Wednesday
PROTESTS -- PAST, PRESENT AND POSSIBLE FUTURE!
October 19, 2011 of our ninth consecutive year of publication
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
A life changing thought for today, this week, and every week:
"Christianity alone of all the great religions of the world calls itself by the
name of its Founder. Christianity is so inextricably bound up
with Christ that our view of the person of Christ involves
and determines our view of Christianity."
-- W. H. Griffith Thomas
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SINCE PROTESTS DOMINATE THE NEWS TODAY, LET'S GIVE
SOME CAREFUL CONSIDERATION TO THEM -- PAST AND
PRESENT -- AND THE RESULTS THEY HAVE ACHIEVED
Considering "Protests," it's probably best to start with "domestic" ones.
The protest movement, "Occupy Wall Street," began on Saturday, Sept. 17 with
expectations of an initial crowd of 20,000. When only a few hundred turned up,
scornful observers termed it a "dismally failed effort," and the movement's early
demise was expected. Two weeks later the protesters were still there, now
with union support, and the crowd had grown to 5,000, and similar efforts were
taking place in other cities across the country. One month later -- just this past
weekend, there were reports of 1,500 demonstrations in 100 cities in 89 countries.
At the New York base, efforts of Mayor Bloomberg to move them out of a private
park had failed, and the group announced a "war chest" of nearly a quarter of a
million dollars, with contributions coming in at the rate of $1,000 a day, and they
million dollars, with contributions coming in at the rate of $1,000 a day, and they
said they had a warehouse full of supplies to sustain them for months. What has
already happened in New York is happening on slightly smaller scales in Chicago,
Los Angeles, San Diego, Washington, DC, and other major cities.
And it isn't just a few unemployed loners who are angry with the establishment
and the unfair -- in their minds -- distribution of wealth . . . now their support has
reached the higher echelons. Nancy Pelosi spoke in their favor, "I support the
message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political
establishment and the rest, that change has to happen." The major Democrat
support organization, moveon.org, went on record, "Occupy Wall Street has
shown us what's possible when a small and dedicated group of people
standing up against the corporate takeover of our democracy are supported
by a wider progressive community."
Similarly, Rocky Suhayda, head of the American Nazi party said that its members
"should join and support the Occupy demonstrators because they share a
common enemy: the judeo-capitalist banksters." And John Bachtel of the
Communist party told the demonstration in Chicago, "I bring greetings and
solidarity from the Communist party. We are here marching side by side."
And as his poll numbers continue their slide, Mr. Obama has embraced the group's
protests, "I think it expresses the frustrations that the American people feel...
People are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-
based frustration about how our financial system works." And the president's
chief political advisor, David Plouffe, said in a Washington Post interview, “We
intend to make it one of the central elements of the campaign next year,”
adding that his campaign would leverage the public's anger at Wall Street to
slingshot Obama back into the White House for a second term. And for a real
heavy-weight endorsement, who else could they turn to, but the patron saint of
the environmentalists, Al Gore: "Count me among those supporting and
cheering on the Occupy Wall Street movement."
The point is this: this is no weak, disorganized effort by a few malcontents. It has
not yet assumed the destructive "riot" status that we have seen in Rome, Paris,
London and in mob scenes throughout the Middle East. This is a not to be ignored
effort with potentially troubling implications for our nation at this difficult point in
American history.
What better time to speak of our prayer countdown to Election Day, 2012.
There are, as of this date, 384 days until Election Day . . . let's use those 384 days
to pray for our nation and for our leaders to be given wisdom in governing, and
let's ask God to give us wisdom as we vote to choose our future leaders. And
let us never forget our fellow Christians all over the world who are daily suffering
persecution for their faith. And thank God that we still have the right of freedom
of worship here in a nation founded and built on Judeo-Christian principles.
And then after the "domestic" protests, there are the International ones.
It is immediately apparent that our neophyte administration, state department and
foreign affairs experts often mis-interpret movements claiming to want a democratic
way of life, which are really just expressions of mob-rule, or as some observers
have labeled it: "mobocracy."
Without examining all of the relevant examples of this judgment error in international
relations, a few glaring situations come immediately to mind. In February, mobs took
over life in Cairo, and led to the ouster of Egypt's long time president, Hosni Mubarak.
The United States was in strong support of the uprising, all in the name of "democracy,"
spending billions in support of the protest movement. But how have Christians and
other religious minorities in Egypt fared in the months since? The facts are that the
Muslim Brotherhood and other Muslim forces have taken over, and Christians are
suffering more abuses today, than ever before under former President Mubarak. Last
week's massacre by the police and military of Coptic Christians who were protesting
the Muslim powers burning another of their churches is a prime example.
Or consider the threatened extermination of Iraq's "Christian Dogs" -- where Islamic
leaders issue fatwas affirming that "it is permissible to spill the blood of Iraqi
Christians." According to John Eibner of Christian Solidarity International (CSI),
"Since the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, more than half the country's
Christian population has been force to seek refuge abroad ..." Estimates vary,
but according to the Hammurabi Human Rights Organization, "over 700 Christians,
including bishops and priests, have been killed, and 61 churches have been
bombed." In other words, Christian persecution has increased under the U.S.
occupation,, and as one Vatican official commented, "Christians, paradoxically,
were more protected under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein."
Looking at Afghanistan, according to the U.S. State Department, there is not even
one public Christian church left in Afghanistan. The State Department continues to
state that “the United States continues to promote religious freedom in
Afghanistan” -- even after the last public Christian church was destroyed in March,
2010, while in the past decade America has spent $440 billion to support the new
Afghan government.
