Next month, in addition to senators, congressmen, governors, and a slew of local officials, America will vote for a new president. Last year, in anticipation of the all-important 2024 election, I wrote Saving America. Here’s the preface:
Freedom. Isn’t freedom what America is about? A country where we are free from restraint, free from control, and free from authority, in order to live as we please and do what we want? Freedom was the cry of the “Free Love” movement in the 1970s. The movement asserted that we should be permitted to love whom we want without the restrictions of marriage, societal norms, or an imposed morality. How about the freedom to get high, abort an unwanted child, or ride a bicycle naked in a parade in front of children? We’ve gone so far that we not only want to ban laws that restrict our choices, but we also don’t want the police at all. The police are the enforcers of the laws we hate. Police represent the authority we despise, and we’d just as soon do without them.
Happiness. Isn’t happiness what life is about? Everyone wants to be happy, and we live our lives in the pursuit of happiness. After all, the preamble to our Declaration of Independence says that everyone has the right to “the pursuit of Happiness.” And we spare no expense in its pursuit. We spend untold millions on water toys, dirt toys, and snow toys, all in the pursuit of happiness. Yet, toys leave us wanting more. Perhaps if we’re better looking, we’ll be happy? So, we diet, exercise, get tucks, lifts, and augmentations hoping that beauty will bring happiness. But it doesn’t. We’re not happy. There always seems to be something more. Something elusive.
We haven’t gained freedom, nor have we captured happiness. We’ve lost the freedom to walk the streets in safety as our pursuit for happiness escalates. Recent events in America have caused many to rethink what freedom and happiness mean. America finds itself more unhappy with each passing day. According to several 2023 polls, only 24.6 percent of Americans believe the country is on the right track.
In January of 2023, when the video recording Tyre Nichols being beaten by five Memphis police officers was released, America was forced to look into the mirror. These weren’t street thugs or gang bangers; these were Memphis police officers. If these were the actions of “the finest” among us, what does that say about us? We’ve sown the wind and now we’re reaping the whirlwind. Let’s put a stop to this silliness. We need to get back on track before it’s too late to recover.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah warned, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil” (Isa. 5:20a). That’s what we’ve done. We’re so mixed up we can’t call a boy a boy and a girl a girl. And like the song goes, America is a snowball rollin’ downhill headed for Hell.
Is there a way back? Can we recover? Can America be saved? Yes, she can. But first we need to realize what got us here.
Saving America is not only for this election season, but it also explains why America goes off course and how we can get back on course and save the country. The book is available on Amazon in print, digital, and audio formats.
Books
Larry and Susie Ledford, good friends, not only of Sherry and me, but of the Strong Blue Line Foundation (SBLF), recently donated several copies of “Winning a Gunfight” to Deputy Chief Denise Barnes of the Montgomery (AL) PD. She responded to Larry in an email, “I simply wanted to express my gratitude for your generous donation of the book ‘Winning a Gunfight’. I distributed it to several officers who had experienced officer-involved shootings, and they were truly appreciative of the valuable insights it provided.” We receive a lot of positive feedback from officers, family members of officers, and chaplains who have read my books. If you would like to provide books for officers and/or chaplains in your community, or financially support the SBLF, you can go to TheStrongBlueLine.org/donate/.
On the Road
We just returned from a 4,200+ mile trip that included two seminars, a church presentation and preaching opportunity and a conference for nonprofit charities that serve and support first responder families. The conference was hosted by Jeremy and Ketryna of Mission First Alliance. Sherry and I met and networked with people from all over the country.
This month, it’s up to the panhandle at Protector’s Peak for leadership training and then down to Texas for the 50th anniversary celebration of Make It Clear Ministries. Stan and Carol Ponz started the ministry in South Florida in 1974 and over the years it has grown into several ministry endeavors, including collaborating with the SBLF to serve the law enforcement community. While in Texas, we’ll also be presenting the “Winning a Gunfight” seminar at the Selma PD. Pray for your police.
