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By Paul Proctor
December 11, 2003
NewsWithViews.com
There is a fusion of delusion underway in America right now that urgently needs addressing, not only because of the relationship and direction of each troubling element but more importantly because of the calamitous consequences we will be forced to face as they morph and merge into a Perfect Storm.
Delusion # 1 � Freedom
As I write this column under the ever-fading protection of the 1st amendment, our Constitution is increasingly being re-interpreted (ignored) by judges and politicians to pursue a global agenda � an agenda that says my rights as an America citizen are not really all that �inalienable� and under certain circumstances, can and will be taken away as needed, under the authority of something sarcastically called �The Patriot Act�, resulting in a conditional liberty or situational freedom, not unlike that of a paroled prisoner.
The fragility of our �inalienable� rights was underscored about a week before our nation�s families gathered around their turkeys and televisions to give thanks to a �higher power� for our many indulgences, when Newsmax.com reported that General Tommy Franks, who successfully led the U.S. military operation in Iraq, told the men�s lifestyle magazine, Cigar Aficionado ��if the United States is hit with a weapon of mass destruction that inflicts large casualties, the Constitution will likely be discarded in favor of a military form of government�, adding that �if terrorists succeeded in using a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) against the U.S. or one of our allies, it would likely have catastrophic consequences for our cherished republican form of government�If that happens, Franks said...the Western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we�ve seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy.� (Funny, even in the general�s remarks our republic is reduced to a �democracy�.)
So, it seems that in order to protect our precious freedom, it is expedient that it be quietly and continually diminished or, if necessary, taken from us altogether for our own �patriotic� good. Imagine robbers, thieves and burglars using that line of reasoning to defend themselves in a court of law. �Your Honor, I stole that man�s possessions in order to keep them safe and secure for him.� But, I suppose as long as our lavish eating, drinking, shopping and entertainment habits go uninterrupted, no one will notice the loss � or even care, for that matter � which brings me to Delusion #2.
Delusion #2 � Prosperity
In the midst of our �recovering economy�, Wal-Mart, the nation�s largest retailer, noticed in November that their record-setting sales plummeted straight down between the 14th and 16th of each month, revealing that their customers are, for all intents and purposes, broke between those two specific dates � unable to buy, right before payday, even the most basic of items like toothpaste and toilet paper, due to, in their estimation, an enormous number of recently-acquired low -interest home mortgages and car loans that have stretched everyone to their financial limits. In other words, their customers were successfully seduced into over-extending themselves with attractively low monthly payments for big-ticket items and are now, in all their simulated-opulence, only one paycheck away from abject poverty. This would help explain the Associated Press� report on November 14th regarding a record number of new personal bankruptcies being filed � rising, in a 12-month period ending September 30th at a rate of 7.8 percent � a little-known fact that the �recovering economy� cheerleaders don�t want you to know.
The price of precious metals does not rise frequently and substantially when things are going well economically either. Yet, in this �recovering economy� gold has repeatedly lunged upward to almost $410 per oz., not because it is worth more than it was on July 20th, 1999 when it was only $252.80 an oz. or because demand has increased radically in recent days but simply because the dollar you buy it with is now worth a whole lot less than it used to be. This is also the reason for the dramatic rise in fuel prices and real estate. There�s no shortage. The dollar is just shrinking. The exceptions are things like clothes and electronics. And that is only because such things are largely manufactured overseas by what amounts to slave labor. So, we buy our toys and duds for 50 to 75% less these days and think we�re wealthy and prosperous. But it�s just a delusion.
Even for the few who managed to remain employed and out of debt through these difficult times and whose bank accounts actually grew or at least held steady numerically � the actual value of the dollars in those accounts is steadily diminishing. Adding insult to injury �the interest paid to depositors has also plummeted over the last couple of years so as to earn bank customers almost nothing for their trouble, meaning your money is not only worth less today � but earns less today. Add corporate and commercial accounts to the mix with their under funded pensions, derivative trading and questionable accounting practices and you have quite a disaster in the making.
If the concept of a devaluing dollar still doesn�t register with you, consider that in 1964 you could buy a new Corvette for about four thousand dollars. Today, it takes around 40 thousand dollars to buy a new Corvette. Is the 2004 Corvette ten times better than the �64 model? Or, is today�s Corvette buyer 10 times wealthier and therefore a lot more willing to part with 10 times the cash than the buyer of 1964 Corvette? Let me put it another way; If both Corvettes were sitting side by side for sale on your front lawn right now, in mint condition, with the same number of miles on them, which do you think would bring you more money? The fact is; the car�s actual value probably hasn�t changed that much in forty years and neither has the financial status of the buyer. The only thing that has changed dramatically over the past four decades is the value of the dollar used to buy it. Call it inflation if you wish but it�s really just a deteriorating currency. I believe the word �inflation� to be little more than a manufactured term shrewdly employed by politicians and power brokers to deceive you and I into accepting the subtle erosion of our buying power without ever losing confidence in the printed-paper we call �money� � a �currency� the not-so-Federal Reserve can produce out of thin air and in any amount they wish for as long as their lie is believed. The fact is � there�s nothing backing the dollar any longer but the sheer faith and confidence (gullibility) of the ignorant consumer. Frankly, the only thing we seem to trust in more these days than an earned dollar is a borrowed dollar. I say that because we�ve been so busy ridding ourselves of earned dollars (savings) that borrowed ones (loans) are all we have left to purchase with. We use to call that debt and hardship. Now, we call it prosperity and a thriving economy.
