police state

The treatment of churches during the Covid 19 scare has ranged from the
unreasonable and illogical to the illegal.

Dr. Gavin Ashenden


(A book store in Padua, Itlay (Padova) / Julie Cook / 2014)

When I was in high school enduring my tenure during those required lit classes,
be it American lit or British Lit, we had to read such books as 1984, A Brave New World,
Animal Farm, Lord of the Flies, The Crucible, The Scarlet Letter… ad infinitum.

And I made no bones about it, I hated each and every one of those books.
I was known for being a vocal student so I’m sure my teachers just loved hearing me
complain.

Dark, ominous, surreal…stories that showcased the devolvement of humankind…
that of the more sinister, twisted, demented, malevolent, cruel, sadistic…
tales that spoke of hopelessness…worlds without the Hope of Salvation.

During my teens, during those heady days of the mid-’70s, tales of the surreal
left me uncomfortable if not frustrated.

During those days, I was actively involved in my local EYC, my Episcopal youth group,
as well as the non-denominational Young Life Christian organization.
My lens was that of the Born Again, Charismatic, Jesus Freak movements.
I was focused on Hope springing from despair…not despair spawning deeper despair.

And yet oddly I preferred books such as The Catcher the Rye, The Old Man and the Sea,
A Farewell to Arms, The Red Badge of Courage…
but if the truth be told–
I actually loved what we had to read in my Sociology and Russian History classes—
classes where I read the likes of Solzhenitsyn, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky.
Truthful books that examined humankind by authors who held to the knowledge of a
God greater than man.

So if I had discontent with my Lit. classes from way back in the day,
just imagine my discontent with our current world.
A world that is more like the sad world portrayed in those books we read in lit class.

A world that is fulfilling a prohpesy of the twisted, sinister, demented, malevolent,
cruel, sadistic and hopeless that men from a different time period foretold
in what was thought to be a far and distant future.

This little trip down memory lane came racing to my conciousness yesterday
after reading Dr. Ashenden’s lastest post.
His was a tale about a surreal police state and today’s Chruch…
both of which are caught up in life during a pandemic.

Life precariously and frigtheningly imitiating fiction…

Christians are being harassed in churches by police who did not know the law.

tribalism and wise predictions

How do we call a liberal?
You know, someone very profoundly once said many years ago that if fascism ever comes to America,
it will come in the name of liberalism.”
“And what is fascism?”
“Fascism is private ownership, private enterprise, but total government control and regulation.
Well, isn’t this the liberal philosophy?”

Ronald Reagan in a 1975 60 Minute’s Interview, 6 years before becoming president


(image from the 1963 movie Lord of the Flies based on the 1954 novel of the same name by William Golding)

I really dislike the new word that is being used to describe life here in the US.

It’s actually an old word and is certainly considered a real word…

It’s not some sort of new-age mishmash word that has taken on a viral
life of its own while earning a new slot in our English Language dictionary—
not some sort of trendy cultural word that is more urban slang than a word rooted
deep in the history of a highly evolved speaking people.

It is, however, a word whose definition is actually being used correctly, sadly,
given our current life’s mania.

It’s a word that we use to use to define a particular past when defining an indigenous people.
A word defining a people who are not the same as us but rather, in some sense, less than…
less than compared to their more highly evolved counterparts.

There is a sense of barbarism linked to this word.

The word is tribalism.

And it means what the noun aspect of the word says…
a tribe or group of people who adhere to a similar social grouping and thinking.

tribe noun
\ ˈtrīb \
Definition of tribe
1a : a social group comprising numerous families, clans, or generations together with slaves, dependents,
or adopted strangers
b : a political division of the Roman people originally representing one of the three original tribes of ancient Rome

According to Wikipedia, Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for,
tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution has primarily occurred in small groups, as opposed to mass societies,
and humans naturally maintain a social network.
In popular culture, tribalism may also refer to a way of thinking or behaving in which people are loyal
to their social group above all else, or, derogatorily,
a type of discrimination or animosity based upon group differences.

Go to any warm sunny beach resort or cities such as Nashville or New Orleans and
you’re likely to run into a Bride’s tribe…

A soon to be bride and her bridesmaids enjoying a little bachelorette or hen destination party.
They’ll be the ones flocking about town in a showy, loud and often intoxicated state with a
very “tribal” vibe—they’ll all be wearing matching shirts emblazoned with the words “Bride’s Tribe.”

Fun social gatherings aside, tribalism, however, reminds me of those who are basically a primitive
type of people. A people living an almost ‘Lord of the Flies’ existence.
A survival of the fittest type mentality with a kill or be killed motto being held high and true.

Tribalism is a word that is now being used to define life in the US.

The notion is that we are a splintering people who are all about our individual tribes and or groups.
Those being like-minded groups.

So why does Nazism come to mind?
A growing national mindset that is intolerable of both Jews and Christians?

Groups that don’t care one iota for the other groups.

A divisive mindset of it’s us against them.

