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Still the Greatest Show on Earth

Why is America the greatest country on earth?

In the opening scene of the pilot episode of The Newsroom, a student asks Jeff Daniel’s character that question, His answer, in short, was, “It’s not, but it could be.” In part, I agree. In part, I don’t. Let me explain.

He was referring to certain statistics in his response. Primarily education statistics. He is correct about where the US ranks in education against other developed countries. It’s not good. However, I have stated for some time now that I firmly believe social intelligence far outweighs academic intelligence in the US. When you apply both, you see a few things.

Our country was founded on the idea that there had yet to be a form of government that wasn’t completely tyrannical. The founders saw that it had become so easy to do when the primary governmental leaders, mainly the monarchy, was in close collaboration with the church. There simply was no such thing as a country that did not also have an established religion. To break up that tyranny, they set out to establish a country with no set religion. They also put in place a series of rules for the government that forces the government to be severely restricted. That document is called the US Constitution. It was designed to restrict the government. They also gave a powerful voice to the people so that the rule was not coming from tyrannical leaders sitting in high places, but rather from the people on the ground.

When looking at our nation’s past, you also see slavery. This deplorable, peculiar institution was definitely a stain on an otherwise brilliant endeavor. Many can quote stats on slavery and how bad it was. Here are some things that few quote. The first slave owner in America was a black man. The last slave owner in America was a native American man. The last slave was released on June 14th, 1866, not June 19th, 1865. June 19th represents the last day a white man had a slave but not the last slave that was released. Slavery in other countries lasted at least hundreds of years. In England, it had already been in place for at least 400 years before arriving to what is now called America. American slavery lasted 89 years. So while it is a nasty past, we came a long way and did it quicker than other nations. We have a history of awful wrongdoings, but also fixing those issues and moving forward.  

America is still the primary destination for those seeking a better life than where they are. There is a massive problem on the Mexican border because WE ARE THAT GOOD. We still live by and uphold that every person has the right to PURSUE happiness. They don’t have the right to happiness. They have the right to the pursuit of happiness. We live by the idea that each person can subscribe to the religion of their choice, or no religion at all.

Free speech means no one can demand that certain words come out of your mouth. This applies to both self-incrimination and your pronouns. If I choose to call you by preferred pronouns, I’m being cordial. But that free speech thing protects me from having to call you anything.

That second amendment is just in case they (tyrannical government) try to take the first one away. Learning from history is important. Past history and recent history. Past history will show you that Hitler disarmed Germany “for the good of the people.” We see how that worked out. In recent history, Australia disarmed their people. Then when covid came around, they forced everyone to stay in their houses. The people had no recourse for such tyranny. They were stuck.

This country still gives you the right to live where you want to live, go where you want to go, and do what you want to do, as long as it doesn’t infringe on someone else’s individual rights and freedoms. Check out these financial stats:

  • If you have $61,000 in assets, you are among the richest 10% adults on earth.
  • If you earn $25,000 or more, you are in the top 10% of the world’s income earners.
  • If you earn $50,000 or more, you are in the top 1% of the world’s income earners.   

We have now had our first black president of the US. We have story after story of people fleeing places like Cuba, Venezuela, Columbia, Guatemala, Russia, and the list goes on… with a hope for a better life. And their hard work, gifts, and talents lead them to sufficient success. If this country is so bad, why is the rest of the world trying to get in?

The answer is simple. We are still the greatest country on earth. No, we are not perfect. No one will ever be. And no, a republic hierarchy is not a perfect system. But it is the least bad system ever created in the history of mankind. A republic that gives the little man a voice. A republic that is built to deter tyranny. We are in danger of losing this status. This is point of my book, America’s Greatest Threat: America. But as it stands, Americans live in the greatest country on earth.

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The Content of My Character

The 1960’s were a wild time. Black people in America were still being treated as subhuman. Black children were still being told the most interesting and repulsive thing about them was the color of their skin.

Picture this scenario… A teacher had separated the class by color. Black kids were on one side and white kids were on the other. One child hears her teacher say, “You can’t sit there. That’s reserved for the children that don’t look like you.” She already knows she can’t drink from the same water fountain. She can’t sit at the same lunch table. Now the teacher is making sure she knows that she’s being judged by the color of her skin over her personal qualities that make her unique. And in the great words of Jake Tyler Brigance (Matthew McConaughey), “Now imagine… she’s white.”

I’m fully convinced that if MLK Jr was alive today, he would be repulsed at the idea of segregating people (especially children) by the color of their skin. He would be disgusted at the idea of judging someone’s morality and intent by what color their skin is. My statement is based on his own words.

I truly can’t imagine any non-racist free thinker believing that a person’s skin color is more important than who they are as a person, how they treat others, and their contribution to society and the free market.

