“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten —
the great locust and the young locust,
the other locusts and the locust swarm —my great army that I sent among you.
You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.”
When listening to Joe Biden's infuriating rants about his political foes, one passage was a bit strange.
Look, I know politics can be fierce and mean and nasty in America. I get it. I believe in the give and take of politics and disagreement and debate and dissent. We’re a big complicated country. But democracy endures only if we the people respect the guardrails of the republic. Only if we the people accept the results of free and fair elections. Only if we the people see politics not as total war but mediation of our differences.
Even though our society has always prized youth over age, there are some benefits to having lived a few years. One of these is the appreciation of how the previous generations’ experiences of life serve not just as a “living history” but can be applied to the present. The lessons that we should be learning, or usually learned, decades ago are, regrettably, too often ignored because of trying to find a new approach. There's a better way, but it appears that it's a complete mystery to modern-day people.
In the previous generation, many were fighting during the Great Depression and in their teens and young adult years were engaged in World War II. Politics were as challenging as they are today. But there was one distinct difference between back then and today. The people living in Washington and various other political leaders were fighting from 9 to 5. After work, however, the group would go out with each other for drinks and socializing while putting aside any political disagreements to concentrate on what was most important. That is, being human beings who can treat each with the same respect they would like to be treated.
Unfortunately, this ended after Saul Alinsky became the Democrats’ satanic ideal. Today, actively engaging in the ideology of personal destruction is now the standard. Direct and brutal attacks on anyone and everyone who would disagree with your beliefs. Then screaming “racism,” “sexism,” and any other nonsense you can think of -ism every time someone says any kind of word in your direction or shows the unrelenting courage to respond in the same harsh manner as the messenger originally proposed is now routine. It doesn't matter if they are actual politicians or those who consider the discussion of politics their vocation or a profession. They can say hurtful things but no one else can. There are some occasions when there have been exceptions. For instance, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and his colleague Ruth Bader Ginsburg were friends. However, it is rare to see Sarge or Fillmore in the same frame.
Today, we are in the dark days, days of a soaring inflation and recession; conflict abroad, and attempts to start domestic wars. These times may linger for several months, weeks, or even decades, almost devouring us. However, they will come to an end. It is important not to take the bait offered by those trying to lure us into a conflict that is illegal. Without compromising our principles or policies, we should remember that the other person is valuable in the same way that each member of our society is worthy. There is no one who is out of God's reach. We're all connected regardless of political affiliation. We can therefore be more effective by smiling in the midst of the war and driving our enemies insane by refusing to abandon the kindness we practice, while our opponents accuse us of being extremists.
The days of the locust have come on us. We must decide whether to accept and crumble… or to rise and triumph through Christ.
