Two Revelations from Ferguson
Some people say if you haven’t experienced injustice or walked in the shoes of those who have, then you can’t relate to those who’ve suffered.
That statement doesn’t apply to me.
My family was slapped in the face by civil injustice. My father went to prison for three years because a jury made a wrong decision. We nearly lost everything–my mother courageously working a graveyard shift so that we could keep our house during that season of grief.
Not once did we blame the establishment or burn our neighborhood down to get even. We made a better choice.
Here are two revelations from Ferguson, Missouri.
Yes, it’s true that I’m not African-American and weighted down with the historical millstone of slavery. That is not a pretty history and no one can deny that it has affected generations of black Americans.
I am as white as white can be–half German, half Swedish. But many races, cultures, and families have experienced human injustice in other forms.
In my case, it was directed at my family in the 1960s.
My dad was a successful doctor who brought down the wrath of the medical elite by helping to fund a better way of doing blood tests that undercut the profits of the establishment. They needed to put him out of business to benefit their bottom line.
They succeeded.
In a bogus trial in which the main witness lied on the witness stand (and later committed suicide), my father was convicted of a crime he never committed and spent three years of his life behind bars.
Unjustly.
A jury of his peers made the wrong decision and my family spent a horrendous thirty-six months (and then a lifetime) dealing with the consequences.
So when I hear shouts of “injustice” I understand its meaning. I’ve felt it, experienced and hate it.
But when I saw the reaction of the local community to the killing of Michael Brown–and more recently watched the riots and wanton destruction of property by those who were angry that Officer Darren Wilson wasn’t indicted–it brought to my mind two revelations that I want to offer up to my fellow Americans who are still dealing with this tragedy.
The first is a perspective on our current culture that is frightening. If we don’t learn from this insight, then our nation could “burn” in the coming years.
The second revelation is more personal. I believe it would have been shared by Dr. Martin Luther King, a rightful hero in the United States and in other nations among those who care about truth and justice.
Revelation One – Post-Modern (Pagan) Morality Destroys.
I haven’t liked the term “post modern” since I first encountered it in my graduate studies about a decade ago. Almost nobody can define it. Between typing these lines, I tried to google a definition of post modernism on-line and got a gobblety gook of words with little meaning.
Post-modern is supposed to be “after the modern world, “a new evaluation of culture, mores etc.” One definition got close to the heart of it: self-referential when it comes to right and wrong.
What does that mean?
Let’s back up a moment and look at its opposite.
Nobody who is honest about history would disagree that the modern world was built on the foundation of a Judeo-Christian values. Let’s call this God-referential--in other words:
- There is God Who made not only the natural laws of the universe but also revealed the moral laws that apply to all human beings. We are accountable to Him for our actions.
- From the Decalogue and the nation of Israel, to the Magna Carta, to the Reformation, to the foundations of British law and American civilization, this biblical view of life has formed the basis of modernity and the civil rights (and peace and prosperity) that we enjoy.
- Human rights are not derived from tyrants or human governments, but are God-given, including the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
- The biblical worldview assumes that there is such a thing as truth–and that this truth is based on evidence. All of our human courts and principles of justice are based on this axiom that we must seek to know the truth that is based on objective facts.
- Our system of “blind justice” is the best the world has produced–and human juries are the wisest and humane way to keep justice near to the people and discover truth in a fallen world.
- Because human beings are sinful and fallible, sometimes even the best structures make wrong decisions. But the rule of law that comes from God is still worth honoring, even when it fails.
- Perfect justice or judgment will only be given in eternity by a holy and just God. We must leave ultimate justice in the hands of God.
- The end (justice) never justifies the means (violence).
Thus the biblical worldview teaches us 1) there is a God of justice, 2) truth is based on evidence, and 3) We must never take justice in our own hands either through vigilantism or random acts of violence.
A biblical worldview and godly character are the guardians of peace in a free society.
So what happened in Ferguson and what did it reveal about our present character and worldview?
The shooting death of Michael Brown by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson looked confusing early on. It could have been racially motivated–a white cop over zealously gunning down a black young man–or it could have been a young thug robber assaulting a policeman which cost him his life.
Which was it?
After a media circus fueled by race hustlers used the occasion to stir up the community against the police and burned and destroyed parts of Ferguson, a grand jury was convened to analyze the facts. They concluded:
- That many early witnesses lied and changed their stories about it being police brutality.
