if you ask the public anything, including the benefits of cannibalism or self-immolation, a certain percentage will think they are great ideas (Steven Greenhut.)

children in California can get an abortion and sex change operation without their parents’ permission.

we permit men to marry men and women to marry women and women can kill their unborn babies.

if we do the above then in three generations, there will be no more Democrats and RINOs.

according to a base spokesperson, the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada recently hosted its first-ever drag queen show at one of its on-base dining and entertainment clubs.

if you have two cows in our free enterprise system, you can sell one and buy a bull, and when your herd multiplies and the economy grows, you sell them and retire on the income.

our soon-to-be socialist government will take one cow and give it to your neighbor so everyone will be equal.

under pure Socialism, the government takes both cows and puts them in a barn with everyone’s cows that you must feed and milk; but the government gives you as much milk as you need.

our government, once it merges into Communism, will take your cows that you are still responsible for and then gives you some milk—and will shoot you if you don’t meet their milk quota.

the infamous New World Order is the Global Plantation, and you and I will be the cotton pickers.

the Ku Klux Klan dresses in white robes and scares black people, and the Supreme Court dresses in black robes and scares everyone.

immigrants with tuberculosis and polio are welcome, but you must prove your dog is vaccinated.

if you cheat to get into college, you go to prison; but if you cheat to get into the country, you go to college for free.

people who have never been to college pay the debts of college students who took out huge loans to pay for their worthless degrees.

everyone is expected to pretend a man can be a woman, and you can be persecuted or prosecuted if you disagree and insist on calling him, he.

according to the Los Angeles Times, men can legally display their genitalia to children and women in health spas if the men claim to be women.

somehow, it’s un-American for the census to count how many Americans are in America, but we don’t care how many non-Americans illegally cross our southern border.

it seems all Democrats are concerned about voting rights but don’t seem to be worried about illegal voters.

the Russians influencing our elections is bad, but illegals voting in our elections is a good thing.

we are expected to hate white neighbors since all Whites are racists but love black rioters and looters.

the “insurrectionists” on January 6 are being prosecuted (some still in jail!), but the rioters, looters, and low-level animals of the BLM revolution went free.

Black Lives Matter unless they are shot one by one in Chicago, Washington, D.C., St. Louis, or Philadelphia.

famous civil rights leaders are really stupid or dishonest people and for sure are Black Supremacists.

the Philadelphia police now are required to first politely ask criminals to stop defecating in the street.

Hollywood sluts (male and female) with limited talent and an accidental attractive physical appearance get rich and continue to worship the modern version of the Golden Calf, known as Oscar.

illegal aliens have always been a problem, according to American Indians.

self-professed brilliant Americans are amazed at their supposed cleverness as they make soup out of the goose that lays golden eggs.

city mayors defund the police and are shocked when the criminals take control of the streets.

Nikole Hannah-Jones, the creator of the 1619 Project, asserted the destruction of property during the BLM rioting was “not violence.”

many Americans want to appear sophisticated as they support every leftist cause from abortion to zoophilia, not knowing they are not sophisticated but stupid.

radicals have taken “civil” out of civilization and put “cult” into the culture.

I am considered strange if I think it is none of a government’s (or unions’) business if I’m willing to work for a small wage and someone is willing to hire me.

most Americans think it is acceptable to demand a full week’s pay for a full day’s work.

the leader of the Free World has attained the disabilities but not the knowledge and experience of age and still has access to the nuclear football.

most politicians quickly learn the path of success: compromise, collusion, and corruption.

those paragons of virtue who love everyone, the Homosexual Lobby, are domestic stormtroopers who take no prisoners and only slightly try to disguise their hatred of normalcy.

our dirty, dangerous, and diseased cities are now destroyed by dirty, dangerous, and diseased low lifes.

Defund the Police activists complain that the police aren’t protecting them enough, and only a few people fall to the floor in raucous laughter.

Democrats tolerate deviant behavior while they trash Western Civilization.

burning at stake has gone out of fashion, but the political assassination of an opponent’s reputation is considered Machiavellian if not magnificent.

most Americans accept abortion, wage and price controls, rent control in large cities, federal income tax withholding, endless undeclared wars in the Middle East, etc., although such are clearly unconstitutional, therefore illegal.

everyone pretends it is normal, right, fair, and acceptable for a man to declare he is a woman and participate in female athletic contests.

a white man bashing a minority is as bad as molesting handicapped boys at a Trump rally, but a minority bashing of Whites is considered acceptable, even courageous.

married, white, male, work, faithful, punctual, honest, etc., are dirty words to Liberals.

Nevada chose a man pretending to be a woman as their choice for Miss America; so, what does that say about their women?

in Chicago, between January through July 2020, there were 2,240 shootings, including 440 homicides; furthermore, almost every shooter and victim was black, but BLM and Chicago’s Democratic politicians blame the police and systemic racism.

illegal immigrants cross the southern border in view of officials while those fleeing Communist Cuba are refused entry.

bleating heart Liberals whine about the execution of convicted killers but demand the death of millions of babies, even those who manage to survive an abortion attempt.

taxpayers fund the National Institutes of Health (headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci) program for the University of Pittsburgh to be a fetal tissue collection site harvesting the organs of full-term aborted babies, often while the babies are still breathing!

I still have the freedom to ask questions about the world pandemic, vaccines, and lockdowns without being burned at the stake.

that may not be true tomorrow.

pastors are arrested for having church services during a pandemic, but strip clubs and similar groups are permitted to operate.

Americans willingly permit medical personnel to inject into their bodies a vaccine that has not had years of rigorous testing as all other vaccines have had but accept it because it is designated as “emergency use.”

we can refuse vaccinations because of the Nuremberg code from WWII, which requires individuals “to be able to exercise free power of choice, without the intervention of any element of force….”

citizens accept the jab for COVID even though at least 25% of those infected recently had been vaccinated to keep from getting COVID.

at least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive for COVID, and 1,400 of those have died, according to data collected by NBC News, yet this is “not a sign of vaccine failure”!

in a recent  interview, Dr. Peter McCullough, an American professor of Medicine and Vice Chief of Internal Medicine at Baylor University, declared that the world has been subjected to a form of bioterrorism and that the suppression of early treatments for COVID-19 — such as hydroxychloroquine — “was tightly linked to the development of a vaccine.”

the courageous doctor above said, “Every single thing that was done in public health in response to the pandemic made it worse.”

a whistleblower says in a suit filed by America’s Frontline Doctors, there have been 45,000 COVID vaccine deaths in the US since December, and the government has covered it up.

there were only 53 deaths in 1976 that brought an end to the botched vaccine experiment for swine flu, so maybe all this vaccination push is to sell hastily produced vaccines.

studies have proved that masks are unnecessary and don’t work, but they are also harmful, yet people like sheep obey masking and lockdowns.

high school wrestlers can grapple during a match but cannot shake hands afterward.

couples can have sex if they don’t kiss.

you can ride a New York subway, but restaurants must remain closed.

a father of three was refused a kidney transplant unless he took the experimental Chinese coronavirus vaccine.

I can ask such impertinent, insolent, and important questions without fear of prosecution.

For now!

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 20 books, the most recent, Reflections of a Lifetime Fundamentalist: No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets! The eBook is available at Amazon.com for $4.99. Other titles at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don  Boys, Ph.D., and visit his blog.  Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles and click here to support  his work with a donation.)

