Yet, however weak our country may be, I hope we shall never sacrifice our liberties. If, therefore, on a full and candid discussion, the proposed system shall appear to have that tendency, for God’s sake, let us reject it! But, let us not mistake words for things, nor accept doubtful surmises as the evidence of truth. Let us consider the Constitution calmly and dispassionately, and attend to those things only which merit consideration.
—Alexander Hamilton, in his Speech on the Compromises of the Constitution, June 20, 1788—
The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow.
—H. G. Wells—
Never let a crisis go to waste.
—Saul Alinsky, radical activist—
Key point: Leftists are anti-American and must be opposed and voted against at every opportunity. Events surrounding the coronavirus crisis underscore this truth.
The post I published immediately prior to this one — “Resist Tyranny, Part 1” — carried this introduction. It is worth repeating here.
In any crisis, perspective and sound thinking are essential. Why? First, actions based on fear aren’t actions, but reactions; and actions rooted in panic are knee-jerk reactions. A second reason is that plenty of people with nefarious motives wish to take advantage of crises to advance agendas that benefit themselves and that harm others.
Calling attention to these realities and warning people about them may subject the those who issue the warnings to accusations of callousness. Yet I believe in the vast majority of cases, these heroes are acting in a role similar to that of Paul Revere. They aren’t at all trying to minimize the crisis at hand but rather are endeavoring to encourage people to exercise discernment. When facing a crisis, the goal of fair-minded people ought to be to bring workable solutions to the emergency without creating or multiplying additional problems that can be difficult or even impossible to solve.
A Call to Prayer
On Friday, March 13, 2020, President Donald Trump tweeted the following:
It is my great honor to declare Sunday, March 15th as a National day of Prayer. We are a Country that, throughout our history, has looked to God for protection and strength in times like these.…
A day later, President Trump issued a formal proclamation for the Day of Prayer, which you can read in its entirety here. The left went ballistic, with one extremist (who doesn’t know America’s history) tweeting, “This goes against EVERYTHING the founding fathers stood for,” and another whining,
Donald Trump declared today a ‘National Day of Prayer.’ Few things:
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- 1. He is the most immoral person alive and doesn’t have the right.
- 2. Prayer won’t help, science will.
- 3. If you’re gonna clasp your hands together, add soap and water.
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Since this person obviously doesn’t believe in God, the question arises, On what basis can the claim be made that Trump “is the most immoral person alive and doesn’t have the right”? Ponder that one for a while!
Dennis Prager was spot-on when he declared that leftism is a religion, and “the vast majority of the people who affirm leftist beliefs think of their views as the only way to properly think about life.”
This makes every crisis Americans face a double-edged sword. One dangerous edge is the crisis-at-hand—the most obvious situation demanding attention; and the other is the savage strategy of leftists to use the main crisis as a pretense to advance their anti-American, socialist agenda. Notice I said leftists, not liberals. Liberals love America, but leftists hate this country and all it stands for.
When a Crisis Hits, Leftists See a Big Opportunity
While conservative and mainstream Americans, including a great many liberals, work hard to avoid being cut and wounded by the first sharp edge, they better also be wary of, and vigilant regarding, the perilous risk of being cut and wounded by the second edge radical leftists are giddy about using against them and against this great country.
I believe that as a society, we fail to appreciate just how dangerous fear and panic are, and just how bad the places are to which panic-driven people can be led. Situations like the coronavirus pandemic become huge opportunities for leftists to grow government, eliminate our freedoms, and promote their pet causes, including abortion and LGBT “rights.” Also in situations like this, people naturally look to the government for solutions. Government has a role to play, certainly; but there are many things government cannot do. As we have indicated, a great many opportunists exist who want to use the coronavirus as an excuse to gain control of people’s lives.
Unfortunately, as a society, we fail to appreciate just how dangerous fear and panic are, and just how bad the places are to which panic-driven people can be led.
On March 18, 2020, the United States Senate passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a relief package aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic. It will cost billions of dollars, but it will pave the way for Americans to get tested for the virus at no immediate cost to them, as well as paid leave from work. The bill passed the Senate 90 to 8. The House of Representatives previously had approved the proposed legislation, even though it initially was rushed through without enough time given for consideration. Texas Congressman Louis Gohmert strongly objected and initially voted against the bill, along with 39 of his Republican colleagues.
Abuse of Power
Guess what House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wanted the bill to include! Provision for taxpayer-funded abortions! The version of the bill she wanted passed did not invoke the Hyde Amendment, which restricts paying for abortion with taxpayer money. Writing for lifenews.com, Steven Ertelt reports, Speaker Pelosi’s version “authorized abortion funding because it funded anti-coronavirus activities in such a way that the funding came from portions of HHS that are not covered by the Hyde Amendment.” The Trump White House called out Pelosi and refused to support the bill as it was initially drafted—and the pro-abortion elements eventually were dropped. On Thursday, March 12, MSNBC host Joy Reid tweeted about Republicans’ questions concerning the bill.
Wow… @kasie [Hunt] just reported that Republicans’ objections to the House Democrats’ emergency coronavirus bill include issues related to abortion. What does that have to do with COVID19…?
Yet, it was Nancy Pelosi herself who was pushing a bill with abortion provisions (or at least abortion loopholes) in it. And mind you, she was pushing for these causes in an emergency bill designed to address a health crisis! Pro-life spokespersons rightly were appalled and expressed their revulsion to their Twitter followers.
