Monster

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to share rational thought. 

I've been meaning to read Imprimis, a publication of Hillsdale College that comes to us in the mail, on the regular. 

Sadly, with the busyness of life, I haven't met that goal as often as I would wish to. .

Just now, in the quiet of the early morning hours, I couldn't sleep and decided to straighten up and organize a bit. 

Cleaning off our kitchen counter, which sometimes serves as. . well, many things, I happened across a copy of  Hillsdale's September's issue, entitled "Inside the Transgender Empire," by Christopher F. Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. 

Perusing that article, I found myself at once inspired and deeply disturbed by what I found there. .

Perhaps this paragraph will sum it up, or at least give you a hint of the gist: 

"This is the great project of the trans-gender movement: to abolish the distinctions of man and woman, to transcend the limitations established by God and nature, and to connect the personal struggle of trans individuals to the political struggle to transform society in a radical way."

Really? Could this be possible? 

Could this be allowed somehow in Jefferson's America? In Lincoln's? 

Radical leftist have openly, vigorously, and violently pushed, and continue to push, their agenda on all of us, with the hope (?!) of transforming -not in a good way- the very essence of our country, our sacred Constitution, our core beliefs, ideals, etc, without remorse. . And they're not even trying to hide it! 

Have we really descended this far as a nation?

And a more thought provoking question. . Have we -as an enlightened, God fearing community- allowed it? 

I doubt our Founding Fathers could -or would- even give validity to this type of twisted thinking for a New York second, much less be able to stomach the details of the depravity involved. 

I doubt they would entertain such madness with less than horror and distain. .

They, having personally experienced intense persecution for their ideas and beliefs and eloquently elaborated upon the crimes of despotism, the joy and despair of the struggle for independence. . They, having led the necessary revolution against tyranny and having overcome the evils of a diabolical oppression, and the unfeeling oppressor bent on taking that freedom away, how would they view us today?

What would they think of the America we have become? 

Have we truly morphed into a Marxist Society so quickly? Have we allowed the deceptions of the adversary to infiltrate our beloved Land of the Free and alter it to the point of complete distortion in such a short amount of time?

Have we really allowed our National Identity to be changed from inherently rational and good. . to permissive and tolerant to the point of insanity in just 248 short years? Is the sacred legacy of the blood of our ancestors to be spat upon in this manner? How could we have allowed this to happen? 

After what our predecessors gave to bring about the inspired establishment of our Republic, will we not honor their memory more reverently than this?

Thinking ahead toward Easter, this line from a familiar and patriotic hymn, which I sincerely hope is still represented, come to mind.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me.

As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free. .

Free.

Have we come this far only to come this far? Have we allowed our collective ideology as Americans to be altered to this extent?

The word "conundrum" becomes redefined. .

Having been in an America where "traditional values" were for the most part highly respected, where parents still had charge over their own children and were generally respected by them, I find myself in the crux/dilemma/conundrum experienced by many of my peers

I am stuck, we are stuck, in the midst of a cultural phenomenon, a perceived yet pervasive transformation of country and culture that I find incredible ironic, highly frustrating and intensely disturbing.

The rising generation is being heavily influenced by incorrect, destructive propaganda on an unprecedented scale. 

And although I believe -I know- that most of us are inherently good here in the United States of America, I can very clearly see a monster rearing its very ugly head. . 

Having grown up in a less troubled, more free and more structured America, I can see very clearly the distinction between then and now, the confusion and chaos, the conflicting views and values, ideas that our children are currently being subjected to. . and was I was taught.

It's a miracle that we made it through adolescence with the difficulties associated, without the craziness and blatant depravity that they have to deal with now. 

I think we need to remember more carefully. . We need to think more carefully about our role in this time and place, and about what we allow to slip under the table. . I feel like we, who still remember what it was like to be truly free, etc, have an obligation to fight for what we know is right, for ourselves and for our children.

We need, for the sake of our posterity, to be involved in civic affairs and to be very aware of what we allow in the name of "fairness" or "individual expression." 

This segment states very clearly one perspective, with which I am in complete agreement.

