thestream--2020-08-31--An Open Letter to Anti-Racist Author Ibram Kendi

Congratulations !
You have no doubt moved into your new position at Boston University now , where you will direct the Center for Anti-Racist Research .
Your book How to be an Anti-Racist has sold millions of copies .
Your teachings seem to have won the day in America .
BLM signs choke lawns , sports leagues shut down whenever a black man is killed by police , and corporations pour millions into your cause .
You have also survived a frightening bout with cancer — all before the age of 40 .
Keep safe .
In short , you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to you .
You ’ re one of the most powerful people in America .
Reading your book , I felt more sympathy with you than I ’ d expected for the author of a work I think is contributing to America ’ s deep harm right now .
You reject the radical racism of the Nation of Islam .
You go out of your way to explain that you , too , are guilty of the only sin that seems to matter these days , racism .
And you recognize that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is strange to me , ” as the Roman Terence put it .
Your parents , who got to know each other , and Black Power , at an Intervarsity rally , sound like wonderful people .
I have been “ privileged ” in that way , too .
Your loss of faith saddens me , though you don ’ t discuss it directly .
The faith of Intersectionality you came to embrace in its place seems a shallow thing by comparison .
“ A racist policy , ” you write , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial inequality between racial groups.
” Does that mean the NBA is racist if few of its players are Asian ?
If Native Americans are shot by police far more often than Korean or Chinese Americans , even if cops can ’ t distinguish between shades of skin ?
Or if Blacks die of heart disease more often than Japanese-Americans , must that be credited to racism ?
I have passed much of my life as a minority , too .
Aside from living in Chinese , Japanese , English , Russian , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ streets of my hometown as an ideological minority .
I studied at the University of Washington , where your fellow best-selling “ Woke ” author , Robin DiAngelo , researched “ white privilege.
” But in fact , universities actively seek minority faculty and students : Whites are the only major ethnic group that is seriously underrepresented on our campus .
More important still is Woke Privilege .
Unlike DiAngelo , I had to leave to do my doctoral studies , because prejudice at American universities is more political than racial .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , you and DiAngelo enjoy distinct advanages .
As sociologist George Yancey and others have shown , the Academy discriminates against both Christians and conservatives .
I disagree with your fundamental assumptions about race and society .
Do you mind ?
Perhaps you imagine my disagreement arises from a subconscious hunger for power .
Young as you are , you have far more power than I do .
But political power is not quite as central to my thinking .
We are both scholars , and thus in theory committed to truth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your mind , for instance in recognizing that white people are not devils , and realizing that anyone can be a racist .
Let me try to change your mind again .
You recognize that skin color is superficial , but fail to deduce that power gradients may change over time .
Therefore also the perpetrators and victims of injustice may change .
Those scapegoated today may not be genetically descended from those lynched a century ago .
Cultural Revolutions are all about ganging up on new victims .
( I explain the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little ebook , Letter to a Racist Nation : Pull Yourself Together , America ! )
You write a great deal about police killing African-Americans , the overriding concern of the Black Lives Matter movement , which you enthusiastically endorse .
On the top of Page 148 , for instance , you name six Blacks who had been killed by officers , defining those killings as “ racist.
” But after talking at length about how terrible this problem supposedly is ( Roland Fryer at Harvard paints a rather different picture ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about the “ racist fears of Black criminals ” that “ Black residents ” feel .
The reasoning by which you justify blaming Blacks for fear of Black criminals is a sight to behold : “ Black people seemed to be more worried about other Black people killing them in drug wars or robberies by the thousands each year than about the cancers , heart diseases , and respiratory diseases killing them by the hundreds of thousands each year.
” Police seem to kill some ten Blacks and a few times as many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nor in the process of committing violent crimes .
By your logic , one is “ racist ” to worry about thousands of black-on-black murders ( not to mention other crimes ) , because hundreds of thousands die in the hospital .
But one is also racist not to obsess ( as the Woke Revolution does ) over a number of innocent Blacks killed by police that is three orders of magnitude smaller !
This is the great mystery of 2020 : why does one innocent life ended by police matter so much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Has it never crossed your mind that police officers are people too ?
And that scapegoating them is just as evil as scapegoating and trash-talking any other class of human beings ?
( And more harmful ! )
Have you ever asked how many lives police save ?
In forty years on various forces , my brother plucked people from islands in the middle of raging rivers and from burning vehicles .
My brother faced down mobs alone .
He busted people who committed violent crimes .
He also saved lives by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cars stop instead of running over pedestrians .
I don ’ t recall hearing him mention the skin color of those he saved .
Often , he could not know .
Having lived among nine peoples on three continents , I am keenly aware of the texture of human cultures .
I have learned languages , studied ancient texts , and spent years on remote roads among peoples you have probably never heard of .
Leave your Critical Studies bubble , I urge you .
Read Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Ruth Benedict to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on life .
You claim that “ inequities ” in pay or life expectancy can only be the product of two things : genetic differences , or racism .
That is your fundamental assumption .
And because you deny that human beings differ much genetically ( I agree ) , racism must be all around us , creating inequalities which you read as injustices justifying your obsession ( and your new Center for Anti-Racist Research , and to many , these riots ) .
Many immigrant groups are far richer than white Americans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chinese who have lived in Indonesia or Malaysia for many generations , and suffered terrible discrimination , are far wealthier than Javanese or Malays .
Similarly , Jews were persecuted terribly in Europe , yet emerged from the tunnel of those horrors with wealth and a startling percentage of Nobel Prizes .
You say Whites live longer than Blacks , but fail to mention that Asian Americans live much longer than either .
You say heart disease and cancer kill far more Blacks than gang violence , but overlook the relationship between disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ culture .
Whether we eat miso soup with onions , tofu and seaweed , or chips and Coke , will help determine our span .
Why ?
Not because Chinese or Jews are better , and certainly not because governments always smoothed their paths .
Those whose cultures encourage pursuit of wealth or education above all , tend to gain those rewards .
What we eat , too , will eventually leave its mark on our bodies .
That is no value judgement .
Jesus warned that wealth makes it harder to enter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with aboriginals in Taiwan , and came to deeply appreciate the “ diversity ” of that little nation .
I danced and sang at two in the morning with tribal youth in the basement of Taipei Mountain Church .
“ Ah-ya-e-o-e !
” their rendering of Psalm 121 burst from my lips as I climbed Mount Tai in Mainland China , “ From Ye-he-hua comes my help !
” How rich blended aboriginal , Hakka , Minnan , Mainland , and Japanese cultures have made the island-state of Formosa !
Though also troubled @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too , have lent America , and the world , tremendous riches .
Your enthusiasm for Black culture shines through your writing : It is one of the most attractive parts of the story you tell .
Searching for perfect equality of outcome among peoples , is like searching for equality anywhere in Nature — among planets , pearls , basketball teams or bugs .
Steven Pinker is a poor historian but he gets one thing right : Only plague , famine , war or other disaster can bring humanity to a common @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it creates wealth .
North Korea is probably more equal than Silicon Valley , despite all the liberals who populate the latter .
I am no expert , but would tend to call African-American culture “ loose , ” compared to a more “ tight ” Japanese culture .
The conflict between “ loose ” and “ tight ” cultures goes all the way back to a bar-room brawl between the wild man Enkidu and the despot Gilgamesh that begins the oldest written story in the world , The Epic of Gilgamesh .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ to favor loose cultures , but so do jazz , blues , and rock and roll .
But while human variety is beautiful , cultures , like people , can be fractured .
What breaks us are the lies we believe : “ Eat the fruit !
Your eyes will be opened !
” “ Don ’ t worry about rings and vows !
What counts is if you love one another !
” “ Society conspires against you !
Blame The Man !
” Not only do all human lives matter , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ form us and add beauty and meaning to life .
They also deform us , put nooses or bricks in our hands , and make our hearts sing as we smash someone we see as less than human : Jew , Negro , Capitalist , Cop .
Look at American cities right now .
I am afraid to ask which ones will be burning when this article is published .
You seem a man of empathy .
I ’ ll bet you can see the perspective of the shop owner watching windows smashed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ old lady afraid to leave her apartment , whether or not you can step into the shoes of the police officer who has stood on the line for months to be spat upon .
You felt compassion for the Asian kid on the bus whom “ Smurf ” tormented .
Am I wrong to recognize in that the Jesus your parents taught you in your youth ?
Could He still be there , poking through later shards of ideological armor ?
You admit , “ Only basketball and parental shame stopped me from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reluctant to recognize the devastation missing parents have on other boys ?
Perhaps you should listen less to your BLM friends , and more to Mona Charen or Heather MacDonald .
Your most attractive quality is sincerity , but you need to take that honesty to a higher level .
Mobs are scapegoating men who protect the weak and innocent .
Shop-keepers are going broke , and businesses moving out .
You have helped turn “ racism ” into an unfalsifiable sin .
You ’ ve helped make it worse than murder or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for anger that can never be quenched , because it is based on vague untruths .
Even after Malcolm X became a leader of men and women , he found the courage to say , “ I was wrong.
” You admire him , I know : I hope you will learn this from him , as well .
Much is at stake for you .
Marx was not completely wrong : Class helps determine consciousness .
You stand at the apex of the academic totem pole , and have won the respect @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York Times and Atlantic gladly publish you .
But your teachings have done great harm .
You have misdiagnosed the moment , and poured oil on a raging fire , trying to keep us from freezing to death .
Return to the vastly richer wisdom of Christ .
Throw off the filthy rags of second-hand Marxism that smothers that wisdom in your soul .
Please learn from the Great Physician , and help us heal this hurting land .

