| America's Cultural War
In the past couple of weeks, the so-called “culture
war” has come into hi-resolution definition as never before.
Previously some didn’t understand what was happening in our
land, it was kind of blurred, foggy and difficult for them to see.
Now, suddenly the haze has lifted and right before our eyes in crystal
clarity and in plainly defined terms the battle lines are being
drawn. Several key events have occurred that have helped bring into
the limelight two distinctly different ideologies, or shall we shall
moralities, around which the conflict is ensuing. This conflict
is so intense and its stakes so high that the very existence of
our nation, at least as we have know it, is ultimately at risk.
The “culture war” was accelerated by the following three
high-octane incidents and it will only prove to burn hotter and
more intense in the days to come. The incidents were: the distasteful
and lewd Super Bowl half time show, the mayor of San Francisco issuing
marriage certificates for same-sex couples and the releasing of
Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ and the ensuing media
uproar.
Much like a flare lights up the darkened
battlefield as it drifts lazily down below its parachute, so these
three events have illuminated the immense internal malady of America.
Interestingly these events have helped reveal the deep division
that exists here, and by opening up the old wound, laid bare the
infection below the surface. The odd coincidence of them all happening
within a few weeks of one another in February may not be so much
an accident, as it is in the Providence of God. The Sovereign Lord,
who reigns above all, may be allowing us to wake up before we slumber
into oblivion.
First of all, the Janet Jackson episode during
the half time show brought into national attention what everyone
has been so aware of for so long, but simply have been lulled into
accepting. “Just turn the channel” has been the mantra
of the libertines for so long and it has been too widely and well
received. The sad truth is that even with more and more channels,
we are finding less and less to turn to that doesn’t feature
nudity, profanity, love of drugs, coarse and profane discussion,
gratuitous violence and the promotion of alternate and evil life-styles.
So the garment was ripped away before millions and millions of children
who were watching with their parents not expecting to see a strip
show. The result was that finally the sensitivity of so many of
us was resuscitated by the shocking jolt of in-your-face indecency.
The liberal media is laughing and making fun of the proceedings
in Washington, and the fact that many broadcasters and executives
are lining up before Congress and starting to clean up their act.
But it isn’t censorship, it is more like the effects of a
nasty stomach flu, we are just starting to regurgitate part of what
has been making us sick for so long. And you know that once you
throw it up, you always feel a whole lot better.
Then, there is the issue of same-sex marriages.
The attempt to redefine the institution that was created by God
and has remained solvent and created stability for society after
society for thousands of years. The actions of militant homosexuals
are the logical outcome of several decades of pro-gay propaganda,
successful waged in our media and entertainment venues. People were
conned several decades ago into thinking that what homosexuals and
lesbians did in the privacy of their bedrooms wouldn’t hurt
or affect the rest of us. Then it became cute and fashionable to
present this perverted way of living as normal and even as humorous
in so many sit-coms and movies. Out of the closet and into our homes
via television and on to flaunting their licentiousness at family
theme parks and national parades. Then using the smoke screen of
civil rights to compare their desire for “equality”
(as though anyone was denying them the right to be the way they
chose) to that of the African American. This is a whole different
issue, but those who understand that are never given the time or
national podium to debate, rather are dismissed as homophobic and
bigots. So the agenda was pushed, more and more benefits were acquired.
But rather than being satisfied with being left alone, or even accepted,
the militants now want to ram their way of life down the American
throat by trying to dignify their abnormal and deviant living by
solemnizing it with a definition of legal marriage. As bad as all
that is, and as plain as it illustrates the difference between that
which has served mankind for millenniums and that which will help
shred the fabric of our societies normalcy; there is even more ilk.
When a mayor of a city in our nation decides
that he or she can ignore the law of the land, and simply issue
decrees and dictate policy in violation of that law, we are on the
verge of anarchy. What we see happening in places like Haiti should
serve as warnings of what tragedy anarchy brings to a people. But,
to make it even worse, the Supreme Court of California won’t
even order a stay to the issuing of those licenses in San Francisco.
We have long suspected that the courts want to dictate policy and
promote agenda rather than enforce. Well now you can see it taking
place. The attorney general of California didn’t need to go
to the Supreme Court to ask them to do the chief law enforcement
official’s job; it should have been done without hesitation.
Those breaking the law should have been arrested and the practice
stopped immediately. Anarchy is just around the next bend. Then
to top it all, our President openly states that we need a constitutional
amendment to define marriage as it has been since the beginning
of time, as a man and a woman in legal union. And what do we find?
Many of our legislators and elected representatives cannot even
decide to stand for right. In several state legislative bodies,
liberal individuals who represent the side of the “cultural
war” that is opposed to Judeo-Christian ethics or principles
and tradition are blocking even the discussion of the issue. The
lines are being drawn; watch what side of the battlefield your senator
or congressman toes up to.
Finally The Passion of The Christ has been
so hotly debated. Secularists, most who didn’t even see the
film, have denounced it as anti-Semitic and violent. They have personally
vilified the producer/director Mel Gibson. But all the hype is once
again an attempt to camouflage what is really happening here. On
one side of the arena are those who do not want any discourse or
reference made to religion, particularly to the religion of Christianity.
The cross of Christ offends them because it confronts them with
their sin and rebellion against a holy God. So they reject it and
try to bury it in rhetoric, lies and misrepresentations. They will
not be honest with themselves or with those they wish to influence.
It is this same Jesus that does and will divide asunder. On the
other side of the arena are those, like this author, who have pledged
their allegiance to the Christ and who will not let the culture
swallow them up like so much quicksand. With our tickets and support
we are sending a clear message in this battle, that we will not
continue to be silent while our nation, and our faith, is being
denigrated and our Savior is once again being maligned by the secular
elitists who hold power and try to control thinking.
The war is being waged and it is going
to be a long and costly one. The enemy gained a beachhead, and is
advancing toward the stronghold. The very fiber of our being, our
history, tradition, faith and families are in the balance. This
is not a time to be giving up. This is not a time to be having petty
in-family quarrels. This is a time to stand united in our core beliefs
about what is really important in our society and wag the war with
courage and boldness. It is time to stay the course. If we do have
to watch our nation dissolve and sink into an immoral cesspool,
let’s be the ones that refuse to leap in for the swim. Keep
your garments spotless pilgrim; it’s going to get really dirty
on this battlefield.
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