Rethinking the Public Square and Marching Back Through the Institutions

The existence of the public square bears witness to God’s common grace. Recovering the public square will provide Christians an opportunity to contend for the faith and witness to the world the powerful coherence of the Christian worldview and its correspondence to reality.

1960’s radical Marxist activist Rudi Dutschke coined the phrase, “the long march through the institutions.”

He along with other Frankfurt School types believed in the infiltration and subversion of western institutions. Entertainment, government, education, media, the church and the family make up the cultural fabric of the West, particularly, America. The ‘long march’ was intended to destroy western culture from within and replace it with a Marxian vision and social program. We are living in a Marxist America with a fascist twist.

Don’t believe me? Ask yourself these questions:
Who are you not allowed publicly to criticize?
What are you afraid to say that might cost you your job or get you ‘cancelled’?
What so-called “facts” reported by the media three years ago turned out blatantly false?
Why do some issues receive a lot of attention while other important issues seem to be overlooked?

Some estimate 90% of U.S. media is controlled by just six companies (1). If the past three years has taught us anything, it is the power of propaganda. I do not believe they are secretly colluding to push an agenda. However, there is a clear convergence of shared interests, philosophies, and political ideologies. Many CEOs and elites emerged from similar academic institutions and generations. They share similar worldviews. Therefore, interests will converge without deliberate collusion. Therefore, while there appears to be a variety of media choices, only a handful of conglomerates control the information we receive.

What began in the academies of higher education in the 1960s was popularized through entertainment and promoted by the media. It didn’t take long for government to succumb to Marxist ideas and put them into practice. Sixty years later, the United States of America is exporting a distinctly American form of Cultural Marxism to other nations through the US Government and Corporations. In many cases, US aid to other countries is tied to promotion of an ideology. Media and entertainment further promote the ideology.

Think about how effective the “long march through the institutions” has been in America?
Most claim, “This could never happen in America!”

Most Americans are not Marxists… Yet.

At the rate of indoctrination in our education systems from university down to elementary, we are at the threshold of a generational break away from historical American culture. The old guard is dying off and the new guard is taking its position of cultural influence and power. The younger generations are coming of age in an era where an expert class of elites exert tremendous control over society. Furthermore, there is a mood of unending crisis, uncertainty, and weakening of longstanding institutions.

Gone are the days where American society was shaped by biblical mores, moral formation, civic virtue and shared history. The worldview of the emerging generation is shaped by Critical Social Theories like Critical Race Theory, Intersectionality, Third and Fourth Wave Feminism, Gender Theory, Queer Theory and Transhumanism. DEI, ESG, and SEL are the modes of indoctrination through corporations, the education system, and government institutions. The emerging generations’ allegiances are alien to the established American ethos. That ethos has been rejected and hated. They see the world divided into two groups – oppressors and the oppressed. As such, material resources, and cultural and political power are controlled by the privileged at the expense of the powerless in a zero sum game. Thus, creating a permanent victim class along intersectional lines.

Does this new dominant worldview correspond to the contours of reality? Is it coherent? The answer is ‘no’ because the Marxian worldview is built on falsehood and self-refuting presuppositions. It implodes… the human casualties number in the hundreds of millions dead.

Marxists of all eras always lie… “They lie like dead flies on a window sill.” (Douglas Wilson). As David Horowitz pointed out quoting a SDS radical student, “The issue is never the issue. The issue is always the revolution.” In other words, the cause of a political action – whether civil rights or women’s rights – is never the real cause; women, blacks and other ‘victims’ are only instruments in the larger cause, which is power.”

Marxists always use minority groups as cannon fodder to attain power. They don’t really care about people of color, or gays, or transgenders, or women, or the poor… All those groups are manipulated, agitated, and weaponized. Once a group has depleted its usefulness, it is tossed aside or destroyed. Look how this mode has divided all sectors of society.

A quick survey of modern history has demonstrated from the French Revolution forward, that those at the top of the Marxist food chain get fat while everyone else starves to death. They are not really interested in equity, equality, diversity, peace, climate, or justice, in their original forms. Those are simply tried and true bait n’ switch tactics where words have been redefined to push the ideology (revolution). Instead, they cause division to obtain more economic, political, and cultural power. Like locusts, Marxists devour and destroy everything in their path. Name one institution in America that has not been infiltrated by ‘woke’ ideology. ‘Woke’ is American Marxism.

Is there such a thing as a ‘Woke Church?’ Perhaps in the imagination of some relevance-seeking authors. Selling books and speaking honorariums pay well.

