WHERE WILL YOU STAND?

The world seems to have turned on its head since the massacre in southern Israel on October 7.  I don't need to describe what's going on.  Turn on the TV to any news channel (except MSNBC who is only focused on Trump) or call up any news website and you will be bombarded with the latest in excruciating detail 24/7.  Of course, as always I recommend you check several sources because they are all biased.  Then try to knit together what you think is close to the truth.  

One of the most surprising things to me is the blatant rise of anti-semitism.  I've never really had any strong thoughts about that issue being something of the 21st century.  Of course, I'm a product of my environment and where I live.  But after the Holocaust I guess I naively thought that when people said "Never Again" they meant it.  That after 6 million Jews were killed just because they were Jews was so horrific that the world wouldn't countenance a return to that kind of vitriol and murderous activity.  I say the world but I guess what I really mean is the western world.  I've traveled to the Middle East quite a bit and am acutely aware of the animosity toward and rejection of Judaism in that part of the world.  And of course we've had to deal with Islamic radicals over the years, especially since 9/11 spouting their antisemitic bullshit.  But in the western, enlightened world, I thought (again naively) that we were beyond that.  I guess not.  

I'm sure you seen the massive demonstrations in our cities and on some of our university campuses.  Of course it's happening also in Europe and other major cities around the world.  The interesting thing to me is that the protestors are tipping their hand in a very direct way and very few people and especially the media are picking up on it.  The protestors and the compliant media and even a few in congress keep saying that these protests are about the oppression by Israel of the Palestinians and to stop the genocide in Gaza.  They spout that the Palestinians have a right to their land and that Israel needs stop the war in Gaza and provide more and more concessions.  

But here's the deal.  These protests are NOT about Palestinians.  They are not about finding a peaceful solution.  They are definitely not about a two state solution.  They are about the annihilation of Israel.  They are about the extermination of the Jews.  That's what the slogan, "From the river to the sea" is all about.  I've watched a few of these marches and the chanting is difficult to hear.  I heard one group chanting "Israel, Israel you can't hide.  We want Jewish genocide".  

So this post is not really about the massacre, the despicable terrorists, the Gaza situation or the current strategy or even the longer and larger term ideas like the two state solution.   It doesn't take much research to study the history of the region, the history of the Jewish people, the history of the Palestinians, or anything else that is relevant and has to do with with the region and the conflict.  This is not about that.  And we can all have a different take on this issue that is certainly worthy of debate.  No.  This is about the disgusting, regressive, appalling and unacceptable call to once again eradicate Israel and in turn the Jewish people.   And don't get me wrong.  I'm am a supporter of the 1st Amendment.  The organizers have a right to march and spout this nonsense.  But they also need to be called out for what they are.  Many are immigrants from the Middle East who have come here and never lost their hatred.  Many are their children and have benefitted from everything this country has to offer.  Many are naive converts.  And many are fools and useful idiots.  Make no mistake, the people spouting this vile are either stupid or have been brainwashed.  They don't really have an appreciation of everything that allows them to do what they are doing.  If you need a primer, check out this video for what the West has given the world.   The alternative takes us back to the 7th Century.  

So I will lay down this marker.  I won't remain on the sidelines on this issue.  I won't blithely go about my day and not stand up to this horror.  What about you?  If you have kids in school, especially at one of the "elite" universities where this garbage is being spewed, talk to them and make sure they are not swallowing this line.  Don't shy away from the discussion with friends and colleagues.  Stand up!  Don't be someone who someday can repeat the famous words below from Martin Niemöller...

First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist

Then they came for the Socialists and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist

Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist

Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew

Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me

FRIDAY FUNNIES

 

PROFESSIONAL PROTESTORS

Earlier today as I was perusing the news I saw a story about protestors disrupting a Congressional hearing in which Secretary of State Blinken was testifying about the Administration's request for funding to support Ukraine and Israel (and a few other things).  He was repeatedly interrupted by protestors in the hearing room.  It was very disruptive.  As you can imagine they were dressed in all manor, had signs emphasizing their protests, and screamed out their objections.  They went one at a time so they had to be removed one at a time so the disruptions continued for the whole hearing.

Back in the 90's when I was at National War College, I took a few courses on the workings of Congress and spent a fair amount of time up on capital hill going to meetings, meeting various leaders, and attending hearings to get the feel of the workings of government.  It was a fascinating experience to spend some time learning the nitty gritty sausage making of governing.  Most of the hearings I attended were pretty routine, but there were a few that were disrupted by protestors.  

