Romans 6:23 reads: "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." It's not a difficult concept to understand. Sin will not bring you anything ultimately but death, while accepting God will save you. In that same vein, I think it may be time to talk about what the are the "wages of delusion". So many people across America are deluded about the actual reality we face, that as a nation, we have to look at the consequences of this phenomenon.
Let's start with some common delusions and examples:
1. In the period after World War II until now, the level of bigotry, racism and the like in the USA has fallen dramatically, but there is a delusion in which many believe that it is worse than ever. In 1950, America had segregated schools, legally segregated communities, segregated stores, hotels and restaurants, and voting rules that denied the vote to minorities. At that time, employers could discriminate in hiring on the basis of race, religion, sex, etc. Today, all of that is gone. In 1950, organizations like the KKK flourished, but today they are tiny groups of crackpots who hardly exist and who have no impact. But, it you read the news and listen to many Democrat politicians, the improvements of the last 70 years never happened. These sources spew the lie of rampant "white supremacy". While I'm sure that there is still racism in parts of the country, there is no true white supremacist movement aside from a few fringe elements that do not affect society. It doesn't matter, however, because after the constant drumbeat from the left, a great many Americans think that racism, sexism, homophobia and the like is rampant across the country. Reality doesn't matter.
2. The American economic system of regulated market capitalism has created the greatest economy in the history of the world. Other countries have recognized this. China stagnated economically for 40 years after it adopted Communism. Then, the Chinese leadership moved towards a market economy and suddenly China took off. The Chinese economy is not formulated exactly the way the US economy is, but no one would ever call the current Chinese economic system Communist or Socialist. The capitalist system brought prosperity for the first time in centuries to China. Across the world, countries that move away from the capitalist system see their economies stagnate and then collapse. Venezuela is just the most recent example. Despite this, there is a growing delusion that socialism is the better way in the USA. People like the new Democrat congressman Ocasio Cortez spread the "news" that a total government/economic reorganization that ends economic freedom and adopts government control (which she calls socialism) is the best way forward for America. Ocasio Cortez spews false facts and false claims, and the media loves it and repeats it. She puts forth something like the Green New Deal which is an economic suicide pact for America and all the major Democrat presidential candidates endorse it. People actually accept that ending air travel, ending the production of beef and milk and cheese, ending the use of private automobiles that run on gas, and the like while providing an income to those "unwilling to work" is feasible (which it is not). The amount of economic double talk that gets thrown into the political media is overwhelming. And it gets believed.
There are many more examples, but the point is that these are major delusions; we are not talking about minor stuff.
Perhaps the most important delusion of all though is the spread misrepresentation of the founding of the United States. The patriotic men who put their honor, their fortunes and their lives on the line to free us from the yoke of the British crown and to establish this country as the first in the world where the ultimate power is in the hands of the people rather than the government, are being redefined. Now we are told that the founders, rather than heroes, were just members of the patriarchy, i.e. rich old white men who kept slaves and were only interested in preserving their own privileges. America is not a shining city on the hill, but rather a cesspool of racism run by a kleptocracy that spreads evil around the world. That lie is believed by so many these days, particularly since for many, they never were taught the real facts in school.
So what are the results of these delusions? The truth is that if these delusions are allowed to spread or even to remain, the country will falter and ultimately fail. America is more a group of shared ideas and beliefs than anything else. If those truths and facts are disputed by a large segment of society, then the policy prescriptions and the life realities can never be agreed upon by the people. The danger to America is real and growing. That danger is the wages of delusion.
Let's start with some common delusions and examples:
1. In the period after World War II until now, the level of bigotry, racism and the like in the USA has fallen dramatically, but there is a delusion in which many believe that it is worse than ever. In 1950, America had segregated schools, legally segregated communities, segregated stores, hotels and restaurants, and voting rules that denied the vote to minorities. At that time, employers could discriminate in hiring on the basis of race, religion, sex, etc. Today, all of that is gone. In 1950, organizations like the KKK flourished, but today they are tiny groups of crackpots who hardly exist and who have no impact. But, it you read the news and listen to many Democrat politicians, the improvements of the last 70 years never happened. These sources spew the lie of rampant "white supremacy". While I'm sure that there is still racism in parts of the country, there is no true white supremacist movement aside from a few fringe elements that do not affect society. It doesn't matter, however, because after the constant drumbeat from the left, a great many Americans think that racism, sexism, homophobia and the like is rampant across the country. Reality doesn't matter.
2. The American economic system of regulated market capitalism has created the greatest economy in the history of the world. Other countries have recognized this. China stagnated economically for 40 years after it adopted Communism. Then, the Chinese leadership moved towards a market economy and suddenly China took off. The Chinese economy is not formulated exactly the way the US economy is, but no one would ever call the current Chinese economic system Communist or Socialist. The capitalist system brought prosperity for the first time in centuries to China. Across the world, countries that move away from the capitalist system see their economies stagnate and then collapse. Venezuela is just the most recent example. Despite this, there is a growing delusion that socialism is the better way in the USA. People like the new Democrat congressman Ocasio Cortez spread the "news" that a total government/economic reorganization that ends economic freedom and adopts government control (which she calls socialism) is the best way forward for America. Ocasio Cortez spews false facts and false claims, and the media loves it and repeats it. She puts forth something like the Green New Deal which is an economic suicide pact for America and all the major Democrat presidential candidates endorse it. People actually accept that ending air travel, ending the production of beef and milk and cheese, ending the use of private automobiles that run on gas, and the like while providing an income to those "unwilling to work" is feasible (which it is not). The amount of economic double talk that gets thrown into the political media is overwhelming. And it gets believed.
There are many more examples, but the point is that these are major delusions; we are not talking about minor stuff.
Perhaps the most important delusion of all though is the spread misrepresentation of the founding of the United States. The patriotic men who put their honor, their fortunes and their lives on the line to free us from the yoke of the British crown and to establish this country as the first in the world where the ultimate power is in the hands of the people rather than the government, are being redefined. Now we are told that the founders, rather than heroes, were just members of the patriarchy, i.e. rich old white men who kept slaves and were only interested in preserving their own privileges. America is not a shining city on the hill, but rather a cesspool of racism run by a kleptocracy that spreads evil around the world. That lie is believed by so many these days, particularly since for many, they never were taught the real facts in school.
So what are the results of these delusions? The truth is that if these delusions are allowed to spread or even to remain, the country will falter and ultimately fail. America is more a group of shared ideas and beliefs than anything else. If those truths and facts are disputed by a large segment of society, then the policy prescriptions and the life realities can never be agreed upon by the people. The danger to America is real and growing. That danger is the wages of delusion.
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