THIS IS THE PREMISE THE LIBERALS SUPPORT:
Democratic voters declare that property belonging to citizen
"A" be confiscated by the government, and given to Citizen
"B," or maybe even to a non-citizen. That is fundamentally wrong!
Anyone who cannot see the violation of morality in that scenario has a hole in their soul.
Also, “A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can
always depend on the support of Paul.” George Bernard Shaw
Would the Democrats ever win another election if people on
welfare couldn’t vote?
“Children of The Beast”
By Reverend Sam
Sewell
Introduction
"The
average man doesn't want to be free. He wants to be safe." H.L. Mencken
Most
people see the conflict between limited government and big government as a
political battle between conservatives and liberals. This conflict is much more profound than
political theory can encompass.
The battle being fought in America today
goes beyond politics; right vs. left. It is a spiritual battle; good vs. evil.
“For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities,
against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Ephesians
6:12
The
People of God are not struggling with other people. Do not be fooled as
to who the enemy is. The enemy is not a flesh and blood
entity but rather a non-breathing "beast that is, and is not, and yet is."
The enemy is not Islamic or Communist.
It is not liberals or conservatives. It is not the
people of any nation. There are cosmic forces of evil that become
pseudo-animated in the collective evil of governments around the
world, be they dictatorships, monarchies or democracies. That
is "The Beast," and the repository
of collective evil, with which all the peoples of the word are struggling.
In
this essay the metaphor of “The Beast” is used to represent big government or
other human bureaucracies. “Children of The Beast” symbolically represents the
nature of those who support, or are dependent upon, big government or other
human institutions.
My
analysis is offered in three sections:
- The inherent inefficiency and
inertia of large, complex entities
- The inherent evil of large,
complex entities
- Why are there so many “Children
of the Beast”
“The Beast” is too big to be responsive to
human will
“This system is like a steamroller
with an unresponsive steering wheel; no matter who is in the driver’s seat it
continues to crush the people.”
Aristotle
The Hun
At every
level of life we recognize that the more complicated any system becomes the
less efficient its function. Complicated systems overwhelm the people who
participate in them.
For example,
let’s look at people and their possessions.
Most of us have made the observation that as we accumulate “things”
there comes a time when our things own us, rather than us owning our
things. My wife has created a system
that prevents her closet from taking over our house. She will not put a new piece of clothing into
her closet unless she eliminates something that is already there.
Many
businesses have a similar policy. In
addition to not adding a new policy without eliminating an outdated policy,
managers do a periodic analysis of the existing bureaucracy to determine what
paperwork and procedures need to be eliminated.
Governments
would do well to implement similar solutions.
Most government programs have a constituency of voters who object to
“their” special interest program being eliminated, resulting in a system that
eventually overwhelms the citizens. Not
only are government agencies inefficient, they often produce “schizophrenic”
results, like attempts to reduce the use of tobacco at the same time that
tobacco growers are receiving government subsidies.
This is not
just a modern problem! The same dynamics
were present in large systems thousands of years ago. Bureaucratic inertia was
as much a cause for the fall of the Roman Empire
as barbarians at the gates. The ancient
Jews had a solution to the problem that has escaped the attention of leaders of
modern government systems.
"This fiftieth year is sacred—it is a
time of freedom and of celebration, when everyone will receive back their
original property, and slaves will return home to their families. " Leviticus 25:10
Every fifty years all
debts were cancelled, all slaves were freed, and all land was returned to the
ancestral owners. There were several
other provisions associated with the Year of Jubilee. This religious tradition
was a way for an entire culture to be reset, or “rebooted,” in order to wipe
out the accumulated bureaucratic inertia.
We modern people can “defrag” our computers, but we have not yet learned
how to “defrag” our federal government.
The problems associated
with complex systems are not unique to the government of the United States
“The powers not delegated to the United States
This Constitutional
Amendment was intended to restrict the power and size of the federal
government. Over the decades the federal
government has steadily centralized its power, while the 10th
amendment has been mostly ignored.
Two small examples;
if the 10th amendment were respected, the Federal Environmental
Protection Agency would cease to exist, and individual state agencies would
protect the environment of each state.
Also, the Federal Department of Education would be eliminated, and local
school boards would set the standards and supervise the education in each
individual community.
As you might suspect ““The
Beast”” and “The “Children of The Beast”” are adamantly opposed to such
corrections.
