A Perspective from the Edge

"Call back Trump."

~ Prime Minister Orban, Hungary

Perhaps because I was just a visitor to the beautiful and vibrant nation of Hungary two months ago, the Tucker Carlson interview with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban resonated very strongly. 

It's worth every second of a half hour to hear this man who prioritizes "family, nation, and God" ahead of political affiliations speak about his country, his people, and the war in Ukraine--with which Hungary shares a border. It's vitally important to gain the perspective of a world leader whose country is living so close to the edge of wartime destruction.  Orban makes a convincing argument that the key to peace in Europe is the reinstatement of President Donald Trump. 

Americans might be surprised to learn that some of our tax dollars were diverted to a campaign against Orban's reelection. It didn't work. Orban was comfortably reelected. Then Carlson asked him if he ever considered bringing charges against his opponent. Orban declares such a tactic "in Hungary, that is impossible to imagine...that was done by the Communists." Indeed.

US leaders tend to think they know it all and to be dismissive of other nations. These so-called leaders should watch, listen--and, just possibly, learn something of value from a true leader.

Tucker Carlson interviews Prime Minister Orban in Budapest, Hungary

Weather or Not

It's August, which is usually a hot, dry, dusty month in Southern California. However, we are in the midst of a tropical storm, formerly known as Hurricane Hilary, and it's been raining all day.

The storm's winds are supposed to arrive this afternoon and evening. From the local media coverage, you would think Armageddon was approaching. My phone has exploded with siren blasts and multiple emergency warning calls from the power company, my insurance company, and city government. Good grief, people, calm down. Rain is a good thing in this part of the country, regardless of the calendar month.

Earlier this week, the full-on hurricane was expected to hit. That hasn't happened around here since 1858. The last time a tropical storm hit this area was 1939. That's 84 years ago. No one was worried about carbon footprints or climate change back then. Hurricanes and tropical storms were accepted as the consistently unpredictable weather. And today's storm proves that weather continues to do whatever it's going to do, no matter the amount of angst and wailing from the environmentalists.

The late comedian George Carlin did a fabulous stand-up bit on "the planet" nearly a quarter century ago. The man was not only common-sense smart and logical; he was prescient. His descriptions of the environmentally preoccupied concerns and the examples he offers of the stolid resiliency of Planet Earth are not just hilariously funny. Carlin's observations are perfectly timed to our climate-obsessed modern moment.

It's kind of fun to have the weather to blame for going nowhere today and settling in with a book. The storm is also a good reminder that we shouldn't kid ourselves that we are in control. Weather will do what it will, whether or not we are prepared.

George Carlin - The Planet is Fine"

Somber Fighting Words

Victor Davis Hanson is a national treasure. He is a classicist who can read, speak and write Greek and Latin; a university professor; a military historian; a prolific author; a farmer; and a native Californian with many generations preceding him on the family farm.

Hanson has boundless knowledge of the state and its history, along with the rest of the world and its history. I am completely addicted to his podcasts and wish he published one each day. The knowledge, the wisdom, and the logic he imparts to his listeners--always in a calm, measured, and humble manner--is priceless and always leaves me wanting to hear more.

In addition to his many books, Hanson is a prolific writer of several articles each week. He publishes several thought-provoking articles each week on various platforms. His most recent piece, "The Remaking of America," on American Greatness, is especially sobering. It could be described as depressing. But it is so true, and such an eloquent summation of the carefully engineered collapse of our unique republic, that every American who is concerned for our children's future should read it.

The Remaking of America. We are living through it, and it's only the beginning of what the leftists hope to achieve. Hanson's article can be read as an incentive for concerned Americans. I hope we who understand the damage our country has suffered, and will continue to suffer, can find the strength to fight back. "Each according to their own station," as Hanson often quietly urges in his podcasts. Fight for the US, on our own ground and while we still can. We know it's worth it.

Sound of Freedom, Act of Courage

I went to see Sound of Freedom this weekend. It is a powerful movie, a high-quality production that is well written and acted. The fact that this film is based on actual events in the unspeakable world of child sex trafficking makes the story even more gripping. Actor Jim Caviezel plays real-life Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard with an earnest intensity that does justice to the harrowing realities portrayed in the film.

The reviews of Sound of Freedom almost always refer to it as a "faith-based" movie. This is a laughable description, and it demonstrates the lengths that media will travel to squelch any public deviation from their carefully crafted left-wing narrative. In watching the movie, I couldn't identify Ballard's religion, aside from the fact that he believes in--gasp!--God. The real-life characters portrayed do infrequently mention in conversation--gasp!--God. If this qualifies it as "faith-based," there are innumerable movies that need to be recategorized.