Dear Dr. Kendi:
Congratulations! You have no doubt moved into your new position at Boston University now, where you will direct the Center for Anti-Racist Research. Your book How to be an Anti-Racist has sold millions of copies. Your teachings seem to have won the day in America. BLM signs choke lawns, sports leagues shut down whenever a black man is killed by police, and corporations pour millions into your cause. You have also survived a frightening bout with cancer — all before the age of 40. Keep safe.
In short, you have become something that might seem paradoxical to you. You’re one of the most powerful people in America.
Reading your book, I felt more sympathy with you than I’d expected for the author of a work I think is contributing to America’s deep harm right now. You reject the radical racism of the Nation of Islam. You go out of your way to explain that you, too, are guilty of the only sin that seems to matter these days, racism. And you recognize that “I am human, and nothing human is strange to me,” as the Roman Terence put it.
Your parents, who got to know each other, and Black Power, at an Intervarsity rally, sound like wonderful people. I have been “privileged” in that way, too. Your loss of faith saddens me, though you don’t discuss it directly. The faith of Intersectionality you came to embrace in its place seems a shallow thing by comparison.
Woke Privilege
“A racist policy,” you write, “is any measure that produces or sustains racial inequality between racial groups.” Does that mean the NBA is racist if few of its players are Asian? If Native Americans are shot by police far more often than Korean or Chinese Americans, even if cops can’t distinguish between shades of skin? Or if Blacks die of heart disease more often than Japanese-Americans, must that be credited to racism?
I have passed much of my life as a minority, too. Aside from living in Chinese, Japanese, English, Russian, and tribal societies, I walk the streets of my hometown as an ideological minority. I studied at the University of Washington, where your fellow best-selling “Woke” author, Robin DiAngelo, researched “white privilege.” But in fact, universities actively seek minority faculty and students: Whites are the only major ethnic group that is seriously underrepresented on our campus.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
More important still is Woke Privilege. Unlike DiAngelo, I had to leave to do my doctoral studies, because prejudice at American universities is more political than racial. In our field (all power is contextual), you and DiAngelo enjoy distinct advanages. As sociologist George Yancey and others have shown, the Academy discriminates against both Christians and conservatives.
I disagree with your fundamental assumptions about race and society. Do you mind? Perhaps you imagine my disagreement arises from a subconscious hunger for power. Young as you are, you have far more power than I do.
But political power is not quite as central to my thinking. We are both scholars, and thus in theory committed to truth. You often describe how you changed your mind, for instance in recognizing that white people are not devils, and realizing that anyone can be a racist.
Let me try to change your mind again.
Are Cops Really Racist?
You recognize that skin color is superficial, but fail to deduce that power gradients may change over time. Therefore also the perpetrators and victims of injustice may change. Those scapegoated today may not be genetically descended from those lynched a century ago. Cultural Revolutions are all about ganging up on new victims. (I explain the psychology of modern Woke scapegoating in my little ebook, Letter to a Racist Nation: Pull Yourself Together, America!)
You write a great deal about police killing African-Americans, the overriding concern of the Black Lives Matter movement, which you enthusiastically endorse. On the top of Page 148, for instance, you name six Blacks who had been killed by officers, defining those killings as “racist.” But after talking at length about how terrible this problem supposedly is (Roland Fryer at Harvard paints a rather different picture), in the very next paragraph you write about the “racist fears of Black criminals” that “Black residents” feel. The reasoning by which you justify blaming Blacks for fear of Black criminals is a sight to behold:
“Black people seemed to be more worried about other Black people killing them in drug wars or robberies by the thousands each year than about the cancers, heart diseases, and respiratory diseases killing them by the hundreds of thousands each year.”
Police Are People, Too!
Police seem to kill some ten Blacks and a few times as many Whites a year who are neither armed nor in the process of committing violent crimes. By your logic, one is “racist” to worry about thousands of black-on-black murders (not to mention other crimes), because hundreds of thousands die in the hospital. But one is also racist not to obsess (as the Woke Revolution does) over a number of innocent Blacks killed by police that is three orders of magnitude smaller! This is the great mystery of 2020: why does one innocent life ended by police matter so much more than a thousand ended by criminals?
Has it never crossed your mind that police officers are people too? And that scapegoating them is just as evil as scapegoating and trash-talking any other class of human beings? (And more harmful!)
Have you ever asked how many lives police save? In forty years on various forces, my brother plucked people from islands in the middle of raging rivers and from burning vehicles. My brother faced down mobs alone. He busted people who committed violent crimes. He also saved lives by taking drunks off roads and ensuring that cars stop instead of running over pedestrians. I don’t recall hearing him mention the skin color of those he saved. Often, he could not know.
Culture, not Race Determines the Real Differences
Having lived among nine peoples on three continents, I am keenly aware of the texture of human cultures. I have learned languages, studied ancient texts, and spent years on remote roads among peoples you have probably never heard of. Leave your Critical Studies bubble, I urge you. Read Ayaan Hirsi Ali or Ruth Benedict to understand the impact culturally defined worldviews have on life.
You claim that “inequities” in pay or life expectancy can only be the product of two things: genetic differences, or racism. That is your fundamental assumption. And because you deny that human beings differ much genetically (I agree), racism must be all around us, creating inequalities which you read as injustices justifying your obsession (and your new Center for Anti-Racist Research, and to many, these riots).
Searching for perfect equality of outcome among peoples, is like searching for equality anywhere in Nature — among planets, pearls, basketball teams or bugs.
Many immigrant groups are far richer than white Americans. Indians are wealthiest of all. Chinese who have lived in Indonesia or Malaysia for many generations, and suffered terrible discrimination, are far wealthier than Javanese or Malays. Similarly, Jews were persecuted terribly in Europe, yet emerged from the tunnel of those horrors with wealth and a startling percentage of Nobel Prizes.
You say Whites live longer than Blacks, but fail to mention that Asian Americans live much longer than either. You say heart disease and cancer kill far more Blacks than gang violence, but overlook the relationship between disease and diet, which is part of culture. Whether we eat miso soup with onions, tofu and seaweed, or chips and Coke, will help determine our span.
Why? Not because Chinese or Jews are better, and certainly not because governments always smoothed their paths. Those whose cultures encourage pursuit of wealth or education above all, tend to gain those rewards. What we eat, too, will eventually leave its mark on our bodies. That is no value judgement. Jesus warned that wealth makes it harder to enter the Kingdom of God.
Richness of Differences
I lived with aboriginals in Taiwan, and came to deeply appreciate the “diversity” of that little nation. I danced and sang at two in the morning with tribal youth in the basement of Taipei Mountain Church. “Ah-ya-e-o-e!” their rendering of Psalm 121 burst from my lips as I climbed Mount Tai in Mainland China, “From Ye-he-hua comes my help!” How rich blended aboriginal, Hakka, Minnan, Mainland, and Japanese cultures have made the island-state of Formosa! Though also troubled, at times.
African-American cultures, too, have lent America, and the world, tremendous riches. Your enthusiasm for Black culture shines through your writing: It is one of the most attractive parts of the story you tell.
You felt compassion for the Asian kid on the bus whom “Smurf” tormented. Am I wrong to recognize in that the Jesus your parents taught you in your youth?
Searching for perfect equality of outcome among peoples, is like searching for equality anywhere in Nature — among planets, pearls, basketball teams or bugs. Steven Pinker is a poor historian but he gets one thing right: Only plague, famine, war or other disaster can bring humanity to a common level. Capitalism creates inequities, because it creates wealth. North Korea is probably more equal than Silicon Valley, despite all the liberals who populate the latter.
I am no expert, but would tend to call African-American culture “loose,” compared to a more “tight” Japanese culture. The conflict between “loose” and “tight” cultures goes all the way back to a bar-room brawl between the wild man Enkidu and the despot Gilgamesh that begins the oldest written story in the world, The Epic of Gilgamesh. Both have their advantages.
COVID seems to favor loose cultures, but so do jazz, blues, and rock and roll.
Cultural Challenges
But while human variety is beautiful, cultures, like people, can be fractured. What breaks us are the lies we believe: “Eat the fruit! Your eyes will be opened!” “Don’t worry about rings and vows! What counts is if you love one another!” “Society conspires against you! Blame The Man!”
Not only do all human lives matter, all cultures matter, too. They form us and add beauty and meaning to life. They also deform us, put nooses or bricks in our hands, and make our hearts sing as we smash someone we see as less than human: Jew, Negro, Capitalist, Cop.
Look at American cities right now. I am afraid to ask which ones will be burning when this article is published. You seem a man of empathy. I’ll bet you can see the perspective of the shop owner watching windows smashed and goods looted, or the little old lady afraid to leave her apartment, whether or not you can step into the shoes of the police officer who has stood on the line for months to be spat upon.
You felt compassion for the Asian kid on the bus whom “Smurf” tormented. Am I wrong to recognize in that the Jesus your parents taught you in your youth? Could He still be there, poking through later shards of ideological armor?
Please Rethink This
You admit, “Only basketball and parental shame stopped me from dropping out.” Why are you so reluctant to recognize the devastation missing parents have on other boys? Perhaps you should listen less to your BLM friends, and more to Mona Charen or Heather MacDonald.
Your most attractive quality is sincerity, but you need to take that honesty to a higher level. Mobs are scapegoating men who protect the weak and innocent. Shop-keepers are going broke, and businesses moving out. You have helped turn “racism” into an unfalsifiable sin. You’ve helped make it worse than murder or incest. It gives mobs an excuse for anger that can never be quenched, because it is based on vague untruths.
Even after Malcolm X became a leader of men and women, he found the courage to say, “I was wrong.” You admire him, I know: I hope you will learn this from him, as well.
Much is at stake for you. Marx was not completely wrong: Class helps determine consciousness. You stand at the apex of the academic totem pole, and have won the respect of millions for your teachings. The New York Times and Atlantic gladly publish you. But your teachings have done great harm. You have misdiagnosed the moment, and poured oil on a raging fire, trying to keep us from freezing to death. Return to the vastly richer wisdom of Christ. Throw off the filthy rags of second-hand Marxism that smothers that wisdom in your soul. Please learn from the Great Physician, and help us heal this hurting land.
David Marshall holds a B.A. in “the Russian and Chinese Languages and Marxism,” an M.A. in Chinese Religions, and a Ph.D. in Christian Thought and Chinese Tradition. His most recent book is Jesus is No Myth: The Fingerprints of God on the Gospels.


