Redemption is God´s Gift

 

It is difficult to wrap your head around all the violence going on in our country right now. It really seems unbelievable! Scores of people being shot, and others killed in our cities every week doesn’t make sense. The numbers are going higher while cities are actually defunding their police departments. Two different problems are unfolding before our eyes, criminals, and gangs are carrying out their deadly business and the everyday riots. The anarchists are wielding bats, rocks, frozen bottles, sharpen sticks and pipes as they brazenly fight the police while the criminals own the inner-cites. Local politicians affirm the actions of the rioters and ignore the lawlessness in their cities. Most of the media present these rioters and vandals as people with a valid cause. They, too, ignore the chaos in cities like Chicago, St. Louis, and New York. Since when do people with a legitimate purpose destroy and vandalize property and attack the police with impunity. These politicians have one policy toward the anarchists, and that is appeasement. The one problem with appeasement is it is never enough. Anyone supporting the BLM movement is either ignorant or ignoring what they stand for—communism, destruction of the nuclear family, and democratic government.

We are all responsible for our attitudes, actions, and behaviors. Blaming our actions on someone else is part and parcel of victimhood. There are reasonable ways to seek change in our way of life. Bullying people, destroying property, and harming others are not one of them. Rather than looking at our own attitudes and examining our own lives, it’s easier to blame someone else for our problems.

God’s way of dealing with hurt, resentment, bitterness, and hatred is through forgiveness and reconciliation. That means that we sit down and actually listen to each other and talk to each other. The outcome of that encounter produces and awareness of our own shortcomings and mistakes and prompts us to offer an apology. It is an apology that explains what we have done to the other person and how we know we have hurt them. Then a request for forgiveness is presented. The other person sensing the genuineness of the conversation, gives their forgiveness and offers their own apology. Forgiveness flows both ways, and reconciliation is now possible. Promises are made not to repeat the same mistakes.

We see hardly any of this. People are demanding reparations for the slavery of their ancestors from people who are 160 years removed from the horror of slavery. What we all need is redemption. Indeed, there are millions of people with hurt and deep wounds! Their anger toward the entire world will never heal those wounds—only true redemption. Yes, we should always be adjusting our laws to make sure they are just and fair. Since flawed people make all of our laws, there is a pretty good chance they can be faulty. However, our system of democracy has the framework to give us fair laws. To throw our entire system of government out because some spoiled rotten millennials are demanding we give them socialism would be the gravest mistake we could make.

We need more honest, genuine politicians who will seek real solutions that benefit the most significant number of people. Unfair laws that hurt the population come from dishonest and self-centered politicians who seek their own personal glory. This is why the elections just 100 days away are so important!

Our Kids’ Lives Matter

History will judge us by our decisions during this pandemic. One of the most critical decisions is whether or not we reopen our schools. If we fail to open our schools next month, the consequences of this decision will be far-reaching.

Learning to prioritize in life is essential to doing the right things. Almost always, the urgent is not the most important! It just screams the loudest and gets our attention. As the nation has navigated through this pandemic, it has not been easy to prioritize. However, one area that should be a no-brainer-priority for the entire country is our children. We need to prioritize their present and future wellbeing by reopening our schools! I have been advocating for families for decades. As I see all the squabbling over the schools opening in the Fall, I feel obligated to weigh in on this issue because the welfare of millions of children is at stake.

Our kids need to be physically present in school to ensure their academic progress. Most have already suffered from an incomplete spring semester and the hit and miss online classes. An academic foundation is essential to traversing the higher levels of education. There is no substitute for in-classroom—teacher-led classes for the smaller children. They have to learn to read, write, and do math and add to their necessary educational skills. Online classes are nearly impossible for the younger grades, and even many older children struggle because they are not in a classroom.

The social aspect of school is critical for children. School is the arena where those skills are learned and practiced. Depriving students of these crucial opportunities will diminish their interpersonal skills.  Special Ed students desperately need the individual attention they receive in the classroom.

The possibility of children and teens becoming depressed because they have to stay home and cannot reenter school is real. Severe depression in teens is already an indisputable fact, and increasing the risk of teen suicide is tangible. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children, adolescents, and young adults age 15-to-24-year-olds. The majority of children and adolescents who attempt suicide have a significant mental health disorder, most often depression. Depression is an ugly thing, and we need to take it seriously in our kids.

The science has proved the risk to children from COVID-19 is minimal because this is primarily an adult disease. Trying to eliminate the risk of infection to Covid-19 is impossible! The risk of not opening schools will be higher than the risk of opening them. The risk of keeping children home and not allowing them to reenter school will be greater to their mental and social health than the risk of the Corona Virus. When we ask, “What is better for children?”, the answer is obvious. Let them go back to school.

It is unthinkable that politicians would be playing games with our children’s futures to further their political agenda. Using children as ponds in a real-life game of chess is despicable! Politics has a horrible reputation, but using children will be a new low for politicians who chose this issue to fight for their cause.

I love this Country Too Much to Be Quiet

On July 4, 1776, the unanimous voice of the thirteen states declared our independence, and this glorious republic was founded. The enduring words of our Declaration of Independence continue to inspire us to do better: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness—that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.  What a heritage we have and what history in these almost 2 ½ centuries. I, for one, am proud to be an American and am unashamed to declare it! The United States of America is the greatest nation on the face of the earth! Our country is 244 years old today; although flawed in many ways, she still is the best example of democracy in the world.

My mother used to say, “sick and tired.” She would sometimes say to us, kids, “I’m sick and tired of the way you are acting.” Well, I am sick and tired of the lawlessness, the anarchy, the looting, the vandalism, the destruction of property, the pulling down of historical monuments, the wanton disrespect to police and law enforcement, the endless cries of racism, the unprovoked attacks on innocent people by violent thugs, and the hatred of our country and the complicit endorsement of all this by the media. I am sick and tired of politicians defending this lawlessness and refusing to support law enforcement. I am sick and tired of the blatant refusal to control the lawless rioters and protestors while obsessed with control of lawful citizens by tyrant politicians.

I have never seen anything in my life like what I am witnessing on the streets of American cities. Enough about race! Anyone with half a brain can see this is about dividing race—not healing the divide. Race relations have been set back 50 years! Enough about police brutality! We now see brutality toward police and random helpless people. People are even afraid to speak out and give their opinion—terrified they will be considered a racist. I am sick and tired of hearing every other day of something that is canceled, replaced, renamed, or retitled because someone is offended. I am offended that there are so many simple-minded people who are willing to go along with all this stupidity.

Do I support Black Lives Matter? The answer is an emphatic, yes! However, I do not support the organization that goes by that name. These radicals have given us a vivid preview of the reign of terror they would institute. They have shown us how judgmental and racist they really are as they call for all whites to bow and all police to turn over law enforcement to them. Mind you that the majority of these loud-mouthed agitators are white—but identifying as black. The anarchy we are seeing is much akin to the French Revolution, which initiated a reign of terror. What else does “Unless we get what we are asking for we will burn the system down” mean? (recently spoken by a BLM leader).

If these agitators want socialism or communism, there are plenty of places they can find it where it is still struggling along. Why should they take our freedoms away to make another Cuba, Venezuela, or China? They tell us they want to distribute wealth and make everyone equal. Well, ask the people who live under communism and see how fair the system really is.

It’s clear to me that the main agenda of these anarchists is not race relations or police brutality but the removal of President Trump from office. They are afraid that he will be reelected, so they are trying to keep the country in a state of unrest so they can disrupt the election in November. Their target is not only Trump but anyone who supports him. Enough about your hatred of President Trump! If you don’t like him, then vote him out!