Two Paths to Tyranny
Election 2020 has been interesting to say the least, and as we count down to Election Day, I feel like I have both so much and so little to say. I doubt we’ll know when the election results will be clear and what they may bring. I believe it likely that some people will seize the opportunity to sow further civil discord, hoping and praying that I’m wrong. I can see so many possibilities, but only one thing is certain: God is Sovereign. His will be done!
Two extreme possibilities exist, and many things in between.
I look to the Left and see a potential victory that would immediately distribute soma to a populace tired of fighting while rapidly solidifying a power-base so secure that an anomaly like MAGA could never happen again. America would be reorganized with a new constitution, and while it may not be called “socialist” it would be indistinguishable from the “communist menace” feared by past generations. I could envision rebel pockets of resistance emerging, fighting for an ideal from a bygone era.
I look to the Right and see the Left-leaning media again surprised by a landslide GOP victory, one that aggressively weeds out the corruption in media, education and politics, which in its zeal to drain the swam silences voices of reason and compassion. I could envision violence erupting in the streets to protest the election outcome as leftist rhetoric inundates mainstream news and social media feeds.
And in the middle, I see a people that is so divided in what it values that whether the visions above are long-term or short-term possibilities, they will yet be inescapable… unless we come together in what we value and agree to principles that support those values.
What do we value as a nation? Are these worthy values?
The question is not how far we have strayed or where have we failed to live up to those values. It is in the foundation of what do we choose to value moving forward. Once upon a time, the motto E Pluribus Unum meant something, yet as I read posts and prayers for Unity, I question if most people understand what that means. E Pluribus Unum is a Latin phrase that means One from Many. That is a unity that brings people together under a common banner, a common set of values. However, Unity without vision is a road to tyranny, that calls everyone to tow the party line whether it is to the far left or the far right. Unity under a common set of values is what made America a nation that became One from Many.
Yet now, we are a nation divided, where the values and principles of the Left and the Right are in such stark contrast that any call for true unity is impossible. We cannot be unified in word only; unity can only be cemented in a common set of values.
What does that mean for the future of our nation and how can we respond to this challenge?
Do we even know what we value? Do we believe what we value? Our behavior is an indicator what we believe, but our beliefs are both conscious and unconscious. Our values and will either shape our beliefs or succumb to beliefs that have yielded to mindless habits. Human beings cannot live in constant cognitive dissonance, where our behavior is inconsistent to what we believe. It’s our nature to rationalize our inappropriate behavior to be consistent with what we believe, often allowing our beliefs to change because of our misbehavior. In this downward spiral to depravity, we rationalize our errors to eventually tout them as praiseworthy. This is the path to the reprobate mind. It is the prevailing culture in America.
But there is another path, one where our values shape our beliefs and guide our behavior. Foundational to any set of values is spirituality. Spirituality is not religion, although religious structures are used to promote spirituality. Even atheists are spiritual, filled with a set of secular beliefs that drive their actions. Marx was such an atheist, and he proclaimed that religion is the opiate of the public. It’s true that religion has historically been used to enslave and oppress people. Yet this nation was founded upon a belief in the Judeo-Christian God by a people who were themselves fleeing religious tyranny. Their experience under religious oppression shaped a value for religious liberty. Do you see the difference in perception: Marx saw religion as the source of oppression, but our founding fathers rightly saw religious liberty as an empowering principle of this nation.
The Founding Fathers valued God and His ways, and while the constitution is not the direct revelation of God, it reflects the values of Judeo-Christian scriptures and provides practical techniques to curb the corrupt nature of mankind. These practices worked for a couple hundred years, staving off tyranny’s reign and even self-correcting to recognize the rights of all people, regardless of race or gender. So where did we start to diverge on the two paths to Tyranny? When we removed the free expression of belief in God from public places!
It was only a matter a time for our nation to splinter once we no longer valued public expression of religious belief. If God is Sovereign, then man is not, and consequently a person is called to humbly play their part to reflect God’s ways with whatever power or influence they have been granted. But if the question of God’s Sovereignty is irrelevant, then the most powerful man becomes king and his will the law of the land. It is a path to tyranny, and the only way back is through a common set of values as described by the only One Who has ever been fully good and fully God, the Author and Creator of what is truly right.
America will no longer be beautiful if it worships any other set of values.
When I vote this year, it will be to restore those ideals that made us into a beautiful nation. It will not be for a man or a political party. I will vote for religious liberty and for the lives of every one of our people. I will vote to cleanse our nation of its corruption and pray for greater ability in this cause. May God help us, cleanse us and heal us!
copyright ©2020 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)