No sir. There is only One Church and it ain’t woke. It was founded before the foundations of the world and purchased by the blood of Christ. No amount of bad theology, heretical hermeneutics, or shoddy sociology will ever be able to transform Christ and His Word into an American social program draped in Christian garb.

Christians and the Church need to re-think our approach to culture and theology. The clown show and chaos we’re experiencing is a result of Christians not taking culture seriously. The Church hasn’t been pushed out of the public square, we have abandoned it. Marxists didn’t win the ‘Culture War’. To win a war, you must defeat an opponent. There wasn’t a war. Christians simply decided to go home and abandon the institutions to the secular cult masquerading as enlightened. Midwits don’t have the moral fortitude of a blade of grass (no offense to St. Augustin or Bermuda). The problem is pulpits have been preaching pablum, promoting pragmatism, pushing entertainment programs, and over-zealous personal piety instead of robust public theology for nearly 100 years – all undergirded by an eschatology of Christian escapism.

The Church is an institution that Marxist woke-topians are relishing. They have been quite effective so far. A good compass points north, a good church points Christ-ward and truth-ward. Not all “churches” are Christ-centered and biblical. Don’t let a name like, “North Point Church” fool you. 

Rethinking the Public Square

The public square of the free exchange of ideas is a distinctly Christian social contribution. Even stupid and destructive ideas like Cultural Marxism can be allowed. But, they must be allowed to be critiqued, refuted, and buried on the trash heap of bad ideas. When Christians witness poor stewardship, disorder, or injustice within any sector of society, we have the duty to take dominion over it and work to cultivate goodness and human flourishing. The public square is not owned by anyone. Although many are attempting to own it (social media censorship). On the contrary, the public square is to be stewarded well for the good of all… even those with stupid ideas. Why? Because Christians love God and people created in His image, even people with dumb ideas. I mean, who among us has never had a dumb idea?

Christians must rethink the value and dignity of the Public Square. Because the public square is inhabited by people who may not understand God created them in His image with intrinsic value and worth. The existence of the public square bears witness to God’s common grace. Allow discourse of all types. Yes, there will be folks who share disdainful and even dangerous ideas. There is nothing new under the sun. However, recovering the open public square will provide Christians an opportunity to contend for the faith and witness to the world the powerful coherence of the Christian worldview and its correspondence to reality.

Engagement in the public square requires a public theology which includes proper institutional stewardship.

The Long March Back Through the Institutions

Entertainment, government, education, media, the church, and the family make up the cultural fabric of America. Except for small enclaves, those institutions have been decimated by Cultural Marxism. Christians rightly view the family as the center of culture creation. A mother and father will raise children who will create culture and shape society. Therefore, worldview training begins in the home. As the younger generations move into areas of cultural influence, they bring their worldviews with them. As the parents move into elder years, their children will take the cultural reigns and shape the world for their own children. Therefore, Christians must think generationally. Our enterprise is much bigger than a single lifetime, after all, we operate from an eternal perspective with an ever-present expression.

We must recover our public theology and follow Christ’s calling into all cultural domains. Cultural abandonment has proven deadly and unbiblical. Does this mean we take over cultural domains by force? Of course not. We have a ministry of faith in action. God is responsible for results. William Wilberforce didn’t end the African slave trade in England. God ended it by using Wilberforce and others willing to be obedient.

Over the next few decades, Christians must begin a long march back through the ruins of our institutions of higher education, arts, entertainment, media, and the church under the banner of Christ (who is Lord over all). We unleash the power of the Christian worldview and a deep love for those who inhabit those domains. Why? Because God loves people (John 3:16).

When biblically informed and spirit filled Christ-followers follow Christ into every sphere and corner of human existence, we are demonstrating that Colossians 1:15-20 and the words of Abraham Kuyper are true:

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!

Every Christian contributes a little leaven from Heaven into human culture. We are ordinary people serving an extraordinary God.

The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.” – Matthew 13:33

The parable sets forth the working of the Church of Christ on the world, but not in the same way as that of the Mustard Seed… Here the working is from within. It (leaven) can turn the flour into human food–this symbolism is traceable in the leavened loaves that were offered on the day of Pentecost (Leviticus 23:17)–can permeate the manners, feelings, and opinions of non-Christian societies until they become blessings and not curses to mankind. In the new feelings, gradually diffused, of Christendom as to slavery, prostitution, gladiatorial games–in the new reverence for childhood and womanhood, for poverty and sickness–we may trace the working of the leaven.” (2)

Based on your proximity – Where can you use your influence for the Kingdom?

