November 6, 2021

Subject: The America Experience, Part 3: Destroying Liberty with Equity

1Samuel 16:7 “Do not look at his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For the Lord does not see as man sees. While man looks at the outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart.”

In our last two articles, we tackled the complex concepts of liberty and equality. Now, we delve into a third concept driving a deep wedge between Americans with its constant gaslighting rhetoric. It’s called “equity”.

We defined liberty, the God-centered basis of the American Revolution, as “equality of opportunity”. We defined equality, the godless man-centered basis of the French Revolution, as “equality of results”.

America is founded on the principle of liberty of the individual to pursue happiness as they define it, but with personal responsibility for our own lives. Equality is defined as everyone is equal and deserves equal rights and opportunities, with the government, not the individual, responsible for our lives.

Because Americans have been asleep as the progressive, godless movement takes away our liberties and promotes equality, this has opened the gates to the next concept pushed by those in power who reject the God of the Bible: “equity.” Because it is so poorly explained, we are again not paying close attention.

Vice President Kamala Harris defined it as “we need to all end up at the same place”. Huh?? How does that work? Historian Victor Davis Hansen recently highlighted the hypocrisy of equity being promoted by the elites in power who live in luxury, surrounded by privacy walls from the rest of us. They are lying to us.

As we stated in our article on liberty and equality, most proponents of equity confuse equality before the law with equality of outcome (as VP Harris does). By necessity, equity will destroy liberty.

Economist Thomas Sowell, who has become a household name among those seeking facts to answer the issues behind phrases like “fairness” and “social justice”, counters the progressive elites with truth.

“Virtually any so-called “unfairness (disparity in outcomes) is blamed on discrimination, despite the incredible range of other reasons for disparities between individuals and groups.” For example, he counters the progressive claim of “being black” as the reason for high black poverty and incarceration rates:

“The poverty rate among black married couples has been in single digits since 1994. You would not learn that from most of the media. When you look at blacks that have gone on to college or finished college, the incarceration rate is some tiny fraction of what it is among those blacks who have dropped out of high school.” When asked why he rejected Marxism to embrace Free-Markets, his answer was simple: “Facts”.

Brown University Professor of Economics and Senior Manhattan Institute Fellow Glenn Loury, who has written for 40 years on race relations in America, can help us understand the situation in America today.

In a 2021 interview entitled ‘Equity, Equality and MLK’, Dr. Loury was asked to comment on this statement: “When we were younger, it looked like our society was heading toward that Martin Luther King ideal of colorblindness: individual character and action, not race. And then that all seemed to go south.”

Dr. Loury’s response: “The weight, the center of gravity, has shifted away from the colorblind ideal – which is a great mistake, it is a historic wrong turn. But the turn has been made. I don’t know how we go back.”

The Bible does know how to “go back”. God gives us answers to our questions as we all try to make sense out of our own lives and how we are to correctly understand liberty, equality and equity. Here are five.

Question #1: When I stand before God, for what will I be most accountable? God’s Answer: “Guard your HEART with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). Question #2: How does God know the real me? God’s Answer: “The Lord does not see as man sees; man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the HEART” (1Samuel 16:7 – this week’s verse). Question #3: If I am accountable for my heart condition, is there anything I can do to fix it? God’s Answer: “Your HEART is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).

Question #4: Why is my heart so messed up? God’s Answer: “We will walk according to our plans; we will everyone do the imagination of his evil HEART” (Jeremiah 18:12). Question #5: How do I fix my condition? God’s Answer: “My son, give Me your HEART, and let your eyes observe My ways” (Proverbs 23:26).

God’s answers (found in His Bible): to be truly colorblind and character-focused, listen to and follow Him!

Ed Croteau is a resident of Lee’s Summit and hosts a weekly study in Lees Summit called “Faith: Substance and Evidence.” He can be reached with your questions through the Lee’s Summit Tribune at [email protected].