Reading During the Political Holiday Season

People express their frustrations during the political holiday season - when the news covers every political event and millions are spent on ads. I disagree with my Facebook friends about hating political debates, news, and arguments. My wife and I have followed every presidential race since 1960 - and we vote.

Most people in the world would love to experience our system. They have far less to say about their government and little recourse to bad leaders. We vote for our bad leaders  - and for everyone in the House of Representatives every two years. I remember my high school class failing that question in Civics - every two years? the entire House? Yes. The Senate is staggered, but the entire House can be replaced quickly.

How did the infallible ELDONUTs work with the Rolf Preus UOJ synod for years when that dogma was and is clearly anti-Christian?

Church and secular politics are similar, with secular politics following the lead of the holy, blessed, infallible denominations. Everything hated about the Clinton administration was already on full display in Columbus, Ohio in the 1980s - in WELS. We had our own Bubba, plus drunks and a 50% divorce rate among the clergy and pseudo-clergy. Every scandal had a cover story in Columbus.

I have long argued that the solution is not a particular synod president anymore than a US President can fix every problem himself. If the group, whether large or small, lacks a high participation level in discussions, then the person in charge is free to manipulate the apathetic majority. 

I scoffed at Gurgle being the dream WELS Synod President candidate, and he hastily confirmed my conclusion when he immediately favored closing NWC as soon as the ink on the ballots dried.

Likewise, Mirthless Mark Schroeder was going to reform WELS. But lo, he was "powerless" and everyone had to wait, as Missouri did with St. Al Barry and Matt the Fat Harrison. Barry was so close to divinity that no one remembered he belonged to four (4) synods altogether.

Therefore, when Paul Rydecki (ELDONUT) was discussing secular politics on Facebook and seeming to favor the Canadian-born Rafael Cruz, I responded in a calm and reasonable way that the best candidate, whomever* he might be, needed full participation by the citizens to accomplish anything.

For some reason, this conversation became a talking point at the last, lamented ELDONUT gathering. Bishop James Heiser, sneered about me, "It doesn't take long for the crazy to come out." For some reason, he is also in charge of secular politics, Facebook conversations, and all the trivia of the tiny group, which longs for the dignity and gravitas of the CLC (sic). "If only we had the money and the property for donkey basketball!" 

The ELDONUTs seem to spend an inordinate time coveting and criticizing everyone else, and no one reciprocates. Few long to be ankle-biters and episcopal ring kissers.

In the church as well as in the country, if people are not aware of the documents and passive about their future, they will get the necessary results. When some Lutheran lughead gets up and defines UOJ as the Chief Article of Christianity, a well-informed clergy and laity will rise up and ask, "What about the Righteousness of Faith article in the Formula of Concord, Aricles IV and V of the Augsburg Confession, the Apology, the Large Catechism of Luther, and Romans 4, Galatians, and Genesis 15?"

--

*Two of us are working on the moveable m, because most people get who, whom, whoever and whomever wrong. By italicizing the m, the movement will allow people to be correct all the time, without worrying about where the pronoun is the object or the subject.