Fast forward to 15 years later and I attended a few congressional hearings and events advocating the potential of unmanned aerial systems (drones in the common vernacular).  My company was a major player in the development of that technology and we had the occasion to visit with staffers and Congressmen to ensure they were supportive of budgets to move these systems forward.  I didn't have a big role, but I spent some time up there and once again was fascinated by the inner workings of our government.  And once again, I was in an event inside the capital that was disrupted by protestors. 

And guess what?  I saw one of the same people that were disrupting hearings back in the 90's and when I returned 15 years later.  Literally the same person!  It was eye opening to see the her, in the same clothes, holding the same signs with different words.  See the woman in the photo below.  I saw her at a few hearings in the 90's and I saw her 15 years later!

The media was full of more photos and I'll include a few below.  But I remembered that I thought then and I continue to think that these folks are paid to do what they do.  How else could you explain it?  I mean, who thinks about and then puts into action a plan to go disrupt a congressional hearing.  And who has the time to do that?  Like I said, what goes on up on capitol hill is largely sausage making.  And sausage making can be dirty and messy.  I know it's just part of the process but it's also a performance.  Someone is funding these activities and counting on them getting noticed on the evening news, or Twitter, or wherever.  So the next time you see some drama unfolding in the nation's capitol, take it for what it's worth.   A performance.

HALOWEEN CANDY

 I feel like I don't even need to say this but just in case....on Tuesday evening there will be millions kids all around the country trick or treating for candy.  We get a ton of kids every year.  In fact, we usually run out and have to turn out the lights.  It's usually a fun night.  But here's some advice.  When you are getting candy to hand out, don't get this.  No one likes it.  No one!

MOTIVATION MONDAY

If you own a business, be this guy!  Life is too short...

 

THE FREE PRESS

I have become a HUGE admirer of The Free Press.  It's a site that was started by Bari Weiss and is as fair as anything I see in the media world.  Bari was a reporter at the New York Times before she decided to leave mainstream media and strike out on her own.  She started a blog called "Common Sense" and it really took off.  After several months she upscaled to establish The Free Press.  The stories are widely diverse but I rarely find something that is not interesting, relevant, thoughtful and unbiased.  If you'd like to check it out go here.   There is a subscription charge of $50 per year but I think it is well worth it.  

For full disclosure Bari is Jewish and a lesbian.  She wears neither as a badge, but rather a fact of life.  As a result of her Jewishness, there have been an inordinate number of stories about Israel of late.  I don't mind that because I am squarely in Israel's corner.    

FRIDAY FUNNIES

 

THE POWDER KEG IS LIT!

The biggest thing, the most dominant thing happening in the world right now is happening in Israel.  The stories coming out of Israel since October 7 have been excruciating.  What Hamas did to Jews is beyond my imagination that humans could be so brutal.  In my view the response by the Israeli's has been rather restrained.  Oh, it's been devastating to people in Gaza, and you have to feel for the average person in Gaza who has been brutalized by Hamas.  But...when the Israelis left Gaza they voted for Hamas.  However, it's still been restrained compared to what is coming, for both sides.  So when we sit from afar and watch what is happening, it's pretty easy to become detached.  It's almost like a movie...and unless you have loved ones either there or impacted, it's difficult to view it through a personal lens. 

But what we are seeing on university campuses and in the streets both here and in Europe, while for me even more difficult to comprehend, is certainly more personal.  The anti-semitism, the hatred of the Jewish people, the blind admiration of the bloodthirsty thugs who are Hamas is beyond troubling.  I just keep thinking...whatever happened to "Never Again"?  The only conclusion I can come to is that there are a lot of people of Arabic and especially Palestinian descent both in our country and universities and they have influenced behavior.  How could it be otherwise?  While it is true that there is blame on both sides, if anyone were to take a rationale look at history, I don't see how in the world they would come down on the side of the Palestinians, especially after Oct 7.  But I see kids at various universities around the country that never in a million years would I expect the hatred and vitriol against the Jews come out of their mouths.  Did you see the images projected at George Washington University in Washington, DC?  I figured that some administrators would come out and issue an apology.  But...crickets.  It's just beyond belief.  I see protests in the street that are threatening and full of hatred.  What is going on?  Even our government has equivocated in a few instances regarding the atrocities perpetrated on Oct 7.  It feels like the world is turned upside down.  I get free speech and all, but if ever there was "hate speech", which some like to prosecute, this is it.  