thestream--2020-08-31--Intel Chief Says He has Filed Multiple ‘Crimes Reports’ Over Classified Leaks

John Ratcliffe , the director of national intelligence , said Sunday he has filed multiple “ crimes reports ” regarding alleged leaks of classified information to the media .
“ When I become aware of intelligence community information that is disclosed unlawfully , I do what ’ s called a crimes report .
I ’ ve done that now on a number of occasions , and so those investigations are moving forward , ” Ratcliffe said on Fox News ’ s Sunday Morning Futures .
Ratcliffe said that the timing of any prosecutions from the investigations “ would be something @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” “ I think that they will down the road , ” he added .
Ratcliffe , who was confirmed to his current post on May 21 , announced Saturday that he is revamping intelligence community briefings provided to Congress , citing a series of leaks of classified information to news outlets regarding Russia ’ s efforts to interfere in the 2020 election .
Ratcliffe said he wants to avoid “ a repeat of what happened a month ago , ” a reference to a briefing he gave to all members of Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in American politics .
Ratcliffe said that he asked lawmakers not to disclose any of the classified information from the briefing , but he asserted that “ within minutes of that one of those briefings ending , a number of members of Congress went to a number of different publications and leaked classified information.
” He said that the leaks were “ for political purposes ” to create what he said is a false narrative “ that somehow Russia is a greater national security threat than China.
” Ratcliffe ’ s decision to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrats who say that he is withholding information about Russian meddling to provide political cover for President Donald Trump .
Ratcliffe did not provide details about which leaks have spurred him to file crimes reports .
Republicans have long called on the Justice Department to more aggressively investigate leaks that sprung during the FBI and special counsel ’ s Trump-Russia investigations .
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience .
For licensing opportunities of our original content @ @ @ @ @ @ @

John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, said Sunday he has filed multiple “crimes reports” regarding alleged leaks of classified information to the media.
“When I become aware of intelligence community information that is disclosed unlawfully, I do what’s called a crimes report. I’ve done that now on a number of occasions, and so those investigations are moving forward,” Ratcliffe said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.
Ratcliffe said that the timing of any prosecutions from the investigations “would be something that the FBI would have to address.”
“I think that they will down the road,” he added.
Ratcliffe, who was confirmed to his current post on May 21, announced Saturday that he is revamping intelligence community briefings provided to Congress, citing a series of leaks of classified information to news outlets regarding Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2020 election.
Ratcliffe said he wants to avoid “a repeat of what happened a month ago,” a reference to a briefing he gave to all members of Congress regarding foreign governments’ efforts to interfere in American politics.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Ratcliffe said that he asked lawmakers not to disclose any of the classified information from the briefing, but he asserted that “within minutes of that one of those briefings ending, a number of members of Congress went to a number of different publications and leaked classified information.”
He said that the leaks were “for political purposes” to create what he said is a false narrative “that somehow Russia is a greater national security threat than China.”
Ratcliffe’s decision to limit election-related intelligence briefings prompted outrage from Democrats who say that he is withholding information about Russian meddling to provide political cover for President Donald Trump. Ratcliffe did not provide details about which leaks have spurred him to file crimes reports. Republicans have long called on the Justice Department to more aggressively investigate leaks that sprung during the FBI and special counsel’s Trump-Russia investigations.
Copyright 2020 The Daily Caller News Foundation
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].


thestream--2020-08-31--Biden Blames Trump for Execution of Trump Supporter. Look in the Mirror, Joe

A Trump supporter was executed on the streets of Portland Saturday night .
And on Sunday , Joe Biden blamed … Since Memorial Day weekend , Antifa and BLM have been rioting in our cities , destroying people ’ s hard-built businesses , stealing , looting , beating up innocent people , threatening lives .
Until the middle of last week , Joe Biden , Kamala Harris , the Democratic Party and their media partners refused to say a word about it .
“ Peaceful protests ” was the term uttered over and over and over again .
Don Lemon @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Seattle ’ s mayor spoke of a “ summer of love.
” Portland ’ s mayor , with a snark that would have gotten me spanked as a kid , rejected all of Trump ’ s help to quell the destruction in his city .
Even last week , a CNN chyron read a “ A fiery but mostly peaceful protest ” as Kenosha burned to the ground .
No one during four days of the Democratic National Convention said a word bout the violence .
Not a word .
What can anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ?
Then they saw the polling .
Then they heard from the focus groups .
Joe Biden and the Democratic party were in a free fall .
The party of Antifa was losing America .
The America that saw Antifa for what it is turned to Trump .
All American saw Saturday ’ s Portland execution .
It ’ s an outrage .
“ We ’ ve got a couple of them right here !
” you hear someone shout .
Seconds later shots .
A man is dying in the street @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that a Trump supporter has been murdered , Antifa cheers .
Portland .
Which has seen constant rioting for months .
Portland .
Where the mayor and governor refused President Trump ’ s pleas to let the feds in to help stop the violence .
That Portland finally experienced the murder that was inevitable when violent people are allowed to do what they want .
Suddenly , just as fast as Biden drops trunks in front of female Secret Service agents , Democrats are talking about the violence .
They ’ re talking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Antifa and BLM .
Sunday , Joe Biden put out a statement , claiming Trump “ incited ” the violence .
The ever-repulsive Adam Schiff echoed it .
In a startling , revolting twist , Portland mayor Ted Wheeler blamed Trump as well .
It ’ s Not Going to Work Newsflash : It ’ s not going to work .
Even as the puppet media picks up the theme .
It ’ s not going to work .
Biden , Harris , Obama , the rest of the Democratic establishment and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own the Antifa/BLM violence like Liz Taylor owned jewels .
Like Jeffrey Epstein owned his pedophilia island .
Like Kamala Harris ’ ancestors owned slaves .
Their silence as good souls like black Trump supporter Bernell Trammell were assassinated , and countless Trump supporters , including Alice Johnson , have been subjected to assault , paid its dividend Saturday night .
Murder , once again .
It ’ s what happens when important people encourage violence and hatred .
Read Biden ’ s Statement .
Does he condemn Antifa or BLM ?
No @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
For example , he blames Trump for instigating violence by not telling his supporters to avoid confrontations .
Like Rand Paul and Alice Johnson exiting the White House Thursday night ?
Understand the diseased Democratic mind .
What does “ avoiding confrontation ” mean ?
It means publicly expressing your support of Trump … or for that matter the police .
Simply showing support for Donald Trump is “ instigating violence.
” A MAGA hat , Don Lemon tells us , is a trigger .
A Trump supporting caravan down Ventura Blvd @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outrage .
( And gunfire . )
As was the case for Trump supporters , including children , shot at in South Carolina last week .
Not that it made national news .
Yes , Joe , you ’ re right .
The temperature has risen during Trump ’ s term .
But from who ?
From the moment Donald Trump was elected , to this very moment , the left has been in an all-out , violent “ resistance.
” Remember Madonna dreaming about bombing the White House ?
That was one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week , Biden repeated the Charlottesville slander that Trump called white nationalists and Nazi ’ s “ very good people.
” At every point in between , outrage , violence .
Speakers assaulted on campuses , honest workers canceled by their companies .
Maxine Waters urging Democrats to “ get in their faces ” wherever they may be .
Don ’ t talk to me about temperature , Joe .
Your supporters who burned Minneapolis and Kenosha and Seattle raised the temperature enough .
And we know where the heated rhetoric has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden is leaving his bunker Monday to repeat the attack on Trump in Pittsburgh .
Before you believe a syllable out of Biden ’ s mouth , remember it was his campaign staffers paying to bail out rioters in Minneapolis .
It was his running mate who was urging donations to get further violent offenders out , and declaring protesters “ should not ” let up .
( Among those the Minnesota Freedom Fund or MFF bailed out was a suspect accused of firing on a SWAT team , reports Fox 9 .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in prime time to address the skyrocketing crime and violence and rioting in Democrat-controlled cities .
Instead he spent 20 minutes talking about the light … as if he had not been cashing in and banking on the darkness .
But it did not work .
Decent Americans saw what was happening .
His chances are slipping away as fast as his memory .
By blaming Trump , by blaming the victims , and not renouncing Antifa and BLM , Joe Biden has given a green light for further violence against Trump supporters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he is saying , now that the polls show him in hot water .
“ But it ’ s their fault.
” That ’ s Antifa ’ s argument for its violence .
It ’ s the classic argument of the abuser .
Biden ’ s little statements will not stop his leftist mobs .
By making his “ anti-violence ” pitch about Trump he ’ s giving fuel to anti-Trump violence .
Let ’ s pray Biden finally stands up and shows himself to be a statesman .
It ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won ’ t risk offending the Democratic party ’ s military wing .
But for divine intervention , more Trump supporters will be hurt .
More Trump supporters will be killed .
And so let us pray for that divine intervention .
Otherwise it ’ s going to be a devil of an autumn .
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author , with @ JZmirak , of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration .
You can follow him at @ StreamingAl .
And if you aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Streamdotorg .

