EVERYTHING IS NOT RACIST

Our nation is being torn apart not by bombs and guns, although it does seem that a lot of people are dying by guns, but we are becoming more and more separated by nothing more that words. Whether it is a result of our dumbing down to lives totally controlled by smart phones or our disdain for anything that takes over two minutes to get or even our complete surrender to 'white guilt', or 'LGBT guilt or whatever, we latch onto words that pit us one against the other.

One word that has completely lost it's meaning is 'racist'. Extremest of every color have convinced us we are all racist depending on the guilt trip they are trying to put us on. The true meaning of the word is; "having or showing the belief that a particular race is superior to another".  Now meeting that definition is truly deplorable and has no place in our world or anyone else's world. While vestiges of racism certainly exist and must be addressed, rooted out and dealt with by a christian society, it should never be used in a broad stroke manner to cast shame and distrust upon anyone who does not come within that specific definition.

An example of my thoughts on this misuse of the word would be simple. There is a super human being who I have come to love dearly and have found great friendship with over the years. My friend, Wylheme Ragland, is truly one of the greatest guys I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Now Wylheme is a retired Methodist preacher, community activist, historian, and may ever be faster than a speeding bullet, able stop trains or maybe even fly, and he is a black man. He lives on a one way street near downtown here in Decatur. If Wylheme stops me while I'm traveling the wrong way down that one way street and points out to me how I'm wrong, or even reports me to the police if I continue, he's not a racist. I was doing wrong, maybe even endangering lifes or at least disrupting the the peace of the neighborhood. I would have been wrong and in need of help and direction.

My point being that legitimate criticism of someone of another race is not always racism and we as citizens in common of this great country should always examine the rhetoric surrounding the charges of 'racism' by those seeking to further their own agenda.  

Is 'THE END' near?

Every few days a quote comes across Facebook that always catches my attention. I have no idea who said it or wrote it and I probably won't get it exactly right but it gives me pause every time I see it. It says 'Yesterday a lot of folks woke up who are not waking up today', it's point I suppose is to live each day to the fullest because we don't know when the end is coming. The quote makes me think every time I see it but recently I have been thinking about it in another light.

The thought certainly applies to people and I believe that was the intent originally, but it also applies to Nations, churches and many other institutions we take for granted. Recent events get me to thinking about whether we as a Nation and more importantly as a way of life are about to wake up on our last day of existence. We are not going to get a 'save the date' card about when our way of life will end no more that we're going to get one for the day we draw our last breath here. Whoever is left is going to wake up one morning and know there will be no services at the church Sunday or any day, there is no Medicare or Medicaid coming this month or ever again and human rights and universal education is a thing of the past.

Some sociologist and economist believe that the United States started this decline when their leaders opened voting to everyone. The theory being that the government should be controlled by 'stakeholders', or only those who are contributing. I really don't believe that but must acknowledge there is some merit in the theory. I believe that universal voting is possible but must be under girded with a strong Judeo-Christian culture where hard work and incentive based economies can support care and charitable giving for those unable to provide. This same culture by its very nature will and should provide only for equal opportunity and not equal results.

My concern for the possible accelerated demise of our way of life comes from our seeing the abandonment of the Judeo-Christian influence on our nation. Without this foundation we will not have to be attacked from the outside, we are going to implode from within. The first cracks will come in our judicial system. Our system assumes juries decide cases based not only on the law but on C.S. Lewis called the universal moral law. Juries acting without the use of this universal moral law can return any verdict they choose. We've seen this already in civil cases where juries ignore the facts and law to return verdicts without rime or reason. In criminal cases the avenues of appeal for reason and equity are not available. An electorate of morally lawless people can elect politicians and judges who are as corrupt as the people they represent thereby no protection from our government.

This is not a muslim bashing effort but for an example I heard on last night's news a female protester appearing before a school board in a city outside our state who was demanding the board institute a religious holiday six days away for the entire school district. She threatened the Board by explaining her Muslim community was soon to be the majority and when they were they would control this district by the ballot box and when that happened not only would the day become a holiday but their religion would become a part of the districts curriculum.

I look at the countries in the Middle East and understand why these good intentioned people want to escape. What I don't understand is how they think the utopia they risk their lives to get to can continue if they change our fundamentals to those they escaped from. The same is true to our homegrown discontents. We have sold equal results not equal opportunity to hard and too long.

Only thing I am certain of as we start the last half of 2016, is that the same God that delivered the Jews from Egypt, that walked on water and died for me and rose from that death is still right where he's been since he got this ball rolling and can make the Tennessee River flow from here to Chattanooga in the blink of an eye. No politicians are going to save this nation, I just hope my grand kids can wake up in the same nation I have for 70+ years..