And here's another thing that isn't spoken out loud but you all should be ready for.  This isn't going to end well.  We aren't moving forces into the region just for presence.  War is messy.  Sooner or later, some incident is going to go down sideways and we'll need to respond.  I don't know what, where or how our response will unfold, but sooner or later it's got to involve Iran.  And I've got to say I fully support it.  If we can't take a stand here, I don't know where we would take a stand.  My worry is the leadership vacuum in Washington, DC.  I don't know anyone who has faith in their ability, especially after our humiliating retreat from Afghanistan.  

I saw an essay in The Free Press tonight that is better than anything I've read on the subject.  You can read it here.  I'm also going to copy it below. 

"Michael Oren: A War Against the Jews

Hatred of Israel cannot be distinguished from hatred of the Jewish people. Incontestably now, anti-Zionism is antisemitism.

By Michael Oren

October 26, 2023

“The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews. When the Jew will hide behind stones and trees, the stones and trees will say, ‘O Muslims, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.’ ” —The Hamas Charter

“The conventional war of conquest was to be waged parallel to, and was also to camouflage, the ideological war against the Jews.” —Lucy Dawidowicz, The War Against the Jews 1933–1945

It wasn’t the rallies with “Keep the World Clean” posters and chants of “gas the Jews.” Nor was it the glorification of Hamas paragliders by the Chicago branch of Black Lives Matter or, in New York and London, the tearing down of posters with the faces of Israeli children held hostage by Hamas. Not even the off-the-charts uptick in antisemitic incidents in Germany (240 percent), the United States (nearly 400 percent), and London (1,353 percent) convinced me.

It was, rather, one of those realizations that so many generations of Jews before me have experienced. A realization that they, like me, surely tried to push out of their minds until the reality became unmistakeable. 

This war is not simply between Hamas terrorists and Israelis. It is a war against the Jews. 

The insight began with the international media’s coverage of the conflict. Again, it wasn’t the press’s insistence on calling mass murderers “militants” or citing Hamas and its “Health Ministry” as a reliable source. For close to fifty years—as a student activist, a diplomat, a soldier, a government and military spokesman, and above all, as a historian—I’ve grappled with the media’s bias against Israel. I’ve long known that the terrorists are “militants” solely because their victims are Jews, and only in a conflict with Israel are terrorists considered credible. 

Instead, it was the media’s predictable switch from an Israel-empathetic to an Israel-demonizing narrative as the image of Palestinian suffering supplanted that of Israelis beheaded, dismembered, and burnt. It was the gnawing awareness that dead Jews buy us only so much sympathy. 

In fact, there is probably a formula. Six million dead in the Holocaust procured us roughly 25 years of grace before the Europeans refused to refuel the U.S. planes bringing lifesaving munitions to Israel during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Fourteen hundred butchered Jews bought us a little less than two weeks’ worth of positive coverage. 

Europeans, it’s long been said, never forgave the Jews for the Holocaust. Their guilt was collective and their antisemitism no longer socially acceptable. What a relief many of them felt when it became de rigueur to call Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians Nazi-like. Similarly, haters of Israelis can’t forgive them for being massacred by Hamas terrorists on October 7, and were relieved when, on October 19, they could go back to vilifying the “colonial apartheid state.”

October 17—that was the date of the al-Ahli Arab Hospital incident. Hamas claimed that an Israeli bomb hit the hospital and killed 500 civilians. Again, there was nothing new about Hamas blaming Israel for atrocities that never happened and counting as dead the many who didn’t die. What was unprecedented was the speed at which the world accepted this triple lie—not a hospital but its parking lot was struck by a Palestinian rocket, not an Israeli bomb, killing far fewer than 500. Nevertheless, reflexively, the world imputed evil to Israel. 

Within hours of the al-Ahli bombing, both Israel and the United States revealed the truth behind it. Still, almost no one in the media apologized. A full week after the explosion, The New York Times was still bringing in “experts” to intimate Israel’s guilt. After all, the paper was subtly telling us, Israel is perfectly capable of bombing hospitals and, despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, possibly bombed this one as well.

What was previously an inkling became, October 19, an epiphany. It marked the moment when I finally peered behind the headlines and recognized their ancient, vicious, core. 

For many centuries, the term “innocent Jew” was an oxymoron. Jews were guilty by birth, by belief, and by ancestry. There is a religious tenet of Judaism, reenacted each year at Passover, that all Jews were present at the exodus from Egypt and when God gave the laws to Moses at Sinai. Twisting this is a Christian belief that all Jews were present at, and responsible for, the crucifixion. More than Pilate, more than Judas—a name not chosen randomly—the Jews were damned for deicide.