A Trump supporter was executed on the streets of Portland Saturday night. And on Sunday, Joe Biden blamed …
Donald Trump.
Since Memorial Day weekend, Antifa and BLM have been rioting in our cities, destroying people’s hard-built businesses, stealing, looting, beating up innocent people, threatening lives. Until the middle of last week, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party and their media partners refused to say a word about it. “Peaceful protests” was the term uttered over and over and over again. Don Lemon and Chris Cuomo laughed about it. Seattle’s mayor spoke of a “summer of love.” Portland’s mayor, with a snark that would have gotten me spanked as a kid, rejected all of Trump’s help to quell the destruction in his city.
Even last week, a CNN chyron read a “A fiery but mostly peaceful protest” as Kenosha burned to the ground.
No one during four days of the Democratic National Convention said a word bout the violence. Not a word. What can anyone think but that they all approved of it?
In Free Fall
Then they saw the polling. Then they heard from the focus groups. Joe Biden and the Democratic party were in a free fall. The party of Antifa was losing America. The America that saw Antifa for what it is turned to Trump.
All American saw Saturday’s Portland execution. It’s an outrage. “We’ve got a couple of them right here!” you hear someone shout. Seconds later shots. A man is dying in the street. And later, as word spreads that a Trump supporter has been murdered, Antifa cheers.
After finding out that it was a "blue lives matter" supporter who was killed, antifa in Portland are very happy. They're dancing and chanting now. #PortlandRiots pic.twitter.com/PeqyVUXfNE — Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) August 30, 2020
Portland. Which has seen constant rioting for months. Portland. Where the mayor and governor refused President Trump’s pleas to let the feds in to help stop the violence. That Portland finally experienced the murder that was inevitable when violent people are allowed to do what they want.
Suddenly, just as fast as Biden drops trunks in front of female Secret Service agents, Democrats are talking about the violence. They’re talking about it alright. But not about Antifa and BLM.
Sunday, Joe Biden put out a statement, claiming Trump “incited” the violence. The ever-repulsive Adam Schiff echoed it. In a startling, revolting twist, Portland mayor Ted Wheeler blamed Trump as well.
It’s Not Going to Work
Newsflash: It’s not going to work. Even as the puppet media picks up the theme. It’s not going to work. Biden, Harris, Obama, the rest of the Democratic establishment and the media — they own this. They own the Antifa/BLM violence like Liz Taylor owned jewels. Like Jeffrey Epstein owned his pedophilia island. Like Kamala Harris’ ancestors owned slaves.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Their silence as good souls like black Trump supporter Bernell Trammell were assassinated, and countless Trump supporters, including Alice Johnson, have been subjected to assault, paid its dividend Saturday night.
Murder, once again. It’s what happens when important people encourage violence and hatred.
It’s On, Old Joe
Read Biden’s Statement. Does he condemn Antifa or BLM? No. It’s all about Trump. For example, he blames Trump for instigating violence by not telling his supporters to avoid confrontations. Like Rand Paul and Alice Johnson exiting the White House Thursday night?
For more on the sinking Democratic campaign, see Peter Wolfgang’s The Democrats Can Feel the Election Slipping Away, and Biden Going Down.
Understand the diseased Democratic mind. What does “avoiding confrontation” mean? It means publicly expressing your support of Trump … or for that matter the police. Simply showing support for Donald Trump is “instigating violence.” A MAGA hat, Don Lemon tells us, is a trigger. A Trump supporting caravan down Ventura Blvd. in L.A. is a cause for outrage. (And gunfire.) As was the case for Trump supporters, including children, shot at in South Carolina last week. Not that it made national news.
Yes, Joe, you’re right. The temperature has risen during Trump’s term. But from who? From the moment Donald Trump was elected, to this very moment, the left has been in an all-out, violent “resistance.”
Remember Madonna dreaming about bombing the White House? That was one day after Trump was inaugurated. Just last week, Biden repeated the Charlottesville slander that Trump called white nationalists and Nazi’s “very good people.” At every point in between, outrage, violence. Speakers assaulted on campuses, honest workers canceled by their companies. Maxine Waters urging Democrats to “get in their faces” wherever they may be.
Don’t talk to me about temperature, Joe. Your supporters who burned Minneapolis and Kenosha and Seattle raised the temperature enough. And we know where the heated rhetoric has come from. Need a reminder?
The most important video of 2020
pic.twitter.com/3nMNlxl5Q8 — ELIJAH RIOT (@ElijahSchaffer) August 31, 2020
Biden is leaving his bunker Monday to repeat the attack on Trump in Pittsburgh. Before you believe a syllable out of Biden’s mouth, remember it was his campaign staffers paying to bail out rioters in Minneapolis. It was his running mate who was urging donations to get further violent offenders out, and declaring protesters “should not” let up. (Among those the Minnesota Freedom Fund or MFF bailed out was a suspect accused of firing on a SWAT team, reports Fox 9.)
Remember, Biden had eight hours in prime time to address the skyrocketing crime and violence and rioting in Democrat-controlled cities. Instead he spent 20 minutes talking about the light … as if he had not been cashing in and banking on the darkness.
But it did not work. Decent Americans saw what was happening. His chances are slipping away as fast as his memory.
More Violence Ahead
By blaming Trump, by blaming the victims, and not renouncing Antifa and BLM, Joe Biden has given a green light for further violence against Trump supporters. “Sure, violence is wrong,” he is saying, now that the polls show him in hot water. “But it’s their fault.” That’s Antifa’s argument for its violence. It’s the classic argument of the abuser.
Biden’s little statements will not stop his leftist mobs. By making his “anti-violence” pitch about Trump he’s giving fuel to anti-Trump violence. Let’s pray Biden finally stands up and shows himself to be a statesman. It’s not likely, though. He won’t risk offending the Democratic party’s military wing.
But for divine intervention, more Trump supporters will be hurt. More Trump supporters will be killed.
And so let us pray for that divine intervention. Otherwise it’s going to be a devil of an autumn.
Al Perrotta is the Managing Editor of The Stream and co-author, with @JZmirak, of The Politically Incorrect Guide to Immigration. You can follow him at @StreamingAl. And if you aren’t already, please follow The Stream at @Streamdotorg.


thestream--2020-08-31--Distraught by Citywide Unrest, Hundreds Gather to Pray in Kenosha, WI

