I realise what I’m about to tell you tonight maybe a little “out there”, but it might not be once you hear what I’m going to lay out here before you. I know we live in some interesting times and it bothers me to see my country, along with the world, outlash at authority organizations, such as our police officers. Last week, I covered why we shouldn’t let this happen, but as I see more of the events happen, I can’t really blame the people for their outrage. Now I am not saying I condone these riots, the destruction of property, or the looting. What I am saying is that for the people who protest, it’s their constitutional / God given right to do so peacefully, and I support that to my last breath. What I don’t want done or go unnoticed is that something has got to change. Something has got to change or it’s going to get a lot worse from here if it doesn’t. Peacefully protesting about another cop killing another person, innocent or not, isn’t the issue here, it’s the rioters and looters. There is no need to destroy businesses who are innocent and the owners who have to tell their employees that they can’t come to work anymore to earn money so they can take care of their families. That’s the truth. Unfortunately, it’s also the one casualty that hardly ever gets any notice.

    These rioters mostly want to cause trouble because it’s an excuse to cause anarchy. In their minds, this causes a vacuum for leadership and rule of law, in result destruction and thievery is their tactics. Their advantage is believing they are entitled to do so with the justification of ignorance is bliss. I can’t stomach the fact they believe they can take over a section of a city, claiming it to be their own, patrol down the neighborhoods, and shakedown the residents for “protection money” to keep them safe. Anyone familiar with CHAZ (Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone) or CHOP (Capitol Hill Occupied Protest) (https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/dubbed-a-lawless-state-by-some-the-chaz-or-chop-seattles-newest-neighborhood-tries-to-create-its-own-narrative/). No, I don’t see any legitimate excuse for that. It’s called Tyranny (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tyranny) and it doesn’t end well. Look at the warlords thugs in places like South America and in Africa. It’s not good for anyone except the person in charge for the duration they can claim it.

    The question on my mind right now is what will this all this mean during the next ten, twenty, or fifty years from now in the history books? Is this going to be the start of our “Roaring 20’s” (https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/roaring-twenties-history)? Are we already seeing an apocalyptic version of what happened in the 1920’s? Even during that time had its fair share of very disturbing events, but in the end it also flourished with changes in the way we did things across the nation. Everything from the way we purchased goods, products available, and the ideals that sprung forth. Women seemed to be more “free” with their expressions while breaking beyond doing “unladylike” things. There was the birth of Jazz music and then Prohibition of Alcohol.  In fact, for many people in the United States, the 1920s brought more conflict than celebration. That’s a whole other story for a whole other show.

    Now we see some ideals of what has become known as the “Cancel Culture”. It seems to be our form of prohibition. We must cancel out what we don’t agree with, or what can be better described as the ideas that may not be the same as theirs. The movement to delete elements from society because people either disagree with or are offended has officially kicked into high gear. From LEGO to your favorite cartoons and hit TV shows like “Cops” and “Live PD” (https://deadline.com/2020/06/cops-canceled-paramount-network-live-pd-return-evaluated-ae-1202954910/), and classic movies such as “Gone With the Wind” (https://www.wsj.com/articles/hbo-max-pulls-gone-with-the-wind-11591754904?mod=e2tw), it seems nothing is safe from it’s reckoning. LEGO has requested the products to be removed from sites and any marketing that involve police, firefighters, and the White House (https://toybook.com/lego-pulling-back-potentially-sensitive-product-amid-george-floyd-protests/). Looney Tunes are also seeing some major changes as Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam will no longer carry guns (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/29/arts/television/looney-tunes-hbo-max.html). It’s getting so bad that the dictionary company, Merriam Webster, after receiving a letter from a 22-year-old student, has decided to change the definition of racism (https://twitter.com/DrakeUniversity/status/1270373693609463808/photo/1). Because of the letter, the definition will now be updated to include “systemic oppression” in addition to the standard definition. Incase anyone is wondering what a valid definition of “systemic oppression” is, take a look at CHAZ or CHOP in Seattle, Washington right now. It’s like the Cancel Culture movement is trying to erase or replace history. You only have two choices: either agree or be cancelled.