But killing God is only one of the sins for which Israelis—read: Jews—are being demonized in this war. Behind the reports of the deliberate Israeli bombing of Palestinian neighborhoods—reports that meticulously stress the number of children killed—lies the 144,000 children mythically massacred by the Judean King Herod. 

Though understandably feeling vengeful toward Hamas and their allies in Gaza, the vast majority of Israelis do not want innocent Palestinians to die. Hamas, however, places its bunkers, rocket launchers, and headquarters in civilian areas. Though Israel warns these noncombatants to evacuate, Hamas tries to prevent their flight, sometimes at gunpoint. The goal is twofold: to kill as many Israelis as possible, and to kill Palestinians to win the sympathy of the world and so that Israel can be denounced internationally for war crimes. 

Hamas’s strategy is clear. Yet much of the press prefers to ignore it. Instead, it repeatedly accuses Israel of seeking to inflict the maximum number of civilian deaths and especially of children. In the media’s rendering, Israel is the new Herod butchering Palestinian innocents. 

Forgotten are the thousands of Gazans who followed Hamas terrorists through the ruptured fence into Israel where they joined in the mutilations and raping. Forgotten are the Gazans who beat and spat at a nineteen-year-old Israeli woman who was raped and paraded through their streets. Gone were Gazans who gave out candy and celebrated the slaughter of 1,400 civilians who were truly innocent.

Finally, there is the media meme that the Jews are responsible for their own suffering. This, too, has late Roman roots—in the belief that homelessness and oppression were the punishments due the Jews not only for killing God but then rejecting his resurrected son. Anyone being interviewed by the international press, as I am, repeatedly receives the question: “Doesn’t Israel, by opposing peace with the Palestinians, bear some responsibility for the Hamas attack?”

My response is to recall how Hamas opposed the Oslo process and every subsequent peace initiative, and that Hamas assassinated not only Jews but also the Palestinians who supported the two-state solution. I explain that the reason most Israelis now oppose that solution is because they know that Hamas would take over the nascent Palestinian state in a day. Israel bears much of the responsibility for tensions in the West Bank, I admit. 

But the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is purely Hamas’s fault. As a deputy minister in the prime minister’s office, in 2017–18, I was tasked with improving living conditions in Gaza. I learned how Hamas used Gaza’s water pipes to make rockets and dug tunnels under the aquifer and drained it. I learned how Hamas diverted electricity to illuminate its underground bunkers and drastically limited the supply of basic commodities to the population, keeping it dependent on the terrorists. I learned that, when it came to Hamas, everything I knew about human decency was irrelevant.

These are my responses to the journalists. They listen but are seldom, if ever, convinced. Much of the press, I’ve learned, has internalized the ultimate antisemitic myth: that Jews just have it coming.

Accordingly, Noam and Yishai Slotki who, waking up to the news of the attack on October 7, instinctively put on their reserve uniforms and left their families to fight only to die and be buried side by side in Jerusalem—according to much of the media’s interpretation of this war, both Noam and Yishai deserved it. By the same token, Tamar Kedem-Siman Tov, a community activist, who, together with her husband and three beautiful children, was gunned down by Hamas, got her comeuppance.

The media is both a mirror and a disseminator of ideas, its two-way function incalculably amplified by the internet. So, the assumption of Jewish guilt and Palestinian innocence permeates the petitions signed by Hollywood stars and Starbucks workers that scarcely mention Hamas’s unimaginable crimes while emphasizing Israel’s imagined ones. So, the image of Jews as both child-killers and God-like in their powers translates into accusations that Israelis actually enjoy murdering women and children, deliberately targeting journalists, and crucifying the pure and powerless Palestinians. The notion that we Jews have it coming to us informed the letter, signed by more than 30 Harvard student organizations, claiming that Hamas’s barbarism “did not occur in a vacuum,” and that “the apartheid regime is the only one to blame.” Not coincidentally did UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres open his October 23 speech to the Security Council by asserting, “the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum.” 

When Hamas itself says its targets are Jews, not Israelis, who’s to question Hamas’s supporters abroad who fail to make that distinction? When a Hamas terrorist phones his parents from a ravaged kibbutz and boasts, “I killed ten Jews with my own hands!” who will wonder why a Berlin synagogue is firebombed? When the UN and other international bodies refuse to condemn the mass evisceration, immolation, and brutal incarceration of Jews in tunnels under Gaza, who will be surprised by the silence of actors, writers, artists, and college presidents? And who will be astonished when Diaspora Jews in increasing numbers say they feel more secure in embattled Israel than on the streets of London, Paris, or New York? Five years to the day after the massacre of eleven worshippers at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue, who will be shocked if another diaspora community is targeted?

