Tag: voting

Artur Pawlowski: The Truth and the Lies

Roger Mitchell5 Comments

On Wednesday evening, July 29, I attended a meeting at a local church in Florence, MT, which was focused on the main speaker–Artur Pawlowski. You might recall the name as someone who pastored a church in Alberta, Canada, during the dark, depraved days of the COVID aberration, risking and experiencing arrest and imprisonment because of his resistance to the regime’s orders and restrictions. Yes, the man, live and in person. Because the event was only a few miles away and I had nothing more important to occupy my time, the decision to go was a no-brainer. It would have taken a death in the family to keep me away. I was not disappointed, at least for the first 1-3/4 hours.

I had previously printed off a copy of one of my blog posts which I thought would be relevant (you can access it here) and which I wanted to give to him because he embodied in real life what I tried to convey in spirit. Eventually, at the very end, I was able to put that into his hand as I was leaving. I did not have an opportunity to engage him in conversation, but he did accept the copy and a business card, along with my notice that he could contact me from the information thereon…if he wanted to. As of the time of this posting, I have not yet heard from him. Perhaps I will, maybe not. God alone knows and I am not going to get stressed out about it. If it happens, good. If not, I will shrug my shoulders and move on.

Regardless, I thrilled to his message that the Church, meaning Christians in general, must resist what is being imposed on them. He gave the examples. When the full weight of Canadian authority showed up in body armor, with guns, official orders, and paperwork, he told them where to get off. “Nazis! Gestapo! Murderers! Who do you think you are? Get out!!! This, in full view of the entire world through the immediate lens of internet media, resulting in a video which received more than one billion views (and became the most widely viewed video in history up until that time). This, in contrast to the milquetoast response from the vast majority of pastors who simply rolled over and played dead because the State had told them to, using their 501(c)(3) tax exempt status as leverage over them.

Mr. Pawlowski did not cave. Instead, he stood strong, resolute, and firm in his defiance of man-made, ungodly orders which sought to limit human freedoms instead of expanding them. I give him full credit for his stance and example. His attitude and actions have inspired me to harden my position against the all-encompassing regime of the Satanic State.

Nevertheless… There is always a “nevertheless”, isn’t there?

In this, I am trying to follow the example set by Jesus in Revelation 2 when He spoke to the churches in Ephesus, Pergamos, and Thyatira. First, he praised them for the good things which they were doing, then said, “Nevertheless, I have this against you.” I am not nit-picking Pawlowski’s message, but want to point out that, toward the end, he said some things which I heartily disagree with and which I think contradicted and detracted from the central theme. I might have been the only one in the crowd who caught the inconsistency.

Basically, and these are not exact quotes.

  • Donald Trump really has America’s best interests at heart.
  • Donald Trump really is a good man.
  • Donald Trump’s family are good people.
  • We should support Donald Trump and his efforts to bring good to the world.

Furthermore, Pawlowski brought up the issue of voting. Now, anyone who has been following my postings knows the attitude I have toward voting. For all others, you can read about it here, here, here, here, here, and here. There is, in my opinion, no salvation to be found in voting. Voting is nothing more than choosing whose hand holds the club with which you are beaten. However, where Pawlowski really lost me was that he said (again, not an exact quote) that if we don’t vote, then we are lazy, selfish, inconsiderate, uncaring people who only want to enjoy the good things of life without experiencing any of the responsibility. If there had been an opportunity for me to address this, I would have done it then and there. As it is, the entire world will now be able to see my opinion of his inconsistent worldview and I invite you to decide which of us has the better argument.

#1) Donald Trump is NOT a “good” man. He is a liar, a cheat, a thief, and a murderer. He is uncaring toward others, especially those who are under his authority. He is antagonistic towards anyone who dares to defy him or thinks differently. He tries to destroy his enemies instead of loving them as the Word instructs. He is a narcissistic braggart with an out-size ego which is so large that he cannot admit he is ever wrong or that he made a mistake. He constantly builds himself up from a spirit of pride. He makes decisions based on hubris. He has enriched himself, his family, and his close associates to the tune of billions of dollars while average, ordinary Americans are struggling to make ends meet. He is using the power of his office to get what he wants without any concern for those he is supposed to be watching out for.

No, Donald Trump is not a good man. Artur Pawlowski, I call you on that. Quit trying to make something good out of something which is decidedly evil.

#2) As to the voting issue, I will only say that voting for the lesser of two evils still results in a triumph of evil. (See the links above.) Shall we do evil so that good may come?

Nevertheless, again… I left the meeting with a mixed bag of feelings. On the one hand, I was extremely pleased that the people who heard Pawlowski were encouraged to pluck up some courage and do what is right, regardless of the consequences. Hey, the seed has been planted and it might actually sprout and grow. On the other hand, I was disappointed that there was such an emphasis placed on “trusting” in the “leaders” to do what is right without ever proclaiming what happens to societies and nations which depend on “kings” to manage their affairs. (See I Samuel 8).

All this proves only one thing–that we cannot trust men (or women) who claim to be in line with truth. We can only trust The Truth.

I would like to be able to sit down with Mr. Pawlowski over numerous cups of coffee some day and talk about these things. Whether that ever happens is up to him…and God.

The Devil and the Ballot-box

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

The mid-term elections are rapidly approaching and, in just a few months, the world will know whether the American people have the courage and good sense to change their government for the better or, if they have taken complete leave of their senses, driving it further into the sewer of corruption, theft, murder, and generally, all-around evil.

