NOTES ON AMATEUR HOUR IN AMERICA: FROM A SHINING CITY ON A HILL TO A SHIP OF FOOLS IN 1,335 DAYS Part II

PART II: HOW WE’RE DOING TODAY

SCRIPTURE. “For when the world with all its earthly wisdom failed to perceive and recognize and know God by means of its own philosophy, God in His wisdom was pleased through the foolishness of preaching [salvation, procured by Christ and to be had through Him], to save those who believed (who clung to and trusted in and relied on Him).” – 1 CORINTHIANS 1:21, AMPC

QUOTATIONS

“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: It is dearness only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as Freedom should not be highly rated.” – THOMAS PAINE, ‘The American Crisis,’ 16 Pamphlets, 1776-1783; edited

“So don’t ever forget, this election is about you. It’s about your family, your future and the fate of your country. We begin our campaign with the best record, the best results, the best agenda, and the only positive Vision for our country’s future. Together, we will continue unleashing the power of American enterprise, so every American can know the dignity of work and the pride of a paycheck.” – DONALD TRUMP, President of the United States, June 16, 2020

“As a society we need to reflect on the events to date and realize that it is critical that a Vision for the transformation of how we deliver public services is the top issue to be debated in all elections. This Vision is needed at all levels of government.” – TOM GOLWAY, Author of ‘Edge to Cloud,’ with Marty Poniatowski, 2020; edited

Selah.

FIRST THOUGHTS

This time I begin by breaking my typical pattern of Introduction, in going straight to the Scripture that announces my entire argument for this Teaching on “How We’re Doing Today.” It has to do with what Messrs. Paine, Trump and Golway all mentioned above:

VISION. About which King Solomon wrote so concisely.

“Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]—blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.” – PROVERBS 29:18, AMPC

DEFINITION. A term of monumental importance to the Purpose-driven follower of Christ, taken from the Hebrew, ‘Chazown’ [חָזוֹן]: Based on a root word, ‘Chazah,’ meaning, “To divide [or discriminate], to behold or see (clearly); to select ‘the real’ as over against ‘the false;’ to prophesy; a sight or revelation directly from God (concerning an endeavor); an oracle or, again, a prophecy or dream [cf. Joel 2:28].”

Clearly, whether we are considering an individual, or business enterprise, politics, or an entire Nation of people or…a Church – Sound Vision is Prerequisite to survival and success. Period. Full stop. Beginning and end of an effective life.

And that Vision must, must come from God.

THESIS. America has Lost her Heavenly Vision, and its counterpart in our Founding Vision, as that ‘Shining City on a Hill,’ spoken of so eloquently by the Messiah:

“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good deeds and moral excellence, and [recognize and honor and] glorify your Father who is in heaven.” – MATTHEW 5:14, AMP

This is what the noted sociologist, ROBERT BELLAH, called America’s ‘Loss of our Sense of Place,’ i.e., our Original Identity and Purpose. Though he was not likely a believer referring to The Christ, he followed closely in the footsteps of Alexis de Toqueville’s view that America’s Greatness was found ‘in her Churches.’ – cf. ‘Democracy in America,’ 2 Volumes, 1835, 1840

“In the absence of any Objectifiable Criteria of right or wrong, good or evil, the Self and its feelings become our only moral guide…There each individual is entitled to his or her own ‘bit of space’ and is utterly free within its boundaries.” – ‘Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life,’ 1985; edited

While that might sound good to many readers, careful assessment of it is a primitive definition of Intellectual and Spiritual Anarchy, wherein each man defines for himself what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false.

So now let’s look some of the Details of Where We Are Today. It is not a pretty picture, beloved, but then I suspect you already knew that.

WHAT AMERICA WAS PROMISED

The following Review lays out what America believed it was getting in 2016 in a Trump Presidency and Vision. I use this as an important Baseline by which to compare what comes in the next section, that deals with what we actually Got.

Taken from a ‘BBC News Analysis,’ “Donald Trump Policies: Where Does the President Stand on Key Issues,” published on September 28, 2020; edited slightly.

