A Republic…if You Can Keep It

There is so much going on that one could get whiplash toggling between breaking news headlines. Are we watching the collapse of the great American experiment and a tragic answer to Benjamin Franklin’s words from 1787? Asked what the Constitutional Convention had produced, he responded, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.”

Well, we don’t seem to be doing such a great job of keeping this Republic going. The unprecedented leak from the Supreme Court and the creation of a governmental Disinformation Governance Board are only two of the many stories that lead to that conclusion. And I’m only talking about this week.

What can a caring, concerned and confounded citizen do? Prayer is a given, but God expects us to play our role. Whether it is building an ark, walking into the Red Sea, battling to conquer the land of Israel, or the Shunamite woman gathering jugs before the miracle of the oil could take place, God seems to bless our efforts rather than treating them as meaningless gestures, despite the fact that, ultimately, salvation is in His hands.

Here are three ways I am challenging myself to react:

1) Becoming a proactive rather than reactive consumer. Not only do we, as individuals, pay more attention to negative news than positive news, but the media reports shocking and distressing news more frequently and with more fervor. Did you hear that the Supreme Court voted unanimously this week that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by not allowing a local organization to fly a Christian flag outside city hall? Granted that there have been terrible flags flown in Boston and that a Satanic group is now using the Supreme Court verdict to request that its own flag be flown, but nonetheless, traditional and religious people fighting back is worthy of notice. For too long, too many conservatives have acted like spineless jellyfish.

2) Keeping a sense of humor. The Left is grim and dour. While I don’t want to laugh off the assaults on civilization and thus ignore them, laughter is often a better response than shouting. Remember the tale of the Emperor’s New Clothes? When the citizenry moved from fearful acquiescence to guffawing, there was nothing more for the mendacious tailors to say.

3) Working overtime to keep my own head on straight and my family protected by focusing on our own 5Fs. I, sadly, know too many peers who worked actively for their local religious and civic groups while assuming that simply by growing up in their homes, their children would absorb correct messages. Many of them sacrificed to pay for these children to get college educations, unaware that the schooling would distance their children from them and their values. No one with open eyes today should be unaware that sending a child to kindergarten or even just to library storytime, let alone university, without constant examination of what’s happening there, is foolhardy and dangerous. I need to surround myself with family and friends to buttress me when wrong is overwhelmingly presented as right until I begin to doubt myself, and I need to make sure that I can articulate my views lovingly and firmly to others.

Are these three steps enough? Not by a long shot. However, they will suffice for one week’s inspiration. What are you doing this week to build and maintain while so many around us seek to damage and destroy?

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