I also can’t imagine thinking that the answer to wrongs from one group over 200 years ago towards another is to enact those wrongs towards the descendants of that group. There is no good outcome of this. Not one good thing can possibly happen by enforcing policies on a group of people based on things that happened 200 years ago.

Anytime one group is oppressed, it leads to revolution. The oppressed group will only stand by for so long before they’ve had enough of wrongful oppression. We saw this with women’s suffrage. With the Supreme Court decision in 2015 to federalize gay marriage. The groups had enough and fought until they had equal rights. This applies to any “group”. If you oppress them, they will fight back.

As you can see above, the goal of CRT goes directly against the goal of Martin Luther King Jr. One was helpful. One is not.


We have to implement systems that refuse to oppress anyone and allow for equality of opportunity with the full knowledge that it will NOT lead to quality of outcome. The obvious reason for this is because some will take the opportunity and some will watch it pass by. Individual responsibility is the cornerstone of any great society.

Reading history is 100% free. And learning from it is an opportunity that some will take and some will pass by and be destined to repeat. Marxism as a core beliefs system revealed the effects of one group of people having too much power and thus globally racked up a body count of almost 100 million people. Even the most devout followers saw the error of its ways. Thomas Sowell was one of them. He now sees how that was a terrible idea. We must learn from history.

The Holocaust didn’t happen overnight. It was a series of changes that were made over time like: segregating people into groups, taking guns away from citizens “for their own safety”, propaganda given through media and controlled by the government, supporting groups who shame other groups that they disagree with. Sound familiar?

Not knowing you have an enemy gives the enemy the automatic win. Sitting silent is not an option for those that want to live and thrive in a free country. Understand that, right now, Marxism (that includes CRT and the destruction of the nuclear family) is your enemy. What will you do about it?

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Deconstructing Deconstructionism: Part 2- The Fruit

One day, years ago, one of my leaders in basketball officiating said to me, “You will always know whether your technical foul was a good one or a bad one by what happens directly after.” He was right. If it was a good one, the game regained a sense of order. If it was not a good technical foul, the game went further into chaos. This was the “fruits” of my decisions.

(Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim reacts to having a technical foul called on him by official Roger Ayers during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Louisville Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. Louisville won 90-66. (AP Photo/Wade Payne))

One of the many problems with deconstruction is that it focuses on “ME.” The entire Bible spends its time focusing on turning away from ME and towards GOD.

“Your ways are higher.” Isaiah 55:8-9

“to myself, I die daily.” 1 Corinthians 15:31

“Not MY will be done but YOURS.” Luke 22:42

And on and on it goes. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. Taking the scripture seriously is a good thing. Going as deep as you can to get as close to God a possible is a good thing. However, in my examination of deconstructionism, I find that it consists of many people who have been mistreated by those in the church. I also find a pattern of those who truly believe they are of superior intelligence. And yet another definite pattern is a justification to live exactly how they want. Subsequently, you have the blind leading the blind. Having said that, one only has to look at fruits to determine whether this movement is a good thing or not.

The most disturbing pattern I’ve found among those deep into deconstructionism is that they stop going to church. After all, Jesus didn’t go to church. And church is a socially constructed way to control the masses, right? Wrong. Here’s what I know about church (for more on this, see the series I did on church, part 1 HERE and part 2 HERE). The man on the cross next to Jesus had never been to church. Yet he went to heaven. So church doesn’t save you. However, I also know that mountains of research studies show that community is necessary to remain socially relevant, prevent from going insane, preventing isolation, and helping provide the sustenance needed to survive this lifetime. Those studies show that isolation is what always precedes suicide. That community is what cures depression and prevents it from coming back. That service is the other component that fights depression and anxiety. All of this is found in a church.

The best form of community available in America is the church. Because it is based on an eternal foundation. The people there love you because you are human and no other qualification is needed. And without community, your proclivity for depression, anxiety, and suicide go way up. There are tons of studies on this.

So what are the fruits? Ceasing to attend the church you once loved attending and questioning God’s existence. Yet another deception by the enemy. In order to steal, kill, and destroy, he must get you isolated. Deconstructionism is the newest way for the enemy to do that.  If the enemy can get you to stop going to church, you give up community and thereby become isolated. In isolation the enemy can begin to tell you lies that you will believe. And many are currently falling for it.

Remember what Matthew 7:15-20 says, 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

I hope I deconstructed that well enough. I mean, I ain’t that smart!

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Deconstructing Deconstructionism: Part 1- The Argument

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls of all ages… I’d like to introduce you to the newest craze. It’s the newest trend. Deconstructionism! It used to be atheism. Then it was agnosticism. Now it’s deconstructionism.

