Category Archives: Politics

Politics

Hi Andrew

Note: Some time in 2009 I gradually switched from reading Michelle Malkin on a regular basis to reading Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish on a regular basis. It was a momentous shift, and over time did a great deal to soften my thinking and open me up to new points of view. In particular, Andrew’s writing greatly expanded my understanding of what it means to be gay. I felt in Andrew a genuine likeness of mind, perspective, and temperament, and yet his homosexuality was so clearly simply a part of him, not a pose adopted to justify certain kinds of sexual desires as I had long thought. Moreover, his passionate gentleness in the pursuit of truth, his openness about his own mistakes, and his willingness to front flawed ideas wherever they are found–even in his own thinking–has become a model for me. This site certainly bears his mark in its structure and intent. Over the years, I e-mailed many comments to Andrew and the Dish team. This is the very first; under discussion are the decisions America should make about its continued military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. I was a very committed Ron Paul follower at this time. (DL, Sept. 18, 2021)

Hi Andrew,

If we’re going to be truly realistic about our options overseas, we need to cast every discussion of those options in the economic context of how much the various choices cost and how much we can sustainably afford.

The plain fact of the matter is that 1) we can’t sustainably afford much more of anything, and 2) a total economic meltdown poses at least as much of a risk to our republic as foreign terrorists–probably much more.

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Politics

Open Letter to Bob Inglis

Note: I was opposed to the bailouts in 2008. During the 2007 primary cycle I had discovered Rand Paul and become strongly enamored of Libertarianism and even more strongly opposed to government intervention of all sorts than I had been previously. I wrote this high-sounding appeal out of a sense of duty and urgency. Looking back, I have no confidence that my position then was the right one. I still believe our spending of the last 20 years has been unsustainable and destructive, and I still believe the core idea that in order for people to successfully self-govern, they must be willing to deny themselves and to embrace suffering when needed. But am much more conscious of how ignorant I was then (and am now) of how the economy actually works. Also, I find my tone of righteous bombast annoying and ineffective–especially given the fact that we were living with my parents at that time because we couldn’t afford our own place, and I depended on the Earned Income Credit every year to make ends meet. This may have been about the time we were on SNAP as well. (DL, Sept. 8, 2021)

Dear Congressman Inglis:

There are greater evils than a major recession, or even a depression. Both my father and grandparents lived through the Great Depression, and throughout their lives I saw the marks of character, self-discipline, and financial responsibility that that dark time left on them. My father and grandparents were thankful people, mindful that the good times should never be taken for granted.

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Politics

Just Words 1.2: The Atheist Betrayal

Note: This is the second post I wrote for the short-lived anonymous activist blog I started in early 2007 dedicated to strident Christian politics. It had been four years since I first heard of the concept of gay marriage, and I could see clearly which way the cultural winds were blowing. This was my attempt to fight for the culturally-Christian America of my youth. As described in the note to the first blog article, within a few months of starting the blog, I began to move away from Christian militancy and towards Libertarianism, motivated by the campaign of Ron Paul. Nevertheless, though my methods and political priorities have changed, I think the argument here is basically sound, as the continual encroachment of radical progressive fundamentalism throughout the West has shown. (DL, June 10, 2023). 

Judge Wolf’s ruling is . . . a treacherous collaboration with the evil empire which, though fallen in its Soviet form, lives yet in the ideology of godlessness that has been appropriated into the halls of American justice.
-Just Words 1.1

American Christians must wake up.

They must awaken to the imminent threats facing their civil and religious liberties–threats which cannot be overstated. There are forces at work in this country that are wholly dedicated to stamping out the social influence of America’s biblical heritage and of America’s Christians.  Their watchword is “tolerance,” but these are nothing less then the uncompromising partisans of a god-less ideology.

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Politics

Just Words 1.1: The Coming Oppression

Note: At the beginning of 2007 I started a short-lived blog. My most immediate inspirations were twofold: 1) a couple of my friends had blogs I enjoyed reading, and 2) I was inspired by the example of Demosthenes and Locke in Ender’s Game, anonymous online commentators who by the power of their words were able to influence society. My blog was hosted at arthegall.com and was anonymous. The articles I posted there were the most strident pieces of political activism I have ever written. At the time I was deeply invested in electing Christian politicians and establishing Christian values in society by fiat. However over the course of the 2008 election cycle my views moderated, and I became a libertarian, shifting from strong support for Alan Keyes to strong support for Ron Paul. In addition, not long after starting the blog I joined Facebook which became for fifteen years my primary mode of online expression. The blog petered out after only a few posts. (DL, June 7, 2023).

The ultimate determinant in the struggle that's now going on in the world will not be bombs and rockets, but a test of wills and ideas, a trial of spiritual resolve, the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish, the ideals to which we are dedicated.
-Ronald Reagan

As you value your lives, your families, and your freedom, hear this:

Christians are today, this moment, in grave and imminent danger of having their civil liberties stripped from them by the U.S. government unless they forsake tenets of their faith that the state has now deemed incompatible with “engaged and productive citizens” (ruling ). Indeed, even now the shackles are being forged about their throats—while they sleep.

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Politics

Taxes: more than duty

Note: This article was the staff commentary piece published in the Bob Jones University student newspaper The Collegian (Vol 12, No 12) on tax day, 1999. To this day I believe in and celebrate the citizen’s duty (and, especially in a democratic context, honor) to pay taxes. I find libertarian statements like ‘Taxation is Theft’ to be ridiculous and (especially when coming from a Christian) deeply disappointing. Historically speaking, we enjoy unheard of prosperity and freedom in America. Surely we should expect to have to pay for it. (DL, June 6, 2023)

It’s April 15, and many people have been thinking about what happens to their tax dollars. Some taxpayers are quite vocal in their disgust with government economic policy. Some criticism of the government is necessary to ensure accountability, but sometimes valid criticism can degenerate into an un-Christian, complaining spirit. When this happens, Christians commit a sin that resembles the Israelites’ grumbling in the wilderness.

When the Lord commanded men to “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s” (Mark 12:17), He made it clear that Christians are duty-bound to pay taxes. But paying taxes is more than a duty; it is actually an opportunity for Christians to serve God with their money. Paying taxes is equated with serving God in Romans 13. Paul says in verse six, “For this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God’s ministers, attending continually about this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due.”

Governments are instituted by God. They are worthy of our tax dollars not because they are righteous, but because they do God’s work of governing. The Roman government did not spend tribute money entirely on enterprises that were pleasing to God. Tiberius, the Caesar to whom Christ was referring in Mark 12, used his fortune to support a perverted lifestyle. Yet Christ said to pay.

Obedience to Christ’s command requires more than an outward conformity to IRS policy. It requires a heart that joyfully submits to the Lord’s will. Moses referred to this principle of joyful service in his final message to the Israelites. He was admonishing them to serve the Lord. If you do not, he warned, curses will come “because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things” (Deut. 28:47). Moses said it was important to both serve with joyfulness and be glad for the Lord’s abundant blessings.

A complaining spirit is not only a failure to obey joyfully, but it also overlooks the benefits that our tax dollars bring us. Government money pays our firefighters, police officers and soldiers, Uncle Sam built the interstate system that helps many BJU students get home so quickly. “Your tax dollars at work” means air traffic controllers and effective sanitation. It means technology too. Thanks to the billions of dollars poured into NASA, we have everything from computers and communication satellites to velcro and solar-powered calculators.

We have so much to be thankful for. Let’s not forget our blessings and sin by grumbling as we pay our taxes.

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