The Stamp Act of 1765 was a power grab by King George III whereby various publications and legal forms in America would require a stamp (tax) before they could be issued. The colonialists resented the act as being taxation without representation. That same year Virginia’s Patrick Henry weighed in with his speech advocating “no taxation without representation.” England repealed the act the following year.

Things simmered for a while, then came the 1770 Townshend Acts, a tax on goods imported from England. Citizens in Boston protested, resulting in the Boston Massacre where five Americans were killed.

Americans saw a pattern of King George III making a point that he could demand taxes without any input from those being taxed. Colonists erupted in 1773 with the Boston Tea Party when 150 colonists, dressed as Mohawk Indians, dumped the newly arrived tea into the harbor at Boston. There would be no tax on that tea!

The year 1775 was a pivotal year for the colonists. Late night on April 18, Paul Revere and William Dawes saddled up for their famous midnight ride to Lexington and Concord to warn the locals that the British were approaching to take the guns and ammunition stored there. (Gun control was an issue even back then!) Early on the 19th, 77 Americans were on the village green and faced the well-dressed English redcoats. Eight Americans were killed, and ten were wounded, and many of the redcoats died in their retreat to Boston, being pursued by the colonists who fired from behind trees. By the time the redcoats arrived in Boston, they had 273 casualties and the Americans 95. In June of that year, the Battle of Bunker Hill took place. Please note that at that time Americans were still not talking about separating from their mother country.

Most Americans wanted conciliation, not confrontation with the Crown. They wanted satisfaction, not separation from the Mother Country. Our second President, John Adams’ opinion was that only about a third of the colonists wanted independence, a third supported Britain and a third had no opinion.

On December 22, 1775, King George announced that the colonies were free from British rule through his Prohibitory Act! This crucial fact is almost unknown by modern Americans, and it puts the War for Independence in a completely different light. The Act provided that any ship trading with the colonies would be considered a “lawful prize.” Furthermore, it provided that all American crews could be “impressed” (forced) to serve in the British Navy as if they had chosen to enlist! Also, the cargoes would be sold, along with the ships, and the money would accrue to England. The Act also provided that some of the plunder would be sent to an English hospital, making it more palatable to those Englishmen (in Britain and America) with a conscience.

Sporadic fighting between American patriots and King George’s redcoats continued after the “shot heard around the world” at Lexington and Concord; however, the colonists still did not want to separate from England! It would not be until July of 1776 that frustrated and angry Americans would declare their independence.

King George declared war on the colonies, making the war a war of self-defense, not rebellion! In fact, our leaders always referred to themselves as loyal subjects of the King! Ben Franklin’s letter to the King in February of 1775 spoke of “your Majesty’s Subjects in America.” The Olive Branch Petition of May 1775 (submitted to the English Court on September 1) referred to themselves as “faithful subjects” and “most dutiful subjects.” The King would not even accept that petition! So, the colonies could see no hope for reconciliation as late as September of 1775.

The following month King George III “jumped the gun” and told Parliament that the American rebellion had “become more general and is manifestly carried on for the purpose of establishing an independent empire.” However, that was not correct. American leaders had not made any assertion as to pursuing independence from England. In fact, the Pennsylvania Assembly gave clear instructions to their congressional delegates that they “dissent from and utterly reject any propositions, should such be made, that may cause or lead to a separation from our mother country.” (English Historical Documents, p. 170.) Other colonies followed the leadership of Pennsylvania and issued similar instructions to their delegates.

When news of King George’s hasty action arrived in America in February of 1776, every informed person knew that the King had basically declared war on the colonies. One colonist, Joseph Hewes, who was opposed to a break with England, wrote: “The Act of Parliament prohibiting all trade and commerce between Great Britain and the colonies has been lately brought here by a Mr. Temple from London….I fear it will make the breach between the two countries so wide as never more to be reconciled….I see no prospect of reconciliation. Nothing is left now but to fight it out” (letter to Samuel Johnston, dated March 20, 1776).

When the Second Continental Congress met on May 10, 1776, it was apparent that they considered the Prohibitory Act of 1775 as the significant turning point in the separation from England. They asserted that George had “excluded the inhabitants of these united colonies from the protection of his Crown.” Their resolution ended with: “Resolved, that it be recommended to the respective assemblies of the united colonies…to adopt such government as shall…best conduce to the happiness and safety and their constituents in particular and America in general.” In other words, it’s all over except the fighting! The arrogant King had cut off the colonies, so bring it on!

America was now an independent nation!

John Adams said of the Act, “It throws thirteen colonies out of the royal protection, levels all distinctions, and makes us independent despite our supplications and entreaties…It may be fortunate that the act of independency should come from the British Parliament rather than the American Congress.” (Letter to Horatio Gates, dated March 23, 1776.)

There have been many false charges made by Christian leaders for many years about the break with England. How could Christian Americans who had been impacted by the Great Awakening in the 1740s become such red-hot zealots and rebel against the mother country? Now you can see that was not the case. We were forced to defend ourselves against the King who had cut the strings with the colonies. While there were actions perpetrated by non-Christian or shallow Christian patriots during that time, we modern Americans have no reason to be defensive about America’s past.

King George III was the source of many irrational acts that precipitated the deaths of 25,000 American soldiers; 8,000 of them died in battle, and the other 17,000 deaths came from disease. It appeared that King George tried to push away the Americans with his many belligerent actions. But then King George had an excuse. He was part of European royalty known for incestuous marriages for decades. In his later years, he spoke nonsense for 58 hours and made many notorious statements and decisions, much to the embarrassment of his family and the British nation.

However, Americans know about an out-of-control leader, refusing to take advice and not admitting personal errors, and making tragic national and international decisions. And finally, talking nonsense for hours. Yes, Americans are aware of that.

God help America. Our best days are behind us, and the American Dream is now a nightmare.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 20 books, the most recent, Reflections of a Lifetime Fundamentalist: No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets! The eBook is available at Amazon.com for $4.99. Other titles at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D., and visit his blog. Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles and click here to support his work with a donation.)

I don’t recognize this America where Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and similar seditious rabble attack and hijack whole sections of city streets and buildings. Then they loot and burn them to the ground, injuring and killing innocent people while impotent officials nonchalantly watch.

Such actions are additionally loathsome when the culprits wrap themselves in sanctimonious facades when they are actually spineless, un-American, insurgent scum. This is further exacerbated by officials who permit it to go on and on for weeks or months while defending and excusing the malefactors instead of jailing them.

And isn’t it strange that we have federal troops in Washington, D.C. doing nothing while anarchy rules at the southern border and in the hinterlands?

I don’t recognize this America where Columbia University held seven different graduation ceremonies based on race, sexual orientation, income, etc. This is disruptive, disgusting, and divisive. It does not unify. It is also bad education. It shows that most secular universities are majoring in hypocrisy.

I don’t recognize this America where a New York City Judge removed a six-year-old child from a maskless mother who dropped off her kid at school. Furthermore, when she is permitted short supervised visits with her child in her own home, the mom must wear a mask. That judge should be running the county animal shelter, not making decisions that destroy lives and infringe on personal freedom.

I don’t recognize this America where a college professor was fired for racism after saying her black students were “predominantly at the bottom of her class.” No one asked if the accusation was true, nor if true, why saying it resulted in racism. As a school teacher decades ago in Indianapolis, I discovered that most of my black students did poorly on tests, verbal skills, book reports, etc. A few years later, when I was the administrator of a large Christian school, that was not true. Why is the professor attacked rather than the school system, curriculum, unconcerned parents, or the students themselves?