NO MATTER HOW ADVANCED TRANS PHARMACEUTICALS AND SURGERIES BECOME, THE BIOLOGICAL REALITY OF MAN AND WOMAN CANNOT BE ABOLISHED; THE NATURAL LIMITATIONS OF GOD’S CREATION CANNOT BE TRANSCENDED. THE ATTEMPT TO DO SO WILL ELICIT THE SAME HEARTBREAK AND ALIENATION CAPTURED IN THE FINAL SCENE OF MARY SHELLEY’S NOVEL: THE HULKING MONSTER, SHUNNED BY SOCIETY AND BETRAYED BY HIS FATHER, FILLED WITH DESPAIR AND DRIFTING OFF INTO THE ICE FLOES—A SYMBOL OF THE CONSEQUENCE OF PROMETHEAN HUBRIS.

Our children, are being subjected to super harmful rhetoric on a scale unprecedented in human history,  which, if unchecked, will contribute very sadly, very detrimentally, to our course and direction as a nation. Throughout all generations of time in this world, I can't remember a more depraved, derelict, disgusting, and divisive philosophy ever attempted. .

The devil is certainly amping it up!

Many motivations factor in, not the least of which is the complete abolition of a recognizable America. Why? To promote the agenda of the devil, to be perfectly blunt. I can very easily see, having lived in both worlds, the stark difference between the collective ideology and understanding of the country I grew up in, and the borderline satanic mess we find ourselves battling now. . 

Things are becoming more and more black. and. white. 

THE TRANSGENDER MOVEMENT IS INHERENTLY POLITICAL. ITS RECONSTRUCTION OF PERSONAL IDENTITY IS MEANT TO ADVANCE A COLLECTIVE POLITICAL RECONSTRUCTION OR TRANSFORMATION. SOME TRANS ACTIVISTS EVEN VIEW THEIR MOVEMENT AS THE FUTURE OF MARXISM. IN A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS TITLED TRANSGENDER MARXISM, ACTIVIST WRITER ROSA LEE ARGUES THAT TRANS PEOPLE CAN SERVE AS THE NEW VANGUARD OF THE PROLETARIAT, PROMISING TO ABOLISH HETERONORMATIVITY IN THE SAME WAY THAT ORTHODOX MARXISM PROMISED TO ABOLISH CAPITALISM.

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Imprimis_Sept_8pg_9-23web.pdf

Repost from August 2021 - Light of Freedom

August 20th, 2021

When Evil Reigns

 

Americans are being left behind in Afghanistan, while the Taliban returns to power. Our military has been asked to stand down? What has happened to our country?! God help us and these poor people!

 

August 25th, 2021

Tuesday

Just dropped my 4-year-old off at preschool, her first day officially! 

I was doing okay, until one of the younger mamas asked if I was having a hard time leaving her.

 And then it hit me, and the tears came welling up.

Driving home, I thought about life and different things, and then something on the radio took my mind to Afghanistan and all the little girls living there. 4-year-old little girls. Children who may never have a first day of preschool or a chance for any kind of education.

I remember first learning about the plight of Afghani women years ago, when I happened to pick up a magazine at my grandma’s. With my cousins, I read a brave young woman’s account of the oppression and abject abuse that terrorized their daily lives. I couldn’t believe it. How could this be happening today, in our modern, supposedly enlightened world?

 I was disturbed by this woman's words and the accompanying images. This type of injustice was simply unacceptable. Something had to be done.

But what could I do? 

Thankfully, after the unprecedented attack on our mainland soil in 2001, action was taken, and these people were subsequently liberated.

Now, after twenty years of a better life for those in that far off land, we are at a crossroads again. Evil has been given leeway, has organized itself, and has no qualms. Afghanis will once again be enslaved by a fascist regime if things remain as they are. Only this time I have a feeling it will be worse than before. 

Several years ago, my husband had the opportunity to take a trip to the Middle East as part of a 'thank you' program for TEDx organizers. Their main destination was Doha, Qatar. It was an eye-opening experience for sure.

 At one point, Charlie was walking down the street with a male companion who was native to that area. As they made their way along, he accidentally bumped into a Qatari woman, dressed in traditional garb.

 “Oh, sorry.” He apologized.

 At once, he was surprised by his friend’s immediate and intense reaction.

 “Don’t talk to her!” he growled under his breath, alarmed. “It is not allowed.”

