Life On The World Of The Cross

The Face of Fox News: A weakling psychopathic propagandist

The quality of the social torchbearers will determine whether civilization goes forward or backward. The homes, churches, and schools of one generation predetermine the character trend of the succeeding generation. The moral and spiritual momentum of a race or a nation largely determines the cultural velocity of that civilization.
—The Urantia Book

“Torch me up, Scottie!” is not an entirely oblique reference to the amazing Star Trek sci-fi process of reassembling a person from one physical location to another—  and one that thoughtlessly assumes that all their personal and intangible values and principles, as well as their miscellaneous mental crapage— mysteriously goes right along with them.  Without getting into the cosmological bolts and nuts (well maybe the nuts) of how that’s ever going to be possible, I still want to steal it.  Only by “Torch me up,” I mean, get yourself turned into a social torchbearer— of dramatic social change.

And one more oblique sci-fi reference.  In the film, 2010, the iconic black Monolith suddenly appears on the surface of Jupiter as a vast population of Monoliths, increasing in number exponentially, shrinking Jupiter, increasing its density, and ultimately destroying the entire planet.  Something calamitous is unfolding, and indeed, the planet contracts, and explodes; the wondrous and unforeseen result:  Jupiter is transformed into a light and life giving star for the surrounding moons.

Like Jupiter, we are fast approaching a calamitous explosion/transformative event on Urantia;  especially here in America.
Two ideological groups are on a collision course.  The usual broad-stroke shorthand is Liberal and Conservative, left and right;  the nuances of  “Democrat,” “Republican,” “libertarian,” “Tea Party,” are, for all practical purposes, meaningless.  The impending collision is being hastened by our nation’s intensifying polarization around these two convoluted ideologies, and in large part, we have various “social torchbearers” to thank for it.   We are approaching the parting of the ways, and even the slow of wit and poorly informed are aware of the immediacy of this confrontation.

The de facto social torchbearers for the Theo-Conservative Right are many, the most virulently destructive and dangerous arguably being Limbaugh, Beck, and Coulter, followed closely by a bevy of elected, resigned, and more or less deranged others.  Naming the social torchbearers on the Left is far more difficult, and that’s part of our problem;  we don’t really have any.  Sure, Rachel Maddow and Keith Olbermann report the news with a genuine grasp of reality as sane and intelligent people understand, but they are still news people, not torchbearers.  That might change, but who? and when?

Ideals elevate the source of the social stream. And no stream will rise any higher than its source no matter what technique of pressure or directional control may be employed. The driving power of even the most material aspects of a cultural civilization is resident in the least material of society’s achievements.

The “ideals” of early 21st century America are seriously corrupted by wide-spread greed and epidemic fear;  you already know the litany of this abuse and decay:  warrantless wire-tapping, torture, lying, all wrapped in appallingly smarmy hypocrisy.  Our country’s ideals and values— especially their religious roots— are undergoing the most rigorous testing in the short history of our nation, and any progressive resolution of this period of trial is far from settled. We could just as easily go backward as forward.

The nutbox face of the fear-addled inanity of the ideologically insane

So it’s more than a passing tempest brewing in an ugly little teapot that Beck has put on boil;   his recent attack on one of the core principles of Christianity, “social justice,” is really a gauntlet thrown down, not just to the leaders of Christianity, but to all moral Americans. His latest excuse for not having an adult conversation with Jim Wallis over his arrogantly stupid remarks about social justice is that he’s been investigating Wallis and his “cute” friends for the past eight weeks, and he’ll be “dropping the (communist?) hammer” on poor Mr. Wallis, as soon as he sees fit.

Intelligence may control the mechanism of civilization, wisdom may direct it, but spiritual idealism is the energy which really uplifts and advances human culture from one level of attainment to another.

If we are to survive the cataclysmic days ahead, the majority of America’s progressive thinkers and doers are going to have to Gimme More…]

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