But it gets more un-American because the male professor she complained to was pressured to resign for not correcting the above complaining teacher! Note that he did not comment or approve her assessment, and he did not “correct” her. He should have forced the school to fire him, then face their abhorrent actions in court. Instead, the university has launched “a full investigation into her ‘abhorrent’ comments.”

However, there is no plan to correct the inferior performance of her students. No one wants to know why various high schools would graduate such students and why a university would enroll them with such academic records or keep them in school.

But it gets worse. A professor at Georgetown University was dissatisfied with Judge Kavanagh’s Senate Hearings and became deranged and unhinged when she wrote of Republican Senators, “All of them deserve miserable deaths while feminists laugh as they take their last gasps. Bonus: we castrate their corpses and feed them to swine? Yes.”

Surely, she is now serving eggs and hash browns at a Waffle House, but no, Georgetown (Catholic) University was not disturbed with her at all. Every Catholic in America should be demanding the administration and the Board of Trustees be fired yesterday. Moreover, I don’t want my tax dollars awarded to such a school, not grants, loans, etc.

I don’t recognize this America where a musician was forced to apologize after the cancel culture mob learned he had read an anti-Antifa book. The mob is so powerful, plentiful, and pushy that they can bully a musician into apologizing for reading a book, any book! I am surprised that any modern musician would read any book. Even surprised they can read! The pathetic musician promised the cancel culture mob that he would take “time away from the band to examine my blind spots.”

That nauseating statement gagged every buzzard west of the Mississippi.

I don’t recognize this America where students at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary will be required to sign a statement of blind allegiance to government mandates before they are accepted into the school! The statement requires students to “affirm together that we will follow and obey all rules, policies, advisories, and practices required by government authorities, mandated by our institutional responsibility and communicated by institutional leadership.” No exceptions.

Note, this is happening in an alleged Bible-teaching seminary—a Baptist seminary. I wonder what they teach about Daniel refusing to obey the King of Babylon, or Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refusing the king’s edict and going into the fiery furnace as evidence of their faith and independence of thought.

Or what they teach about the original Disciples who told authorities in response to orders to stop preaching, they “ought to obey God rather than men.” They not only refused to obey the local police, but they continued preaching by saying, “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.”

Government officials need to hear that kind of preaching from church leaders, not mealy-mouthed, self-serving platitudes from effeminate hirelings afraid of their own shadow.

Evidently, the Southern Baptists are brainwashing young pastors to be lapdogs for the government, not watchdogs who bark warnings. Isaiah 56:10 refers to watchdogs who refuse to bark: “His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark.” Most pastors fear offending anyone by giving warnings, and they consider rebukes as “not Christ-like.” Most preachers are not made of the same stuff as Peter and John but are dumb dogs who refuse to bark. Dumb Dogs—D.D. (That’s one doctorate I don’t want.)

That is not the America where I grew up and not the seminary I would ever recommend.

I don’t recognize this America where the new Equality Act will require churches, schools, hospitals, adoption agencies, etc., to trash their beliefs and accept the government’s mandates about sexual orientation and gender identity. People will be fired for refusing to call a hairy, bearded male pretending to be a female “Miss.” That’s not my America. And I will never do that even if it means prison.

I don’t recognize this America where schools, all schools, will be forced to teach even first-grade students that they can choose their gender. Even parents will be required to accept their children’s gender, even having healthy organs chopped off. Medical personnel will be required to do surgeries on innocent children and prescribe hormone treatment to create the pretended gender.

My sixth-grade-educated father would have said, “This world is crazy as a bedbug.” Dad was a natural philosopher.

I don’t recognize this America where Christian colleges and other religious charities will be forced to hire people who have opposite beliefs and lifestyles abhorrent to the organization’s teachings. I can see a tall, hairy, broad-shouldered man wearing high heels, a dress, and heavy makeup sitting at a secretary’s desk at a Christian university. Not in a school or organization that I run or support.

I don’t recognize this America where a man pretending to be a female in Nevada is now one step closer to being crowned Miss USA. A biological male recently won the Miss Silver State USA pageant—an event considered the biggest preliminary competition for the Miss Nevada USA pageant. Wow, we may see a male win the Miss USA contest.

We now have a man (pretending to be a woman) confirmed by the U.S. Senate to be an Assistant Secretary of Health. He changed his name from Richard to Rachel, but it only made things worse. Richard thought he was a male for forty years; his doctor thought he was a male; his mother thought he was a male, and he looked like a male. His wife and children thought he was a male; his neighbors thought he was a male. Fact is, he looked rather nice as a male, and his/her long hair and lipstick don’t really help him/her at all. Take a look and make up your own mind.

This dude is a psychiatrist! I think he needs to see one or, better yet, spend some time at an old-fashioned altar.

Does that make you proud to be an American and feel secure that he/she is looking after your health?

Those government officials, media moguls, and academics who have destroyed the America where I grew up deserve to be laughed out of every position of power and into the nuthouse where they belong.

No, not my America when truth is sacrificed at the altar of pretended tolerance.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent being Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! The eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.)

The Indians in North America were sleeping peacefully in their hogans, wigwams, and longhouses during the early hours of October 12, 1492. They were dreaming as their ancestors had for centuries, of flashing salmon, thundering herds of bison, the thump of an arrow striking a deer, and the sound of corn rustling in the evening breeze, with no idea of the events that would happen when Europeans stepped out of a small boat into the pounding surf.

As the Indians began to stir from a sound sleep, Admiral Christopher Columbus was nearing the island of San Salvador. While looking for the old world, he had discovered a new world.

Columbus had arrived. He delivered civilization to this continent—and all that went with it, good and bad. He brought culture and corruption but far more good than bad.

Columbus knew he was nearing land when he saw driftwood floating near his ship and land birds flying around the masts. He, no doubt, wondered what people were watching his ship from behind the screen of foliage as he neared the shore. Would the people be friendly, noble savages, or hostile, brutal savages? Both ideas would be promoted for many years back in Europe, but the idea of noble savages was popularized by writers in recent times to prove they are woke. (See, I did it again and it’s still silly.)

It is true that what may be accurate of one tribe would not be correct of all tribes. Also, the time in history would make a difference in some comparisons. There would be a big difference in 1650 and 1850.

The internet and schoolbooks are loaded with humanist, inaccurate propaganda that American Indians were not violent as American movies present them as being. (As an aside, if I have to choose between what a humanist says and what John Wayne clearly portrayed, the choice is easy to make.) We are told their women were not slaves that worked all day so the braves could hunt and fish. We are expected to believe the women were good and noble when fornication was the norm. The revisionists always reveal bloody massacres by whites but don’t usually balance it with the fact that there was brutality and broken treaties on both sides.

The “noble savage” is a product of imaginative writers with humanist leanings. Some of the Indians were brutal savages, even cannibals! The New Columbia Encyclopedia reported on some Northwest tribes such as the Kwakiutl who “had a highly classified society with chiefs, nobles, commoners, and slaves….This distinctive culture, which included cannibalistic rituals, was not greatly affected by European influences until after the late 18th century….” Yes, some Indians kept slaves and ate them during hard times!

Wonder why that is not taught in any public schools? Or Christian schools?

Indians are alleged to have been preservers of pure air, water, and the forests while modern Americans are made to feel guilty for highways, homes, and hospitals. And cities, colleges, and churches. We are told that is not progress. I suppose deer trails, wigwams, and kids dying by the thousands is preferable!

