Tumultuous and Mercurial 2025

If 2024 is set to be tumultuous, mercurial, unpredictable... just wait until 2025 if Donald Trump wins the presidency again. Needless to say, his foes don’t have a history of accepting his successes with self-control. As a result of Trump’s unanticipated presidential victory in 2016 were not conspiracy theories launched about how Russia had helped him win; generate a years-long law-enforcement investigation into him and his campaign based on those schemes? Did the activity of some members of government and federal law enforcement agencies not act in an organized manner that resulted in public demonstration? Regretfully, the mentioned demonstrations were mild, given what may yet be in the near future. What’s already happened has put our Republic in an extraordinary place. It’s hard to imagine what’s more extreme than one side in our politics indicting its leading opponent, creating the real prospect of jailing him in the months prior to an election, and excluding him from the ballot in select states. Yet, if Trump wins, we have to assume that this is only a taste of things to come. It’s not as though his enemies are going to conclude that Trump was an intolerable threat as a candidate, but if he’s been elected president again, the voters have spoken, and everyone should revert to politics as usual.

Christmas and The Battle for The Soul of America

The culture war, as we know it, is not merely a political struggle of conflicting social sentiments on abortion, LGBTQQIP2SAA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit (2S), androgynous, and asexual), biology, nature of marriage... It’s a battle for the soul of America. It is a confrontation or conflict between diverse interpretations of certainty, creation, and God. It’s the colossal clash between good and evil, playing out in Christmas Decorations, tree lightings, holiday specials, timeless tradition of gift-exchanging... In the lively marketplace of modernist ideas, where the battle of worldviews echoes through the narrow passageways of debate, there emerges an intriguing phenomenon during the joyous season. It is a paradox, a revelation enclosed not in an aenigma but in tinsel and adorned with lights. It’s a revelation that the Christmas season is not merely a festival of joy and goodwill, but the very battleground of what conservative evangelical Christians rightly call the “culture war.”

During this season of peace and Christmas celebrations, the conservative Christian, whether he or she realizes it or not, finds themselves inadvertently ensnared in a universal or cosmic struggle. It is not merely about the nativity scene that represents the birth of Christ or the resonant hymns being song in the church pews; it is about the clash of values, morals, ideals the defense of truth, beauty, and goodness against the infringing shadows of relativism and secularism.

In the heart of the Christmas chronology lies the crux of this culture war, a contradiction so acute that it can only be understood by those disposed to embrace the enigmatic or mystery. The baby in the manger, surrounded by the humblest of creatures, is in fact the Lord of All, the King of kings, the Alpha and Omega... and the rallying point for an army of believers, if you will, a band of brothers and sisters clad in the full armor of God that Christians are called to put on. The full armor of God compromises the “Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit.”

It is here, in the subdued simplicity of Bethlehem, that the ultimate culture warrior enters the world stage; the Christ-child, whose birth heralds a cosmic shift. As Christians, we know that the Christmas story is not a mere historical abstract about a person but a foundational historical occurrence that shapes our worldview and fuels our engagement in the culture war. God sent His champion to earth to achieve victory over the powers of darkness. The war that has been raging in the heavens since Satan rebelled is manifest on earth. In the manger, we find the ideal concrete representation or embodiment of the values we defend at the ballot box and in the public square: God the Son Incarnate. The Star of Bethlehem wasn’t just a beacon for the Wise Men in their day; it still shines for us now, as the obvious signal of attack against the encroaching forces that seek to redefine morality, distort beauty, and discard resolved truth.

Paradoxically, the cultural clash intensifies precisely because conservative Christians believe that the Christmas story is not confined to a quaint representation in December but permeates every facet of life. Either Christ is Lord of all, or He is not Lord. His humble beginning as a baby betrays the true power that was hidden in the manager that one silent night over 2,000 years ago. Yet, in this ostensibly inconspicuous manger, there is a enigmatic revelation of divine strategy. The ultimate culture warrior does not emerge, at first, with a sword in hand or a crown of conquest. Instead, He enters the fray through susceptibility, vulnerability, and humility.

