What if...

Imagine for a moment that the president gave an address.  All hate speech was outlawed.  Anyone speaking out against the president or his administration would be classified as guilty of hate speech. Anyone speaking out against groups protected by him, such as Planned Parenthood or gay rights groups, would be guilty of hate speech. Any organization known for, or specifically organized for the purpose of, speaking out against these groups would be labeled guilty of hate crimes and forced to shut down, the membership of that group placed on a watch list or forced to wear specific arm bands labeling them as members unless they were willing to publicly disavow their membership and swear allegiance to the government.  Anyone on the watch list would be ineligible to hold state or federal offices or be employed by organizations that derive any part of their income from the state or federal government.

The ramifications of such a thing would be momentous. Catholics, Christians of every stripe, Mormons, faithful Jews, even Muslims would suddenly be prohibited from speaking up for Christ, for the unborn, for those whose dignity is in danger. Christians would be removed from the capacity to serve in office, their voices effectively silenced in the halls of government. I ponder this scenario because I see it as a very real possibility. To those who protest that the government would never do such a thing, consider carefully the steps it has already taken toward doing something like this. It's not too hard to imagine.  They passed the HHS mandate and robbed us of our religious freedom, and sadly there are many calling themselves Christian who cheered them on while it happened.

Imagine that your children could be arrested simply for speaking the truth about when life begins, or about how all children have a father and a mother.  Imagine that you could lose your job simply for refusing to disavow your faith in Jesus Christ or your religious affiliation.  Imagine having to watch carefully every word that comes out of your mouth for fear it will be misunderstood and used against you.  Imagine voices like Archbishop Timothy Dolan being arrested for daring to speak out.  Imagine a blogosphere where the only voices are those that are willing to sing the praises of the president and his actions.

Brothers and sisters, this scenario isn't too far from us. Executive orders equally nefarious have been signed into order already - orders that allow a free people to be made into slaves, orders that allow food, water, and all means of production to be confiscated by the government, orders that allow the president to have someone declared an enemy of the state and executed without trial or explanation provided, orders that allow him to imprison indefinitely any person of his choosing simply by declaring them a terrorist.  These are dangerous powers to put in the hands of any one man.  If he's already taken so much power, why not this one more? Why not sign one more executive order, one that silences critics and foes?  How hard would it be for him to draft that?  He doesn't even have to worry about getting Congress to approve, and merely protesting the law would be enough to allow him to have that person arrested.

It's food for thought, even if it isn't cheery.  I suggest that now is the time to consider the what if's of such a scenario.  Now is the time to put into place a plan should that day ever come when such a thing is done.  Now is the time to decide which side you're really on, because by the time something like this happens, it may well be too late.  Most of all, now is the time to begin praying in earnest that the Lord protect and preserve us from ever having such a thing become reality.

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