- At least six African American witnesses confirmed Darren Wilson’s testimony that he shot Michael Brown in self defense after Brown punched him, ran away, then charged him even when Wilson pleaded for him to stop.
- There was no basis to indict Darren Wilson.
Yet after the grand jury decision was announced, 20 businesses were burned to the ground by angry, stoned, anarchic thugs, 60 businesses were burglarized, and scores of people were arrested for partipating in the economic mayhem. Then the violent protests spread around the nation to other major cities.
Why?
Because the post-modern worldview of “self-referential” people –meaning I will decide my own truth regardless of God, evidence, justice, juries, or other people’s property rights–is growing in our nation.
Selfishness reigns. I am my own truth. I don’t care about the facts and I don’t respect your private property. I will burn you and loot you with impunity if I don’t get my way.
In the biblical worldview, Jesus (God’s Word) says, “I am the truth (John 14:6). In the post-modern worldview which we saw unleashed in Ferguson and other places, fallen human beings say “I have my own truth and will do what I want.”
Let’s call post-modernism what it really is.
Paganism. The spirit of anarchy that comes from Lucifer himself.
It is life without God, his rules for living, his character and self control, his love and grace.
And if the pagan/postmodern worldview is not exposed and repented of in American life, then the prevalence of violence and anarchy looms large in our future.
Revelation Two – Biblical Morality Brings Peace and Blessing
When my family faced injustice forty-five years ago, I could have gotten mad, bitter and even violent. Our family had been destroyed and my dad had been taken away.
If I’d had a notion to be post-modern or pagan, I could have burned up the whole neighborhood to get “justice for my dad.”
Instead, I began a pursuit of God which led me and much of my family into being born again, discipled in his character, filled with his love and forgiveness, and set free to serve others.
We never blamed the prosecutor, the jury, the state, the medical establishment or anyone else. Yeah, we had our pity-party moments, but the greater reality was allowing God to work in our lives and help us overcome injustice with his goodness and grace.
We learned to turn the other cheek, work hard, accept some bad decisions and circumstances in life, try to make it a better world thorough peaceful means, and put final justice in hands of the only One who can handle it.
God.
He became our reference–not our twisted, angry human pride.
Dr. Martin Luther King did the same thing in the 1960s regarding African-American civil rights. He shared the truth, preached non-violence, and left the verdict in God hands and a biblically-based nation that responded to the facts and removed some chains of discrimination.
In the past fifty years we’ve made great racial strides through referencing the God of MLK and his ways. Let’s not go back to self-referencing and the chaos and destruction it produces.
Benjamin Watson, an African-American tight end for the New Orleans Saints, has it right when he says about Ferguson:
“I’M HOPEFUL, because I know that while we still have race issues in America, we enjoy a much different normal than those of our parents and grandparents. I see it in my personal relationships with teammates, friends and mentors. And it’s a beautiful thing.”
“I’M ENCOURAGED, because ultimately the problem is not a SKIN problem, it is a SIN problem. SIN is the reason we rebel against authority. SIN is the reason we abuse our authority. SIN is the reason we are racist, prejudiced and lie to cover for our own. SIN is the reason we riot, loot and burn.”
“BUT I’M ENCOURAGED because God has provided a solution for sin through the his son Jesus and with it, a transformed heart and mind. One that’s capable of looking past the outward and seeing what’s truly important in every human being. The cure for the Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice and Eric Garner tragedies is not education or exposure. It’s the Gospel.”
“So, finally, I’M ENCOURAGED because the Gospel gives mankind hope.”
Amen, Benjamin.
You’ve gotten the revelations.
King Barack Flips American Voters the Bird
I have never seen anything like this in the sixty-one years of my life:
A United States president, acting like a monarch or dictator, thumbs his nose at the American people he is supposed to lead and protect, granting de facto amnesty to millions of illegal aliens by executive fiat.
President Obama’s November 20 executive action is bad for the country, is a blatant abuse of Constitutional power and directly contradicts the expressed will of the American people.
I will focus on the latter point. He acts like a king with utter disdain for the people.
It’s time to stop tip-toeing around the presidential problem we face. We are being gamed by a narcissistic president who cares more for his agenda than those that he serves..
And here’s what we need to do about it.
Last night President Barack Obama did something that no American president has ever done. He symbolically displayed his middle finger to the American people he is supposed to listen to and represent–as well as the Congress who makes our laws–and acted like a king who creates law, interprets and enforces them.
We haven’t seen those brazen actions on our shores for nearly 240 years when King George III did the same with the American colonists–making laws without their consent–which precipitated the Revolutionary War and the birth of the USA.