This week , as the city of Kenosha , Wisconsin , became a national epicenter of grief and protest , churches united to respond .
Christian clergy of diverse ethnicities and denominations joined together for public prayer gatherings that have swelled from dozens to hundreds of believers .
“ Prayer fuels movements , ” Lawrence Kirby , lead pastor of Acts Church Kenosha , told me .
“ I ’ m not suggesting we only pray and that ’ s all .
But we can ’ t belittle the power of reaching out to God , connecting with God , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday evening , a crowd of nearly 300 Christians came together at Kenosha ’ s iconic Harbor Park on Lake Michigan .
Local worship leaders led songs as about ten local ministers — some with clerical collars , some wearing basketball jerseys — led inspirational , emotive prayers .
Reportedly , more than a dozen churches participated .
Wisconsin ’ s biggest newspaper , the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , streamed the event live on YouTube .
Reporter Sophie Carson wrote : “ Several faith leaders [ stated ] healing is possible through love @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anglican priest who serves Light of Christ Anglican Church , led prayer alongside his friend Kirby .
“ Lamenting is a way of being present to the real situation , ” he said in a phone interview .
“ Christ became flesh and dwelt among us , in order for us to know that God really is with us in our vulnerability .
“ The authority of the church to be a healing agent in the culture has to do with our willingness to so love that we enter into the sorrow , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of unity followed the shooting of Jacob Blake III , a 29-year-old black man and father of six children who is hospitalized and reportedly paralyzed following a policing incident currently under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice .
For three nights starting Monday , hundreds gathered in downtown protests resulting in damage to local businesses and other fallout .
But Kirby , who lives downtown , says many of the protestors were not from Kenosha .
“ Our entire city is about 100,000 people , ” said Kirby .
“ I know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movements .
And I ’ m telling you , walking downtown early this week , I ’ ve seen loads of people that I don ’ t recognize and aren ’ t from Kenosha.
” By Thursday , unrest in Kenosha had subdued to a smaller , peaceful contingent — in no small part because of how Blake ’ s family has responded , according to clergy .
“ I ’ ve been blown away by the grace that his family is manifesting , ” said Olsen .
“ Clearly his mother wants @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who went to extremes , she has spoken about the value of preserving our city ’ s family businesses and how to respond rightly.
” On Wednesday , Blake ’ s mother Julia Jackson addressed a news conference .
“ My son has been fighting for his life , ” she said through tears .
“ And we really just need prayers .
As I was riding through the city , I noticed a lot of damage .
The violence and the destruction … doesn ’ t reflect my son or my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her statement .
“ Only his mother had the moral authority and the platform to speak those words of peace , and she did .
I ’ m amazed by how much she has been talking about Jesus.
” The family has roots in the African Methodist Episcopal ( AME ) denomination .
“ They have a history of faith and advocacy back to his grandfather , Reverend Jacob Blake , Sr. , ” said Kirby .
“ He pastored Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston , Illinois , one of the flagship churches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have sought political solutions to the tensions in Kenosha .
Yet Pastor James Ward , a pastor to the Blake family for over 30 years , spoke powerfully about the need to approach the issue as a spiritual problem , as well .
“ It ’ s a sin problem and not a skin problem , ” Ward told CNN .
“ Sin is the root .
Racism , these other things , are the fruit .
And … if you keep picking the fruit off the tree , and you don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fruit ’ s only going to grow back .
That ’ s why we hear calls for change each time , but we don ’ t see change because we ’ re not dealing with the root.
” One way local pastors have been addressing the spiritual root of these problems is through collaborative public prayer gatherings .
And Olsen said the foundation for this movement had already been laid when the protests began , through longstanding relationships among clergy .
“ For three years , I ’ ve met weekly with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each other , ” he said .
“ Then another group of city pastors are more activist on social justice .
As Jesus followers , they are committed to protest injustice in peaceful ways .
We all united this week.
” The son of a minister , Kirby noted prayer strategies long used by the black church .
“ When we look at the civil rights movement , momentum was born out of people who prayed , ” he said .
“ Before every protest , march , sit-in , demonstration , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ This citywide ecumenical relationship-building reflects the model that OneRace Movement has pioneered in the Atlanta area , with hundreds of pastors involved .
Kirby , who co-leads the justice-focused clergy group in Kenosha , says honesty and humility are vital to cross-cultural relationships .
“ What black people in America face is vastly different than what my white brothers and sisters experience , ” he said .
“ Certain words and actions perpetuate stereotypes of African Americans .
What takes the most time in honest relationships is to expose someone to those experiences.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Olsen — who is Kirby ’ s elder by a few decades — affirmed he has learned a lot by listening to trusted friends of color .
“ The only way to do this well is to get close [ with ] people of different lived experiences and ethnic backgrounds , ” said Olsen .
In weeks ahead , other collaborative prayer events are being planned .
And Olsen , quoting local pastor Scott Lee , said , “ I have faith we will see a miracle on the waters .
Where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be reconciliation .
And where once there was destruction , there will be a thriving , flourishing community.
’ ” *Disclosure : Fr .
Eirik Olsen serves on the board of The Roys Report .
A graduate of the University of Colorado , Josh M. Shepherd covers culture , faith , and public policy issues for media outlets including The Stream and The Federalist .
Find him on Twitter and Facebook and follow The Stream @ Streamdotorg .

This week, as the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, became a national epicenter of grief and protest, churches united to respond. Christian clergy of diverse ethnicities and denominations joined together for public prayer gatherings that have swelled from dozens to hundreds of believers.
“Prayer fuels movements,” Lawrence Kirby, lead pastor of Acts Church Kenosha, told me. “I’m not suggesting we only pray and that’s all. But we can’t belittle the power of reaching out to God, connecting with God, and getting strategies from God.”
On Thursday evening, a crowd of nearly 300 Christians came together at Kenosha’s iconic Harbor Park on Lake Michigan. Local worship leaders led songs as about ten local ministers — some with clerical collars, some wearing basketball jerseys — led inspirational, emotive prayers.
Reportedly, more than a dozen churches participated. Wisconsin’s biggest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, streamed the event live on YouTube. Reporter Sophie Carson wrote: “Several faith leaders [stated] healing is possible through love and unity.”
Eirik Olsen, an Anglican priest who serves Light of Christ Anglican Church, led prayer alongside his friend Kirby. “Lamenting is a way of being present to the real situation,” he said in a phone interview. “Christ became flesh and dwelt among us, in order for us to know that God really is with us in our vulnerability.
“The authority of the church to be a healing agent in the culture has to do with our willingness to so love that we enter into the sorrow,” added Olsen.
Protests in Kenosha Make National News
This public witness of unity followed the shooting of Jacob Blake III, a 29-year-old black man and father of six children who is hospitalized and reportedly paralyzed following a policing incident currently under investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
For three nights starting Monday, hundreds gathered in downtown protests resulting in damage to local businesses and other fallout. But Kirby, who lives downtown, says many of the protestors were not from Kenosha.
“Our entire city is about 100,000 people,” said Kirby. “I know the people who are part of justice movements. And I’m telling you, walking downtown early this week, I’ve seen loads of people that I don’t recognize and aren’t from Kenosha.”
By Thursday, unrest in Kenosha had subdued to a smaller, peaceful contingent — in no small part because of how Blake’s family has responded, according to clergy.
“I’ve been blown away by the grace that his family is manifesting,” said Olsen. “Clearly his mother wants justice for her son. But to those who went to extremes, she has spoken about the value of preserving our city’s family businesses and how to respond rightly.”
On Wednesday, Blake’s mother Julia Jackson addressed a news conference. “My son has been fighting for his life,” she said through tears. “And we really just need prayers. As I was riding through the city, I noticed a lot of damage. The violence and the destruction … doesn’t reflect my son or my family.”
Olsen saw moral courage in her statement. “Only his mother had the moral authority and the platform to speak those words of peace, and she did. I’m amazed by how much she has been talking about Jesus.”
The family has roots in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) denomination.
“They have a history of faith and advocacy back to his grandfather, Reverend Jacob Blake, Sr.,” said Kirby. “He pastored Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston, Illinois, one of the flagship churches in that historically black denomination.”
Addressing Spiritual Problems with Spiritual Solutions
Many have sought political solutions to the tensions in Kenosha. Yet Pastor James Ward, a pastor to the Blake family for over 30 years, spoke powerfully about the need to approach the issue as a spiritual problem, as well.
“It’s a sin problem and not a skin problem,” Ward told CNN. “Sin is the root. Racism, these other things, are the fruit. And … if you keep picking the fruit off the tree, and you don’t kill it at the root, the fruit’s only going to grow back. That’s why we hear calls for change each time, but we don’t see change because we’re not dealing with the root.”
One way local pastors have been addressing the spiritual root of these problems is through collaborative public prayer gatherings. And Olsen said the foundation for this movement had already been laid when the protests began, through longstanding relationships among clergy.
“For three years, I’ve met weekly with a group of evangelical ministers who encourage each other,” he said. “Then another group of city pastors are more activist on social justice. As Jesus followers, they are committed to protest injustice in peaceful ways. We all united this week.”
The son of a minister, Kirby noted prayer strategies long used by the black church. “When we look at the civil rights movement, momentum was born out of people who prayed,” he said. “Before every protest, march, sit-in, demonstration, and boycott, they gathered to pray.”
This citywide ecumenical relationship-building reflects the model that OneRace Movement has pioneered in the Atlanta area, with hundreds of pastors involved. Kirby, who co-leads the justice-focused clergy group in Kenosha, says honesty and humility are vital to cross-cultural relationships.
“What black people in America face is vastly different than what my white brothers and sisters experience,” he said. “Certain words and actions perpetuate stereotypes of African Americans. What takes the most time in honest relationships is to expose someone to those experiences.”
Having grown up in majority-white suburbs, Olsen — who is Kirby’s elder by a few decades — affirmed he has learned a lot by listening to trusted friends of color. “The only way to do this well is to get close [with] people of different lived experiences and ethnic backgrounds,” said Olsen.
In weeks ahead, other collaborative prayer events are being planned. And Olsen, quoting local pastor Scott Lee, said, “I have faith we will see a miracle on the waters. Where once there was division, there will be reconciliation. And where once there was destruction, there will be a thriving, flourishing community.’”
*Disclosure: Fr. Eirik Olsen serves on the board of The Roys Report.
A graduate of the University of Colorado, Josh M. Shepherd covers culture, faith, and public policy issues for media outlets including The Stream and The Federalist. Find him on Twitter and Facebook and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.
Copyright 2020 The Roys Report. Republished with permission.


thestream--2020-08-31--Gov. Huckabee Answers a Thoughtful Letter From Left-Leaning Reader