The culture war is, in essence, a collision of connected events, a battle between competing narratives about the nature of humanity, the resolution of existence, and the source of morality. It’s man as “god” or the God-man Jesus Christ. There are only two sides. And we all must choose.

In my mind’s view the Christmas narrative provides the ultimate framework for understanding the created order and all of its implications for the fight to end abortion, protect marriage, defeat the lies of transgenderism... It is a affirmation that humanity is not a product of chance or sheer biological processes but the deliberate craftsmanship of a Creator. In a world that progressively seeks to remove distinctions and revaluate, redefine, reinvent, reassess... the very essence of humanity, Christians find in the Christmas story a reaffirmation of the dignity inherent in being created in the image of God.

The paradox deepens as the narrative unfolds. The one who would be acclaimed as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords experiences the ignominy or humility of the cross. The only perfect culture warrior, born in obscurity, now faces the cruelty of crucifixion. It is a paradoxical twist that confounds the wisdom of the world, a king who conquers not through supremacy and persuasiveness but through sacrificial love.

And yet, it is precisely in this paradox that the conservative Christian finds the assurance of victory in Jesus. We fight on in the war to bring all of creation; nations, affairs of state, education, MSM and social media, arts, and sciences... into self- depreciating submission to Christ the King because He is ruling and reigning now. The baby in the manger becomes the crucified Christ, but He does not remain in the tomb. The resurrection is the triumphant climax and fatal strike to Satan and his followers that echoes through the passageways of time. The ultimate culture warrior, having faced the depths of human suffering and the agony of death, emerges victorious over sin and death.

As the Christmas season reveals, Christians participate not just in celebration but in committed confidence. It is a story that rises above the temporal writhes and ushers’ believers into a hope that extends beyond the tinsel and carols, a hope anchored in the ultimate victory of the culture warrior who is also the risen King.

Christmas manifestly stands at the epicenter of this war. The birth of Christ was an act of godly, galactic violence against the forces of evil in the spiritual and physical world. It was, in short, an act of war. More than that, it was a winning strike. It is a lighthouse of hope, a reminder of the divine intervention in human history. It reminds us that God has not abandoned or discarded His creation. He has come to redeem it. The birth of Jesus Christ is a promise of victory. Christmas is the Culture War. And in this war, we are not just God’s warriors or His soldiers. We are winners, champions, victors... Christmas secures it.

Victors on The Battlefield Dictate Peace Terms

Does history not tell us that when other nations are victorious on the battlefield, they dictate peace terms? But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace. It’s as if everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world. I ask you the reader, can we as a people, who claim to be of Christian faith standby and allow Israel to be destroyed and every man, woman and child of Jewish descent be annihilated? Is that not the goal of Israel enemies? Much of what we currently view, peruse, maybe even objectively research via press releases, newscasts from America’s newsrooms, foreign news sources, social media... can be verified with nominal effort, minimal to average intellect, and rudimentary investigation/exploration by those who possess a willingness to accept a narrative contrary to one that takes a position opposite of their own. That means putting any outrage or unsolicited opinion(s) aside and listening to the other sides views, concerns, or confessions with open- mindedness. To be specific; Without seeking, truth cannot be known at all. It cannot be declared by Presidents, Prime Ministers, Secretary Generals, Supreme Leaders, Mullahs, Academia... from pulpits, lecterns, podiums, press briefings... nor set down in editorials, nor in any way prepared and sold in packets or parcels ready for use. Truth must be ground for everyone by itself out of it, with such help as he/she can get, indeed, but not without serious labor of their own. What most of the world fails to realize is that all people have inalienable rights which have been given to all humans by their Creator, and which governments are created to protect. As it currently pertains to Israel and the Jews, I forewarned you of the likelihood of world leaders yielding to the geocidal jihadists and wholly abandoning Israel in past posts. By his own words, has not the United Nations Secretary General betrayed Israel instead of Hamas? Why is it that when Hamas attacks Israel from Gaza it is war but when Israel counter attacks Hamas in Gaza it is War Crimes? With that in mind, has not the “die been cast” and course of action (COA) in the UN's mind’s eye been finalized? Has not “lawfare” attacks on Israel already commenced? By what we already know, the foes of Israel are currently engaged in lawfare, thereby charging the nation of Israel with violations of international law to halt it from rightfully ensuring its safety, sovereignty, and earthly existence. This existential threat to the rule of law is for all intents and purposes being used as a weapon against Israel, even as Hamas and Iranian proxies i.e., Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Sunni militia still holds hundreds of innocent civilians in confinement. Again, I ask you the reader, if we do nothing, could we be looking at a second Holocaust? Worse yet, be complicit by our inaction in the destruction and slaughter on a mass scale of a nation’s entire population? 