Lila Rose of Live Action tweeted,
House Democrats are so unbelievably obsessed w/ abortion that they threaten to refuse economic relief to millions while a virus threatens lives unless they get to force tax funded abortion at the same time.
And then they blame the gridlock on “pro-life provisions.” Pure evil.
Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life tweeted,
Breaking – Speaker Nancy Pelosi tried to guarantee federal funding of abortion in the coronavirus economic stimulus plan?
People, this is the Swamp! The Evil and Digusting swamp the @realDonaldTrumpand @VP will need 4 more years to get rid of! #maga #trump2020
Marjorie Dannenfelser of the pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony List issued this statement:
Today the Trump Administration showed unyielding pro-life resolve by successfully applying the Hyde Amendment to funds in the coronavirus supplemental bill. This is vital to continue longstanding precedent that health-related funds be life-affirming. The Last thing Americans should have to worry about is whether or not emergency funds used for legitimate purposes could be ill-used for abortion or abortion-related services. We thank President Trump for his unwavering pro-life leadership.
It Wasn’t Just Abortion, Either
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins points out that Speaker Pelosi also was maneuvering to sneak in yet another unrelated provision.
In what would have been the first time in federal law -— ever — Democrats tried to equate “domestic partnerships” with marriage by adding benefits for anyone in “a committed relationship.” Of course, as [Republican] Congressman [Andy] Biggs pointed out Friday, “the problem with that is that it’s really hard to define a committed relationship… so they’ve tried to put in, in my opinion, kind of a [vague] definition. But that leaves it wide open — and then, they [can] expand on that. So two provisions that have nothing to do with the coronavirus are basically thrown into this thing. And that’s just par for the course for the for the activist Left.”…
They’re counting on the fact that with such a tight turnaround time, most members won’t have the chance to give the language a detailed read. Fortunately, our team [at FRC] is reading the small print and warned the White House that liberals were using this bill to water down marriage. The president’s staff took those concerns seriously, telling leaders at the negotiating table that the language had to go. It did. The section was fixed and sent on.
Championing bad ideas in the light of day and in debates people understand are about the issues for which you’re contending is one thing; sneaking in unrelated, controversial provisions into an emergency funding bill is quite another. Nevertheless, not letting a crisis go to waste “is standard operating procedure for the Left.”
Conservatives need to understand this, and all Americans need to vehemently oppose these underhanded tactics. Even those who favor the provisions Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues tried to finagle into the emergency coronavirus relief bill ought to be strongly opposed to the way they tried to make them law. Apparently, very few leftists oppose these tactics.
Limited Options—But It’s Clear what We Can’t Allow to Happen
As I see it, there’s only one path a concerned, liberty-loving American can take. I may be oversimplifying it, but if I am, I’m not by much. Where leftists are in, we must vote them out, and where they’re out, we must vote to keep them out.
Where leftists are in, we must vote them out, and where they’re out, we must vote to keep them out.
Though far from perfect, Donald Trump has persevered to keep pro-life promises, nominate conservative justices to the bench, and defend religious liberty. In a pre-coronavirus article not long ago, Dr. Michael Brown wrote about why he supports Trump, even with his imperfections. Here is a portion of what he said.
Never before in my memory have we seen the depths of the DC swamp. Or the bias and even dishonesty of the media (on both sides, actually, but especially on the left). Or the blood-thirsty nature of the pro-abortion camp. Or the extreme radicality of the left (including the new push for socialism and the attempt to silence opposing ideas, even violently). Or the danger of the internet giants suppressing conservative voices and influencing elections.
This is what Trump is fighting, and as flawed as he is, those of us who support him recognize that very few men would be able to withstand all this pressure without caving and compromising along the way.
Trump has also had a massive impact on the courts, to give just one important example of his major accomplishments. As RollingStone announced last month with some panic, “Trump’s Takeover of America’s Courts Just Hit a Terrifying New Milestone.
“Trump has now appointed one out of every four appeals-court judges — more than Obama did in eight years in office.”
This is already having a positive impact on some major, life and death rulings, with a potential impact that should positively affect the next generation.
That’s why the Democrats have been talking about impeachment virtually since the day Trump was elected.
And consider what the Democrats would do in response to the coronavirus crisis were they in charge. In an audio clip the Media Research Center took from Mark Levin’s radio show, Levin explains.
Make no mistake. Even at a time when it’s critical that Americans come together, radical leftists smell blood in the water and are unfairly going after Trump.
Trump is so effective in exposing the left’s agenda, and the left hates him so much, that Trump advisor Roger Stone has warned that the “Deep State ‘Plan C’ Is to Kill Trump.”
This is a perilous time in America, one when it is absolutely critical that we pray for our president, the rest of our leaders, and for the nation as a whole.
Moreover, we need to be informed, and we need to vote. On another page I list several articles that underscore my concerns about the upcoming election and America’s future. You can access that list here.
When we pray for our leaders and for the country, let’s make sure we ask God to use this crisis to turn Americans to Him. We need to repent of our sins and humbly seek God’s face. The words the King of Nineveh spoke after he heard Jonah’s preaching come to mind. He said,
Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?
Jonah then tells us, “Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”
May this be so in America, a place where repentance is long overdue!
Copyright © 2020 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.
top image: Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash
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