Continuity: Sparse and Sparser

Continuity refers to continuation through time, it does not involve truth or righteousness. However, implicit in the definition is an element of authenticity. Continuity centered on Truth has ultimate potential.

The Founders of the United States of America created a Constitutional Republic with checks and balances designed to prevent a concentration of power. It was a democratic form of government designed to allow the election of representatives to carry out the will of the citizens. It was not a Democracy since it was to be tightly restrained by a Constitution and a Bill of Rights.

Within a few decades the continuity of that government was severely breached when President Abraham Lincoln violated his trust, assumed dictatorial powers, refused to allow the legal secession of Southern states, waged war against them, arrested Northern Civil War dissenters, and defied the restraints legally placed on his office.

Now nearly 150 years later President George W. Bush has dealt a near fatal blow to the Republic by unilaterally instituting tyrannical legal codes, conducting an illegal and unnecessary war, and surreptitiously destroying the nation by merging it into regional and global government.

If the robust religion of the first settlers is used as a gage the continuity of Christianity, the one and only true religion, has been lost and God’s people, once brave, strong, and forceful, have become weak, selfish, and confused. The vigorous pronouncements of truth that were characteristic of Our Savior and of His servants during the Reformation have dwindled into an evil compliant confusion that has allowed an increasing disorder to overtake God’s creation.

What passes for church today bears little resemblance to the zeal to bring the truth and justice of the religion of Jesus Christ to the world in previous eras. Christianity has become humanistic; people centered rather than God centered. Our pulpits no longer serve God, instead they serve people by building mega-churches that cater to audiences seeking human connections, upliftedness, healing, entertainment, and that undefined spiritual nirvana called a “deeper walk”. They know neither the mission nor the necessity of serving as soldiers in God’s army.

News sources in the United States were once self-sacrificing centers of truthful exposes that valued the approbation of being the first to expose derelictions of duty. Their mission was to provide a check on any secret conspiracy to defraud the public, malign justice, infringe on freedom, or to propagate murder or theft. The continuity of this spirit of public truth-telling has been broken by a malignant complicity with powerful centers in government and the private sector. Instead of printing or speaking truth to power our modern media is very careful not to publish anything that might adversely affect their income, interfere with the private agenda of the owners, or create enmity in high places.

In times past, newspapers often identified themselves with a particular political party; the hometown Democrat or the hometown Republican was a common name. These independent newspapers tended to support the political party their name inferred. Now large corporations have acquired ownership of multiple news sources and can set the policy from the top. Less then ten individuals many of whom are friendly and have similar agendas set the tone for news reporting. Globalism and the impending North American Union are seldom, if ever mentioned; plenty of coverage about terrorism in Israel but nothing about the plight of the Palestinians; illegal immigration is glossed over with little reporting on the cultural implications; homosexuality is given a favorable image with no coverage of its dark side; abortion and gay marriage are looked upon with favor; though over 70 percent of our citizens claim to be Christian as much coverage is given to Kwanzaa as to Christianity. Freedom of the press is no longer a popular mantra since the press has lost its continuity and is now strictly controlled.

The current issue of Chronicles Magazine (CM) usually erudite and often unique, provides an interesting study of a breach in the continuity one expects in a magazine devoted to truth.

The world needs thinkers who with accurate assertions bring new perspective to contemporary thought.

CM is published by the Rockford Institute where David Hartman is Chairman of the Board. David Hartman is a paleoconservative Texan who made a fortune in oil, trucking, and banking. He recently sold a string of local banks to Compass for $84 million. Hartman is also Chairman of the Lone Star Foundation which publishes the Lone Star Report a weekly publication with a mission of countering the liberal Texas press. Hartman is a multi-millionaire, a writer, and an active contributor and participant in Texas Republican politics.

Thomas Fleming is Editor of CM, which follows the paleoconservative line and caters to the intellectual right wing of the political spectrum with a slight Catholic flavor. On the front page is written “A magazine of American culture.” Fleming is a writer, polemic, and intellectual.

The March, 2008, issue has a picture of the back of a semi-truck rounding a curve under duel language signs directing U. S. A. traffic left and Mexican traffic straight. “TRUCKERS WITHOUT BORDERS, The Coming North American Union” blares the front page.

It contains a lead article entitled “Our Open (Borders) Secret” written by Thomas Fleming. The article clearly expresses a disdain for government of any sort and contends that world government is coming and may not be any more immoral or tyrannical than what we already have. Parts of this cynical piece are profoundly true but others, though they may have been written with tongue-in-cheek, contain misleading and false information. .

In one paragraph Fleming writes, “World government has been a treasured bugbear of the fringe right since the heyday of the John Birch Society, and the current conspiracy has supposedly been cooked up by the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bush administration, and the usual globalist suspects.” Three paragraphs hence he writes, “The CFR, of which both Presidents Bush are members, has never made a secret of its commitment to world government…” Later, one reads, “Some form of international empire will undoubtedly be the result of the current drive toward reducing and eliminating national sovereignty. This is hardly cause for alarm. Although many conservatives would like to believe that the nation-state is a universal phenomenon, it is, in fact, an historical creation, hardly older than the 15th century. The states of France and England, to name just two successful examples, were created by ambitious monarchies with the assistance of the equally ambitious aristocrats and businessmen who saw the nation-state as a vehicle for their own interests.”

It is true that the CFR makes no secret of its commitment to world government but when the organization itself is little known its agenda is little known as well. The CFR plays its agenda very close to the vest. Bills that come before our congress are often written by members of the CFR; no one advises the public that the people’s representatives are not responsible for crafting the legislation.

