A Time of Testing: Power, Morality, and the Soul of Nations
History does not always unfold in grand revolutions. Sometimes, it creeps forward in whispers—through broken promises, ignored laws, and the slow erosion of what we once believed sacred. We live in such a time: an age where the old certainties waver, where heroes grow small and villains wear smiles, where the line between defender and aggressor blurs—not because truth has changed, but because power has grown unaccountable.
For decades, the United States stood—flawed, yes, but aspirational—as a beacon for democracy, a reluctant superpower that, when tested, often chose to stand with the oppressed, to resist tyranny, to uphold the fragile institutions of international order. That image, once a cornerstone of global stability, now trembles under the weight of its own contradictions. And at the heart of this unravelling stands a figure both garish and grotesque: Donald Trump.
It is not mere political bias to say this. It is observation grounded in fact, in verdicts delivered not by opinion, but by juries of ordinary citizens.
In May 2023, a federal jury found Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll—a woman who came forward with courage many would lack. The evidence, the court concluded, was clear. Then, in March 2024, another jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments—acts designed to manipulate the very process of democracy itself. For the first time in American history, a former president became a convicted felon.
And yet, amid these judgments, Trump ascends.
He appears not with repentance, but with rage. Not with humility, but with threats. He has spoken of “retribution,” of “cleansing” the bureaucracy, of imprisoning his political opponents. He flirts with autocracy openly, as if democracy were a temporary inconvenience rather than the foundation of the republic.
His words—long known for their vulgarity—remain unforgotten. The Access Hollywood tape, in which he boasts of how fame enables the groping of women serves as a chilling reminder: “I don’t even wait. And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. … Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.” These comments are not ancient history. They are a window into a worldview where power seems to justify predation, where consent appears irrelevant, where women are trophies and men are conquerors.
And now, despite his track record, this man sadly, shockingly, recently, claimed the mantle of leadership once again.
But the danger is not only in his past. It is in his vision for the future—particularly in how he views the world beyond America’s shores.
Consider Ukraine.
As Vladimir Putin’s forces rain death upon Kyiv, as children hide in bomb shelters, as mass graves are uncovered in liberated towns, Trump has offered not solidarity, but scepticism. He has called Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy a “dictator,” and he even once dismissed the war as “not our problem”. Recall too, how he promised to end U.S. aid within 24 hours of taking office—not because peace was near, but because he preferred to cozy up to Putin. He has praised the Russian leader repeatedly, calling him “smart,” “tough,” “a genius” for invading a sovereign nation.
This is not statesmanship. This is capitulation wrapped in machismo.
And it doesn’t stop there.
Trump has floated the idea of taking Greenland “in one way or another.” He reportedly asked advisers if the U.S. could “take over” Canada—jokingly, perhaps, but with a smirk that belies a deeper contempt for borders, for diplomacy, for the quiet dignity of peaceful coexistence. In recent days his administration undertook military operations in Venezuela, resulting in its takeover. He has threatened other nations with tariffs and invasions, and undermined alliances that took decades to build.
All of this would be alarming in any leader. But from a man already proven it seems to falsify records, to have apparently abused a women, to allegedly have sought to manipulate elections—it is terrifying.
And yet, millions cheer. Women voted for him. Catholics, Jews, evangelicals, progressives disillusioned by their own leaders—they look to him as saviour.
Why?
Perhaps because truth is no longer sought, but felt. Because anger sells better than wisdom. Because in a world of complexity, Trump offers simplicity: blame the weak, worship the strong, make the nation “great” again by any means necessary.
But greatness is not rebuilt on lies, on the backs of the violated, or through submission to dictators.
Greatness is measured by how we treat the vulnerable, by how firmly we stand for justice even when it costs us, by whether we choose principle over power.
Mikhail Gorbachev, for all his flaws, understood this. He allowed walls to fall without firing a shot. Putin, his successor in spirit if not office, has built walls of blood. And Trump? He stands not with Gorbachev, nor even with Reagan or Churchill—but with the strongman’s handshake, the tyrant’s admiration, the bully’s laugh.
When Father Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s longtime exorcist, claimed that “Satan is in the Vatican,” he spoke metaphorically—a warning that evil can wear robes of piety, that corruption can fester in the holiest places.
We might now say: Satan walks in the White House. Not literally, perhaps—but symbolically. In the normalisation of assault. In the celebration of cruelty. In the abandonment of allies, the embrace of authoritarians, the weaponisation of truth.
This is not hyperbole. It is a moral diagnosis.
A nation that tolerates a leader who humiliates women, who apparently seeks to undermine justice, and bows to dictators is a nation at risk—not just of political decline, but of spiritual decay.
We must not avert our eyes.
Let us remember: democracies do not die in a single coup. They erode—in courtrooms where lies go unpunished, in rallies where hate is celebrated, in elections where the convicted present themselves as victims.
If the United States is to remain a champion of freedom, it must first reclaim its conscience.
And we, the people—of every nation, every faith, every creed—must ask ourselves:
What kind of world do we want?
One ruled by might? Or one guided by right?
The answer will not come from Trump.
It will come from us.
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Useful links:
Trump risks leaving a legacy of failure in Ukraine:
Personal and business affairs of Donald Trump:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_and_business_legal_affairs_of_Donald_Trump
Donald Trump: Sexual Misconduct Allegations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_sexual_misconduct_allegations
E. Jean Carroll Vs Donald J. Trump
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._Jean_Carroll_v._Donald_J._Trump
Donald Trump Access Hollywood (‘…grab ’em by the pussy’) tape:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_Access_Hollywood_tape
Stormy Daniels / Donald Trump scandal:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stormy_Daniels%E2%80%93Donald_Trump_scandal
‘We Need Greenland’ Trump repeats threat to annex Danish territory:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g0zg974v1o
Which countries could be in Trump’s sights after Venezuela?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd0ye72r4vpo
Donald Trump calls for Canada to become 51st state over tariffs:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c99n7gmkmzzo
Trump’s senseless capitulation to Putin is a betrayal of Ukraine and terrible dealmaking:
Trump promised retribution – how far will he go?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0q74pxx871o
Trump Indicates Intent to Escalate Ethnic Cleansing in Gaza:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/05/trump-indicates-intent-escalate-ethnic-cleansing-gaza
Donald Trump is pursuing regime change in Europe:
US will take Greenland ‘…one way or the other’, Trump says:
https://www.politico.eu/article/us-will-take-greenland-one-way-or-the-other-donald-trump-says/
Inside Democrats’ plans to stop Trump from raiding more countries:
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/07/democrats-trump-venezuela-cuba-mexico-greenland
Congress’s role questioned as Democrats vow to rein in Trump on Venezuela:
Americans are more dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the economy than ever, poll shows:
Why Trump’s lies about trying to prosecute Hillary Clinton matter:
Why Democrats are switching off the news – a psychologist explains:
(Includes a quote from 233 mental health professionals, which stated: “We have an ethical duty to warn the public that Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy. His symptoms of severe, untreatable personality disorder – malignant narcissism – makes him deceitful, destructive, deluded and dangerous. He is grossly unfit for leadership.”)
Trump’s New Position on the War in Ukraine: Not My Problem:
See also Prophecy:
Worldwide Temple of Aurora 