Editor ’ s Note : In his newsletter this weekend , Gov .
Mike Huckabee answered the concerns of a left-leaning reader .
He hopes , if you like his response , you will share this column with friends and family of all political persuasions .
Just a note for my right-leaning family and friends from my left-leaning self as we near voting day : They say we want to disband police departments ( and that we hate the police ) : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want to weed out racism and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abuse their power to be held accountable .
They say we want to release all prisoners : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want to weed out racism and ensure the punishments match the crimes and to deprivatize prisons .
They say we want open borders : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want asylum seekers to be given their chance to seek asylum .
We want to help people who are cg from unimaginable terror and poverty help to give @ @ @ @ @ @ @ want to ensure children aren ’ t separated from their parents and that nobody is kept in cages .
But we do want proper vetting .
They say we want to take away your guns : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want logical gun control to help prevent mass shootings .
They say we want to wage a war on Christianity and Christian values : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want people of all religions to be able to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we want to get everything for free : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want to work hard and make sure that healthcare and education are affordable for all .
They say we want a war against traditional marriage : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We want people of all sexual orientations to be able to love freely , no matter who you love .
They say we want to destroy or rewrite history : we don ’ t , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to recognize the ugly parts of our past and do everything we can to say “ that ’ s not okay , let ’ s not honor those aggressors , let ’ s not let those things happen again ” .
They say we want to take away your constitutional rights : we don ’ t , that ’ s a lie .
We choose to believe science and wear masks and try to prevent the spread of this disease .
They say we hate America : we don ’ t , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recognize our faults and want us to do better , be better .
Stop with the us vs. them .
Stop with the straw man arguments .
Stop with the fake news .
Stop with Fox News .
Our position is one of empathy , compassion , and logic .
Stop believing the hype .
Stop with the division .
Just because we want equality for all doesn ’ t mean we want to take anything away from you .
Thanks for writing , Karen .
You are a very thoughtful and idealistic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we ” ?
When you say “ we , ” I don ’ t think you can include the leftists with power in the Democrat Party in your description of what “ we ” do and do not want .
You are a moderate , and today ’ s Democrat Party is NOT moderate .
For example , it ’ s certainly not a “ lie ” to say that many who fund and support the Democrat Party and various leftist organizations want to defund the police .
YOU don ’ t , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Congress openly call for it .
Trump wants bad cops out , of course , but law and order and the safety of Americans is a must .
It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that many who fund and support the Democrat Party want to open up prisons .
YOU don ’ t , but many of them do .
Brace yourself , but I ’ d say that your goals of rooting out racism in the prison system sound downright “ Trumpian.
” It ’ s absolutely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that many on the left want a “ borderless ” world .
YOU don ’ t , but many leftists with a lot more influence than you want exactly that .
I ’ m sure you know that the left is continuing to lie ( REALLY lie ) about Trump and the “ children in cages.
” It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that many on the left want to confiscate all guns .
YOU might not , but it ’ s the dream of many in your party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justices bent on reinterpreting the Second Amendment , they could do it .
It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that many in your party want to wage a war on Christianity or Christian values .
YOU don ’ t want to , but activists on the left are waging that war , mostly in courtrooms .
It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that some people want everything for free .
YOU don ’ t , but many do .
Democrats are seriously considering how they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rioters justify their looting .
I ’ m glad to hear you have a sense of responsibility .
Did you know that , by improving the economy so much , Trump had made it much easier for people to get jobs and work hard ?
It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that many want a war on traditional marriage .
YOU don ’ t , but some do .
( See “ Christianity , ” above . )
The next step is abolishing even the idea of marriage as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And over the past several decades , Democrat policies have helped destroy the traditional family — especially black families , where 70 percent are born out of wedlock and male role models are largely absent .
It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that many on the left want to tear down or rewrite history .
Oh , yes , they do .
YOU might see it as “ recognizing the ugly parts ” and learning from our past .
They see it not as a chance to learn , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down statues of … abolitionists , suffragettes , saints , whatever .
Many don ’ t know what they ’ re doing .
And a concerted effort to rewrite history is going on right now .
It ’ s not a “ lie ” to say that many on the left want to take away our constitutional rights .
YOU apparently don ’ t , but many in your party do .
I ’ ve touched on a few of these above .
Another right that many would love to take away — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — is freedom of speech .
As for masks , effective treatments , etc.
, there ’ s a LOT of dispute within the scientific community about all that , and , unfortunately , it got politicized .
It is absolutely not a “ lie ” to say that many on the left hate America .
YOU don ’ t , but many do , from the rioters on Seattle streets to billionaires who fund your party and leftist causes .
Some are calling for the outright destruction of our country .
Thanks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ being better.
” I ’ d love it if you would show this letter to your family and friends , both left and right-leaning .
It would be great to hear their reaction .
I fear your idealism causes you to look at your party through rose-tinted glasses , ironically at a time when the left is finally showing its true colors .
It might surprise you to hear that you sound in a lot of ways like today ’ s Republican Party .
You really are too smart and thoughtful to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Democrat Party .
Maybe they ’ re not who you think they are .
And I haven ’ t “ lied ” about them at all .
Mike Huckabee is the former governor of Arkansas and longtime conservative commentator on issues in culture and current events .
A New York Times best-selling author , he hosts the weekly talk show Huckabee on TBN .

Editor’s Note: In his newsletter this weekend, Gov. Mike Huckabee answered the concerns of a left-leaning reader. He hopes, if you like his response, you will share this column with friends and family of all political persuasions.
From Karen B:
Just a note for my right-leaning family and friends from my left-leaning self as we near voting day:
They say we want to disband police departments (and that we hate the police): we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and unnecessary police brutality and for those who abuse their power to be held accountable.
They say we want to release all prisoners: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to weed out racism and ensure the punishments match the crimes and to deprivatize prisons.
They say we want open borders: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want asylum seekers to be given their chance to seek asylum. We want to help people who are cg from unimaginable terror and poverty help to give them the chances we have. We want to ensure children aren’t separated from their parents and that nobody is kept in cages. But we do want proper vetting.
They say we want to take away your guns: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want logical gun control to help prevent mass shootings.
They say we want to wage a war on Christianity and Christian values: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all religions to be able to practice and worship freely.
They say we want to get everything for free: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to work hard and make sure that healthcare and education are affordable for all.
They say we want a war against traditional marriage: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want people of all sexual orientations to be able to love freely, no matter who you love.
They say we want to destroy or rewrite history: we don’t, that’s a lie. We want to recognize the ugly parts of our past and do everything we can to say “that’s not okay, let’s not honor those aggressors, let’s not let those things happen again”.
They say we want to take away your constitutional rights: we don’t, that’s a lie. We choose to believe science and wear masks and try to prevent the spread of this disease.
They say we hate America: we don’t, that’s a lie. We just recognize our faults and want us to do better, be better.
Stop with the us vs. them. Stop with the straw man arguments. Stop with the fake news. Stop with Fox News. Our position is one of empathy, compassion, and logic. Stop believing the hype. Stop with the division. Just because we want equality for all doesn’t mean we want to take anything away from you.
From Governor Huckabee:
Thanks for writing, Karen. You are a very thoughtful and idealistic person. But who is this “we”? When you say “we,” I don’t think you can include the leftists with power in the Democrat Party in your description of what “we” do and do not want. You are a moderate, and today’s Democrat Party is NOT moderate.
For example, it’s certainly not a “lie” to say that many who fund and support the Democrat Party and various leftist organizations want to defund the police. YOU don’t, but many of them do. Some in Congress openly call for it. Trump wants bad cops out, of course, but law and order and the safety of Americans is a must.
It’s not a “lie” to say that many who fund and support the Democrat Party want to open up prisons. YOU don’t, but many of them do. Brace yourself, but I’d say that your goals of rooting out racism in the prison system sound downright “Trumpian.”
It’s absolutely not a “lie” to say that many on the left want a “borderless” world. YOU don’t, but many leftists with a lot more influence than you want exactly that. I’m sure you know that the left is continuing to lie (REALLY lie) about Trump and the “children in cages.”
It’s not a “lie” to say that many on the left want to confiscate all guns. YOU might not, but it’s the dream of many in your party. With a handful of Supreme Court justices bent on reinterpreting the Second Amendment, they could do it.
It’s not a “lie” to say that many in your party want to wage a war on Christianity or Christian values. YOU don’t want to, but activists on the left are waging that war, mostly in courtrooms.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
It’s not a “lie” to say that some people want everything for free. YOU don’t, but many do. Democrats are seriously considering how they’re going to do reparations. Rioters justify their looting. I’m glad to hear you have a sense of responsibility. Did you know that, by improving the economy so much, Trump had made it much easier for people to get jobs and work hard?
It’s not a “lie” to say that many want a war on traditional marriage. YOU don’t, but some do. (See “Christianity,” above.) The next step is abolishing even the idea of marriage as a partnership; why not polyamory? And over the past several decades, Democrat policies have helped destroy the traditional family — especially black families, where 70 percent are born out of wedlock and male role models are largely absent.
It’s not a “lie” to say that many on the left want to tear down or rewrite history. Oh, yes, they do. YOU might see it as “recognizing the ugly parts” and learning from our past. They see it not as a chance to learn, but to exercise mob rule, pulling down statues of … abolitionists, suffragettes, saints, whatever. Many don’t know what they’re doing. And a concerted effort to rewrite history is going on right now.
It’s not a “lie” to say that many on the left want to take away our constitutional rights. YOU apparently don’t, but many in your party do. I’ve touched on a few of these above. Another right that many would love to take away — and they’re working on it — is freedom of speech. As for masks, effective treatments, etc., there’s a LOT of dispute within the scientific community about all that, and, unfortunately, it got politicized.
It is absolutely not a “lie” to say that many on the left hate America. YOU don’t, but many do, from the rioters on Seattle streets to billionaires who fund your party and leftist causes. Some are calling for the outright destruction of our country. Thanks to them, America is far from “being better.”
I’d love it if you would show this letter to your family and friends, both left and right-leaning. It would be great to hear their reaction. I fear your idealism causes you to look at your party through rose-tinted glasses, ironically at a time when the left is finally showing its true colors. It might surprise you to hear that you sound in a lot of ways like today’s Republican Party. You really are too smart and thoughtful to be led around by the far-leftists of the Democrat Party. Maybe they’re not who you think they are. And I haven’t “lied” about them at all.
Mike Huckabee is the former governor of Arkansas and longtime conservative commentator on issues in culture and current events. A New York Times best-selling author, he hosts the weekly talk show Huckabee on TBN.


