Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Is The System Broken?

 Now that I'm 68, I've lived through some interesting times.  The election of Kennedy, his assassination, the presidency of Johnson and dreams of his "Great Society", the Vietman War, the rise and fall of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford the unelected president, Carter and the long siege of the embassy in Tehran, the rise of Reagan, Clinton, the Bushes, Obama, and now the illustrious narcissist Trump.  Each and every time a new president took office, there was a shakeup, but people always managed to say, "The System Worked, the great system of democracy."

Yes, it mostly did.  Studies have found that the delayed transition of George W. Bush in 2000-2001, because of the Florida voting debacle, led to a weakened communication among our national security agencies, which led to the disaster of 9/11/2001.  The system wavered that time.

This year has been the worst year of my life, and probably has for many others.  I'm still trying to figure out why the Almighty decided to send Covid-19 in our election year.  And why Trump is being such a sore loser that he's willing to let our country go down the toilet, just to assuage his ego.   He's busy playing popularity games while thousands are dying and the economy is crumbling.  The country is a gaping wound, and all he does is throw salt into it.

I can't understand why otherwise good-hearted, conscientious people can see anything Christian and worthy in this man.  He has no redeeming qualities unless you count his big mouth.  I know he claims to be pro-life.  But is that the only litmus test there is?  What about his attitudes toward toe needy among us, blacks, Hispanics, or women, for God's sake?  What about his arrogance?  Is he producing any Christ-like fruit?  In the Old Testament, God repeatedly warned the nation of Israel about their arrogance and ungodly behavior.  When the refused to listen, he allowed their enemies to destroy them  A sobering example.   

I have so-called friends who scold me for watching the "wrong" newscasts.  For their information, I don't watch any of them.  I just happen to read my Bible and see multiple verses scolding humans for being arrogant, selfish, and greedy.  I read verses that say we're supposed to love and care for our neighbors, feed the poor, even to love our enemies, not despise them just because we disagree with them. I see verses that say, "By their fruits you shall know them.  A good tree cannot produce bad fruit." No, I don't watch the news stations, any of them.  I just happen to be able to still think for myself, for I haven't been brainwashed by either extreme.

Sorry people, but we're in the midst of national crisis like our country hasn't seen since the Spanish Influenza  of a hundred hears ago.  And The System is broken, folks.

God help us.

Monday, November 9, 2020

Whoever the "Leader of the Free World" Is, Christ is Still the King

 I remember my dad often saying, "Quit your belly-aching" when my complaints got to him.  Yes, I admit I have a pessimistic streak.  Now as I hear Trumpites doing this, I've decided not to stoop to their level.  My son said it well a couple of days ago:

"It's about character, Mom.  Now I can teach my students that character does matter after all.  It's about not being vindictive, but about trying to promote healing in a fractured nation."

I'm not sure it will work, but it shows that the spirit of Abraham Lincoln still lives in some hearts.  (See another of my blogs for thoughts on the man I consider to be our Best President Ever.)  I often wonder if we would be this bad off if Lincoln hadn't been assassinated.  Perhaps the reconstruction of the South would have gone better for all people.  

It's very ironic to me when I realize Lincoln was a Republican.  It was Southern Democrats who instituted Jim Crow laws and segregation.  I know it firsthand for I was born in southern Arkansas in the early 1950s.  I saw it with my own eyes.  When I was eleven, we moved to northern Illinois, where there was supposedly no segregation, but it was there, too-- if 'unofficially.'

The Southern Democrats came over to the GOP when Reagan was elected, but instead of becoming Republican, they drew the Republican Party into being Southern Democrats.  I think we're reaping the harvest of this today.  It's especially sad to see how far the GOP has fallen in the past four years--losing its soul in a Faustian deal with the Devil.

There may be a chance for healing, but the wounds are very deep, and by refusing to concede, Trump (in my opinion) is throwing salt on those wounds.  He's apparently forgotten that we're still a democracy (or at least a semblance of one) and the people have spoken.

I'm reminded of a story in the Bible book of Daniel, when mysterious handwriting appeared on the palace wall in Babylon.  No one could read this supernatural message, so Daniel had to interpret what it meant:  "Your regime has been measured in the balance and found wanting."  This signaled the end of the Babylonian Empire, at that time the most powerful the world had ever seen.

Several empires have risen and fallen since then--the Persians, Greeks, Romans, and more.  I pray that we're not next.  But only God knows, because He's still in charge.

Thursday, November 5, 2020

Might Makes Right?

 It's November 4, 2020 as I write this blog.  Some things I just need to share.  In my opinion, the problems and divisions in our country have been with us for generations, perhaps from the very beginning.  The past few decades have seen increasing polarization, though.  

Who's at fault?  Probably both sides.  They just keep pulling farther apart with each passing year.  People wave their flags and guns and holy books.  Not just Christians, but Isis, too.  Hmm... 

Our country used to have statesmen in the middle who knew how to compromise when necessary for the greater good of the nation.  But I don't think there are any of them left.  President Carter, in my opinion, was among the last true statesmen.  He was defeated after one term by Ronald Reagan 40 years ago today.  ( I remember it vividly because as Carter was conceding, my water broke, and I gave birth to my first child about an hour later.)

It seems that ever since then we've been on a long downhill slide.  For some reason, God has permitted this.  He's chosen not to send us any more statesmen.  Just politicians.  Perhaps this is part of God's plan to wipe America off the map.  Like the nation of Israel was conquered as punishment for their sins.

There was a song on the radio back in the 1960s called "The Eve of Destruction" by Barry McGuire.  It upset a lot of people by saying things I just did.  But as the years of my life have gone by, I see it turning into an eerie prophecy.

I don't want this to happen, but I'm beginning to wonder if the Great American Experiment is failing, and one day we'll have to look back and realize it was all a pipe dream.