There are three golden rules which need to be followed if we, as individuals, are to be effective in resisting the Plutocrat-Democrat monstrosity. The three rules are based on the two great commandments of Christ that we love the Lord our God and that we love our neighbour. Any resistance which is not founded on these two commandments will flounder.
We live in disturbed and disturbing times. The new regime installed in Washington DC will step up its advocacy of systemic infanticide and will continue its war on the institution of the family and on religion. It will do so with the active and tyrannical assistance of Big Tech, Big Media, and other globalist juggernauts. In such times, it is important to take a stand. It is, however, equally important to take the right sort of stand.
There are three golden rules which need to be followed if we, as individuals, are to be effective in resisting the Plutocrat-Democrat monstrosity. The three rules are based on the two great commandments of Christ that we love the Lord our God and that we love our neighbour. Any resistance which is not founded on these two commandments will not only flounder but will be playing into the hands of the enemy.
The first of the three golden rules is that we put our trust in the Lord. There can be no victory in His absence. Insofar as Christ is at the centre of our lives, we will be effective instruments of His will; insofar as He is neglected, we will be ineffective, which includes being ineffective in the fight against evil. Worse, we will become part of the problem and not part of the solution.
In practical terms we need to get closer to Christ by stepping up the practice of our faith. We need to worship more with our brothers and sisters by attending church more frequently and by finding time every day for peaceful prayer, far from the madding crowd and the media maelstrom. Prayer is our greatest weapon because it arms us with the peaceful resignation to the will of God that makes us effective warriors. Without His grace, we will succumb to the despair which is the Enemy’s final victory over us.
The second golden rule is that we should not be anxious about anything that is beyond our immediate control. Christ Himself could not make the government of His day abandon their wicked ways. “If they have persecuted me,” He tells us, “they will also persecute you.” Why should we fear evil, even in the valley of the culture of death through which we are currently walking? “If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you.” These words of Christ should be a great comfort, and, more than a comfort, a shield. “If you had been of the world, the world would love its own,” He tells us, “but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
If the second golden rule, that we be not anxious because of the world’s wickedness, is rooted in the commandment that we love the Lord our God above all things, the third golden rule is rooted in the juxtaposed and inseparable commandment that we love our neighbour. In the very same chapter of St. John’s Gospel from which the above words of Christ are taken, He also commands us to sacrifice ourselves for others: “This is my commandment, that you love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
There are, of course, many ways that we can love our neighbour, all of which require self-sacrifice, but how does this commandment impact our duty to resist evil, and especially the political evil which appears to be in the ascendant?
In practical daily terms, the third golden rule of the resistance, rooted in the love of neighbour, is that we must cease to act selfishly in the marketplace in which we find ourselves every day. Ceasing to act selfishly means beginning to act self-sacrificially. Every dollar we spend in every day of our lives is either resisting evil or succumbing to it. Every dollar is a vote, a daily vote, which makes the world a better or a worse place. This being so, we must break the habit of buying the cheapest things on the market and begin buying the best. In this context, “best” does not relate to the quality of the product itself but the quality of its impact on the culture. If it costs more to buy these “better” products, it is an act of love or almsgiving. If we don’t like what Big Media is doing or saying, switch it off or switch to a non-toxic alternative. If we don’t like what Big Tech is doing in censoring dissident opinion, disconnect from it and find other ways of expressing dissident opinion more effectively. If we don’t like the way that global corporations are pursuing globalist agendas, stop buying their products and buy those made by other and preferably smaller businesses. If we would like to see revitalized local economies, start spending money in local businesses. Eat at independent restaurants, instead of the larger chains. If we don’t like what the Chinese Communist Party is doing in China or globally, stop buying products made in China.
These acts of self-sacrifice will make the world a better place, one day and one purchase at a time. Such self-sacrificial choices are exactly what each of us can do, every day, to resist the evil of the Democrat-Plutocrat alliance.