The modern factory spitting out smoke is said to be obscene and a blight on mankind, but a smoking factory means jobs, money, bills paid, and food for children, gifts to charities, higher Gross National Product, and a higher standard of living for most people.

Yes, I choose smoking factories to silent, dark factories because I love people better than I do clean air. If I have to choose between an unobstructed view of a field of buttercups and a housing development, I will choose the houses every time. While being interested in cleaning up the environment, let us not become fanatics and follow the self-serving hypocrites in that movement who use the altruistic concern of sincere people to “feather their own nests.”

We are supposed to feel guilty for being white, middle class, and Protestant/Baptist; or black, upper class, and Episcopal. This is especially true regarding what we have done with the land since “taking it from the noble savage.” However, the Indians were not always careful with the environment. The Columbia Encyclopedia reveals the Choctaws “hunted with bow and arrow and blowgun, caught fish by poisoning streams.” Yes, friends and neighbors, the “noble savage” was often a polluter. Sorry about that.

Merely living on the land does not confirm ownership. This is the most important factor in the discussion. Riding on horseback across the land does not confer ownership. Land is “owned” when it is occupied by families in homes and is controlled, defended, tilled, and fenced.

Before Columbus, the Indians had lived here for hundreds (some say thousands) of years but were still living in crude homes; eating and warming themselves over an open fire; and letting their old people die alone without help. No Indian in North or South America had the concept of the wheel even though the wheel was used for transportation in Mesopotamian chariots in 3200 B.C.

Indians had access to all the gold, silver, iron, water, trees, etc., that the white man had, yet it was the white man who built the greatest, most advanced society in the world. If that sounds like racism, so be it. It is also factual. Most Liberals don’t like facts; they prefer fantasy, or fiction, or faith in old, discredited theories that informed, honest people discarded years ago.

If the white man had not beached his boats on the sands of Jamestown, Plymouth Rock, and Cape Cod, the Indians would still be huddled around their soot-lined tepees warming themselves over a fire made by rubbing dry sticks together. They would still be burying their children because of childhood diseases, and maybe the air would be cleaner if the white man had never come, but who would be alive to care?

As I think about the previous two paragraphs, I’m convinced all sane people know the truth of my statement; it’s just I’m not supposed to say or write it because it makes some people unhappy and uncomfortable and unsure of themselves. Well, they will get over it with enough time.

While the Indians in Central and South America had more advanced civilizations, they were still savages. In Mexico, the Aztecs sacrificed thousands of young virgins every year and literally jerked the hearts out of their enemies before the terrified victims were burned on a much-used altar. The dead were then eaten.

But the modern race hustlers tell us Chris was a bad guy and is worthy of our disdain, disgust, and denunciation; however, many minorities make heroes out of thieves, thugs, and tyrants. And that seems to be acceptable. Columbus was far from perfect, but he was one of the most courageous men of all time. His coming to the New World helped end brutality and gave impetus to the greatest civilization on the face of the earth—America.

The Columbus haters should leave his memory and statues alone and go out and get a job, take lunch to a sick neighbor, and volunteer at a soup kitchen.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent being Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! The eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.)

Since the world was round, Columbus thought he could sail west to arrive in the east! Aristotle had proved that the earth was a round ball three centuries before the Christian era, and most educated people accepted that view. Ptolemy had taught in the 2nd century before Christ that the circumference of the earth at the equator was about 21,600 miles, a little short of the 24,902 miles.

Marco Polo and other explorers had traveled the land routes to India, Japan, and China and returned with spices, jewels, silk, fine textiles, and other items unavailable to Europeans. The merchants had major difficulties with the overland journey because of bandits, desert heat, and sand storms that made overland routes too dangerous and expensive. With the fall of Constantinople to the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1453, the land routes to Asia became impossible, so European merchants began to look for a sea route to solve their problems.

The concept of sailing west to get to the east was very startling, but it was another thing for one to get in a ship and prove it! If the earth is really a globe, then it should be possible to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean to the eastern shores of Asia. Shortly after 1471, this idea occurred to several persons, one of whom was Columbus, and he made up his mind to prove the theory.

Just a minor problem: he did not have the funds for such an enterprise. It was common in those days to seek help from some government to finance such costly ventures. (Things never change, do they?) After approaching various nations for funding, he succeeded in making an arrangement with the Spanish sovereigns Ferdinand and Isabella. Three small ships were fitted out for him with a crew of 87 men (the count varies).

The Muslims had recently been forced from Spain after a 10-year war, so the Spanish sovereigns thought it would be good to finance Columbus since he promised to spread Christianity (Roman Catholicism) wherever he went. Many histories tell the romantic, although the untrue tale of Isabella selling her jewelry to finance Columbus, it is true that she put a special tax on butchers to pay for the voyage! However, the cost was not that great, and the agreement is considered “History’s greatest bargain!”

Furnished with the sovereigns’ money and armed with their authority, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain on August 3, 1492, with his three ships–the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria— with 52 men on the Santa Maria, his flagship, and 18 on each of the other two. Their first stop was the Canary Islands. Then after some delay, he set sail on September 6 with his ships turned westward into the Unknown Ocean!

It was the most daring thing that had ever been done!

During their journey, the sailors consumed water, vinegar, wine, olive oil, molasses, cheese, honey, raisins, rice, garlic, almonds, hardtack, beans, sardines, salt cod, salted pork, and beef. Of course, fresh fish were also eaten when the fishing was good. (I’ve never been that fortunate.)

Other brave mariners had sailed many a league along strange coasts and had won deserved fame, but Columbus was the first person to bid goodbye to the land and steer straight into the trackless ocean in reliance upon a scientific theory. This fact, of itself, is enough to make him one of the most sublime figures of history. After a voyage of 35 days, land was sighted at 2:00 on the morning of October 12, 1492. Upon his arrival, Columbus and his men went ashore and thanked God for leading them safely across the treacherous ocean. He had landed at San Salvador, one of the Bahamian islands. He placed a wooden cross in the sand and claimed it for Spain.

Columbus was seeking the back door of Asia and found himself knocking on the front door of America, but he didn’t know that. Before returning to Spain, he sailed along the shores of Cuba and Haiti, landing here and there, and sending landing parties inland to explore the country. Columbus was surprised and disappointed in not finding the splendid cities that he expected to find in Asia, but he had no doubt that he had found India, Japan, or some part of Asia.

Finally, gold was discovered on what is now Haiti but not in great amounts. It had to be panned from the rivers. It was slow work and caused much trouble between his men and the Indians. He left behind 39 men to supervise the gold accumulation. All would soon be dead from natural causes, fighting among themselves, and Indian attacks.

Columbus returned home with his news, and it aroused great excitement among intelligent mariners in Spain, Portugal, England, and elsewhere. He was greeted with huge crowds and a private audience with the king and queen.

On his second voyage in September of 1493, it was difficult to restrain people from embarking with him. He sailed with 17 ships and 1200 colonists and founded Isabella in Haiti, the first city of Europeans in North America. He also discovered Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and some of the Lesser Antilles.

Everyone expected to get rich quickly, but no silks or spices, or precious stones were found or a huge amount of gold as yet. On the other hand, hard labor had to be endured, as well as hunger and sickness, and the disappointed colonists placed all the blame on Columbus as if he had forced them to accompany him!

Since his enterprise did not bring vast amounts of money into the Spanish treasury but entailed great expenses, he soon lost favor at court, and his troubles multiplied. He cruised among the islands of the Caribbean, and on his third voyage in 1498, saw land that we now know to have been the coast of South America. He never doubted that all of this was Asia, but he wondered why he never found the riches of Asia.

