Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue. Barry Goldwater
Goldwater first uttered these words in his campaign for president as the Republican candidate, running against the Democrat Lyndon Johnson in 1964. They were a response to accusations against him that he was “an extremist, a danger to society. He will start a nuclear war with Russia,” the Democrats loudly proclaimed from every media source, which, at that time were only the traditional ABC, NBC, and CBS.
I am sure most Christians saw Goldwater’s aphorism as I did at the time; it was a nice, catchy little saying that tried to explain Goldwater’s black-and-white stances on issues that left no room for waffling. This was offensive to many voters, who, just like the politicians for whom they voted, did not want to commit unequivocally to political positions. They were “sunshine warriors”—in the battle as long as we were winning, but, folding when the opposition counterattacked. Goldwater lost in a landslide.
Fast forward some fifty years. The Democrat’s attacks on our liberty and their determination to evade and eliminate any justice for their obvious fraud in the elections, and their subversion of the Constitution in the process, has blossomed into full flower.
So far, they have been able to do this with impunity. The Republicans continue to equivocate, vacillate and look for any cover possible to allow them to refuse to hold the Democrats accountable for election fraud. The “riots” at the Capitol give them that cover. By using the riots as an excuse for deserting Trump and even blaming him, they are hoping and praying that the deplorables, you and me, will understand, agree with them, and foolishly continue to vote for them (really their primary concern) because they are Republicans!
The beauty of this current chaos is that these establishment creatures are being exposed. They don’t want you to realize that they are refusing to even discuss the obvious fraud and how it was perpetrated. All but a total of 13 members of both the House and the Senate think that in Goldwater’s statement “moderation (read ‘refusal’) in the pursuit of justice” WAS virtue,” and “extremism (read ‘determination’) in the defense of liberty WAS vice.
Things haven’t changed much in the 420 years since Shakespeare had Julius Caesar utter the now famous words, “Et tu, Brutus?” (“You too, Brutus?”). When he saw his old friend among his attackers, as today’s Republicans replicate so well, he was shocked and dismayed, just as we are today. But the veil is now removed; the uncertainty that has been present is now gone. The cards are on the table for us all to see.
Who stands where? The Mike Penses, Lindsay Grahams, and all the other Republican “Trump supporters” have suddenly either “gone silent” when Trump issues the call to stand with him, out in the open for all to see, and do battle. Some have even publicly turned against him. And the beauty of our present situation is this: we, the voters, now know!
I believe the Republicans have been exposed, just as God beautifully planned and ordained to occur, by this whole voting scandal. To vote against further investigation was the classic, almost unanimous mindset: “Don’t confuse me with the facts; my mind is already made up.” Awakened believers, I am hoping, will now primary all those Republicans who refuse to fight. Vocational politics (holding office) is only for believers who are called to the civil government branch in God’s family business of ruling over the earth. One of the qualifications for leadership in that branch is to be a warrior, trained and eager for spiritual battle. Are you aware of this?
We live in exciting times! Most mornings I love to get up, (sometimes at ungodly hours!) to read the news and see what happened the previous day. What did Trump do? What did the Dems do? What is everybody saying? Our words expose us. As Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” If You are speaking you cannot help but expose who you are to an observant listener.
However, that is not true every morning. In the current political-cultural setting, debilitating fear is always lurking in the dark recesses of my mind to suddenly spring out and grab me. It is usually hiding in the unbelief of thoughts like “They won. All is lost. The Commies will get us.”
That is based on believing that no one but God’s enemies are really in charge and the world is out of control, i.e., God is not really sovereign. He is in Heaven, wringing His hands, hoping against hope that we will be warriors and go to battle for HIm. If we don’t, we see Him as helpless to do anything.
Another fear is, yes, He is in charge, but He doesn’t really love me enough to keep me from the pain and suffering that go with persecution, and that is where we are headed. I just can’t bring myself to really believe that all things really do “work together for good” for me personally (Romans 8:28).
What blindness! How can I not remember all He has done in the past and continues to do on a daily basis in my life? I know, but just can’t consistently remember, every day, that He is the same unconditionally loving, all-powerful God who does exactly what He wants, including in the present political situation. The eyes of my heart must be opened every day to remember and believe, just as does a little child when he hears his Daddy say, “Don’t worry precious child, Relax. I’ve got it. Everything is under my complete control, working out just as I have planned.”
