Throughout America’s history, certain principles associated with the Age of Enlightenment acted as a damper on mankind’s often irresponsible nature. Until recently, an adherence to fact-based principles or self-evident truths was such a part of our national spirit that John Adams could confidently declare, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence…” But now, that culture has given way to the illusion offered by situational ethics, where acceptable behavior is determined not by facts, but by each individual’s personal feelings and cultural passions.
This exaltation of feelings over facts was popularized in the art, literature, poetry and music produced by the Romantics beginning in the early Nineteenth Century, which, although more a state of mind than a movement, culminated in the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and gave us such mottos as “Do your own thing,” “If it feels good do it,” and “Make love not war,” along with lyrics like those found in Debby Boone’s 1977 number one hit, You Light Up My Life, “It can’t be wrong when it feels so right.” As a result of this toxic romantic-enlightenment admixture, individuals now feel free to pursue what is right in their own eyes, regardless of how absurd or immoral those pursuits might be, and anything that interferes with their pursuit of happiness can’t be right when it feels so wrong. At its core, Romanticism retained the Enlightenment’s emphasis on individual freedom and rights, but replaced fact and reason with fanciful feelings.
Regrettably, this abandonment of objective standards has allowed contradictions, inconsistencies and absurdities to flourish, thereby cutting off the possibility of any meaningful debate; as typified by the Deist and romantic free verse poet Walt Whitman’s one-sided conversation with the “listener up there.” In his Leaves of Grass, Song of Myself, Whitman justified his inconsistencies by declaring: “Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes.”
Obviously, America has lost her way — and most people know it.
From 11 30 to 12 07 21, Penn State University’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy queried 1,200 individuals on their feelings about the nation’s future. Of those who said they were worried, 85% said that they were extremely (55%) or very (29%) worried, while of those who said they were hopeful, 42% described themselves as extremely (18%) or very (24%) hopeful. In addition, another 26% reported that nothing makes them hopeful; while 2% insisted that nothing makes them worried, and among those who were either extremely or very worried, a majority (38%) cited politics as the source of their anxiety.
In sum, most Americans believe the glue that holds the country together is coming unstuck, and are extremely worried about the nation’s future. Their concerns are as valid as the cause of their anxiety is clear: America is in the midst of a massive political-cultural- moral revolution driven by militant minority groups intent on forcing their absurd beliefs on the entire nation. This tactic, though not new, is highly effective.
In his 1765 essay, Collection of Letters on Miracles, Francois-Marie Arouet, the French philosopher, author and Deist known as Voltaire, warned about the consequences of submitting to such demands.
Formerly there were those who said: You believe things that are incomprehensible, inconsistent, impossible, because we have commanded you to believe them; go then and do what is unjust because we command it. Such people show admirable reasoning. Truly, whoever can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.(Emphasis mine)
As a man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire believed that raw, individualistic human reason reigned supreme, and that mankind’s problems could be solved by the application of certain self-evident truths (an important phrase during the Enlightenment) like those soon to be enumerated in the American Declaration of Independence. What Voltaire did not see, however, was that all self-evident truths are not created equal, and that the untempered utilization of these truths could lead to the very atrocities he sought to avoid, as when the Enlightenment culminated in the bloody French Revolution. Still, history has shown that Voltaire’s basic thesis was correct; those who can be made to believe absurdities can also be made to commit atrocities, and no greater practitioner of applied absurdity exists today than Supreme Court nominee turned Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
During her interrogation of the SCOTUS nominee, Senator Marsha Blackburn read Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s opinion in the case of United States v. Virginia, 518 U. S. 515 (1996), into the record and asked Judge Jackson if she agreed with Justice Ginsburg’s conclusions.
Let me — let me ask you this then. In United States versus Virginia, the Supreme Court struck down VMI’s male-only admission policy. Writing for the majority, Justice Ginsburg stated: “Supposed inherent differences are no longer accepted as a ground for race or national origin classifications. Physical differences between men and women, however, are enduring. The two sexes are not fungible. A community made up exclusively of one sex is different from a community composed of both.”
