Exposing the Towers of Babel: Part 2 Can we go forward in our democracy without imploding?
Who are the Fascists really?
Fascist activity sprang from a rejection of freedom of expression. Aggression was it’s tool. The brownshirts of Nazi Germany were aggressive and destroyed public and personal property.
Donald Trump was accused by the media of representing and fostering a fascist movement. Now we have Assad in Syria gassing his own people – again, and suddenly the media is no longer harping on Trump in quite the same way. But I digress…
To my mind, the aggression on Inauguration Day of those who opposed Trump’s presidency revealed their hearts, and in so doing, they displayed the attitude and behaviour of which they accused Trump and his supporters.
There is a divide in American politics, which is also visible throughout Europe. Secular Humanism is at odds with its own roots: the JudeoChristian values and laws on which the West was built. But this divide must be mended because there is a much greater threat to Western society.
At the Heart of Islam
As migration increases from Northern Africa and the Middle East into Western society, and as a significant Muslim population moves into Europe, bringing with it its culture and religion, both JudeoChristian values and Secular Humanist values are under challenge. What we have in common is democracy. Perhaps that is the place where we need to come together.
Islam, whether peaceful or not, has a manifesto to take over the countries in which its people reside. Rather than assimilate, this group stands on its own faith and culture, and according to many, seeks to alter the political and legal landscape.
Can we Stand to Stand together?
In the political climate of Western society, the establishment which is under threat. From outside there is a force which seeks to break it open and pull it down. On the other hand, the establishment does not like transparency and seems to prefer things as they are, denying corruption and the manipulation of the people. Who is right and who is wrong?
One is seeking to destroy the Towers of Babel (clean the cesspool), the other is saying the Towers of Babel hold things in place (offer security).
Given Arab Spring and the collapse of that society’s Towers, I think it is fair to say there is a danger to have nothing in place. But in their zeal to come against threat, some of those who fight to protect liberal values seem blinded by their own self-righteousness. The liberal-minded Secular Humanist attitude manifests as radical and intolerant behaviour.
For a long while, I sense there has been an undercurrent of hostility toward traditional values which runs like this,
“We can stifle the Christians, we can suppress the Jews, but we must placate the Muslims because otherwise they’ll turn on us.”
Well, some of them have turned on us anyway!
Christians have been a silent majority for decades. Under Trump there is a hope that freedom of expression will return and with it the values of righteousness under God. Some have demonstrated a level of passion equal to the Secular Humanists. At the other extreme are those faithful who watch and pray for God’s Word to be upheld and honoured.
Arab spring occurred in an atmosphere of oppression in the Middle East. Although it began in Tunisia, it spread like wild fire. A direct result is the situation in Syria, where the established government clings to power, and forces citizens who do not like the ruler to flee or be killed. ISIS is the opposition, seeking to destroy Assad’s regime, and any others in the West who do not value Islamic systems.
We don’t want collapse in the West. But fighting from within makes it difficult to combat the intrusion of a different system, that of Islam.
A house divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25). Instead, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity (Psalm 133).
We in the West have to work together if we want to hang onto Democracy. I’m not suggesting moral or value compromise, but if we want democracy to continue, surely we need to stand together with those who adhere to it, in order to defend it.