How Do I Stand Up to Marijuana, Gay and Radical Islamic Propaganda?
Let's get right to the point.
In cities across America, advocates of the well-funded and well-organized "Yes we Cannabis!" movement are in full swing. So too are the proponents of "Marriage Equality Through Same-sex Unions" and "Islam is a Religion of Peace" promoters. They are aggressive in advancing their cause.
Today many want to simply live and let live by avoiding conflict and controversy in these areas. "I may not agree, but it really doesn't affect me or my family."
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What happens when it does?
Five years ago I began work on an educational video, "Is Gay Okay? 10 Things Everyone Needs to Know". Initially people scoffed at the warnings regarding loss of religious freedoms and changing of laws to accommodate the LGBTQ agenda. A church in which I was involved actually told me it would be a "deal-breaker" if I released it! Now the prophetic alert has become reality. Ask the Atlanta Fire Department chief just fired after 30 years of service when things got personal for him! How about pastors reading in Time magazine of an evangelical megachurch (ten minutes from my home) announcing, "We're opening the door for gays in all aspects of the church - marriage, communion, leadership, etc."
Likewise, the political ideology of Muslims to bring about global domination through deception, violence, sharia law and purging is slowly being recognized and even liberal atheist Bill Maher is correcting prevalent misconceptions. (Islam means "submission" not "peace" as some claim.) 1400 years of relentless activism is "coming to a neighborhood near you!" We just heard from a 43-year scholar on Islam in our city and folks were sobered with the facts on what the late Derek Prince, international Bible teacher, prophetically called "the greatest threat to Christianity" over two decades ago.
Yet the White House continues to insult our intelligence by refusing to call the Islamic threat by its name and instead labels it, "not a terror group but instead, an armed insurgency." Retired Lt. General Michael Flynn, former head of our Defense Intelligence Agency, said last week, "You cannot defeat an enemy you do not admit exists!"
Remember Ishmael, the father of Arabs, was born of Abraham's unrighteous, extramarital relationship with his wife's handmaiden, Hagar. Later God declared this man would be a "wild donkey of a man;" "his hand will be against everyone;" and, "he will live in hostility toward all his brothers" (Gen. 16:11-12). Without stereotyping and while acknowledging exceptions, honest observers see the DNA of this patriarch present throughout history and in present-day Islam. Do you?
This impacted me last week when a cluster of Muslims were disturbing the atmosphere of a respectable restaurant and when asked politely to respect the other patron's lunchtime, they became indignant, shouted and I for one experienced a water glass thrown at me before I slipped out the door and police arrived! I'm not making this up.
Writing an Op-ed in Your Newspaper
I just returned from a gathering of prophetic, activist leaders in South Carolina called the "Roundtable". Rick Joyner, Mike Bickle, Gen. Jerry Boykin, Cindy Jacobs, John Dawson, Bob Weiner and twenty others gathered for prayer and hearing God's "marching orders" amidst our cultural crisis.
One repeated emphasis was "proclaim truth and speak it loudly!" to counter prevalent societal lies. Making this very simple and practical: Are you willing to invest time to research and write articles to educate those in your locality?
Recently a local attorney put forth his pot promotional piece in our state newspaper. What follows is my submitted rebuttal to his published op-ed. For those who say, "I want to do something but I don't know where to start," how about following this example in your newspaper!
Should Marijuana Be Legalized In My Home State of Tennessee?
Young Frederick Agee, 30plus lawyer, wrote in "Tennessee Voices" that our Legislature should legalize marijuana. His argument is primarily a financial one telling us that Colorado legalized marijuana and "collected $40 million last year in marijuana taxes while saving another $40 million from not prosecuting and incarcerating marijuana users."
He conveniently leaves out the myriad of social problems and unintended consequences emerging like the number of children treated annually for accidental pot consumption in Colorado just reached double digits!
Consider other realities:
• An end of the year study conducted by the "National Survey on Drug Use and Health" revealed 1 in 8 Coloradan's over 12 years of age are now smoking cannabis regularly.
• The office of Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper fooled the public with glowing projections of $100 million in revenue accrued from recreational marijuana taxes when state economists now forecast the figure at somewhere over half that amount (WSJ 1/10/15). Now the good Governor has released a statement admitting it was a "mistake" to go ahead with legalization when they did. Unbelievable!
