If you are looking to find signs of Americas decline into lawlessness and chaos look no further than the language of threat prevalent in our politics and culture. Even the church has fallen into the secular/sinful trap of this evil banter.
As Christians we cannot claim Christ as our Lord if we threaten the safety and security of others and believe this is acceptable! And the blind eye many Pastors and other turn to this thinking and behavior for political gain is also beyond the pale.
Christ never threatened anyone and neither should we.
There have been plenty of this language on the right and left but right now the right excels in this with Donald Trump as the cheer leader. So gullible are many Americans that they blindly and foolishly believe anything no matter how unhinged. The solution is always the same, we must pray, confess and repent by actually changing our thinking and behavior. there is no other way! - Andy
The Menacing Turn in Our Politics
Too many powerful people in public positions today refuse to repudiate the language of threat.
"Something in American politics has shifted dangerously for the worse in the last decade, and there’s no excuse for it. I’m speaking of the sharp increase in verbal threats of bodily harm against people seen as an obstacle to one’s political goals. To frighten or intimidate another person into believing that they may be seriously harmed is appalling behavior. It’s vile rhetoric that sets a dangerous path for democracy. Plenty of dictators throughout history have excelled at controlling people by violent threat. What’s metastasizing in our day is the mainstreaming of menacing political rhetoric, discourse specifically tailored to instill fear.
“The darkness has reached new lows,” said Rep. Adam Kinzinger after one of many death threats to him and his family he received as the cost for his participation on the January 6 commission. And it’s not just members of Congress experiencing a spike in violent threats. Almost anybody in public service is now vulnerable to being targeted by those who respond to political grievance with personal threats. “It’s sad,” said public health official Anthony Fauci—discussing the round-the-clock security he now requires—“that a public health message to save lives triggers such venom and animosity that it results in real and credible threats to my life and safety.” In the last year, physicians, scholars, poll workers, judges, librarians, officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice, and even leaders of the National Archives have all experienced unprecedented levels of violent threat.." from the article: The Menacing Turn in Our Politics
‘Rise in Violent Rhetoric’: Lawmakers in Both Parties Report Spike in Death Threats
Threats increasingly come from all ends of the political spectrum, lawmakers and aides warn
The voicemail begins innocuously enough. “Yeah, this voicemail is for Madison,” a man says, casually, as if he’s trying to get in touch with an old friend. But then steel enters his voice. “I am armed. I am dangerous. And I know where you and your staff are.” That threat against Madison Cawthorn was just one of thousands sent to members of Congress last year. It may not surprise many that Cawthorn, a North Carolina Republican who himself once urged his supporters to “lightly threaten” their representatives, inspired such vitriol. But controversy hunters like Cawthorn are hardly the only members of Congress facing a bombardment of death threats. CQ Roll Call asked every member of Congress whether they had received a death threat since 2020. Of the 147 who responded, 110 — or about 75 percent — said yes. While more Democrats replied to our inquiry than Republicans, 95 to 52, death threats were pervasive among both parties: 74 percent of Democrats said they had received one, compared with 77 percent of GOP respondents. The threatened run the gamut of the House and Senate, from the hyper-partisan moths who fly toward the latest controversy to the little-known wallflowers toiling away in near anonymity. While prior reporting has tracked a spike in threats using yearly totals from the Capitol Police, our informal survey suggests just how widespread the problem has become.
“I don’t know many members of Congress who haven’t received a death threat,” said Rep. Donald Norcross, D-N.J. Most congressional offices do not comment publicly on threats, but several members agreed to use their names, and dozens more replied on the condition of anonymity. Cawthorn’s office responded with the voicemail above but declined an interview request.." Rise in Violent Rhetoric’: Lawmakers in Both Parties Report Spike in Death Threats
Comments