Where there is no law, there is no liberty.
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush was a civic leader and physician in colonial Philadelphia who signed the Declaration of Independence. And he was also a student of history who understood that in Ancient Greece, where democracy arose, “mob” rule of the majority led to terrible abuses of the minority. Our Founders, who read and studied history, crafted a representative republic for us which is predicated on the rule of law and when applied affords equality and freedom for everyone.
Apparently, our leaders today have forgotten the lessons of history. A friend recently sent me a meme of an angry Biden with the caption: “The left impeached President Trump for trying to expose crimes, and then replaced him with the person who committed crimes.” But, don’t expect the corrupt mainstream media, the Deep State, the leaders of the intelligence agencies and the DOJ, the Democrat Party leadership or the Tech Lords to admit they were complicit in the greatest crime of our republic. Furthermore, if you believe interfering with two presidential election cycles was “justified,” the country is on the right track and plan to vote for Biden and Democrats in 2024, you might be, as comedian Jeff Foxworthy once said, “part of the problem.”
I obey the law, even though I have lost confidence in the legal system along with virtually every Federal institution. I am not a leftist-anarchist (ANTIFA) or a Marxist (BLM). I am a conservative American who doesn’t march, burn, lie or loot. I do what I can: I vote in every election cycle, I write and try to educate, I push back against “useful idiots” when I’m confronted and I boycott. And my boycott list is expanding and includes Anheuser-Busch products and now Miller beer. We will not buy anything from Target or Kohls, nor will we purchase any Nike or North Face merchandise. I realize I am but one voice, but advertisers should be aware that I am boycotting all baseball games associated with the Los Angeles Dodgers. And I have removed all BlackRock investments from my retirement portfolio. Leftists call boycotts “economic terrorism.” But apparently these “truth-sayers” do not object to burning and looting businesses. We must push back against wokesters, Progressive-leftists and Democrat leaders like Biden and Obama who turned a blind eye to the truth. “When truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie.” (Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushko)
We found a new Sunday school class recently. We started attending a neighborhood church during the pandemic because my Methodist church and Sunday School class shut down. However, the transition to a new church began long ago as Methodist leadership became fixated on the complicated subject of human sexuality. The same Progressives now browbeat everyone, everywhere with their ridiculous LGBTQ+ demands.
Philosophically, I remain a Wesleyan-Methodist, but now consider myself a non-denominational Christian. John Wesley founded Methodism, although he never left the Church of England. He believed that scripture, tradition, experience and reason were foundational. Imagine a three-legged stool where you sit on scripture, with each of the three legs representing the modifying perspectives. Obviously, trying to “sit” without a seat is problematic, and removing a leg will pitch you to the floor. The Methodist Church is no longer united and in my opinion, is ignoring multiple tenants of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.
I’m reading a book by Christian apologist Alisa Childers who introduced me to the theological term “progressive revelation.” In other words, through progress (archaeology, science, etc.) we understand more than people did 2000 or even 100 years ago. However, Childers in her book, “Another Gospel?” differentiates progressive revelation from Progressive Christianity/religion which is reinterpreting scripture in modern terms, often ignoring reason, experience and tradition. I’m not a theological Luddite nor am I a Biblical literalist, but in my opinion, the Methodists and Progressives have gone way too far. Progressives have sundered my church and they’re destroying America.
My wife and editress, Becky, recently paid me a supreme compliment when she referred to me as “Little Vic.” Obviously, my prose and commentary are not the stature of Victor Davis Hanson, a professor, classicist, historian, writer and farmer. His recent essay on the culture war (The Left Has Pushed the Envelope) is a must-read. I reference “Big” Vic, because he should be read and because I too am a farmer of sorts. However, I could not feed myself, let alone my family, from my garden, orchard and vineyard. In fact, the last big storm destroyed 2/3 of this year’s peach crop.
I appreciate farmers whose job is 24/7 and 365. By comparison, doctors are used to sharing weekends and night-call with other doctors. I once had six doctors in my on-call group which decreased to four, then three, and finally two. I decided I could not practice medicine in the office and make rounds in the hospital every other night and every other weekend for the rest of my life. So, I retired.
There are consequences for our choices; at least there used to be. The ever-expanding nanny state is removing all responsibility from their children on the big plantation. The notion of giving a hand up is being replaced by giving handouts. Many will not work. Virtually every business has signs advertising available positions. A family member as well as a friend recently spent nights in local ERs because the hospitals were unable to hire enough staff to care for patients or clean the empty hospital rooms. It may sound cruel, but if you don’t feed someone they will work.
Welfare states always fail miserably. The charade of helping people is being done to consolidate power in the hands of an elitist few. An example is the leftist policy of equity which mandates equal outcomes. Ability, work ethic and merit are irrelevant. With equity I should be playing for the NY Yankees. (Read Thomas Sowell’s book, “The Quest for Cosmic Justice.”) On the other hand, equality is equal opportunity as guaranteed by law. Beware of Progressive-leftist euphemisms designed to hide their true intentions.
Real life has consequences. I’m not as strong as I used to be, but I’m wiser. I’m not confused by Progressive euphemistic blather, nor am I conflicted about what is right or wrong. I pray daily for courage and strength, insight and wisdom of the Spirit because I am far from perfect. And because I trust in God, not government.
