You Cannot Be Heard By Staying Silent by Robert Socha

I am writing today to encourage men with a conviction for truth and virtue to speak loudly for all to hear. I have been taking my cues from the boldness of President Reagan, reminiscing on my formative years when he lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and comforted the nation after the Challenger “slipped the surly bonds of earth to touch the face of God.” Or when he boldly stood in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin and declared to the Russian President, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” I’ve gone back and watched him launch his political career in a bold rebuke to the adults who knew better than to let the students at Berkley run wild and seen his 1964 speech confronting the perils of communism when he was campaigning for Goldwater. These spirited stances embolden me to action.

I’ve also, more importantly, been encouraged by the Apostles’ stance when commanded not to speak in the name of Jesus in Acts 4. Their response was to ask the Lord to grant them to continue to speak the Word with all boldness while He stretched out His hand to heal. The courage to undauntingly speak the truth in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds inspires.

The mainstream media outlets: CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, Fox News, et al. are institutions that play an increasingly divisive game, manipulating headlines, stoking the passions of their audience in favor of whatever narrative they are catering. The deft editing practices sway public opinion toward increasing government intervention in our daily lives. For example, in an interview by The Detroit News published Friday, February 19, 2021, (you must subscribe to read), I was quoted, along with many other residents of Hillsdale County, Michigan, about the event in the US Capital on January 6, asking for the election results to be audited and recounted. The headline in the print edition distributed through our community read: “Conservatism Runs Deep in Hillsdale County.”

           

The same article online has a headline that reads: “Election doubts fester in Hillsdale County, Michigan’s capital of conservatism.”

Both headlines are true, albeit the one in the online edition stokes the passions of those who disagree with the question that chicanery played a vital role in the 2020 Presidential election’s outcome.

The same can be true of today’s headlines concerning the Rittenhouse trial, Bannon’s surrender, January 6th political prisoners, the economy, the current usurper in chief’s international image, etcetera.

The ephemeral attention span of the average US constituent is another pox on our culture, leading to the media’s continual manipulation of public dialogue. Where is the investigative journalist looking into Epstein’s death and his debauched island? Who is writing headlines questioning the narrative on the efficacy of masks and the shots? Is there any in-depth reporting on Hunter Biden’s laptop, his sister’s diary, or the recorded Ukrainian quid pro quo committed by then-Vice President Joe Biden? Have Hillary Clinton’s emails been recovered? Who is responsible for the Russian collusion fallacy that has evidence of same by the accusers?

I know only one place to be absolutely truthful, and it does not come from any man.

That source of knowledge and inspiration is the Holy Bible. The 66 books contained therein encompass all wisdom and understanding, but we must take the time to glean the Scripture’s truths. Mining the concealed knowledge takes time and devotion, precious commodities that we must guard in our social media instant hand-held gratification culture.

This morning I read Ephesians and would like to encourage you with Paul’s exhortation at the end of chapter 1. That he might fill you will all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and grant the same boldness the Apostles had to speak the Word.

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” Ephesians 1:15-21