I’m back!
I’m back in the saddle again.
I’m back!
I’m back in the saddle again.
— Aerosmith

Short post this morning.

My thanks to Bruce Gust for ably filling in for me over the last couple of weeks. Writing a daily blog takes effort and time, which are limited resources. When he contributes it means something else in his life has to be reprioritized.

I appreciate his focus on matters of faith and logically working through a worldview. I was particularly struck by this paragraph (in “The Real Contest”) that gets at the intersection of faith and politics:

The real contest today is not defined in the context of political parties. Rather, it’s a fight between a mindset that seeks to justify its morality by asking “Is it Constitutional?” as opposed to “Is it right?” It’s not whether or not you have the Constitutional right, it’s whether or not you are morally right in doing whatever it is that you’re attempting to justify.

Bruce is right that the deeper question is “Is it right?” when defining morality. As Os Guiness points out, the constitution gives us only “parchment barriers” against tyranny and other abuse of power. What’s really needed is an ethical society that doesn’t need anything stronger. Unfortunately, the (mostly Christian) virtues needed for a thriving constitutional republic are nearly extinct, or only exist in pockets throughout the country.

I also appreciated the dialogue in the comments this week. Thanks Kevin McGarry for speaking up and offering a contrary perspective.

I have to admit that being away from the news and social media for almost two weeks was refreshing. I opened a couple of news apps while I was away and quickly closed them after reading a few of the headlines. We are a nation out of control.

It’s always the same stuff. The latest on Trump. The latest on Biden. A fight over the stopgap funding bill between the Rs and the Ds. A fight among the GOP to expel either Matt Gaetz or Kevin McCarthy because of broken promises. Some stupid fire alarm stunt in DC. The latest on Swift and Kelce, Brady and Kardashian, the transgender craze, the ongoing invasion of foreigners and the national debt reaching $33 trillion.

It never stops.

It was a relief to ignore the the chaos.

But we can’t ignore it forever. What is happening will eventually touch every one of us. We need to stay informed and alert. We need to prepare for the worst because that’s what those in power are planning — the worst.

Stay tuned.