Things I Think…
1. I voted a couple of days ago.
I did so with little enthusiasm, but as a matter of Christian conscious.
I want history to record that I did all I could to oppose Donald Trump and the MAGA culture around him…because I believe that history will demand a reckoning of what each one of us did at this point in time and God will demand a reckoning of how I represented Him as well.
2. The tightrope we have to walk as Christians is to vigorously oppose that which we think opposes true discipleship without opposing individual brethren who differ from us…I fall off that wire often, but we’re compelled by Jesus to keep trying…
3. Salem Media group, which controls much of “Christian” broadcasting issued an apology (and monetary compensation) to a man accused of election fraud in the movie “2000 Mules”. The movie was part of the “stolen election” narrative and was pulled from distribution after being thoroughly debunked. In spiritual terms , a Christian media powerhouse used its power to slander people and deceive the brethren…the admission of this has not been publicized anywhere near to the degree that the movie was…
4. The story above is just another example of how much of the American Christian community has exchanged Christian virtues for temporal political power…and the cost to the church will be great…judgment begins in the house of God…
5.
6. The most effective political ad I’ve seen this year is the Trump ad with the transgender man playing women’s basketball. Biological men in women’s sports is a such an obvious travesty against both women and sport that simple common sense should be all that is needed to prevail against it…yet some support it in some sort of twisted “fairness”. The inability or unwillingness to admit the obvious may swing this election…many folks just yearn for “normal”.
7. The ‘righteousness” of the nation will be unaffected by the results of the election…
8. What I’m reading…just finished Bob Woodward’s look at how the Biden admin worked during the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, “War”…highly recommend…working on “Hitler’s People”…highly recommend…working through this four volume set of Bonhoeffers works...would buy a set for everyone if I could…
9. These are times that create great anxiety…when I allow it, I fear for our immediate future. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today , and forever…it is only by disciplining mind and spirit in that truth that I can walk through fear into faith and hope. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know I’m held…and that is sufficient…
10. Thanks to Dan from Georgia for reminding me that it’s National Cat Day…but it is everyday in my house…
#10 will always keep me sane! I missed my furry friend while I went to see my dad over the weekend (first time he didn’t recognize me 🙁 ), and I was glad to get back to furry Felix yesterday afternoon.
Sometimes when I fear something (like 11/5), I remember that the same God who makes the sun rise and set will be faithful to His people no matter what happens. I can’t believe some of the things people in the Trump camp say, but I am praying that God’s will be done and that peace will hold.
Amen to all of the above and prayers for your dad…
Thank you, Michael!
“I can’t believe some of the things people in the Trump camp say,…”
And I can’t believe some of the things people in the Harris camp say.
Trump himself has told 30,000 lies as documented by the Washington Post.
Harris?
Trump called the disgusting crude behavior at Madison Square Gardens a “Love fest.”
What more needs to be said?
I’m not sure that excuses the current president from calling half of the country garbage.
But your milage may vary.
I thought we were talking about the 2 current presidential candidates?
I responded to Linn’s comment by saying, “And I can’t believe some of the things people in the Harris camp say.”
I never mentioned Trump or Harris….
I have kept politics off my Facebook page and it hasn’t been to hard to do so, but after seeing and reading about Trumps MSG rally, it’s been hard to keep from posting my displeasure at the almost comical rationalizations coming from CHRISTIANS for such comments. Wasn’t there something in the Bible about keeping away from foolish talk and coarse joking? And no, the kind of talk at the rally was not the same as Jesus calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers.
I still struggle with what I am going to do when I vote for President. I am pro-life, but I am also pro-people and pro-multicultural.
Da is me LOL…odd how that coded…
Thought 1,
Can I just say that you and Kevin have absolutely knocked it out of the park today? This kind of writing gives me hope that some day I can be a part of a community that is rational and honest.
“The most effective political ad I’ve seen this year is the Trump ad with the transgender man playing women’s basketball.”
Then this is just an effective piece of transphobic fear-mongering.
Josh,
Biological men participating in women’s sports is an assault on women’s rights and any concept of athletic fairness.
It is despicable and contemptible and as ignorant as anything in recent memory.
It’s not fear mongering, it’s happening all over the world.
Thanks, Reuben…we’re trying.
It is fear mongering.
Its happening in extremely small, though highly publicized, numbers. Regardless of how small the actual numbers, it is a real issue that the leagues need to figure out, just like steroids in baseball…and a number of other issues that have affected fairness in sports.
This is not top 100 of the issues that will actually affect the lives of normal Americans. This is not on the ballot for this year’s presidential vote. One side has decided to use transphobia as another way to stir support. It has unfortunately worked. Yet again. Along with the racism and xenophobia.