When a humble George Washington became our first president, he rigorously resisted the easy temptation to be called “Your Majesty” and rule like a king. No–he said calling him “Mr. President” was enough, and that republican institutions were to make laws only through the peoples’ elected representatives.
George Washington was a humble leader with great character.
Barack Obama seems to be completely lacking in this most important quality of leadership.
In the past few decades we’ve seen other presidents–both Democrat and Republican–chastised by the voters in mid-tem elections–come out humbled and working for the good of the nation.
In 1986, Democrats took over both the House and the Senate during the Reagan years. A humbled Ronald Reagan accepted the verdict of the voters and began working with House Speaker Tip O’Neill for the good of the nation. Economic prosperity followed.
Twelve years later, Bill Clinton’s government was shellacked in the mid-term elections. He, too, humbled himself, listened to the people and committed to working with Capitol Hill on major achievements which included welfare reform and a balanced budget.
When good leaders are rebuked, they learn (even when they may have mixed motives for changing). When bad leaders are chastised, they react in pride and disdain.
Last evening, Barack Obama gave a smooth yet deceptive speech. He decided to go around Congress and allow certain unlawful residents with established roots to “come out of the shadows” because mass deportation of illegal immigrants “would be both impossible and contrary to our character.”
“I hear those concerns,” he added in a speech that quoted both Moses and George W. Bush, but “immigrants are a net plus for our economy and our society.”
It all sounded good and almost reasonable at certain points. But the entire presentation was lawless in nature and deceptive to the core.
Before we analyze his action, let’s look at what Barack Obama, acting like a king, did on November 20 to lead our immigration system into certain chaos.
Specifically, the president’s executive action will:
- Create a new deferred deportation program for parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent resident children if they have been in the country for more than five years.
- Grant work permits for three years if they pass background checks and pay back taxes and fees. In nearly all states, the people who are granted legal status will be entitled to driver’s licenses.
- Expand protection from deportation to more “Dreamers,” or people who came to the U.S. illegally as children, and grant more work permits to high-skilled workers.
- Establish a new priority system for deporting illegal immigrants, requiring the Department of Homeland Security to focus on people serving jail time for criminal offenses.
- Add more immigration judges to the border region so illegal immigrants who are deemed low-priority can be released more quickly, and recent border crossers and those with serious criminal records can be deported.
While the president portrayed his edict as necessary to address long-standing immigration problems, giddy Democrats who held immigration parties across the nation also believe President Obama’s action will buy them millions of Hispanic votes and provide progressive candidates with an electoral edge for years to come.
And he enacted the ruling like a tin-pot dictator–against the wishes of the American people. Columnist John Hayward comments:
“It’s still striking that not a single poll can be produced showing majority support for what Obama did last night, including some resistance from people who are generally in favor of all that “pathway to citizenship” stuff but oppose the way Obama is forcing it down their throats. The most recent election could not have made it more clear that the American electorate doesn’t want this. But Obama seized new powers to override the American people, acting as the representative of foreign citizens.”
That’s an incredibly deaf abuse of power and wrong priorities.
The 2014 mid-term elections, which just rolled through the nation as a thunder storm, were a clear repudiation of two Obama policies: Obamacare (ACA) and amnesty for illegals. You can’t interpret the results any other way unless you live in a fantasy world.
Election 2014 was a refutation of Barack Obama’s policies and priorities. As he likes to say:
“Period.”
Let’s analyze the timing of the president’s announcement.
Barack Obama would like us to think that his executive order is based on what he knows is best for the American people and nation.
But that doesn’t square with reality. President Obama and his party controlled both the Congress and the presidency for the first two years of his term. If they really believed Americans wanted to legalize illegal entrants into the country en masse, then it would have been easy to pass comprehensive immigration reform without a fight. Write the bill. Pass it in both chambers and sign it into law.
Why didn’t they do it? Because they knew that the American people didn’t want illegal aliens being treated better than legal-in-the-process immigrants that America has always loved and championed.
We are a nation of immigrants—legal ones!—who believe in the rule of law and fairness.
The Democrats knew this and punted. Barack Obama also knew he couldn’t be re-elected in 2012 if he went against the wishes of the American people on such a major issue.
After he was re-elected, he pushed through the Senate another bill (with the help of a few Republicans) that the House refused to take up. Why did they table it? Because the People’s House knew that the folks didn’t support it.