As a parting thought, it was Oscar Wilde who said that a cynic is one who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing. Seeking the cheapest or the “best deal,” which is the obsessive-compulsive disorder of homo economicus, is an act of cynicism. And cynicism is a sin. If we see only the price on the label and not the value of the product in terms of its impact on our neighbours, we will be making the world a worse place. We will be taking the path of least resistance which leads to hell, and to a hell on earth. So, dear reader, my neighbour and my comrade-in-arms, don’t be of the devil’s party when you take out the cash or the credit card. Be a wise man and join the resistance.
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Amen to this. One thought that keeps going through my mind is that woke capitalists are still capitalists at heart. If the half of the population that voted Republican in the last election simply shut off Facebook, Twitter, and Google/YouTube and stopped buying from Amazon, Target, and the rest, you bet that they’d start cleaning up their acts. They have power because we give it to them. As I type this, I’m listening to EWTN Radio and even they insist on announcing every caller that is “listening on YouTube.” Why are we promoting those who stand in opposition to us?
As long as Mr. Pearce keeps writing, there is no reason to despair.
Perfect. Wonderful article. Donating.
A very timely essay. I found the reminder of the importance of how we spend our money and how we shop, the sort of advice that needs to be promoted much more amongst Catholics.
Thank you Mr Pearce
Great points. I would love to see a list of right-minded companies that I can support. Especially ones that could replace Target, Walmart, Amazon. So far, I know of no such companies. We need to start building up a parallel marketplace that can compete with the left.
Use a search engine like Firefox to look up 2nd Vote, which does research on companies’ political action and scores them on a Leichert scale. It’s difficult to cut off purchasing habits especially when you are rural and live 60 miles from any shopping mall. I have cut out many but have not found away to completely detox from Pro-Marxist businesses.
The biggest challenge is not to get stuck in the ego which thrives on hate and self- righteousness like the enemy but to emotionally detach from them so Christ is in the heart, not hate. When we hate we become attached to what is is we hate and then they have power over us.
Great article, wonderful thoughts, sage advice.
Considering the fact that there are very few things you can buy that are not made in China, and considering the fact that so many small businesses that you once could support no longer exist, the only possible way to help our neighbor’s is to find, somehow, materials not made in China and make what you need and what you can give to your neighbor yourself. It means growing your own food. It means improvising using materials on hand to repair what is broken. But what if you don’t have the knowledge or skills to do any of this? Either take the time to learn or support someone you know that has this knowledge or skill. We are really at a crossroad and need to understand that if we are Christian’s we are not going to have many things we need to stay alive available to us and for those who had the foresight to see this day coming, already prepared for it. Yet it is not too late if you begin now.
“Growing your own food”? Where do you think our food comes from? One of the few things that the U.S produces well and abundantly is food. And if you think those involved in agriculture are a part of the problem I would encourage you to look at an electoral map, paying particular attention to the rural vs. urban color contrast.
Thank you for a wise and wonderful essay. We must learn to channel our anger and frustration regarding the political climate and heap coals on the heads of the adversaries. Being good is the best way.
Very, very comforting and uplifting for me right now. My dear wife and I have had a frightening summer, with she being diagnosed with a “rare an agressive” cancer. We believe she has been saved for now and we are left with contemplation and gratitude. We love our neigbours and are devoted to God.
The politics of our dear country was hurting me so much but that is what forced me to just trust in the lord. It took the pain and frustration away.
Thank you for saying it so much better, it really helps to cement the trust into my heart.
It is virtually impossible to buy everything not made in China or with at least some Chinese influence. I am open to suggestions as I type this on my China-made laptop on my cross-platform web browser from a company with heavy Chinese connections.
I hope you do not mind a Buddhist commenting on this Christian blog. Everything you said in the faith dimension makes perfect sense to me and can be interpreted in terms of my own faith and practice, and I have no disagreement with the rest of your commentary. This was inspiring. Thank you.
I pray that you and most of your readers, if not all, will accept conservatives of other faiths as your political allies in the midst of this appalling degeneration of this country. I need you and I believe you need me. Best wishes.
You are most welcome here Mr. Day! The Imaginative Conservative welcomes thoughtful readers of all faiths.