Kneeling

America has suddenly become obsessed with "kneeling", in fact, there is even an "art" of kneeling that is emerging in our culture.

Yesterday Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer led a number of other Democrats in taking a knee on the steps of the Capitol near Emancipation Hall.

Doctors and nurses are also kneeling, in fact, it's organized---they're calling it "White Coats For Black Lives."

A black state patrolman, in a comment to a white demonstrator, put it all in perspective this past weekend.

Be informed.

The politicians kneel.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and many of their fellow Democrats took a knee yesterday in front of the US Capitol, near Emancipation Hall---kneeling for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The time the Minneapolis policeman kept his knee on George Floyd's neck until he lost consciousness and died.

The reality of what happened to this man is unthinkable and indescribable.

Pelosi prefaced the visit to Emancipation Hall invoking the "tragedy" and "horror" of slaves being forcibly brought to America, and the "consequences of that."

She said, "We are here to observe that pain."

Schumer called the event a "profound and important moment." And he said, "The goal is to boost accountability, transparency, and change the culture in the nation's police departments."

Schumer also demanded that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bring the new Democrat legislation, "Justice in Policing Act," to the Senate floor immediately for a vote.

The doctors and nurses kneel.

Healthcare workers have organized around a phrase and a web site, "White Coats for Black Lives."

A comment heard often from the healthcare workers is: "We all have the same organs."

This is true, because we all have the same Creator.

Across the country, the media is reporting---even in Alaska, that "healthcare workers are dropping to their knees."

I get this, I think. People kneeling for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, paying tribute to a man whose life was brutally and immorally taken.

I believe many, if not most of the healthcare workers are sincere in their acts of kneeling.

I have not seen enough authenticity in either Pelosi or Schumer to believe their motives are pure. So I don't believe it. But even if they were, it seems there is a point---a tipping point at which "kneeling" becomes something different than what it's supposed to be, knowingly or unknowingly.

A point where it becomes more about you, than about the victims. It becomes "virtue signaling."

The FBI kneels.

Bob Barr, not to be confused with A/G Bill Barr, wrote a very thoughtful article yesterday regarding his response to the FBI kneeling before the protesters who had just wreaked havoc in one of our cities.

Bob Barr is a former US Representative from Georgia's 7th District, former US Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and now serves as President of the Law Enforcement Education Foundation based in Atlanta.

Barr recounts that it was our FBI agents who brought down the Gambino crime family and aided in defeating the violent Weather Underground, which was led (actually founded and led) by Bill Ayers and his wife Bernadine Dohrn.

I would add Barack Obama launched his political career with his first fundraiser in the living room of Bill and Bernadine.

But here they were, the FBI kneeling before the group whose acts of destruction were still smoldering. Barr says, "I never dreamed I'd see the day."

"The FBI now has morphed into a pale reflection of its former self," he says. I've known Barr in the past. He is not a man given to extremes.

He says:

"It's unclear whether these individuals knelt out of fear, were ordered by their superiors at the Bureau to assume a submissive pose, or whether each was doing so because they personally supported the rioters and demonstrators."

Barr says, what is clear, however, is that the FBI in the 21st century has lost sight of its mission and purpose. And apparently no longer acts on its own intelligence.

Bob Barr notes that A/G Bill Barr said publicly on May 31st, that mixed in with the protesters, demonstrators, looters and violent thugs who smashed windows, burned churches and engaged in all manner of other violent acts in cities across the nation, were elements of Antifa and other extremist organizations.

Either the kneeling FBI agents were uninformed, scared, or complicit with the very people they have sworn to confront on behalf of the American people and our safety.

We need clarity on kneeling.

Georgia State Patrolman O'Neal Saddler brought clarity to kneeling this weekend on the streets filled with protesters.

Apparently, someone asked him to kneel while he was doing his job along the street, suggesting if he had respect, he would be kneeling.

"If I didn't have any respect, I wouldn't be here," he explains. "I was supposed to be out of town this weekend with my wife. I took off today, this weekend, but I'm out here to make sure y'all are safe."

He added, "Don't go there with respect, OK? I have much respect, but I only kneel for one person."

Someone in the crowd replied: "And that's God," which the trooper confirmed: "God."

Following the exchange, you can audibly hear people in the crowd thanking him for his response.

Someone had their iPhone out---they always do---and posted the video on social media. The video has gone viral.

This is Georgia State Trooper O’Neal Saddler.

He was asked to kneel today, and this was his response.

God Bless him! 🙏🏻 pic.twitter.com/DZOGg6qnFn

— Ryan Fournier (@RyanAFournier) June 7, 2020

That's leadership. Integrity. Authenticity. Transparency. Humility. And strength.

Bill Federer quotes a Harvard professor friend of his who was reflecting on a conversation with a Marxist economist from China who had been studying here in the US.

The friend says he asked the economist if he had learned anything that was surprising or unexpected while living here.

The Chinese economist responded without hesitation, "Yes, I had no idea how critical religion is to the functioning of democracy."

He went on to say: "Americans followed these rules because they had come to believe that they weren't just accountable to society, they were accountable to God"---concluding with this:

"If you take away religion, you cannot hire enough police."

It's time for America to return to kneeling before God, confessing our sins, asking forgiveness, and asking Almighty God to forgive us and heal our land.

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant. Be Prayerful.