History Tells the Tale: Victory on the Battlefield Dictate Peace Terms

The Jews must be a peculiar people: Things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. History tells us: Other nations have driven out thousands, even millions of people, and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it. Poland and Czechoslovakia did it. Turkey threw out a million Greeks and Algeria a million Frenchmen. Indonesia threw out, only God knows how many Chinese, and no one says a word about refugees. But in the case of Israel, the displaced Arabs/Palestinians have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab/Palestinian. Some members of America’s House of Representatives call the displacement of the Arabs in general and Palestinians in particular an atrocity greater than any committed by Adolph Hitler’s far-right National Socialist Workers Party, aka Nazis.

So Much Misinformation and So Little Facts

Is not our greatest ally in the Middle East under attack by Iranian backed satanic and diabolic terrorists hell-bent on annihilation of the Jews? And what is the response from our government and media? President Biden and some pro Islam anti-Zionists have demonized and attempted to persuade Israel to hold off on a Gaza land invasion while giving aid and comfort to its enemies. Many within MSM, to include anti-Zionist found in the bowels of social media, some within our own U.S. Congress, a significant number of students, professors/teachers and school administrators from both secondary public schools and post graduate academia have become Hamas and Iranian proxy Jihad apologists, blaming Israel for the conflict ad nauseum. Have these anti-Israel activists, demonstrators, protestors... not learned to beware of ignorance when in motion; “look out for inexperience when in action and beware of the majority when mentally poisoned with misinformation, for collective ignorance does not become wisdom.” There is so much misinformation and so little facts in the coverage surrounding Israel and their fight against Islamic Jihad. Alas, “nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” Sadly, there is a segment of our ignorant, uneducated, uninformed... citizenry that has failed to recall the facts of the matter. What say you?

Like Others Before Me

Like others before me, I too, am concerned about the security of this once great Republic; not so much because of any menace or peril from without, but because of malicious and menacing forces working from within. How so you may be wondering. Let us look no further than a response to “Wokism.” Is there a growing "anti-woke" backlash? Are not moderates, traditionalists, conservatives, neoconservatives, constitutionalists... beginning to push back against, leftists, progressives, social activists, reformists, educates... who have strong liberal woke agendas? Thus, the woke who are judging the "un-woke" as, in some measure, ignoble for not being woke are now being judged by the anti-woke as inferior for being self-righteous, condemnatory, strait-laced, and exceedingly sensitive. While it might be tempting to call out, shame, ostracize or cancel those who are not woke or woke enough to racism and social injustice, doing so can create a number of problems. No one wants “wokism” to be the “road to hell paved with good intentions.” In essence, the table has now been turned and the judges are now being judged. I suppose, in a manner of speaking, I'm claiming to be woke to the anti-woke who claim to be woke to the woke. Now you might be woke to me for claiming to be woke to the anti-woke... I think we just entered some kind of recursive Mobius strip wormhole.

One can only hypothecate what many theorists have long wondered. In particular, how the great complexity of life can be reconciled with the laws of thermodynamics that suggest that “all systems must inevitably decay to a state of greatest disorder.” Is there merit to this train of thought? Ponder this: History fails to record a single precedent in which nations subject to moral decay have not passed into political and economic decline. There has been either a spiritual awakening to overcome the moral lapse or a progressive deterioration leading to ultimate national disaster. I fear the latter, the second mentioned of the two is now upon America. What can we do to reverse our current course? We can do what we can, with what we have, where we are. 