The superiorly intelligent have found new and creative ways to justify their positions on their carnal desires while realizing that they sound stupid for believing in nothing. That’s where atheism went wrong. You have to be relying fully on the faith in nothing or be blindingly stupid to believe there is no higher being at all.

Then agnosticism came. So there’s a higher being somewhere. Maybe it’s us. Maybe its nature. Maybe it’s the 90% of our brain that we don’t use. But we didn’t just get here from nothing with all of our complications and intricacies. So there’s something. We just can’t put our finger on what that is.

So we believe this God thing is probably for real. Our parents told us so. But I don’t want to just believe what my parents said. I need to find out for myself. So far, this sounds like a responsible endeavor. Because my faith cannot be my parents’ faith. It must belong to me, or I have no faith at all.

Let’s take a quick detour. I am a big fan of basketball. And I would like to dismantle basketball and its rules to justify my inability to be able to compete with those in the NBA. So I’d like to change the rules so that I can experience the possibility of a great outcome, like a championship. So the rules are subjective now. I want them to mean that you can’t touch me or get within 5 feet of me once I say I’m uncomfortable. Then I’ll be able to score and achieve greatness and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.

This, ladies and gentleman, is the beautiful deceptive art of deconstructionism. Let’s take every scripture and “deconstruct” it to its simplest form. Then when we put it back together, let’s make it mean what we want to because it makes more sense to us in our super intelligent, creative, and emotional brains. After all, so much of what is in the Bible doesn’t make sense. And rather than attempt to understand it in its context and see what God was trying to say, I’d rather just make it mean what I’M trying to say. I mean, it’s been translated so many times, who knows what it really says. It’s all subjective.

What is an example of this? There are many. I’ll give you a couple. Deconstructionism will tell you that 1 Timothy 2:12 is a misunderstood verse. They will posit that there should be more female pastors in America. Another one is that there are many variations of translations of the Bible and one can’t trust the whole book to be true at its core, but must be dissected… by them! Interesting. It’s not enough that it has been dissected before they were born. Nope. They are smarter than those before them.

So let’s tackle those along with an examination of the fruits of deconstructionism. In 1 Timothy 2:12 is says, 12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.” Yes, it has been mistranslated by some to mean that a woman cannot speak in church at all at any time. That is false. With a closer look, one would see that “quiet” is directed back to the issue of authority. There are plenty of verses that suggest that women are to help others. There are plenty of verses that show women teaching and helping many, men and women alike. However, when it comes to the authority of the assembly, church, that office is designed for men. That was God’s designation.

Also, don’t forget 1 Timothy 3:2, 2 “Now the overseer is to be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.” Some versions say one wife. But “His wife” implies one person. This will be very hard for a woman to accomplish. Yet it is one of the qualifications for being an elder or a pastor.

The Temple Scroll, from the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran (Photo by VCG Wilson/Corbis via Getty Images).

Well what about the Bible being translated too many times? I’m glad you asked. The first original scrolls were found to have been scribed around 895 A.D. Around 1000 A.D. there were more scrolls found. And in 1948, a boy was chasing after a goat who ran into a cave and found another set of original scrolls that were found to have been scribed around 200 B.C.! Interestingly, the three scrolls were compared, and they were found to be completely and unequivocally identical. There were zero differences. They were also found to be identical to the first translation of the Bible into English. There were so many requirements the scribes had to meet and were so were meticulous. Things like, each line had to be exactly thirty letters, and there had to be an exact amount of lines in a column. Also, if a scribe got to the end of the Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) and it did not end in an exact line of thirty letters, they did not follow the demands and had to throw it away and start over. This is how the scrolls from 200 B.C. MATCHED the 1000 A.D. scrolls (check that out here, how we got the OLD and NEW testaments). But you already knew that. You’re smarter than everyone you know, remember?

That’s a very brief overview of deconstructionism, from what I’ve gathered so far. Next we will talk about the fruits that it yields… go to Deconstructing Deconstructionism: Part 2- The Fruit.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Is Mrs. Doubtfire Under Fire?

Nope. The recent bill signed into law raises quite a few questions. All of the sudden, the same people that wanted to force you to put experimental drugs in your system are now saying the new TN law is a violation of free speech. I thought it was “my body, my choice”? This same group is saying this is an attack on the LGBT community. They’re saying if it isn’t bothering anyone, why do we care what they do. Some are saying it’s a violation of the constitution. So let’s break it down.

First, no one is being forced to change anything about their dress or speech. So that’s out. No one is monitoring or changing anything about sexual orientation. So that’s out. And the constitution provides a representative democracy where we vote leaders in that represent us and make laws to be voted on by the general assembly. So this new law abides perfectly within the US and TN constitution. So that’s out. What is it that is causing controversy?

