Tyranny or Freedom – A Look Back at 2022
By Robert Shillingstad
“For freedom Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit to the yoke of slavery.” -Galatians 5:1
Well, we ended the year 2022 with over 5 million illegals crossing the border. To put that in perspective that is like adding the population of two Idaho’s to our nation! Maybe there are enough farmworkers available that our two Senators could speak out on this disaster. Of course, Fentanyl and drug overdose deaths reached 100,000 last year, that is twice as many deaths that occurred because of the Viet Nam war. Do we have a border crisis? Not since Governor Abbott gave a “strongly worded” letter to President Biden this week out lining the issues, surely that will end the onslaught.
The decision to overturn Roe v. Wade came out in June. By turning the decisions on baby killing over to the states we still have a battle of prayer and education to stop this abomination that has resulted in over 65 million lives taken in the womb. A pro-life leader in Pennsylvania has 20 secret police (FBI) in full armor raid his home at 7:00 am in September on a misdemeanor charge the year before. They pointed rifles at his seven children and arrested Mark Houck and took him away under arrest. This has become a scare tactic now used by federal law enforcement to shut down speech. Where was the sheriff of that county? Read ‘The Doctrine of the Lesser Magistrate’ by Trewhella that outlines the power of local law enforcement that should happen.
The May primary in Idaho brought good news and bad news. The good news is that the legislature will be comprised of many new conservative legislators. The bad news is that the Idaho swamp poured millions of dollars into the Little campaign and we essentially elected Brad Little for a second term. Locally, in Kootenai County, the NIC (North Idaho College) board had a knock down fight between two slates of three trustees. Liberals vs conservatives to join the two conservatives already in place. One of the three conservatives won giving a one vote margin to those in place. If you have a curious nature like me you would like to have the issues concerning the divide clearly laid out. Haven’t seen that yet, just name calling.
On the heels of the abortion decision came the passage of “The Respect for Marriage Act” that overturned the Defense of Marriage Act passed under President Clinton. This new act will be a boon to trial lawyers and more persecution of Christians who refuse to bow, bend or yield on a fundamental aspect of the faith. “Bake the cake – you bigot” will be the command from on high. Eric Metaxas wrote a best-selling biography of Bonhoeffer and his stand against Hitler and Nazism. He has written a new book ‘Letter To The American Church.’ Metaxas reveals the haunting similarities between today’s American Church and the German Church of the 1930’s.
Erwin Lutzer’s book ‘Hitler’s Cross’ is a great companion read.
Two days after Biden signed this law President Trump celebrated its enactment at a gala event at Mar-A-Lago with Kari Lake and an array of high profile “GayCons” (homosexual conservatives). Instead of congratulating the 500 or so “GayCons” gathered in Mar-a-Lago’s ballroom, Trump and Lake should’ve asked these men and women to show that they truly are conservatives by affirming the immutable definition of marriage – as conjugal and complementary – and repudiating RMA. Although Trump reportedly did not mention the new law in his speech, he did proclaim, “We are fighting for the gay community, and we are fighting and fighting hard.”
The “red wave” in November failed to materialize and put more importance on a Republican controlled House of Representatives. This is leading to an interesting year ahead. The Senate, with the support of McConnell and ten GOP Senators passed the $1.7 trillion dollar spending appropriation filled with pork. But who would know, no one had time to read it ahead of time and this happened to be the first time in history that a “lame duck” congress would pass a pending bill before the new Congress was sworn in a few weeks later. For good measure it brought our spending for the Ukraine “government” to a $100 billion last year. We are funding a proxy war with no discussion on the floor of congress if we are to be involved in a fight between two of the most corrupt countries on the planet maybe worthy of debate and what our interests are in this fight? More inflation and destruction of the dollar?
The positive results of the 2022 election were that the GOP majority in the House of Representatives is slim, however that gives the Freedom Caucus and conservatives leverage to affect legislation and rules. Although Idaho’s congressman Russ Fulcher is supposedly a member of the caucus, he voted with the majority and abandoned the fight over House Speaker and rules changes. This leverage was particularly important as the majority picked a new Speaker of the House (second in line to the Presidency) and has a lot of power directing legislation and committee makeup. The caucus had seven demands of rules changes and was able to get them adopted after 14 votes.
This reminded me of a great quote by Samit Bhattaharyya who said, “The fact is that the Republicans are a loose confederacy of independent minded screwballs. The Dems are a tightly knit cabal, bent on destroying the USA.” Thank God for the 20 or so independent minded screwballs who had the guts and endurance to persevere.
My highlight of Trump’s conference in December will doubt incur some wrath from some patriots. I voted for Donald Trump in both elections and would again, but we need to be reminded that our salvation will not arrive on Air Force One. President Trump ripped the mask off the deep state and many of so-called conservatives that called themselves patriots. Pat Buchanan said it best in 1999 when he stated, “Today candor compels us to admit that our vaunted two-party system is a snare and delusion, a fraud upon the nation. Our two parties have become nothing but two wings of the same bird of prey. Candidates of ideas need not apply, as both parties seek out the hollow men, the malleable men, willing to read from teleprompters speeches scripted by consultants and pollsters for whom the latest print-out from the focus group is sacred text. We choose not to play our assigned role in their sham election.”
We need bold leadership, especially from our church leaders to speak truth. Bonhoeffer was executed by Hitler but there were also more than 800 pastors and priests who went to the camps rather than be silenced. When the local Democratic party chairman says it is not “killing babies” but just “Abortion Care” and no one speaks the truth against this we may be a lost as a nation.
“A slavish submission to tyranny is a proof of a very sordid and base mind.” – Pastor Samuel West, May 29, 1776