Unity – The New Intolerance

Political Myth

The Electorate Fears Political Disunity
Yet, By Definition Different Political Views

Must Be Different, thus, Disunity

Much is being written about the recent spat of publicity surrounding the shootings both by the police and of the police. There are true and false positions on both sides of these issues. I listened in uncomfortable discomfiture when both political representatives spoke, both at the memorial and in other venues.

The problem is that neither side was listening to the other side. Both spoke of unity but both did not define their terms and thus were speaking different languages. No one was listening to the other. This demand for unity can lead to only one outcome – totalitarianism, beneficent or otherwise.

What is unity? According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary it is the state of being in full agreement. In its most simplest form all parties must agree to exactly the same terms under the same conditions for the same goals. Nearly every news program on every news channel decries the disunity between the Republicans and Democrats in government. Yet, should there not be disagreement if they believe in different methodologies, different solutions and even different definitions for the same words? If both parties were unified then in effect there would only be one political party and that is commonly called a dictatorship. So, why would both sides beg for unity when only one side will achieve total power and the other side will achieve oblivion? They would merge to expand their power at the expense of the people whom they supposedly represent.

Now, this would normally be a clarion call for action and violence would erupt. No one wants a “civil war” but guess what; one is coming! During the early to mid-19th century exactly the same currents were brewing in America. The North did not understand the lifestyle of the South and vice versa. The North used the same terms as the South: unity, patriotism, peace and so forth. Yet, as time went on each side became entrenched in its own rhetoric. The Second Great Awakening added morality to the mix setting each side in concrete; that is, neither side would and soon could not retreat from their stated position. Slavery was the catalyst (neither side really wanted to free the slaves for a variety of reasons) but power was the prize. After four years of bloody conflict, the central government won the prize and power began to flow to Washington until it is the monolith we have today.

Political Graph

What Does This Graph Represent?
Nothing Because This is Not the Problem!

Political Spectrum

What Does This Graph Represent?
Nothing Because It Obfuscates the Problem

These graphs represent nothing more than “smoke and mirrors” because no one understands them and they only disguise the problem. President Obama speaks to his loyal following and they listen. Those who are not of his flock hear the words but they do not understand the message. They trot out their “facts”, which are true but entirely irrelevant, but the faithful flock is not listening. His following is growing and he is graciously lending part of it to Mrs. Clinton for her election probably in return for the only currency that matters in government, power.

Now, if you are not of President Obama’s flock then you do not understand the issues. The speakers that you follow cannot be heard by his flock because they do not understand the message. Do you see what is repeating in our history? We are becoming increasingly locked into a racial conflict that really has nothing to do with race but everything to do with POWER! Neither side can hear the other and we have seen in our lifetimes the increasingly entrenched position that not only invites violence but demands violence. Once positions become inflexible rhetoric becomes increasingly incoherent and sporadic violence erupts until general violence becomes the primary means of persuasion. That was the crude but effective lesson from the Civil War.

Each side will be extremely faithful to its beliefs even to the point of death. The Islamists have nothing on us as the Civil War proved. A look at any major battle shows that men stood and died en masse believing the cause for which they fought, on both sides. Yet, behind the violence are the brokers of power vying for more power by using their faithful for their own ends. Everyone loses except for the power brokers.

Why discuss this in a Christian blog? Christ warned that this would occur. He stated that there would be wars and rumors of wars with increasing violence as these latter days continue (Mt 24:6-7). We have witnessed this in history and in our own times. He also declared the real purpose of these violent times, destruction of those who following the True Shepherd and preach the true Gospel (Mt 24:9-14). In other words, the Christian is the real target because we preach the foolishness that condemns the machinations of the world, revealing their true goals. Jude discusses how they care nothing for others but only for their own gain yet Christians consistently seek worldly salvation through political processes, processes originally developed by Cain and used by Satan to keep man enslaved to sin!

I pray for the oppressed, but I pray for their souls for that is the only true freedom. I pray for those who call themselves Christians because their love for the Gospel is growing cold as their fire is consumed on the affairs of the world that detract from the freedom that the Gospel brings to the soul. I pray for us because without discernment, Christian maturity, many will fall away because of the persecution. We are all like Peter who, in our own strength and understanding, would betray Christ in a heartbeat to save ourselves. The immature will seek to stand in their own strength and be swept aside, ignoring the warnings of the maturing Christians who have come to realize the deceitfulness of their flesh.

We pray for the families of all who are suffering tonight both for their loss and for the salvation of their souls. Those who died who were saved are with Christ in eternal bliss. But those who died in their sins have left their tribulations behind to encounter the absolute truth of sin’s destruction. These are the real victims because they now know the truth. Beloved, let us keep our eye fixed on the true issue of this world, their absolute need for the Gospel.

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