“Come Monday…” is a
weekly series that will involve a review of (or commentary about) websites,
movies, documentaries, television shows, sports, music, and whatever else may
tickle my fancy at the time. Be assured
that these reviews will be generally positive, as in accordance to the Jimmy
Buffett song “Come Monday.” This is
subject to change, however. In fact, I
would be most derelict in my duties to neglect going on a rant every once in a
while. For rants promote change, and
change can be good—right? Therefore,
since good is generally considered as being a positive force in 99.3% of the
parallel universes that I am aware of, even a rant could be considered as being
something positive, and a genuine hissy-fit would be even better (so I’m told).
***WARNING***
Proceed
with caution if you are looking for something to feel good about. However, if you can take it to heart, much
good could come out of what I have been given to say here.
Can
you tell me if it is worse to be for slavery or to be fundamentally against certain people? Would you tell me if you could?
Far
too many Americans will not answer that question, nor even give the matter some serious
thought. For it would help lead them to
conclude that the only thing really won in the waging of the [American Civil War] was the preservation of the Union.
Was
that not brought back into focus in a presentation of 24 [Medals of Honor] by
President Obama [last week]? For those
medals were awarded (21 posthumously) to veterans of World War II, Korea and
Vietnam, who had been denied the great honor, with it merely being on account
of their race for most (if not all) of them.
Yes,
this is coming from someone, who was raised to believe that the American Civil
War was primarily fought over state’s rights and economics—not the abolishment
of the institution of slavery in this country.
Be assured that this did not come from my parents, but living in [Barry County, Missouri] for most of my childhood did leave quite an impression upon
me. For the heart of the Confederacy has
never really stopped beating in the area.
Economics? Despite it being largely overshadowed by the
issue over slavery, the real reason for why so many southern states wanted to
leave the Union was due to many of the more industrialized northern states voting
in Congress to impose high tariffs upon agricultural products from the south
(mostly cotton) to force them to sell their goods at a substantially lower
price to northern businessmen than what European buyers were willing to pay
while charging top-dollar for the products manufactured in their factories.
No,
I am not trying to justify the drastic decision to leave the Union. For the southern states should have stayed
put and fought it out (not physically) on the floor of Congress, but I am
wanting to point out that history is generally written by the victors, who
would much rather be remembered for fighting against slavery than fighting for highly-profitable
textiles.
Speaking
of highly-profitable textiles, along with other factory-produced items, it has
been mystery to me that the northern industrialists did not take advantage of
having an enslaved work-force produce their goods. After all, not having to pay wages to most of
their workers would surely insure the preservation of some very high profit
margins—would it not?
The
matter is no longer a mystery to me. For
our Heavenly Father has personally revealed that the prevailing thought back
then was that people of color (especially black people) were generally
incapable of running (or even just being around) machinery, which made them basically
worthless as factory workers.
Alas,
even if you cannot accept that the Lord God Almighty would personally reveal
anything to me, how can it be denied that far too many citizens in states north
of the [Mason-Dixon Line] during the 1800s were fundamentally against black
people? After all, were they not generally
kept from prospering and often driven from areas they wanted to settle in?
Moreover,
how can it be denied that far too many American citizens in general are still
fundamentally against anyone not like themselves? For how was it possible for those 24 heroes
to be denied receiving our highest military honor for so long if it was not mostly
on account of them being unacceptable to [white-supremacists]?
No,
our Heavenly Father did not assure me that much good would come from enough
being willing to humble themselves before Him and repent of their
prejudices. For He has set this nation
on a course to help bring the Antichrist to power and make living life in this world
appear to be better than it ever has been for the first three and a half years
of his reign. On the other hand, this
does not mean that we (as individuals) would do well to just go with the
current flow and not do what we can to right as many wrongs as we are given an
opportunity to in the meantime.
He
did, however, quip that I must really like being largely ignored when not being
despised. For as if it is not enough
that most of what I have had to say about spiritual matters is unacceptable (in
one way or another) to almost everyone in the Christian community the world
over, here I am publishing a rather unpatriotic piece in the eyes of far too
many Americans!
If
you don’t get the joke, I have been very forthcoming about everything I have to
say actually coming from our Heavenly Father to begin with. Okay, I am often allowed to mess up the
message by adding my two cents worth, which is something I am eager to do
far too often.
In
all seriousness, I have been given a very rugged road to travel, but I do not
expect to receive any medals of honor, come Judgment Day. For my primary motivation has been a great fear of
failing to do what I am called to do, which is utterly ridiculous. For there really isn’t anything good about me,
apart from the presence of our Heavenly Father in and around me. Therefore, any good that I might do would be strictly
by His hand—certainly not the result of my own efforts.
In
all fairness, at least my attitude is consistent with the attitudes of most
warriors when engaging an enemy on a field of battle. In fact, very few have went to war with
visions of personal glory dancing in their heads and lived to tell about it later
on.
Back
during Basic Training at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina in the summer of 1977, I
was privileged to meet two recipients of the Army Medal of Honor, with both of
them being quick to declare that they did not feel like a hero. The one from the Vietnam War declined to give
any details, but the one from the Korean War said that the only thing on his
mind was pure terror over the likelihood of everyone in his unit being
slaughtered by the thousands of North Korean and Chinese soldiers overrunning
their position when he jumped behind a .50-caliber machine gun and pulled back
on both triggers. If I remember right, a
fairly great many in his unit survived the attack while over 300 of the enemy
lay dead less than 100 feet in front of him.
He also added that he does not remember a thing from just after he
pulled back on those triggers until being cared for by a nurse in a [MASH unit],
located several miles away.
Is
this to say that he did not really deserve to receive the Medal of Honor? NO!
For aside from helping to save many lives in his unit, it took an
enormous amount of courage to admit to being afraid—especially during a time
when men were expected to face great danger without any reservations.
By
the way, does it bother you that our highest military honor is a medal in the
shape of an upside down [pentagram]? It
does me.
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