The most discussed event of the past century, the stunning upset victory of Donald Trump, sparks interesting discussions almost every day. Liberals want to know, "How did this happen?" Recently, while in the company of some dear friends who couldn't disagree with me more about politics, we were discussing the election, the outcome, and some reasons for it. While debating the abundance of game changing court decisions and executive orders that seem to be counter to settled law, the 2012 gay marriage incident in upstate New York came up. A Christian couple became embroiled in a legal war over their refusal to host a gay wedding on their farm where they regularly hosted special events of all kinds. The Giffords responded to a request by a gay couple to host their unorthodox wedding ceremony at their farm facility, by explaining that they had no problem hosting a reception party, but because of their 'closely held Christian beliefs', they would respectfully decline the request to host the actual wedding ceremony. They were promptly sued. Later, a Judge ruled that the farm owners had illegally discriminated against the gay couple. The Giffords were subsequently fined $13,000, and ordered to undergo psychological reprogramming. Does this sound like a scene from A Clockwork Orange? How is it in America, a restaurant owner can refuse service to a barefoot customer, but the Giffords cannot refuse to host a wedding, that in their Christian belief system, is a violation of their conscience? By responding to the couple's request in an honest, forthright and respectful manner, the Giffords inadvertently brought the wrath of an activist judiciary down on their lives. I am sure upon reflection, it would have made more sense to lie and just say, "Sorry, we are booked that day." My friends continued to challenge me, claiming Trump, and the Alt Right, are a clear and present danger to freedom, that their Christian religious zealotry was discriminatory, racist and xenophobic. I responded that the Giffords case is an example of why many Americans do not trust the courts, do not trust the establishment, or politicians or polls or newspapers or the media…..In fact, they feel that the very basis of their constitutional rights, their belief in God, is under constant and intensifying attack. Incidents like the Gifford case go a long way to explaining why so many otherwise quiet, unassuming voters across America showed up at the polls to elect Trump. They are tired of the political correctness movement undermining the very foundations of our uniquely American system of jurisprudence and justice under a God-centric set of constitutional laws. They see many of the basic Judeo-Christian moral foundations on which the United States Bill of Rights and the Constitution were established being devalued and disrespected by liberal judges issuing edicts from the bench. So a lot of mainstream Americans are wondering, what is happening to our country? Is there nothing sacred anymore? In my view, the Gifford case illustrates how the courts have overreached and are legislating social justice from the bench. The courts must feel threatened by God, because they take every opportunity to banish any reference to God from the workplace, from political or educational discussions, and from civil actions. My liberal friends disparage and impugn believers as uneducated or delusional. The judiciary, for progressives, is their God. So, just as there is conflict between liberals and conservatives, there is a war between their Statist God and the God that Christians must answer to. I told my liberal friends that the Trump Movement views the expanding use of courtroom legislation to force Americans to violate their sacred religious beliefs to be a serious threat to freedom, second only to terrorism. The Jihadi terrorist are themselves, trying to force their belief system (Sharia Law), their God, if you will, onto everyone on the planet. They insist that they are the only ones who have all the answers, and those that disagree must convert or die! Thank God American's aren't at that point yet, but the war between conservatives and progressives is headed in that direction. And in my view, it is the politically correct crowd, the liberals and the courts that are threatening everyone to comply or else! They insist on legislating what and where we can eat, drink, smoke, go to the bathroom, how we run our businesses, how much we pay for workers, who we can hire or fire, that we must support actions that are contrary to our religious vows with tax money, that we cannot speak when what we say offends someone, and on and on and on…. The separation of church and state was originally set up to protect the people from rule by theocracy. But in our modern era, there is a growing threat by the progressive left to revoke our God-given rights, and replace them with State-issued privileges, to pick and choose who gets what and which group deserves government protections and which do not, mirroring the abuses that inspired British rebels to fight a revolution and form the United States of America in the first place. Liberals always react to charges of religious intolerance by proclaiming that nearly every war in history was caused by religious conflict. But I pointed out that in this instance, it is not Muslims versus Christians or Christians versus Jews or Houthis versus Tuttis, but rather people who have faith in a higher authority than Man versus those that have faith that certain men, those who are deemed to be more educated or enlightened, are better suited to manage the human condition. It is the progressives that claim to have all the answers to what is 'fair' and 'just' and who are the winners and who are the losers. Christians look to God for guidance. Statists look to the courts for decisions. I think it reasonable to suggest that many of the Trump supporters simply wanted our country to look to a more faith-based leader, someone who was more inclined to respect the heritage of our Founders and less inclined to put its future in the hands of political hacks and their appointed courtroom lackeys. Conservatives cling to traditions and established cultural norms and expect people to be self sufficient and hearty, while progressives want to reinvent everything in response to changing cultural trends, and to protect everyone from passive aggressions and offensive speech, and especially from holier than thou preaching, so they dismiss age old religions and tribal traditions. Liberals consider the Constitution a 'Living Document' meaning that it should 'evolve' with the times. Many would drop the first amendment because mobile computer devices make it too easy to say things that offend too many people with hate speech. This cultural battle is as old as mankind. America has been uniquely effective in coping with the cultural divide for nearly three decades precisely because up until now, we have respected the Bill of Rights, and afforded great latitude towards all religions and tribal cultural tendencies. America is great because we have a stew of every human family on earth, and we show all of them, and all of their Gods, respect. But the one group that is emerging as a threat to that amazing achievement is the atheist progressive movement, the Statists. They are a powerful coalition of unions, government workers, academics, protected cultural anomalies and over-indulged snowflakes, and some scientists, who see their gravy train under scrutiny. They view the religious as a threat to their power and welfare, and of course, their 'concerns' for the poor and the disenfranchised, as justification for their autocratic rule by the judiciary. What they can't win at the polls, they dictate from the bench. The recent election turned up the heat on their contradictions and corruption and has brought the war between our Gods from a simmer to a boil. |
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