The Thief

   I feel like I've sat back long enough and been quiet about what is going on in our country. I know it's not supposed to be a good thing to speak out on a blog about your personal political policies or feelings, but I can no longer be silent while my country is being torn apart by radical forces. The time for the silent majority to speak has come. In John 10:10,Jesus draws a parallel between him and Satan. He says, " The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, but I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly."  Every night the news is filled with stories of violent protests,unruly mobs torching cars and buildings and tearing down statues that for one reason or another they are offended by. How is the country any better by destroying what someone else has paid for? Aren't those protesting acting like the thief described in John 10:10? We recently witnessed a six block area of downtown Seattle being taken over by anarchists. Please don't tell me that the protest there was peaceful, it wasn't. First they torched the local police precinct, and then erected barriers to an area that they didn't own or have any right to be in. The cowardly mayor and city council portrayed it as a summer of love festival until two people were killed and another was injured in gunfire. Does anyone stop to think what that does to the business climate in that city? If you own a business there and the city council is promoting reducing the police force by 50%, do you really want to stay there and do business? Like it or not, this country runs on money. The government doesn't have any money, they take what we produce and redistribute it to whatever pet project they hope will get them re-elected. In Minneapolis, where all this trouble started, there is a move to defund the police. How is that going to work? Who is going to come to help you when armed intruders are breaking into your house? In New York city, according to news reports, violent crimes are up over 150% since the mayor there reduced the police force. Most of that crime is in the poorer neighborhoods. Just yesterday a little one year old black boy was killed when he was caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting. The family was in a park having a barbeque. Where is the Black Lives Matter movement when this happens? It appears that they are only concerned when the black life is taken by a cop. There is an agenda being pushed by the radical left in this country,and if they get their way, the country as we know it will no longer be a safe and prosperous place to be. I find it interesting that there are so many young people out demonstrating against what they perceive to be various injustices, but I wonder if they could afford to  demonstrate if this unjust system that they are railing against wasn't supporting them with stimulus packages or food stamps or public housing. Grow up, wake up, stand up America! Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Of course there are bad cops, just like there are bad carpenters and bad accountants and God knows bad politicians. Instead of calling for the defunding of the police, most of whom are honorable and hard working and have to face the worst of society every day in an effort to keep you and me safe, lets defund the politicians. How much blood is on their hands by the policies that they have encouraged and passed? Take an honest look at the policies that have led to the problems in places like Minneapolis and Chicago and Seattle and New York and demand better from your policy makers, and while you're at it, take a look at yourself and your values. Will anyone be erecting a statue or monument to those who are rioting and tearing down this country? It was pointed out recently that what is happening with the tearing down of statues and destroying property is the same thing ISIS was doing in Syria and Iraq. Think about it. A house divided against itself can not stand, and I fear that we're about to witness the collapse of this great country if we keep on with the status quo.