I am currently reading Henry David Thoreau, he of Walden Pond fame, and found this nugget of truth. In an essay, Slavery in Massachusetts1, he writes,

“The amount of it is, if the majority vote the devil to be God, the minority will live and behave accordingly, trusting that some time or other, by some Speaker’s casting vote, perhaps, they may reinstate God. This is the highest principle I can get out of or invent for my neighbors. These men act as if they believed that they could safely slide down hill a little way — or a good way — and would surely come to a place, by and by, where they could begin to slide up again. This is expediency, or choosing that course which offers the slightest obstacles to the feet, that is, a downhill one. But there is no such thing as accomplishing a righteous reform by the use of expediency. There is no such thing as sliding up hill. In morals, the only sliders are backsliders.”

Man, isn’t that the truth! This describes the system of voting cogently and plainly, nailing to a T the behavior of those who dutifully drop their ballot or pull a lever in favor of “the lesser of two evils”, or perhaps, as Thoreau explains, for the cause of expediency. This expediency probably stems from the individual desire to obtain something, anything, from government as a benefit, while passing the bill off onto someone else unknown.

As children, we would climb our way up a hill through the snow and, on reaching a desired height, would throw ourselves onto our sleds and enjoy the ride to the bottom and, at that point, there was nothing left to do but get up and either begin trudging back up the hill or pick up the sled and go home. As Thoreau says, there is no such thing as sliding up hill and, in the same vein, there is no such thing as voting into office righteousness, love, and morality. In voting for the lesser of the evils (why are those the only choices?), the system never gets any better, but always runs downhill, always becoming more evil.

What is required to change the course of history and the American situation? With respect to voting and choosing leaders who promise the world, but deliver mayhem, consider that you have slid downhill as far as you will go and get off. Just stop. Wherever you are.

“Will mankind never learn that policy is not morality — that it never secures any moral right, but considers merely what is expedient? chooses the available candidate, who is invariably the devil, — and what right have his constituents to be surprised, because the devil does not behave like an angel of light? What is wanted is men, not of policy, but of probity — who recognize a higher law than the Constitution, or the decision of the majority. The fate of the country does not depend on how you vote at the polls — the worst man is as strong as the best at that game; it does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning.”

Indeed! What kind of man are you when you get out of bed every morning and begin a new day? That is something worth contemplating.

Thoreau has gained equal stature on my bookshelf alongside other towering heroes, Lysander Spooner and H.L. Mencken, to name a few.

I have written about this issue before and actually vowed to never go back to a particular local church because of the difference between my “truth” and theirs. See here, here, and here.

  1. Civil Disobedience and Other Essays, Henry David Thoreau, compiled and printed by Dover Publications, 1993, ↩︎

Prospering from the Rituals of Democracy

Roger MitchellLeave a comment

“Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.”

H. L. Mencken

Over the last few months, I have been reading Notes on Democracy by H.L. Mencken. I find it difficult to absorb in large doses and have consigned myself to reading one chapter through, then throwing the book down for an indeterminate length of time, eventually picking it up again for another go-round. In any case, virtually every case, there is some sort of “insight” which pops off the page and smacks me between the eyes, as does the following gem.

“In boom times, indeed, democracy is always very impatient of what used to be called natural rights. The typical democrat is quite willing to exchange any of the theoretical boons of freedom for something that he can use. In most cases, perhaps, he is averse to selling his vote for cash in hand, but that is mainly because the price offered is usually too low. He will sell it very willingly for a good job or for some advantage in his business. Offering him such bribes, in fact, is the chief occupation of all political parties under democracy, and of all professional politicians.”

Note that Mencken refers to the typical democrat (believer in democracy) as opposed to Democrat (member of a certain particular political party). This includes every person of every political stripe who believes that his opinion is the only one which counts for anything and who votes in every election because it is his “duty” to do so. The plain and simple truth is that those who vote do so with the expectation of receiving something back which they think will benefit them personally and which is always gained at the expense of someone else whom they do not even know nor will probably ever meet. Those people, sensing that our intrepid voter is attempting to take something, anything, from them, are adamant about “defending” themselves and they attempt to do this by also voting, thereby hoping that they, too, will receive their own personal piece of the pie, always ladled out and served to them by “leaders” who do not hesitate to scoop out “benefits” from other sections of the pie, thus guaranteeing that another’s piece is commensurately smaller. In response to this, he will ramp up his efforts, voice, and action to get what he deserves, his “rightful share”.

(When I was growing up and we were divvying up a pie at the dinner table, each of us watched diligently to make sure that none of this occurred. We called it excavating and it was strictly outlawed. A sharp eye was needed especially when the pie filling had not set up firmly and would ooze from its proper place.)

In this sense, voting is not a great amount different than the mindset shown in the phrase, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, which can easily be paraphrased into modern language as, “Vote myself rich and let others pay for it”. Everyone understands it and most people voluntarily participate in it. Of course, the proper answer for this is that soon the entire world will be blind and toothless and any democracy which enables its citizens to steal legally from each other will not long survive and prosper.

In today’s world, taking what belongs to someone else through the filter of democracy does not even register as a blip on the screen of moral conscience. The attitude of “getting what one deserves” clearly has a considerable amount of influence, even if no conscious thought is put into it and one might recoil at the suggestion that he deserves anything at all. Which he does not, unless he has earned it, and filling out a ballot to determine how much his neighbor will be robbed for his own comfort does not constitute an “earning” worthy of reward. Yet, on and on we go, year after year, election after election, until the entire treasury has been milked and stripped so that it is unsustainable and the whole system collapses. At that point, another is voted in to take its place, beginning the whole process over. After all, it is our duty.

Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. Get on your knees and pray…