It is a fundamental truth that all
systems grow to the point where their internal inertia causes them to
fail. So it is clear that we are
struggling with dynamics more profound than modern politics in the United States
“The Beast” That Was, and Is Not, and Yet Is
(Revelation 17:8)
Now, there is a riddle for you! How could something have existed, but not
really exist at all, and yet still exist.
I think a hint to solve the riddle lies in ersatz entities that are
created as human concepts, and have no tangible existence what so ever.
I remember a speech I heard by the flamboyant trial attorney,
Gerry Spence. He said, “I had a very
successful career working for corporations and the government. I won every case that went to trial. Then I became aware that I was working for
virtual, non-human entities that had no actual existence. My clients were artificial, abstract
‘creatures’ whose only claim on reality was a concept or a contract defined by
the laws of man. I also noticed that
when I won a case for a corporation or the government that real live human
beings, with blood pumping through their veins and breath moving in and out of
their lungs, were victimized by the ‘non-breathers.’ That is when I vowed never to have another
non-breathing client for the rest of my career.
If you can’t fog up a cold mirror with your breath, I will not be your
attorney.”
I think Gerry Spence solved the above riddle. If it doesn’t breathe, it is “The
Beast.” If “The Beast” serves human
needs it should be domesticated, cared for, and kept on a tight rein. If “The Beast” intimidates human beings and
expects the humans to serve “IT”, the
time has come to bring out the cattle prods, and force ““The Beast”” back into
submission.
Metaphorically, American citizens are struggling with “The
Beast” that has forgotten who is serving whom. I wonder if the right to bear
arms includes cattle prods. J
Our elected leaders are expected to accept the responsibility
of controlling “The Beast.” Why do you
think the Constitution has all those phrases, “The government shall not …”?
If, instead, our elected leaders begin serving “The Beast,”
it becomes the responsibility of each individual citizen to ensure that “The
Beast” is properly subordinated to ‘We the People.’ Many of our elected leaders are “Children of
The Beast.” Many of our citizens have
become “Children of The Beast.” They
worship the glory and the power of “The Beast.” They accept gifts from “The
Beast,” and they become dependent upon “The Beast.” Evil compounded upon evil is the result of
the nature of “The Beast” and the support of “The Children of The Beast.”
Why are there so many “Children of the Beast”?
What is the
human motivation that allows people to overlook the dangers of “The Beast,” and
choose a politician for his/her charming personality traits, rather than clothing
themselves with a warrior spirit capable
of subduing “The Beast?” A partial answer to that question was provided
by Erich Fromm in his book “Escape from Freedom.” Freud
thought human personality was determined by conditioning having an effect on
biology. Marx saw peoples’ lives as determined by their society and economic
systems. Erich Fromm challenged these two reigning intellectual systems
of his time with the idea of freedom.
Fromm
originally wrote “Escape from Freedom” in 1941 to explore the psychological
reasons for the success of Nazism in Germany
A
little bit of history is required to understand this. One example of lack
of individual freedom is represented by animals, as well as by humans who have
not transcended their animal nature, and are still controlled by a Freudian
biological determinism (the Id.) Animals
and unenlightened humans don't worry about freedom; instincts and conditioning
are the determining factors. Such life forms accept what life offers, and
mostly adjust to whatever reality they inhabit.
An
example of political and economic lack of individual freedom would be the
pre-renaissance feudal society of the middle ages. Personal freedom was
not conceivable for most people in those times. Basically, if your father
was a peasant, you would be a peasant. If your father was a king, you would
become a king.
So,
for most of human history there was very little individual freedom, and there
were very few mass movements. This simple life began to be
transformed when people started to see individual humans as being important to
the universal scheme of things. First came the Renaissance, and then came the
Reformation, which introduced the idea of each person being individually
responsible for his own soul's salvation behind the rallying cry “Every man his
own priest.” Then came the democratic revolutions and the overthrow of
kings.