JOBS & MONEY. “President Trump has long campaigned on ‘America First’ Principles, and has pushed for bringing jobs and manufacturing back to the US. During his first campaign, Mr. Trump promised huge tax cuts for working Americans, to lower the corporate tax rate, to shake up the trade status quo and to revive American manufacturing. On some of those, he has delivered. In the last four years, he has rolled back federal regulations on businesses, enacted corporate and income tax cuts and signed executive orders supporting preferences for domestic-made products.”

TRADE. “Mr. Trump first campaigned on the promise the US should put focus on its own Economic Interests though he has said ‘America First’ does not mean ‘America alone’. On Trade, Mr. Trump has taken a hard-line stance on China, coupled with a policy to protect local manufacturers from foreign competition – and those remain the key aspects of his trade policy. Throughout his first term, the president emphasised his work renegotiating past trade deals he says were unfair to the US – like NAFTA, between the US, Canada, and Mexico – or leaving them outright – like the Trans-Pacific Partnership. On the 2016 campaign trail, he also promised to fix the US Trade Deficit (the gap between imports v exports), which, for the first time in six years did decline in 2019, though economists disagree on whether this suggests an improvement in the economy.”

FOREIGN POLICY. “As with trade, Mr. Trump has also promised to put ‘America First’ in US Foreign Policy. In the White House’s words, that means ‘Reasserting American sovereignty and the right of all nations to determine their own futures’, with a focus on ensuring Security and Prosperity. What has that meant in practice? It has included stepping away from some large multilateral agreements like the Paris Climate Accord or pulling back from some multilateral organisations, like the World Health Organization. He has challenged some International Alliances, pushing for North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members to boost their defence spending in the military alliance. And he has recently reiterated a promise to bring down US troop levels overseas – which are currently at about the same level as when he took office – specifically in places like Germany and Afghanistan. Critics have said he has created Tensions with historically close US Allies while reaching out to Adversaries like North Korea and Russia. He has had foreign policy successes, recently helping to broker a deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalise relations.”

IMMIGRATION. “Promises to Curb Immigration Levels have been foundational to the president’s political career. Now, as he seeks re-election he has promised to continue the construction of a Border Wall on the US-Mexico border – he has so far secured funding for 445 miles (716 km) of the 722 mile barrier. He also vows to eliminate the visa lottery and chain migration – meaning immigration to the US that is based on family ties – and shift to a ‘Merit-based’ Entry System. Mr. Trump’s plans for immigration reform faced defeat this summer when the Supreme Court ruled against his administration’s bid to rescind Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which protects about 650,000 young people who entered the US without documents as children.”

HEALTH. “Mr. Trump campaigned in 2016 on repealing the Affordable Care Act, brought in by former President Barack Obama. Though falling short of a complete repeal, the administration has succeeded in undoing parts of that law including a repeal of the individual mandate, which required people to buy health insurance or pay a tax penalty. President Trump has also promised to bring down drug prices in the US, and in July brought in measures that would allow discounts and import of cheaper drugs from abroad, though some industry analysts have said they would not have much effect. He declared the Opioid Crisis a national health emergency in 2017 and offered $1.8 billion in federal funding to states for prevention, treatment and recovery measures. He has also taken steps to restrict opioid prescribing. But critics say his ongoing efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act, which expanded healthcare coverage to millions, is detrimental to battling the opioid crisis.”

CLIMATE CHANGE. “Since he took office, Mr. Trump has rolled back hundreds of Environmental Protections, including limits on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and vehicles, and protections for federal waterways across the country, fulfilling a campaign promise from 2016. He also withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, saying the deal disadvantaged the US ‘to the exclusive benefit of other countries’. That withdrawal will only be formally completed after November’s election. Most recently, his administration approved oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which has been off-limits for drilling for decades.”

CRIMINAL JUSTICE. “President Trump has touted the First Step Act as a key step he made towards Criminal Justice Reform. The 2018 bipartisan bill was significant, and reformed laws at the federal level, giving judges more discretion during sentencing as well as strengthening prisoner rehabilitation efforts. Mr. Trump had also promised a follow-up Second Step Act that would address employment barriers for former prisoners, though no such legislation has been proposed thus far. During his 2016 campaign, Mr. Trump branded himself as a firm advocate of Law Enforcement and has remained so during his presidency, most recently escalating his support of police amid the nationwide protests against racial injustice. In June, President Trump signed an Executive Order introducing several police reforms, offering federal grants for improved practices, including the creation of a database to trace abuses by officers. The president has said that controversial chokehold methods for restraining suspects should be prohibited ‘generally speaking’, but has not moved to enforce a ban.”

