climate is changing in dangerous ways. Our communities are tired. Money keeps going to the top, while loneliness, sickness, and sadness spread. No old label can really describe the world we are living in now.
Maybe that is why we are so afraid. We do not know what will happen next. So we turn to old enemies and old stories: fascism versus communism, freedom versus tyranny, real Americans versus those who want to destroy America. Using these old words makes the world feel understandable again. It tells us who we are and who we should fight.
Jesus once asked why we see the small fault in someone else but ignore the big fault in ourselves. He was not saying we should ignore what is wrong. He wanted us to see how judging others can keep us from looking at ourselves.
What is the log in our collective eye? Maybe it is our wish to see ourselves as innocent. We want to believe that only the other side is cruel. We want our own fear to look like virtue, our contempt to look like courage, and our desire for power to look like justice. We hope that if our side wins big enough, we will finally be safe.
But no political victory can heal grief we refuse to grieve. We need to do more than just be polite. We must call out authoritarianism when we see it. We must stand against policies that cause harm. We must protect people who are targeted by the government. We must speak honestly about unfairness and racism.
As we do this, we also need to protect our own humanity. We should not let ourselves enjoy putting the worst label on someone else. We need to be curious about what pain lies behind anger, even our own. We must learn to grieve what is lost without blaming others for it.
This week, pay attention to the words you use for people whose politics scare or upset you. Ask yourself what the word shows, what it hides, and what it lets you ignore.
Then try to speak more precisely. Name the action. Name the harm. Name the history. Protect the person in danger. Oppose what must be opposed…
But do not let yourself be taken over by hatred for the enemy.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Which political label carries the greatest emotional charge for you? What specific behavior are you naming when you use it?
What loss or fear might be hiding beneath your anger?
Where do you recognize in yourself a smaller version of the danger you condemn in others?
How can you resist real harm without reducing another person to an enemy?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer: Free Us from the Spell
God beyond every flag and faction, give us eyes clear enough to recognize danger and hearts honest enough to recognize ourselves. When power crushes the vulnerable, make us brave. When fear demands an enemy, make us discerning. When anger promises purity, return us to the complicated truth of our shared humanity. Release us from the need to place all evil outside ourselves. Keep our resistance rooted in love, our courage free from cruelty, and our speech faithful to what is true. Teach us to grieve what has been lost without sacrificing one another on the altar of our fear. Help us protect those in danger without becoming captive to the logic of domination. May we name harm clearly, repair what we can, and refuse every spell that requires another person to become less human. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
From Label to Truth
Choose one political label you have recently used or heard: fascist, communist, socialist, traitor, extremist, enemy.
Write down the specific actions or beliefs you think the word describes. Separate what you know from what you assume. Identify the evidence supporting your concern.
Then consider one actual person whom you associate with that label. Without excusing harmful behavior, remember something about them that the label cannot contain: a person they love, a grief they carry, a fear shaping their choices, or a hope you may share.
Finally, choose one action that protects human dignity and democratic life. Support someone being targeted. Contact an elected official. Defend a threatened institution. Have a difficult conversation without contempt.
Practice resistance that does not require hatred to sustain it.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
August 4 - September 1, 2026, 12:30-1:30pmET - Book Club in The Commons - FREE - We are reading our next book, “I Eat The Stars” by Sarah Wilson. We will meet each Tuesday for 6 weeks. It’s such great fun. I hope you will be a part. All are welcome! RSVP HERE.
August 6, 2026, 7-8pm ET - FREE EVENT - Join me in conversation with Rev. Natalia Terfa about her new book, “It All Counts: Finding God Beyond the Boundaries.” What if the moments you’ve been taught don’t “count” spiritually are actually where God is waiting to be found? Many of us were handed a version of faith that divided life into sacred and secular, holy and ordinary, faithful and doubtful. But what if those boundaries were never real? Whether you’ve left church, stayed in it, or find yourself somewhere in between, this conversation will offer fresh language for a faith that is expansive, embodied, and deeply human. REGISTER HERE.