thestream--2020-09-01--Why Gender Ideology is Decadent

Why Gender Ideology is Decadent

“ When people accept futility and the absurd as normal , the culture is decadent.
” — Jacques Barzun , From Dawn to Decadence ( 2000 ) Prof. Barzun ’ s whose life and work spanned most of the 20th century .
He saw the trajectory .
We ’ re just about there .
Biologically male “ transwomen ” can now strike a blow for equality by dominating women ’ s sports .
Children who feel they are the opposite sex from their biological sex get to override their parents ’ veto of “ transitioning ” treatments .
Transgender activists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trans-exclusionary radical feminists.
” Male gay couples “ have a baby ” when they rent some woman ’ s womb to bear a child conceived artificially with sperm from one of them .
Thus , absurdity trods the path to normality .
Decadence is upon us .
But what , exactly , is absurd about gender ideology ?
Consider just a few questions .
Progressives peddling gender ideology like to say that one is a woman if one sincerely believes one is a woman .
But if that ’ s true , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believing when you believe you ’ re a woman ?
Have you measured yourself against some generally accepted standard of womanhood ?
If so , then you believe you conform to that standard , and defy anyone to contradict you .
But if that ’ s what you ’ re doing , then you don ’ t really think it ’ s enough for being a woman that you believe you ’ re one .
You grant that “ being a woman ” has some objective meaning apart from your beliefs .
You @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meaning covers yourself ( among others ) .
Your belief that you ’ re a woman can thus be judged true or false by some standard that others accept as well as you .
That at least would make sense , even if you ’ re wrong about meeting the standard .
Whether right or wrong , though , you ’ ve given up the idea that believing one is a woman is enough for being a woman .
But some claim to reject any such “ objective ” standard — like many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is fluid.
” In such a case , a biological male who rejects the “ objective ” standard of womanhood , but still believes he ’ s a woman , would hold that “ being a woman ” means only what his imperial self decrees it means — if only for himself .
But if that ’ s so , we ’ re back in Wonderland : “ ‘ When I use a word , ’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone , ‘ it means just what I choose it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ‘ The question is , ’ said Alice , ‘ whether you can make words mean so many different things.
’ ‘ The question is , ’ said Humpty Dumpty , ‘ which is to be master — that ’ s all.
’ ” So the claim that being a woman ( or man ) means just what one chooses it mean destroys the usefulness of such terms as “ woman ” and “ man.
” It ’ s just an exercise of raw will-to-power that destroys the boundaries of the relevant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knows what they ’ re supposed to be .
It ’ s quite a dilemma , really : You either give up the claim that believing one is a member of a certain sex suffices for membership in that sex , or you make the very terms involved meaningless , save as clubs with which to beat others if they dare to question you .
What Does Transgender Mean ?
Then there ’ s the question what the term “ transgender ” could itself mean .
Many have thought it means changing one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anyone plausibly claim to to do that ?
If one “ feels like ” a member of the sex opposite to one ’ s natal sex , that ’ s a motive for changing one ’ s visible sexual characteristics to conform to the opposite sex ’ s .
But that doesn ’ t change one ’ s chromosomal makeup , which itself determines one ’ s natal sex even at the embryonic stage in the womb , and thus causes the development of visible sexual characteristics .
That ’ s just scientific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we say that a person who changes their body so as to appear to be a member of the opposite sex has just — mutilated themselves , not changed sex ?
The now-common answer is that if one feels like a member of the sex opposite to one ’ s natal sex — whatever that means — then that is one ’ s true “ gender identity.
” So a female can think of herself as a male “ trapped in a wrong body.
” Such “ gender dysphoria , ” unfortunately , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ girls , even though physicians and psychiatrists don ’ t agree it ’ s a problem .
But the answer just given lands us back in the original dilemma .
If “ feeling like ” a member of the opposite sex is tantamount to believing as much , that can not suffice to make one a member of that sex , unless membership in a sex means all and only what one says it means — in which case the very concept is useless .
And I ’ m not even getting into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gender fluidity and multiple genders .
It is politically correct to swallow the absurdities of gender theory , or at least to pretend one does .
That ’ s the truly decadent , and alarming , development .
Michael Liccione earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and has taught at several institutions , mostly Catholic .
These include the Catholic University of America , the University of St. Thomas ( Houston ) , and Guilford Technical Community College .
A former editor at First Things , he writes regularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and other sites .

“When people accept futility and the absurd as normal, the culture is decadent.” — Jacques Barzun, From Dawn to Decadence (2000)
Prof. Barzun’s whose life and work spanned most of the 20th century. He saw the trajectory. We’re just about there.
Gender ideology is a striking example.
Gender Ideology
Biologically male “transwomen” can now strike a blow for equality by dominating women’s sports. Children who feel they are the opposite sex from their biological sex get to override their parents’ veto of “transitioning” treatments. Transgender activists deride old-line feminists as TERFs: “trans-exclusionary radical feminists.” Male gay couples “have a baby” when they rent some woman’s womb to bear a child conceived artificially with sperm from one of them.
Thus, absurdity trods the path to normality. Decadence is upon us. But what, exactly, is absurd about gender ideology?
The Absurdity of Gender Ideology
Consider just a few questions.
Progressives peddling gender ideology like to say that one is a woman if one sincerely believes one is a woman. But if that’s true, then what exactly is it you’re believing when you believe you’re a woman?
Have you measured yourself against some generally accepted standard of womanhood? If so, then you believe you conform to that standard, and defy anyone to contradict you. But if that’s what you’re doing, then you don’t really think it’s enough for being a woman that you believe you’re one. You grant that “being a woman” has some objective meaning apart from your beliefs. You just hold the further belief that said meaning covers yourself (among others). Your belief that you’re a woman can thus be judged true or false by some standard that others accept as well as you. That at least would make sense, even if you’re wrong about meeting the standard. Whether right or wrong, though, you’ve given up the idea that believing one is a woman is enough for being a woman.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
But some claim to reject any such “objective” standard — like many people fond of incanting that “gender is fluid.” In such a case, a biological male who rejects the “objective” standard of womanhood, but still believes he’s a woman, would hold that “being a woman” means only what his imperial self decrees it means — if only for himself. But if that’s so, we’re back in Wonderland:
“‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.’”
So the claim that being a woman (or man) means just what one chooses it means destroys the usefulness of such terms as “woman” and “man.” It’s just an exercise of raw will-to-power that destroys the boundaries of the relevant concepts, so that nobody but oneself knows what they’re supposed to be.
It’s quite a dilemma, really: You either give up the claim that believing one is a member of a certain sex suffices for membership in that sex, or you make the very terms involved meaningless, save as clubs with which to beat others if they dare to question you.
What Does Transgender Mean?
Then there’s the question what the term “transgender” could itself mean.
Many have thought it means changing one’s sex. But how can anyone plausibly claim to to do that? If one “feels like” a member of the sex opposite to one’s natal sex, that’s a motive for changing one’s visible sexual characteristics to conform to the opposite sex’s. But that doesn’t change one’s chromosomal makeup, which itself determines one’s natal sex even at the embryonic stage in the womb, and thus causes the development of visible sexual characteristics. That’s just scientific fact. So why can’t we say that a person who changes their body so as to appear to be a member of the opposite sex has just — mutilated themselves, not changed sex?
The now-common answer is that if one feels like a member of the sex opposite to one’s natal sex — whatever that means — then that is one’s true “gender identity.” So a female can think of herself as a male “trapped in a wrong body.” Such “gender dysphoria,” unfortunately, is now a problem epidemic among pubescent girls, even though physicians and psychiatrists don’t agree it’s a problem.
But the answer just given lands us back in the original dilemma. If “feeling like” a member of the opposite sex is tantamount to believing as much, that cannot suffice to make one a member of that sex, unless membership in a sex means all and only what one says it means — in which case the very concept is useless. And I’m not even getting into the conceptual difficulties with the concepts of gender fluidity and multiple genders.
It is politically correct to swallow the absurdities of gender theory, or at least to pretend one does. That’s the truly decadent, and alarming, development.
Michael Liccione earned his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and has taught at several institutions, mostly Catholic. These include the Catholic University of America, the University of St. Thomas (Houston), and Guilford Technical Community College. A former editor at First Things, he writes regularly for Mind and Spirit, Intellectual Takeout, and other sites.


thestream--2020-09-01--The Left’s Rhetoric Is Running Into Reality, and They’re Getting Desperate

