Dr. Andy Barron of Belton, Texas is an orthodontist running for Governor in the Great State of Texas. He says the nation is a sitting prey, about to lose the war of “incrementalism.” As an orthodontist, he knows how to move teeth around incrementally little by little, so he thinks he recognizes a similar but evil process at work in American politics. He just announced his candidacy in late July. He is definitely not to be mixed up with the New York City councilman and former Black Panther, one Charles Barron who announced entry into the gubernatorial race for his state a month earlier. What Charles Barron is to the Democrat Party in New York, however, Andy Barron is to the Republican Party of Texas. Both are sorely tired of “Republicrats” and to that extent, they mirror a very large discontent across the country with both major political parties, as well as an advanced polarization of American politics and the fragmentation of old coalitions whether conservative or liberal.
Andy comes at Republicans from the religious Right; whereas, Charles attacks Democrats from the radical Left. The “Barron” of New York is black and a racist, while the “Barron” of Texas is Anglo, supports the Tea Party movement, and is decidedly not a racist. The latter is inclusive of every race and color, empathically and ideologically, notwithstanding the reference he makes occasionally to “the evil tide” of Socialism happens inadvertently to echo a title of an obscure white racist’s autobiography. People of many stripes have, after all, talked and written about rising tides and stemming tides, not to mention bad moons rising for centuries.
Timing as they say, especially in politics is everything, and Andy says “our time has come,” by which he means time for serious Christians to take a stand, conscientiously in politics as elsewhere based explicitly on their worldview. In Texas, two-term Governor Rick Perry has already won the Republican Party’s nomination, fending off challengers Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina and avoiding a run-off. Likewise, Bill White soundly beat Farouk Shami for the Democrats’ nod, while Kathie Glass beat her opponent Jeff Daiell to earn top spot on the Libertarian Party ticket. That was all back on March 2nd! Moreover, the Green Party of Texas successfully met a May 24th deadline for new parties, submitting more than enough signatures on their petition to qualify for ballot access. Now enter Andy Barron, the Johnny-come-Lately who has to be the largest underdog in the race for Governor ever in the history of the State. Not to worry though, because if his endeavor seems quixotic, the reason he gives for entering the race four months after Primary elections are over is equally compelling: God told him to do it.
As a political phenomenon, Andy Barron offers anecdotal evidence as to the undercurrent of a movement not yet fully self-aware. Witness the thousands of people from various conservative factions and groups, who protested the president’s mere visit to Austin August 9th chanting the words, “Hands off Texas!” Andy Barron speaks in similar terms of wanting to save Texas, not necessarily the entire United States—because that may not be possible. Texans are not too keen on raising their taxes or spending a dime, in order to bail out the likes of profligate spender states like California, Illinois or New York. Texans have their own budget challenges ahead to face in their own way. Peggy Noonan in a recent op-ed observed more urgently than she did before in 1994 prior to Republican takeover of Congress, that there is a clear tendency and potential in American politics to extricate political sovereignties from consolidated national government, particularly if the country’s national leadership have remained tone deaf for extended periods of time ignoring the people’s fundamental concerns and demands.
From time to time my “horse sense” has alluded to the apparent metaphors in life, i.e., to the physical and material happenings which correspond to deeper spiritual reality and meaning. Believers are more accustomed to this unique method of understanding, since the wars we fight in daily life typically have their spiritual dimension. So I was taken by a certain reference Andy Barron made to “the evil tide” of Socialism, indeed as black oil from the BP spill washed ashore on the Gulf Coast. This was similar in fact to comparisons and interpretation of events in something that Dr. Charles Stanley, Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, preached July 4th in his sermon. Speaking of “Turning the Tide,” a primary focus of that sermon was on the clash between Christianity and Socialism. Dr. Stanley: “We find ourselves as a nation, violating the laws of God and heading in a direction that is going to be disastrous for us, for our children and for the generations that are to come, unless there is a change…. There is a tide that has touched our shores and reached the heart of our nation. It is a tide that is bringing with it ideas and philosophies, actions and attitudes, that will ultimately destroy the way of life that you and I have.”
Referring to Socialism, Stanley exclaims: “This tide is bringing in [a] control that will attempt to silence the truth, and will attempt to squash the religious devotion and worship of the people of God. There will be a collision with Socialism and the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” whereas Christianity, Stanley said, interferes with the spread of Socialism. On that basis, one may assert that the loss of freedom regarding religious expression and public display of religious symbols, and especially the removal of opening day prayers from the public schools beginning in 1962, were a prerequisite not only to the advance of secularism but also to the accomplishment of the progressives’ transformational agenda that leads to a Socialist state. Andy Barron says that our youth are left without foundation. In that context therefore, everything of a policy nature that does not address our relationship with God becomes the treatment of symptoms rather than a cure for disease. He propones matter-of-factly that, if a substantial majority of people in Texas believe that we ought to have prayer in our public schools—which is what he and the polls consistently find—then by God, we ought to institute the same regardless of what a national government says.
His reasoning is also very interesting and something quite a bit more than academic neo-federalist constitutionalism or the Southern impulse towards a strict construction, Original Intent and textual definition. He says that Texas is at the center of resistance to evil these days, and Central Texas is at the Heart. A squeeze, as from a constrictor is coming to Texas, and Texas must brace herself and resist with all her might. Andy Barron speaks of a dream he had, in which he is inside a corral with other people. Its gate is about to be shut, and all the while he sees the enemies of freedom perched to shoot inside and kill the people there, as soon as the gate is securely closed. He says he knows with a certainly, that it is now or never to make our move to escape.
No comments:
Post a Comment