Divided for the Conquering . . .

By now, most of us have realized, having a black president did not relax racial tension.  On the contrary, the tension seems to be heightened, while our President and First Lady continue to draw attention to racial conflict.  Undoubtedly, there are white racists in this country, but there are also black race baiters.  Meanwhile young people of all races are watching, believing the programming they are being fed from the side in which they are standing.  For whatever reason, tolerance calls us to hate bigots while baiters are given a free pass.  This country is, once again, racially divided.  Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD appear to have stepped back in time, and now college campuses offer "ethnic safe spaces."  The author of the article linked makes no bones about the fact, color speaks louder than freedom of the press.

Religious division is really gaining ground, even amongst those who claim the same basic beliefs.  Every week, I find at least two articles addressing the exodus from the church.  Then there are the various factions of the latest Hebraic movement that really seem rather denominational in their grouping and discussion.  The anti-religious seem to be able to unite in their anti-theism and are sadly gaining numbers and power over the public square.  The division is quite real, and the aggression against those with different beliefs is gaining momentum.  While the evangelicals tend to be divided Sunday morning, they are politically united at the polls.

Law enforcement is becoming quite militarized and while I do believe we still have some good cops, I also know there are some ruthless bad ones.  The police brutality has caused much division racially, as well as a general tone of "them vs. us" for a number of years, and now the biker situation in Texas has raised even more skepticism and distrust.  The truth is, when there is a bad guy breaking and entering, 911 is the link to our beloved law enforcement that is there to protect and serve.  On the other hand, when cruising down the highway and we see the lights on top of the car, the "them vs. us" is apparent with our own adrenaline charge and memory of every brutality video on the net.

There has been a generation gap since the dawn of creation, and along with that, the different standard of morality.  A decline in standards is a rapid drop.  Adam and Eve with their forbidden fruit, to the next generation committing murder speaks of the rapid decline of civility in this world.  The generational blame that has occurred in this country, I find to be quite, stale; for lack of a better word.  We all know the baby boomers economically and morally destroyed America and are destroying what's left . . .  Although the blame rolls off my shoulders like water off a duck's back, I will admit the boomers, as a whole sold out and haven't done much to improve the situation.  The generational division has always been, but the blame, well maybe . . . much of the church still teaches everyone is paying for past generational sins all the way back to the Garden.  Perhaps we lack the civility to not let a different perspective divide us; but blaming each other will absolutely bring division.

The Supreme Court is about to serve up a whopping dish of division with the same sex marriage decision coming in June.  There is NO way this will not bring division.  If they render a decision against same sex marriage, the gay agenda will explode.  If the decision is in favor of same sex marriage, the Supreme Court has exalted itself above Scripture, which will result in calamity of Biblical proportion.  This division will be the ultimate LOSE/LOSE for our society.  LGBT has made no bones about it. They are aggressive and will be relentless.  In the 2013 decision regarding DOMA, as the LGBT representatives stood on the steps in Washington a spokesperson for the group stated, "this is not enough."  From what I can see, the agenda wants our children, our businesses, our money, and our submission, and I don't know if that will be enough!

Thanks to mainstream media, every small glitch, and every misunderstanding can now be exaggerated internationally and blown completely out of proportion, while lacking context and be quoted as truth, while we all state, "I just don't trust mainstream media."  I find myself leaning toward news sources that are definitely outside of mainstream, yet fact checking can be very difficult and I certainly do not want to give a false report.  All things considered, though, fact checking mainstream media, doesn't offer much reassurance either.  Operation Jade Helm 15 continues to be downplayed in the news officially, while those of us trying to keep it on the radar are billed as conspiracy theorists.  More division, always more division.

Sadly, our politics appears to be divided by all of the divisive topics . . . Or perhaps, our politics are simply choreographed to give the appearance of party division, rather than the true division which is between "the powers that be" and "we the people."  Since that line appears to be based upon wealth, perhaps it's time to stop watching the politicians for leadership, and stop listening to the media for answers, and realize the love of money is the root of all evil and the only true refuge is found in our Creator.

And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  ~ words of Messiah

We've Been Played

This past week marked the tenth anniversary of this blog.  In ten years, although there have been many changes, some things have remained consistent.  This blog continues to be about politics and religion.  The politics of this country continue to be a source of division, and the only unity in religious direction of this country seems to be the direction away from our Creator.

I had a "light bulb moment" this week regarding our political parties.  Both parties have a targeted audience to which they appeal and a targeted audience on which they cast blame.  That seems obvious, of course, but I've discovered the underlying foundation in which the candidates of both parties play the people.  There are a few simple facts that we all know.  The population of inner cities tend to be primarily black, poor, and democrat.  The population of rural America tends to be primarily white, often bigoted, and republican.  Both stereotypes are not always true, but the generalization is all the political folks need to keep the wheels turning.  So, we've got the foundation for the racial division that makes headlines.