    Now there have been several variations of what I’m about to tell you, but I believe it was best said by a Spanish-American philosopher, poet, and humanist by the name of George Santayana who once said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Santayana). The reason I say this is because our children and our grandchildren will be put in this position because they aren’t allowed to learn true history. Using real historical proven facts and evidence that shows all the “who”, “what”, “when”, “where”, and probably more importantly, “WHY” our ancestors did what they did, be it because it needed to be done or they were just bored at the time. I believe we are seeing all the riots in part of because they don’t teach real facts from both sides of the historical sides in public schools, nor do they teach Civics either. Both of those are sorely missed in the modern age as we trample off into the unknown only to be curb stomped by those marching up behind us. 

    Confederate statues have been targeted in recent weeks during protests following the death of George Floyd, who died at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis. Several have been damaged and some local officials are considering removing them. Recently, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the removal of 11 Confederate statues from the United States capitol. In a letter to the Joint Committee of the Library, which oversees displays in the capitol, the madam speaker said the displays should embody the highest ideals of Americans (https://www.speaker.gov/sites/speaker.house.gov/files/20200610_Letter_ChairBluntViceChairLofgren.pdf). “Monuments to men who advocated cruelty and barbarism to achieve such a plainly racist end are a grotesque affront to these ideals,” Pelosi wrote. “Their statues pay homage to hate, not heritage. They must be removed.” Two of the statues in questions are of Confederacy President Jefferson Davis and Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens are currently on display. Both men were charged with treason. She also added “While I believe it is imperative that we never forget our history lest we repeat it, I also believe that there is no room for celebrating the violent bigotry of the men of the Confederacy in the hallowed halls of the United States Capitol or in places of honor across the country” . The Joint Committee of the Library is chaired by Representatives Roy Blunt (R-MO) and California Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). 

    As it turns out, nine of the 11 statues that Pelosi wants removed are of Democrats.

• Jefferson Davis (D): President of the Confederate States of America and former Democratic U.S. senator from Mississippi
• Wade Hampton (D): Former Democratic governor of South Carolina and lieutenant general for the Confederacy
• John E. Kenna (D): Former Democratic congressman and U.S. senator from West Virginia and member of the Confederate States Army
• Uriah Milton Rose (D): Chairman of the Resolutions Committee of the Arkansas Democratic Party
• Alexander Hamilton Stephens (D): Vice President of the Confederate States who served as governor of Georgia and a Democratic congressman from Georgia
• James Zachariah George (D): Former Democratic U.S. senator from Mississippi and member of the Confederacy as well as the Mississippi Secession Convention
• Zebulon Baird Vance (D): Former Democratic governor of North Carolina, U.S. senator and congressman, and member of the Confederate Army
• Joseph Wheeler (D): Commander in the Confederate Army and former Democratic congressman from Alabama
• Edward Douglass White (D): Former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and a Democratic U.S. Senator from Louisiana who served in the Confederate Army

Nancy Pelosi also wants Robert E. Lee, a commander in the Confederate Army, and Edmund Kirby Smith, another Confederate general, removed from the Capitol. Neither men had stated political party affiliations.

    In other news, the Confederate flag has also been banned from public display by the Marine Corps (https://www.marines.mil/News/Messages/Messages-Display/Article/2210513/removal-public-displays-of-the-confederate-battle-flag/) and Navy (https://wjla.com/news/nation-world/confederate-flag-navy-installations). There has also been a call to rename U.S. military bases named after Confederate figures like Fort Bragg. President Donald Trump said his administration will “not even consider” changing the names of any bases (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1270787974880526337?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fabc3340.com%2Fnews%2Fnation-world%2Ftrump-no-change-at-bases-named-for-confederate-officers). “These Monumental and very Powerful Bases have become part of a Great American Heritage, a history of Winning, Victory, and Freedom,” Trump said in a tweet. “The United States of America trained and deployed our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, and won two World Wars. Therefore, my Administration will not even consider the renaming of these Magnificent and Fabled Military Installations.” Now, to be fair, supporters of renaming the military bases from Confederate Army officers argue that they represent the racism and divisiveness of the Civil War era and glorify men who fought against the United States. Personally, I have served on Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and I never seen, heard, or had the idea of any racism during my time there. They were very respectful to the people of all color and celebrated the rich history of the United States, both north and south of the line.

