Today, we are a nation in crisis and many Americans agree that we are going in the wrong direction. But many fail to understand that this crisis goes much deeper and has at its root, a spiritual component. We are suffering from a crisis of depth.
America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. As John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Critical issues were once seen from within to without not from without to within. Jesus told the Pharisees “the Kingdom of God cannot be observed…for behold the Kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 18: 20-21).
Just before World War II, the America dream began to unravel when our nation was offered a new and different dream -a utopian pleasure palace of entitlements, but at the cost of a war with God. Thus, America’s original dream was first criticized, deemed unnatural, backward, and oppressive. It was mocked as an absurd upside-down tree – roots in the air. A more reasonable, pleasurable tree was promised -a right side up tree with it roots in the earth where they belonged. America’s culture was thus flipped.
When EWTN the Global Catholic Network asked my father Richard and I to produce a film on Saul Alinsky, known as “the father of community organizing”, we sought out his roots. His story took us into their historic roots. In fact it took us all the way back to ‘first things’; to the garden of Eden and Adam and Eve; to their being tricked by the devil; to their rejection of the Tree of Life and choosing of the Tree of a Knowledge that would make them gods.
My grandmother used to say “Watch that first step, it’s a doozy.” Humanity’s first step would become ‘Gnosticism’, the mother and father of all Judeo-Christian heresies. It is a word taken from the Greek word “gnosis” meaning knowledge. Adam and Eve rebelled against God. They chose a secret knowledge, an impersonal idea or esoteric ideology over God. They chose “a spark” that made them elite pure ‘spirit’ people; ascended masters each with the certitude of an imperial self – one elevated over the dumb and disposable ‘body’ people. Gnosticism’s fruits? Conflict and murder! Cain killed Abel! America’s present confusion, and division is the modern Gnosticism of cultural Marxism, communism, and socialism.
We recognized in the Gospel of Matthew 7:15-20 the key to unlocking the door to what was deceiving and destroying America today; “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits” became Act One of our film – the story of Saul Alinsky. Act two we based on “the bad tree…bears bad fruit” – Alinsky’s community organizing as cultural Marxism and Gnosticism. Act three we based on “the good tree… bears good fruit” – traditional Catholic Christian care of the poor and marginalized in society as exemplified by St. Francis and St. Mother Teresa.
What we found in the course of making our film was a clear connection between Alinsky, sociology, criminality, communism, socialism and the age old strategies of the Evil One to become an adversary of lawless war who lies, deceives, divides, accuses and destroys his or her enemies. In 1971, Alinsky wrote “Rules for Radicals”, the blueprint for all future disciples to achieve absolute power through evil methods dedicated to Lucifer himself.
Alinsky claimed to be for the little guy, the poor, the “have-nots” saying, “‘The Prince’ was written by Machiavelli for ‘the haves’ on how to hold power, ‘Rules for Radicals’ is written for ‘the have-nots’ on how to take it away.” He wanted the “have-nots” to gain power and rise up to change society through the use of morally questionable tactics of cohesion and deceit. Alinsky said, “The end justifies almost any means.” But didn’t Christ’s tell us, “love your enemies and do good to them” (Luke 6:35)? To achieve these ends, one of Alinsky’s central tactics was, “you do what you can and clothe it in moral garments.” In other words, present an evil idea but use a trusted face of good like a priest, pastor or rabbi to represent it, to make it credible.
Alinsky’s method is alive and well today. President Obama was a trained Alinskyian organizer and Hillary Clinton is also a disciple who wrote her Wellesley College thesis on him. She corresponded with him and met him on several occasions before his death in 1972. She also claimed that Alinsky didn’t go far enough! Fast forward to today and to James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas Action. In one of O’Keefe’s undercover videos that broke this week, he shows Democratic operative Scott Foval, who answers to the DNC and Clinton, saying, “It doesn’t matter what the frigging legal and ethics people say, we need to win this mother***ker… we’re starting anarchy here.” Sounds like repackaged Alinsky, “the end justifies almost any means” and “The life of man upon earth is warfare”?
We must “set out into the deep” to stop this cancer before the last remnant of America is laid to rest. We must all do our part to stop those who would destroy our country. That’s why I teamed with EWTN to make a movie. But each of us can do something to save our country and make sure its founding promise is honored.
Stephen Payne is the producer/director of the new film “A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”