Columbus’ men did find something in the New World that they passed on to Europe—syphilis! The Europeans exchanged whooping cough, smallpox, and other diseases for syphilis. Personally, if I had my choice, I would choose whooping cough. This is a good example of men reaping what they sowed. Some historians teach that syphilis could be an explanation for his progressive mental derangement. After his return from his final voyage in 1504, he was clearly mentally ill, and his legs were paralyzed.

Columbus was now more than ever discredited, and he tried to redeem his reputation by finding a western passage from the Caribbean to the Orient on his fourth and last voyage. Of course, he found none, and after terrible hardships, he returned to Spain in May 1504.

In spite of his failure to find the riches of Asia, he died in the belief that he had found the shortest route to the east. If he could have been told that he only found a continent hitherto unknown, it might have meant less bitterness at his death.

Columbus and his men made their way back to Spain, but this time he was not invited into the presence of royalty. The crowds did not cheer him, and the senoritas did not throw rose petals at him. The queen was dying, like the reputation of the Admiral. In 1506, his health started to fail, and Columbus began reliving the memories of his greatness as the “Admiral of the Ocean Seas.” He was now ridiculed as “Admiral of the Mosquitoes.”

How the mighty had fallen.

Columbus died after he partook of communion; his last words were, “Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit.” And the great Admiral took his final voyage.

Columbus’ souvenir (syphilis) from the New World was bad news for the Old World and impacted the whole world, but there was a tradeoff. When Columbus returned to the New World on his second voyage, his men brought the virus of smallpox, which, along with Spanish swords, killed millions of Indians.

Obviously, Columbus was not a saint, but then he never claimed to be, and he should be left alone by the lazy, leftist losers.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent being Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! The eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send a request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.)

It must be remembered that I want to explain origins, not our present day. I will get to modern day America but we must look at our beginning. The farther one peers into the past will help him perceive and provide for the future.

The USA was founded by white (gasp), Christian (gasp, gasp), gun toting, homeschooling Englishmen who, after much patient frustration, fought their own ancestors to gain independence and legally became the “People of the United States.” The newly created “People of the United States” formed a nation for “Ourselves and Our Posterity” according to the first paragraph in our Constitution.

Our founders were not interested in people in other parts of the world. They were not interested in proving to the world how broadminded they were. They were not concerned for people of other regions, religions, or races, but were concerned for “ourselves and our posterity.” That meant and still does, “ourselves and people like us.”

That meant “American first!” And that was true until recent years when it seems to be selfish and vile to practice that wholesome maxim.

Were our founding fathers unloving, unkind, un-American (!) or only unthoughtful? Should they have organized a special action of Congress to seek with missionary zeal, the “tired…poor… huddled masses yearning to breathe free”? Should this struggling nation have allocated funds to bring people unlike them to the new nation to add to the diversity?

We are told that our strength is in our diversity but the fact is our strength is in our unity. It is noteworthy that African nations, China, and the Muslim nations never speak of diversity. Wonder why?

Early Americans had similar beliefs about free enterprise, similar (but not the same) beliefs about religion, the same language, and the same general culture. While having similar backgrounds was helpful in producing mutual support, sympathy, and success, it did not mean we disliked others. It only meant that whatever decisions we made, whether economic, religious, political, domestic, or foreign, the first thought was to put America first. Only a fool says otherwise.

President Donald Trump made it clear to the world during his Inauguration speech that once again the U.S. would make decisions based on the principle of putting America first. The media mavens got their knickers in a very uncomfortable knot because of that new operating principle. How dare Trump suggest such an un-American concept! To the media, the very thought is not only annoying, audacious, and aggressive, but also abrasive!

The radical leftists believe that the U.S. should put every other nation first when making decisions that affect the U.S. Of course, they don’t expect other nations to have such a stupid policy but America must never again follow policies, practices, and programs that always put America first!

American people should help other nations in times of disaster as we have always done, but U.S. political decisions should be made asking, “Will this strengthen or weaken our nation?” Then do what is best for the U.S.

It is insane to make decisions that are not beneficial to America. Would any of these non-thinkers suggest that a family should not make decisions based on what is best for them? One media darling suggested that it was racist to put America first. But then, everything seems to be racist at this time.

The Los Angeles Times pontificated, “And what would it mean if all countries are left free to pursue their narrow self interest?” Of course, all nations should be free to pursue their own interest! Have these people lost their minds or are they so saturated with leftist ideology that this is their normal reaction to reality? A responsible public official will consider all the ramifications of a matter and then do what is best for America. It is incredible that this is even debatable.

America–first, last, and always! Liberals scream “bigotry”; but most sane, sensitive, and sincere Americans believe that we don’t have to apologize for putting our national interests first and wanting to keep America, America! It does not mean that we are by nature superior to everyone else (although we probably are), nor does it mean that we wish anyone else ill. It simply means that we like what we have here, although we would like to remove the crime, hatred, perversion, abortion, etc.; but it would be abnormal if we did not want America to continue to be America. We even like to share it with others, but we won’t have it to share if we don’t maintain it!

The signers of the U.S. Constitution were white and most were Protestant. Most of the signers were “American-born and of Anglo-Saxon origin. The eight foreign-born… were all natives of the British Isles. Except for Charles Carroll, a Roman Catholic, and a few Deists, every one subscribed to Protestantism.”

There were only about 2,000 Jews in America in 1776 and in Charleston, SC, “almost every adult Jewish male fought on the side of freedom.” Moreover, a wealthy Jew Haym Salomon lent our fledging government $200,000 and was never repaid—and died bankrupt.

With the Fourteenth Amendment, people who were not like “ourselves and our posterity” became citizens; and along with our generous admission of many others, it produced discussion, debate, division, and disruption.

One of my readers suggests a striking analogy likening the U.S. to the Ship of State “owned and operated by the Posterity of the founding generation [that] has been authorized by the 14th Amendment to pick up ‘hitchhikers’ as an act of hospitality.” Over the years, many hitchhikers have come on board and many shipwrecked have been rescued and they have been received and have often made an impressive contribution to America.

There are now many recent hitchhikers on board who have forgotten their history and consequently their humility and gratitude for what America is. They have become so loud and powerful that they have lost any early vestige of appreciation. They seem to think they were “ourselves and our posterity” when they came on board much later. Some of them, members of Congress, even want to not only take over the Ship of State but also want to change its registration, the ship’s log, destination, etc. A case can be made that it amounts to a mutiny and we are sailing in a different direction toward a hostile and foreign port.

The U.S. has opened its heart and doors to permit many others who were not like “ourselves and our posterity” to be accepted among us. This has added much to our nation but not without danger. And those who have been invited on board might smile and kindly say, “Thanks.” And the mutineers? Well, they can go back to their ancestral home on the next ship.

It is treason not to put America first.

(Dr. Don Boys is a former member of the Indiana House of Representatives who ran a large Christian school in Indianapolis and wrote columns for USA Today for 8 years. Boys authored 18 books, the most recent Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! eBook is available here with the printed edition (and other titles) at www.cstnews.com. Follow him on Facebook at Don Boys, Ph.D.; and visit his blog. Send request to DBoysphd@aol.com for a free subscription to his articles, and click here to support his work with a donation.)

Anarchy in the country is obvious when any newspaper is read or any television news is watched. Anarchy is a word that comes from the Greek, and signifies, strictly speaking, without government: the state of a people without any constituted authority. That seems to be our destination.