The bottom line is; what we are calling a dollar now, in actual purchasing power, is little more than what a few pennies were forty years ago. Those who watch world currencies and the investment habits of men like George Soros and Warren Buffett know all too well that the dollar is quickly becoming worthless, which is why they and so many other financial elites around the world are divesting themselves of dollars and putting their holdings in euros, pounds and other foreign currencies, thus driving the dollar further and further down in comparative value. The day that practice becomes fashionable is the day we will begin to see, hear and feel the lightening, thunder and winds of that Perfect Storm.
Although moms and dads are both working now, that is, when jobs are available, they�re bringing home less actual buying power than their fathers alone did forty years ago. While they might THINK they�re making more than previous generations by virtue of the numbers they report as income, when it�s all said and done, they�re actually able to buy and save only a fraction of what their predecessors did. But our �freedom� and �prosperity� are certainly not the only great delusions of our day.
Delusion # 3 � Spirituality
Our spirituality is rapidly becoming a great delusion as well and is, in many respects, I believe, largely responsible for the other two delusions I�ve addressed. While the numbers of those �claiming Christ� increases exponentially through slick marketing programs of self-esteem, self-indulgence, self-fulfillment and easy-believism, the fervency of real faith, sacrifice, suffering and scriptural knowledge and obedience fades into apostasy. The bible, like our Constitution and our currency continues to be degraded into something more global, flexible, and user-friendly, resulting in unprecedented confusion, ignorance and apathy with respect to God�s will and absolute truth, forwarding a standard of �morality� that only forty years ago, would have been considered nothing less than degenerate and depraved. Yesterday�s Christian fundamentalist is today�s �radical extremist�, not because HE changed but because the world changed around him. Morality has become immoral in the Brave New World through the intolerance of tolerance while the fundamentalist simply held firm to the unwavering virtues of faith in Christ, refusing to yield in order to be loved and accepted by a world that hates his Lord and Savior.
And so, it is now immoral to refer to Jesus Christ or the bible in a scripturally accurate, bold or authoritative manner so as to speak despairingly of promiscuity, pornography, homosexuality, abortion, heresy, vulgarity, cursing, blasphemy, idol worship, gluttony, lasciviousness, drunkenness and greed along with a host of other stylish standards and practices set by the world�s rich, famous and powerful.
It is a spirituality that enables a former Bay Watch star and Playboy Playmate, to teach Sunday school at her children�s church while lending her voice to a TV series called �Stripperella�. Entertainment News called her character a �cartoon-stripper-turned-sleuth� � reporting that �she doesn't see any contradiction between her sexy image and believing in God.�
It is a spirituality that teaches Muslims in the Middle East, who see gratuitous violence, filth and eroticism glorified on America�s MTV by rappers and other celebrities wearing big crosses around their necks, that Christianity is shamelessly vile and decadent � a spirituality that, according to Christian pollster, George Barna, reveals 26 percent of born-again Christians believe �all religions are the same� while only 9 percent even hold a biblical worldview.
What do these three great delusions mean for the 21st century? It means that, BELIEVE it or not � LIKE it or not and READY or not, we are well on our way to a one-world government, a one-world economy and a one-world religion � a fusion of delusion that will welcome, worship and eventually serve an �angel of light� � the �son of perdition� � as he works his "signs and lying wonders" to our amazement and praise.
However, if you believe that things are only getting better � that a wonderful �new spirituality� is emerging and bringing with it a �great revival� � then I would encourage you to find yourself a King James Bible (just for the sake of accuracy) and read the 2nd chapter of 2nd Thessalonians one more time.
Related articles:
Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack [link to article]
Central Bank Sales and the Gold Price [link to article]
Pammy Teaches School [link to article]
Missionary: Decadent Western Lifestyles a Hurdle for Spreading Gospel in Middle East [link to article]
Church doesn't think like Jesus [link to article]
Unbelieving 'born-agains' [link to article]
� 2003 Paul Proctor - All Rights Reserved
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Paul Proctor, a rural resident of the Volunteer state and seasoned veteran of the country music industry, retired from showbiz in the late 1990's to dedicate himself to addressing important social issues from a distinctly biblical perspective. As a freelance writer and regular columnist for NewsWithViews.com, he extols the wisdom and truths of scripture through commentary and insight on cultural trends and current events. His articles appear regularly on a variety of news and opinion sites across the internet and in print. Paul may be reached at watchman@usa.com�
"Morality has become immoral in the Brave New World through the intolerance of tolerance while the fundamentalist simply held firm to the unwavering virtues of faith in Christ, refusing to yield in order to be loved and accepted by a world that hates his Lord and Savior."