It’s a word that makes me actually quite sad and even depressed as it is a word that denotes
a regression rather than a progression.
As in a regression of moving backwards rather than progressing forward…
as in devolving rather than evolving…
as in going to the bad rather than going toward the good.

Yet within this notion of tribalism, I know of one who is almost giddy over such a divisiveness.
Satan’s strategic plan is the militaristic idea of divide and conquer.

Scoff if you like, but the net is drawing tight and Satan is very busy.

God is on the move.
Our world and lives are changing.
Time is of the essence.
And so as worrisome as the idea of tribalism is, there is something much greater taking place.

And so it was with much interest that I read the recent observation by Newt Gingrich
regarding the 2020 election.

An event that most of us are already dreading.

Dreading so much that I’ve actually been looking for some far-flung island out in the middle of nowhere…
a place that is without any sort of communication with the outside world.

Yet no matter how much I dread it, another election will come…

And mark my words, tribalism will play a tremendous role.

So I offer you some words of wisdom from a man who is always on point with his observations…

As you listen to the liberal media, the Never Trumpers and the left-wing Trump haters chatter on
about President Trump’s current situation, remember these two numbers — 35 and 49.

The first number was President Ronald Reagan’s approval in January 1983.
The second number was the number of states Reagan carried 22 months later.

I am not predicting President Trump will carry 49 states.
This is a different environment, and the tribalism that divides the country is deeper than it was 36 years ago.

President Trump’s resilience,
despite two straight years of the most negative media coverage of any president since Lincoln
(at least 90 percent negative according to studies by the Media Research Center that analyzed nightly broadcasts)
is a sign that he has a devoted base that will stick with him.
The most recent unemployment applications are the lowest since November 1969
(when there were a lot fewer Americans at work).
There are powerful initiatives underway to continue to increase American jobs and economic growth.

The left will do for Trump what it did for President Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher,
and what it is currently doing for Prime Minister Theresa May
(who is surviving because the alternative is so terrible).
A few more proposals for 70 percent tax rates, sanctuary states,
tax paid health care for everyone including illegal immigrants, open borders, anti-Semitism,
and anti-Israeli hostility, and the Democrats will begin driving away everyone but the hard left.
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s wildly left-wing ideas are going to be a striking
contrast to President Trump’s comparatively mainstream views
(Newsom was mayor of San Francisco and is carrying its leftist ideology to the entire state).
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may set a new standard for willful ignorance
by a non-Hollywood personality.
There is a point where smiling while saying things that are factually false
simply doesn’t sustain a national movement.

The energy in the Democratic Party is entirely on the left, and as Hillary Clinton discovered,
the nominating process is going to drive the Democratic candidates to get as nutty as necessary
to please the new generation of radical bigots.

The media’s new enthusiasm for third-party billionaires (Starbucks anyone?)
is a big help to Trump’s re-election.
Any third-party candidate will divide the anti-Trump vote and have no effect on the pro-Trump vote.
The White House should encourage every would-be third-party leader.
The more the merrier from the Trump perspective.

The Never Trump Republicans will get a lot of media and will be socially celebrated by the Washington,
New York, and Hollywood crowds.
They will do Sunday shows, be invited to speak at establishment events,
and have paid staff egging them on (so they can continue to get paid).
The Never Trump candidates will also be crushed by President Trump in Republican primaries.

Trump, like Reagan, learns and thinks a lot more than his detractors acknowledge.

In fact, President Trump has been much tougher on Russia than President Obama ever dreamed of being.
From sanctions to the military buildup of NATO, to rebuilding missile defenses and forward
positioning in the Balkans, to offensive weapons for Ukraine,
the president has been tougher, not softer.
Yet, the left’s innuendos and attacks continue to paint Trump,
as The New York Times hysterically put it, as a potential Russian agent.

The Mueller investigation will eventually be put in perspective and will lead to serious reforms
to limit the threat of an out-of-control deep state in the Justice Department.

The American people will gradually realize that this whole effort has been a political hoax
to smear the president, which has weakened the country and undermined the rule of law.

The hard left will go into the summer of 2020 chanting hatred and believing everything bad about Trump.
They will represent about 40 percent of the country.
The hardcore Trump supporters will go into the summer of 2020 amazed at how much their leader
has achieved despite unending news media, Democratic hostility, and splits in the GOP.
They will make up 45 percent of the country.

The 15 percent who will have been repelled by the left’s craziness and turned off by President Trump’s
style will enter the summer of 2020 wishing they had a better choice.
In the end, they will have to gamble on the least dangerous and least bad future.
When that happened in 2016, they broke overwhelmingly for Trump over Clinton,
and the late deciders made him president.

There will be three big things helping Trump in 2020:

1.The Trump administration’s accomplishments will be real
(a future column will outline the wave of breakthroughs in our lives that will start
being felt in the next 18 months).

2.The hysteria and dishonesty of the investigations and their irrelevancy in terms of Trump as president
will be obvious, and only the left will pay them any attention.

3.Breakthroughs like criminal justice reform, a cure for sickle cell disease, better education through parental choice, the best African American employment rate in history,
and the like will lead to Republican breakthroughs with minorities
(as happened surprisingly in both Florida and Georgia against Democratic African American candidates for governor –
in both states the margin of victory was African Americans voting Republican).