The next obvious division is between business owners and the "working class" formerly known as employees.  Business owners used to be part of the working middle class!  Some still are, but they are becoming few in number.  What has served to divide the inner city and sparsely populated rural America is now used to divide suburbs and mainstreet America.  The real difference in this, is a mindset that the politicians play on.  Politicians are powerful employees that want to not only maintain their benefits package, but to increase it at the employers expense, a.k.a.  "we the people."  What used to be business men and farmers taking a few years to serve in Washington and going back to their businesses, land, and facing their constituents has turned into career politicians, and they have virtually no sense of business, production, or economics.

There is a different mindset to get up knowing there is no time clock and no hourly wage or salary.  Self-employment has to produce a finished product.  There is no A for effort.  There is F, not only for fail, but also for incomplete!  Business owners take risks, hourly workers can't imagine, or aren't willing to take.  On the other hand, good employees are essential to a business.  There used to be a real security in being a good employee, on  someone else's clock, but that security no longer exists.  Business owners, on start up, put in hours that cannot be compensated for, on an hourly scale.  Business owners do not start their business with six and seven digit salaries.  There are also many hard working people who are underpaid, but for the most part, those workers are in health care and child care, not factories or technical trade.  There are many employees who make far from minimum wage, without the headaches of business ownership or management.

Now, what the politicians do; is get  these two groups all fired up based upon the extreme foundation already established.  The democrats are told if they are not making what the boss is making, they are being oppressed by rich republicans.  The republicans are told democrats want to live off their hard work and take their savings and businesses.  The reality is, the political machine is regulating businesses into bankruptcy and insolvency, while creating higher costs for what's left of the middle class and the underemployed.  They do all this while blaming partisan politics for no job creation.   Entrepreneurs create jobs, when they are not regulated into forfeiture.  Skilled labor is the backbone of the economy, but skilled labor is only needed when the population needs what skilled labor produces.  There is not a business in the world that can exist, only to pay employees and provide benefits.  The only entity that does that is our government . . .

What our political process has done is create a symbiotic "imbalance" placing the burden of taxation without the tax breaks of the wealthy or tax credits of the poor, on the dramatically reduced population of what's left of the middle class.  Much of the middle class that produced a strong economy was comprised of independent business owners and family companies.  This single move that began noticeably in the early 80s has culminated now to the point, Americans literally loathe the "other party" and blame each other economically.  Sadly, our leaders knew the root to plant and cultivate, that would divide the people.  Even sadder, we have been willing participants.  Well played Washington, well played.

For the love of money is the root of all evil . . .



  

Really, Now . . .

The baby boomers are apparently the most powerful generation to have ever lived, as we are blamed for all the ills in the world today.  As an aging boomer, my newly discovered perspective is gaining momentum in my life.  Recently there was an article stating that this latest generation of gamers, is the fault of the Boomers!  I wish I could type an apathetic shrug, but, the "eye roll guy" will also work to convey my heartfelt responsibility.  Every generation is a product of their "raising," yet the Boomers have been the catchall blame generation from both ascending and descending generations.  

                      
>>>Some boomers with less cash at their disposal made up for it through helicopter parenting and undeserved flattery that exaggerated their kids’ abilities. A whole generation now bears the hollow self-esteem and inflated expectations that come from weak parenting. <<<

I did that, I admit it.  I didn't do the helicopter parenting, because that's the way I was raised, but I did a great deal of undeserved flattery and the exaggerated self-esteem is evident!  I didn't mean to do it, but as it turns out, I tired to do just the opposite of what my "silent generation" parents did.  I didn't want my daughter to feel as inferior about herself, as I did.  My adopted children who did not have my influence through their formative years don't have the same exaggerated self-esteem, so my "boomer blame" is definitely deserved, in that area!  As for debt and social security, no.  

I was one of the few boomers that never really sold out to the establishment, although I did try to swim in mainstream for a bit, it just didn't work out for me.  I've been living debt free and simply for nearly 20 years and broke and poor before that!  The last of the American inheritances are going to long term care for the Greatest Generation!  In the past twenty years, I've made provisions intending to leave an inheritance, as well as working until I die.  With the economy what it is, we may all be working til we die and who knows if dollars will even be worth the monopoly money it is now.  I don't believe in collecting social security.  According to Torah and confirmed in Paul's writings, the parents are to provide for the children and social security operates in diametrical opposition.

In our family, the generations are so close together, the defining lines truly blur.  My parents were teens when I was born, and I was also a teenaged mother . . .  At 56 years of age, I still have a grandma living, and I am a great grandma, 
so . . . the beat goes on.  My parents arrived right before WWII, so they are among the youngest of the silent generation.  I've never met anyone of the silent generation who isn't quite vocal and opinionated on everything, and especially opinionated on the subject of baby boomers.  The boomers were blamed for everything that went wrong in the sixties . . . and the seventies . . . right on up to the millennials. 

 Actually, we could play this blame game farther back, if you consider, the fact that the Boomers didn't exactly just crawl out from under rocks and ruin the world!   Why we could blame the people who raised us, and they could blame the people who raised them . . . and you know, we could go all the way back and blame Adam and Eve!

The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.  Torah of Holy Scripture