Do you agree with Justice Ginsburg that there are physical differences between men and women that are enduring?
Senator, respectfully, I — I’m not familiar with that particular quote or case, so it’s hard for me to comment as to whether …
Do you interpret Justice Ginsburg’s meaning of men and women as male and female?
Again, because I don’t know the case, I don’t know how I interpret it. I need to read the whole thing.
Can you provide a definition for the word woman?
Can I provide a definition? No. I can’t.
You can’t?
Not in this context. I’m not a biologist.
So the meaning of this word is so unclear and controversial that you can’t give me a definition?
Senator, in my work as a judge, what I do is address disputes. If there’s a dispute about a definition, people make arguments and I look at the law and I decide, so I’m not…
The fact that you can’t give me a straight answer about something as fundamental as what a woman is underscores the dangers of the kind of progressive education that we are hearing about.
This may have been Senator Blackburn’s first encounter with LGBTQIA+ linguistic shape shifters, who can turn an approbative “gay,” into a pejorative while turning a pejorative “queer,” into an approbative. If so, her consternation is understandable.
In retrospect, Judge Jackson’s assertion that she was unfamiliar with the case seems quite disingenuous since it was argued and decided during her third year at Harvard Law, and would have been followed and debated by professors and students alike. Nevertheless, Judge Jackson dutifully resumed her politically correct pose during her testimony before Senator Ted Cruz.
Yesterday, under questioning from Senator Blackburn, you told her that you cannot define what a woman is … I think you are the only Supreme Court nominee in history who has been unable to answer the question, “What is a woman?” How would you determine if a plaintiff had Article III standing to challenge a gender-based rule, regulation, policy without being able to determine what a woman was?
To no one’s surprise, Judge Jackson’s responses to Senator Cruz were even less forthcoming than the ones she gave Senator Blackburn and amounted to little more than a tangled web of self-contradictions.
Initially, Judge Jackson refused to define the word woman because biology wasn’t listed as an area of expertise in her Curriculum Vita, yet less than twenty-four hours later, and sans a biology degree, she declared that three of these indefinable personages were sitting in the same room.
Senator, I know I am a woman, I know Senator Blackburn is a woman, and the woman I admire most in the world is in the room today, my mother.
For Judge Jackson, trying to provide an acceptable answer to this simple question was tantamount to tip-toing through a mine field. On the one hand, if she defined the term woman according to its well-established sexual or biological characteristics, the intolerant LGBTQIA+’s outrage would explode and cripple her nomination. On the other hand, if she provided a definition that satisfied them she risked alienating the few Republicans who might support her. So, like all savvy political activists– including those who wear black robes –she side stepped the issue by invoking the time tested triad of evasion, obfuscation, and circumlocution; a dodge that allowed Judge Jackson to reap the benefits of taking the Fifth without invoking the right.
Yet, for some unknown reason, Senator Cruz allowed Judge Jackson’s remarks to stand, so now this self-identifying woman, who cannot define the word she used to describe herself, Senator Blackburn and her mother, will render opinions affecting the moral and legal direction of the country for years to come.
This performance should have earned Judge Jackson top billing in America’s Theater of the Absurd, but it did not. Unfortunately for her, the race for that spot is highly competitive and its current champion, President Biden, shows no signs of relinquishing his title.
During an ABC town hall on 10 15 20, then presidential candidate Biden clarified his position on gender dysphoria in young children to the mother of an eight-year-old transgender daughter.
The idea that an eight-year-old child, a ten-year-old child, decides, you know, I want to be transgender. That’s what I think I’d like to be. It’d make my life a lot easier — there should be zero discrimination.
While it is tempting to interpret the former Vice President’s remarks as his final word on when one’s sexual transition should begin, yielding to that temptation would be a mistake. In 2018 the Biden foundation funded and promoted an “as you are” initiative to “…highlight the harms of family rejection, and lift up research, best practices and personal stories to show the importance of family acceptance.” As part of this campaign, the foundation highlighted some 500 acceptance stories of LGBTQIA+s in the United States — one of which was that of a six year-old boy who, according to his mother, had been,
…gender nonconforming since he was able to articulate at18 months, and initiated that he was a boy who liked girl things, but now has socially transitioned…and will be starting first grade soon as her authentic self.