The impression I got from Ballard's story is not so much faith as personal values and investment. Ballard's assignment was capturing perpetrators of child sex trafficking. As he became more aware of the details involved in the children's horrific fate, the plight of sex trafficked children consumed him on a personal level.

In real life, as depicted in the film, Ballard has several children; the reality of sex-slave children was too close to home, and he became personally committed to saving them. Having worked in the healthcare industry, I know that this happens on occasion to doctors and nurses. One patient's case speaks to them on a deeply personal level, and they become immersed in that patient's journey. We are all human, and we each have our soul's touchpoints. Child sex trafficking became such a cause for Tim Ballard. He gave up his job and government pension to rescue enslaved children. 

Actor Jim Caviezel has endured stereotyping and persecution for his values and beliefs, beginning two decades ago with his portrayal of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ up to and including his outspokenness about therapeutics in the fight against Covid-19. Caviezel is an excellent actor and a brave man who has paid a high price for his honesty and integrity. I'll support any movie he appears in; he never films junk.

Sound of Freedom is a movie that holds you. Although the viewers know the outcome, the suspense in the theatre is palpable. I could sense everyone (including myself) leaning forward during the rescue scenes. This movie depicts real children in unthinkably evil circumstances. It is an important film with a critically urgent message. I hope millions more Americans will see it.

From Sound of Freedom

Life Taking Over

I've been offline for a while due to a number of reasons. Coming home from Europe, one expects a healthy dose of jet lag. I didn't expect a walloping case of Covid-19 to hitchhike along with the jet lag, but that came home with me, too.

I was body-slammed for the first week of July with a diverse smorgasbord of revolving symptoms that astounded me. It took three and a half years, but when Covid finally nailed me, it seemed determined to show off all its stuff. Prominent among Covid's many manifestations were the two-to-three-hour naps I felt compelled to take every day. When I was able to return to the office after a week of working at home, the lingering fatigue accompanying me had me longing to close my eyes and put my head down on my desk each afternoon, just like a sleepy kindergarten pupil. Had I done that, I would've been out cold.

Next in July came two sets of visiting relatives, their dates partially overlapping. This was wonderful fun for me, and I enjoyed all the company immensely. However, such lively circumstances do not leave much time for written composition (especially when they include all four grandchildren at your home).

Now I find myself engulfed by the home improvement phase of summer. There are installers, painters, and repair technicians all scheduled at my house in the past few weeks and into August. Oh well, if I want to retire in the foreseeable future--and I do--I'd better get such loose ends dealt with now.

I call times like the unfolding month "life taking over." There's too much to deal with in too little time. We all find ourselves in this unpredictable boat at times, being swept along by the domineering currents of multiple events, commitments, and situations. I like to say that if we come out on the other side with enough energy to complain, it couldn't have been that bad. Depending on whether or not life decides to back up off me, I hope to check in again sooner rather than later. Meanwhile, may all your life takeovers be happy ones.

American Soul

Returning Home

After spending two weeks in five countries of central Europe, an American may very well notice some startling differences in daily life. Below are just a few of my own observations.

1.    The streets are clean. There is no trash or garbage in the gutters, on the sidewalks, or in the roadways. Street sweepers are out early; there are even sidewalk-sized sweepers that leave the walkways damp in the cool of the morning and debris-free for the day.

2.    There are almost no homeless people visible.  There are a few indigent individuals here and there who sit quietly with a cup or a cap in front of them, awaiting donations. I saw no tent cities, no one being harassed, no drug addicts shooting up, no one copulating or defecating on the streets as happens so often in major US cities.

3.    Monuments and memorials are everywhere, and they are honored.  In response to a question in our group, one of our tour guides answered that memorials are patrolled by police at night and that the penalties for desecrating monuments vary from stiff monetary fines to jail time. That sounded good and right to me.

4.    Police are visible and respected.  It was easy to feel safe, with police cars and officers a standard presence on the busy streets.

5.    There are huge throngs of people crowding together, and no one seems fearful of any harm coming to them.  Even with the onset of the summer holiday season, the endless hordes of people at every point of interest tended towards the overwhelming. Yet there was no pushing, shoving, arguing, name calling, or any other negative behavior that I could identify throughout my visit. Coming from our currently contentious American environment, that was impressive.

Today is July 4, the celebration of our national Independence Day. In Europe, I saw American flags sharing space with the rainbow flag on several US embassies. I took no pictures of, and no "pride" in, that reality. Our flag should always be above any prevailing political currents.

I'm hopeful, though, that Americans are beginning to awaken from our "woke" slumber. One returns from traveling abroad with a fresh perspective on our homeland. Our history is newer than Europe's, but we have shown strength, toughness, and resolve throughout many social and political storms long before today's controversies. As my dad used to say, "Americans never give up." Happy birthday, USA. It's good to be home.

