Always Reforming

Studying history is vital. Studying history is dangerous. Studying history encourages critical thinking. Studying history is simultaneously frightening and comforting. Studying history reminds you that men have always been greedy, evil, and gullible.   Studying history shows that societies run through cycles. Studying history enables you to identify where your own society falls within these cyles. Studying history disillusions you. Studying history transports you to eras, cultures, and places that you could never visit otherwise. Studying history allows you to transcend the narrow-minded conceptions of your own era. Studying history cures you of cultural and temporal narcissism.   Studying history reminds you that things have been much worse. Studying history informs the future. Studying history will either paralyze you or stir you to action. Studying history is vital. 

Before I proceed to answer the question proffered in the title, allow me to clarify something.  I do not consider myself a Republican.  I have never voted for a presidential candidate from either major party, nor do I intend to vote for Donald Trump this year, though the Democrats are doing their best to change my mind. So, why is abortion such a big deal?  Why is abortion turning conservative Christians into  one-issue voters, forcing them to support the likes of Donald Trump?  Why is abortion worse than other violations of human rights? The fact that I have been asked these questions, by Christians no less, is indicative of the underlying problem.  The problem is three-fold, and so is my answer. 1) Abortion is horrendous.  Abortion is an unfathomable evil.  In a bygone era proponents of abortion convinced our nation that terminating a pregnancy was simply disposing of a blob of tissue.  This classic tactic--dehumanizing the victim--was more believable before modern medical equipment

When are we going to stop falling for it?   When are we going to stop being so gullible? How much more can we take before we get sick of being misinformed and manipulated? When will we stop listening to the mainstream media? Ahmaud Arbery. George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. They lied to us.  They willfully and/or negligently reported events in a false and inflammatory manner.   They stoked the flames.  They perpetuated the riots.  They fomented insurrection.   When will they be held accountable for their lies?  How do you hold them accountable without devolving into tyranny? When will we as a nation learn to be patient?  When will we learn to react slowly and respond cautiously?  When will we learn to wait for the rest of the story  before picking a side and sticking to our guns? When will we have had our fill? When will we learn to recognize the bias? When will we stop listening to, watching, and reading their nonsense? When will enough be enough?

Many Christians today have an unfortunate aversion to being considered extreme .   They want to be liked.  They want unbelievers to view them as fair and balanced.  They want the world to see them as reasonable .   Now, Christians should certainly be loving and kind and fair.  Our Faith is certainly reasonable, but Christians need to make peace with the fact that to be a Christian is to be an extremist. To be a Christian is to pick up your cross and to follow Jesus Christ. Our Faith, if it is a living faith, will impact every aspect of who we are, what we believe, and how we behave.  It will leave no portion of our lives undisturbed. When you embrace the Christian Faith, you are not joining a club.  You are joining an army, a body, a nation.   You are joining a Kingdom.   You are submitting to a King, a Lord. We are called to serve our Savior.  It is His opinion alone that should concern us and motivate our choices. His Kingdom is not of this world, nor are the means of advancing this

In the United States we have a polarized political system predicated on hate.  Now, this is nothing new, and I'm sure that this is not a malady that is unique to our nation, but this issue has become more pronounced in the Age of the Internet.   Republicans and Democrats, from elected officials to commonplace voters, openly declare that they do not like their own candidate--they simply hate the other candidate.   Consider sitting President, Donald Trump.  With few exceptions, his supporters generally do not view him as a man of virtue or truth, but, rather, as a vanguard against the forces of Liberalism, Marxism, religious persecution, etc.   They don't love Trump; they simply hate the alternative to Trump.    The other side of the aisle is even worse.   There are essentially zero human beings on this planet who truly believe that Joe Biden would lead this nation effectively. Rather, his own party views him as a vanilla candidate, the elder statesman who, once in office, would

Get out and vote!   Voting is your civic duty! Your voice matters! Does it?   Does every voice matter?   Does every citizen of the United States who has arrived at the age of majority really have a valid opinion on matters of state? Maybe universal suffrage is a bad idea. The media is telling you that you need to vote.  Anytime the media is saying it, you probably have reason to doubt it. LeBron James and the rest of the NBA are telling you that you need to vote.  I guess being an athlete qualifies you to say such things. Facebook and Instagram are begging you to go out and get registered to vote.  There's no way they have an agenda! I've been rethinking democracy lately.  Maybe this whole "everyone has a voice" thing is a bad idea.  Maybe there's a reason that the United States is not, properly speaking, a Democracy.  Maybe our founding fathers created a Constitutional Republic to avoid the pitfalls of naked democracy. If you have no idea what the difference is b