In an agonizing irony, Hamas and its supporters have succeeded where the Jews have long failed. Incontestably now, anti-Zionism is antisemitism. Hatred of the Jewish nation-state cannot be distinguished from hatred of the Jewish people. The war between Hamas and Israel, involving the largest and cruelest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust, is a war against Jews everywhere. To paraphrase Holocaust historian Lucy Dawidowicz, this is the second war against the Jews.

Michael Oren was formerly Israel’s ambassador to the United States, a Knesset member, and a deputy minister of diplomacy in the prime minister’s office. For more of his writing on Israel visit his Substack, Clarity. 

A recent poll of 18- to 24-year-olds found that when asked, “In this conflict do you side more with Israel or Hamas?” 48 percent said Hamas. Read Stanford junior Julia Steinberg to understand how antisemitism, aided by social media, has infected Gen Z: Why My Generation Hates Jews."

MOTIVATION MONDAY

 

UNCERTAIN TIMES!

We're about 2 weeks removed from the mass genocide in southern Israel perpetrated by Hamas.  Making sense of what is happening in Israel these days is difficult.  For the average person who maybe hasn't paid much attention to the history, the violence, the endless accusations, the various peace proposals, and the seemingly endless saga that is the the Israel-Palestine struggle, it is a daunting task to absorb all that is going on.  If you're watching the media or perusing social media, it's a 24/7 onslaught of information and reporting that is frequently not consistent.  And as surprising as it may sound, there are plenty of people who come down on the side of the terrorists.  

As you might surmise that I come down squarely on the side on Israel in this whole mess.  When I think of the history of the plight of the Jews, it is such a long, sad story.  The events of Oct 7 are truly barbaric and cannot go without response.  The new dimension is the apparent involvement of other countries around the world, including America.  It is an increasingly dangerous and volatile situation and the truth is that it could go in several different ways.   Of course no one would choose violence, but I'm not at all sure that the Israelis can or will stop short of crushing Hamas and in the course of things largely destroying Gaza.  Who will be drawn in is anyone's guess.  

I came across a video that really struck me that I thought I'd share.  I think it lays out the feelings of so many people (not only Jews) and is very direct.  I had never heard of Noa Tishby before but she is an Israeli actress, writer, producer and activist and her passion is compelling

Further in trying to make sense and provide some insight into this horrible situation, I received a sermon from a good friend and former Priest in our church today regarding this very subject.  I've posted his work previously and he is a great writer and commentator on our times.   I hope you will read this.  It is not only educational but also provides some compelling thoughts.  

The Case for Separation of Church and State

I remember listening to a professor of comparative religion who argued that the big difference between Islamic and Western nations was not religion but secularism. Islam has long lived with Christian and Jewish minorities in its countries, but it cannot tolerate any secular state where all religions are treated equally based on rational legal principles rather than Islamic faith. The nature of Islam is that it must permeate every aspect of society, including the law courts, universities and commerce. It must thoroughly saturate the nation’s identity in every aspect of life, both public and private.

Seven years before the 9/11 tragedy, the Wall Street Journal carried an article about the dramatic increase of fundamentalist Islam in Turkey – a country that had been relatively secular. The article quoted a young Muslim Turk: “Our view of religion is different from yours.,” he said to the Western visitor. “According to your rules,” he continued, “religion counts only in the place where you pray. Our religion is a way of life. I have no time at all, not one minute, without Islam.”1 

Notice that young Turk’s last sentence: “I have no time at all, not one minute without Islam.” That is what it means to live in a society where religion dominates every single aspect of our lives, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If you ask why does Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran want the extinction of Israel, here it is. They hate Israel not only because it is a Jewish state, but because it is a secular state committed to pluralism, democracy and toleration. Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran detest any secular state, especially one in the Middle East. They will never rest until there is an Islamic state that imposes Sharia law on its citizens. Nothing less will suffice. There is no “live and let live” with Islamic fundamentalism. It’s “my way or else.” Islamic law is the only way possible. 

Jesus was not interested in politics, and therefore he never gives us any theory of law. And yet, his teaching is quite challenging, especially for us who live in the United States where we uphold the separation of church and state. The United States Constitution says: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” In our country there is no established state religion, but citizens are free to practice any or no religion in their personal lives. Of course, defining the boundaries between the free exercise of religion with no state-sponsored religion is not easy. Even today the Supreme Court hears cases trying to define the relationship between church and state. 