• Nebraska and Oklahoma are bringing lawsuits against Colorado for dumping dope into their states. "The influx has led to more arrests, more impounded vehicles and higher jail and court costs while forcing law enforcement agencies to spend more time and dedicate more resources to handling marijuana related arrests" (NYT 12/19/14).
• The Washington Post just published a major report that as marijuana laws are relaxed, Mexican drug dealers are turning to heroin and meth production and distribution (easier to conceal) to compensate for the drop. There is a surge in harder drugs according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.
Here's the Deal: Pot promoters are masters at manipulating facts while minimizing harmful effects on individuals, families and society at large. Just look over the horizon to California where even ultra liberal Gov. Jerry Brown said, "How many people can get stoned and still have a great state or a great nation?"
Pot friendly Los Angeles has already closed over 400 "marijuana clinics" discovering, amidst some legitimacy to the medicinal argument, the ruse of trumped up pain relief is, for the majority, a clever way to get pot legalized, get stoned, avoid jail, party and make fast cash. Look out bankrupt Detroit as thousands of these phony dispensaries are popping up there!
CBS news in L.A. ran an investigative report showing adults buying marijuana, selling it to kids in broad daylight and the kids then smoking the dope just minutes after leaving school! Is our Nation's Capital with its terrible drug problems ready for this as they've just legalized dope?
Fred tells us "The state of Tennessee should wave the white flag on the war against marijuana now and put the tax dollars spent on trying to defeat the cannabis plant to better use." Nonsense.
Hey, maybe there are other areas we could curtail spending like dealing with drunk drivers, prostitutes and HIV/AIDS needle-sharers! Even though their behavior jeopardizes their lives and others, is money what matters most?
Our Founding Father, George Washington once warned us, "An uninformed populace is easily enslaved." We need to awaken!
Dr. Edward Gogek, addiction psychiatrist wrote in the New York Times, "I've spent 25 years as a doctor treating drug abusers...they're excellent con artists...marijuana activists use phony science (like telling us it was good for glaucoma and never apologizing when research found it makes it worse). They still insist weed isn't addictive, despite every addiction medicine society saying it is."
We institute laws for public safety and yes, that costs something, but it's an investment that provides for the common good. When 33,000 Americans are killed yearly in traffic accidents, 1/3 because of drunk drivers, and automobile accidents are the leading cause of death for teens, should we then compound the problem by legalizing pot? Should we also increase deaths coming from smoking (nicotine is "harmless"-recall?) by legitimizing even more people inhaling toxic fumes?
Jack Smith, a director at one of the most successful drug rehab programs worldwide, Teen Challenge, states, "Our experience is that marijuana is a gateway drug leading to harder and more damaging drugs. Well over half our students indicate the first drug they really were involved with was marijuana."
Holland, Portugal, Zürich, Switzerland are now changing liberal drug policies because of exploding societal problems, but gullible citizens should "wave the white flag" as our op-ed writer suggests?
Joseph Califano, Head of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, warns: "Marijuana is a dangerous drug that is addictive and adversely affects the motor skills of users as well as produces serious damage to a person's brain over the long term."
Should our community risk our future by listening to potheads, pop stars and politicians who glamorize a drug whose active component, THC, is today 8 times as potent as the "weed" of decades ago for so-called economic benefits?
Should we send a message to youth and believe our liberal, once drug-taking President that pot is "harmless" like a beer? The National Institutes of Health says: "1 in 6 youth who try marijuana before age 18 either abuse it or will become addicted"? Is this what you want for your children and grandchildren?
An ancient proverb gives us a heads up: "The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it" (Prv. 22:3).
Won't we do better heeding the wisdom of Solomon than young, money- saving Fred?
This is personal for me, as my best friend growing up believed the lie that drugs and alcohol were the ticket to fun, freedom and fulfillment. Like Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, he died in his youth. Let's wake up and not be deceived by pot pied pipers.
Challenge to the reader: You now know one effective way to stand up to pot, Gay and radical Islamic propaganda in your city and state. Remember, "All that's required for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