Why did Barack Obama not push that bill prior to the 2014 elections? Because he knew if he did, then there might not be one Democrat left in either chamber of Congress. The shellacking would have been even worse than it was.
So after hearing the people speak in the 2014 election, he should have humbled himself like Reagan and Clinton and many other presidents, listened to the voice of the people, and gone to Congress after the lame-duck session to put together a good bill that will benefit the America people as well as take into account those who came to our nation unlawfully.
He refused to listen, and with no other elections to bind him, decided to act like a spoiled child or a self-absorbed dictator and rule by presidential fiat.
And why did he do that? Is it because he really wants to do “what’s best for America?”
I don’t think so. It’s a political move—plain and simple. Barack Obama believes that granting de facto amnesty to millions of Hispanics will help the Democrats win elections for years to come.
He did it for votes–nothing else.
So what should we do about this partisan and reckless act by a man who would be emperor?
1. Like the Committees of Correspondence of Revolutionary times, we need to make our voices heard that we want a secure border, a stream-lined legal process for legal immigration, and some penalties and process for those who broke our laws. That applies to adults only (kids are not responsible for their parents’ sins). Both the Heritage Foundation and Bill O’Reilly offer sensible plans for dealing with immigration.
2. We need to pray for the new Congress to wisely resist this president’s authoritarian tendencies in all area of his administration. May God give them specific wisdom to resist bad policies and enact righteous solutions that the nation truly wants and needs.
3. We must have a long memory—two years to be exact—and elect a humble and competent president in 2016 who will help reverse the bad decisions of the past few years and lead America once again into a time of moral, economic, and social renewal.
No more snubs by would-be monarchs should be tolerated in our nation.
To quote the early colonists, “We have no king but Jesus!”
What the Republicans Should Do
The Republican Party clobbered the Democrats in the recent election because concerned voters came out in droves because they do not like the direction we’re heading as a nation.
Republicans now hold 31 state governorships, will end up with an eight or nine vote margin in the US Senate (the most recent pick-up being Dan Sullivan in Alaska), and have more seats in the “People’s House” than anytime since 1929.
That means that the current American electoral map looks pretty red.
Disgruntled Dems and their media allies now talk about “getting along” in Washington and the so-called problem of “gridlock.”
Neither are problems. They are blessings.
Here’s what the Republicans should do.
My Republican wish-list will be put into a David Letterman “Top Ten” format. And since the elections have been so consuming and intense lately, let’s start with another Letterman ten-fer which will get us to laugh a bit before going back to election analysis.
Laughter is good for the soul, both of people and nations (Proverbs 17:22)
A Few Laughs with David Letterman
If you are not a Seattle Seahawk fan, you probably missed a nearly-frightening circumstance that occurred at last Sunday’s game between the ‘Hawks and the New York Giants.
During the pre-game festivities, Taima, the Seahawk mascot–a large, menacing bird–was released as usual in the stadium to take its traditional swoop across the field and land on the arm of its trainer.
Instead of coming down to earth predictably, Taima went up into the crowd and landed on a man’s head, scuffling around on his hoodie. The amazing fan showed great self-control at being dive-bombed by the vicious hawk.
I think I would have been petrified.
Here is David Letterman’s Top Ten on what the man under “hawk-attack” must have been thinking:
Number Ten – “I shouldn’t have used salmon-scented shampoo this morning!”
Number Nine – “Can I keep him?”
Number Eight – “How about a selfie?”
Number Seven – “Can you drop me off in parking lot B?”
Number Six – “Beats the time I was groped by the Philly fanatic.”
Number Five – “He probably smells my hawk.”
Number Four – “Thanks a lot, Obama!”
Number Three – “My toupee!”
Number Two – “First $12 beers and now this!”
Number One – “Yum, wings!”
If you want to see the hawk landing, and Letterman’s humorous reply, you can view them here.
Oh–one more item on the hawk mal-function. Taima, the Seahawk mascot, to make sure he didn’t get in trouble with the NFL (they have enough problems right now), offered up this “statement” after the incident:
“I apologize to my family, fellow birds everywhere, the Seahawks organization and fans. I am embarrassed by the pre-game incident and poor judgment I showed. Please understand my actions were not consistent with the type of bird I want to become. Go Me’s!”
That’s pretty funny too.
