The Fractured State Of Discourse In America

On Wednesday, as I watched the formal swearing-in ceremony for Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, I noted the stark contrast between his ceremony and that of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mary Ann Glendon, who served as U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See under President George W. Bush and a professor at Harvard Law School with an expertise in international human rights, comparative law and constitutional law, led the invocation before remarks by President Trump and Secretary Pompeo’s reciting of the Oath of Office.

Here is Glendon’s prayer:

“Lord God, Creator of the universe and Ruler of all, we ask Your blessing and guidance today for our brother Michael as he begins to serve his beloved country in our relations with other lands and governments.

Give him, we pray, an ear open to our needs and the needs of others.  Sharpen the fine mind You have given him to discern truth from falsehood, appearances from reality.  Give him compassion for the oppressed and wisdom to see the way ahead even when all looks dark and give him the joy that comes to those who spend their lives in the service of others.

We ask these blessings Lord with thankful hearts and in gratitude for the countless blessings You have already bestowed upon our land.  And we ask Your forgiveness for the times when we have fallen short of the great things for which You created us.

Please hold our brother Michael close to you Lord as he embarks on this new service to his country and give him a share in Your own unbounded compassion and goodness. AMEN.”

I looked upon this amazing event with a pride that swelled in my heart.  Why?

It’s simple really.  For a couple of weeks now, I have been in a funk over the savageries of the vulgar Left.  Journalism’s motto is supposed to be Truth. Journalism itself needs to think about the state of its soul.

Lance Morrow noted in his piece at City Journal, “Henry Luce, a religious man [who built a publishing empire on Time, Fortune, and Life magazines], believed that God works in history. Luce admired Reinhold Niebuhr and his ideas on immanence. The Creation did not end on the Sixth Day, after which He rested; rather, the world lives each day, each instant, in the exhilarating and terrifying process of the Ongoing Creation. If we live in the Ongoing Creation, then think of the importance—the indispensability—of Journalism: its sacred work is to observe the unfolding facts of the world, to report them accurately, and to help people think about them. Without good Journalism, democracy is impossible. That’s not merely a bromide; it is an urgent truth.”

"If God works in history and journalism, then Satan does as well. Luce told this story: at the end of his senior year at Yale Amos Wilder, father of playwright Thornton Wilder, sat Luce down in a corner and, “with tears in his eyes,” told him: “Harry, don’t. Don’t go into journalism. It will turn you into a cynic. It will turn your wine into vinegar. You will lose your soul.” 

What makes today’s journalistic deceptions so different is the intentional manipulation of truth as a strategy for political gain; a process so convincing that even those who spin the falsehoods come to believe their new reality. The goal is not to create a believable fiction, but to massage and distort the underlying facts in such a disgraceful manner that fiction becomes the new truth.

The Left’s real agenda encompasses a psychotic yearning to further the “fundamental transformation” of America Obama promised during his eight years in the Oval. Combining Saul Alinsky’s psychology with political activism and brutal single-mindedness is an undeniable masterpiece for neutralizing political opponents. 

The activism reaches into our homes.  An example of which can be found in Showtime’s Homeland television series.  Alex Gansa, co-creator of the show has denied that President Elizabeth Keane was intended to be a Hillary Clinton proxy, but did admit he was “shocked by Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 Presidential Election.

The April 15 episode “Clarity” comes after a continuous investigation into Russian interference within the nation, which likely includes a member of Congress [Adam Schiff and Chuck Schumer, please call your office]. Because President Elizabeth Keane is becoming more and more paranoid in silencing her opposition, some members of Congress and even her own Cabinet begin drafting an invocation of the 25th Amendment to officially take her out of power.

Season 7’s somber finale concludes with the scheme of Russian operatives hell-bent to undermine the Office of the President of the United States being revealed to the American people. President Keane realizes that the political divisions exploited and deepened by the Russians can never be healed as long as she’s in office and decides to address the nation from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office:

This country, for all the threats it faces from the outside, has been, for a long time, destroying itself from the inside-out. Every attack it fends off from a foreign power begets more distrust within the government, sows more conflict, and creates more fissures within the pillars that hold up democracy. America is an easy target now; as deeply divided a nation as I can remember.

I wasn’t above using the power of this office to lash out at my enemies. I don’t believe it was against the law, but it was wrong.

For over 200 years we have had an angel on our shoulder in this country. Lately, I’ve been wondering where she’s gone. Look around, we’re in trouble. Our democracy is, and it is not Russia’s fault. It is ours. We are the ones killing it. When we think of democracies dying, we think of revolution, of military coups d’états, of armed men in the streets, but that’s less and less how it happens anymore. Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Nicaragua, the Philippines. The democracies now die when we’re not looking, when we’re not paying attention…the end arrives slowly, like twilight. And at first, our eyes don’t notice.

I spent much of the afternoon with Vice President Warner, who I have come to know as a deeply honorable and decent man. He and I agree. This country is locked in an existential conflict over race and identity and culture. The signs are everywhere and flashing red. Something must change. Something bold must be done. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I do know I have become part of the problem. I open my mouth and half of you hear only lies. That’s not only unacceptable, but unlikely to change anytime soon. No single leader can save a democracy, but without a leader you can trust, no democracy can be saved.

I realize I’m retelling an episode from a cable TV show but think for just a moment about how the producers of Homeland turned Season 7 on it’s head.  A threat by some members of Congress to remove a sitting president─a dreamscape relished by President Trump’s detractors.

I worry about the enemies arrayed against President Trump.  You’d have to be blind not to notice the peril the mainstream media works 24/7 to ensnare him in.

Like Mary Ann Glendon’s prayer for our new Secretary of State, I pray the Lord will protect and guide our president as he serves his beloved country and fights for the forgotten man.