Aside from the fact that no 18 month old child is capable of articulating his or her innermost feelings on such an esoteric and complex subject — without a great deal of coaching from an adult — it should come as no surprise that on his first day in office President Biden issued an executive order to all government agencies, including the military, requiring them to insure that,
Every person should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear, no matter who (sic) they are or whom they love. Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports. Adults should be able to earn a living and pursue a vocation knowing that they will not be fired, demoted, or mistreated because of whom they go home to or because how they dress does not conform to sex-based stereotypes. People should be able to access healthcare and secure a roof over their heads without being subjected to sex discrimination. All persons should receive equal treatment under the law, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation.
These noble sounding words, although custom-made to convey a false sense of fairness, equality and compassion for all, are filled with dark absurdities designed to obscure the order’s true purpose: to destroy the rights of the many in order to strengthen the rights of the few.
For example, Biden’s assertion that “Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,” only applies to a handful of boys who feel like girls and want access to all girls’ restrooms, locker rooms, and athletic contests. But the moment those rights are granted the rights of all young girls to learn without worrying about whether they will be forced to share restrooms, locker rooms, athletic contests — and showers — with biological males are denied.
This order also threatens the constitutional rights of people, churches, and religious organizations that will not employ or fellowship those whose manner of life is expressly condemned by Scripture. Furthermore, if protecting everyone’s civil rights was the goal the independent clause “All persons should receive equal treatment under the law,” would have stood alone, and the modifying dependent clause “no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation” would have been unnecessary. But providing equal rights for all under the law was never the point; in fact quite the opposite was true. The language was cleverly designed to create a new entitlement program that would benefit less than one per cent of the population at everyone else’s expense.
The end result of such political discrimination was described by the Roman lawyer and statesman Cicero some two thousand years ago, who warned that “When a civil right invades the domain of the rights of all the people it becomes a special right of a special class.” Cicero was correct, but, even though all such special rights are divisive and detrimental to the health of a democracy, any opposition to President Biden’s approval of the hyper-sexualization of children will be deemed a hateful act; a position he transmitted in the clear during his 03 31 22 speech on the “Transgender Day of Visibility.”
To everyone celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility, I want you to know that your President sees you. Jill, Kamala, Doug – our entire administration sees you for who you are, made in the image of God, and deserving of dignity, respect and support. But we know it’s hard when there are those out there who don’t see you, and don’t respect you. For example, the onslaught of anti-transgender state laws attacking you and your families is simply wrong. This administration is standing up for you against all those hateful bills and we’re committed to advancing transgender equality in the classrooms, on the playing fields, at work, in our military, in our housing and health care systems. Everywhere. Simply everywhere. Today we’re announcing even more steps. But there’s always more work to do to end the epidemic of violence against transgender women of color and girls of color, to ensure transgender seniors can age with dignity – dignity. And to finally pass a bipartisan Equality Act to help transgender persons around the world live free from discrimination and violence. Above all, to be there with you. To parents of transgender children, affirming your child’s identity is one of the most powerful things you can do to keep them safe and healthy. To any transgender American who’s struggling, please know you’re not alone. To parents and children alike, please ask for help. And know this: You’re so brave. You belong, and we have your back. God bless you all. Be brave.
In response to this speech, notices encouraging gender-reassignment surgery and hormone treatments for minors were issued by sub agencies of the Health and Human Services department. Included in these notices were documents dealing with ‘Gender affirming care and young people, which recommended that treatments should include ‘top surgery to create male-typical chest shape or enhance breasts, and ‘bottom surgery’ on genitals or reproductive organs, facial feminization or other procedures.” These notices went on to say that:
For transgender and nonbinary children and adolescents, early gender-affirming care is crucial to overall health and well-being as it allows the child or adolescent to focus on social transitions and can increase their confidence while navigating the healthcare system. It may include evidence-based interventions such as puberty blockers and gender-affirming hormones.