1. Where can you speak truth into the public square? (Do you need to create a public square?)
– What will you contribute to the discourse?
– When will you accomplish this?

2. Beginning with your family, what institution do you have an affinity towards or a burden for?
Education, arts and entertainment, media, government, etc. are legitimate domains for Christian influence and stewardship.
– Where will you contribute your influence and care?
– When will you begin?

Pray for God’s power will be unleashed in the places and spaces where you live. Ask Him to use your gifts, talents, resources, and influence to expand His Kingdom until the knowledge of Him reaches the ends of the earth.

Reflection and Encouragement:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:7-12)

1. https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/market-sectors/communication/media-stocks/big-6/

2. https://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/13.htm

I launched the Forge Room Foundation in order to equip Christians to understand our cultural moment and respond with a biblical worldview perspective. We have a end-of-year fundraising goal of $50,000. This will allow us to host more forums and seminars that quip and mobilize people for Kingdom action. Please consider us in your year end generosity plans. Learn more and give here…

Please share your insights by commenting below this post.

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Cancel Culture, CRT, and Joe Rogan – Why it matters

“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.”

Saul Alinsky

Why do all of these attempts to cancel Joe Rogan matter?

Because if is happening to him, it could happen to you.

Do not be silent in the face of evil.

Background – My involvement

I began sounding the alarm in earnest on “Cancel Culture” and Critical Race Theory (CRT) during the early summer of 2020. The George Floyd incident was the bomb that set cities around the country aflame for months. Many thought this came out of nowhere. Others believed that centuries of racism and oppression had come to a head. Still others knew exactly what was going on. The fuse that set off the explosion of BLM and Antifa riots, beatings and chaos had been lit decades prior to the summer of 2020.

It was a cultural “sucker punch” that most did not possess the moral courage, nor cultural awareness of the times to understand much less respond appropriately to what was happening.

Mid-Summer of 2020

In June and July of 2020, I began to see books like Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility” and Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be An AntiRacist” circulating in the Christian community. I had heard their names and others but I had not read much of their stuff, other than a few quotes here and there. It all reminded me of some of the stuff I read in Anthropology and Sociology classes in college in the late 1990’s. I considered it all to be fringe pseudo-academic mumbo-jumbo that was regulated to life, death and burial in university classrooms – never to escape.

This book (White Fragility) is unapologetically rooted in Identity Politics.

Robin DiAngelo

Fall of 2020

Fast-forward to the fall of 2020. All this fringe pseudo-academic critical theory stuff was front and center. To my astonishment, these Neo-Marxist ideas had escaped what I believed their academic tombs and were resurrected and injected into society. People began to point to these bad ideas as the solution and deliverance from an invisible and yet unknown ills of systemic racism, white supremacy and oppression not realizing it is all Marxism clothed in racial terminology. Parents were seeing it in schools, and employees were seeing corporations attempting to “re-educate” them with “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)” struggle sessions (I mean “training”).

As growing numbers of Christians recommended DiAngelo’s book “White Fragility” to each other, I decided to order a copy and read it. The print edition was completely sold out (that’s how popular it was). So, I bought both digital and audio versions (and backordered the printed version). [You’re welcome Robin DiAngelo – I contributed to your bourgeois lifestyle]. After reading the book, I went to church leadership and said, “We have a problem.” Then, I was tasked with writing a summary of the book to help leadership understand this foreign doctrine being circulated among the flock.

What I thought would be a weeklong project turned into a much larger enterprise that spanned more than a month. Not only did I read DiAngelo’s book but I was dusting off old books from college, reading other books on the topic, source materials, and (peer-reviewed) academic papers spanning from – critical theory, gender theory, queer theory, intersectionality, Hegelian philosophy, and much more. I emerged from my “Alice in Wonderland” rabbit-hole experience with an extensive two part piece I titled, “A Critical Response and Worldview Analysis of the book “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo.” I handed this off to church leadership, checked the box and tried to go on with my life. But, not so fast!

Understanding the Cultural Moment

Simultaneously, friends and people from our church began approaching me asking questions. They were reading these woke books and seeing vitriolic posts by other Christians on social media attacking each other based on race, “privilege”, etc. Not to mention, all of the virtue signaling going on. They were trying to understand what in the hell was happening. Lifelong friendships were being fractured and destroyed by this stuff. So, I decided to published my two part series on “White Fragility”(here) in order to help people understand what they were seeing in the world around them. If you read it, you’ll see that I go far beyond the book’s title to pinpoint the underlying worldview and philosophy driving this new toxic cultish orthodoxy. Make no mistake CRT, Cancel Culture and Wokeism make up a CULT. Yes, I’ve studied cults as well.