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/newt-gingrich-democrats-and-never-trumpers-will-put-trump-back-in-the-white-house-in-2020-heres-why

lord of the flies

“From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.”
Denis Diderot

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it’s only us.”
William Golding, Lord of the Flies


(I used this image back in June, but it fit so well today)

I suppose the reading of certain books during our time spent in high school
lit classes is all a part of the adolescent right of passage.

Most folks my age read such books as Animal Farm, Catcher in the Rye,
A Farewell to Arms, The Old Man and the Sea, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Crucible,
1984 (yes published in 1949 and I read it long before 1984),
The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men…the list goes on and on.

Some books I enjoyed.
Some books I loathed.
Some books left me unsettled.

Lord of the Flies was just one such book.

No happy ending there.

It was a tale that left me terribly unsettled.

Any sort of story showcasing those who are oh so civilized one minute while
quickly falling into barbarism the next,
when all the trappings of modern life suddenly disappear,
leaves me less than happily settled—

Perhaps because it is a blatant reminder of how thin is the veil that separates
modern man from his animalistic alter ego …
and yet that was indeed the author’s intent…
A stalk reminder…..

I was in high school just past those heady days of Woodstock and Flower power.
The early 70’s were to be a time of reemerging.
We were coming up for air from an unpopular war, grave national unrest,
sit-ins, love-ins as a president was preparing to leave office in disgrace…
people wanted to reset and move forward.
Our naiveté was long gone.

Sounds as if I could be talking about today….

We read the works of writers who addressed such feelings..some being current, some
simply ahead of their time.

And it appears as if I am not alone in my recollection of my required reading
of such a tale…

The newly consecrated bishop of the Christian Episcopal Church of Canada and the US,
The Rt. Reverend Dr Gavin Ashenden, also recalls reading Lord of the Flies.

I found his post Wednesday to be most timely as he touched on an issue I’ve been
referencing in just these past many days…

That being the Nazis and their obsessive need to plunder, loot, and burn millions of books… in an all out attempt to control the thought processes of those they
wished to manipulate and rule while at the same time obliterating an entire
swarth of humanity.

“I can understand why the Nazis burned books.

One book can subvert a whole culture.

Perhaps one of the most subversive books I’ve known was “Lord of the Flies”
by William Golding.
I must have read it when I was 14 or 15.

It tells the story of a group of schoolboys whose plane crashes onto a remote island.
They survive the crash, but descend into violence and chaos and finally murder.
They lose all the trappings of civilisation, inside and out, in a very short time.

This was and is a shocking book.
It called the bluff of moral progress and ethical evolution.
Our civility is just skin deep Golding was saying.
From the moment I finished the book,
I knew that Golding was right and that progressive politics was based on a
misjudgment of human nature.
Our ethical progress was just skin deep, and could be lost in an instant.

I keep on being haunted by images of Nazi book burning and the smashing up of
Jewish shop fronts from Germany in the 1930’s.
Something like a collective madness came on the people of Germany.
It really seemed to erupt almost out of nowhere.
How could such a civilised people, the children of Goethe and Beethoven,
so swiftly become the breeding ground of Nazism, with its book burnings, thuggery
and ultimately the horrifying and very Golding-like final solution?”

The good Bishop goes on to explore the similarites he sees between the current acts of violence taking place on both sides of our collective pond in regards to the
progressive liberal groups and their lack of tolerance, or perhaps allowance would be a better word, with the more conservative and Christian groups over the current battle
lines.

Bishop Ashenden notes in particular a rather nasty incident taking place in Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park when several protesting groups converged.

It seems that a 60 year old feminist sort of protester was punched in the face by a transgendered male dressed as a female type individual,
who after punching said 60 year old woman in the face and knocking her to the ground,
then ran ran off.

Ashenden makes a rather stalk comparison between a now and then sort of moment:
“Mindless thugs beating their opponents in public were not the preserve only of the Brown Shirts in Berlin, of state apparatchiks in Moscow, but it’s odd to find gender activists demonstrating in favour of love, peace, tolerance and inclusion, beating up elderly feminists at Speakers’ Corner in Hyde Park.”

Ashenden goes on…
“A great deal is made by the left that the threat of violence comes from the
‘far Right.’ In fact the press and media don’t bother with the ‘Right’ any more.
Anything less than socialist is called ‘Far-Right, – or Nazi.
There is no near-right, or middle right, or further right; just Far-Right.’

You may read the full post here:

‘Far-Left’ and ‘Far-Right’ need to be replaced by ‘Far-UP’.

The irony of our current thuggery groups behaving so terribly badly while they shout
for rights, proclaim justice, preach love, and of all things, demand tolerance….
all the while commencing to malign and beat to a pulp those who oppose their current
trend of senseless thoughts……

They might do well to reread a book or two from their day’s in lit class.

Barbarism is but a step away from the the civilized…..

“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.
Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature,
for he is a liar and the father of lies.

John 8:44