I hate politicizing this blog. I know I have in the past. I know that I’ve given in to my emotions and let myself rant about all sorts of social and political issues. It’s not why I created Morning Medications so many years ago.
But the Death of Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, Trump ally, and conservative activist, poured gasoline on an already raging fire in news and social media.
Kirk was only 31 years old, younger than any of my adult children. He was a husband and father. He was a Christian. He was also a lightning rod.
What was shocking to me wasn’t necessarily Kirk’s death but rather the reaction to it.
In light of the recent election the U.S. and especially the power surge of disapproval regarding the President-Elect, I wanted to reflect on how each candidate, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, has used Christianity as part of their political platform.
…growing up, she and her sister went to a neighborhood church, where they sang her favorite hymn, “Fill My Cup, Lord,” in the children’s choir. When she was sworn in as vice president, she put her hand on a Bible that belonged to the woman who took her to that church.
According to Pew Research, almost all Presidents have been Christians or at least declared themselves as such.
In this July 29, 2009, file photo, financial guru Dave Ramsey sits in his broadcasting studio in Brentwood, Tenn. Ramsey Solutions later moved to a new corporate headquarters in Franklin. (AP Photo/Josh Anderson, File)
I suppose Christmas Day isn’t a really great time to write this, but it’s on my list and I’ve got the time.
First of all, I’m not a “Christian-basher” in any sense. Although I haven’t gone to church since Mom died (I took her to her Lutheran church as long as she was physically able to go and arranged for the Pastor to visit her regularly after she wasn’t) and I don’t relate very well to traditional Christian doctrine, I understand that this is how currently the non-Jewish disciples of Jesus express their faith.
I should say that the people who are Christian bashers are out in force in social media, particularly X (formerly known as twitter). Consider Darwin, The UnVirgin Mary, Tori atheist, and Gregory Knight to name a few. These are people who not only don’t believe (and they have plenty of company) but who go way out of their way to insult and ridicule all religious people and particularly Christians.
I suppose they feel threatened. At least that’s how I read it.
A Man praying holding a Holy Bible. DUNCAN ANDISON/ADOBE STOCK
So far in this series, I’ve been addressing how to define a man, his purpose (from part four) and the struggles of men from mostly a secular viewpoint. I’ve also been leaning heavily on feminism because, in spite of what fourth stage feminism and general progressivism says, it’s very hard to bring one group up without tearing another group down.
Certainly, there has been a great need in some areas to support women but as I’ve previously said, any effort to “dismantle the patriarchy” ends up dismantling men as individuals and a group as well. One example is changing the Boy Scouts of America from a boys/men only group aimed at building and nurturing the next generation of men to an equity for all poster child, including girls/women because anything “all male” is always deemed “non-inclusive,” “patriarchy,” and “misogynistic.”
In other words, many of the goals of feminism are resulting in creating the toxic masculinity they are trying to exterminate.
By now I’m sure you have all heard of, if not seen (perhaps multiple times) the Barbie (2023) movie starring (and produced by) Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Depending on who you talk to, it’s either “the most subversive blockbuster of the 21st century” (Rolling Stone magazine) or “Just a doll movie” (Whoopi Goldberg).
Women are often accused of being ‘overly’ sensitive. We’re told we need to stop taking things so seriously. May I direct your attention to the men getting unreasonably upset at Greta Gerwig’s film Barbie?
I’ve never seen the movie, and unless my eight-year-old granddaughter begs me to view it with her, I have no motivation to go. After all, I’m nearly seventy and a guy. Why would I want to see it?
I really don’t like how my banging my head against the values of the secular world inspires these blog posts, but then I suppose that’s one of the valid topics of discussion on a platform such as this one.
I was on LinkedIn, which as you might imagine, should be innocuous being business oriented. However. someone with whom I share a Linked in group shared this. It was accompanied by the image at the top, and I’ve been asked to give attribution for it to Dr. Batsheva Guy (a LinkedIn login is required – you can find out more about her at Weebly).
At least in our little corner of the western, post-modern world, there are two kinds of people (well, three actually): Antiracist and Not Racist (and Racist). In fact, from what I’m reading, people who might classify themselves as “Not Racist” might really be considered “Racist” by the “Antiracists.”
As an aside, just looking at the chart above, I don’t fit into any of those “pigeon holes.”
I’ve encountered the concept of Antiracism from a variety of sources, not the least of which is Ibram X. Kendi, author of numerous books on the topic including Antiracist Baby (I kid you not, it’s a real book and it’s not a parody).
The best and most comprehensive summary I’ve found comes from the Smithsonian’s “National Museum of African American History & Culture” called Being Antiracist.
"When you awake in the morning, learn something to inspire you and mediate upon it, then plunge forward full of light with which to illuminate the darkness." -Rabbi Tzvi Freeman
Morning Meditations 