It brings to mind what the Democrats should have said after the people sent them packing November 4th (it seems all we’ve heard are excuses and sour grapes):
Here’s what the Democratic press release should have stated:
“We apologize to you the America voter, and fellow Americans everywhere. We are embarrassed at how we have led this nation in the past six years and the poor judgment we’ve shown on the economy and foreign policy. Please forgive us for ramming bills through Congress and using Executive orders on things not consistent with democratic principles and ideals. We commit to serving the wishes of the people according to the guidelines in the Constitution. Go USA!”
Actually, I think if they’d have shown some humility, their numbers would be already rising. There’s something beautiful about honesty, humbleness and repentance.
But back to some real election analysis.
What the Republicans Should Do
First, let’s dismiss the drivel about “getting along” in Congress and the problem of “gridlock.” These concepts mean nothing in the present battle for America. The national press would have you believe that the Republicans should now somehow “get along” with the Democrats. Translation: Don’t push your Republican/backed-by-the people ideas. Just submit to the Democratic agenda.
That’s nonsense. The Republicans won this election. It’s only right for the Dems to do the submitting to the will of the America people–not the other way around.
As for the concept of gridlock, it’s actually a good thing for the next two years. The press would have you believe that’s bad for America because the mainstream media want secularism and democratic socialism to continue their march. They believe that anything that stops this imperative is “obstructionist,” “partisan,” and yielding to “gridlock.”
Poppycock
When there’s a huge fire consuming the road ten miles ahead, it’s gridlock that saves you from zipping in the flames.
It’s a blessing–a good thing. Necessary to save the Republic.
So what should the Republican Party, in responding to the will of the people, do for the next twenty-four months and beyond?
Here’s my Top-Ten List:
Number Ten – Stop the progressive agenda. Be firm and don’t compromise with bad policies. You won. Act like it. And, in order to reverse the damage that has been down to our nation over the past six years and beyond, the Rs must patiently work toward winning the next presidential election. If they don’t do that, America’s fall may not be reversed. Two-thirds of government is not enough. We need a Reagan-like statesman or woman in 2016 to truly turn our national tide (and slide). Don’t settle for anything less.
Number Nine – Approve the Keystone Pipeline. The US is experiencing an energy renaissance where we could lead the world over the next few decades. The progressive focus on global warming and renewable fuels is a misguided tangent. Let’s become the new Saudi Arabia in the coming decades both in oil and natural gas while protecting our environment. This will bring a surge of good, high-paying jobs.
Number Eight – Pass the Republican alternative to Obamacare sign it into law once the Supreme Court strikes down the illegal exchange subsidies (which may happen next summer). The Republican bill honors pre-existing conditions, forces no one to have insurance, is doctor-patient centered, and is not a one-size-fits all monstrosity. When the Supreme Court rules next summer, millions of people will lose their insurance and need coverage. Force president Obama to sign the Republican alternative knowing that a veto would bring down the wrath of the American electorate and leave millions without coverage.
Number Seven – Focus your rhetoric and priorities on the rebirth of faith, family, and freedom across the length and breadth of the fruited plane. This is what Americans want. It is their birthright. They want to us to remain “America,”–not become a dying, secular socialist democracy. Cast vision for these principles and the people will follow you.
Number Six – Strengthen and rebuild the military by using the power of the purse. We live in a dangerous world where America’s military might is necessary to defeat evil powers. Congress should re-fund America’s heroes to allow them to protect our shores and lift up the lamp of liberty in other nations.
Number Five – Protect our most fundamental right to religious liberty and conscience in all aspects of American society. Pass any necessary laws allowing people to express that faith in and through their businesses, schools, and neighborhoods in the United States without penalty or persecution.
Number Four – Prepare a Balanced Budget Amendment, and promise to pass it when we elect a Republican president in 2016. The 18 trillion dollar national debt has not gone away and may be up to twenty trillion when Barack Obama leaves office. Only a balanced budget amendment can bring our nation back into economic sanity and health.
Number Three – Change the tax code either through a Flat Tax or Fair Tax and lower the corporate income tax rates to the lowest in the world. This will bring trillions of dollars back home for investment, create fairness in the tax system, and stimulate the growth of millions of jobs over the next decade.
Number Two – Seal the southern border with fences, boots and technology. Then streamline and increase legal immigration to two or three million a year while sending any current illegal immigrants to the back of the immigration line.
Number One – Champion the sacredness of marriage between one man and one woman and commit to rebuilding the American family (especially in cities and minority areas). Marriage and family are the cornerstones of any great society.
These are the ten things that Republicans should do to bring God’s blessing back to the United States of America.
Those are my ideas. I’d love to hear yours.