Ever fall into a Show Hole?
We do. We gave up cable a few years ago and embraced the streaming movement. Hulu, Netflix and Amazon Prime are our main sources of entertainment. It’s summer TV season in the streaming world with little to marathon, hence the Show Hole. We fell into the habit of watching movies on Friday nights. This week we couldn’t decide. I’m tired of military, terrorist, serial killer, and airplane thrillers. Bruce could give or take rom/coms and I’m sooooo over vulgar comedies. PBS’s Endeavor is good and we’re hooked on The Great British Baking Show, but a good movie? Eh. Then we happened on some HBO movies about Winston Churchill. Being history fans, (Bruce loves anything having to do with WWII) this was a slam dunk.
What a movie event!
There are two for those who wish to watch and we highly recommend them. The Gathering Storm and Into The Storm. Bruce has always been a Churchill fan (he loves intelligent snark), I’ve always admired him though my knowledge was minimal. It included quotations, his resolve in war, love of country and his love for his wife. What I didn’t realize was how deeply he was despised by Parliament and how absolutely racist he was about India. He hated Ghandi. Felt he was a faker and that India belonged to the Empire and it was the Empire’s Manifest Destiny to keep it that way.
Because of his hatred of Ghandi and his willingness to broadly vocalize it, he was largely ignored when it came to Hitler. Churchill sounded the alarm about him in the 30’s while England was selling Germany military hardware. In this instance Churchill was right and England suffered for ignoring him. Even after he was appointed Military Minister and became Prime Minister, England didn’t fare well. Those of you who know history, know that it took the involvement of the US to defeat Hitler and even then Europe was left with too much of Stalin. When he lost the vote in 1945, socialist governing became England’s norm.
What struck me often while watching these movies were the parallels between Churchill and Trump’s public personas. The words used to describe Churchill are identical to the ones used to describe Trump (watch them and see if it’s true). I don’t for a minute believe that Trump is a modern day Churchill, in case you wondered. It somewhat comforts me to know that a man who was used to keep England secure through the most vile war of that century, was perceived in a similar fashion to Mr. Trump. Both were/are Nationalists and maybe that’s where God is taking our nation. Providentially, WWII was in part, the dismantling of the British Empire. That Empire served a purpose in opening doors for Christianity (in the only way it knew how for you critics) to go into countries like China and India, at great cost to those who went. Ending Suttee in India was an enormous achievement for the Empire despite the highly racist depictions of their involvment there.
So what is God providentially doing with America today? At one time America sent missionaries with the truth of Scripture and a real Jesus. Unfortunately, much of our missions efforts are now polluted with secularism, selfishness, greed and a thin gospel. While we still have pure missionaries in the field, other countries are stepping into the gap, supplying a purer message. As for democracy, that great empowerer of the people, I’m not as convinced our form of it is for all nations. I don’t believe people who’ve lived under oppressive regimes have been equipped to think in ways that allow liberty for all. Fear is their governing motive for voting.
Which brings me to today…
It seems to me fear (and selfishness) is driving much of the conservative public’s reason for voting for Mr. Trump. Fear of the alternative. A criminal, liar, a cheater, someone who will appoint liberals to the Supreme Court (because the lastest batch of conservative judges have been so stellar), allow abortion on demand, a limiter of our rights to worship, shoot guns, educate and live as we please. Nowhere in all of these reasons do I find anything to inspire me to vote for Mr. Trump but neither will I vote for Ms Clinton. To me, fear is the sinful reason to vote vs the “knowing to do good and not doing it” reason that so many renowned Christian leaders are touting today.
Living in a wildly Blue state affords me the choice of not voting. I predict my state will fall for Ms Clinton with or without my vote. Before you lambast me for taking that stand, I understand the entire process and it’s ramifications of not voting. I’m well informed, I am a patriot, I am a responsible individual and a Christian. I choose not to vote, consciously and as a statement to my conservative party that they haven’t provided me a worthy candidate. If they want my vote they need to supply me with someone deserving of the honor. I will vote for my senator and congressmen and for local matters, just not for president. I will not be motivated by fear. Should our country fall into the hands of the Clintons again, so be it. In either case, I don’t believe that Armegeddon will happen or that the dire predictions from both sides will materialize. We will get the government we deserve, that’s how democracy works. Maybe we will learn something for the next go round.
My biggest takeaway from this election cycle is that the soul of America has been fully exposed. It’s been hiding behind various platforms for decades but now has shown itself. The People want a secularist for a leader, not a person of character and quality. Whoever wins, The People will get their heart’s desire. To me, this is of greater concern than the outcome of the election. It tells me that there is a much greater need than a Republican or Democrat in office and it reminds me that the true solutions to our nations ills are not found in political solutions but through lasting personal change as a result of knowing Jesus.
So…let the healing begin and may God have mercy on our souls.
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