Why America's Blindness?

Lack of discernment on the Trans debate

It’s old news by now, but I’m sure you’ve read that Finland, then Sweden, and most recently the National Health Service of England have abandoned and banned the “affirmative care” model for gender dysphoria. The sciences simply don’t back it up. There is no evidence that mutilating the bodies of teens creates a greater harmony for their confused identities. None.

In fact, they are seeing the exact opposite. The list of regretful young adults trying to reverse the effects of treatments and surgeries is growing rapidly. And so, these European countries are now protecting the young by going back to the traditional and time-proven practice of guiding teens through the tumult of puberty with therapy—instead of puberty blockers, hormone treatments, and surgery.

And yet in America, we blindly march forward into the abyss, destroying kids in the process.

Over the last year, I’ve read articles and research but have not taken time to place before you some thoughts. Here are a few for all subscribers.

Money Skews Perspective

I’m a flip flopper when it comes to socialized medicine. Does a profit motive improve quality of care and spur on research? Or does the competitive market cripple care for those who need it most? I’m not in any way offering an opinion on that.

But it does seem the profit motive is a factor in the channeling of this debate on gender affirming care. Big Pharma gains much from continuing to sell puberty blockers, hormone replacement therapy, and all that goes into the various forms of risky surgeries. Pressure on doctors to conform is enormous. And some doctors simply see a way to make a buck. Note the following quote from Reality’s Last Stand by evolutionary biologist Colin Wright.

Double mastectomies are given to children as young as 13, and genital surgeries to children as young as 15. Some doctors even advertise their mutilation services directly to minors on TikTok by using catchy slogans like “yeet the teet” to make bilateral mastectomies seem fun to generate business. How could anyone think this is remotely okay?

Certainly seems Paul’s words to Timothy are a factor: “The love of money is the root of all evil.”

Ideologies Generate Idiocies

Then there’s political polarization.

Again, I am not promoting any one particular political party. There are plenty of disillusioned democrats wondering why a party that has leaned left has recently jumped over the cliff into the chasm of progressivism. Many if not most Americans, whether voting red, blue, or purple, are bemoaning the polarization of our country. The seeds for today’s Queer Ideology were sown for many decades, especially during the Sexual Revolution. Polarization has simply fertilized and watered it.

It is certainly not the first time in America for deep divides. Consider the 1800’s. Even if you don’t read history, you can certainly agree that slavery polarized our nation into North and South. It also divided the North into two factions: the “peace at any cost” and “justice at any cost” camps. It was well arranged kindling for the spark that was Fort Sumter.  

I truly can’t say whether our current polarization began with 9/11, the election of Pres. Obama, or the dramatic swing to the right with the election of Pres. Trump, but the divide is evident and widening. As with other evil times, rage is the tool that keeps people in line. Even lifelong liberals like Abigail Shrier, Colin Wright, Bari Wiess, et al, have found themselves shouted out of the room for simply holding on to evident truth. It’s been crazy. Don’t get your hopes up that any politician will unify us. If anyone is affected by the rage of zealots, it is elected officials.

Vote your conscience, but put your hope in God. Let’s pray reason returns before a spark lands on this dry tower of kindling.

Spiritual Forces Capitalize on Chaos

While I won’t drive a stake in the ground on socialized medicine or politics, I absolutely believe Evil is afoot.

Above I quoted from Colin Wright’s newsletter Reality’s Last Stand. He is widely respected, highly intelligent, and on a campaign to refute transgenderism by appealing to basic science.

And the guy is an unabashed atheist. In fact, his previous campaign was to refute Creationism.

But he wrote a personal reflection for paid subscribers recently which began with, of all things, a quote from scripture:

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20)

Even though he does not believe in God or in any kind of personified Good and Evil, he is seeing and experiencing a sudden and swift backlash from friends and colleagues over the stand he’s taken against transgenderism in general and specifically affirmative care for gender dysphoria. It’s the closest brush he’s ever had with anything resembling Evil. Writing about many of his cherished friends who have now attacked him, he laments:

. . . Yet all of these deep bonds were immediately discarded because I started questioning ideas about sex and “gender” they had unquestioningly adopted only recently. What was most shocking wasn’t that people simply stopped being my friends, but that they became ideologically rabid. 

Observing all of this, I can’t shake the feeling that I am witnessing the same species of human mania that has historically led to much greater crimes against humanity. 

While I still don’t believe in “Evil” in the cosmic supernatural sense, I think I now have a better understanding of why the concept resonates with so many and is found in many, if not all, religions. It is unfathomable to me how anyone including doctors, scientists, teachers, and especially people who I know are good because we used to be close friends, could deny obvious reality and cheer on such clearly despicable atrocities. It is somehow easier, and perhaps more comforting, to imagine that they’ve been possessed by evil demons that are causing them to believe and behave in such ways. 

I hardly ever leave comments on blogs or articles, but this time I did: 

Loved this. Thank you for this personal piece for paid subscribers. Something is afoot, no doubt. I am definitely a theist and believe in Good and Evil, but regardless, your insights are spot on. I've found Edwin Friedman's leadership book "Failure of Nerve" to provide a helpful slice of perspective. When rage is the tool to control, reason and facts simply do not matter to those in power. Whether the context is a family, corporation, or nation, those in control don't care what science says. His guidance? When faced with such insanity, the best we can do is give our "I Have a Dream" speech. Hopefully your voice and the voice of significant others will take the shape of that speech. Dare I say, "May God make it so!"? Peace!

This post is just a glimpse. Eventually, I will write more about this aspect of Evil in a paid post. As a Christian caregiver who has witnessed the destructive manifestations of Evil in the people I’ve counseled, there’s far more at work than the machinations of well-intentioned people who’ve been duped by ideologues.