I once heard a quote that said, “I wouldn’t wish another 9/11 on my worst enemy, but I would give anything for a 9/12.” The premise of the statement was that America became unified under the same flag, against the same enemy for the first time since the Vietnam War, and even that was highly divisive.
These days, when we open up a news site or turn on the TV, we are bombarded with partisan propaganda, stories of corruption on the other side of the aisle, and videos of riots destroying city blocks. It doesn’t matter what party you align yourself with, or if you align with any party, division stares right back at you through news outlets. President Donald Trump echoed this thesis with his July 4 speech that railed against what he called the “radical left.”
“American heroes defeated the Nazis, dethroned the fascists, toppled the communists, saved American values, upheld American principles and chased down the terrorists to the very ends of the Earth,” Trump said. “We are now in the process of defeating the radical left, the Marxists, the anarchists, the agitators, the looters and people who in many instances have absolutely no clue what they are doing.”
In his September 1 Independence Hall speech, President Joseph Biden seemed to fan the flames of disunity with rhetoric focusing on alerting the nation to apparent dangers within the country. “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic...,” Biden said. “MAGA Republicans have made their choice. They embrace anger. They thrive on chaos. They live not in the light of truth but in the shadow of lies.”
When one looks at our nation today, nearly all that can be seen are prolific accounts of the government siding with one party over another, fraud committed for personal gain and leaders acting outside of America’s national interest. We are in the middle of a swirling storm of governmental corruption at every level, and I want to ask only one question: where will you turn? When human leadership fails you and you are left in the dust, will you turn to your Creator or….?
So often we leave our faith within the walls of the church. We try to take on the world and the phantasmal apparition of mortal governments with the might of our own strength, feeble as it is. Yet we have the God of angel armies behind us. We have the One who spoke the cosmos into existence. Why would we put our trust into frail systems made by broken people when God is reaching out for us?
The United States of America is the longest running democracy of a major country. However, as was pointed out to me not too long ago, no nation lasts forever. All governments rise and fall under God, no matter power, strength, or knowledge. In light of this fact, we must understand that putting faith in constructs of man will lead to nothing but broken trust. Instead, let your eyes rise to the I Am.