To those who are called by His name, these words are a reminder that: “… our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this present darkness, (emphasis mine) against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” Ephesians 6:12 ASV. The lines have been drawn; now let the battle be joined.
Unfortunately, these absurdities have been codified in HR3755, The Women’s Health Protection Act of 2021, which passed the House on 09 24 21 by a vote of 218-211, and now awaits passage in the Senate. Should this bill become law, it would protect the healthcare, (i.e. Abortion rights) of “… every person capable of becoming pregnant. This Act is intended to protect all people with the capacity for pregnancy—cisgender women, transgender men, non-binary individuals, those who identify with a different gender, and others—who are unjustly harmed by restrictions on abortion services.”
It is painfully clear that when the absurdities advanced by the LGBTQIA+s are accepted, atrocities such as these – and worse – follow as surely as night follows day.
Since these directives reflected the official position of the United States government, and may become law, a large number of influential private sector organizations rushed to adopt them. The following list is but a small sample of those actively promoting the LGBTQIA+ agenda.
Representing America’s higher education institutions are UCLA, which now provides free menstrual products in all its campus restrooms—including all men’s restrooms — because “individuals who do not identify as female can also menstruate, and need access to these products in their respective bathrooms,” and Oklahoma State University, which on 04 09 22, hosted a “Drag Queen Story Hour” targeting children two through eight years of age during the University’s “Pride 2022 month.”
Representing the public schools are the Westfield, New Jersey ISD that recently implemented a sex-education curriculum requiring that first graders be taught about gender identity and be able to define gender, gender identity, and gender role stereotypes. This program, which will be expanded to all New Jersey public schools this fall, was designed by Advocates for Youth, a company whose website advocates a host of sexually deviant activities for young people such as gender fluidity, transgenderism and promiscuity, and the Oregon public school system, which, in school year 22-23, will provide feminine products in all public school restrooms along with a “Menstrual Dignity Toolkit” which will include instructions for their use. This move was deemed necessary to “…affirm the right to menstrual dignity for transgender, intersex, nonbinary, and two-spirit students by addressing the challenges that some students have managing menstruation while minimizing negative attention that could put them at risk of harm and navigating experiences of gender dysphoria during menstruation.”
As more school districts accepted these absurdities, the level of atrocities committed against their students grew exponentially. On 05 14 22, the Kiel Wisconsin school district charged three eighth grade boys with violating the civil rights act’s Title IX “bullying and harassment clause” for failing to address a classmate by his preferred pronouns. Not to be outdone, the Fairfax County Virginia’s school system has revised its student’s Rights and Responsibilities handbook to read that “…using slurs based upon the actual or perceived gender identity, which includes, but is not limited to, malicious deadnaming or malicious misgendering are forbidden, and can result in suspensions of up to five days or possible expulsion.” Unless these “crimes” are expunged from the students’ records, they will stalk them for the rest of their lives.
But perhaps the greatest atrocity, so far at least, is this: On May 05, the United States Department of Agriculture decreed that any public school grades K-12 that doesn’t fully comply with the LGBTQIA+ agenda, will be investigated for discrimination, which could result in the loss of all federal funding for their school lunch programs. So the democrat party is now on the record as being ready, willing, and able to take food out of the mouths of poor children in order to force their evil and perverse policies on the nation.
Yet as onerous as these examples are, they weren’t quite onerous enough, so President Biden amped- up the rhetoric by declaring that when children enter the classroom they belong to the school and not to their parents.