I was stunned when my piece on “White Fragility” began to get shared and circulated widely. What I intended to be a resource to help people turned into a season of life that I occupy nearly two years later. Since the summer of 2020, I have presented on Critical Race Theory and related topics over 15 times to various groups in different formats (here are a few).

What does all this have to do with “Cancel Culture” and the unfolding situation with Joe Rogan?

It has everything to do with it because this is ALL related. We must understand an issue in order to respond appropriately to an issue.

[Disclaimer: I understand that Joe Rogan is a public figure. I do not support all his views on every topic nor do I agree with everything he says or does. I do believe that Joe Rogan has a right to speak his mind on the platforms that he’s on. Thinking Christians ought to pay attention.]

As I have pointed out in my presentations, Critical Race Theory is the present iteration of Marxism, and “Cancel Culture” is the enforcement of this ideology. Cancel Culture is a politically motivated collective attempt to harm, silence, or destroy a person’s reputation, livelihood, social standing, for “for violating a particular ideological standard” of the political left. 

Cancel Culture can be linked back to Herbert Marcuse‘s essay entitled “Repressive Tolerance” (1965). He basically states that in order to achieve a Marxist cultural revolution leading to a utopian dream, effective Marxists must tolerate and promote leftist/Marxist ideas while being intolerant, suppressing and silencing ideas from the political right. This intolerance, suppression and silencing of all things considered emanating from the political right is where we get the modern militant form of “Cancel Culture.” It’s just Repressive Tolerance theory put into practice (praxis). CRT and Cancel Culture are inextricably linked and rooted in Marxism. CRT is the worldview, Cancel Culture enforces it and prosecutes dissenters on it’s behalf.

Liberating tolerance, then, would mean intolerance against movements from the Right and toleration of movements from the Left…‘Repressive Tolerance’ the practice of discriminating tolerance in an inverse direction, as a means of shifting the balance between Right and Left by restraining the liberty of the Right…”

Herbert Marcuse - Repressive Tolerance

Ideas have consequences and bad ideas have victims.

Cancel Culture is a really bad idea.

Many agree, we are living in Marcuse’s “Repressive Tolerance.” It is a modern reality in America and much of the West. Cancelling voices that dissent or question the new Marxian Critical Race Theory orthodoxy is spreading like invasive cancer across the institutions of the west. Yes, it is a religion.

Woke corporations, media companies, sports teams, politicians, the military, big tech, religious organizations, celebrities, musicians, influencers (don’t get me started), nonprofits, universities, and countless others are stumbling all over themselves like drunken frat boys looking to ‘hook-up’ with a girl after an all-night bender in order to show their allegiance to the new woke orthodoxy. And if anyone disagrees, or even questions the orthodoxy, they are dragged off to the “digital guillotine” to be be-headed (aka. “Cancelled”). It can be described as a modern version of the French Revolution. Once ‘cancelled’, the guilty party is digitally dead. And this is not limited to social media. Financial institutions, corporations, even law enforcement agencies join their Big Tech overlords to punish dissidents.

 …

Enter Joe Rogan into the ring.

Joe Rogan is an enigma. He is a comedian, black belt in Brazilian Jujitsu, MMA enthusiast, and former reality TV host among many other things. Rogan is best known for his podcast (The Joe Rogan Experience) which is the most downloaded podcast on the planet (13 million and counting). He has 14.5 million followers on Instagram, 8.2 million Twitter followers and 9.1 million on GETTR (after Twitter censored one of his posts linked to a podcast interview with Dr. Robert Malone).

Rogan recently signed a reportedly $100 million deal with streaming service Spotify to host his massively popular podcast. Spotify has been his home for several months.

Rogan is no stranger to hot-button issues or controversial guests or even stranger topics. He interviews a wide range of guests and those conversations last up to 3 hours. His fans eat it up.

Something interesting occurred following two specific podcast interviews in the last 3 months. Out of nowhere, Twitter began censoring his posts. And there were calls from across the Big Tech, government and media landscape for the de-platforming, silencing, and cancelling of Joe Rogan. What did Joe Rogan do wrong? Why were the Woketopians calling for his head?

