I’m a big fan of the 2001 HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers.” It’s a 10-part drama based on an elite unit of Army paratroopers that saw action in some of the major battles and events of World War II.
Back in the 1940s it was a new concept to use paratroopers in warfare. These men endured some of the most miserable training conditions the Army had to offer, being conditioned to keep fighting despite not knowing when relief or resupply would come. They learned what it means to give “whatever it takes.”
During WWII, Hitler ordered a final, massive offensive in mid-December of 1944. German forces massed artillery, infantry, tanks, and just about anything else they could throw against Allied forces. Designed to break through the line of troops, wreak havoc, and seize the initiative, it caught the Allies by surprise.
The Germans moved so quickly that they surrounded an American-held town in Belgium called Bastogne. Before the road into Bastogne got cut off, regular American Army troops pulled out while paratroopers hastily moved in on foot to defend it. They lacked sufficient winter clothing, ammunition, and food, and were about to have their supply line cut by enemy forces.
The German thrust trapped a pocket of Americans and civilians in Bastogne
In the miniseries, a young armory Lieutenant arrived in a jeep carrying an assortment of badly needed ammunition just as the paratroopers headed into dangerous territory. As he and a few Bastogne-bound officers exchanged the little information they had, he said “The Panzer Division’s about to cut the road south. Looks like you guys are going to be surrounded.”
At that point Captain Dick Winters, a now-famous soldier and the main character in the series, responded “We’re paratroopers Lieutenant. We’re supposed to be surrounded.”
I don’t know if Winters actually made that statement in real life at that time, but it reflects the attitude the soldiers came to embrace.
It’s not much different than the attitude Christians should have. In the world, but not of it, we’re pilgrims in an unholy land (John 15:19). We’re hunted by a prowling adversary (1 Peter 5:8). We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Yeah. The pressure’s on. Evil lives on every side of you, and you’re charged with standing up to it and beating it back. Your life will not get easier if you become a Christian; in fact, it’s likely to become harder. Like the paratroopers in the forest around Bastogne, we’re to look after one another. We’re supposed to encourage one another, draw strength from one another, help each other up when we’re down, and bear one another’s burdens. That’s why it’s so important to have fellowship with other believers. Hang tough until the bitter end, even though it’s going to get rougher out there, because there’s hope:
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. – John 16:33
Boy, I’d really like to get away from politics and get back to telling stories about doing SERE stuff in the Air Force or jumping out of airplanes or something, but the world just seems to insist on going crazy.
It looks like it’s happening again. Another Virginia county’s school system is passing policy changes that will result in boys being authorized to use the girl’s restroom (and vice versa). Before you tune out on me though, hang in there just a bit longer.
You know, at some point you have to ask…since this fails the common sense test, what’s really going on here?
A little background first. Prince William County Schools Superintendent Dr. LaTanya McDade is citing safety as a reason to create an environment that physically endangers students. (Here’s my last post, which shows how well that idea works.) At a school board meeting earlier this month, she said “All Prince William County students have a fundamental right to access educational programs and facilities that are safe and supportive of their physical, emotional, social and academic needs…” She also said “It is our mission to ensure every school community is inclusive, appreciates diversity, students have a sense of belonging and are affirmed in their identity.”
Affirmation is that important, huh? Affirmation is supposed to be used when somebody does a good job at something. To the parents out there…if your kid comes home and tells you about some kind of destructive behavior they’re getting into, YOU are the one with more life experience and YOU are the one that can help guide them. You don’t need to let them figure everything out by themselves. I’m all for letting kids make their own mistakes at the smaller level so they learn about consequences and critical thinking, but I’d say that no-questions-asked affirmation isn’t always the way to go, you know? “Hey, Mom/Dad, look, Johnny from school gave me a cherry bomb and said I should light it and throw it into traffic!” “Oh, wow, that’s wonderful news! Here’s a lighter!”
Now, the school system has some legal basis for doing this. A lawsuit settled in the Virginia Supreme Court established that public schools cannot use gender identity to deny a transgender student the right to access the school’s programs and facilities consistent with the student’s gender identity. Whether you agree or disagree, the court is saying “hey, you need to provide every student an opportunity to use school programs regardless of what gender they claim to be.” The decision effectively made this the law in Virginia. That being the case, I’d expect more Virginia school systems to start heading this direction.