Finally, Raymond Ibrahim, a widely published Islam-specialist, who compiled
many reports summarized above, raised this thought: "And then people wonder
why Syrian Christians are backing autocratic Bashar Assad; they have seen
the 'fruits of democracy' in Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt and anywhere else
'people power' is burgeoning, whether organically, or -- if not especially --
under the auspices of the U.S."
We have some very erudite and perceptive readers as evidenced by their
comments on the weekly issues of ANC. Most -- in fact, almost all -- share our
pro-Christian, pro-American, pro-Conservative viewpoint. But rarely -- so rarely
as to make this one example worth noting -- does a reader claiming to be a
Christian, accuse the Editor, who is a long time fellow believer, of distorting and
lying, and of being a disgrace to the Evangelical cause. The accuser wrote as a
professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, in Wilmore KY , in these words:
"This newsletter lacks the integrity that aligns with claim to be Christian.
The gross distortions and outright lies are a disgrace to the evangelical
gospel I embrace. Please remove my address from your mailing list!" Out
of Christian courtesy we will not publicize he name of the writer, but we have
asked the professor for one example of lies . . . to date we have had no response.
Apparently, the words "Christian" and "Evangelical" are often used with Liberal
meanings, but here in ANC we use only the traditional, Bible-based meaning,
never the progressive, PC meaning.
We don't ask you to rely solely on our opinions -- it is always helpful to
keep informed by reading our research as to "What Others Are Saying . . .
Margaret Thatcher (former British Prime Minister): “The Decalogue --
Ten Commandments-- are addressed to each and every person. This is the
origin of our common humanity and of the sanctity of the individual. Each
one has a duty to try to carry out those commandments. You don’t get that
in any other political creed…It is personal liberty with personal responsibility.”
William Bennett (former U.S. Secretary of Education): "The founding
virtues – industriousness, marriage, and religion, are still the basis for male
empowerment and achievement. It may be time to say to a number of our
young men, 'Get off the video games five hours a day, pull yourself together,
get a challenging job, and get married.' It’s time to bring back men."
Joel Rosenberg (in Joel Rosenberg's Blog): "The Islamic Republic of Iran
declared war on the United States and Israel in 1979. They have since taken
Americans hostage. They have murdered Americans in Lebanon, Saudi
Arabia, Iraq and Afghanistan. They have funded Hezbollah, Hamas, the
PLO and other terrorist organizations that have murdered Israelis. They are
developing nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. Now, it
appears the Iranian government has tried to launch a deadly terrorist
operation on American soil -- in our nation's capital. Yet Iran has never paid
a real price for any of these acts of war. When will we wake up to this
growing threat and respond decisively and neutralize the Iranian threat?"
Dr. Mike Evans (Jerusalem Prayer Team): "Former President Jimmy
Carter, long a supporter of Palestinian causes and enemy of Israel, issued
a public warning to President Obama not to use the U.S. veto in the UN
Security Council to stop the recognition of a Palestinian state. Saying that
such a move would be '' mistake,” Carter told an interviewer, 'I hope
President Obama will fulfill the promises that were made at the time he got
the peace prize.' His remarks highlight the growing pressure on Israel from
around the world. The plan to divide Jerusalem and curse the nation of
Israel is moving full-speed ahead. Even though President Obama may veto
a Security Council measure creating a Palestinian state, he is still firmly
committed to that outcome."
Lance Fairchok (in New Media Journal): "This is the dialogue of 'Occupy
Wall Street,' while wiping one's feet on the American flag is spontaneous
performance art, not to mention defecating on a police car, spitting at a
uniformed service member and other adolescent acts of petty vandalism
and harassment one never saw with the Tea Party. This is the behavior
our Democrat party embraces, and indeed, encourages... A nice gathering
of Obama voters."
We found just two all-purpose "One Liners" worth saving this week:
MSNBC's Joe Scarborough (on private property destruction in Rome):
"That will help with the construction industry in Italy. You have to rebuild
Rome because people burned it down."
Jack Marshall (in Ethics Alarms): "I am, obviously, aware that
President Obama’s White House staff and his advisors have been
unacceptably inept and careless on too many occasions, but ..."
And here, selected at random, is just this "Afterthought." . . .
For those Liberals who advocate a progressive view of the Constitution,
there is this wise word from one of our Founding Fathers -- you remember them;
they're the ones who planned and wrote the Constitution: "The first and
governing maxim in the interpretation of a statute is to discover the meaning
of those who made it." (James Wilson, 1790) And Thomas Jefferson added to
that viewpoint when he wrote in 1803: "Our peculiar security is in the possession
of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction."
Those Founding Fathers may have foreseen the day when Governor Bev Perdue
(D, NC) would suggest that we suspend the 2012 congressional elections for two
yeas -- in direct violation of Article I, Section 2 of our Constitution. Or the day
when professor David Vann of the Univ. of San Francisco would opine: “At some
point we have to decide to be sane instead of following a document that’s
unclear and outdated.” Or the day when Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D, IL) would
urge President Obama to "declare a national emergency," and use "extra
constitutional" measures to create jobs. What is wrong with Liberal politicians
that they keep calling for the suspension or ignoring of the Constitution? It is to
prevent activities like those that we look forward to Election Day, Nov. 6, 2012 to
restore America to the nation it has always been.
Quotes from our Founding Fathers remind us of what America once was.
"No morn ever dawned more favorable than ours did; and no day was ever
more clouded than the present! Wisdom, and good examples are necessary
at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm."
--George Washington, 1786
"A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate
their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from
their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from
the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good
government." ~ Thomas Jefferson , 1801
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
