Surreal Subversion

American and Western European histories are filled with moral and social conflict and political battles. For the past three centuries, the trajectory toward human liberty and economic opportunity has been positive, with serious battles against totalitarianism in the 19th and 20th centuries. Coalitions of Center, Left and Right in Europe and lots of "horse-trading" in the USA have ensured relative stability for millions of people.

This stability depends upon four critical factors: consensual personal and social morality, human liberty, economic opportunity and the rule of law. These elements are interdependent and indispensable for human flourishing.

Our very civilization, built on these foundations, is threatened by the ideologues in power in Washington, D.C. (And by extension, Sacramento, CA)

I am normally optimistic, looking for the best in people, even those I disagree with. What is happening right now is the culmination of a century of subversion inaugurated by Woodrow Wilson, accelerated (with often noble intent) by FDR, turbo-charged by LBJ's Great Society and mostly unopposed by even the Republicans designated as conservatives. The past five years, however, are fraught with exponential change that is subversive of the values enumerated above and enshrined in the Constitution.

I do not believe we can dismantle 100 years of structural change overnight...nor should we. What we must do is understand the times we live in and recognize the seriousness of our situation. All people of conscience, regardless of particular policy perspectives, must unite to stem the flood waters of self-destruction and turn the tide toward a preferred future.

Our current President and Administration are not content with adjustments that ease economic pain, build infrastructure and ensure opportunity. They are after forcible redistribution of wealth and the creation of a permanent working underclass that will vote for more largess from the federal trough. In addition to runaway spending, totalitarian control over health care and education and deliberate anarchy on immigration, they are undermining the four foundations mentioned above in the following ways:

The personal and social mores of hundreds of years are willfully discarded for "evolved" thinking of marriage and family, sexual license and special accommodation to Islamicists that despise everything the West stands for.

Human liberty - including freedom of conscience and worship, assembly and speech and redress to the government - is being sacrificed on the altar of political correctness and incipient totalitarian control over families and individuals. When people of goodwill cannot comment on marriage and morality, critique another religion or worldview (except Christianity) and are told that their most cherished values are subservient to state interests, we no longer have a functioning Constitution.

Economic opportunity is threatened by a militaristic environmentalism rooted in debatable science, excessive regulation and utter disdain for entrepreneurship that does not spout the correct social cliches. It is interesting that class envy is used to increase government control while major corporate donors pay little in taxes and garner contracts with public money.

Finally, the rule of law. Or should we say, lawlessness. Everywhere the current party is in power, crime grows, economies decline and social unrest is at an all-time high. Any suggestion of smaller budget increases or greater efficiencies in social programs are greeted with howls that millions will starve. Immigration reform is a joke. Millions will be pardoned for breaking the law. Instead of deporting felons, enforcing borders and crafting pathways to citizenship that continue our grand values, we are opening the floodgates for cheap labor and cheap votes.

We have a small window of opportunity to change this pathway to oblivion. It will require moral courage, spiritual awakening and wisdom to meet the needs of many types of people. It will also require Congressional and Presidential leadership willing to debate civilly and seriously and forge policies that represent all Americans.

Surreal artists distort reality and provoke reactions with exaggerated forms. The people in power are doing the same with their histrionics and propaganda. Their refusal to debate, stubborness in the face of many concerns and fiat-wielding power speak for themselves. They have a distorted narrative, an exaggerated sense of their own superiority and utter disdain for all that are less "enlightened." It is time to compel them to get real jobs by voting in women and men of integrity that take the Constitution seriously.

9-11, Islam, Christianity and America

At the request of friends, I am transcribing some thoughts from another work to this online forum. I am concerned that we approach future relationships between Christians and Muslims and Americans and Muslims (they are different, with America's diversity and our Constitutional guarantees of liberty of conscience and religion) with thoughtfulness. Not all readers share my religious convictions; however, I will not veil them nor impose them. It is my deep desire to see all humankind freely and joyfully discover the love, grace and liberty found in Jesus Christ. I make it my life aim to persuade women and men to believe in the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus and find salvation through his suffering and victory over death. I believe that the principles and values of the Bible are the finest guide to human attitudes and actions. I also reject all notions of coercive totalitarianism, or an imposed theocracy this side of eternity. This said, I also affirm that it is the duty of Christians to bring redemptive insight to all human situations, from business ethics and property rights to the dignity of all persons from conception to coronation. An honest look at the world compels even skeptics to admit that the freest lands around the globe are those touched by Judeo-Christian values.

Here is the essay:

A Word on then 10th Anniversary of 9-11

As a Christian leader and historian, I am called upon to comment on the threat of radical Islam to America, Europe and other parts of the world. The anniversary of this tragic day is a moment to pause and pray, to reflect and respond to the love of God and the challenges we face. There are three facets of our response to those who wish to destroy our way of life and enslave (they would say, "liberate") the world under a universal caliphate.

The first facet of response is spiritual. As a follower of Christ, I am enjoined to bless those who curse me, pray for those who persecute me and look for ways to serve even those who wish me ill. The most important response to the threat of radical Islam must be a deep spiritual awakening that leads to intimacy with God, integrity in life and positive impact in the world. For Muslims around the world (and perhaps across the street), the terms, "Christian", "Western" and "moral decadence" are all part of the same corrupt culture they want to transform. If we are honest, we must concede that we have abused our liberties and transgressed the commands of a holy God. Authentic repentance and a renewed desire to honor God and serve others is the greatest antidote to the virus of intolerant theocracy.

The second facet is a reaffirmation that the liberties, principles and virtues undergirding the U.S. Constitution have produced the freest societies and the greatest social progress in human history. Radical Sharia law is not just a few folks wanting to practice their religion. Roman Catholics (think charities, churches and parochial schools), Orthodox Jews, Amish communities and other groups have found ways to maintain their distinctions without hastening the demise of a nation and civilization suffused with Judeo-Christian principles. We must never allow two legal systems to coexist and let any group be above the law. Islamic radicalism suppresses women, creates class distinctions among differing religions and, in some cases, rejects all the intellectual and social progress of the last 500 years (think Taliban).

The third facet: Let's make friends with our Muslim neighbors, work together to make our neighborhoods beautiful places for families and call upon all people of goodwill to resist the totalitarian claims of Taliban, Wahhabi and other radical strains that pervert piety. There are millions of Muslims who want to live in a pluralistic world, practice their faith and make a better future for their children. When they discover that we want to life peacefully with (not under or over) them and help them reject the intolerance and violence of some of their co-religionists, the possibilities for real peace increase exponentially. There are reform-minded groups hoping to create a pluralistic Islam. They are few in number, but they deserve our respect.

Moral courage, relational outreach and spiritual awakening compel us to pray for millions to find the joy and peace that Jesus Christ offers. The Gospel is not a coercive religion - it is a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that liberates all to discover God's love and their personal destiny.

We are 13 months away from the most important presidential election in my lifetime. In my next essay I will propose some key principles for progress as I refuse to give in to fatalism and national self-destruction.