Well, for one, the law makes it illegal to perform a drag show in public where children under the age of 18 can be present. It specifically lists the word “obscene.” This would imply things like stripping, sexual actions of a dancer, and lack of clothing. So the drag bus in downtown Nashville, as long as it continues to operate outside of those actions mentioned, will be able to continue its business as normal. Venues like Play will be operating as normal because you must be at least 18 to enter. So the law does not apply to them.

The purpose of the law is to prevent children from being exposed to obscene shows that are sexual in nature. The newest trend is performing strip shows in libraries for children. That can no longer be an option in Tennessee. When asked about this clarification, sponsors of the bill as well as Governor Lee said just that. This is not aimed at what is currently taking place. It is aimed at what could take place and has taken place in other states. This is entertainment that is sexual in nature. There is literally a psychological term for it, Autogynephilia, or AGP. This is the arousal of a man when he considers or sees himself as a woman. It has recently come out that Lia Thomas, the trans swimmer, has this. Which makes his actions to become a female swimmer all the more malevolent.

This new law boils down to one thing, children are under attack by those who wish to indoctrinate children with their adult political views and agendas at any cost. Protecting children should always be a priority in society. They can’t even be admitted into a rated R movie theater. If that’s the standard, then this is no different. There’s a reason that they’re not considered adults until age 18. They can’t make decisions for themselves fully. They are confused about many things. So throwing very complex, sexual behaviors at children only confuses them more. They don’t even consider things of sexual nature until they’ve reached puberty. Research shows that 90% of kids who are confused about their sexual orientation in their early teens reach an understanding of this by age 18 or 19. The research also shows that 80% of them are gay or lesbian. Which begs the question of why are people trying to push 15-year-olds into mutilating their reproductive organs? Doing so is damaging 80% of the gay population. Every 15-year-old I’ve ever known is confused about life in general and everything that comes along with it.

I agree, if it’s not bothering anyone, why do we care what they do? Good point. It’s not bothering anyone… until you parade it in front of children. And these issues, transgender surgery for early teens and drag shows in front of children, go together. It is driven by the same evil backbone.

Again, I hope that the statements are upheld that the law is not intended to apply to current activities but to what could take place. I say that because in order to make public drag shows illegal, they had to classify it in the same area as strip clubs, or cabaret. But most of us feel the same way…have your fun, just don’t put it front of children. And if you are angry about that, then you should have a much longer conversation the next time you see your therapist. 

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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The Journey

It’s something that I still have a hard time with. I see the goal. I see the outcome. I see that I missed the goal, not once, not twice, but three times. But I have to be reminded of the journey.

I’m watching TV one night and I see this guitar player jamming away. I wanted to write songs. I’d seen my dad write songs. I begin to write. I write one of my first songs about a celebration of one of my friends from school beating cancer. I was insanely nervous singing that song in front of my youth group. That was the first and last time I was nervous singing. Made some good friends through that. I’m walking around singing one day and a friend of mine hears me. She says, “you should think about doing that for a living.” A few years later as I’m finishing high school, I begin pursuing a career in music.

I began going to writers’ nights. Met many great writers. I had cuts, mostly by new bands or artists that never made it. Made some lifelong friends during that phase. There are a handful of people I still talk to from that phase of life. People that if I called today, they’d help me with whatever I needed. At the end of the day, I did have three cuts that made some noise, one of which was an all-star cast of artists. It went to #75 on billboard. On that song, “Dare the World”, I was a writer, producer, played acoustic, sang background, and sang one lead line (because I forgot to get that line from anyone else).

Me and Eddie Dunbar

I then moved into being an artist. It started with sitting in with a band led by Eddie Dunbar. That led to 6 different production deals. With each step, I made friends with the producers themselves, the players on the sessions, and writers that helped contribute. I spent a great deal of time in studios. I made friends with engineers at these studios. Made lifelong friends. Still talk to many these days. Some of the more notable producers were Jay DeMarcus from Rascal Flatts, Rob Galbraith (Ronnie Milsap’s producer), Shelby Kennedy of the famous Kennedy family (with credits like Garth Brooks, Reba), among others.

During this time I played the bar scene in Nashville. I spent most of my time at a bar called the Fiddle and Steel Guitar bar. Here I met many cool people, met a couple of heroes, and made lifelong friendships that stand strong today. I got to hang with Michael English, Toby Keith, Eric Church, Gary, Jay, and Joe Don from Rascal Flatts, and a host of others. I met my future wife there. I became close with the pickers that played with various artists. That period of time was a blast.