GUN CONTROL. “After the US was rocked by mass shootings in Texas and Ohio in 2019, Mr. Trump expressed support for a Series of Reforms, like tighter background checks for gun buyers and ‘Red Flag Laws,’ which block access to firearms for those who are deemed a risk to society. But after this initial flurry of interest, Mr. Trump has done little to move these ideas forward. The president has instead continued his vocal defence of the US Constitution’s Second Amendment – which preserves Americans’ right to bear arms – and of the powerful gun lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA).”

ABORTION. [Added from another source, BBC having overlooked it]: Trump was asked if he would support or sign a bill that would defund Planned Parenthood. ‘Yes, because as long as they do the abortion, I am not for funding Planned Parenthood,’ Trump said in response. ‘They do other good work. You look at cervical cancer. I’ve had women tell me they do some excellent work so I think you also have to put that into account, but I would defund Planned Parenthood because of their view and the fact of their work on abortion’…[Re: Reversing Roe v Wade]: ‘Well, if that would happen, because I am pro-life, and I will be appointing pro-life judges, I would think that that will go back to the individual states.” – AUTHOR’S NOTE: The President has signed three funding bills in a row for Planned Parenthood, the last of which in 2019 set a record for both funding and consequent abortions]. – MATTHEW IMPELLI, “Donald Trump’s View on Abortion and Roe v Wade In His Own Words,” ‘Newseek,’ September 29, 2020; edited

THE QUESTION. Now in all this high sounding social, economic and political policy, what do you see in this VISION FOR AMERICA any Divine Providence suggested by it? Once addressed, we can safely move to the Next Section understanding where this has inexorably led.

Please do not miss this Historic and Theological Point.

WHAT AMERICA GOT

Please indulge me now after a comparatively Dispassionate (and typically British) Review, to cut to the chase. I will here present a brief but blunt-edged Critical Assessment of THE PRICE America has paid for electing this man – and what we therefore might Expect in the Future, should he be reelected. That will be taken up in Part III of this Series.

Adapted from DAVID K. SHIPLER, “Eight Things Trump Reveals About America,” ‘Washington Monthly,’ October 9, 2020; edited.

THE FRAGILITY OF DEMOCRATIC VALUES. “When Trump Refuses to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election, he should be instantly disqualified in the mind of every American citizen who understands that nonviolent transition is the linchpin of democracy, setting free societies apart from dictatorships. No president of the United States has ever before raised such a question about this hallowed principle. He was finally dragged into a begrudging ‘Yes, I will’ under tough questioning at last week’s televised town hall, then seemed to add a condition: ‘But I want it to be an honest election.’ He attacked its honesty in advance with fabricated stories of discarded and altered ballots. No president of the United States has ever before campaigned against the legitimacy of the electoral process. And while impediments to voting have plagued this Democracy since its Founding, the Republican Party’s national strategy to silence the people’s voices through myriad means ought to be cause enough for alarm and rejection.”

THE RESILIANCE OF RACIAL BIGOTRY. “The election of Barack Obama confused some Americans into imagining that the country had entered a post-racial era. Instead, Obama’s very presence in the White House stimulated a Backlash in certain quarters, which Trump then exploited. During his campaign and once in office, he Fractured the veneer of propriety. After a long period in which submerged prejudices were largely encrypted and expressed obliquely, Trump’s words and attitudes have given permission and legitimacy for explicit bigotry. Latent Racism has been reanimated, Hate Crimes have risen, people of color have encountered increased Hostility in casual encounters with whites, and white supremacist movements have been emboldened. Trump has tapped a deeper well of Racial Animosity than many Americans realized still existed.”