Now
we are expected to govern ourselves. We all have a hand in determining our
destiny and making collective policy! So the idea of the individual, with
individual thoughts, decision-making authority, personal emotions, moral
conscience, freedom, and intimidating responsibility, came into being. But with
individuality came isolation, alienation, and bewilderment. Freedom is a
difficult thing to have. Fromm believed that when possible, the unenlightened
man tends to flee from it. Escaping from freedom is now an important motivating
factor of our species. Since the need to escape from individual freedom
has emerged in human consciousness, mass movements have begun appearing in
human society. Fromm sheds light on the dynamics with these two quotes:
"The person who gives up his
individual self and becomes an automaton, identical with millions of other
automatons around him, need not feel alone and anxious any more. The price he
pays, however, is high; it is the loss of his self."
"This loss of identity then makes
it still more imperative to conform. It means that one can be sure of oneself
only if one lives up to the expectations of others. If we do not live up to
this picture, we not only risk disapproval and increased isolation, but we risk
losing the identity of our personality, which means jeopardizing sanity."
So when today’s humans lose parents and family as a resource to feeling belongingness and having identity, they begin to attach themselves to “The Beast” rather than to their Heavenly Father.
Erich
Fromm can tell us a lot about what is behind how most people vote. He makes the
point that most people are terrified of being an on-their-own,
take-care-of-themselves, free, adult human
being. So, we attach ourselves to surrogate family
units and surrogate parents to escape from our freedom. That translates into
belonging to and becoming psychologically and physically dependent upon
organizations as diverse as: the company for whom we work and our boss, to the
church we attend and our pastor, and the political party to which we belong and
the parent figure who gets our vote. Identifying with the group becomes our new
collective identity, and we surrender our individual identity and freedom.
Ask any pastor, teacher, psychotherapist, supervisor, boss or elected official and they will be happy to confirm that the people they deal with are all trying to work out their childhood agendas on any available authority figure.
Some want a ‘sugar daddy’ and a ‘sugar family’ to take care of them, so they cede their personal power and freedom to this Democratic Parent and Party, which promises to provide life’s necessities and define reality for them. The details of politics and policy positions pale into insignificance, when compared to the need to escape from personal freedom and responsibility.
Some want a ‘strong daddy’ who will protect them from danger and who expects them to be strong as well. So they vote for a Republican Parent and Party. They need to belong to a strong family with a strong leader, so they will feel safe. And once again, the details don’t really matter that much.
No matter for whom we are voting, we are choosing our kind of family, and our kind of parent. Most folks choose the candidate for the qualities that will fill their psychological needs. The issues aren’t nearly as important as the personal evaluation of the person’s character. If they like the person and trust that candidate to be “their kind of parent,” they will make that selection. Most people are not aware of the dangers of “The Beast,” and our collective duty to subdue “The Beast,” so they elect a leader who meets their personal needs.
No matter their party persuasion, those involved in politics are mostly “Children of The Beast.”
Ask any pastor, teacher, psychotherapist, supervisor, boss or elected official and they will be happy to confirm that the people they deal with are all trying to work out their childhood agendas on any available authority figure.
Some want a ‘sugar daddy’ and a ‘sugar family’ to take care of them, so they cede their personal power and freedom to this Democratic Parent and Party, which promises to provide life’s necessities and define reality for them. The details of politics and policy positions pale into insignificance, when compared to the need to escape from personal freedom and responsibility.
Some want a ‘strong daddy’ who will protect them from danger and who expects them to be strong as well. So they vote for a Republican Parent and Party. They need to belong to a strong family with a strong leader, so they will feel safe. And once again, the details don’t really matter that much.
No matter for whom we are voting, we are choosing our kind of family, and our kind of parent. Most folks choose the candidate for the qualities that will fill their psychological needs. The issues aren’t nearly as important as the personal evaluation of the person’s character. If they like the person and trust that candidate to be “their kind of parent,” they will make that selection. Most people are not aware of the dangers of “The Beast,” and our collective duty to subdue “The Beast,” so they elect a leader who meets their personal needs.
No matter their party persuasion, those involved in politics are mostly “Children of The Beast.”
Conclusion: Some voters still embrace their personal freedom, and the responsibility that comes along with it. They study the issues, and they vote on the issues. They know the nature of “The Beast” and they live up to their duty to tame “The Beast.” But sadly, they are a distinct minority. Don’t expect people to vote on issues. They seldom do. My guess is that more people will vote on how the candidate looks than on what the candidate believes. They vote for whoever meets their personal, psychological needs. And “The Beast” will continue to rule until the citizens are all armed with spiritual cattle prods.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rev. Sam Sewell
~~~~~~~~~~~~