If Jesus were to comment on the issue, he might say, “…been there; done that…” During the time of Jesus, Israel was occupied by the Romans. Jews had very different viewpoints on how to respond to the Roman occupation. On the one extreme, the Pharisees refused to participate in the established Roman government, while the Zealots violently opposed it. On the other extreme, the Herodians were willing to accommodate and even compromise with Rome, while the Sadducees believed the best way to get along was to go along.

Matthew’s Gospel reports an occasion when Jesus was confronted by these two extremes. The Pharisees along with the Herodians sent a delegation to Jesus in an attempt to trap him. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with the truth… Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” If Jesus said, “Yes,” the Zealots and Pharisees would be after him, and he would lose the respect of the Jewish people. Had Jesus said “No,” the Sadducees and Herodians would turn on him and probably hand him over to Rome. 

Jesus does not give a simple yes or no answer. Asking whose likeness appears on the legal tender, he gives the classic answer, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.” The only problem with his answer is that Jesus leaves it up to us to figure out which is which. That’s not always easy, particularly in the United States. 

Christianity certainly played a role in the shaping of the American form of government, but so did the Enlightenment – what we call the Age of Reason. After the Thirty Years War back in the 17th century, Europe was exhausted by all the religious disputes between Protestants and Catholics. Philosophers and legal theorists argued that rather than faith governing nations, why not reason? Let rational legal principles govern people who disagree on religious matters. This is the basis for separation of church and state which we find in our First Amendment. Rather than any particular religion governing a diverse people, let rational legal principles promote a harmonization of interests so that everyone, no matter their faith, can be equally part of the nation with no one excluded. This is the genius of our Constitution. 

So we have to admit that America is not a Christian nation, but it is a nation founded by Christians. It has a Christian ethos, Christian presuppositions, and a Christian framework 

such as three equal branches of government to provide a system of checks and balances. The framers of our Constitution took the doctrine of original sin too seriously to allow any one person or branch of government have absolute power – no king or Ayatollah in this country.

Our framers were men of the Enlightenment but they also believed in God. Unlike the French Revolution, reason alone was never sufficient for the framers of our government. Thomas Jefferson, the father of the idea of separation of church and state, knew that belief in God is essential for the nation. He wrote: “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God.”

If freedom is not God-given and inalienable, then it can be taken away anytime a majority thinks that political correctness requires it. If there is nothing that is absolutely right or wrong, if there are no unchanging principles given by God, then we are left with nothing but our own opinions, and none of them have any authority. The Russian writer Dostoyevsky grasped this truth when he had one of the brothers Karamazov declare: “If there is no God, then everything is permitted.”

The founders of our nation were deeply interested in morality. They believed that only a virtuous people could safeguard the freedoms guaranteed by a republican form of government. John Adams put it succinctly in 1776 when he said:  “…virtue is the only foundation of republics.” By virtue, Adams meant public virtue, an idea whose roots lie in ancient Rome and Sparta. Historian Forrest McDonald suggests that public virtue entailed: “firmness, courage, endurance, industry, frugal living, strength, and above all, unremitting devotion to the weal of the public’s corporate self, the community of virtuous men [and women].” Without this public virtue, Adams believed a republic would rot from within and disintegrate.

Morality requires a free people. Only free people can choose and make decisions. Only free people can choose the right and reject the wrong. A morally free people make a morally free nation. George Washington, in his farewell address, declared: “The truth is that politics and morality are inseparable. As morality’s foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related.”

And yet, morality is not something that can be taught by the government. It is something that has to be learned in the home; in churches, in schools, and in civic organizations that promote public virtue. If these institutions break down, then we are in trouble. The truth is, no human being can live in a moral vacuum. If human beings lack a moral foundation, they will find it somewhere, whether in a street gang, a cult, a revolutionary group, or in some sort of fundamentalism. Could this be why Islam is so attractive to converts? It provides a moral foundation – a disciplined way of living – that its adherents do not find in Western culture.

In the United States we don’t impose morality on the populace unlike Iran and other fundamentalist Muslim nations. There are no public whippings for women who fail to dress appropriately. No one is stoned for adultery. There are no executions for being gay. Adults even have the right to change their biological sex, if they want to. As long as you don’t hurt anyone else, you are usually free to do what you like in America. Morality and legality are not identical in our country. The government doesn’t try to run your personal life. Within the bounds of law, we are free to do what we like, as we like. 