Joe Rogan dared to interview Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Robert Malone. Both men are medical experts in their fields. Dr. McCullough is one of the most published physicians on the planet, he’s a cardiologist and expert / advocate for early treatment of COVID. Dr. Malone is the “original inventor of mRNA vaccination as a technology, DNA vaccination, and multiple non-viral DNA and RNA/mRNA platform delivery technologies” and one of the top researchers in the space.

Whats wrong with interviewing two of the best medical experts on the planet?

Well, both doctors are following the science that is completely discrediting the new COVID medical political ideological cult orthodoxy. Drs. McCullough and Malone dared to question the safety and efficacy of COVID response and mRNA vaccines. Joe Rogan interviewed them both and asked them great questions. He gave them opportunity to share their expertise. Both interviews went viral. In fact, to date, the Dr. Malone podcast is the most downloaded podcast in the history of podcasts.

Then, what appeared to be a coordinated effort to attack, smear and cancel Rogan came out of nowhere. The Woketopians took a page right out of Saul Alinsky’s “Rules for Radicals – A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals.” (1971)

Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. Cut off the support network and isolate the target from sympathy. Go after people and not institutions; people hurt faster than institutions.

Saul Alinsky (Rule #13 - Rules for Radicals)

Twitter banned Rogan for posting links to his podcast interviews and Youtube censored his videos. Ironically, washed-up bourgeois revolutionary hippie rockers from the 1960s like Neil Young and Joni Mitchell (and others) accused Rogan of spreading ‘misinformation’. So, they shifted from fighting back against ‘the man’ to aligning with authoritarians attempting to silence Rogan (chilling free speech in the process). Not known for their wisdom, Young and Mitchell (and others) pulled their music catalogs off Spotify in protest and retreated to their mansions to sip lattés. I guess, Neil Young wants to limit who he will allow to “Keep Rockin’ in the Free World“(like what I did there?)

Code Word – “Misinformation”

The accusation against Rogan was that he was spreading “misinformation” about COVID. In the new woke cult orthodoxy, “misinformation” is code for “information that does not align with political ideological orthodoxy.” The response is to coerce, smear, silence and cancel the individual who dares to get out of line. It’s almost like Herbert Marcuse spoke from his grave, “Cancel Him!!!” (in Darth Vader’s voice). There was a tremendous amount of pressure on Rogan and Spotify.

When one attack fails (or backfires), switch tactics!

When the “misinformation” tactic did not have the desired effect, the Woketopian legions turned to their tried-and-true method of silencing and cancelling – name calling. Prior to February 1, 2022, Joe Rogan was a podcaster loved and respected by people from all kinds of backgrounds, political persuasions, ages, religions, and ethnicities. Now, the cult claims Rogan is a racist!

The woke mob always resorts to calling people racists because woke arguments always fail. Name-calling has been effective since they were toddlers – immaturity is a hallmark of wokeness.

The timing was uncanny. As soon as the Marcuse Marxists learned that the “misinformation” weapon wouldn’t work against Rogan, they resorted to the racism grenade to destroy him. Out of nowhere, an out of context video collage from a decade ago showing Rogan using an unacceptable racial pejorative on his podcasts emerged and went viral. Again, amazing timing… as if this was planned. Kudos to the midwit who dug through thousands of hours of audio, compiled and edited the hit piece (I hope you were paid well to waste your life on such an asinine endeavor). The interesting thing is that Rogan wasn’t using the pejorative against a guest or anyone else. Many of his guests have pointed this out. He simply said the word (pejorative) instead of the more “politically correct” and acceptable description of the word.

No matter! The mob doesn’t care about anything but political power. As they see it, when attaining power is the ultimate goal, context and truth don’t matter. Joe Rogan was out of line and posed a threat to their ideology . The cult revolutionaries had their target (Rogan) and they were hell-bent on destroying him to teach the rest of us a lesson (including Christians).

Redefining and distorting definitions (definition inflation)

Important Note: The modern definition of “racist” is not the same as the definition we’ve come to understand over the last 200 years. A Racist is no longer someone who harbors ethnic hatred or ethnic prejudice based on skin color. The CRT cult has given us a new definition of racism. Basically, you are labeled a “racist” if you do not bow to the new cult orthodoxy and tow the Marxist party line. That’s why the woke mob can call ethnic minorities ‘racists’ today for not embracing the ideology. That charge would have made no sense 20 years ago.  The new definition is stupid, illogical and ethnically biased. In their warped view of reality, you are a good little Marxist or you are a racist!

