Greetings from Tyler,
Now that the worldly season of “joy” is a fading memory and most New Year’s resolutions have already been broken, reality is closing in from all directions. If there wasn’t enough to worry about with Europe’s outbreak of terrorist plots and a Muslim immigrant crime wave, the American president used his State of the Union address to reiterate his unrepentant intent to visit the same degradation upon the United States. We got the expected scolding about insulting Muslims and rejecting anyone who would dare, wrapped in an extended monologue of self-congratulation.
Anyone with a smattering of knowledge about current events and the president’s role in them could easily dissect the speech and respond accordingly. That certainly has been done by several pundits and commentators, but he wasn’t speaking to them or anybody else with knowledge and understanding. It was a “legacy speech” untethered to facts or reality, intended as talking points for his defenders and the uninformed.
As far as I can tell, no one has picked up on the president’s gesture when he said “When you insult Muslims…” he brought his open palm to his chest. Usually the gesture is used to communicate something that is deeply personal to the speaker, and in this case it obviously is. In case you didn’t hear how that line played out, it concluded with “… that doesn’t make you strong, it only makes you weak.” He made no mention of the infinite number of ways Muslims get insulted. Perhaps the greatest insult would be to stand firm on your belief in Christianity.
Some worried that his intent from the beginning was to undermine U.S. foreign policy, to weaken our military, and to wildly increase American indebtedness beyond any hope of recovery. There’s no question that he succeeded in appeasing and emboldening America’s enemies to the alarm and outrage of our allies. But he’s also spent as much as all presidents in U.S. history combined, splurging on social programs, immigrant support and beefed up regulatory agencies. Seeing the alarming collapse in securities and investments splashed across today’s headlines we’re asking ourselves if this isn’t another Obama success story.
The treatment of U.S. Navy personnel at the hands of the Iranian military, made to kneel with hands on their heads and detained overnight is actually presented as proof of Obama’s success in negotiating a nuclear deal suitable to the ayatollah. The fact that the Iranians forced and broadcast a humiliating apology from the Navy’s boat captain is no big deal. ISIS, with its reign of worldwide terror to include the United States is also no big deal. Releasing $100 some odd billion along with relieving the sanctions against Iran while they continue pursuing nuclear ambitions is “the right thing to do.” Muslim refugees from Syria, Iraq and northern Africa can’t be turned away or sent back because, “that’s not who we are.”
He’s just released another ten terrorists from Guantanamo Bay, five of which are designated as “high risk for returning to terror groups,” and the other five “medium risk.” They’re going to Oman temporarily, and expected to rejoin the fight. At least two of the released detainees never wavered in their stated intentions to “kill all Americans” and one of them threatened to behead commanders and soldiers at Guantanamo. The release is being described as a humanitarian gesture. It’s “who we are,” or who he says we are.
Meanwhile, ISIS continues its reign of terror all over the world. One of their suicide bombers, a Syrian refugee just killed ten in Istanbul, eight of whom were Germans. ISIS also set off a series of bombs and shootings in Jakarta, Indonesia yesterday. Late last week we had an attack on a police officer in Philadelphia by an immigrant who, by his own admission was acting on behalf of ISIS in accordance with the Koran.
But for at least another year, we’ll continue being scolded that terrorism has nothing to do with Islam, as the Mayor of Philadelphia insisted, disputing the statement of the attacker himself. More and more refugees from the Middle East will come in after being vetted and approved by the UN. Secretary of State John Kerry just announced that we’ll be increasing the number to be legally accepted into the United States from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, also to be “pre-approved” by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Surely the UN has our best interests in mind!
Despite the president’s repeated insistence that his policies have increased the world’s respect for the United States, there’s no sign of that unless you consider Iran’s release of our sailors, after they were duly humiliated, as a sign of respect. By that line of logic, Angela Merkel must have gained tremendous worldwide respect for the unbelievable mess she’s instigated for Germany and much of Europe.
Western civilization is absolutely in decline. Europe is further down the path of destruction due to years of socialistic policies and lately the importation of Muslims who have no intention of abandoning their cultural persuasion let alone their death-cult religion. But the current administration is doing everything within its power to put the United States in similar circumstances.
Obama can claim the United States has the greatest military might on earth, and that may be true. But our military has been hobbled by unrealistic “rules of engagement” in the Middle East, basically been kept away from ISIS but for the odd bombing raid, and even that is just for show. They’ve been forced to accept open homosexuality within their ranks, even forced to accept and celebrate their “marriages.”
Political correctness flies in the face of truth and reality. It openly defies belief in God and adherence to His Laws. And now it’s catching up. Financial markets in the United States and around the world are reeling. Even the most liberal of outlets are saying that the mounting economic crisis will overshadow the Great Recession of 2008, from which we’ve never completely recovered. We don’t know how deep it will go or how we’ll be affected personally, but a financial bloodbath is already in progress.
While at least a substantial percentage of Americans have realized that our history and heritage are being trashed at the altar of multiculturalism, many think that a new president will be able to return the nation to security and prosperity. But there’s no guarantee of that, and given the extent of the damage it’s less likely yet. Apparently there will be no going back short of a mass repentance for having disrespected God and His Laws. Insulting Mulsims makes us weak? What about insulting God?
Mark Armstrong
