Curtis Dahlgren
"Inspired by actual events" (part 2): Baltimore
By Curtis Dahlgren
"[W]hile it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge . . would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." – John Adams, 1798
IF HOLLYWOOD MADE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS ONE, which woman would be the hero – Baltimore's mayor or the mother of six (a "church lady" who publicly disciplined her son). That's more than the police were allowed to do the first two or three nights – and a lot more than the current occupant of the White House said all week! Just for the record, let it be written that he didn't say word one beforehand to dampen the "rioting." Instead of sighing and crying, we get lecturing about who's really to blame (not the rioters!). We have to give them "space to destroy"? We have to justify them?
My columns quote a lot of human quotations containing biblically sound words of wisdom. Quoting the Bible directly might drive some readers away immediately, but maybe the time has come. Here goes. Some excerpts by The Prophet (not Mohammed but Isaiah):
The chains, the bracelets,
The rings and nose jewels,
The glasses and the hoods . . .
As for my people, children are their oppressors!
We need to put the "ancient" Word into our contemporary context. When Malachi says, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke often one to another," think smart phones, texting, Facebook, and "networking."
And when you think of the citizens of Baltimore who don't fear the Lord, think "social media flash mobs," "premeditated spontaneity," and "useful idiots"! Haven't we reached the stomach-turning point YET? ANARCHY is a much greater "challenge" than the President's "global warming."
January came in like a lion and went out like a lion. February came in like a lion and went out like a lion. March came in like a lion and went out just like Groundhog Day. And you guessed it: May came in this morning like a lion. Frost on the car windshield, plus solid ice on the roof! And I moved south for the winter! So much for global warming. Now think about anarchy. I'm reading an article about Nigeria, and the following excerpt really "struck" me:
"Such is the polyphony of interaction in Nigeria – 'affectionate extortion,' I heard it called in a country that's endured a civil war, six military coups, two assassinations of heads of state, and at least three crippling domestic insurgencies in just over 50 years of [Independence]." – "The War for Nigeria," by James Verini, National Geographic (Nov 2013)
Climate change or anarchy? Anarchy or climate change? Which is the deadly one? I'm not arguing; I'm just "explaining it better." Our President's own brother says that if the English had stayed longer in Kenya, his people would be better off today. Looking backward 50 years might give us a clue as to where WE are headed in the next 50 years.
"They declare their sin as Sodom; they hide it not. Say to the righteous, it shall be well with them; woe to the wicked. It shall be ill with you! God will take away the prophet and the prudent, the eloquent man and the honorable orator. And I will give children to be their princes and babes shall rule over them." – Isaiah
Think Baltimore!
P.S. This week's column is short and sweet – er, to the point anyway. We can't afford the luxury of wordiness anymore. Kudos to those who sigh and cry over our wickedness ("the evil man will always find an excuse for his wickedness" – and vice versa). We are so close to the "point of no return" that during one of the next couple of elections, the "eloquent and the honorable" person might just throw up his hands and say:
"DON'T MAKE ME THE RULER OF THIS MESS." [Isaiah 3:7]
M A Y D A Y !
© Curtis Dahlgren
May 2, 2015
"[W]hile it is rioting in rapine and insolence, this country will be the most miserable habitation in the world because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge . . would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people." – John Adams, 1798
IF HOLLYWOOD MADE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS ONE, which woman would be the hero – Baltimore's mayor or the mother of six (a "church lady" who publicly disciplined her son). That's more than the police were allowed to do the first two or three nights – and a lot more than the current occupant of the White House said all week! Just for the record, let it be written that he didn't say word one beforehand to dampen the "rioting." Instead of sighing and crying, we get lecturing about who's really to blame (not the rioters!). We have to give them "space to destroy"? We have to justify them?
My columns quote a lot of human quotations containing biblically sound words of wisdom. Quoting the Bible directly might drive some readers away immediately, but maybe the time has come. Here goes. Some excerpts by The Prophet (not Mohammed but Isaiah):
The chains, the bracelets,
The rings and nose jewels,
The glasses and the hoods . . .
As for my people, children are their oppressors!
We need to put the "ancient" Word into our contemporary context. When Malachi says, "Then those who feared the Lord spoke often one to another," think smart phones, texting, Facebook, and "networking."
And when you think of the citizens of Baltimore who don't fear the Lord, think "social media flash mobs," "premeditated spontaneity," and "useful idiots"! Haven't we reached the stomach-turning point YET? ANARCHY is a much greater "challenge" than the President's "global warming."
January came in like a lion and went out like a lion. February came in like a lion and went out like a lion. March came in like a lion and went out just like Groundhog Day. And you guessed it: May came in this morning like a lion. Frost on the car windshield, plus solid ice on the roof! And I moved south for the winter! So much for global warming. Now think about anarchy. I'm reading an article about Nigeria, and the following excerpt really "struck" me:
"Such is the polyphony of interaction in Nigeria – 'affectionate extortion,' I heard it called in a country that's endured a civil war, six military coups, two assassinations of heads of state, and at least three crippling domestic insurgencies in just over 50 years of [Independence]." – "The War for Nigeria," by James Verini, National Geographic (Nov 2013)
Climate change or anarchy? Anarchy or climate change? Which is the deadly one? I'm not arguing; I'm just "explaining it better." Our President's own brother says that if the English had stayed longer in Kenya, his people would be better off today. Looking backward 50 years might give us a clue as to where WE are headed in the next 50 years.
"They declare their sin as Sodom; they hide it not. Say to the righteous, it shall be well with them; woe to the wicked. It shall be ill with you! God will take away the prophet and the prudent, the eloquent man and the honorable orator. And I will give children to be their princes and babes shall rule over them." – Isaiah
Think Baltimore!
P.S. This week's column is short and sweet – er, to the point anyway. We can't afford the luxury of wordiness anymore. Kudos to those who sigh and cry over our wickedness ("the evil man will always find an excuse for his wickedness" – and vice versa). We are so close to the "point of no return" that during one of the next couple of elections, the "eloquent and the honorable" person might just throw up his hands and say:
"DON'T MAKE ME THE RULER OF THIS MESS." [Isaiah 3:7]
M A Y D A Y !
© Curtis Dahlgren
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