    Another theory on why the world is going to hell in a handbasket could be because we are in the year 2012. You might be thinking I’ve lost my mind, drunk, or stoned by saying that, but allow me a few moments to fill in the gaps with the explanation of why I said that. If you remember the Mayan calendar saying that in the year 2012, we would see a change in civilization or quite possible the end of the world (https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html), but you’re thinking that 2012 was eight years ago and we all survived because nothing really happened that was earth changing. Technically, you are right, but technically you are also wrong. You see, a moment in time is but a perception. How you perceive a moment in time is from your perspective, in which can be translated differently from the way I see the same event playing out. Even though time is the distance between two events (http://www.exactlywhatistime.com/physics-of-time/). This year has been one event rolled out after another, sometimes before the previous event is finished, such as COVID-19 and the protest riots for example. 

    However, these days the Gregorian calendar is considered generally accepted (https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/julian-gregorian-switch.html). History proves it was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in the Catholic countries around October 4, 1582 to replace the former Julian calendar. The difference between the calendars was 11 days, after the removal of which, it turned out to more accurately reflect the time that the Earth takes to revolve around the Sun. However, not everyone liked this idea and in many European countries, in particular in Britain, in London, there were riots with the demand to return the “stolen 11 days”.  These days have indeed been stolen and they continue to steal every year. Thanks to a scientist by the name of Paolo Tagaloguin (https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/1292918/end-of-the-world-mayan-2012-gregorian-calendar-julian-calendar-ethiopia-2020-doomsday-spt), who pointed out recently that “Following the Julian Calendar, we are technically in 2012.” He went on to explain his math on this and it is pretty convincing. He said “the number of days lost in a year due to the shift into Gregorian Calendar is 11 days. For 268 years using the Gregorian Calendar (1752-2020) times 11 days = 2,948 days. 2,948 days / 365 days (per year) = 8 years.” By my math, courtesy of public schools, 2012 + 8 = 2020. How’s that for perception and perspective? 

    Eight years ago, Doomsday fears were triggered by the false assumption that the Mayan calendar predicts the end of the world on December 21, 2012. This date was regarded as the end date of the 5126-year cycle in the Mesoamerican calendar, which scientists translated into the generally accepted Gregorian. However, we survived, nothing happened, nor massive earthquakes shook the world apart, no giant fireball falling out of the sky wiping out two-thirds of the world’s population, the sea’s didn’t rise up and drown out the life on dry land due to the melting ice caps, nor did the poles shift throwing us all into another ice age. If I was a betting man, I would probably wager that wasn’t going to happen this year either, but I can’t rule any of that out in 2021. 

    Although, if you want to talk about another theory slightly using the 2020 is 2012 theory, we may also be witnessing the dying of an old age during the transition of a newer age, “The Age of Aquarius” (https://owlcation.com/stem/What-is-the-age-of-Aquarius). Many people were concerned that the world would end on December 21, 2012, and yet half were relieved while the other half were puzzled when it didn’t. So what happened? Or as Marvin the Martian would ask “Where is the earth shattering kaboom?”  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec-8A5k16Ak). Well, many scholars suggested the prediction was based on a misinterpretation of the calendar and its ending did not mean and end to the world or to “creation” but merely a start of a new cycle of humanity, something which Mayan lore says had happened before with no dire consequences. The Age of Aquarius mythology has also become entangled with the 2012 causing many followers of pseudoscience to assert that the age begins December 21, 2012. 

    Some people take solace in believing that we are entering the times of what is prophesied in the books of Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelations of the New Testament of the Christian Bible (https://biblehub.com/revelation/). I can’t really argue with some who believe the COVID-19 vaccine that Bill Gates / Microsoft wants to give everyone that includes a little “cryptochip”  (https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/detail.jsf?docId=WO2020060606) inside or just under the skin, isn’t the “mark of the beast” (https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-is-the-mark-of-the-beast-revelation-13/) that is described in the book of Revelations. However, I can say that we live in interesting times and that this being an election year, anything (and I mean ANYTHING) can and will happen! So don’t be surprised if the Anti-Christ as described in the book of Revelations of the King James Bible rears his ugly head, although I would have to say it might take the next three to four years before that part happens IF (and that’s a big “if”) we are truly entering the time of Tribulation and the time of Jesus Christ’s return is near. My best advice during this time, at this moment, would be to pray, ask for God’s help, and prepare for what this year is going to bring. Maybe when 2021 gets here, we can all take a victory lap for surviving what has been known a year of testing our spirit.