The “Common Sense Fail” comes in recognizing the status of a non-binary student but still forcing them into using a binary system. If you have an X and a Y chromosome but identify as something other than a male, you shouldn’t get to compete in girls’ sports. That same person gets to use the girl’s restroom because it makes them feel affirmed, yet there’s apparently no concern for the other girls who feel uncomfortable or afraid to be alone in the bathroom with that person.
To inject some common sense back into the debate, if you’re going to recognize an unlimited number of genders, that’s fine, but you’re going to need to provide separate bathroom facilities for each of them. You’re also going to need to have separate sports leagues for each of them. Prohibitively expensive? Yep. Wildly impractical to have a league that has only three athletes in the whole county? You betcha. Fairer and safer for the girls and boys in school? I think so.
It’s not about fairness though, is it? Nobody’s actually interested in solving this problem, they’re interested in exacerbating it. Our kids can’t even perform basic math proficiently. Meanwhile, China’s out there firing hypersonic missiles. Don’t worry, though…at least the U.S. has its first transgender four-star admiral. That leads me to the deeper question…what’s this really about? What’s the real reason this is happening? Like I said two posts ago, there’s opportunity in chaos, but who’s poised to take advantage? Those that are dividing are looking to seize something they don’t yet have, while those that are trying to unite are trying to make more opportunity available for everyone.
Another point to ponder. The Virginia Supreme Court has effectively legislated from the bench. The Court has decided what the law should mean. If you live in Virginia, the only way to alter this reality now is to elect politicians that will write laws that modify the current situation. If you’re legally registered to vote in Virginia, you have the opportunity to do exactly that in less than two weeks. Only two states are holding gubernatorial elections this November, and Virginia is one of them (New Jersey is the other). You have the chance to help choose who will make the laws over the next four years.
Lord Jesus, thank you so much that we can rest knowing You’ve got your hand on the wheel. I pray for protection for all those that will be affected by this policy change, for good people and common sense to prevail, and for God-fearing people to be elected, not just at the state and local level, but at high levels as well. Amen
On a local Christian radio station here in Northern Virginia, a couple of the afternoon hosts play a game called “Bible or Not.” They have three short phrases that sound kind of wise or religious, and a listener calls in and tries to determine whether they’re from the Bible or from somewhere else.
Let’s play a similar game. I’ll tell you a true story, and you guess whether it’s from Soviet Russia, Communist China, or present-day America. The story itself is true; you’re just trying to guess where it took place.
Ready? Here we go.
A school in the country was adopting a controversial policy that upset many parents. Many of the parents feared the policy would allow students to be physically harmed, and protested the change. The people in charge wanted the policy anyway, though, and it was enacted despite the parents’ concerns.
The parents ended up being right. One student took advantage of the policy and committed a crime against another student. Not just a little crime, a particularly heinous, “put you away for a long time” crime.
The crime was largely kept quiet. The next time the school board had a public meeting, the victim’s father showed up, hoping to shine a light on how the policy change had enabled the crime. Someone at the meeting asked if there had been any problems related to the policy change. The school board leaders said “not to my knowledge.” Enraged, the father relayed what happened to his child. Another attendee at the meeting informed the father that she did not believe the child’s claims, going so far as to insult the child’s mental capacity.
At that point the argument heated up, and law enforcement tried to escort the man out of the meeting where he could calm down. Wanting to stay and shed more light on the crime, things quickly escalated from a heated argument to several officers restraining the father and putting him in handcuffs.
He was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and found guilty of both charges. The court sentenced him to 10 days in jail, all of which was suspended, contingent on one year of good behavior. The top prosecutor involved in the case then pursued a fine and anger management training for the man. This seems excessive for a man that simply wanted to share how a controversial policy brought physical and emotional harm to his child.
This man’s name is Scott Smith. He lives in Loudon County, Virginia, where the public school system allows students to use whatever restroom they’d like. He alleges that his daughter was sexually assaulted in the girls’ bathroom by a boy wearing a skirt. The nature of the allegations is extremely graphic and violent. The school system apparently tried to cover up an incident where a girl was beaten and raped in a public school. At the very least, school administrators claimed no knowledge of it, suggesting incompetence of the highest degree. I don’t really blame the cops for arresting him (they never know the back story, they only see what’s happening in front of them), but it’s unsettling that a pro-leniency prosecutor chose this incident to make an example out of, apparently trying to silence someone to help preserve a controversial agenda.
The daughter’s assailant was moved to a different school, and has allegedly assaulted a second victim.