Josh,
It’s happening in high schools, colleges, and the Olympics.
It actually does affect the lives of Americans who have children in athletics, especially daughters.
It is an assault on all the progress women have made in athletics…and it needs to stop now.
This is why people like Trump get a foothold on peoples consciousness…when something so obviously wrong is associated with one side of the political spectrum without just condemnation.
People have had it with this kind of weird bulls… and that’s why I was correct in saying it was a very effective ad.
Yes, it stoked the fears…on an issue that is not on the ballot.
Are you speaking of the Olympic boxer? That was a woman.
Never the less, I probably agree with you on the issue of women’s sports. I do not agree that it is an issue in this election. I do think that the biggest fear-mongering candidate has found another push-button issue to rile up a certain group of people. This ad works for you. Other adds work for racists. Some work for those who hate immigrants. It what he does. Its the only reason he has any following whatsoever.
Josh,
There are no real issues in this election.
This election is all about half of the country that believes they have had things rammed down their throat that they feel are intolerable and a grifter who knows how to exploit their frustrations.
Yes, he appeals to the worst impulses in people and he has no real solutions that won’t potentially make the world explode…he lies and he fans the fires of hate wherever he can.
We may not survive his presidency intact.
Part of the blame will lie on those who promote the sort of social deviance we’re talking about in the name of progressive values…
“The most effective political ad I’ve seen this year is the Trump ad with the transgender man playing women’s basketball.”
I have been thinking the same thing. It is what I like to call “low hanging fruit” in terms of political ads.
Three things that make the ad most effective IMO are:
(1) it’s a clear and easy issue to communicate to voters (you don’t need a college degree to understand the issue nor to distinguish a male from a female);
(2) it appeals to the common sense of most voters (and especially parents with daughters and young women); and
(3) it puts a question in the voter’s mind: If a candidate/party cannot get such an obvious definition/issue correct, can I trust them with more complex issues facing our nation?
Even though this may not seem like a top 3-5 priority for many voters, the whole sexual agenda of the left could very well tip many close elections to the Republicans. This sexual agenda is anti-family and anti-children. As such, many people could be convinced that this sexual agenda is destructive to a society and our nation.
Jean,
#3 has come up in many attempted conversations with Trump supporters I’ve had.
It’s a visceral issue…and visceral issues are not open to intellectual debate.
Again…Trump is the champion of family and children?
It is apparently more effective fear-mongering than I suspected. Flash a picture of an easily hated minority on the screen and people lose all ability to reason.
The Puerto Rico hate will probably play in his favor too. Unfortunately, people are just that simple.
Josh,
I think multiple things can be true at the same time. Yes, it does stoke up fears, and that is par for the course, as so much of today’s political messaging is about fearing something from the “other side”. Yes, it’s direct impact is affecting only a small number of people and not the majority of the population.
However, it is an issue that is definitely in the “top 100”, as there have been significant forces on the Left who have pushed for it to be so. Even though it directly impacts a small number of people, far more people have to deal with, or at least think about the issue because it is pushed towards the forefront of public attention, at least originally so, by those who want transgender women to be able to compete in women’s sports.
All the more, such a commercial portraying a biological man competing in women’s sports is effective in that it (rightfully) strikes so many people as just plain wrong, unjust, and ludicrous. This is different from a case of playing on people’s racist or xenophobic fears to oppose immigration or efforts to rid our institutions of systemic racism. Immigration is not wrong, nor are efforts get rid of systemic racism. However, biological men competing in women’s sports is just plain wrong.
(And no, I’m not referring to those intersex cases such as the Olympic boxer. That is a very different dynamic that I tried to approach with some nuance in an article a couple months ago.)
Josh,
There is a larger number than should be that respond to ‘hate’.
But this isn’t simply about that…it’s about common sense that people have been told is hateful.
Trump is taking advantage of the lefts complete capitulation to an agenda…
No, Its just hate. Again, this is common sense to you.
Haitian’s eating our pets is common sense to others.
Its what he does. I’m disappointed we keep falling for it. But we do. And we will.
Josh,
So…I’m hateful because I don’t want biological men competing against women?
Common sense says that is unfair and unwise…but it’s hate?
These are the seeds in which pop fascism is grown…and it’s flowering all around us.
“I’m hateful because I don’t want biological men competing against women?”
Didn’t say that. Said I agreed with you.
What’s hateful is that a guy can flash a picture of a trans person on the screen and it will sway voters. Meanwhile, he will do nothing to protect women, children or families. His entire life has shown the exact opposite. But the hate is so strong, voters will side with him because he is willing to trash the same boogeyman they want to trash. That’s hate.
