Stand By Me

When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the world is tossing me
Like a ship upon the sea
Thou Who rulest wind and water,
Stand by me (stand by me).

Stand By Me – Charles A. Tindley

At one of the grandest hotels in the world, The Grand in Taipei, Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa) three older ladies traveling together were sitting in the coffee shop and asked me to join them for lunch (people tend to be nicer when they are away from home). A Chinese lady, about my age, came over and put her arm around my shoulder, she said, “Dr. Morris, this is goodbye, I am leaving on another assignment.” I stood, took her hand and kissed it, told her I would never forget her. One of the ladies at my table said, “I think that she had a real affection for you.” I said, “yes, she has been my guide here in Taiwan, one of the most remarkable women I have ever met.”

I was a student at UNC Chapel Hill when Mao and his hordes started moving across mainland China killing a reported 66 million as he turned Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's police-state nationalistic country into a police-state communist country. Back then, not like today, there were few communists on the university campus, but one of my professors, Dr. John Meyers, was a real communist, doing everything he could to convert a few of his better students to communism. I remember how he would show me the battle lines as the communists moved and as Chiang Kai-Shek retreated to Formosa.

The General Chiang Kai-Shek, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek and their puppets were more interested in saving Chinese art collections and wealth than saving the country, moving everything to Formosa. I understand all the caves on the island of Formosa are filled with historical Chinese art and wealth, the art that was left has been sold by the communist government. I was fortunate enough to buy some (such as ancient silk embroideries, carvings) because I was one of the first Americans admitted to mainland China after the reopening by President Nixon, I have discussed this in other commentaries.

The Godless communists, very anxious to destroy all elements of the Christian church, for many generations China had been the objective missionary zeal of Christians throughout the Western world (Lottie Moon, Charles Judd, Pearl Buck, and hundreds of others). My guide, Ms. Wang and her family were Christian, she told me about the “Red Guard” indiscriminately shelling the city but deliberately going to the homes of the Christians and executing them. All were trying to escape the genocide. Ms. Wang had a 14 year-old daughter who desperately wanted a brother, and in her 42^nd year, Ms. Wang gave birth to a son. Ms. Wang's daughter grabbed her brother and ran for asylum trying to hide in a nearby orchard. Ms. Wang hid in a large pipe under a bridge, and magically escaped the terrorists. She later saw pictures of her husband, her daughter holding her brother, and other Christian friends as they had been lined up on a wall and shot to death. Ms. Wang escaped to Formosa. Most of the Generalissimo's family and administrators were Christian Methodists, and in this nationalistic country, she had found employment as a guide because of her linguistic knowledge. It was because of her that I was able to go into the Chinese President's home. I don't remember much about Chiang Kai-Shek's home except I have never seen so many beautiful chairs in one living room.

We often think it is impossible to recover from the storms of life, such as the death of children, the destruction of a civilization, or even blindness. The verse of scripture I have given so many times to so many people: and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Remember, there are stipulations: those who love God, and are called according to His purpose. I thought about that this weekend when about 62 tornadoes hit the state of North Carolina...killing, destroying, breaking the hearts of many good people.

When General Cornwallis was moving through South Carolina, it was “the mongrels” (which he called them), the North Carolinians, with their ancient weapons (muskets) that kept him from reaching Virginia and that almost certain loss of early colonial Americans to the British in the Revolutionary War. It was Dolly Madison, a native of Gilford County, wife of President Madison who grabbed the Stuart portrait of George Washington and saved it in the burning of the White House by the British in the War of 1812. A copy of the portrait is in the White House now, but thank God, the original is in the Smithsonian Institute. North Carolinians have always risen to the occasion.

I remember so well, in my uniform with decorations, I was one of the guests on “University Day” in 1961 when President Kennedy addressed the university in Kenan Stadium. How things have changed, President Kennedy riding with Governor Sanford in the governor's limousine from the airport to the university passing schoolhouses along the way. Children standing beside the road, all waving flags. President Kennedy looking over at the large group of disabled veterans and saying, “North Carolina has always sent its best to every war.”

On May 20, 1775, the first declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies was signed by the people of Mecklenburg County. Previously, on the date 1774, 51 women known as the “Edenton Tea Party” had signed a protest concerning the British Tea Act. Politically, physically, spiritually, most of the good things in American society were started in the “Old North State”.

Hurricanes have battered the Outer Banks, fires have ravaged the mountains, farmers will tell you that crops are either too wet or too dry, but through it all and in spite of the duress and despotism of the corrupt Democrat political machine lasting over 100 years because we are a tough people, because we are a religious people we always get up and start over.

