In 1927, James Weldon Johnson published his classic book of poems, God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse.
One of them is called, "The Prodigal Son." It begins with the famous words, "Young man -- Young man -- Your arm's too short to box with God."
Apparently the powers that be in American sports disagree. I'm not talking about individual athletes. I'm referring to the big professional sports leagues and the media that cover them.
Though they have nothing to gain and everything to lose, it appears to me that they have decided to go to war against God. Further, it seems to me that they have also decided to go to war against the average American.
And that seems an odd thing to do since the average American fan is the one who puts money into their pockets.
And what life or death issue has caused these normally perceptive business people to place themselves as arbiters of right and wrong in America? And also to publicly threaten to punish the citizens of states which disagree with their political point of view?
Restrooms.
More precisely: Your right to feel safe and secure when you visit a public restroom.
Even more precisely: Your mother's, wife's, mother-in-law's, sister's, daughter's, grandmother's, granddaughter's, niece's, cousin's, girlfriend's, co-worker's, or female friend's right to feel safe and secure when they visit a public restroom.
And why? So that .003 percent of the population can live out their fantasies and use the restrooms of the opposite sex.
No. I'm not making this up. I wish to heaven that I were.
But this is America 2016, where being politically correct trumps common sense. Where bowing and scraping to the LGBT lobby (which, by the U.S. government's own figures, comprise less than 3% of the total population) trumps the traditional values of the vast majority of Americans.
To allow a man to freely and brazenly enter a public womens' restroom and do his business (and maybe more?) simply because he says he "feels" like a woman that day is beyond nonsense, it's insanity. But that's where ESPN, The National Basketball Association (NBA), The National Football League (NFL), American Airlines, PayPal, Wells Fargo, and Target, to name but a few, have chosen to make their stand and invest their credibility.
And I'm not just talking about tacitly agreeing to such nonsense, I'm talking about firing people who disagree and publicly threatening to wreak economic harm on the citizens of entire states if they do not capitulate to their way of thinking.
That's what is happening in North Carolina. When the state legislature passed a law requiring people in the state to use public restrooms that correspond to their birth gender, an incensed NBA threatened to pull the 2017 All-Star Game from Charlotte. PayPal vowed to stop its involvement in the state, which meant the withdrawal of several billions of dollars in construction funds and jobs. American Airlines and Wells Fargo made similar threats against North Carolina's citizens.
The state's governor, Pat McCrory ignored the threats and signed the bill the day it was passed.
Not like Georgia, where a similar bill was passed by the Georgia Legislature. The NFL threatened to stop having Super Bowls in Atlanta and the governor folded and vetoed the bill.
All of this over the issue of letting transgender individuals, and any others who so wish on a given day, decide to use the restroom for the opposite sex. These common sense laws simply say that if you have outside plumbing, you use the men's room. If you have inside plumbing, you use the ladies. Or go into the private restroom and lock the door behind you. Your sexual preference doesn't matter. This is a simple, physical determination.
But that's not good enough for the LGBT crowd. They want us to do it their way or suffer the consequences from their corporate enforcers.
Folks, this is nothing short of corporate persecution. But it's not about religion, you say. Not yet. But it is about being punished because we make common sense choices based on certain moral values. Moral values that the elites and other powers that be want to see eroded so that one day they can do what they choose, when they choose. Morality be damned.
But, you may protest, when corporations make vague threats against entire states, it doesn't really affect individuals.
It affected Curt Schilling.
The pitcher for the Boston Red Sox cemented his place in baseball history when he won Game Six of the 2004 American League Championship Series (ALCS) over the New York Yankees. He pitched just days after ankle surgery and endured a sore and bleeding ankle to go seven innings and allow only one run. His bloody sock became a part of Major League Baseball history. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series. Schilling has three World Series rings.
ESPN, the major American sports broadcaster, hired Schilling to work as a color commentator for its telecasts. But Schilling is an outspoken man with conservative values. Last year, he was disciplined by the network when he made the comment on his personal social media outlet that people claim that only 5% to 10% of Muslims are extremists. He noted that when Hitler rose to power, only 7% of Germans were part of the Nazi party. Then he asked, "How'd that go."
He almost lost his job.
Last month, Schilling posted a picture on his personal Facebook page of a grotesquely dressed transvestite man. The caption asked if you wanted to let this man into the restroom with your daughter. It noted that if you didn't want that to happen, then you are considered narrow-minded, judgmental, unloving, and racist.
Every word he posted was true. Like his first post in 2015. But each one bore consequences.
This time, Schilling was summarily fired for his personal, non-work-related view. Which ESPN has every right to do.
But not only did ESPN fire him, they went back and completely removed the portion of a documentary program on that 2004 ALCS series that showcased Schilling's performance in the critical Game Six. Coincidence?
But ESPN may suffer consequences, too. When it starts punishing people for expressing a view outside of work that is held by the vast majority of Americans, it should expect some blowback.
And maybe it's already started. For a variety of reasons, ESPN, once a model American success story and cash machine for The Walt Disney Company, has started hemorrhaging. Its value has declined dramatically recently. So much so that it has begun to affect Walt Disney's bottom line. Coincidence?
ESPN, Walt Disney, the NFL, the NBA, American Airlines, Wells Fargo, PayPal, Target, and others may soon learn the hard lesson that, "Your arm's too short to box with God!"
But that's not all I'll cover on this week's program.
I'll discuss the recent election of Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London. With his selection, London becomes the first major western city in history to elect a Muslim mayor.
And on May 30, France is hosting a meeting of major players to plan a Middle East peace summit later this year. All the usual suspects will be there. In fact, it appears to be a reunion of the infamous "Quartet" of organizations and states: the UN, the EU, the US, and Russia. The goal of the summit? Devise a plan for dividing Jerusalem and finally bringing peace to the Middle East through a two-state solution in Israel.
And if Israel doesn't adopt the plan? Well, France vows to then officially recognize Palestine as an independent nation.
137 nations already do, but the United States provides cover for Israel at the UN Security Council. But now it appears that Germany is starting to turn its back on Israel, too. A Middle Eastern news outlet insists that Europe is turning against Israel as a result of the leadership of the American White House. It insists that, "This belated European insight was the result of American inspiration." (Al-Monitor)
Folks, the prophet Zechariah predicted that in the last days, "...all of the nations of the world will be gathered against it (Israel)." (Zechariah 12:3) We are seeing that happening right now.
Finally, I will discuss the differences between the Bible and the Koran. The world considers both of them to be "holy books." One is said to have been handed down intact through an angel, with no human involvement, and committed to the page hundreds of years after the "revelation."
The other is "God-breathed." Written by 40 different authors from various times and places, it coordinates perfectly and seamlessly. It does not contradict science, history, or nature, but confirms them, though primitive men wrote it.
Its prophecies have thus far been fulfilled with 100% accuracy. In fact, its test for the validity of a prophet is either 100% accuracy or death by stoning. Tough standards.
It miraculously combines "spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." (I Corinthians 2:13) And though it does not make sense to those who are spiritually "dead," it promises that anyone who wants to experience a spiritual rebirth can do so and become "spiritually alive."
Tune in this week to discover which book is which. (If you don't already know.)