At the 2022 Teacher of the Year ceremony hosted by the White House on 04 27, the President told those in attendance that “They’re all our children. They are not somebody else’s children. They’re like yours when they’re in the classroom.” When parents confronted school boards about these issues, the National School Board Association requested that the federal government use the patriot Act and send troops to protect their members from these so-called domestic terrorists. As a result, parents all across the country are suing school boards and teachers for indoctrinating rather than educating their children
Representing the views of many in the Medical community is Medical News Today, a publication that on 02-19-20 ran an article that asserted,
“A person who was born male and is living as a man cannot get pregnant. However, some transgender men and nonbinary people can. The terms “man” and “woman” refer to a person’s gender, which encompasses the socially constructed characteristics that differentiate the traditional binary sexes male and female,” and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which normalized homosexuality in 1974 and in an April 2013 article entitled Promoting the Well-Being of Children Whose Parents are Gay or Lesbian, found no evidence that children raised by homosexual parents were worse off than those raised by heterosexual parents. The Academy also supports gay marriage and adoption by single parents and co-parents, which includes same sex parents or second parents, and has published the book You-Ology: A Puberty Guide for Everybody, whose purpose was described by one of its authors, Kathryn Lowe. I think the other big need is kids who don’t fit into a gender binary.
With this book, we’re trying to change that language to be more inclusive. With traditional puberty education, whether it’s in schools or in books, we talk about how girls get their periods and boys get erections. But some girls – for example, transgender girls – might not get their periods. They need to understand about erections and those changes in their bodies. So we wanted to fill this void in puberty education so that kids, regardless of their gender, can see themselves in a book and learn about their bodies.
So the ultra-progressive AAP has embraced the absurd notion that transgender “girls” may not get periods but may get erections? If it is true that “whom the gods would destroy they first make mad,” the AAP’s destruction must be imminent.
Representing the American news media are MSNBC’s Nichole Wallace who, during an interview with The Bulwark’s Tim Miller on 4 20 22, accused transgenderism’s opponents of “dehumanizing” them, and then upped the ante by comparing this to an act of war.
I worry in covering Glenn Youngkin and his politics of “parental choice,” all the focus was on how well it worked. And even in our conversations about DeSantis it’s about how well they’re serving him. The truth is dehumanization as a tactic for politics is from war. Dehumanization is a tactic, speaking right now where Russians get the soldiers to rape children by dehumanizing them. Dehumanization as a practice is a tactic of war. It is being deployed in our politics and people like you and I sometimes lose the plot and admire its effectiveness, not its substance.
And New York Times columnist David Brooks who, during a guest appearance with PBS’ Amna Awaz on 04 22 22, labeled those opposed to teaching gender and sexuality to young children as cruelly and barbarically lunatic Qanon crazies who are dehumanizing their opponents — which could lead to more violence. Thankfully, Brooks stopped just short of comparing them to Russian soldiers who rape children.
Representing the entertainment industry is Disney, a company determined to replace its once cherished title as “the happiest place on earth,” with “the queerist place on earth;” a change that seems more than a little hypocritical since Disney still does business in countries where homosexuality is either banned or considered a criminal act.
Although Disney’s transition to queerness has been progressing quietly for years, its attempt to increase the company’s LGBTQIA+ quotient was thrust into the limelight by the passage of Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law. Initially, Disney’s current CEO, Robert Chapek, chose to stay above the fray, but when ex-CEO Bob Iger tweeted that “I’m with the president on this! If passed, this bill will put vulnerable, young LGBTQ people in jeopardy,” Chapek could remain silent no longer, and issued mega mea culpas to all outlets great and small.
You needed me to be a stronger ally in the fight for equal rights and I let you down. I am sorry. I truly believe we are an infinitely better and stronger company because of our LGBTQ+ community. I missed the mark in this case but am an ally you can count on—and I will be an outspoken champion for the protections, visibility, and opportunity you deserve.
Chapek’s apology drew the curtains open wide and allowed more strident vocalists to take center stage. Among them was Karey Burke, the president of Disney’s General Entertainment Content, who proudly describes herself as “The mother of two queer children, actually one transgender child and one pansexual child,” and wants “many, many LGBTQIA+ characters” featured in all Disney productions. She also bemoans the fact that “We have many, many, many LGBTQIA+ characters in our stories and yet we don’t have enough leads and narratives in which gay characters just get to be characters and not have to be about gay stories.” In addition, there is Latoya Raveneau, an executive producer with Disney animation, who identifies as a bi-romantic bisexual, and recalls how she “didn’t have to be afraid to say, ‘let’s have these two characters kiss in the background. I was just, wherever I could, just basically adding queerness. If you see anything queer in the show, no one would stop me, and no one was trying to stop me.”
