The phrase in the title comes from a hymn called “The Spirit
of God Like a Fire Is Burning.” It is historic and well-loved in my
Church. The chorus says,
We’ll
sing and we’ll shout
With the armies of heaven,
Hosanna, hosanna to God
and the Lamb!
Unlike many hymns, this one is loud, even boisterous. I like
that.
I’m not a person who loves demonstrations, or huge
gatherings, or big symbolic gestures generally. But sometimes those have been
worth doing. Like 4th of July fireworks. Or Thanksgiving Day parades.
There was a big gathering downtown Houston a year or two
after 9/11, once the anti-America crowd dared speak up in the media after a
time of only quiet muttering in deference to the dead. So in reaction to that
we had a big patriotic gathering to support our troops and America in general.
I’ve been to the state capitol a time or two with rather
large groups for specific purposes. But I tend to prefer quiet solitude.
But I saw a video of a singing and dancing demonstration—a
nicely choreographed flash mob—that I’m glad happened, earlier this month. It
was in Peru[i],
possibly the most pro-life people in the world, celebrating their annual March
for Life.
Young people sing and dance “por la vida”—for life. Briefly
translated, “we take to the streets, together, in the march for life.” And then
a lot of singing and dancing ensues. It’s just three minutes, worth watching.
They dance for life, with exuberance; they don’t mention being against abortion. I like the positive power of that message.
And I’m thinking that kind of positive would be helpful in
the effort to defend civilization on a number of issues.
For example, yesterday’s Houston
Chronicle had a front-page story about the bill in the Texas legislature
that—as the Chronicle put it, “Texas Senate Oks measure limiting transgender
rights.” The byline is Andrea Zelinski; I’m noting that because it isn’t a news
story; it’s so slanted that disguising itself as a news story can only be
called propaganda. So now I know Zelinski is an editorial writer masquerading
as a reporter.
What does the bill have the audacity to do? Require people
to use the public bathroom that correlates with the gender they are born with.
It has to do with privacy and safety, rather than, as implied, discrimination
and trampling someone’s rights.
Up until a couple of years ago, when Houston’s then-mayor Anise
Parker went out of her way to force through a “transgenders
have more rights than you” rule, and she illegally ignored the people’s will to
repeal it, and she tried to oppress churches and pastors who might not agree
with her—up until then, transgenders used whatever bathroom they wanted. If a
male looked like a woman, he could go in a women’s restroom and use a stall
like anyone else. But if he looked like a man, and/or he did something that
made females uncomfortable, they could let their discomfort be known.
The new city law was to silence them. If they worried such a
person might not be a harmless transgender, but might be a sexual predator, they would
be breaking the law to say so. Their rights of privacy and security were
overridden for the sake of transgenders who insist that reasonable
accommodations aren’t good enough. Only total capitulation by all of society
will do.
Houston’s mayor got overridden. The people spoke up about
reasonable safety issues. The issue came up a few other places. And then
suddenly president Obama made an executive order that every state and every
school had to shut up about their discomfort with predator facilitation and
kowtow to the LGBT juggernaut. He had no right as
president to make such an edict, so states have an obligation to defy it. And
Texas is codifying that with SB6.
So what I’m suggesting, for some creative person out there,
is a joyous, exuberant, singing dancing flashmob to deliver the positive message,
“Women are women, and men are men, and we’re really glad we have our own
bathrooms and locker rooms. Hurray for differences! Hurray for common sense!
Hurray that we can speak up for safety and privacy!” So, somebody out there, go
for it.
There are probably some other things we ought to sing and
shout about, instead of eggshell-walking so media doesn’t slam us.
·
We love a free market with government out of the
way!
·
Our brilliant Constitution works every time it’s
tried!
·
We celebrate our religious freedom by living it
in our everyday lives!
·
How about that great right to assemble and talk
about what we want—even things we disagree about!
·
We know how to rise above poverty in America—and
we want you to know how too!
·
The person who earns the money decides how to
spend it—and that’s great for everyone!
· You get the picture. We conservatives aren’t a negative lot;
it’s the other side who actually fits that description.
But we could use some practice at saying how great it is to
be for freedom, prosperity, andcivilization. Those are things we ought to sing
and shout about.
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