It’s Friday.
I’m working from the road and things are hopping faster than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. I want to continue the conversation from yesterday’s TR 566 - Looking at Patterns in Language to Solve Root Problems With a Workable P.L.A.N., and specifically address how we can strategically communicate the values of liberty to those who’ve been so heavily steeped in progressive conditioning.
But first, I feel the need to clarify this particularly contentious passage:
The socialists are better at selling their ideas.
They have been exploiting America’s education system to do just that for the last several decades, and this has been the predominant mentality in news outlets, tech firms, and the entertainment industry for years.
The practical result, is that socialists are persuading the masses faster than the stuffy, crusty, religious prudes who are bitterly clinging to the way things used to be. I know that sounds harsh—but’s just the way that I see it.
Can we not all see the facts at hand?
In the podcast I mentioned that those “stuffy, crusty, religious prudes who are bitterly clinging to the way things used to be” were actually in good company—I align with the values—though readers may not have heard that disclaimer. The purpose of my statement was not to disparage anyone’s faith or the importance of religious life, but instead to draw the contrast between the seductive selling points of socialism and the general falling away from religion among the younger generations.
Politically speaking, if this trend is not taken into consideration, the Leftist will win, hands down, no question asked. And, as I stated in a recent op-ed to the local paper, if the Republican Party insists on using the platform to push religious beliefs, they will go the way of the Wigs, period.
The letter read as such:
TO MY FELLOW REPUBLICANS:
First, thank you to everyone who has chosen to step out of the house and engage in the local caucuses and recent county convention. Your participation in the civic process is both encouraging and essential, and it is through such engagement that practical solutions must be found.
At the county convention there was robust discussion regarding the party platform. On three separate occasions, amendments to the party platform were suggested from the floor. Here it became clear that differences of opinion existed, and that is a necessary and healthy dynamic.
Twice, suggestions were made to change language related to religious observation and family values, and twice the majority spoke with passion against making any changes. While I wholeheartedly support the majority’s position, I believe an important opportunity was missed.
My suggestion during the discussion was to make a distinction between our personal religious convictions and unifying political principles. Many people who agree with the constitutional principles of limited government and the Bill of Rights adamantly disagree on certain wedge issues, such as abortion rights and religious beliefs.
As I stated at the convention, if these contentious issues were removed from the political platform (and transitioned to local ministries and community outreach), the Republican Party would instantly become much more appealing to millions of middle-of-the-road Americans.
This message was not well received, and I fully understand why. However, I ask you once again to lift your gaze, and consider the potential of unifying the nation on common political principles, built upon mutual respect and the Constitution.
In short, we must separate our religious and political missions.
Is the fate of our nation more important than using the Party to promote our religious beliefs? I believe, unequivocally, that it is. If we cannot find common ground in constitutional principles, and instead stubbornly insist that people adopt our religious beliefs before they become Republicans, we will fail. As a result, We the People will remain divided, and our nation will fall.
Please pray about it.
Very sincerely,
Luke Throop
Goldendale
Though this way of thinking stretches the bounds of comfort for many Christian conservatives, I do believe that the fate of our nation hangs in the balance of our ability to separate our religious and political missions.
In theory, it wouldn’t be that hard. Make evangelism and fighting against abortion the central mission of your church. Get together with other churches to build coalitions and expand counseling and community outreach.
Doing so would allow the Party to remove these contentious issues from the platform, and instead focus on the unifying principles of our Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Doing that is a winning political strategy.
And, based on some quiet nods, sideways glances, and friendly emails, I do believe that this actually much more palatable than most conservatives are willing to let on. But, quite unfortunately, when someone stands up and passionately protests these changes, invoking the name of God, most conservatives back down.
Me personally, not so much.
I stand before God invoking the very logic and reason we’ve all been endowed with. What I am saying is accurate, honest, and true, and it’s coming from a humble heart.
Lifting the gaze.
On the note of building bridges by using effective communications strategies, in light of the fact that specific words activate certain parts of the brains and evoke specific emotions, let’s entertain the idea of talking to a woman who supports other women’s right to have an abortion.
This is a woman supporting other women’s rights.
Is she evil for doing so? Has God judged her for doing so?
Who the hell are you, or I, or anyone else to make such a judgement?
The arrogance of judging this woman would be utterly astounding.
“Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”
Of course, feeling the piercing, judgmental gazes of crusty religious prudes, this woman knows full-well she and her ungodly opinions are not welcome in certain circles—particularly in Christian, conservative, Republican circles.
Ouch. The truth hurts.
Keep in mind, the woman herself made be against abortion, she may be involved in local outreach and counseling, she might even be part of a ministry in her local church—and yet she still believes that every woman has the right to choose what to do with their body. Why?
Perhaps it’s because she is a woman. Perhaps it’s because she’s had personal experience with pregnancy complications. Who knows. Maybe she’s just really thought it through, prayed about it, and decided that the decision is ultimately between the individual and God.
“But it’s not about a woman’s body, it’s about a baby!” shrieks the conditioned emotional response of anti-abortion activists.
But let’s just take a deep breath here.
Let me ask you:
Doesn’t God let babies die horrible deaths, basically every minute of every day?
Aren’t “His ways higher than our ways,” and aren't we supposed to not lean on our own understanding?
Isn’t it possible that GOD’s plan might be to terminate a pregnancy, in order to prevent a child from being born into addiction, abuse, and suffering?
Think about it. Pray about it.
“If anyone lacks wisdom, let them ask of God.”
Aside from potentially stepping on a few sensitive toes, has anything I’ve said been wrong? Have I been championing the wholesale slaughter of unborn babies?
No. The answer is absolutely not.
I’ve simply been aiming to understand why a woman might support other women’s right to control their own bodies. And just to be clear, it is her body—the baby is literally attached until after birth. Think about it.
What if you had an unwanted growth on your body. You wanted to get it removed, however, certain “sanctity of life” laws prevented you from doing so. According to the law, even though the growth was attached to your body, it was considered an independent organism because it exhibited its own cellular growth and activity.
Therefore, you could not end the life of this growth, because it was put there by God.
It’s a stupid analogy, I know, but think through.
Yesterday, we took a look at how Democrats have been conditioned to sympathize with “communities of color” because of their alleged victimhood. Republicans have been conditioned to sympathize with “unborn babies” in the exact same way.
It is the word choice that cause people’s minds to collapse inward toward raw emotional reaction. This is what shutdowns critical thinking, and that’s what allows the propagandists to play the masses like puppets.
If we intend to overcome this process—which is critical is we intend to overcome the very real evils of our time—then we absolutely must wise up. We must seek to sharpen our understanding of where people are at, realize that they’re not our evil archenemies just because we disagree on certain religious issues, establish common ground in human nature, chart a path forward built on mutual respect, and get our butts to work.
The Constitution is the law of the land. It’s supposed to keep the government from restricting our individual liberties. That’s what the Bill of Rights is all about.
Obviously we’ve drifted, as a nation, toward the abyss of an authoritarian kleptocracy.
Both parties are in on it, and the party bosses are getting fatter by the day, as We the People bicker about the petty issues being put in our face. The last thing in the world they’d expect, is for liberal and conservatives to find common ground that’s rooted in logic and mutual respect.
Same goes for the global overlords.
The reason the ruling class is so confident in their plans to rule the whole of humanity is precisely because they underestimate our ability to overcome the decades of political conditioning that has brought us to where we’re at.
They don’t think that Republicans will ever be able to separate religion from their political mission. They don’t think that liberals will ever be able to separate their penchant for sympathy from the practical goals of the Democrat Party.
In either case, heavily conditioned personal convictions are fully expected to keep people on both sides with the boundaries of their respective political holding pens.
Can we break free of these psychological chains? We can.
Can we listen and learn to communicate with people whom we disagree? We can.
Can we defeat the global cabal and defend liberty for future generations? We can.
To do so, we will need to change our thinking. Yes, you should keep God center in your personal life. Yes, we should keep God center in homes and our communities, and that’s just exactly what the church is supposed to do. That is our religious mission, and if done properly, we can bring the heart of our nation closer to God.
Politically speaking, if we keep using the party platform to preach at people who don’t want to hear it, we are doomed to lose. Given the fact that many of these people would gladly be our allies in protecting personal freedoms and upholding the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, I believe that would be a very foolish thing to do.
And that is the message of my heart for today… please share, and have a wonderful weekend!
TR 567 - The Power and Importance of Changing Our Ways of Thinking