Jon Ralston, a man ignorant of history
By David Jeffers
Jon Ralston: “…some startling rhetoric from the candidate who has said running for office was a calling from God.”
That’s what Jon Ralston, in a column titled “Ralston’s Flash,” wrote Aug. 4, 2010 for the Las Vegas Sun.
Random House Dictionary defines rhetoric as “the undue use of exaggeration or display; bombast.” Furthermore, undue is defined as “unwarranted; excessive; inappropriate; unjustifiable; improper.”
According to Mr. Ralston, Sharron Angle’s belief that “running for office was a calling from God” is startling rhetoric surpassed by her interview with Rick Wiles of TruNews Christian Radio.
Worse than thinking God has called her to run for office, Ralston writes the fact Angle “frames the race as one she has been praying over for some time” as reinforcement “to some that religion infuses everything Angle believes.”
So should religion infuse everything Sharron Angle believes? George Washington seemed to think so:
“Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.”
Additionally Noah Webster, who not only authored the first dictionary but also was largely responsible for Article I, Section 8, of the US Constitution, said:
“[T]he Christian religion, in its purity, is the basis, or rather the source of all genuine freedom in government…and I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of that religion have not a controlling influence.”
And how is this for religion infusing everything a man believes?
“I have often wished that I were a more devout man than I am. Nevertheless, amid the greatest difficulties of my Administration, when I could not see any other resort, I would place my whole reliance in God, knowing that all would go well, and that He would decide for the right.” Abraham Lincoln
One wonders what Ralston would think of this statement:
“[D]ay after day there were decisions that had to be made…[T]he help I have found is in turning to God and asking His help in prayer. I believe very much in the power of prayer and feel if you sincerely ask for His help, it is forthcoming…My faith is unshakeable…I thank you for a peace beyond description.”
Those are not Sharron Angle’s words; they are from Ronald Reagan.
But praying about running for office is still not the worst of it according to Ralston. He writes that “she goes much further” and quotes Mrs. Angle:
“And these programs that you mentioned ‑‑ that Obama has going with Reid and Pelosi pushing them forward ‑‑ are all entitlement programs built to make government our God. And that’s really what’s happening in this country is a violation of the First Commandment.”
Does Mr. Ralston find it troubling that Sharron Angle uses the Ten Commandments as her barometer for good government? Imagine Mr. Ralston’s reaction to this quote:
“We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government; upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments.” (Italics added)
Sharron Angle did not utter those words; they were spoken by the “Father of Our Constitution” and fourth president James Madison.
Sharron Angle is guided by principles founded in the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Holy Bible. She is a true Reagan Conservative and was before it became fashionable. She understands, as did Ronald Reagan, that without religious morality our nation is doomed.
“I believe that faith and religion play a critical role in the political life of our nation ‑‑ and always has ‑‑ and that the church ‑‑ and by that I mean all churches, all denominations ‑‑ has had a strong influence on the state. And this has worked to our benefit as a nation. Those who created our country ‑‑ the Founding Fathers and Mothers ‑‑ understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion…The truth is, politics and morality are inseparable. And as morality’s foundation is religion, religion and politics are necessarily related. We need religion as a guide. We need it because we are imperfect, and our government needs the church, because only those humble enough to admit they’re sinners can bring to democracy the tolerance it requires in order to survive…Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” -Ronald Reagan Remarks at an Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas, August 23, 1984
As is typical of the mainstream media these days, Jon Ralston has set out in his “Flash” to marginalize Mrs. Angle because of her Christian faith. It was not always that way. There was actually a time in America where popular periodicals and their editors not only believed in God, but also used the Bible as a source of guidance. One such man was William Bross, a 19th Century editor of the Chicago Tribune. When asked in an interview what advice he would give to a young man entering into journalism, Bross replied:
“Sterling, unflinching integrity in all matters, public and private. Let everyone do his whole duty, both to God and man. Let him follow earnestly the teachings of the Scriptures and eschew infidelity in all its forms.”
Next Mr. Bross was asked what had been the chief causes of the numerous failings of business and professional men. Bross said,
“Want of integrity, careless of the truth, reckless in thought and expression, lack of trust in God, and a disregard of the teachings of His Holy Word, bad company, and bad morals in any of their many phases.”
Oh would that Mr. Ralston and his colleagues embrace the truth of Mr. Bross’ words, that they would trust in God and regard the teachings of His Holy Word.
That would truly be a startling development.
David Jeffers can be reached at www.saltandlightblog.com
Thanks- I just got into a huge discussion with a friend of mine about this, and in a nutshell, people have no problem violating her first amendment right. The fact that she’s religious means something, and its a good thing. From where else would she draw her convictions and principles for which to live by? How can I judge her conscience without knowing how deep her faith is? The left are some of the most intolerant people where it concerns people’s faith. They forget that athiesm and agnosticism are just different forms of faith, as is the belief in evolution. Saying we evolved from monkeys is somehow much less offensive than saying God Bless You when someone sneezes. We must steel ourselves to not be closet Christians, and good for her for standing up for her faith. Doesn’t the bible tell us we’d be persecuted, anyway? Great article. Thanks for taking the time to write it.
If I were a worker with Acorn I would go to Navada and regester every one I could to vote for this Christian lady because only in a Christian nation are people who have done what this organization has done, that is primarily financed by the government, gets to go without exsperiencing sever punisment.
If I were a Black Panther I would go to Navada and do what I could to get this Christian lady elected because if this nation becomes Theistic, Socialis’tic or Communis’tic you will be put to death for tring to intimidate, threaten, or even coerce someone to vote againt the ruling regime.
If I were a journalist as Jon Ralston is I would be praising this Christian lady for being willing to to endure all the criticism and sacrificially give of herself to try to be in a position to ensure that he continues to be free to express his opinions about any and all subject. If our nation continues on the path it is going he will no longer have this privilege.
Thank you, Mr. Jeffers, for some real education on how our nation has been affected by belief in the God of the Bible and showing the sheer hutspa of leaders who have come before us. Real men. Real guts.
Sharron Angle fits nicely in real leaders’ shoes.