Fiddle and Steel

After 5 production deals came to an end, I took one last shot. I formed a band of a bunch of great players. Started with players that are world-renowned. Two of them chose to move in a different direction in their career. I ended up with a group of amazing musicians that seem to gel together nicely. We began playing out, writing, and pitching our sound to various labels. We then went into the studio with Rob Galbraith and Regie Hamm to record some amazing music. Warner Brothers was on board. They loved what we were doing. We were about to be signed when they had a meeting and decided that were simply were not country enough for where the industry was headed. And like that, 15 years of pursuit came to screeching halt. I looked around and realized no one was looking for the next big 36-year-old. It’s a young man’s game.

The next two years felt like one long funeral. It felt as though someone close to me had died. I was attempting to come to the realization and understanding that the idea of me touring with a record was out the door. But it still felt like someone sucker punched me in the gut. It felt like I had been chewed up and spit out of the industry. This contributed to my divorce.  

Dink Cook

That leads me to the journey. Looking back on that, it was the journey all along that was the part I remember the most. It was those I made lifelong friendships with that stood out. It was the process, not the culmination. It was the journey, not the destination. To this day, I’m still close to Eddie Dunbar.   

As this was wrapping up, I began officiating basketball. I quickly moved from refereeing middle school to high school, to college, to minor league professional. As I began, I wasn’t sure if I was any good. As I began getting hired by college conferences, I felt that I may have something. I spent thousands of dollars each summer on training to get better and better. I moved up the ranks until I was given a verbal queue that I would be on a division 1 staff. That person was fired from that D1 position before he could see that through. I continued to push forward but fairly quickly saw the writing on the wall. And the writing was familiar. It was a young man’s game. I made it up to D2 and everything below. There I settled in. I failed again. But there was still high school.

I came to my 16th season of refereeing high school ball and was selected to the state tournament championships. There were only 14 refs selected, so it was definitely an honor. Of those 14, there was only one there that had been in the TSSAA longer than me. At the end of the week, 12 were selected to work a championship game. I had a very good week. But I was aware that the leader of the state simply did not like me. All I could do is do everything he asked of me to the best of my ability. And that’s what I did. It wasn’t enough. When asked what I could do better, I did not receive an answer that I could do anything about. He just didn’t like me. Once again, 16 years and I feel like I’ve been chewed up and spit out of a profession for nothing that I could control. I spent the next two weeks trying to find the energy to get out of bed. I’ve now failed majorly three times!

Mason Smith & Justin Dorris

This leads me to the journey. The refs that I’ve met through the years are now lifelong friends. I’ve had many times where they came to my rescue, and I’ve come to theirs. At any moment, if I’m near their town and I need anything at all, they’ll be there. I have no doubt.

If the why is people, I’ve been blessed beyond measure. It doesn’t make the ending any easier. It’s still painful. It still makes you wonder. But it was never about the destination anyway. It was about the journey. Thank God for the friends. Thank God for the fun stories. Thank God for the journey. If you take anything away from this story, the destination takes care of itself. So don’t ever lose sight of the journey.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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It Starts With Us

Church… we have done a terrible job.

In light of the events at Covenant school, the haves and have nots put on their gloves and begin to duke it out. Of course, and predictably, one side says it’s a trans issue. The other side says it’s a gun issue. No one can believe it can be both or neither. It has to be one of these because “my team” says so.

We could break down the issue that the killer had a map and a manifesto. So whether it was a gun, a bomb, a knife, a car, someone was going to get hurt or possibly die regardless of the weapon. The killer had it in her mind that this was going to happen. The weapon was the vehicle. But let’s not let a moment go by to push an agenda to make sure we get reelected. It is worth noting that the killer passed a preferred first location because there was armed security and knew she wouldn’t be able to carry out what she wanted. She picked a place with no guns, much like the Colorado movie theater shooter.  

TOPSHOT – Robin Wolfenden prays at a makeshift memorial for victims outside the Covenant School building at the Covenant Presbyterian Church following a shooting, in Nashville, Tennessee, on March 28, 2023. – A heavily armed former student killed three young children and three staff in what appeared to be a carefully planned attack at a private elementary school in Nashville on March 27, before being shot dead by police. Chief of Police John Drake named the suspect as Audrey Hale, 28, who the officer later said identified as transgender. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

We could make some irrational attempt to tie this to recent legislature in Tennessee. The legislation passed prohibits obscene performances from targeting children. The governor and lawmakers who wrote and sponsored the bill are on record saying it is not to address what is currently happening in Tennessee. It is designed to address what is happening in other parts of the country and making sure it doesn’t happen here. So no, it’s not a crime to be trans or a drag queen. Please continue to have the exact same fun you were having before. But if you target children in any way, you will be arrested. And rightfully so. Children often have to be saved from their parents. If you don’t believe me, go visit a foster home. And for those who say, “I can take my child wherever I want”, human traffickers are hoping you mean it.

