"For The First Time, I'm really Fearful For My Country"

Yesterday someone said to me, "Gary, for the first time in my life I am really fearful for my country."

There's reason to be fearful, but there's a greater reason for hope.

Secular progressivism is destroying the culture both here and abroad.

Yesterday Associated Press tried to put a pretty face on Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, while the Taliban declared a national holiday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of  their "defeating America and its allies."

While the world looks on, chaos mounts in America as so-called progressives struggle to stay in power by any means, because the end always justifies the means with secular, so-called progressives.

May God help us.

Be informed, not misled.

Each morning, I check three different lists of things that happened that day in history, and share the several I think are worth mentioning on our daily radio program. 

Here's how AP described Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan one year ago yesterday. 

August 15, 2021:

"One year ago today the Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital after the country’s government collapsed and the embattled Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, joined fellow citizens and foreigners in fleeing the country; the collapse marked the end of a two-decade U.S. campaign to remake the country. As U.S. military helicopters whisked American diplomats to the airport in Kabul, the U.S. military said it was taking charge of air traffic control at the airport, where thousands of foreigners and Afghans were desperately trying to leave. The American flag was lowered at the embassy, where smoke rose as staff destroyed important documents. Afghans rushing to leave the country lined up at cash machines to withdraw their life savings."

This is a progressive view of what happened.

Here's what really happened.

The Taliban didn't attack anything---this time--because a confused American presidency simply handed it to them as we burned our papers, grabbed our flag, and fled, resulting in the horrible, unnecessary death of a number of our military personnel and tens of thousands of Afghans who were promised security if and when the US left.

Secular Progressives are the great pretenders.

When the Taliban jihadist organization returned to power in Afghanistan a year ago on Monday, its spokesmen promised one thing above all: the new and improved Taliban regime would be “inclusive.”

Underscore "inclusive" because that is the exalted righteous virtue of progressivism.

Taliban representatives who would go on to powerful offices in what is now the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan” could not stop using the word. Their ministerial cabinet would be “inclusive.” Their institutions would be “inclusive.” Their diplomatic stances on the larger world stage would reflect the alleged newfound “inclusivity” the Taliban learned from warring with America for 20 years.

The problem is that the Taliban never really defined what "inclusive" means, but it was a virtue signal that the Biden bunch and progressives everywhere tuned in to. 

The Taliban took over the country a year ago yesterday, explaining that because progressive Joe Biden violated an agreement between Washington and the group that would have seen American troops leave the country by May 1, 2021. Despite praise from the American people for ending the Afghan war, Biden extended the withdrawal to September 2021, then shortened the deadline to August. His doublemindedness was a result of trying to figure out the best possible path to a political victory as the most important outcome---then explain away the carnage left behind by his progressive, relativistic decision-making. Or simply ignore it until American voters forgot about it.

Progressives always pretend anything good is a result of their policies, while anything bad is their political enemy's fault. They have no understanding of truth---beyond being a useful tool for those who believe in fixed or absolute truth---like the Bible.

Pretending it was some kind of peaceful transfer of power the Taliban's media organ Bakhtar News Agency said Sunday, "15 August evokes a great political alteration in Afghanistan, an alteration that gave a new identity to the political life of Afghanistan.  This day has been recorded in the political calendar of Afghanistan as a day full of events, when Ashraf Ghani and his colleagues fled, the political power was once again given to the Islamic Emirate along with this alternative, and Afghanistan witnessed the beginning of peace and stability again."

So what does '"peace and stability" look like to a Taliban-controlled press that has been indoctrinated and schooled by a progressive American press?

What does "inclusive" look like in the progressive world?

The Taliban has proven to be anything but “inclusive,” with the exception of making plenty of room for Sunni jihadist terrorist groups like al-Qaeda and the affiliated Haqqani Network in its halls of power. Taliban terrorists have in practice mostly outlawed journalism, banned girls and women from getting an education, done little to curb groups like the Islamic State, harbored high-profile al-Qaeda leaders, and aligned themselves internationally with some of the world’s most brutal repressive states, such as China and Russia.

Its Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which replaced the former Afghan Women’s Ministry, regularly threatens and micromanages civilian lives, using checkpoints to inspect people and berate them, or worse, if they do not maintain sufficiently Islamic beards or associate with women who do not wear a head covering. Burqa sales are booming, as are those for Quranic car decals, used to please the oppressors into looking away.

The Taliban of today is a clear continuation of the regime that controlled Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001, ending with the September 11 attacks, and not in any meaningful way an “inclusive” break from that tradition.

Yesterday was a national holiday in Afghanistan. A day set aside to celebrate "the one-year anniversary of the victory of the Afghan jihad against America and its allies' occupation."

Secular progressivism's version of inclusivity failed in Afghanistan---it's failing in America. 

In fact, Forbes Magazine published an article admitting "inclusion" and "diversity" are failing, giving 4 ways to help  make it work in corporations:

1. No Long Range Plan. Leaders must integrate the values of diverse and inclusive culture with organizational objectives.
2. Lack of Commitment to the Program. Leaders must model D&I [diversity and inclusivity] principles. 
3. Poor Instructional Delivery Model. Poor instructional delivery models lead to program failure.
4. Lack of Representation. Everyone must have a seat at the table.

It struck me that Forbes would use essentially biblical principles in trying to help the secular business culture succeed in diversity and inclusion mandates.

What's missed with Forbes, and with the politically secular progressive Left in America is that biblical Christianity is "inclusive" and "diverse" in its truest form.

Secular progressivism always presents a veneer of humility and the illusion of diversity. Left to their own devices their secular worldview doesn't allow for true inclusion or diversity only a counterfeit. 

The secularists use "inclusion" and "diversity" as a tool to advance an ideology and agenda. To virtue signal and feel good about themselves.

The hope that we have. 

Christ's Great Commission is the embodiment of inclusion.

Evangelism takes place because the call of salvation is radically inclusive. We are to call all people everywhere to repentance and faith: people from every tongue, tribe, and nation; people of every color, ethnicity, and background; even people who claim other religious identities.

Christianity is exclusive in that there is only one way to God---the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior. 

Unfortunately, some Christians look at a Buddhist or a Hindu and stay quiet about Jesus. Their silence says this: Jesus isn’t for you. That's secularism.

On the other hand, the true biblical Christian recognizes the radically inclusive call to salvation. It is because of the exclusive nature of Christianity that the offer of the gospel is so radically inclusive. Christ calls all people everywhere to repentance. Forgiveness in Jesus Christ is available for all. 

At the foot of the cross, we find true inclusivity, diversity, and equality. All are welcome. But there is only one way.

Therein lies the hope of earth and the joy of Heaven.

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