The Bleeding Deacons: Why Political Movements Suffer

There is a lot of division within movements.

The mainstream media likes to play up the divisions about Republicans, since they are so liberal, so committed to the regressive Left and their destructive agenda.

They attack free-market innovations like Uber and Lyft. They also cover bad stories related to AirBnb. The anti-capitalist bent of my newspapers and editorial pages should alarm anyone looking for something close to objectivity.

The truth is, however, that the Democratic Party is so riven with division, one has to wonder if they will survive after the next election cycle. Will there even be a viable candidate running for President in 2020? Remember that the Democratic Party was so weak in Alabama in 2014 that former US Senator Jeff Sessions ran unopposed!

Now he is the Attorney General, and the contested primary run-off is so heated, that millions of campaign dollars have been pouring into the Yellowhammer State to fix not just the fate of the state, but the contour of the Republican Party.

So, what is it about political movements that divisions arise?

What I have discovered is that the Old Guard vs. the New Guard get into fights over pre-eminence.

There are activists who have been fighting on the front lines for an extended period of time, but then a new crop of activists and fighters show up. They want to strike out on their own or make a difference as they see fit. They chafe under the rules and expectations imposed by the Old Guard.

But something else is happening. In the Trump movement particularly, men and women new to the fight are getting more done. They have connections to social media, to Internet skill sets which the previous activists, especially those fighting illegal immigration, did not have before.

Instead of learning from the new to enhance their experience, the Old Guard get bitter.

We can find another way of looking at this establishment arrogance in an idea from the otherwise discredited cult of Alcoholics Anonymous. From the Urban Dictionary:

In the context of a 12-step program like Alcoholics Anonymous, a bleeding deacon is someone in the group who is overly preachy and considers themselves to be the lone voice of reason and source of wisdom. In the eyes of the bleeding deacon, the group would fall apart without them.

Alcoholic 1: "Randy really droned on for a while about the eighth step -- I get it, we're supposed to make direct amends. Sheesh."

Alcoholic 2: "Yeah, he's a real bleeding deacon."

A Biblical example of this sad human failing appears in 1 Kings 19, when Elijah becomes self-righteous and despairing, then complains to God that he is the only one fighting for Him in the midst of an evil, perverse nation given over to idol worship and Satanic lawlessness.

God rebukes Elijah:

Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18)

In short order, God then instructs Elijah to complete three tasks, but he only finishes one: the anointing of his successor Elisha. This second prophet is  picture of the New Covenant. Never once does Elisha trust in his own efforts, but rather depends on the double portion of God's grace and blessing.

He brings dead children back to life and helps feed thousands. He has a posture of rest and refreshment, whereas Elijah ministered condemnation and death.

The point of this account in relation to this post? The moment that any man thinks that he is indispensable to a movement, he brings conflict then inadvertently ushers in his own replacement.

This arrogance is stifling among the Old Guard. They are absolutely convinced that everything good that has happened before, during, and after in any conservative movement is all due to their efforts.

Such thinking, however, is simply untrue. 

I think of the 2010 Tea Party compared to the Trump Movement of today. I even attended a few Tea Party rallies leading up to the 2010 election. They spent a lot of time rallying votes and holding parades. That was great.

But the veneer of political correctness still hung heavy over the country. The need for confrontation with bad politicians at the local as well as the state and federal offices had not begun.

Then came President Trump, and before that the terrible, arrogant, anti-constitutional agenda of Barack Obama. Not just Obamacare, but the steady drum-beat demands to undermine life, family, the Second Amendment, and worst of all immigration--all of these incursions against our country and our culture pushed people to get off their butts and fight, not just rally on sidewalks and street corners.

Marc Langsam, a photographer in Ventura County, has said that people like me, Harim Uzziel, and Robin Hvidston are "The New Tea Party", because we are taking the Trump fight and agenda to historically Democratic communities. If Donald Trump could do it--and win--why can't we?

The Bleeding Deacons of the conservative establishment want all the name recognition and power. They want to rest on their laurels, too (another phrase from Alcoholics Anonymous). We need people who are more interesting accomplishing major wins, not just hanging onto previous victories!

Because of the uncalled for rancor from one Bleeding Deacon, I wrote out the following letter, letting him know how disappointing he had become, and how the movement to Make America Great Again exceeds the efforts of anyone person.

With this letter, these will be my final comments:

To R---- O-----:

I am saddened at your bitter hatred. Now you choose to lie about me. I have been an activist and freelance journalist for the past two years -- and people have provided me funding to continue to do what I do. I do not engage with wicked people and push against illegal immigration, LGBT perversities, etc. in order to get paid. This is just what I do. I fight against this anti-American corruption, and people provide me resources so that I can continue to do this. Would you call Joseph Turner, Robin Hvidston, or anyone else paid protesters, too? Shame on you.. You have chosen to lie, and now I confront you. This is to your shame. The narcissism falls on you. Reminder - I was not wearing political colors and I was recording the event for the world to see -- my Facebook Live video provided the first record of what happened at Chicano Park -- WE set the narrative, not the corrupt media, and the Brown Supremacists have the black eye now. They had to play defense for the indefensible, hateful behavior of the Chicano mob which threatened to kill us!

By the way -- I can go to any national park I wish to R---- O----- You have neither right nor authority to tell me NOT to go somewhere or anywhere. Once again -- who is the narcissist?

I am not surprised that everyone has walked away from you. You are a selfish man who is easily hurt--and you even cursed at me, saying "F--k you!", when I had shared with others that you helped expose Huntington Park. I am half your age, R------, yet you act like such a child. I am saddened at your moral decline, R-----.

With these remarks, I let you go, as I maintain God's gracious promise in the face of your unjust slander (Isaiah 54:17).

Sincerely,

Arthur Schaper