A few days ago, Rogan shared his side of the story and apologized. Millions are coming to his defense. The media platform Rumble offered Rogan $100 million to move to their platform when it appeared that Spotify would cave under pressure. So far, Spotify hasn’t budged except for removing some past podcasts they deem “inappropriate.” This is just “soft -censoring” or Spotify’s attempt to appease the Woke piranhas.

A decade ago, no one had any problem with what Joe said. There were no protests or calls for cancelling him. Why? What changed?

Well, a lot has changed.

The culture has shifted and we’re living in Marcuse’s “Repressive Tolerance.”

On this new CRT-driven Marcuse Marxian road to utopia, there is no forgiveness, no mercy- only judgment for questioning the woke orthodoxy of identity politics of attaining power. You either “get with the program” (cult) or else! If you do not bow to the woke idols, you will be cancelled or worse. And they are calling THAT justice, equity, and liberation. It’s anti-freedom, anti-family, anti-American, anti-truth, anti-church, and anti-God.

The bait is the utopian dream of equity and justice for all (meaning socialism and communism for all). The hook is a totalitarian dystopian nightmare. If people like Joe Rogan get cancelled, it matters for the rest of us (including Christians).

Joe, no one expects you or anyone else to be perfect. Don’t fall for their stupid games. You can sincerely apologize until the cows come home, it will never appease them. It will never ever be enough. They smell blood in the water. They are not interested in your apologies, all they are interested in is power. Read Marcuse’s “Repressive Tolerance” and you’ll see why…. Or just ask James Lindsey or Voddie Baucham 😉

The poetry of Martin Niemöller is both haunting and a warning…

“First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists
and I did not speak out
because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for me
and there was no one left
to speak out for me.”
-Martin Niemöller

Why do all of these attempts to cancel Joe Rogan matter? Because if is happening to him, it could happen to you. Do not be silent in the face of evil.

The response to CRT and “Cancel Culture” is to tell the truth. Personally, I see through the manipulation and know their cult political orthodoxy better than they do. So, their stupid tactics won’t work on me. Now, (hopefully) their tactics won’t work on you either. You can accomplish this gently and respectfully but courageously.

“Know thy enemy.” Stand your post and don’t abandon the battlefield. Pray for and yes, love your enemies. Stand against dark ideologies that cripple the mind and enslave the heart.

Facebook: All good things come to an end

All good things come to an end.

All good things decay unless they are reclaimed and restored. That’s not going to happen with Facebook. They are too far gone.

I want you as a part of my life without Facebook mediating or manipulating our relationship.

I opened a Facebook account in January of 2007. It was a fun way to connect with family and friends all over the world. Nearly fourteen years later, the experience is completely different – it’s almost entirely negative.

I login to see what is happening and log out asking myself why I put myself through the Facebook psychological meat grinder.

A few years ago, Facebook decided to race to the bottom of the human brainstem and manipulate people. I will not be manipulated. AND I don’t like seeing my friends manipulated.

Admittedly, daily dopamine hits are a difficult addiction to break. But, so were drugs and alcohol.

Dumpster fires are hard NOT to watch – particularly when people are throwing huge amounts of fuel on them.

Facebook has turned into a relational dumpster fire.  People have said things on Facebook that ended friendships that began before Facebook crossed Mark Zuckerberg’s mind. Some of those friendships were formed before Zuckerberg was born and were ended on his platform. He (and others) decided to run a social experiment and make some loot. I’ll champion anyone’s right to build a business and create legitimate profits providing goods and services. The problem is the once ‘good Facebook’ transformed into a cruel Mr. Hyde… or maybe more like Nurse Ratched.

There is something fundamentally flawed with the Facebook business model. As I’ve written about Google, the two tech titans share many of the same tactics and strategies. Neither platform is friendly or pro-user. They both manipulate and use people for profit and power.

While I will not blame societal breakdowns totally on the world’s largest social media platform, I will say Facebook has contributed to the problem. What is most troubling is they profit off the dumpster fire not caring that the people involved are image-bearers and have value (regardless of their views).

So, I’ve decided to step away from Facebook. I don’t have any plans to move to another platform. The biggest challenge will be staying connected with many friends and a acquaintances from the platform.

I’m going to allow a few days to pass before stepping away to connect with anyone who wants to stay connected off the platform.

I’m also going back to good old fashioned face-to-face meetings, phone calls and a Zoom meeting here and there. I’ll be focusing on my work, a couple big projects and writing. Feel free to visit and connect.

As I said at the outset, I want you to be a part of my life without Facebook mediating or manipulating our relationship.

Perhaps our paths will cross again. You can contact me here.

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