“There is no secret plot or conspiracy to undermine our national sovereignty, unless, by conspiracy, we mean the collective will of the political class.” True, but misleading. There is a conspiratorial plot to undermine our national sovereignty which is widespread in the political class and is treasonous, reptilian, mendacious, and should cause Thomas Fleming to bite his tongue.

Recently the CFR has made a feeble attempt to sanitize its reputation by acknowledging its existence and sponsoring C-Span programs. There is also abundant information available on the internet. Only about 30 percent of United States households have access to the internet and in spite of this public exposure it remains esoteric.

Vice-President Cheney in a before the Council on Foreign relations said it was good to be back at the CFR, that he had been a member for a long time but that he did not mention it when he campaigned in Wyoming (near the end of the video). His remark brought a hardy laugh from the audience. The idea that a powerful elite organization like the CFR can control our government is not popular with the public and politicians tend to downplay their membership.

“Cooked up” has several possible meanings but all include a dubious element and with all due respect the conspiracy to treasonously entangle the United States in world government is not at all dubious.

The late Hilaire duBerrier relayed reports in the French press that David Rockefeller at a 1991 Bilderberger meeting thanked the owners of major American newspapers and magazines who were in attendance at the meeting for their forty year “discretion”. Rockefeller was addressing his gratitude to high level news sources who attend the meetings but whose periodicals never mention them.

A couple of years ago the editorial editor of our local newspaper when asked about the CFR said she had never heard of the organization. It may not be secret but it is certainly remote!

Mr. Fleming is correct that the nation-state is a relatively new creation. The nation-state contains both a distinct culture and a governing body. A distinct culture defines a nation. The Kurds constitute a nation but they are not a state. In spite of the fact that the cultures are being purposely maligned, United States, Britain, and France are nation states having both cultures and governments. Fleming points out that the Wall Street Journal (controlled by CFR members) once declared that “The nation-state is finished”.

Nevertheless, the distinction is of little value in determining the superiority of grass roots responsibility over centralized control. Mr. Fleming successfully points out the inclination of both the nation state and Communist regimes to exploit the people while insuring largess for themselves but misses the crucial importance of decentralized power. Centralization concentrates power and produces a serious danger to freedom; rapacious sin is common to man. Decentralization is a worthy antidote for the innate evils of power seekers.

Describing the “Christian perspective” he writes “the rulers of this world have been empowered by God to protect the innocent and punish the wicked”; partially true, but inadequate and misleading. The proper Christian perspective would have magistrates who are Godly men empowered to protect the innocent and punish the wicked. The rulers of this world are neither Godly nor apparent. Some of their operatives are supported by mislead Christians but not being apparent the real rulers are unknown and unsupported.

Fleming writes that international trade requires international government and since it has been going on for some years we should not be surprised at the push for regional units. This is correct but he fails to point out that the nuances of internationalism were never presented to the American people and the passage of legislation creating the current international environment was done by duplicitous elected officials who should be held accountable for their actions.

It is true that the real problem with illegal immigration is that it is illegal but that statement begs the question. It is not only illegal but it disrupts the culture, sets the fuse for a time bomb of balkanization, lowers the wage scale, bankrupts cities and states, and rekindles historic conflicts.

Fleming’s fatalistic article may be on track in spirit but it badly distorts the reader’s perception of reality.

Fleming’s lead article is followed by one of Joe Sobran’s short essays entitled “The Future of Tyranny” which provides Fleming a degree of continuity. However, the third article by Roger McGrath, “The Loss of American Identity”, seems to refute much of what Fleming contends by filling in the dire details that Fleming and Sobran omit.

Commenting on colonial immigrants in California McGrath describes the difference between the perspectives of settlers and businessmen. “The Kelseys, and other frontiersmen who followed, brought America with them. Stearns brought a shrewd Yankee business acumen. He was determined to make money, even if it meant changing his language, religion, and nationality. He would welcome globalism today.”

McGrath points out that elites who support globalization live in private enclaves avoiding the resulting Hispanicization of America. Many of them benefit from the cheap labor that is subsidized by taxpayers who live with the deteriorating culture on a day to day basis. He describes in some detail the wrenching changes in the culture of California. “…celebration of the Fourth of July is now rivaled by Cinco de Mayo. Also, rapidly gaining popularity is the Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead”. Mexican culture is now promoted by sixteen Spanish language radio stations in the Los Angeles area several of them with top listener ratings. Thirty percent of California residents are now foreign born. In Orange County fifty percent are foreign born and eighty eight percent are nonwhite.

Grammar-schools in Los Angeles are seventy-five percent Hispanic and only seven percent white. Twenty six of the city’s High schools are eighty percent Hispanic. Eighteen of them are more than ninety percent Hispanic and seven are almost one hundred percent.

Reading the devastating changes being forced on our citizens in the name of globalism destroys any continuity that might have existed between McGrath’s detailed description and Fleming’s statement that “This is hardly cause for alarm” . Apparently Fleming’s elite associations and physical situation have not allowed him to be exposed to the repulsive characteristics of purposeful social engineering making him vulnerable to misunderstanding reality and fracturing the continuity of his editorial responsibilities.

When we fail to maintain Truth, entropy fills the void. This failure has been rampant in the United States and around the world.

Al Cronkrite is a regular columnist for Novakeo.com
Al Cronkrite is a writer living in Florida, reach him at: