Big institutions in America are in for a rude awakening. Centers of power are about to be shaken by a rising revolt. It is a movement made up of determined citizens and many Christians, all of whom are being united by a realization that our nation is being destroyed, not from enemies without, but by the rot and decay that's within.
I am not against political parties, nor am I against big churches, but I am against anything that weakens America's foundation. Enough, already!
When political parties reduce people to economic servitude to keep their party in power, manipulate the media to control the masses, and continue doing this while destroying our nation's historic two-parent family infrastructure, then we are being led by traitors or fools, or by clever pimps of power and their political prostitutes.
When a university administrator receives a million-dollar salary, or a district superintendent resigns a good post to move up the ladder of more lucrative pay, it reveals that the education system has become big business. Sadly, a student's college loan is now like a life sentence, kept chained to an empty promise by an insurmountable debt, one that he or she will never be able to pay off.
When mega-churches spend millions on buildings that rival exclusive hotel resorts, yet the percentage of the population hearing the gospel doesn't change, nor is the mission of equipping and sending out workers served, nor are the benefits of God's compassion to the poor shown in any greater way, then we misuse our resources. All the while, the simple power of Jesus to work in, with, and through his redeemed community, the saints, is replaced by a modern hybrid, commercial religion.
In London, a Muslim attorney was elected mayor. Will he favor Sharia law, the Islamic legal code? Sharia law and democratic freedom cannot coexist! London is where Churchill once withstood Fascism to preserve Christian civilization. London's population is only 12 percent Muslim. The mayor had to convince many non-Muslims to vote for him. He won by overcoming his conservative opponent's campaign of fear.
In America, several major Republican elites are rejecting Donald Trump. They are using Hillary's fear tactic against their own party's winner. She says, "We can't afford a loose cannon in the White House!" I ask, "Can we afford more of Obama's policies if Hillary wins?" The fear tactic by Republicans trashing Trump sound like a boy at a baseball game -- "If I can't pitch, I'm taking my bat and ball and going home!"
Come November, I'd bet my Bible that Mr. Trump will win the presidency. Why? We the people, that's why. Taxation without representation creates a revolt. Big government stifles enterprise. I want us to stay a free nation, as it was founded.
Wages are flat but living expenses rise. The elderly suffer most. Congress spends away our future. Our children have it tougher than we did. In nine different states, welfare recipients outnumber wage earners. The average citizen's biggest expense today isn't housing -- it's taxes. The next biggest? Health insurance. Premiums are sky-high, with deductibles so huge, it's useless. What were they thinking?
The Republican rift proves what Tea Party patriots and Constitutional conservatives have been saying, that Washington is out of touch with the people. And Christians? Liberals can't fathom how utterly foolish they seem to real people of faith. The elite are clueless as to why Americans are angry; why Sanders and Trump gained such strong support. Bernie and Donald are the results of a revolt in progress. These two candidates didn't light the fire; they just saw its light, and they gave it their voice.
-- Ron Wood is a writer, teacher and minister who lives in western Washington County. Email: [email protected]. Visit his website for more articles, www.touchedbygrace.org.
Editorial on 05/18/2016