August 20, 2026, 7-8:45pm ET - I will be joining Jackie Sussman for an online session on practicing eidetics as a part of our “Reclaiming the Power of Imagination” monthly series. Eidetic Imagery is a powerful tool for pastors, denominational leaders, coaches, and spiritual directors working with others, and for individuals seeking deeper integration and healing in their own lives. Jackie is a psychotherapist, author, and leading expert in Eidetic Image Psychology, and has spent over forty years helping leaders and individuals unlock creativity, uncover hidden strengths, and move through limiting patterns. During this session, she will lead a live Eidetic process shaped by mythic imagery, offering a direct experience of the work. REGISTER HERE.
September 8, 2026, 7-9pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - I’ll be hosting a powerful online gathering on The Black Madonna: Sacred Wisdom for a World in Crisis with Matthew Fox, Alessandra Belloni, and Christena Cleveland. We will explore the Black Madonna as a symbol of resilience, liberation, sacred feminine wisdom, and healing in a fractured world through conversation, story, music, and spiritual reflection. If you feel drawn toward a deeper encounter with the Divine Feminine and the ancient traditions that continue to nourish movements for justice and wholeness, I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and REGISTER HERE.
October 6, 2026 - 7-8:30pm ET, ONLINE EVENT - Matthew Fox and I are teaming up again to launch a series called Journeying with the Mystics. The mystics have always emerged in times of uncertainty. They appear when old certainties are crumbling, when institutions no longer provide easy answers, and when people find themselves longing for a deeper experience of the Sacred. Join us for an 18-session exploration of the teachings of St. John of the Cross, Thomas Merton, Hildegard of Bingen, Kabir and Rumi, Meister Eckhart and more. This is more than a lecture series. It is an invitation into a living spiritual journey. REGISTRATION COMING SOON!
October 18-21, 2026 - PREACH! 2026 Conference- I’ll be co-hosting PREACH in Minneapolis with Church Anew, a new gathering for preachers, storytellers, worship leaders, and spiritual communicators navigating what it means to speak with clarity, compassion, and courage in a changing world. If you’ve sensed that the preaching moment has changed and are longing for thoughtful community and renewed imagination for this work, I hope you’ll join us.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
My dear friend and Buddhist teacher, Isa Gucciardi PhD, leads this amazing center call The Foundation of the Sacred Stream. On August 13 from 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm Pacific (8:30 pm – 10:00 pm Eastern), they will be hosting an online event called “Compassion for the Modern Heart with Geshe Gedun Samdup.” In a world that moves quickly and often feels fragmented, compassion is not a luxury—it is a vital practice for staying present, connected, and resilient. This class offers a grounded and accessible exploration of compassion through the lens of Tibetan Buddhism’s three distinct forms of compassion: compassion for all beings, compassion for conditioned phenomena, and objectless compassion. Together, these teachings provide a practical and deeply nourishing framework for meeting the complexities of modern life with clarity and care. LEARN MORE HERE.
Dr. Timothy Snyder, the author of On Tyranny, has publicly released the second lecture of a ten-lecture course he taught at the University of Toronto this past year. The course is called “Hitler and Stalin Today.” He is offering this as a public resource for students, researchers, and anyone interested in understanding the relationship between history and contemporary democracy. Follow his posts here or watch on YouTube.
Every Monday, 12pm ET - ONLINE WRITING GROUP - My dear friend, Meryl Marshall-Daniels, is leading a writing group open to all. This is a simple and spacious writing circle for people who want time to listen inwardly and put words on the page without overthinking, performing, or polishing. Meryl offers a prompt designed to invite reflection, imagination, and attunement to what is already alive within you. The practice honors writing as a way of listening, of letting images, memories, questions, and insights surface in their own time. Learn more here.
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.