As a result of the increased queerness in the House of Mouse, LGBTQ characters now appear in productions that target children such as Pixar’s Lightyear, a movie based on Toy Story’s Buzz Lightyear, and Loki, a Disney+ series that featured the coming out of a bisexual character. Then there are the new 2022 Disney LGBTQIA+ themed plush toys and clothing collections for children, with all proceeds donated to their favorite LGBTQ charity.
Although Disney has been hemorrhaging market value and subscribers, it shows no sign of repentance, and recently announced that all three seasons of its sex-drenched queer teen drama Love Victor will be available on Hulu and Disney+ just in time to celebrate LGBTQIA+ pride month.
And representing the Neo-Gnostics are Rowan Williams, an Anglican Bishop who previously served as the Archbishop of Canterbury and now preaches that “To be trans is to enter a sacred journey of becoming whole: precious, honoured and loved, by yourself, by others and by God,” and Max Lucado who, on 07 13 04, preached a sermon that has since been scrubbed from the internet entitled What God Says About Gay Marriage. In his sermon, which was an excellent example of Biblical exegesis, Mr. Lucado not only laid out the Bible’s clear and unambiguous condemnation of homosexuality and same-sex marriage, but described the Pandora’s Box effect that would occur if such unions were legalized. Now, fast forward seventeen years to 02 21 when Mr. Lucado was scheduled to speak at Washington’s National Cathedral but found that this highly anticipated honor was threatened by a LGBTQIA+ uprising over the contents of his earlier sermon.
Although he was under intense pressure to cancel the event, the cathedral’s dean, Randy Hollerith, enforced the rules and allowed the speech to go forward, but a chastened Mr. Lucado delivered his writ of unconditional surrender to the LGBTQIA+ folk on 02 11 21, and apologized not only for his own sins, but for those of Christendom as well.
In 2004 I preached a sermon on the topic of same-sex marriage. I now see that, in that sermon, I was disrespectful. I was hurtful. I wounded people in ways that were devastating. I should have done better. It grieves me that my words have hurt or been used to hurt the LGBTQ community. I apologize to you and I ask forgiveness of Christ.
To be clear, I believe in the traditional biblical understanding of marriage, but I also believe in a God of unbounded grace and love. LGBTQ individuals and LGBTQ families must be respected and treated with love. They are beloved children of God because they are made in the image and likeness of God. Over centuries, the church has harmed LGBTQ people and their families, just as the church has harmed people on issues of race, gender, divorce, addiction, and so many other things. We must do better to serve and love one another.
Taken as a whole, Mr. Lucado’s statement confirms his belief that God’s unbounded grace and love can sanctify even those impenitent souls who openly embrace and practice their nontraditional understanding of marriage. Moreover, although his old understanding of the Scriptural position on marriage and human sexuality contradicts his new one, he unashamedly chose the new one to justify the LGBTQ’s actions — while condemning those of the church.
As in Egypt of old, a darkness so deep it can be felt has settled over the land, but even in the darkest of times there are those who will uphold their core beliefs no matter the cost — and Jeremiah Denton was just such a man.
In his book, When Hell Was in Session, Admiral Denton chronicled the horrors he endured during his almost eight years as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, four of which he spent in solitary confinement. Although he survived the harrowing ordeal, it wasn’t his nerves of steel or unbreakable resolve that sustained him. Instead, his strength came from an unshakable faith in God, and a belief that he and the American people shared the same moral and spiritual values. Three years after his release, the Admiral penned these remarkable words.
Democracy and freedom are rarities; hard to attain, harder to preserve. The pages of history are littered with freedom’s stillborn, of people who rose against their oppressor, only to have sweet victory stolen from their grasp by another oppressor. But we are different. The strength of our nation is more than a material strength. We are a strongly moral people, and our country is based on spiritual strength. Lose that and we lose everything.
Admiral Denton’s analysis was correct, but that was then, not now. The nation he served so well, and for which he suffered so much, is adrift in dark, turbulent waters and nearing the point of no return; if it hasn’t passed it already.
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