THE SUSCEPTIBLITY TO PROPAGANDA. “With the help of a vast Propaganda Network that includes Fox News and conservative talk radio, Trump has used smears, lies, and exaggerations to create false narratives, manipulate perceptions, and thereby expose a widespread lack of critical thinking among Americans. This Disconnection from Facts comes in an Internet Era when it is both easier and harder to get accurate information: Easier because of the multiplicity of sources to rapidly check what you hear, Harder because of the multiplicity of sources whose reliability is unknown. Yet the numbers of citizens who believe the Falsehoods suggests little schooling in how to sort fact from fiction, do basic research, and resist believing only what confirms your opinions.”

THE POWER OF A PERSONALITY CULT. “It is unusual for so many Americans to practice a kind of Idol Worship of a president, but Trump has managed to excite just such a phenomenon among millions. His narcissism at the expense of larger public interests subtracts surprisingly little from his support. In addition, the Republican Party has been readily co-opted into the adoration. Like the shell of a political party in an autocratic system, the Republicans of 2020 did not even write a Policy Platform at their Convention, instead simply endorsing whatever Trump wishes as he goes along. This deference to a person rather than to policy or principle is a Warning Sign for any democracy, especially if another Trump arrives who is smoother and more sophisticated in broadening support by avoiding the coarse, insulting behavior that characterizes this president.”

INDIFFERENCE TO PERSONAL AND GOVERNMENTAL ETHICS. “Trump’s Personal Immorality in his manner toward women, his self-dealing in his businesses at taxpayers’ expense, his tax avoidance, his sale of governmental favors to friends and associates, his insults of military men and women, his narcissism, his practice of nepotism, and the like have provoked little outrage except on the Left. Conflicts of Interest abound in his administration, and his cavalier Discarding of Ethics Rules has ruffled no feathers among his party or the citizens who support him. His is the most Corrupt Administration in modern America. The country’s threshold for indignation has been raised so high that it now defines an expansive field of wrongdoing that will probably be tolerated by much of the public going forward. ‘Defining Deviancy Down,’ Pat Moynihan used to say.”

THE POLITICIZATION OF THE LAW, SCIENCE, AND GOVERNING INSTITUTIONS. “Trump is not the first president to ignore the Rule of Law, install loyalists in regulatory positions, or use the Justice Department for political purposes. But his ability to find and recruit people who are as intellectually corrupt as he indicates the existence of a wide scope of brazen, self-serving citizens with no moral brakes and no regard for traditional limits of behavior. That part of the Political Class prides ‘Winning’ above preserving the credibility and professionalism of government institutions. The Interference with expertise in medicine, the environment, and foreign policy has provoked a hemorrhage of skilled professionals from government, damaged public health, and undermined public confidence in science. The Damage, which has made hardly a dent among his core supporters, will long outlast him.”

NONCHALANCE ABOUT HOSTILE FOREIGN INFLUENCE. “Republicans, once hyper-vigilant about National Security, now shrug off attempts by Russia, China, Iran, and possibly other countries to exacerbate Americans’ domestic divisions and distort elections. They have been called Vichy Republicans, an overdrawn allusion to the French government that collaborated with the Nazis under German Occupation. Their posture raises the Troubling Question of how soft a target the United States could be for undue interference in the future. Other countries have learned what Americans have learned about the society’s fissures and vulnerabilities.”

HATRED. “As each side of the political spectrum Vilifies the other, the Common Ground is eaten away. Trump’s vulgar rhetoric, predated and now amplified by that of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other inciters, has driven in wedges that will not be easy to dislodge. Just as radio was used in Rwanda to incite the 1994 Genocide, mass media are being used in the United States to Mobilize Hatred. Rightwing Demonization of liberals, cleverly begun by Limbaugh many years ago, has now ignited an opposing denigration by liberals of conservatives. Consequently, a National Crisis no longer Unites, as it did after September 11, 2001. It Splinters America.”

IN SUM. “All this will leave the United States with an ongoing Burden of Problems even if Trump loses the election. Some could be addressed by improved secondary schooling. Many students are obviously not taught enough about Democratic principles and institutions, the History of racial stereotyping and discrimination, or given the skills to research carefully and think critically. Such other tasks as mitigating poverty, facilitating voting, improving governmental ethics, and reconstructing the common ground essential to repair our civil society will require intense thinking and creative work. That’s the silver lining to this gloomy specter: Defects are out in the open, and seeing problems is the first step in solving them.”

