The Broken Clock
And how Black Lives Matter distorts America’s history.
One of the greatest contests in world history was the effort to invent a reliable and accurate Chronometer. That is, a clock that could keep time so accurately as to allow ocean navigation and correctly plot longitude. This great accomplishment made available the far reaches of the world to ships and sailors from every land. Navigation was the great equalizer for the world. Yes, there were times of war and domination, but there was trade, exploration, and freedom as never before.
Historically, keeping accurate time has been essential to all great advances in freedom and prosperity. We see ancient ruins that tracked the planets, stars, and the moon - an effort to be more certain of time. Mankind advanced as we gained a better understanding of not just when time is, but what time is.
“The Broken Clock” phrase does not mean much to the younger generations. They are generally unfamiliar with analog clocks preferring the digital image and all that goes with smart phones and high-tech watches. The hands of an analog clock, even when stopped, will, by accident, be correct twice every 24 hours. However, you cannot know your place in the world without accurately knowing what time it really is.
Is America a racist country? NO. Are there racists in America? Yes. Is Black Lives Matter correct at times in America? Yes, but only in the same way a broken clock is correct. The media and the left want, demand, that we navigate the social issues of today according to Black Lives Matter, as if they are a chronograph. They are not. They are a broken clock screaming profanity at police and all America as if they are on time. They are not. Racists must be called out. I call out Rev. Al Sharpton, Louis Farrakhan, A.O.C. and others. Yes, the officer who caused the death of George Floyd may be a racist. I know his union fought to keep him in his job for years, so perhaps they too, are racists. President Trump is not a racist, nor am I and America is not a racist nation.
To navigate the vast waters of our world, we need to use history and experience as tools for improvement, not as targets for violence. In 325 CE, the Emperor Constantine ordered that all religions, pagan and Christian alike, worship on Sunday. He included in that order the first ever day off for slaves. The entire known world held slaves. All of Africa, all of Asia, all of Europe, everywhere held slaves. Evil yes, American, no.
Two forces ended slavery in most nations in the world: Christian evangelicals and American politicians. It took too many years, yes, but where else was it possible? England wanted to end slavery but not servitude. England still wanted a ruling class. America wanted all people to be free. Yes, BLM is right twice a day, and we should acknowledge that. But we cannot navigate the 21st Century of human experience without a chronograph and an honest understanding of history. The great chronograph for navigation is the Word of God, the Bible. The Bible alone is God’s inspired word, and it alone demands that to love God we must hate evil. And finally, the Resurrection gives us all the opportunity to know Christ and be saved.
Without memory there is no gratitude and without gratitude there is no appreciation. Let us learn from our past and tell that story truthfully and in context. Don’t use the broken clocks of the world. Use the Bible, the Word of God.