Not Your Father's USA

I don't know about you, but I feel like an alien in my own country.

Seriously, do you recognize the place? It's eerie, how quickly the nation has degenerated into chaos. It's almost otherworldly. The changes are so radical, and so damaging, that I wonder every day whether or not recovery is possible.

It's a sad feeling. It feels to me as though the United States of America has already fallen, and I'm at the start of a long grieving process. I recognize grief, and I know that I'm in it.

The problem is not the people. Americans are wonderful people, and I'm willing to bet that a healthy majority of us feel exactly like I do. Next door to me, for the past 35 years, live the best neighbors I've ever had. They are an African American married couple (just to be clear, a husband and a wife). Throughout the years, we never referred to our different races. It was completely irrelevant to our friendship. In very recent years, as current events unfolded, we have talked about it briefly and with bewilderment. As the husband said to me at the close of one such conversation, "We're doing fine. Why don't they leave us alone? "

Why, indeed. Our Communists elites can tell you why--the goal is to divide, denigrate, and destroy the society. It's been the Marxist playbook for more than a century, and it's being applied with dramatic and rapid results in the USA. I find it a blessing that both my husband and my father are long gone. They would have a very hard time dealing with today's America.

Father's Day is coming up, if we're still permitted to acknowledge it. That's not a wise-guy statement nowadays. If the Commies can successfully remove memorials and statues, revise our national history, and prevent us from singing our national anthem, they can certainly eradicate holidays--especially "white supremacist" holidays. The nuclear family, with the husband and father as head of the household, is nothing if not a "white supremacist" power construct that must be obliterated. 

I won't mention that when I wish my next-door neighbor--a husband, dad, and grandad--a Happy Father's Day.

Chosen for Quality

Of course, nothing in today's society can be free of woke agendas. So naturally, The Chosen television series has fallen prey to the clutches of wokeism. The appearance of a "Pride" flag in behind-the-scenes footage on the film set has caused an uproar among many Christian viewers. Quite predictably, a boycott is ensuing.

I find key differences between this event and the Bud Light or Target controversies. Most importantly, the show is not promoting the "Pride" flag or even sexual activity of any sort. The damning footage is from behind the scenes. Does every crew member working on the show need to be Christian? I would hope not.

In the Christian faith, "pride" is considered sinful. The source of our pride is insignificant. In our fallen human nature, it is pride itself that can lead us into trouble. I do believe that. So, I'm no supporter of "Pride Month." But I am a supporter of good television shows, and The Chosen is the best I've seen in several years.

If the "Pride" flag--or anything it represents--shows up in an episode of Season 4, I'll have a different stand. But so far, in my opinion, the depiction of Christ's teachings and miracles have been accurately portrayed. There are many objections to the fictionalized dialog along the lines of "it's not biblical," or "Jesus never said that." It's a television show, not a theological course of study. If it prompts people to read the Gospels, I'm more than fine with that outcome.

I especially enjoy the show's emphasis on the Apostles. The viewer learns each of them had an earlier occupation and a reason to begin following Jesus. In drawing them as vivid people, complete with character flaws, disagreements, and personality clashes, the writers bring the 12 Apostles to life. Their individual story arcs are very well done.

I am also impressed with the creativity in using ancillary characters from the Gospels as connective tissue to knit together various plotlines leading up to Jesus' miracles. Jairus, the Jewish leader whose daughter Jesus raises from the dead, makes his appearance in Season 3. The Roman officer who asks Jesus to heal his servant plays a strong supporting role throughout the series, first appearing as supervisor to St. Matthew, the despised tax collector.

I find The Chosen to be a quality production. I enjoy the set and costume designs along with the story. There are occasional hiccups in the dialog, when modern jargon is interjected. "You've got this," "Easy does it"--really? I can agree that "Jesus never said that." And whoever added the fist-bump handshake should take a seat. But these are tiny quibbles. Overall, I think The Chosen is well worth watching. In fact, I'm watching it for the second go-round.

Jonathan Roumie portrays Jesus Christ in a calm and convincing manner. I like the touches of humor that occasionally pop up in his fictional dialog. I've always believed that Jesus had a sense of humor. In one of his interviews, I heard Roumie tell the story of his own miracle. When he was a down-and-out actor, overdrawn at the bank, he got on his knees and prayed for help. Later that same day he received several checks in the mail for past acting spots, which got him out of his immediate financial crisis. Three months later he was cast as Jesus in The Chosen. That makes me wonder if maybe Someone up there wanted to watch The Chosen, too.

Scene from The Chosen

On Memorial Day

 Remember and Honor