Anarchy is obvious in our community, our cottages, our churches, our colleges, and our culture.

In our towns and cities, anarchy is obvious. When a minority group is offended, they go to the streets, protest, march, throw rocks, turn over cars, burn cars and buildings and sometimes kill others. Some racists insist that “Black Lives Matter” but all lives don’t matter and they try to justify such irrational thinking because of slavery in the 19th century! Racists come in all colors.

I’m not sure what is more irrational, irritating, and insane: the fact of the illegal protests or the shallow, vocal defense by minority spokesmen and whores in the media.

When a black teenage thug refuses to obey police, resists, and indicates he is reaching for a weapon, the officer does the thing he is trained to do: he shoots the idiot. Then the dead idiot’s friends and family try to transform him into a “gentle giant” or a “good boy” and he’s often touted to be a composite of Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Oprah Winfrey. No one suggests that if the parents had properly trained him, he would still be alive. Of course, someone is sued and the parents (almost always divorced) reap a few million dollars to compensate for their loss of a brain surgeon, actor, author, community organizer, and Nobel Prize winner.

Delusion, deception, and dishonesty reign!

When the “victim” is black and the officer is white, the stage is set for a major riot with help from Rent-a-Thug, Inc. Of course, honest people know 93% of Blacks killed in the U.S. are killed by Blacks. Race should be totally irrelevant. If the teen (black or white) was a thug resisting arrest then the officer (black or white) should be praised not punished. If the shooting was not justified as determined by the evidence then the officer (black or white) should be punished as any other offender.

Weak-minded and bigoted people are encouraged in their anarchy by mayors and other officials who repeat their stupid and racist slogans! Moreover, some officials proclaim that they will not enforce the laws that they think are unfair! A few years ago, the sheriff in Chicago announced he would not foreclose on houses on which payments had not been made! Other officials refused to hand over illegal aliens to federal authorities! When elected leaders are anarchists you can be sure there will be youth with big mouths and little brains who will follow their leaders into anarchy.

Anarchy in the cottages is obvious as many fathers are missing and moms have given up trying to maintain some order out of chaos. Kids are permitted to sass parents, eat what they choose, go to school when they want, go to bed when they feel like it, watch any television shows they want and basically tell the parent where to go.

Anarchy in the churches can be observed almost any Sunday in any mainline church. Most pastors no longer preach, “thus saith the Lord” and never challenge, contradict, or confront sinning members. Moreover, pastors never want to offend anyone so abortion, perversion, same sex “marriage,” adultery, and fornication can be (if not justified) at least ignored. Such cowardly pastors are hirelings, not faithful shepherds. Those quisling church leaders give cover, not for a flock of sheep, but a pack of wolves (in sheep’s clothing) and both shepherd and flock are contributing to America’s demise.

Religious leaders are supposed to be manning the “lighthouse” for the salvation of the helpless and lost, but they have permitted the light to be extinguished. Often the light of the Gospel has become political and is only flickering. These denominational churches are almost empty (as are the offering plates): the ship is listing starboard; the sails are ripped; the mast is broken; and the captain wonders why the ship is going down! Even when the “lighthouse” is crowded, the light is very dim or already dark. Might as well tear the old lighthouse down!

The colleges where study, scholarship, and stability are supposed to reign have experienced a coup d’état by leftist professors and students. The lack of scholarship among professors is shocking and is only paralleled by the priests of the early middle ages who often could not write their own names! Not only are the professors so stupid, they are without character, civility, or comprehension. They have no knowledge that they have no knowledge! Jerks with PhDs. Sad.

What is even more shocking is that they are usually defended by school administrators and trustees.

Moreover, the students are snowflakes who demand safe places where they will not be offended by a challenge from someone who disagrees with them! It would be helpful to America if about half of the students would drop out of school and pursue the work of a carpenter, plumber, roofer, etc. That way, many of the leftist professors could be fired and they too could seek a useful trade where they make a positive contribution to our nation. Maybe then, college and university status would rise to the level of the Jerry Springer Show.

The anarchy in our culture can be seen and heard any hour of the day by turning on the television. Watch the sitcoms where immorality is accepted as normal, decency is sneered at, fathers are idiots, and moms are the heroines. Listen to the wild music that glorifies sex, drugs, violence, theft, and rebellion. Of course, anarchy in our culture is a given when the community, the cottages, the churches, and the colleges are controlled by mob mentality.

Anarchy in our country is a clear indication of the last days. Outside our walls are hordes of enemy that have vowed to take our country down. They are colluding and planning our destruction as you read these words.

Apostasy of the churches, another sign of the last days, has been obvious for two generations. Apostasy is a departure from clearly defined biblical truth. Dr. Charles Woodbridge spoke about the four M’s: mood, methods, message, and morals. A new generation wants to put its stamp on the day using the four M’s as a vehicle of deliverance.

Their mood for change is an attitude of wanting something new because it is not old; however, something should not be discarded because it is old nor should it be accepted because it is new.

Next change is a change in methods. We are told if we want to win the world, reach the youth, impact society, engage the culture, etc., we must meet people where they are, and realizing the old ways are obsolete, we must seek new approaches. After all, methods are not sacrosanct, are they? The end justifies the means, doesn’t it? God is only interested in the end results, isn’t He? Consequently, church leaders have dispensed with door-to-door visitation, revival meetings, church discipline, and verse-by-verse preaching/teaching. However, those methods are not working today only because they are not being worked.

Then comes the change in message. After all, we must rid ourselves of the nonessentials–those things that date us and hold us back. We must not offend people with a hard sell of the Gospel. Slip it in. Preaching about sin is offensive so we must get up to date and never confront people with personal sin. The modern approach is conversation and compromise, not confrontation.

The next change is in morals. Since we are only interested in the end result, we must make our message and morals comport. Abortion, while not desirable, is now acceptable. And for sure, homosexuality is accepted because we know so many “nice” people who are perverts. We are told that we can’t expect people of our day to live according to a book written thousands of years ago. However, the Author of that Book demands just that.

Therefore, church leaders have adjusted their mood, methods, message, and morals and the churches are more like social clubs rather than lighthouses.

It is not melodramatic to say that American streets will become dark, deserted, and dangerous places as anarchy reigns.

Apathy of Christians is the final indication of the last days. Ask the average church member what his responsibilities are about living godly and reaching a world for Christ and he replies, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” I just discovered there is a song with that title and while it does not achieve the level of mediocrity, it does highlight the attitude of millions of Americans.

Most Christians are concerned with non-essentials such as appearance, achievement, approval, and affluence!

They care about their appearance, yet often look like hobos, asking, “How do I look?” But how can one be more self-centered than that? Of course, after the basics are taken care of such as bathing, shaving, and reasonable dress, surely there are far more things more important than how one looks.

The second concern is achievement or what I have done. While that is more important than appearance, it is still about self.

The next concern is with approval or how people like me. This is probably one of the most time-wasting, nonsensical thoughts in the human brain. For generations this has been a major drive in the lives of people, especially young people. This is the reason teens pierce their bodies with silver, have silly tattoos, wear outrageous hair, wear skimpy clothes, talk nonsense, and frequent “the” places to be seen. It screams “insecurity” because they want approval.

The fourth concern of modern church-going Americans is affluence or what I own. But then, most Americans are so far in debt and spending more than they earn, they don’t really own much. The average family would be in disaster if they had to have a thousand dollars this week. They “owe their souls to the company store.”

