Governor Spenser Cox observed, “The problem with political violence, is it metastasizes, because we can always point the finger at the other side,” he said, “and at some point, we have to find an off-ramp, or it’s going to get much, much worse. But see, these are choices that we can make.”
Another Governor, Van Orden (WI) commented to the press, “Every single one of you here, you’re at fault,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.) said pointing his finger at members of the Capitol press corps Thursday.
It seems to be that both are right, particularly, but neither understands what is happening in this culture. We’ve had outburst of violence over these 250 years. We have seen four United States Presidents assassinated: Abraham Lincoln (1865), James A. Garfield (1881), William McKinley (1901), and John F. Kennedy (1963). In addition, Theodore Roosevelt (1912), Ronald Reagan (1981), Donald Trump (2024) have been wounded by shooting. Other non-political political folks have been assassinated or wounded.
Unfortunately, there are three factors at play today which fuel this tragic violence. The first is social media and the second is an almost universal liberal press corps representing the three major new works and NPR. The third factor is an underlying political-religious shift of culture. This nation with all its faults was founded upon the “common page” of the Judeo-Christian religious and ethical heritage. However, this has been eroding since the 1850s. The infiltration of religious liberalism and Marxism has systematic seeded rot into the fabric of our society from the local church to the local school, to the university classroom and the halls of government.
Hence, Van Orden has his hands on reality. And, Cox has his hands on reality. However, both are missing the most important dynamic which C. S. Lewis depicts in his amazing little volume, Screw Tape Letters. Another work which many in the Reformed camp smile at knowingly, but they miss a major point, “Satan is alive on planet earth.” Or as has been observed by a variety folks, Satan was defeated on the cross of Christ with the victory authenticated by Christ’s resurrection but continues to conduct guerrilla warfare attacks on believers. And, to this I’d add, and continues to attempt to undermine the influence of the Gospel on culture.
Cox is right but says more that he seems to understand. The choice is to believe God and change hearts, not just political persuasion. This is what Charlie Kirk was ultimately about and that is the message that the evil one desires to suppress. The best way to honor Kirk is to preach the Gospel and we would do him due if we learned from him. From what I can discern, he knew how to see people as created in the image of God, treated them as such, and communicated his case for the Gospel brilliantly.