Which shell is the pea under today?

For obvious reasons, much of the African-American community has to a degree been led by various "police actions" over many years to their inherent distrust, fear, contempt and hostility toward policing in general. And it would be wonderful if "the system" of "justice" could be reformed. But beware of the leftist shell game. Virtually everyone - certainly in the present day U.S. - habitually feels various forms and levels of shame, virtuous victimhood, righteous outrage (legitimate or not), and rivalry against some hated or ridiculed "other" as the cause of all this negative energy.

Many women now proclaim themselves victims of males, just as blacks do of whites. The presumed poor point condemningly at the presumed rich. Old vs. young and vice versa, citizens vs. immigrants and vice versa, LGBT vs. traditional views of sex and gender and vice versa, and so on. In every case, the claim is that the mistreatment is longstanding and "institutionalized"

A biblically astute Christian knows the truest, deepest source of all this: "the accuser... the liar... the murderer from the beginning" who always seeks to replace each individual's guilt over personal contributions to human suffering with resentment and rivalry directed at a scapegoat. The tools and methods of such unclean spirituality are numerous and well-honed, and the goal has always been creating angry, self-righteous, tasty food for demons.

It does not stop with race, gender, economics and nationality. In the film, "The gods must be crazy," all it took was an empty Coke bottle. Profound in its humorous simplicity.

Bottom line: Before a life-altering union with Jesus Christ, and the resulting forgiveness which is the only possible beginning of a real solution, even healthy, attractive, educated, middle-class, white, male, heterosexual Americans are driven by guilt, shame, fear, rivalry, and self-righteous resentment. Much more than they know than they can stand to be aware of, usually.

But of course, if any such folks want to share their struggles publically, they will be slapped down hard by the new orthodoxy that allows only the marxist victim categories to have the "privilege"(!) of airing their grievances.

To be human is to have suffered horribly, and to have made others suffer. And to be human is to be guaranteed future suffering. Some more than others? Of course. But we all have - or WOULD have if we changed direction - a great deal to be thankful for. Beware of the political grievance shell game.