The Tale of The Three Strategic Stooges

When reading this post, take into consideration the values of leadership. Men make history, be it good or bad, and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders of honor seize the opportunity to change things for the better. Unfortunately, all too often so-called leaders tend to expect others to be determined, focused, reliable, accountable, responsible, and have integrity. These qualities that leaders expect should be traits and attributes that they already possess themselves and great leaders will not lead by coercion, persuasion, sociopolitical ideology...instead they lead by example. Do you recall the testimony of Biden’s senior military leaders about the advice they gave him on the Afghanistan withdrawal timeline? If not let me jog your memory. Prior to the pullout, his top commanders recommended he maintain a force of 2500-3500 uniformed service personnel to assure a safe and orderly departure of Americans and their Afghan cohorts and family members. Weeks and months later, our “thick as two short planks” President was queried by multiple MSM personnel about his disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal and his failure to follow the advice of his top military advisors. Not to sound redundant, but prior to the pullout, his top military officials, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff, General Mark Milley, General Austin Miller, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin did in fact warn him against his hasty withdrawal timeline. Lest we forget, in his infinite wisdom or lack thereof, cerebrally challenged Biden was responding to questions about life and death and American national security. Fact, here is a sampling of Biden’s response to some of the mentioned media queries...  “No, no one said that to me that I can recall” ... “No, they didn’t... “That wasn’t true.” ... “No, no one said that to me that I can recall.” It’s as if none of Biden’s handlers had bothered to tell him that news networks are disposed to record their journalists’ conversations with U.S. presidents. These lies, emitted by Lying Biden won’t be as long-remembered as, say, Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sex with that woman.” That’s truly ill-fated. Because as prevaricates go, this one is of far greater consequence than Wild Bill’s venture. The long and short of it, The Afghan capital of Kabul fell to the Taliban without a shot being fired. And that was after months of steady advances by the Taliban, months during which the Biden administration had every opportunity to correct course, to keep that residual force in place a little longer, to maintain control of Bagram Air Base as long as necessary. So much for the estimated $84 billion spent to arm and train the Afghan forces over the course of 20 years. And so much for the ultimate sacrifice made by “2,448” American combatants during that long war, and by an additional 13 who died in a Kabul airport suicide bombing that some argue was coming. It should not be forgotten, there is no accounting for the number of men, women, and children maimed, tortured, and slain after Biden, Milley and Austin abandoned the realm to Taliban control.

Is it conceivable that our cognitively declining president simply failed to comprehend this straight-up, simple, and consistent recommendation from his senior military leaders? Or that he heard it but forgot it soon thereafter? But those possibilities are even more disturbing than a straight-up lie. Final thoughts: First; The ultimate qualities of leadership are unquestionably integrity, honor, truthfulness...  Without it, no real success is possible, whether in the midst of a storm, on a ball field, on the battlefield, or in the Oval Office. Second; In Milley’s own words, “It was a logistical success but a strategic failure.” But he, like Secretary Austin, refuse to be held accountable. Neither of them had the honor or testes to step down in protest when President Biden chooses not to take their advice. Following the Afghan extraction fiasco, Milley had apparently found lots of orders he was pleased to carry out, including being the chief military protagonist for all of Biden’s woke agenda orders relating to diversity and social justice, which are having a calamitous effect on military readiness. Truth of the matter, Milley, with Austin in the shadows, enforced Biden’s CRT agenda, executed his faux “white supremacist” military witch hunt, which I liken to Montefalco’s "benandante" investigations as it pertained to the inquisition and persecutions of the 1500’s. Furthermore, Milley launched Biden’s military Coronavirus vaccination decree... Milley essentially converted the DOD, Biden’s pet project, Department of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Allow me to end this post with some good news and some words of wisdom as it pertains to leadership. The good news: Milley has this week retired from active military service. Milley’s departure will not be a net plus. At least his ineptitude and capacity for using our military as a petri dish for Biden’s woke agenda was known.” Now for the words of wisdom:” Men make history and not the other way around. In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.