Labels .
Language games .
Imagery .
Flooding .
Keep the people reacting .
At all costs keep them from thinking .
That ’ s the left ’ s strategy ; do they have any other ?
Do they even need one ?
This one ’ s been working just great for them — up until the last week or so .
Now it ’ s failing them .
Badly .
They don ’ t know what to do , and it shows .
They ’ re all about labels — labels that grab emotions , regardless of truth .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ they say .
That ’ s pretty ugly .
Makes you feel bad , doesn ’ t it ?
Makes you want to vote for the other side , since they must be all about unifying the country .
Nancy Pelosi , for example — now there ’ s a real unifying force for you .
She ’ s all about reaching out , getting everyone to listen and understand one another .
That ’ s why she was all over the House Judiciary Committee last month , making sure they listened closely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ share with them in testimony .
The left doesn ’ t care about divisiveness .
If they did , they ’ d act like it .
No , the word is good for political effect , nothing else .
They do the same thing with one word after another .
“ Racist.
” “ Homophobic.
” “ Xenophobic.
” “ Extremist.
” “ Supremacist.
” It ’ s manipulative as can be .
It ’ s dishonest — but it works .
It ’ s incredibly powerful , especially when , with the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they couple those labels with emotion-laden imagery and flood the country with it .
Labels .
Imagery .
Flooding tactics .
That ’ s their strategy .
Before long the nation is conditioned to react , not to think .
That ’ s when their methods reach peak power : When the people quit thinking .
The Left Is So Much Better at This Note well : It ’ s not rhetoric per se that ’ s the problem , it ’ s the dishonest , unbalanced , manipulative use they put it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and what I produce here is rhetoric , too , strictly speaking .
The word has its negative associations , but there ’ s also such a thing as doing one ’ s level best to keep it informed , honest and balanced .
That ’ s my goal , and I think overall , that ’ s a lot more characteristic of the right than it is of the left .
I ’ d even go so far as saying we ’ re lousy at this business of strategy with language @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use a word or two ; we need whole paragraphs !
Case in point : The left can say , “ Hate is not a family value.
” Just six words .
The message smacks you right in the face .
My answer goes , “ Well , of course hate isn ’ t a family value , but who ’ s hating here ?
Disagreeing with homosexuality isn ’ t equal to hating gays or lesbians .
They disagree with me , too ; is that hate ?
Why call my disagreement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Besides which , I ’ ve studied both pro-gay and pro-traditional arguments .
On balance , the pro-traditional case is more caring for more people .
I can support that opinion with all kinds of data showing how proper marriage and morality are better , more loving for more couples , more children , more families , and thus for communities , and in the long run even the whole country !
” Pathetic , isn ’ t it ?
They get their message across in six words ; it takes me @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s only enough to introduce “ all kinds of ways ” I could go on and explain further .
What they can do with bumper stickers , we can ’ t do without people sitting down and reading .
And thinking .
We need people thinking ; their strategy stops it cold .
That old gay-rights slogan is history now , though .
They don ’ t need it anymore ; they ’ ve won that one .
The big one today is , of course , “ racist.
” You don ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to be a “ racist.
” If you ’ re white , there ’ s nothing you need do to deserve the label , and there ’ s nothing you can do to un-deserve it .
Want to be an ex-racist white ?
Climb in your coffin .
Otherwise the best thing you can do about it is accept the shame .
Give up your privilege .
Give up your power .
Chelsea Clinton says whites shouldn ’ t even vote .
Funny thing : The fewer whites who vote , the more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Democratic party .
What looks at first like an anti-racist campaign turns out to be a campaign for Joe Biden , built on manipulating the word “ racism.
” That ’ s the left ’ s strategy , and they ’ ve been good at it , almost overwhelmingly so .
What happens , though , when other powerful , emotion-laden images come crashing in , and when those images reflect truth , not manipulation ?
Then its power crumbles .
You thought my hundred-word attempt at honest communication was pathetic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tell us we shouldn ’ t have presidential debates this year , because it would “ legitimize ” Donald Trump .
She ’ s playing with words there , but the attempt falls flat against real images of Joe Biden trying to think on his feet — seldom as that attempt happens — and failing , time and time again .
Worse yet , there ’ s the news media ’ s repeated “ mostly peaceful protests.
” It ’ s pitiful , really .
Usually they ’ re so good at these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It doesn ’ t stand a chance .
We see the real flames on the screen .
We the thugs threatening the innocent woman at the diner , and the senator on the streets of Washington , D.C. “ Mostly peaceful protests ” has no power against the real pictures of real shattered windows , and the real stories or real shopkeepers telling of their shattered lives .
The man wasn ’ t gunned down in the street because it ’ s mostly peaceful out there .
Still the left tries to control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us from thinking about it what ’ s really going on .
Why else even try this inane nonsense ?
This time , though , they ’ re plainly flailing .
They have no idea what to do .
Their rhetoric is powerful when it works , because images are powerful .
The left is so much better at it than we conservatives are — because they ’ re so much more comfortable with slanting language and biasing images .
This summer , though , reality is beating up their dishonesty , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ look like nothing more than impotent desperation .
Tom Gilson ( @ TomGilsonAuthor ) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books , including the recently released Too Good To Be False : How Jesus ’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality .

Labels. Language games. Imagery. Flooding. Keep the people reacting. At all costs keep them from thinking.
That’s the left’s strategy; do they have any other? Do they even need one? This one’s been working just great for them — up until the last week or so. Now it’s failing them. Badly. They don’t know what to do, and it shows.
They’re all about labels — labels that grab emotions, regardless of truth. Donald Trump is “divisive,” they say. That’s pretty ugly. Makes you feel bad, doesn’t it? Makes you want to vote for the other side, since they must be all about unifying the country.
Nancy Pelosi, for example — now there’s a real unifying force for you. She’s all about reaching out, getting everyone to listen and understand one another. That’s why she was all over the House Judiciary Committee last month, making sure they listened closely to every word William Barr had to share with them in testimony.
(I’ll be patient. You can return after you’re done laughing.)
The left doesn’t care about divisiveness. If they did, they’d act like it. No, the word is good for political effect, nothing else.
They do the same thing with one word after another. “Racist.” “Homophobic.” “Xenophobic.” “Extremist.” “Supremacist.” It’s manipulative as can be. It’s dishonest — but it works. It’s incredibly powerful, especially when, with the help of entertainment and news media, they couple those labels with emotion-laden imagery and flood the country with it.
Labels. Imagery. Flooding tactics. That’s their strategy. Before long the nation is conditioned to react, not to think. That’s when their methods reach peak power: When the people quit thinking.
The Left Is So Much Better at This
Note well: It’s not rhetoric per se that’s the problem, it’s the dishonest, unbalanced, manipulative use they put it to. I’m a writer, and what I produce here is rhetoric, too, strictly speaking. The word has its negative associations, but there’s also such a thing as doing one’s level best to keep it informed, honest and balanced. That’s my goal, and I think overall, that’s a lot more characteristic of the right than it is of the left.
Reality is beating up their dishonest imagery, and all their attempts to fight back look like nothing more than impotent desperation.
I’d even go so far as saying we’re lousy at this business of strategy with language. Just look at us. They use a word or two; we need whole paragraphs! Case in point: The left can say, “Hate is not a family value.” Just six words. The message smacks you right in the face.
My answer goes, “Well, of course hate isn’t a family value, but who’s hating here? Disagreeing with homosexuality isn’t equal to hating gays or lesbians. They disagree with me, too; is that hate? Why call my disagreement ‘hate,’ but not theirs? Besides which, I’ve studied both pro-gay and pro-traditional arguments. On balance, the pro-traditional case is more caring for more people. I can support that opinion with all kinds of data showing how proper marriage and morality are better, more loving for more couples, more children, more families, and thus for communities, and in the long run even the whole country!”
“Racist” Strategy
Pathetic, isn’t it? They get their message across in six words; it takes me almost a hundred, and that’s only enough to introduce “all kinds of ways” I could go on and explain further. What they can do with bumper stickers, we can’t do without people sitting down and reading. And thinking. We need people thinking; their strategy stops it cold.
That old gay-rights slogan is history now, though. They don’t need it anymore; they’ve won that one. The big one today is, of course, “racist.” You don’t have to be a racist anymore to be a “racist.” If you’re white, there’s nothing you need do to deserve the label, and there’s nothing you can do to un-deserve it. Want to be an ex-racist white? Climb in your coffin. Otherwise the best thing you can do about it is accept the shame. Give up your privilege. Give up your power. Chelsea Clinton says whites shouldn’t even vote.
Funny thing: The fewer whites who vote, the more power swings to her mom and dad’s Democratic party. What looks at first like an anti-racist campaign turns out to be a campaign for Joe Biden, built on manipulating the word “racism.”
When Rhetoric Meets Reality
That’s the left’s strategy, and they’ve been good at it, almost overwhelmingly so. What happens, though, when other powerful, emotion-laden images come crashing in, and when those images reflect truth, not manipulation? Then its power crumbles.
You thought my hundred-word attempt at honest communication was pathetic? Think of Nancy Pelosi trying to tell us we shouldn’t have presidential debates this year, because it would “legitimize” Donald Trump. She’s playing with words there, but the attempt falls flat against real images of Joe Biden trying to think on his feet — seldom as that attempt happens — and failing, time and time again.
Please Support The Stream : Equipping Christians to Think Clearly About the Political, Economic, and Moral Issues of Our Day.
Worse yet, there’s the news media’s repeated “mostly peaceful protests.” It’s pitiful, really. Usually they’re so good at these three-word mantras, but this one? It doesn’t stand a chance. We see the real flames on the screen. We the thugs threatening the innocent woman at the diner, and the senator on the streets of Washington, D.C. “Mostly peaceful protests” has no power against the real pictures of real shattered windows, and the real stories or real shopkeepers telling of their shattered lives. The man wasn’t gunned down in the street because it’s mostly peaceful out there.
Flailing in Desperation
Still the left tries to control the narrative, to keep the rest of us from thinking about it what’s really going on. Why else even try this inane nonsense? This time, though, they’re plainly flailing. They have no idea what to do.
Their rhetoric is powerful when it works, because images are powerful. The left is so much better at it than we conservatives are — because they’re so much more comfortable with slanting language and biasing images.
This summer, though, reality is beating up their dishonesty, and all their attempts to fight back look like nothing more than impotent desperation.
Tom Gilson (@TomGilsonAuthor) is a senior editor with The Stream and the author or editor of six books, including the recently released Too Good To Be False: How Jesus’ Incomparable Character Reveals His Reality.