We could make a point to call out those that claim there are 72 genders and normalize mental instability. We could point out that the chief of police stated that this person identified as transgender. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) defines gender dysphoria in adolescents and adults as a marked incongruence between one’s experienced/expressed gender and their assigned gender, lasting at least 6 months. But then immediately after that the chief stated there was no history of mental illness. But he just said she suffered from a recognized mental illness… yet has no history of mental illness. That is a huge problem. Normalizing mental illness and being afraid to call it what it is. We cannot fix a problem until we recognize that it is a problem. The DSM-5-TR said it was a problem, why can’t we?

But here’s the real problem, those issues are not the core issue to this event. While I don’t truly know the motivations of the killer at the Covenant school, the fact that she was a former student there and came back to do what she did, tells me something important, THE CHURCH FAILED HER. There seems to be a perceived battle between Christians and transgender persons. That’s the problem, though, there is no battle. Or at least there shouldn’t be. Christians should not be in a battle or at war with people who identify as transgender. We should be available for them when they are in need.

If you saw this story and first thought anything other than sorrow for the victims and the killer, then you are part of the problem. For decades, and maybe forever, the church has been a social elite club where we ignore the problems in our own lives and spend all of our time pointing out the problems that we don’t struggle with. Hey, most of the church doesn’t (openly) struggle with gender dysphoria. So let’s attack it! Let’s put our energy in telling you what YOU need to do differently because there’s something wrong with YOU. Never mind our problems. That’s not important right now. What we need to do is illuminate your problems so no one knows we’re a wreck behind closed doors.

If the church wants to do something (besides “thoughts and prayers”), how about we start by not ostracizing those with mental disabilities. How about we love them right where they are. And point to the One who knows how to make their life less confusing and more peaceful. How about we stop attacking, do more loving, and being a kind face with kind words to a confused person. One thing I’ve learned about God is that he is never confused. He is always clear. So if you ever feel confused about something, that is 100% from the enemy. Never from God. For too long, the church has become known for what it is against rather than who it is for. This must change.  

So, for those that struggle with what the Bible calls sin (which is all of us) and those that are confused about how you were made, allow me to apologize on behalf of the church. Please hear our apology and know that we serve a forgiving God, a restorative God who sees us where are, saves us where we are, but loves us too much to leave us where we are.

For every so-called church goer that ridiculed you and made you feel like God loved you less; for every sermon you heard that made you feel like you don’t belong anywhere near God or a church; for every church going person that told you that you are not welcomed around them; for every time you were yelled at from a car and then noticed the fish on their bumper… for that, WE’RE SORRY.

The only real solution that will last is to stop normalizing sin and illness for fear of hurting one’s feelings and open our arms and embrace them where they are. Don’t ask them to change. Don’t ask them to be different. Accept them where they are and let God do the rest. My guess is this girl felt severely hurt by the church and never really loved by anyone that claims to love everyone. It must start with the believers.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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Comparison

Don’t compare, enjoy nature, don’t break trust. Sounds simple. It’s not.

Finland was ranked the happiest country in the world for the 5th year straight. One psychologist from Finland helped explain why she believed this was so. It was based on those three principles: don’t compare, enjoy nature, don’t break trust.

Comparison is the thief of joy. I believe that quote was attributed to Theodore Roosevelt and Dr Ray Cummings. Comparison does a few things. Primarily, it distracts you from who you are and who God made you to be. Believing that you must be something you’re not is the equivalent to believing that God made a mistake. He didn’t. Comparing yourself to someone else distracts you from what’s true and robs you of experiencing any joy about that truth.

The other problem with comparing is that we’re usually comparing the knowledge of our best and worst to only their best. No one puts up their worst on social media. No one shows you what they look like when they first wake up and comments about how bad their breath is. You only get a “perfect” version of the totality of who that person is. That’s a false representation of reality. If you knew as much about the person that you’re envious of as you do yourself, you wouldn’t be so envious of them.

One last reality about comparison is comparing how great you are compared to others. This is equally troubling, maybe more so. You have gained success and you make sure everyone knows it. You flaunt the bling out loud. The problem is, when you no longer have that success, or you realize it doesn’t provide eternal joy, the smile goes away. One way to achieve true happiness is to be humble in your fortune/blessing.

Enjoying nature is simple. It’s usually quiet. It’s amazing to look at something and think a creator put it all together. The same creator that made nature made you. It’s humbling. Sometimes it’s breathtaking. Enjoying nature helps you put things in perspective.

Trust is something that is given until broken. The longer it isn’t broken, the more is given. My favorite definition of integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching and no one will find out. Be the person that is so trustworthy that everyone knows they can depend on you. Be the reason people smile. Keep your word. If you find money, do the right thing. And know that one day you will be wishing someone else does the same for you.

