“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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The Progressive Degradation of America
I haven’t cut the cord on cable television yet, but I’m thinking about it. That means I still get HBO, Showtime, Starz, and a host of other movie channels.
I hate commercials. So, if I want to watch something for entertainment, I scan the movie channels to see what’s available. To my way of thinking, most of the movies being produced these days are ridiculous. For example, when I see the words “dystopian” and “coming of age” in a movie’s description, I almost never watch it. If I do break down and watch one of those movies, I end up thinking:
Thank Yahweh for Prime Video.
On Demand is available to me, but it’s no match for Prime Video. Besides, Prime Video knows the kinds of things I like to watch, and it always has good recommendations for me.
Many years ago, I was scanning for a movie to watch, and I saw The Purge (2013). This is the movie’s description:
In an America ravaged by crime and overcrowded prisons, the government sanctions an annual 12-hour period during which all criminal activity — including murder — is legal.
When I read the movie’s description, I thought, That’s an absurd plot. It’s so over-the-top that no one would want to watch it.
I was wrong.
James DeMonaco wrote the screenplay for The Purge (2013) and directed the movie. Universal Pictures theatrically released it. It had a $3 million budget. That’s a miniscule budget for a movie, but it’s not a small amount of money.
Investors were willing to bet $3 million dollars that enough people in the moviegoing public would spend their money to watch The Purge (2013) to make them a healthy profit. They were right. It did well at the box office and produced a handsome return:
- Domestic Box Office: $64,473,115
- International Box Office: $26,793,466
- Worldwide Box Office: $91,266,581
That’s quite a return on a $3 million bet, and The Purge (2013) launched The Purge franchise:
- The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
- The Purge: Election Year (2016)
- The First Purge (2018)
- The Forever Purge (2021)
Where The Purge franchise will end up is anyone’s guess. The original investors in the concept have already made a fortune by betting on the progressive degradation of America. I fear that we are just beginning to see how low America can go.
Mayhem in the Streets is Spreading
What political leaders in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington did in the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election could have come straight from a screenplay for any one of The Purge movies. There was mayhem in the streets. It was state and local government sanctioned looting, burning, and killing with impunity.
In major cities like Chicago and Atlanta, violent crime is producing scores of murders every weekend. Political leaders in both cities talk about the problem, but they are doing nothing to solve it. A reasonable person can conclude that the cities’ political leaders are okay with it. Ordinary citizens must condone their political leaders’ actions, because they keep electing them.
Major American cities have become squalor-ridden havens for malcontents, drug addicts, and freeloaders with nothing better to do. Cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco are the best examples of the problem, but it’s spreading across America quickly.
Small cities like Athens, Georgia are moving in their direction. Last Tuesday night, commissioners in Athens voted to set up a “homeless encampment”. It’s the first step toward urban blight in Athens that will expand until sensible people put an end to the madness:
Commissioners voted to approve the North Athens School on Barber Street as the spot for the government-sanctioned homeless encampment. The vote was tied, with five commissioners for the encampment and five against. Mayor Kelly Girtz voted “yes” breaking the tie and approving the camp location.
America Ain’t What It Used to Be
This is not the America that I know and love. It’s certainly not the America that I grew up in, and it’s not an America that can survive if we continue moving in this direction.
Far too many people in America believe that our country is so rich and powerful that we can do anything we want with impunity. They don’t understand history or human nature. Great empires of the past have failed, because they did exactly what we are doing. The Roman and Greek Empires are great examples. We are following their lead to annihilation, and if we continue, we will collapse just like they did.
Time is of the Essence
There is not much time left to solve this problem. Degradation in America is spreading like a wildfire in the desert. If we don’t act quickly, our nation will become a banana republic with all of the attendant crime and corruption.
When I was a boy, I never would have dreamed that we could reach this point, at least not in my lifetime, but here we are. The United States is on the verge of coming undone. Where we go from here depends on us. If we fail to act, we will be putting the lives of our children and grandchildren at risk.
We may have done that already. Yahweh only knows. He may have had it with us. I wouldn’t blame Him if He decided to leave us to our own devices or vices, whichever is most appropriate.
The United States is Not a Christian Nation
When I hear the word “progressive” and know what it means to people who claim to be “progressive”, it sickens, saddens, and angers me. There is nothing progressive about their “progressive” agenda. They are leading us toward death, disease, and destruction on a grand scale. We can’t just sit back and watch it happen, because this is not a movie.
This is reality. It’s our self-induced reality.
If the United States was a Christian nation, this could not happen. Anyone who says that the United States is a Christian nation needs to have his head examined. At this moment, all hope is not lost, but we are awfully close to losing our country for good.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
