Unemployment is still high.
Median household income is down.
The number of Americans on food stamps and receiving entitlements is soaring.
The national debt is $16.4 trillion.
The president wants to spend, spend, spend.
But hey, it’s all Bush’s fault.
America has changed. The Reagan-era of small government is over. And to borrow a reference from the Huffington Post, we are witnessing a rise of “New America,” an America where big government is not over; an America where open-mindedness is saluted; an America where morality is subjective, relative and differs according to each individual; an America where the media slobbers over one party, one administration; an America where success is penalized; an America where fairness is more noble than prosperity; an America where guns are evil, not people; an America where 55 million potential human lives have been aborted for the sake of convenience; an America where “coolness” is more virtuous than leadership; an America where men serve on the front lines so women don’t have to.
Wait, I take that last one back.
Two weeks ago, I wrote an article discussing the extinction of objective truth in America. I talked about the left’s tolerance — a repressive tolerance that masquerades under the guise of open-mindedness. Well, a few weeks ago, Christian pastor Louie Giglio withdrew from delivering the benediction and inaugural prayer because of the outrage that emerged after a liberal watchdog group exposed his stance on homosexuality.
During a sermon 20 years ago, Giglio stated that homosexuality is a sin, and that the “only way out of a homosexual lifestyle … is through the healing power of Jesus.” He went on to discuss his stance on homosexuality, and pointed out that everyone, gay or not, is in need of a savior. According to an article written by Albert Mohler, Giglio spoke endlessly about God’s grace and called his entire congregation to repent and to come to Christ.
Days after Giglio withdrew, Addie Whisenant of the Presidential Inaugural Committee issued this statement: “We were not aware of Pastor Giglio’s past comments at the time of his selection, and they don’t reflect our desire to celebrate the strength and diversity of our country at this inaugural … As we now work to select someone to deliver the benediction, we will ensure their beliefs reflect this administration’s vision of inclusion and acceptance for all Americans.”
In other words, the administration’s “vision of inclusion and acceptance” includes all Americans, except for those Americans that believed, at any time, the homosexual lifestyle was sinful. Obama? He gets the pass. His stance evolved.
Is anyone surprised, though? The left becomes more explosive over Christians who believe in Christianity than me after I eat Mexican. I mean, every time a Christian reconfirms his or her belief in anything Biblical, those supporting the left pretends as if they’re surprised. They’re in favor of free speech, until something that’s said doesn’t reflect their speech (See: Chick-fil-A). PSY can call for the slow and painful death of our “daughters, mothers, daughters-in-law and fathers,” but as long as his stance on homosexuality doesn’t dissent from the White House, he can sing to the president all he wants.
The irony here is that modern Liberalism is a lot like Christianity. Government is their church, and the taxpayers are their congregation. The bureaucrats are their deacons, and the president is their priest. They worship at the alter of tolerance and open-mindedness, but they practice the exact opposite of what they preach.
Conservatives and Republicans are the lost, the pagans and the heathens. They’re not in the mainstream, for they walk on the path that is narrow and out-of-touch.
All that is good is liberal, and all who advance what is liberal are good.
Whatever that means.
Erik Skipper is an economics sophomore at UF. His column usually runs on Wednesdays. You can contact him via opinions@alligator.org.