And now, Scott Smith is near the top of someone’s list of domestic terrorists. Citing the case of Scott Smith, among others, the National School Boards Association has requested help from the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute parents that get rowdy at school board meetings while protesting controversial items.
Your right to free speech doesn’t disappear overnight. It’s taken away little bits at a time. Elections matter. If there isn’t a good candidate in your local race, maybe you should throw your hat in the ring.
Christian influence used to dominate American culture. When you take a look at where our country is now, you can’t help but wonder: “how did this happen?”
It’s actually very interesting, in a terribly sad and depressing kind of way. This is a tactic that’s been used regularly throughout history. I’ll explain it a little and then show a couple of examples that one country has used recently. This is something that’s been done by insurgent groups, multiple nations throughout the world, and even the US.
When you have an existing political or social order where one force or social norm dominates the landscape, and a minor force or social norm desires to gain an increase in power relative to the dominant one, one of the strategies available to the underdog is a process called Strategic Subversion.
Strategic Subversion is a four-step process that can upend societies, and I believe that in America it has both already been done, and is still ongoing. I don’t know if this is the intent, or merely a side effect, but I believe its current use in America is leading Americans away from Christianity and Judeo-Christian values. (To be clear, I believe Americans have the right to practice any religion they choose so long as it doesn’t harm or infringe on the rights of others, but it’s something else entirely when someone intentionally pursues the widespread undermining of a religious system.)
There are different names for the four steps, but Strategic Subversion follows this basic sequence: Preparation, Destabilization, Flashpoint, Restabilization.
In the Preparation phase, the aspiring entity builds a network of players that prepares to seize opportunity and consolidate power when the time is right. Think of it as prepositioning allies to pick up the most important pieces when the existing system weakens and breaks. During the summer of 2020’s crazy civil unrest, flyers started showing up in my neighborhood. They said something like “think what the police are doing is unfair? Text ‘prosecute’ to xxxxx.” Why would anyone want a bunch of people texting them? It’s not a scam and they don’t make money from those texts, but what they’re doing is building an army. They’re gathering a list of phone numbers of sympathetic individuals that they can feed cherry-picked information to, aiming to inflame the emotions of people and inciting them to some sort of mass action at a later date.
Synchronize Watches!
During Destabilization, the aspiring entity sows the seeds that will allow for the Flashpoint to occur. It might include pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable for the sake of seeing where the dominant power draws a line. In a revolution, the lesser power might attack government institutions (physical attacks, cyber attacks, or any other means of overwhelming the institution’s ability to conduct normal operations) in an attempt to demonstrate the current power’s inability to effectively provide services (electricity, water, food, safety, security, or any other basic need) to the populace. A benign example would be a college prank where a large portion of the student body checks out the maximum allowable number of books from the school library over time, and then everybody returns them all during the same half hour on a prearranged date. The library’s staff would not be able to provide normal services because they’d simply be overwhelmed by all the incoming books. Now imagine the same concept, but on a much more serious level, like engaging in a large number of crimes in a short amount of time. The police simply cannot get to all of them in a timely manner.
The Flashpoint is the most crucial of the four steps. It’s an unmistakable crisis that essentially causes mass confusion among the general populace and sets the plan in motion. During the confusion, the prepositioned players execute their pre-assigned tasks, which could be something as simple as intentionally making a bad situation worse, or could be as bad as assassinating a key figure. This is the phase that moves quickly…the people in the know seem to miraculously seize power before the general public has even figured out what’s going on.
Restabilization is the consolidation of the new order. It’s the cementing of power that makes it difficult or impossible for the deposed power to mount a counterattack and reclaim what it lost. Assassinations, imprisonments, sweeping new laws, reports of sudden swings in public opinion (which may or may not be true)…these are the things that make it very difficult for remaining pockets of the old order to bounce back. If all goes according to plan, the aspiring power has now become the ruling power and most of the serious challenges to its authority are eliminated or minimized through various means.