If younger people have the latest gadget or phone or computer or a “cool” pair of shoes then they think they are affluent. And it helps to have mom and dad’s credit card. Mom and dad are fools and are destroying their children whom they profess to love.

Final days are approaching like an out-of-control juggernaut in a crowded street in Calcutta. Someone will get hurt. Get ready.

Boys’ new book Muslim Invasion: The Fuse is Burning! was published by Barbwire Books; to get your copy, click here. An eBook edition is also available.

I remember an America where teachers were obeyed, respected, and even feared. We knew that if we received a paddling at school, we would get one at home. That was before the graduates of Columbia took control of our educational system. My three most respected and loved teachers were the ones who were the most demanding.

I remember when the Bible was read and prayers said each morning in the public schools. Today, the schools are nut factories often filled with uneducated, unprincipled, and uncaring teachers and rebellious, resentful, and raucous students. Some kids go on to college but only 55% receive a degree within six years and often that degree is useless. One reason for the 45% dropout rate is that most college freshmen read on a seventh grade level!

I remember an America when every high school graduate had basic knowledge about America, the world, and their obligations to work hard to make a good life. I remember when every student in elementary school learned basic math and historical events; about dangling participles and split infinitives; facts about government; memorized the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, the Bill of Rights, the Wreck of the Hesperus, Inchcape Rock; and was familiar with Poe, Hawthorne, Coolidge, Irving, etc. And a weekly book report, written and read, was the norm.

I remember an America when men stood when a woman entered the room; when you tipped your hat to a lady; when you removed your hat when entering a building and would not even think of eating while wearing a hat; and when a gentleman always asked a lady, “Do you mind if I smoke?” Moreover, if a crude man carelessly cursed in a woman’s presence, he would often blush and ask to be forgiven. How quaint. And, even in West Virginia, smoking and cursing women were as scarce as white dinosaurs in Manhattan.

I remember an America when we walked quietly and respectfully by a home with a gold star hanging in the window. We knew that some father, brother, or son had been slaughtered on faraway battlefields with strange names such as Iwo Jima, Corregidor, Coral Sea, Battle of the Bulge, Anzio, Heartbreak Ridge, Inchon, Pusan, and many others.

I remember an America when we never locked our doors day or night and the iceman had access to our back porch icebox for ice deliveries.

I remember an America when neighbors bossed anyone’s kid around and even provided a swat on the rear when needed. This was before the fanatics at Child Protection Agency, trying to do good, took control and destroyed a vast number of families with the help of our culture.

I remember an America when families could watch any television show together and never be embarrassed. The most risqué show was when Milton Berle, dressed as a woman, hit other stars with his purse.

I remember an America when men–even myself–would shake hands on a $50,000 business deal and both kept their word–without a written contract.

I remember when there were boys and girls, men and women and if anyone had suggested the possibility of same-sex “marriage,” he would have been certified insane.

I remember an America when if a girl got pregnant (a very seldom occurrence) she was a shame to her family (but was not rejected) and visited grandma for a few months. The baby was often reared as a sibling or cousin or was adopted by a deserving family.

I remember an America when every life was sacred and it was a major shame, scandal, and sin if a woman had her own child butchered within her womb. And a crime.

I remember an America when a politician (who disgraced himself, his family, and his party) quickly apologized, resigned, and took the next plane or train to his backwater town to live in obscurity until his death.

I remember an America when you could discuss serious issues with people who believed the opposite yet still remain friends.

I remember an America when we loved our dogs, always stray mongrels; but when they got old or sick, we shot them and lamented it for a few days but realized that they were just animals.

I remember an America when parents were loved, respected, if not feared and the thought of talking back was never a possibility. I remember when your family name was almost sacred and the thought of bringing disgrace to it was anathema.

No, my America was not perfect but it was pleasant, peaceful, and proper and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will only see some glimpse of it from their own family but not from the nation as a whole. So, I believe we should retain as much of old America as possible and we can do that without harming or offending other cultures or races.

However, old America is being challenged, changed, even crushed by Islamic and Hispanic immigration, legal and illegal. It’s time to demand that every immigrant swear an oath of allegiance to America then sing “America, the Beautiful” while they whistle “It’s a Grand Old Flag”—at the same time—with a mouthful of saltine crackers! All failures should be dropped off at the Mexican or Arabian Desert!

Well, maybe not that extreme but everyone should get the message: If you live in America, be an American (why else did you come here), or go back where you came from!

Boys’ new book, Muslim Invasion: The Fuse in Burning! was published this week by Barbwire Books.

Up until the reign of Justinian (527-565 AD), simply saying you were married was enough to establish a family. The famous Code of Justinian set some parameters for the family: any man could take a concubine but she had to be at least 12 years old. When a man lived with a free woman, it was not considered concubinage but genuine matrimony if she did not acquire financial gain by selling her body.

In 866 AD, Pope Nicholas I said “Let the simple consent of those whose wedding is in question be sufficient; if the consent be lacking in a marriage, all other celebrations, even should the union be consummated, are rendered void.” Consent was what made marriages valid and endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church, then a power throughout Europe. There was no church involvement in marriages until about the ninth century other than Pope Nicholas’ decree and after the twelfth century prayers were added to the ceremony often by the bride and groom.

Up to the twelfth century, a consummated marriage was considered valid if the couple had pledged their love and commitment to each other even without any civil or church involvement or approval. Roman Catholic Church leaders thought that such an arrangement was far better than concubinage or jumping from bed to bed like a deranged rabbit. A consummated and committed marriage would also tend to repel seducers.

Then in 1215 the Roman Catholic Church required all churches in England and Wales to publish banns (a proclamation) three Sundays before any wedding. That period of time permitted objections to be made such as an accusation that one of the two was already married or underage, or they were closely related, etc. Furthermore, the marriage had to be performed in their parish church. In the 1300s, if a couple wanted to marry quickly, the church instituted a license (permission) for the banns to be avoided. The license also permitted them to be married in another parish as well. Of course, there was a fee required accompanied by a sworn declaration that there was no canonical reason to prohibit the marriage.

Many then perceived marriage by banns as a second-class ceremony; consequently, that led to an increase in the number of marriages by license. Most of the marriages done with a license were for special purposes such as a wedding done outside the usual hours for weddings or in a church not normally approved for weddings. These weddings could be done quickly without waiting three weeks to have the marriage announced in church. Another perceived benefit was confidentiality since some people did not want the town to know that they did not have an approved wedding years earlier.

After the twelfth century, Church approval of marriages was required and after 1563 a priest was required at every wedding. Peasants in some European countries were required to have permission of the lord of the manor and in some places the lord reserved the right to spend the wedding night with the bride. Just one of his perks.

Then the Council of Trent, organized as a frantic response to the Reformation in the mid-1500s, also took up the problem of secret or “clandestine” marriages without satisfying those people who were for or against. The French wanted to outlaw all secret marriages and marriages without parental approval, but the Council refused to make parental approval a requisite for valid marriages. Secret marriages were very popular because young people wanted to choose their own spouses rather than have parents choose. A young girl whose parents had arranged her marriage at birth, would say, “But, Mom, I was secretly married last year.” However, the Council did abolish secret marriages where only the bride and groom were present.