And yet, I want to offer a word of caution here. Separation of church and state does not mean giving to the state what is God’s. Jesus wants us to give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s. In other words, we are to pay our taxes. After all, the government gives us roads, an economy, military protection, police, firefighters, schools, and social and health benefits. The government has a right to our allegiance and support. But Christians draw the line on not giving the government our worship or our unconditional loyalty or our faith or our hope. Our ultimate allegiance is to God. This God gives us life, a million big and little pleasures and joys, and salvation from sin and death and hell. In any conflict between church and state, we must always obey God first.

Elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel we are told to seek first the kingdom of God, not the political agenda of any particular party. God is not a Republican. God is not a Democrat. Our faith is in Christ, not country. Jesus is our hope, our Savior, our Lord, our ultimate allegiance. While it is true that the United States does embody and practice at least some of God’s Kingdom principles, we are never to condone blind patriotism. Christians can never say, “My country right or wrong.” The true patriot instead accepts John Sutherland Bonnell’s revised version: “My country, when wrong, to be made right; when right, to be kept right.” 

In the end, we need to be vigilant in maintaining our freedom. That is the one thing that all Americans should be able to agree on. After all, what distinguishes America from totalitarian nations – whether it is China or Russia or Iran or North Korea – is freedom: the freedom to think as we like, to live as we like, to believe as we like, to protest and disagree with government policy, so long as our actions do not hurt other people. We may hate the viewpoints of others, but we still allow them the freedom to express those views. That is what makes America so unique as a beacon of hope in the world. Freedom takes precedence over being right.

There is a story about Abraham Lincoln who went to visit a slave auction and was appalled at the sights and sounds of buying and selling human beings. His heart was especially drawn to a young woman on the block who looked with hatred and contempt on everyone around her. She had been used and abused all her life, and this time was but one more cruel humiliation.

The bidding began, and Lincoln offered a bid. As other amounts were bid, he countered-bid with larger amounts until he won. When he paid the auctioneer the money, and took title to the young woman, she stared at him with vicious contempt. She asked him what he was going to do next with her, and he said, “I’m going to set you free.”

“Free?” she asked. “Free for what?” 

“Just free,” said Lincoln. “Completely free.”

“Free to do whatever I want to do?”

“Yes,” he said. “Free to do whatever you want to do.”

“Free to say whatever I want to say?”

“Yes, free to say whatever you want to say.”

“Free to go wherever I want to go?” she added with skepticism.

Lincoln answered, “You are free to go anywhere you want to go.”

“Then,” she said with a smile, “I’m going with you!” 

Real freedom is never forced. Real freedom never demands that everyone believe like us, or behave like us, or live like us. Real freedom is a deep respect for the individual to live out their own life, in their own way, for only by such freedom is biblical faith possible.

These are difficult times in the world and in our own country right now. Freedom is under attack. Well we should consider the words of George Washington in his first Inaugural Address: “It is a strenuous thing, this living as a free people.” 

Yes, it is not easy being free, but the alternative is always so much worse.

What is happening in Israel today is frightening because of the great potential for violence and the uncertainty as to how it will unfold.  There are a lot of state actors posturing.  There are a lot of people on the street protesting.  There are military forces being moved and prepared.  There are multiple hot spots around the world that could blow at any time.  Our domestic politics seem to be unraveling.  It is a time for our leaders to be determined, steady, and confident.  I'm not sure that they have it in them, but I hope to God they do.

FRIDAY FUNNIES

 I can relate…

An Age Old Truth!

 

HISTORY LESSON

The news out of Israel this morning continues to be gruesome.  It's difficult to turn on any news source or peruse social media and not be inundated by highly emotional and heart wrenching stories of the massacre last week.  And now the impending ground invasion of Gaza after days of bombing preparation is coming.  It's going to be ugly.  It's street to street, house to house, alley to alley fighting to try and root out the hideous monsters that are Hamas.  Probably an impossible task but given what has gone on in the last few weeks it is inevitable.  That there will be large scale loss of life on both sides is a given.  The best we can do is to pray for a rapid resolution and minimal loss of life.  But I'm afraid in looking at it today that is not likely.

This elevated situation has brought a lot of questions about the history of the region and how we got to this point.  There are those in my family who know very little about and it has sparked a conversation about all the intricacies of the region.  I've forwarded a few articles that seem pretty reasonable in their explanations while trying to paint a balanced picture.  Because there is plenty of blame to go around.  My son-in-law forwarded the video below to me that he has used to talk to his kids.  While no article, no video, no story telling will get it all right, although simplistic, I think this is pretty close.  It takes about 10 minutes to view it.  Well worth your time.