Front Row Seats

Today is the one year anniversary of the death of Michael Jackson. I understand his fans are pouring into Los Angeles and into the places which he frequented to honor him. He is making more money dead than when he was alive, his estate hoping to pay off his many debts. If you went to a Michael Jackson concert, this little sissy, pedophile, drug-addicted pervert, you paid well for front row seats. The same people who pay so much for front row seats, to be close to perversion would get as far away as possible from people of principle...real pastors, real political leaders, real towers of talent; Jackson was a counterfeit. You must know the real to recognize counterfeit, the world loves counterfeit, impostors.

Those of my age have lived through the most marvelous time in history, we saw the world when it was still a decent place. Like those in Pompeii when volcano Vesuvius erupted, they saw Pompeii and Italy at its zenith, they had front row seats. They saw how quickly and easily Pompeii became an ash heap in history. Walking through the streets of Pompeii, I noted that the heat flash of the volcano so paralyzed everything that the animals and people were killed and covered instantaneously. They are still there, frozen in cement lava, having never been removed.

Those of my age saw America at it's best, real patriots returning from WW1, giving justice to much of the world. Returning from WW2, rectifying the struggle, seeing great scientific exploits: plastics, vehicles, plane travel, education and exploration (DNA, moonwalk, health exploits). Grabbing at the wisdom of man, and forgetting God, depending on government checks, not the gifts and abundance of a creator, killing rather than saving the lives of babies, killing rather than bringing health to the unfortunates of the world, educators whose livelihood depend on children support a political party (Democrat) that promotes abortion (the killing of the very children which they expect to live from educating). The president of the national education association apologizes to his membership because a black choir sang an anthem in which God was used. In the popular, gay resort-town of Provincetown, Massachusetts the school board voted unanimously to pass out condoms to elementary aged school children, the parents will not even be informed if their children receive such.

Today's Americans, today's youth have front row seats to watch the dismantling of the world's greatest republic. It happened to Greece, it happened to Rome, it happened to France, it happened to Germany, warned ahead of time. People were too busy with themselves. Although we talk of illegalities, we are a country of “laws rather than men”. Obama will make millions of Mexicans legal citizens with just a stroke of a pen in an executive order. Socialized, old-people Europe, will use it's attempt at a European union, countries who historically fought one another, just came to insulting one another, then decided to unionize. The hardworking, thrifty Germans were expected to support the spending, spreeing Spaniards. The reckless Greeks, early retirees, leisure living, expected the vacationing French to support them. It has become a mess. In America, about half the population, vigilant and diligent, supports the other half who pay no taxes at all, but have learned to live well on welfare.

There is no way that those who pull and push the wagon will not rebel in time against those content to just ride in the wagon. Those who love God will cease to tolerate those who hate God. We known Nehemiah and his fellow Jews returning to Jerusalem after captivity, they rebuilt it, with bricks in one hand, their swords in the other, because they realized it is necessary to defend what you have built.

Lackadaisical, all you need is love, “eat drink and be merry, because tomorrow you may die”, liberal-hypocrite Americans will no longer be supported by God-fearing, tax-paying, hardworking citizens. The fat, lazy, complacent baby-boomers, themselves raising spoiled children, should learn basic math. A country with its entitlement, its medicare, medicaid, social adventures now reach 108 trillion dollars, must get factual, not sociological. An aging, socialized population in Japan is keeping it in the doldrums of depression. An aging, socialized population in England and other European countries have brought most of these countries to brink of disaster: UK, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, the Balkans, etc.

Adding to the “black hole” of disbelief by those of us sitting in front row seats, as we see the insanity on stage, passport photos are no longer believable because of so many transgendered people (men changing into women, women changing into men) and we thought the French had problems with veils used in driver's licenses.

The communist-socialist agenda, the black nationalist church agenda, the gay agenda, the blame and hate America first agenda will certainly do us in, unless real patriots, not counterfeit smoochers, go to war for America and the ideals that made America great, that has made the greatest migration the world has ever known towards our shores by people seeking only opportunity.

I never thought of going to college by anyone's efforts except my own (I worked my way through school), there were no grants, no scholarships. I never knew a man to go to war in order to get a pension. We went to war to save the world from tyranny, for God, family, and country.

In the story of the alabaster box, the woman who gave all she owned to glorify Christ, Christ tells us to do as much as she did. Only in the great commission are we told to do more, “wherever this Gospel is preached, tell what this woman has done.” (Matthew 26) This woman in the house of Simon the leper gave all she had, Christ complimented her, disputed them, and gave her as an example of giving, forever.

In front row seats, watching the insanity around us, our ancestors, the forefathers of this country has given us much to remember, to think about, to defend as we face those who would, and will eventually, if left unchecked, destroy it. We are in the front row seats of history, world history, ecological history, economic history, the very survival of mankind.