This morning I enjoyed my coffee on the deck. It was a perfect morning for it. Coffee, warming sun, and life happening all
around me.
As our two Golden Retrievers scouted the yard, I enjoyed the
slowly rising sun, the clear air, and the multitude of different bird
conversations going on around me. I
heard the familiar bark of a Cardinal as it flew from tree to tree, apparently
giving orders to whomever would listen. I watched two Mourning Doves make their
landing, in formation. (Do they always and only travel in pairs?)
I began to contemplate the recent events in our
country. Hate has always been with
us. But when was “supremacy” of a
particular race ever a thing? Or at
least a thing that worked? Have we not studied our own history enough? Has nothing been learned from a civil war? A “final
solution” by Nazis in World War Two?
And what about the so-called “antifa?” Are they any more valid? What is their
motivation? Their TRUE motivation? Nothing I have seen from them gives me any
confidence in their good intentions.
It seems to me that today we have too many “causes” with wrong
motivation. Wrong philosophies have a
way of proving themselves wrong after a time.
Socialism, Communism, bad ideas that just don’t work. “White
supremacy” and the so-called “Antifa.” Both wrong-headed philosophies, more bad
ideas. Why do they keep hanging on? What keeps them alive? Hate. My son says, they’re “two sides of the same
wooden nickel.” When has hate ever
worked?
Today, it seems to me if you don’t like something, you are
obligated to hate it. And all associated
with it. How’s that working for us? We seem to have jumped from “I disagree with
you” to “I hate you.” We seem to have
lost all respect for anything we don’t agree with. I wonder why we don’t hate “hate?” Racism is
bad. What to do about it? Tear down
statues, thump anyone who gets in our way.
Too many questionable police shootings?
Hate all cops, ambush them. Kill
them. Don’t like the elected
president? Hate him. Hate everyone whom you think supports
him. Hate him enough to burn something
down. Hate violence? Bring baseball bats
and bottles to your protest. Too many
things just don’t make sense anymore.
And do we really, honestly believe that the current climate
in our country just popped up since last November’s election? It has been
building for years. I would suggest
researching attorney and political scientist from Vanderbilt University, Dr.
Carol Swain’s study of the issue in her book from 2002 titled “The New White
Nationalism in America.”
As I looked out over the treetops from the deck this
morning, I thought about the monuments that are falling all over the
country. Monuments to a tragic moment
from our past. A past we MUST remember
and NEVER repeat. And I wondered, is
Mount Rushmore next? Washington,
D.C.? Where does it end? How long before the joke about the “P.C.
Police” becomes an unfunny reality? Don’t
think it’s possible?
Think about it.
“News” organizations no longer seem to report the news—they create
it. And we choose whichever outlet best
supports our philosophies and rely on them as Gospel, regardless of how biased
they are. We use social media as a
weapon to beat others over the head with our “truths.” We seem to have come to the conclusion that
the only way to change something is to destroy it first, with no regard for
collateral damage.
I wondered if our enemies were waiting for us to wound
ourselves enough, further weaken ourselves, so they can strike? And I wonder if they even need to.