Josh,
There is some truth to what you’re saying, but it’s way too easy.
I know some people who will vote for Trump…they are anything but hateful.
They are sick and tired of what is “normal’ and traditional being destroyed by forces they can’t control or understand.
They mistakenly think a vote for Trump will turn the tide…and they have no idea what horror they may be unleashing.
I’m not sure they care at this point…but they will.
I mean, fear of the “abnormal” is a very close cousin to hate.
It would make more sense if there was a candidate who reflected their values. His old running mate, who does reflect those values, now says he is unfit for office. I can only imagine fear and blind hatred would cause these people to vote for this candidate. There is no rational explanation.
I should say there is also blind party loyalty.
I don’t mean fear and hatred is the only reason one would vote for Trump. I mean if the trans commercial changes your kind, I can only imagine it is fear and hatred.
Josh,
The interchangibility is almost funny.
When you said, “It would make more sense if there was a candidate who reflected their values. His old running mate, who does reflect those values, now says he is unfit for office. I can only imagine fear and blind hatred would cause these people to vote for this candidate. There is no rational explanation.” I thought you were talking about Biden and Harris. “His old running mate” being Harris and the “fear and blind hatred” for Trump would cause people to vote for her.
And, regarding, “I should say there is also blind party loyalty.” I think that over 80% of voters vote their party, regardless of how good or bad the candidate is.
Make no mistake, I do fear and hate the idea of another Trump presidency.
I say without the slightest hesitation, the number one reason I voted for Harris is that she is not Donald Trump. I really wish the conservatives would have given me a real option. They did not, so I had no choice.
I will say that your analogy about Pence/ Trump vs Harris/ Biden is off. I think you’ll figure it out if you take another look at it.
I take seriously the threat of fascism. I take seriously the words of Gen. Kelly and Gen. Milley. I also understand that democracy is fragile. Sociological norms can be changed and adjusted. The loss of a democratic form of government is not so easily repaired. My vote is not for a candidate but for Madisonian democracy and the rule of law…
I go back to Augustine. In the city of man we can only hope for character and for justice in our leaders.
I, too, take the threat of fascism seriously.
But not the current accusations.
Republican candidates have been called nazis, fascists and hiteresque since before I was born.
Goldwater, 1964
Nixon, 1968, 1970, 1972
Ford, 1976
Reagan, 1980
GWB, Romney, Ryan (VP candidate).
Even FDR was called a fascist.
Heck, back when GWB was running, I was out in my front yard, a guy walked by, saw my Bush/Cheney sign, and call me a fascist.
The term fascist itself has lost it’s meaning, ditching its historical root and coming to now mean, “Someone I hate”.
I can’t vote for the left because they actually are authoritarian. Forcing Catholic hospitals to perform abortions, forcing the vax on millions of Americans (until a lawsuit stopped them), actively working to put their political rivial in jail, just to name a few items.
I can’t vote for the most radially left, most radically pro-abortion, pro-Iran candidate we’ve ever had.
Oh boy
Everstudy
You need to do some reading…
Recommended – some are already standard in the field…
Richard Evans
The Coming of the Third Reich, London: Allen Lane, 2003.
The Third Reich in Power, 1933–1939, London: Allen Lane, 2005.
The Third Reich at War: How the Nazis Led Germany from Conquest to Disaster, London: Allen Lane, 2008
Hitler’s People: The Faces of the Third Reich, London: Allen Lane, 2024.
Timothy Snyder
On Tyranny, Penguin, 2017
On Freedom, Crown, 2024
Anne Applebaum
Autocracy, Inc., Doubleday, 2024
Bob Woodward
War, Simon & Schuster, 2024
Everstudy,
I agree with Duane. Those are good books. I would add Alberta’s The Kingdom, Power and Glory
This is the 15th presidential election that I have voted. Up until Trump, I have been a lifelong Republican. The Republican Party today does not come close to resembling the Republican Party that I have previously supported. Like Josh, I fear another Trump presidency. While I have some serious problems with Harris, she doesn’t come close to the fear Trump presents. I question his intelligence and his lack of understanding of history as well as the U.S. Constitution. When those who were closest to him during his 4 years as president cannot support him, that should say something. I teach high school government. I make a point of telling students to listen to the words of those who are running for office. His words are disturbing. Before you say the words of Harris are too, I believe she has respect for our Constitution. I’m not sure Trump even knows anything about it.
“actively working to put their political rival in jail”
Because that’s where he needs to go!!!! He broke the law!