Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.
What a week it’s been. The release of the January 6th footage by Tucker Carlson sparked fresh hysterical outbursts from the press and public reproof from Mitch “The Turtle” McConnell, et al. One more time, Republican leaders joined forces with the Dems, tangling together like a unibrow on a Neanderthal’s forehead.
God help us.
As a seasoned mother of four, I have learned something about fibs and those who tell them. The first observation is this—the bigger the lie, the bigger the outrage when it is exposed. Little lie, small kerfluffle. Big lie? Hiroshima. It’s a fascinating phenomenon to watch.
Second, I’ve learned to check the wind. Which direction is the bluster coming from? Follow the currents of sound and fury, and you’ll often find the guilty party spraying blame like a flame thrower.
“Destroying you before you can destroy me.” That’s the motto of those flame and blame, and the goals are distraction and deflection. It’s quite a thing to witness, and the seats to this show are front and center.
The audacity with which these lies are being told is breathtaking. “It’s not how it looks. That isn’t what actually happened. You can’t believe your own eyes.” Or, in an obscure Swahili dialect, “Black is white, down is up, night is day, and you’re too dumb to figure it out. Just leave the thinking to us.”
America is under assault. On freedom’s back, there’s a bullseye, and those taking aim are our own.
For threats from without, we have weapons. With bombs, bullets, tanks, and guns, we can defend our borders, stopping all alien invaders. For the threats from within, however, the battle looks entirely different.
Put simply, our leaders have sold us out. Greed, vanity, self-interest, and cowardice are components of this alarming betrayal. It’s easy to see. It’s harder to change, which leaves us asking, “What can ‘we, the people’ do?”
Recently, we attended Parents Weekend at Hillsdale College where our son is a senior. While there, we were privileged to meet one of his roommates and his parents who told us a fascinating story.
The father, an Italian, was raised in Brooklyn. The mother, a Puerto Rican, grew up in Queens. They were, in their own words, liberals. Then something happened that changed everything.
The gentleman took a job at a small firm. Every day at noon, he would head to the breakroom for lunch. And every day, his new boss would turn the radio to the Rush Limbaugh Show. At first, he was put out. Who was this guy? What was he talking about? As the days and weeks went by, however, he began to really listen to the words of the man behind the golden EIB microphone. Gradually, he said, he started to realize that there was an objective standard of truth. It was this acceptance of Truth that led him, at long last, to faith in God.
Meanwhile, in another part of the city, the young Puerto Rican woman faced long, daily commutes. To pass the time, she also began listening to talk radio; specifically, to a man named Sean Hannity. Just as it happened for her husband, she began to see that there was objective truth and, like him, Truth led her to God.
Now, these delightful people are raising their three children in the faith. It was Truth that set them free. It was Truth that changed their lives. It is Truth that will continue to impact the generations that will follow after them. But back, now, to the question, “What can we do?”
Plainly put, we must learn to love the truth. God is the author of all truth, and when we love Him, we will naturally love truth, too.
Half-truths are not good enough, for they conceal the hooks that ensnare us, that keep us from being fully free. (Truth, by the way, always brings freedom while lies keep us trapped and confused. Paying close attention to the effects of our beliefs will help us decipher the origin and source.)
With all our might, we must pursue the truth and embrace it. When we do, it changes how we think, see, hear, and live. Truth is the rock, the sure foundation in uncertain times. It keeps our feet from slipping, and we won’t be washed away in the rising tides of national insanity and delusion.
From this secure place, then, we must commit to the second step, and that is telling the truth. We don’t have to be Rush or Sean or anyone else. We don’t need a big platform, don’t need a big voice. We only need to use the one we have. That is all.
In our neighborhoods, workplaces, families, synagogues and churches, cities, and states, we must teach the truth. In our God-given circles of influence, let’s use our voices.
Use them, and let our lives display the lovely effects of self-control, patience, courage, hope, peace, and love that Truth always brings. This is how we effect real change. This is how we love others.
As always, may God bless and keep these United States. Amen.