 Apparently, addressing a woman in that area of the world is highly frowned upon. It is breaking with tradition and completely unacceptable to acknowledge her as a human being. . . And what about all the little girls in Afghanistan? The young women?

 What will their lives be like, with the rise of rampant evil happening as we speak? Will they ever be able to go to school or even walk down the street? To play outside with their faces uncovered?

 Their future is not bright, as they are doomed, sadly, to very imminent and unavoidable oppression.

 Best case scenario, opportunities will be taken away. But let's not fool ourselves. In less than a week, terror will reign again. A life of unthinkable torment awaits, looming bleak on the horizon. A more stabbing, electric shock to those who have had a taste of freedom, these last twenty years, in the sunshine of peacetime and our protection.

 What is it that happens when evil men rule? History reminds us. .The people mourn. 

We had a blackout here in Salt Lake last night, a power outage in our area for several hours. There was no light, and our little ones were scared.

Symbolically, an impending blackout hovers over the people of Afghanistan. 

What can be done?

 Where is the light?

 Now that evil has been unleashed and will be spreading throughout that country unrestrained, there are bigger concerns than walks and education.

In just a few short days, perhaps even now, tyranny and terrorism will be taking over the lives of the people living there. It's terrifying to think about.

 Members of the Taliban are undoubtedly planning the destruction of any light and knowledge still available to those unfortunate enough to call this region home. 

The light of truth and freedom is being snuffed out. 

In the name of despotism and absolute control, these evil men, terrorists, intend to extinguish the lights that are these little girls.

Young women living across the sea, who have been brought up in the light/glow of relative truth and freedom, will now have no rights, barely even an existence.

Thank God for men like Tim Ballard, Glenn Beck, and others who are heading up rescue efforts, taking action to save as many people as possible, doing what they can to get them out of the country before oppression takes over.

Before it is too late.

Can we not as a country offer them mercy? Where is the most powerful nation on earth, as these mercenaries infiltrate, spreading black terror throughout this area of the world? 

A question worthy of contemplation.

A Voice for The Unborn

 

Okay everyone. Permit me a moment.

I have squelched my inner Amidala quite a lot in recent years, but this will not go unsaid.

There has been the usual controversy, concern, passionate debate, and diabolical deception that comes with discussion of this issue.

But I was born to speak and while this land allows it, and when it doesn’t, I will be free to advocate for the defenseless.

As a mother of nine beautiful children, a mother of twins, and an unwed teenage mother, I think I have the right to say a little bit about this issue.

I know what it’s like to be afraid of all of it.

I know the trepidation, the humiliation, the joy, the pain, the concern.

I have felt the caring, the compassion, the possibilities, the bonds. .

I have experienced the work, the exhaustion, the tears, the sleepless nights.

I am familiar with the ‘road less traveled’ in the most ironic sense. .

I have endured ridicule, have been consumed by shame and regret, and have walked through the valley of the shadow alone.

But under no circumstances will my face blanch white because I ended the life of a child.

Springtime Pleasantries!

So yesterday we were moving things over to Clint's and Eric's new apartment. It was probably about 8 o'clock at night and we were walking a couple more boxes up to their 3rd floor residence.

The boys' apartment is around the back of one of the buildings, and as we were walking round behind, I was surprised to see an open 2nd story window, with a little Latin boy leaning out.

He was shirtless. The window had no screen and I was semi-shocked to see him leaning out from the top of his bunkbed into the cold night air.

He asked me directly, as if we'd known each other for years: "Do you have any gum in your purse? Can you look and see if you have any gum?"

He was a cute kid, maybe six or seven years old, and I was tempted to toss up some kind of treat, since he was brave enough to ask. Charlie pointed out that the boy shouldn't be asking for candy from strangers. He had a point, so after a minute, we kept walking.

"Hey, Buddy. . You should probably shut the window and to to bed. It's pretty cold out!"

But I couldn't help but smile.

It reminded me a simpler time, when we were all friends, and children didn't necessarily have to be wary of people they hadn't met before. When there was a bit more faith in humanity. When there smiles were more readily exchanged between strangers, who many times became the best of friends.

What a cute kid! I wonder if his parents knew that he was talking out his window to random folk passing by.