MOTIVATION MONDAY

 

FRIDAY FUNNIES

RUBBING IT IN!

Meanwhile last weekend in London...

 

PALESTINIAN SUPPORT

By now most have seen the various statements and demonstrations of support to the Palestinian cause in the wake of the attacks on Israel on Saturday by Hamas terrorists.  We have a long history in this country, that is true in other democracies around the world, to tolerate opposing views and protect free speech.  Freedom of speech is so important that it is the very first amendment to our Constitution.  As we have evolved there have been countless battles over the concept of free speech.  The many times tough decisions that have been made by the courts in adjudicating conflicting parties are sometimes tough to take and even perplexing, but protecting the freedom of speech is something we continue to hold dear.

Depending on the news channel you regularly watch, you've likely seen coverage of some of the demonstrations in the streets or written statements from various institutions and individuals supporting the cause of the Palestinians.  If you know what the history of the conflict between the Jews and the Palestinians is, then you know that there are no easy answers.  Picking one side or the other is just human nature and there are myriad of reasons why people will do that.  Personal history, exposure to current events, social pressure, and what you are exposed to in your every day activities might contribute to where you stand.  The vast majority of people will go about their lives, discuss these things with family or friends, and develop thoughts and opinions that are personal, not necessarily public.  But some feel a need or a calling to explicitly state their feelings in public.  And with the dedication we have to freedom of speech, they are protected to do that.  

But in a real sense, the aftermath of the attacks by Hamas into Israel and the subsequent massacres have changed the dynamic.  As the horrific images have been displayed on TV for all to see, watching the same demonstrations or statements for Palestine is hard to take.  Seeing some of the things that the terrorists have done and anticipating the terrible days ahead, it's difficult to reconcile that with statements of support.  My first inclination was outrage, but then I thought of the complexity of the issue and could understand it if someone didn't quite understand the horrifying reality that unfolded when the attacks came.  But once that reality set in, I can't understand persisting with demonstrations of support.  Some who have issued those statements have reconsidered and rescinded them.  I hope some who have initially instinctively participated in such a demonstration have reconsidered and will not voice those sentiments again.  Because what has happened has been characterized as the second Holocaust and there is certainly some truth to that.  

Another thing that is hard to fathom is the calls for a cease fire and for negotiations to begin.  Once again, seeing the images emerging from Southern Israel this can't happen.  The Israelis will not in any conceivable way countenance a cease fire.  They will go to Gaza for retribution and revenge and it will be ugly.  Simple as that.

Of all the things I've seen in the realm of supporting the Palestinians and Hamas, this image might be the worst.  If you've watched at all you know that terrorists dropped from the air in paragliders and massacred hundreds of people at a concert in Southern Israel.  It was depravity on an unprecedented scale.  To celebrate that act with a trite graphic is disgusting.  That BLM thought that appropriate is just another indicator of the rot, moral bankruptcy and opportunism of that disgusting organization.  Shame on them.

The good news is that as the shock has worn off demonstrations of support for Israel agains the atrocities of Hamas have started to take shape.  Last night in San Diego there was a demonstration of support at the local Jewish Community Center and it drew 5000 people of all stripes.  It was a heartwarming show of support.  To the average person there is a feeling of frustration at not being able to "do something".  I would recommend that wherever you live if you see a gathering like the one I described to show support, show up.  Lend your voice and show your support.  It really goes back to the old saying, "all it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing".  

90 THOUSAND TONS OF DIPLOMACY

 

And not just diplomacy!  It’s a disaster evacuation vessel, a full up hospital, a power source, a command and control hub and if need be, a whole lot of whip ass!  It was smart to move the USS Ford strike group closer to potential action and I heard another one is enroute.  And don’t be surprised if one our big deck Amphibs and it’s expeditionary strike group starts to make its way to Eastern Med waters.  Things are gonna get complicated!

Can’t help but wish I was there but know the men and women in the strike group will do a spectacular job!  Gods speed!

MOTIVATION MONDAY

24,669 AMERICANS DEAD!

That number is pretty sobering.  I saw it over on another blog which applied the ratio of Israeli's killed by Hamas to their total population and extrapolated it to America.  24,669.  

Think about that and then think about the hundreds of thousands of young, military aged men streaming across our border and then being released to the interior.  Am I saying that they are all here to participate in some large scale attack.  No.  But the world is full of bad actors and governments who are our avowed enemy.  They are not going to launch an amphibious attack on our beaches nor are they going to launch an air attack on our cities.  But terrorism from within after a long period of planning and preparation?  Think about that.