I can add very little to this Pulitzer Prize winning journalist; he largely speaks my mind and heart. And, I dare to add, much of Almighty God’s Heart. For this is what THE CHURCH elected, and continues to defend on ostensible Policy Grounds, outlined in the earlier section.

THE FALWELL BOOST. Several articles agree that the most powerful Evangelical force to help elect President Trump was Jerry Falwell’s early, effusive endorsement in January of 2016. My own firing at Liberty University the following March continues to cast me in the role of ‘First Canary’ in the Coal Mine.

A not entirely dubious distinction, I do confess.

All of which has been mitigated by what DR. DAVID MARKOWITZ, professor of psychology, language and technology claims are 23.8 Lies per day (average rate for most of us is 2-3 per day) as of May 5, 2020, the date of publication in Forbes. Most sources agree that this adds up, conservatively, to 20,000 lies in 1,335 days in office.

In light of these Undeniable Facts, hear this, Church, hear this. Your very Lampstands depend on it. – cf. Revelation 2:5

“The coming of the [Antichrist, the lawless] one is through the activity of Satan, [attended] with great power [all kinds of counterfeit miracles] and [deceptive] signs and false wonders [all of them lies], and by unlimited seduction to evil and with all the deception of wickedness for those who are perishing, because they did not welcome the love of the truth [of the gospel] so as to be saved [they were spiritually blind, and rejected the truth that would have saved them].” – 2 THESSALONIANS 2:9-10, AMPC

Selah, Church. Selah.

STATE OF THE AMERICAN SOUL

Let me state clearly here that Donald John Trump is NOT the Cause of the American Decline, but he most assuredly constitutes both Symptom and Stimulant for its Destructive Trajectory. He seems to revel in that role, celebrate it, and Provoke it at every opportunity.

You will or will not forgive me here, but all this surmise on the tragic, inarguable and now Rapid Collapse of the American Vision recalls what theoretical physicist and ‘Father of the Atom Bomb,’ ROBERT OPPENHEIMER spoke ever so soberly of the First Nuclear test, when they witnessed what they were about to unleash upon the whole planet ten years earlier.

“I am become Death, the Destroyer of worlds.”

The now infamous Quotation he took from the Prabhavananda and Isherwood translation of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’ (1945), could well become the American Ensign, should we continue on this deliberate Path to Destruction.

THE LARGER THREAT. But I and a minority band of scholars believe that there is a Greater Danger than the nuclear annihilation signaled by Oppenheimer – ‘The Dismemberment of the American Soul.’ Which is why I repeatedly and relentlessly attack the Center of that Collapse – the Church.

Alexis de Toqueville again, perhaps said it best in his monumental work, ‘Democracy in America,’ published in two volumes in 1835 and 1840. He proclaimed in a variety of ways that ‘America is Great because America is Good. America will cease being great when she ceases being good,’ and presciently warned of the Rise of an American Despot in this regard.

“TYRANNY in democratic republics does not proceed in the same way, however. It ignores the body and goes straight for the Soul. The Master no longer says: ‘You will think as I do or die.’ He says:

‘You are free not to think as I do. You may keep your life, your property, and everything else. But from this day forth you shall be as a stranger among us. You will retain your civic privileges, but they will be of no use to you. For if you seek the votes of your fellow citizens, they will withhold them, and if you seek only their esteem, they will feign to refuse even that. You will remain among men, but you will forfeit your rights to humanity. When you approach your fellow creatures, they will shun you as one who is impure. And even those who believe in your innocence will abandon you, lest they, too, be shunned in turn. Go in peace, I will not take your life, but the life I leave you with is worse than death.’”

V. LAST THOUGHTS

Here I am put in mind of the 1971 American Anthem by Don McClean, “American Pie,” whose iconic lyric was, and is: “The Day the Music Died” – A Time that decried an America in Historic Transfer, from the sweeter innocence of the 1950s, through the Turbulence of the 1960s, followed by the Disillusionment of the 1970s.