The more we find these things in our society, the happier we become. In America, it’s worth stating the obvious 4th thing to do to be happy, limit your social media intake. It’s designed to stoke the fire of whatever angers you. It’s designed to give you only one perspective, yours. You learn nothing that way. Get off of it and look around. People are way nicer in person than on social media.   

Stay Classy GP!

J Grainger    

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Social Media v. Free Speech

“Conspiracy theorists are everywhere these days!” “Stop the spread, get the vaccine!” “Care about your neighbor, have a heart, think of someone other than yourself!”

These are all very familiar words of virtue signaling, shaming, condescendingly accusatory from the morally superior. It wasn’t enough that you disagree or that you choose to make a decision for yourself. You must verbally say from the mountain top that you will inject a trial phase of a chemical into your body or you are morally repugnant and will get what you deserve. The attacks came frequently and regularly.

If you were on social media and made the claim that the covid vaccine did not stop you from getting covid, you were immediately written off as a conspiracy theorist. If you made the claim that getting the vaccine did not prevent you from sharing the virus with someone else, you were also written off as a conspiracy theorist. The New York Supreme Court recently ruled that those that lost their jobs due to choosing not to get the vaccine, which was based on the companies’ claim that the vaccine could stop the spread of Covid, were able to return to work with back pay. But yet another thing happened that affected the pocketbooks of others.

If you were someone who made money from social media because of the number of followers you had, and you shared such incendiary rhetoric on your platform channel, you would soon find that, magically, no one was seeing your posts. It’s commonly called “Shadow banning.” You were finding that you were “accidentally suspended” for a day or 2. When returning, you would find that the number of followers to your page had dramatically decreased. This happened to the Babylon Bee. It happened to many conservative commentators. Some would go from somewhere around 100k followers, get temporarily suspended, and return with 12k followers. Their explanation was “oops.” Well, we now may have a decent idea where the “oops” was coming from.

If the documents are real and this story is true (Big “IF”), the federal government has had open access to being able to quickly squash what it deems “disinformation.” Why is that a big deal? Because the government isn’t allowed to do that, per the 1st amendment. However, a private company is not bound by the constitutional limits of free speech, per section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). So how did the government get away with doing this? Through social media platforms. Ok, but social media companies are private. Yup, this is where it gets dicey.

There is something called a “State action doctrine.” Basically, there are two instances where actions of private parties are deemed acting on behalf of the state, or “state action.” One is when a private entity does something that is normally reserved for government. This part of the state action subject can be seen in the U.S. Supreme court case Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck. In this case, New York had a regulation that required cable networks with more than 36 channels to have a public access channel. A disgruntled employee of the public access channel MNN was fired and chose to sue on violation of constitutional rights. The Court ruled that running a TV station was not a function exclusive to the government because both public and private companies ran TV stations.

Another side of a case like was in Marsh v. Alabama. In this case, Chickasaw, Alabama was a privately owned company town. Grace Marsh wanted to distribute religious material throughout the town. Marsh was convicted of criminal trespass for doing so. Marsh appealed that her 1st amendment protections were violated. The Court agreed with Marsh. Even though the town was privately owned, it acted in a manner that was normally a function of the government and thus created a conflict between property rights and constitutional rights. Justice Black stated that when those are in conflict, constitutional rights should take priority.

The other instance in which private parties are deemed to be acting on behalf of the state is if there is a close relationship between the actions of the private party and what the government seeks to accomplish. American University Law Review lists this out in detail HERE.

So, one could make a solid claim that section 230 of the CDA is unconstitutional solely based on Carter v. Carter Coal Company in which the Court ruled that government power cannot be delegated to a private company so that the private company can then regulate other private companies, or even its own, which seems to be exactly what happened with the passing of section 230.

However, one doesn’t have to look far to find a case much like what we’re seeing in the “social media v. free speech” debate. In fact, I had to look directly into an organization that I’ve worked with for 15 years. In Brentwood Academy v. TSSAA, the TSSAA, which is recognized as the leading and primary organization for the regulation of school sports, both public and private, penalized Brentwood Academy for putting “undue influence” on football recruits. Brentwood academy sued that these actions by the TSSAA violated their First and Fourteenth amendment rights. The TSSAA held that they were a private company. The Court agreed with Brentwood Academy that because there is such a close relationship between the private company’s function and that which the government seeks to uphold, and because the TSSAA was recognized by the state board of education as the primary organization to regulate sports, that there was no reason to “claim unfairness in applying constitutional standards” to the TSSAA. If these DHS documents are real, there has been, for some time, a VERY close relationship between the government and social media tech giants, namely Facebook and Twitter. Watching this all play out will be interesting. But anytime someone wants to silence someone else’s speech, it’s of the utmost priority to know why, and it’s never “for the good of the people.”

