Write Down What You See :01/18/2024
My area got hit with a double whammy this week.
One of the major internet providers went down for a couple of days and local gas stations ran out of fuel.
Both issues were weather related…storms here and up north had taken down some fiber optic lines and the same storms made it impossible for gasoline trucks to get to the area.
This sort of thing happens in winter.
For many though, these were not normal, weather related occurrences but the work of nefarious forces setting in place nefarious plans.
Only a fool like me can’t see that…
Social media was full of speculation that “they” were planning something awful.
The internet is back up (mine never went down) and the gas trucks have arrived…but I doubt that sanity has been restored .
I simply do not know how to live in this kind of environment,other than complete withdrawal…
“The researchers found that the average Republican and the average Democrat today suffer from a level of motive attribution asymmetry that is comparable with that of Palestinians and Israelis. Each side thinks it is driven by benevolence, while the other is evil and motivated by hatred — and is therefore an enemy with whom one cannot negotiate or compromise.”
That only leaves one alternative…
To make a long story short the new law has been a disaster for the area and when combined with all the other disasters we’ve been hit with,has made the area difficult to live in.
While the article was fair and well written it was missing something…something that all this sort of reporting is missing.
Sin.
As a society we have discarded the idea of sin and its brutal effects on the human condition and society, just as the medical profession has discarded the use of leeches…and for the same basic reasons.
While we can (rightfully) discuss all the various reasons that people fall into addiction and then into homelessness and crime…we never discuss how the fallen nature is vulnerable to all manner of sin, nor do we discuss how the Gospel can address these matters.
Thus…we never come close to solutions.
One more thing we ignore…
Even “Star Trek” understood that “the good of many outweighs the good of a few”.
We’ve lost our parks where many of us grew up and where we took our children to play and interact.
We’ve given them over to the addicts and the homeless and now you can’t go to the park or you may step on a drug needle or in a pile of human feces.
You can’t walk our once beautiful Greenway for the same reasons…plus you run the risk of assault of worse.
Our culture has been hijacked by the extremes on both sides of the political fence and the vast middle that pays for everything is left with nothing but grievances.
For those of you who complain that we only address the sins of one side of the aisle…I live in one of the most “progressive” states in the Union and I assure you that I loathe their incompetence and their identity politics that have made the most beautiful state in the Union more like a outhouse every day.
The reason I rarely write about it is because they don’t cloak their nonsense in Christian terms…
A couple of my close childhood/college friends are very “woke.” I was afraid those friendships would be lost a few years ago, but we are learning to listen to each other. We’ve found that we are usually concerned about the same things, but have different solutions. I come from a perspective of sin and personal responsibility, while they come from the perspective of more government/charitable aid to solve problems. Often, we agree that an answer can lie somewhere in the middle-if people insist on using drugs, they might have to receive some kind of help for their own good and the good of society. Those types of conversations are actually happening in San Francisco (my old home town) among government leaders, where the drug/homeless issue has taken up entire blocks of the city.
When I think of good, godly governance I always go back to the book of Daniel. Daniel had great faith, but he was also a very astute politician. He made a bargain with Ashkenz in chapter 1-if I’m not the picture of health after a few weeks on my special diet, I will return to the king’s mandated ones. He and his friends turned out to be the best and brightest of the bunch. In Daniel 2, he makes sure that the lives of all the king’s soothsayers are saved so that he has time to decipher the king’s dream. He repeatedly gets himself elected to the second-highest office in the land, even after he is thrown overnight into a den of lions for insisting on praying publicly (and surviving the night with God’s protection).
It would be wonderful if the Christian government leaders in the U.S. were real Christian with actual governing skills. It could make such a difference.
Is nastiness now a fruit of the Spirit, for Republicans and their allies?
“The GOP’s ‘Nasty’ New Religion
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/18/opinion/trump-republicans-desantis-haley.html
I’m sorry that you’re dealing with the winter weather in person. It only affected me in the least manner: equipment I sent to beaverton was delayed due to snow and ice.
Last year in the Cali motherlode, State of Jefferson successionist country, the EMS system went down multiple times. Residents were told that if they had emergencies, they had to drive into town since 911 didn’t work by cell or landlines. It wasn’t the Illuminati, the CFR, Agenda 2030, the UN or the Tri-Lateral Commission (all of which exist except for the illuminati). It was thieves from the central valley repeatedly ripping up wires and fibers in the forest. They were finally caught after the authorities installed cameras in the forest.
“They were finally caught after the authorities installed cameras in the forest.”
We’ll finally know what a tree falling in the forest sounds like and if the bears use a certain brand of bath tissue.
bob1,
I recently blocked Todd Starnes (not sure if he claims to be a Believer) on LinkedIn of all places…why? Because I posted about Beth Moore’s disapproval of Trump, and the comments from so-called Christians was so hostile towards Beth. The fruit of obsessing over Trump and politics is rearing it’s ugly head, but doesn’t seem to be anything new…just more blatant and brazen.
ooopps,…I didn’t post about Beth Moore, but Todd did.
TNV,
Apparently part of the blackout here was due to tweakers stealing 200 feet of fiber line looking for copper to sell…
Dan,
I saw some of that on Twitter…Beth Moore is what a real Christian leader looks like.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/17/opinion/north-korea-war.html?unlocked_article_code=1.O00.v-kN.ynCttwiVQLRl&smid=url-share&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=axios-am-cohort_default-2024-01-19&stream=top
Michael,
Totally agree about Beth. She’s doing the work of our Lord and is paying a price. Lord keep her strong.
Michael,
Just an extra thought about the article-
I got into a conversation with a fellow teacher last night who I know well, but may never discuss politics with again. I told her I was ambivalent about supporting Trump (I didn’t say totally against), and she proceeded to repeat numerous conspiracy theories that have never been proven (did you know that Trump caught all the sex traffickers and our of the country that he caught at the border? I don’t think she has been to our downtown pickup street recently). it was an okay conversation, but I think she is in great fear for my soul.
Linn,
There’s been an even steeper turn toward messianic beliefs about Trump this go ’round….it’s both baffling and fearsome to me…
Who’s a fair you see
Who’s a sad you see
Because you say you see
Makes you blind you see