The Truth About the Truth

I wrote recently that it is important to focus on the truth. Quite obviously this is essential in religious matters, and every major religion has its truth documents. Another sphere in which the truth plays an indispensible role is public policy, more commonly called politics, where truth documents are harder to identify. I frequently hear people say that they pay little attention to politics because they are disillusioned with the lack of integrity they see throughout the system. Yet this very lack should be the driving force to seek the truth and elect those who support it.

In America we have a representative republic. This means that we elect others to make judgments for us concerning public policy. The ultimate reason for believers to demand truth from their representatives is survival. In early post-WWII Germany Martin Niemöller famously said:

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- 

Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- 

Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

There are countless examples of “border skirmishes” that mirror the socialist-unionist-Jew progression Niemöller pictured. The anniversary of Roe v. Wade this week allows pro-lifers to see the dramatic results of losing that battle. As of this writing, the casualty count is over 57 million.  Thankfully support for unrestricted abortion is waning, and there is reason to hope that Roe v. Wade may one day be overturned. The reason for that turn-around is often credited to the use of sonograms, a poignant truth document if ever there was one.

Another sphere where freedom is being slowly eroded is economic. Certainly, material wealth is low on the list of concerns for Christ-followers, but economic equality (socialism) is not biblically supported. However, equal opportunity is in line with the overall teaching of Scripture. We should be concerned when government policies drive down opportunity and drive up unemployment essentially limiting opportunity for large numbers of people.

The current administration likes to say that the economy (and hence opportunity) is becoming more healthy under its policies. The truth does not support these assessments. The figures being used to paint an optimistic economic picture are “massaged” to say it kindly. Most media outlets are reporting a drop in unemployment to less than 7%, when in fact, the number of people not working or working part-time but desiring full-time is closer to 20%. The labor participation rate, a truer measure of unemployment, is at its lowest since 1978.

The rising price of stocks is also highlighted as a sign of economic health, but inflation, a drag on true economic health, is the largest contributor to a rising Dow Jones average. This administration does not use realistic means to measure inflation either, creating a double truth-challenge to the overall assessment. (For an excellent article on this see Marotta.) To become properly informed, to learn the truth, believers cannot trust the major news media anymore, as they have become propaganda organs for the administration.

We should also be concerned with the way the our country’s founder’s plan for a separation of powers is being eroded. The executive branch is usurping powers it was never intended to have. The bureaucracy (think IRS scandals), the judiciary (think court stacking) and even the Senate are complicit with this administration in attempting to whittle away the freedoms our founding fathers wrote into the US Constitution. The head of the Justice Department, Eric Holder, has repeatedly gone beyond the stated purpose of his office. President Obama said blatantly last week that he will [mis]use the executive order provision to create law when the appropriate branches do not cooperate with his agenda.

Gun rights groups such as the National Rifle Association are sounding the warning that our Second Amendment rights are under attack. While many people who don’t own guns think this issue does not affect them, it must be viewed in light of Niemöller’s perspective. Second Amendment rights are very closely tied to First Amendment guarantees of free speech. If a majority of people stand by and watch Congress and the administration chip away at the Second, there will be no grounds for resistance when the First is attacked more stridently. It is already illegal to preach from parts of Leviticus in certain jurisdictions (the UK , Canada and the US) because to do so would be “hate speech,” a limit on believers’ speech.

The truth is that the traditional American way of life is under attack. We still have the power of the ballot box to combat this attack. To do so, believers must become informed voters. Thomas Jefferson said, “Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.” Believers need to start noticing and doing something to set things right. If we don’t do it soon, we will find ourselves in Niemöller’s predicament with no one to blame but ourselves.