Until today, 2020.

McLean saw an American Death some 50 years ago – and now, so do we, beloved, and none seem sure anymore about what to do to stop it. Yet as we have argued passionately for three years now, The Truth remains, that we have Forgotten Who made us Great in the first place.

And that, dear friends, is the very Center of the Crisis.

We have Forgotten God, as the Russian dissident Alexandr Solzhenitsyn fairly shouted it to us in his Speech in London in receipt of the Templeton Prize for Literature in London in 1983. He ended his address with this extraordinary insight:

“If we perish and lose this world, the fault will be ours alone.”

A JEWISH VIEW. But let me close with a deeply thoughtful piece, penned by ERIC COHEN, an observant Jewish writer, executive director of the Tikvah Fund, editor-at-large of ‘The New Atlantis,’ and author of ‘In the Shadow of Progress: Being Human in the Age of Technology,’ published in 2008.

His moving and personal reflection published in ‘National Affairs’ this past Summer, 2020, “The American Soul in a Time of Plague,” posits that the unavoidable Fulcrum of our present Crisis is the Coronavirus. The ‘Thing’ that has so quickly altered the very course of World History, and the lives of every one of us.

TWIN SALVOS. For the record, I propose that Two Factors have unprecedentedly altered the course of American and World History, in irrefutable scientific and spiritual Fact: Donald Trump and Covid-19. They have dynamically Interacted to provide an Epochal Pivot for the Redirection of all Human experience.

This Point cannot be underestimated in its Impact on, without exception, every single human institution in the Decade of the 2020s. Including especially, Religion and Politics – i.e., Church and State.

That said, here are some of his Quiet Reflections on the America of Today in the aftermath of so much tragedy swirling all around us. Ponder it well, beloved; I am convinced there is Divine Structure to it.

THE CRISIS. “Moments of Extended Crisis — and the Covid-19 Pandemic certainly counts as a crisis — tend to reveal the many faces of man. We find ourselves reeling as normal life — the daily errands, the outing to a ballgame, the walk to a child’s bus stop — comes to an abrupt halt. We fear illness and death, and we shudder at the bags of dead bodies that pile up like mammal carcasses in temporary morgues, prompting us to lament that ‘the preeminence of man over the animals is nothing, for all is but a fleeting breath.’”

AMERICAN HEROES. “Yet we also stand in awe of the heroic doctors and nurses caring for sick strangers even with protective masks and gowns in short supply. And we pray for the brilliant scientists — with minds and souls made in the image of God — working in teams around the world to develop a vaccine, to re-assert some measure of human control over this near-invisible, indifferent, and novel Pathogen of Death.”

PERSONAL IMPACT. “My own family’s ordeal began early — on March 3, 2020. I had spent the previous day visiting with my dear friend and teacher Leon Kass, one of America’s most profound thinkers and writers on the human condition. In hours of conversation, Covid-19 never came up…The next morning, I drove my daughter to school — an orthodox Jewish yeshiva in the Bronx — at 6:30 a.m. The doors were locked. Just one security guard was there. We had missed the urgent text alert announcing that one of my daughter’s classmates had contracted Covid-19 and that the school was closed. And so it began: For our family, for thousands of families, for New York, for the nation…Then my own daughter began running a fever. Then she developed a terrible cough.”

SPIRITUAL REACH. “Somewhere along the way, I began reciting the daily Jewish Liturgy at home. I must confess that praying every morning was not my usual pre-Covid-19 routine. Saying ‘Shaharit’ (the Hebrew name for the morning sequence of prayers) was not part of some great personal religious awakening — I had already gone through that conversion many years ago. But like so many others, I felt that the moment demanded a change in my habits: It required a greater appreciation for the fragility of life, for the mystery of being, for the human need for Redemption.”

THE PRAYER. “In the words of one of the opening prayers: ‘What are we? What are our lives? What is our loving-kindness? What is our righteousness? What is our salvation? What is our strength? What is our might? What shall we say before You, LORD our God and God of our ancestors? Are not all the mighty like nothing before You, the men of renown as if they had never been, the wise as if they know nothing, and the understanding as if they lack intelligence? For their many works are in vain, and the days of their lives like a fleeting breath before You.’”