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger

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The Girl Who Cried Wolf

We have all heard the story called “The boy who cried wolf.” Unfortunately, this is happening in sports today. The latest version is the BYU story. If you haven’t heard, BYU plays Duke in women’s volleyball. A player from Duke claims to have heard a fan behind her yell a racial slur while she was serving. The country went into an uproar, again, assuming the story was accurate before the conclusion of an investigation. Today’s society judges in a trial by social media, not facts.

Immediately following the incident, the BYU athletic director let the coach and the player know that if indeed someone did this, they were very sorry, and that person would be dealt with. BYU then immediately began their investigation. They interviewed over 50 people and viewed video footage of the entire area where the vitriol came from. The even isolated audio from that area. They found no such word said and saw no one say anything remotely close to that. The conclusion of their findings was that there was no such thing uttered from the fans.

What if they’re covering for someone?

This would be worse than the guy having said it. This would mean that not only one guy had serious hatred for someone based on their color, but an entire group of people would all share the same hatred and manage to cover it up. The likelihood of this in 2022 is virtually nonexistent.

Why would she make that up?

This isn’t the first time someone in a bad position in a sports event has used this claim as an excuse for poor performance in sports. I didn’t even have to look it up to know that BYU won that match. I didn’t have to look it up to know that Duke played terrible in that game. But just to be sure, I looked it up and confirmed all of that. BYU won 3-1. The reason someone would do that is tough to understand but at the same time, reasonably simple. Someone would look for a way to excuse the poor performance of the team or a certain player. And if the other team is all or predominately white, one excuse could be to claim racism. The simple part is that everyone knows that if you cry racism, everyone WILL believe you and stop what they’re doing, point out the accused, and label them guilty, regardless of facts. It’s so serious of an allegation that you have to stop and treat it with extreme importance. And rightfully so. Everyone will believe you until it is proven otherwise. And even when proven otherwise, as is the case in two stories I’m sharing in this blog, they will still believe you, in spite of facts.

I’m a basketball referee and I have a colleague that was in a game where this happened. One team was all black and the other had roughly 5 black players (3 of which were on the court during the alleged incident) of the 9 on the team. The all-black team was getting beaten badly. One girl didn’t like a foul called against her and stormed off the court. After a couple of minutes went by, she claimed the referee used a racial slur towards her. This was investigated thoroughly. The mother claimed she heard it. There were problems discovered in the investigation. Problem #1: the mother was roughly 80 feet away in a noisy gym. It’s impossible for her to have heard that. Problem #2: none of the black girls on the other team heard any referee say anything close to that. They stated had they heard that, there would have been major problems. Problem #3: there were roughly 15 black students and parents sitting on the first row of the bleachers approximately 10 feet away and the referee was facing them when he was supposed to have said it and none of them heard anything like that. Problem #4: The school where the girl attended refused to cooperate with the state’s investigation. Problem #5: the other 2 referees were standing right there, and I know them personally and they told me privately that had he said anything close to that, they would have sent him home. But he never said anything close to being inappropriate. A black representative of the state was the person investigating the incident. After weeks of interviews, video, and audio research, his conclusion was that there was no wrongdoing by the official.

There are a few problems with this. The most obvious is that it is a lie that can cost someone their job and livelihood. This official could have lost his day job due to his company not wanting the bad press. Another problem is that each time there is an allegation of this magnitude that turns out to be false, it dilutes and takes away from the ones that are true and real. Are there allegations like this that are true? Sure. For instance, this week in Katy, TX, a group of high school students made monkey noises towards black volleyball players. This is inexcusable and needs to be dealt with. This was a real issue. But when someone is playing poorly and decides to cry racist/wolf, this only makes it harder to investigate the real ones.

Another problem is it creates a new oppressed group. Just this week, a teacher at Madison High School in San Diego wrote “fascists” on the board and then listed under that term, who the fascists are in our country. The teacher included all white people, Christians, heterosexuals, and the Republican party. Anytime a group continuously pushes down, oppresses, and suppresses another group, in the history of our country, it only gets ugly. It never goes well and eventually the oppressed group has had enough and does something drastic to end it. Look at women’s rights, gay rights, civil rights. At some point, we have to believe the best in our brother and sister, black, white, or brown. We have to let ancient history be just that. We have to expect the best of people, not the worst. Because if you continue to push a group of people down merely for existing and being born a certain color, it will only hurt everyone, and not help anyone. We learned this in the late 60’s. We need to avoid repeating that.

Stay Classy GP!

Grainger