I remember hearing stories from my grandparents about a time when neighbors would make a practice of sitting on porches, or  walking and talking together in the evening. For the most part, a community was one big happy family. A tight-knit group whose closeness was rarely compromised in any serious way. .

I've also heard stories from my Latin friends about how things are in Mexico and South America. .

 About my parents' childhood in the 1950's, when there "was no fear." Big families and friends, neighborhoods, warm memories and traditions!

I hope, in this past year, this crazy time of introversion and distancing, we haven't lost that perspective, that childlike desire to communicate and connect without reservation. I hope we can bounce back from hiding in our homes and be close and trusting again.

We're about out of the woods, folks! At least where the pandemic is concerned. . 

Hope is on the horizon! Let's smile and give each other a piece of gum. 💓

Tender Mercies

An excerpt from my experience with postpartum 'depression.'

A couple of years ago, after I had my baby, I was beset upon by an evil that I had not experienced before or since. Sometimes we hit rock bottom, we are at a lower than low point and we can't seem to shake it off. 

I learned later that all your "feel good" hormones are housed in the placenta, and when your body does not go into labor naturally, those hormones are literally torn out of your system and some people are left defenseless.

I had heard about postpartum depression. I knew it was a real thing, but I had never experienced it to this extent.

My shields were literally down. I was in a very dark place. I was having some very dark, horrible thoughts about injuring others, people in my family. . I was terribly claustrophobic and a hundred other things.

I prayed and cried and fought and fought and FOUGHT.

Heavenly Father sent me scripture after scripture that seemed as if it were sent directly to me. It was amazing.

But I was still in extreme distress.

At one point, the thought crossed my mind, "Well, maybe I'd better just do those horrible things that I've been thinking of. I guess I'd just better succumb to the incredible evil that now surrounds me. Maybe then these darker than dark thoughts, this vicious attack, would subside."

WRONG. Satan wants us to think that if we have thoughts that maybe we shouldn't have, inclinations, tendencies, WEAKNESSES, temptations, that we should just give in to them.

NO. We were sent here to FIGHT and we were sent here to WIN. Our Savior fought for us with all the love that he had in his being. He gave his LIFE. FOR. US. And he WON, because he is Jesus Christ

Thanks to him, we. can. fight. back. Whatever situation we are in, we can say NO. We can fight the evil and CHOOSE THE RIGHT! The Savior picks up the rest.

Many today suggest that evil is good and good is evil. But we don't have to allow ourselves to be deceived. We are smarter than that.

So one Thursday morning, in the midst of this onslaught, I knew I had to do something right then, or just literally fall down dead.

I told myself, "That's it." And I drove to the doctor's office.

The doctor that I saw, beautiful angel that she is, told me: "It's not YOU. It's the hormones." And she sent me up to the hospital with a prescription/recommendation for Zoloft.

That doctor was a savior to me, as was the beautiful medication she prescribed. I will be forever grateful to her for her advice, her kind words, her insight, her professionalism.

After a day of tests and diagnoses, I was finally given the medicine that I needed and eventually, within a relatively short period of time, was able to fully recover. I was able to feel hope again, to make friends there at the psych unit, to better understand the ravages of mental illness, to feel the compassion of the Savior for those who are truly in need of His Atonement.

To be clear, this includes all of us.

The thing we need to understand about Satan, besides the fact that he is REAL, is that he will. not. hesitate. to beat us down. And he does it when we are at our lowest, weakest point. He DOES NOT love us. His intent is to destroy.

He will attack us with shafts in the whirlwind, with incredible violence, just as it says in the scriptures when we are all but defenseless.

But we are NOT defenseless.

We have an army of angels fighting for us. We have our Heavenly Father and we have our Savior. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We have the scriptures. We have a living prophet.

There is comfort and there is hope.

We were sent here to Earth, the strongest of our Father's children, saved for this time, saved for the final battle. We can and will fight, and we will win. But it IS a fight and we have to arm ourselves, as cliché as it may seem, with the armor of righteousness, with the armor of God.

Despite our weaknesses and the struggles and challenges of this life, we DO NOT have to succumb to the suggestions of the devil.

We, together, are stronger than that. 💓