REFLECTIONS ON PURPOSE. “During these months, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan penned a series of eloquent columns capturing the existential questions burning inside us. Her piece published on May 21 read: ‘No matter what you do for a living, when you weren’t busy introspection knocked on the door and settled in…Many have been reviewing their lives, thinking not only of “What’s important” or “What makes me happy” but “What was I designed to do?”… Noonan believed — or hoped — that this metaphysical introspection would turn out well. ‘We will emerge a plainer people in a plainer country,’ she predicted, ‘and maybe a deeper one. Something Big inside us shifted.’”

SCIENCE AS REDEEMER. When the Pandemic began, we turned first to the scientists for help and guidance — and perhaps salvation — in confronting a novel terror. We looked to the experts for reliable data about the diffusion of the disease, for rapid testing to separate the sick from the well, for social-distancing strategies to minimize the spread, for hospital protocols to minimize suffering and death, for medicines to help us overcome the virus, and for the holy grail — a vaccine — that would protect us from it.”

NEED FOR TRANSCENDENCE. “Seen through the cold, rational, detached eye of Darwinian science, plagues and pathogens — especially those that wipe out the elderly, whose procreative powers are long gone — are nature’s way of keeping the cosmic story in motion…But most normal people do not buy this argument; they certainly do not act as though Darwinian metaphysics is true. And the Cartesians — in the name of science — reject the Darwinian answer entirely. Indeed, they see man as radically different from the rest of nature, consisting of a mind or spirit trapped inside a broken animal body — one that we should work relentlessly and methodically to fix.”

THREE REVOLTS. “In these early weeks, Dr. Anthony Fauci — who has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for over 35 years — emerged as the voice of authority. A distinguished scientist and doctor, Fauci became the chief rabbi of the Cartesians and the principal authority figure for a nation unified by its desire to fortify itself against danger and uncertainty. But as time went on, the limits of Cartesianism began to emerge. Though they remain heroes to some, Fauci and the managerial and scientific elite became villains in the eyes of others. Three distinctive revolts against Cartesianism — Nationalist, Libertarian, and Religious — demanded to be heard.”

NOONAN’S HOPE. “And so we wondered if perhaps — just perhaps — the Covid-19 crisis was the kind of Painful Shock to our domestic order that would Renew our cultural understanding of what counts: Family, Faith, Country, Calling. Perhaps Noonan’s Hope — that we will become a deeper people, a deeper nation, a better nation — would begin to come true…For men and women of Faith, life only makes sense because God hears their — our — cry. He remembers and redeems — remembering both the sick and the sinful, redeeming both our broken bodies and our broken souls. He sustains Hope in the Darkness, even and especially when Cartesianism alone cannot save us.”

C0DA. So there we have it beloved, summed up in an ancient Jewish Prayer full of rich reflections: In the final analysis, Science cannot save us. President Trump cannot save us. And, sadly and nearly unbelievably, the Church cannot save us either, having sunk deep into the mire of Cartesian Limitation and vastly worse, Political Idolatry.

Only God – For the Jew, Hashem. For the Christian, Hashem’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, Yeshua ben David. Only this Godhead, empowered by the Ruach ha Kodesh, the Holy Spirit of the Living God, can save America, dear friends.

As our friend, Mr. Cohen, so eloquently ends his Treatise on the American Crisis, this:

“For the Hard Truth is that we will never completely conquer Injustice any more than we will conquer Death and Disease: Mortality is our fate, waywardness our lot, measured improvements and temporary victories the best we can ever hope for this side of Heaven. But a Sacred Fire can still burn inside the American heart and home arrayed in a simple matron’s garb, and uttering her lessons with the tenderness of a mother’s voice and heart. The Holy Hearth! If any earthly and material thing — or rather, a Divine Idea, embodied in brick and mortar — might be supposed to possess the permanence of moral truth, it was this.

Perhaps that Fire — The ‘Holy Hearth’ — can yet renew and redeem us, beloved. I tell you all, it is the only thing that can.

Ever your servant, DK

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