One of the artificial islands in the South China Sea
China can provide two recent examples. Ten to 15 years ago, the South China Sea (SCS) was highly disputed territory…many nations in the area had claims to its waters simply by virtue of their close proximity. Plenty of nations are closer to the SCS than China, but China wanted to expand its territory for various reasons (natural resources, additional buffer space, control of one of the busiest shipping regions in the world, etc.). As fishing vessels from different nations continued getting into disputes with each other in the area, China started sending armed vessels to the area to protect its fishing vessels. Soon after, it began putting armed troops in ankle-deep water on shoals in the SCS to stake claims to maritime features. Fast forward to today, and it’s manufactured islands in the area that now include military airstrips, from which China intends to consolidate Chinese control over huge swaths of the SCS, something to which China would otherwise have no authoritative claim. International maritime courts have declared China has no right to territorial claims near these manufactured islands, but the nation largely ignored the ruling. Officially, this territory is not internationally recognized as Chinese territorial waters, but if everybody stays out of the area, that’s essentially the new reality. That’s why the United States still conducts “Freedom of Navigation” cruises through the SCS; we send US naval vessels through territory China claims as its own, but which the international community does not recognize. China of course raises a stink each time we do it, but Chinese leaders know they have no legal claim to the area. If nobody sails through the area, China’s vision becomes the new order.
A more current example involves Taiwan. If you’re not up to speed on this one, the quick and dirty version is that when Communists rose up against the government and took over China in the late 1940s, the deposed government fled to an island roughly 100 miles off the coast…Taiwan. Ever since then, mainland China has been under Communist rule while a Democratic version of the pre-Communist Chinese Government has remained in place on Taiwan. As China gained power, many in the international community navigated this sticky situation by acknowledging only one of the governments, the Communist People’s Republic of China on the mainland, as the rightful China. The Democratic government still communicates with the U.S., but if we set up an American embassy on Taiwan, China would view this action as tantamount to an act of war. The fact that China, with all its might, has for the past 70+ years been unable to reclaim Taiwan and abolish the Democratic upstart just off its coast, has been a national embarrassment to the government. China intends to reclaim Taiwan by force, if necessary, and we could all be surprised by how soon this occurs. During the Trump administration, China played things a little cooler with Taiwan and would only send a few planes every now and then into Taiwanese airspace. Now, though, during the administration of a president China perceives as weak, bogged down with foreign and domestic crises, and unable to demonstrate military force or resolve, China regularly violates Taiwanese airspace with larger and larger incursions. This past Monday, 56 Chinese aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace without permission. China is clearly challenging the norm in preparation for the Flashpoint, when it seizes Taiwan by force, arrests or kills Taiwan’s key leaders, destroys or takes over the island’s defenses, and sets up a naval perimeter the U.S. Navy would be hard-pressed to breach. At that point it will be difficult, if not impossible, to fight and recover Taiwan (and still have pre-flashpoint Taiwanese leaders reclaim power). I don’t believe the plan was to do it this early, but China may choose to seize the initiative before Australia builds up the submarine assets we’ve heard so much about in the news recently (the deal the French weren’t happy about), at a time when the U.S. administration will be reluctant to commit the U.S. Navy to the crisis, and when America is embroiled in domestic challenges to the point where its citizens don’t care about what’s happening on the other side of the world.
I use China as an example, but it’s certainly not the only nation employing the tactic. Remember how this post started out: how did such a pro-Christian nation get to where we are now? Slowly and persistently. This happens inside our own borders, by those who wish to tear down the existing power structure. The next time you find yourself standing palms up with shrugged shoulders, mouth agape, asking “what is happening?”, you may find yourself in the tail end of a destabilization phase. Chaos is the goal, because in chaos lies the opportunity to make big changes. Take a look around and ask yourself “who’s doing the dividing, and who’s doing the uniting?” The people doing the dividing are likely players (at least pawns) in the aspiring power’s plan.
Here’s one of the main takeaways from this post. This strategy is most effective when the people in the dominant role (the position being undermined) are not being proactive. I’d guess most Americans just want to go to work, get paid, raise their families, and try to improve their situation. That’s wonderful, but it probably means that if they’re focused on that, they’re not out to change society. Other people are, though. Don’t be passive. When you see evil or those with ill intent, confront it and/or call it out.
I don’t believe we’re anywhere near the horror of the Holocaust, but I bring it up to make a point. The situation for the Jews in 1940s Germany started getting bad way before concentration camps. By the time they were forced to walk around with yellow stars pinned on their clothes, it was too late. Don’t be afraid to learn from history, to push back (while you’re still able to), and to start moving this country back toward becoming a God-fearing one.
God, it’s getting bad down here. It feels like the country has turned its back on You. I know there are other Christians out there, but I sure don’t hear them as much as I hear everyone else. Help us collectively turn back to you as a nation and help us point others to You in the process. Amen