Such secret marriages had been recognized as “true marriages,” but there were problems. It was common for a man to secretly marry then change his mind after a few months or years. He met another woman and then publicly married her with all the necessary requirements met. However, he was already secretly married and had two children. What about his responsibilities to them? His former wife could not prove their secret marriage and was stranded up a creek in a leaking canoe without a paddle, along with two hungry, screaming children! How could a court hold a man accountable without some proof of the secret marriage? If the court came to her defense, supported only by her word, then all marriages could be in danger. An unscrupulous woman could choose an attractive married man and charge that he was her secret mate. It was a can of worms.

The problem was an old one. When a couple had problems and split, there was no way for the aggrieved party to prove his or her marriage by an independent witness. The Council sought to solve this oft-occurring problem by decreeing that if a couple admitted to a secret marriage it was considered a “grave sin” and they were required to renew their vows in the local church attended by three witnesses, one of them being the local priest. The priest did not make the marriage valid; the man and woman did that with vows of commitment. The priest was there as a representative of the Church and registered the marriage. The priest was often the only person in town who could read and write so he was a natural choice to keep a record of important events such as marriage.

The Council of Trent declared that people who had been secretly married would be considered married as long as the marriages were not invalidated by the Roman Catholic Church. Then the Council required that a marriage announcement must be published each Sunday for three consecutive weeks so that a planned marriage could be forbidden if anyone had a legitimate reason to prohibit the wedding. Finally the Council said that a marriage was not valid if anyone tried to be married without a priest (or his designate) as witness along with two other witnesses.

The Roman Church pushed its way further into the homes by requiring local priests to keep records of all baptisms and deaths as well as weddings. The grip was getting tighter and tighter and it must be remembered that in the Middle Ages in Europe, the Pope was literally over every person including the “sovereign” kings.

While the Council of Trent was agonizing with their decisions and trying to untie a Gordian Knot, the Protestant Reformers had declared that a public marriage was one that was consented to by the couples’ parents. If not, it was a clandestine or secret marriage and invalid. They took the position that a church was limited in its authority and that marriage is a fundamental right of an individual so only two people could create a marriage and did so by their public consent.

During the reign of England’s Henry VIII (1509 to 1547), marriage licenses were provided by the Archbishop of Canterbury (actually by King Henry) after 1534. Before that date, the Pope issued licenses. A common license permitted a couple to be married at their parish church while a special license permitted t a couple to be married any place. A special license was required for anyone not a member of an Anglican Church. Religious separatists were not pleased with that requirement and refused to obey it.

The Marriage Act of 1753 (full title, An Act for the Better Preventing of Clandestine Marriage) in England and Wales took control of marriage from the hands of family and vested it in the state. From the point at which the law took effect in 1754, marriages which had not taken place in the Church of England, Quaker Meetings or Jewish synagogues, were rendered invalid. This was the first time legislation required a formal marriage ceremony in England and Wales. This caused major problems with dissident Christians (Baptists) who held strong beliefs about marriage and strong reservations about state control and interference in their homes. The parents of an underage couple had to get a license from the government and the ceremony had to take place in a Church of England. Any future children were not permitted an inheritance if those conditions were not met by everyone, including Baptists.

This effectively did away with secret marriages and gave government more control which is common for all governments.

Baptists refused to obey the law that required marriages to be controlled by the state and Baptists and other groups are doing the same today: Government, stay out of our most important and sacred traditions. It is a legitimate marriage if there is consent, commitment, consummation, and communication in any little church in the dale and needs no one’s permission!

We don’t need or want, nor will we permit the government in our weddings.

(Fourth of nine columns dealing with no state involvement in marriage. Next column: “Marriage Makes Rude, Crude, and Lewd Men into Softies!”)

http://bit.ly/1iMLVfY Watch these 8 minute videos of my lecture at the University of North Dakota: “A Christian Challenges New Atheists to Put Up or Shut Up!”

My grandchildren will never know the America I knew as a boy in a small West Virginia town and they are poorer because of that.

Realizing that America was and is a multicultural nation and there have always been good guys and bad guys in our midst, there were some things generally true. Innocence is one of the first things that comes to mind. We had confidence in our leaders and were shocked when a crook was revealed now and then. We trusted and respected anyone in uniform, even the mailman.

I remember an America where our teachers were obeyed, respected, and maybe feared. We knew that if we received a paddling at school, we would get one at home. That was before the graduates of Columbia took control of the educational system. My three most respected and loved teachers were the ones who were the most demanding.

I remember when the Bible was read and prayers said each morning in the public schools. Today, the schools are nut factories often filled with uneducated, unprincipled, and uncaring teachers and rebellious, resentful, and raucous students. Some kids go on to college but only 55% receive a degree within six years. One reason 45% drop out is that most college freshmen read on a seventh grade level.

I remember an America when every high school graduate had basic knowledge about America, the world, and their obligations to work hard to make a good life. I remember when every student in elementary school learned basic math, facts about government, memorized the Preamble to the Constitution, the Gettysburg Address, the Bill of Rights, the Wreck of the Hesperus, Inchcape Rock, and was familiar with Poe, Hawthorne, Coolidge, Irving, etc. And a weekly book report, written and read, was the norm.

I remember an America when men stood when a woman entered the room; when you tipped your hat to a lady; when you removed your hat when entering a building and would not even think of eating while wearing a hat; and when a gentleman always asked a lady, “Do you mind if I smoke?” Moreover, if a crude man carelessly cursed in a woman’s presence, he would blush and ask to be forgiven. How quaint. And smoking and cursing women were as scarce as white dinosaurs in Manhattan.

I remember an America when we walked quietly and respectfully by a home with a gold star hanging in the window. We knew that some father, brother, or son had been slaughtered on faraway battlefields with strange names such as Iwo Jima, Corregidor, Coral Sea, Battle of the Bulge, Anzio, Heartbreak Ridge, Inchon, Pusan, and many others.

I remember an America when we never locked our doors day or night. When the iceman had access to our icebox for ice deliveries.

I remember an America when neighbors bossed anyone’s kid around if needed. Even a swat on the rear. This was before the fanatics at Child Protection Agency, trying to do good, took control and destroyed a vast number of families.

I remember an America when families could watch any television show together and never be embarrassed. The most risqué show was when Milton Berle, dressed as a woman, hit other stars with his purse.

I remember an America when men would shake hands on a $50,000 business deal and both kept their word.

I remember when no man suggested he had a woman in his body. It never happened. And if anyone had suggested the possibility of same-sex “marriage,” he would have been certified insane.

I remember an America when a girl got pregnant (a very seldom occurrence) she was a shame (but not rejected) to her family and visited grandma for a few months. The child was often reared as a sibling or cousin or was adopted by a deserving family.

I remember an America when every life was sacred and it was a major shame, scandal, and sin if a woman had her own child butchered within her womb.

I remember an America when a politician who disgraced himself, his family, and his party, quickly apologized, resigned and took the next plane or train to his back water town to live in obscurity until his death.

I remember an America when you could discuss serious issues with people who believed the opposite yet both would remain friends.

I remember an America when we loved our dogs, always stray mongrels, but when they got old or sick, we shot them and lamented it for a few days but realized that they were just animals.

I remember an America when parents were loved, respected, if not feared and the thought of talking back was never a possibility.

I remember when your family name was almost sacred and the thought of bringing disgrace to it was anathema.

No, my America was not perfect but it was pleasant, peaceful, and proper and my grandchildren will only see some glimpse of it from their own principled family but not the nation as a whole.

http://bit.ly/1iMLVfY Watch these 8 minute videos of my lecture at the University of North Dakota: “A Christian Challenges New Atheists to Put Up or Shut Up!”