There’s no need for me to tell you that this general election season has been one of the most bizarre in our history.
With close to two dozen candidates vying for the presidential nominations of both major parties, it’s been a little like watching an overcrowded horse race. But as we approach summer, the fields have dwindled to a total of five between the two tickets.
Suffice it to say that in the interminable multitude of candidate debates, the topics of discussion and the language chosen for those discussions, arguably, have been unprecedented.
But it strikes me that the election season’s biggest story — and surprise — has been the success of the Democrat presidential hopeful Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.
An avowed and outspoken Socialist, Sanders was not even a Democrat before deciding to run for the party’s nomination. And though it is highly improbable that he will be able to overcome former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s delegate lead, it is astonishing to see him doing so well.
No matter what happens from here on with the Sanders candidacy, something has changed. His success seems to signal a shift in American values and beliefs — a shift from which it may be difficult, if not impossible, to recover.
Why do I say that?
One word: Socialism.
Garry Kasparov is a former chess world champion and perhaps the greatest chess grandmaster of all time. He is also Russian. He grew up under the oppression of the Soviet Union. He understands the practical effects of Socialism. Something Senator Sanders apparently does not.
Recently, Kasparov wrote this on his Facebook page: “Socialism sounds great in speech soundbites and on Facebook, but please keep it there. In practice, it corrodes not only the economy but the human spirit itself, and the ambition and achievement that made modern capitalism possible and brought billions of people out of poverty. Talking about Socialism is a huge luxury, a luxury that was paid for by the successes of capitalism.”
In another article, Kasparov continued his debunking of the glories of Socialism, based on his personal experience. He wrote: “A society that relies too heavily on redistributing wealth eventually runs out of wealth to redistribute.” He then warned, “Once you give power to the government, it’s nearly impossible to get it back, and it will be used in ways you cannot expect.”
For these reasons, the word “Socialist” was anathema in American politics for decades. Even those who believed in Socialist principles adamantly denied it when confronted. All of that has changed with this election cycle.
It is a little alarming to see how many college youth are flocking to the Sanders campaign. That tells me that they do not understand the implications of Socialism and the impact it could have on their lives.
Of course, that’s understandable. The Open Syllabus Project did a huge study and determined that Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” has been taught more than any other text on college campuses over the last decade.
Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” and Vladimir Lenin’s “What is to be Done” were also very popular classroom texts.
The Bible? The foundational book of western society? It didn’t even make the list.
So if you’ve been amused by what you’ve been seeing in the run-up to this fall’s general election, or if you’ve been disgusted by it and don’t pay attention to it anymore, I have only one thing to say to you: FOCUS! Change is in the air in these United States. And it does not appear to be a good change. It is the kind of change that threatens our way of life and demands our intercession before God on behalf of our nation. And it demands our civic participation. -Hal Lindsey
In the full Hal Lindsey Report, Hal also talks about a “revised Marxism” and the “Tenants of Secular Education”. These dangerous tenants are:
- There is no right and wrong.
- If God exists, there is no way of relating to Him.
- Moral standards shift according to the whims of fashion.
To view this important program, click: Hal Lindsey Report.
from the Hal Lindsey Report – April 15, 2016
