Saturday, June 18, 2022

D. L. Gardner: Games People Play

“Oh the games people play now, every night and every day now, never meaning what they say now, never saying what they mean.” American singer-songwriter Joe South wrote, composed and performed “Games People Play,” released in August 1968. The song won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Song and for Song of the Year. What a song for 1968, and even more for 2022.


To be sure, South was not writing about politicians or personalities. He was, “Talking ‘bout you and me and the games people play.” Ouch! Take that on the chin!


I Kings 8:46 says, “for there is no man who does not sin.” In his letter to believers in Rome, Paul doubles down quoting many Old Testament saints, writing, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God….”


Unless we deceive ourselves, we know we are guilty and none of us is better than anyone else. Nevertheless human nature drives us to persecute those we perceive to be the worst. Those who are most righteous do not shrink from casting the first stone.


“People walking up to ya, singing glory Hallelujah, and they’re tryin’ to sock it to you in the name of the Lord. They’re gonna teach you how to meditate, read your horoscope, cheat your fate, and further more to hell with hate. Come on and get on board.” Today protesters angrily spew streams of expletives as they wave posters denouncing ‘hate.’


Perhaps the most hated man in America today is former President Donald Trump. For more than six years he and his supporters have galvanized the hatred of critics who riot, burn and destroy, kill and maim, and rebel against all authority. Those consumed with hatred of Trump deeply despise him personally, though not necessarily his policies, especially in comparison with his successor’s policies. 


What if believers, not everybody but just those who profess Jesus as their Lord and Savior would spend one waking day, dawn to bedtime thanking God for forgiving us for all of our own personal sins? No politics. No griping or complaining. Nothing but good words of blessings to those we talk with and about. Just one full day, 24 hours. Wonder what percentage of American voices would offer nothing but blessings, even while driving? 


The Bible says our human nature is totally, 100% corrupted. Humanists say we are all basically good at heart with the caveat that some of us are naturally better than others whether by nature or by nurture. 


The fallen human nature has always drawn each of us to play righteous games with one another. It’s always been more about winning and losing than about right and wrong, and rarely about truth or lies. 


This week the Supreme Court will announce decisions of right and wrong, winners and losers. Those with stakes in the adjudications will celebrate or protest as if these decisions will make or break the United States of America. 


Joe South wrote, “Look around tell me what you see, what’s happening to you and me, God grant me the serenity to just remember who I am…. ‘Cause you’ve given up your sanity for your pride and your vanity, turn your back on humanity, oh and you don’t give a da da da….”

 

Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, MS. You may contact him at PJandMe2@gmail.com.

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am a fellow patriot, but I think DL has OD’d on too many red pills and gone off the rails into unhinged street-preacher territory.
Next step is quoting the Book of Enoch and cross referencing the Bhagavad Gita.
If he next travels to Israel then he may end up with Jerusalem Syndrome and need to be rescued from Wandering the Negev or trespassing on Tel Megiddo.

Tweety said...

Ok, Let's do this.
July 3rd
Nothing but good words of blessings to those we talk with and about.
Who's in?

Anonymous said...

D.L needs to read how own column and look in the mirror. Trump was the main hater channeling Christians - which is unfortunate because many of his policies such as the economy, border/immigration and the US role in foreign affairs were ones I could support.

Anonymous said...

"Perhaps the most hated man in America today is former President Donald Trump. For more than six years he and his supporters have galvanized the hatred of critics who riot, burn and destroy, kill and maim, and rebel against all authority. Those consumed with hatred of Trump deeply despise him personally, though not necessarily his policies, especially in comparison with his successor’s policies."

Let's emphasize this point in DL Gardner's article, "galvanized the hatred of critics who riot, burn and destroy, kill and maim, and rebel against all authority."

So how are Donald Trump's supporters any different from his critics, considering what they did to the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021!?

Hey DL before you make ignorant comments about liberals rebelling against authority, why don't you come back to reality and hold your fearless leader and his followers to the same level of accountability when he/they do not get their way.

Anonymous said...

9:05 AM, So how are Donald Trump's supporters any different from his critics, considering what they did to the US Capitol on January 6th, 2021!?

They are different because they are being hunted down and being destroyed. Not so much the other side. On Jan 6th one person was killed and that was a woman killed by one of the guards. How many people were killed in all of the other "mostly peaceful protests"? What makes Jan 6th different than a mostly peaceful protest? How many cities were taken hostage during the year of protest? How many businesses burned, robbed?

Anonymous said...

There are four post as I read the comments, three totally detached from reality.

Anonymous said...

@ June 19, 2022 at 11:24 AM

Ha! You are actually comparing some piss ants looting a Walgreens, to some obnoxious Trumpers in their feelings because Donald J. Trump lost an election????

January 6th was an attempt to overturn a damn election and the nation's capital was bum-rushed!?

You can try and water that down all you want.

There's a significant difference between looting some neighborhoods and attacking our nations federal branch of government to overturn a national election.

Anonymous said...

Hahahahahaha, if you think 1/6/2021 was an attempt to over through the country, you don't have the brains GOD gave the pissant.

Anonymous said...

Trump has made a fool of better men than D. L. Speaking of a pissant.

Anonymous said...

"Hahahahahaha, if you think 1/6/2021 was an attempt to over through the country, you don't have the brains GOD gave the pissant."

This genius probably has some grand conspiracy whipped up in their head, that Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pence whipped it all up with Antifa and poor lil Donald Trump only gave a speech and he had nothing to do with people marching to the capital

Anonymous said...

I don’t even see liberal democrats as human anymore. They are all willing demonic servants of darkness, preying on God’s children. The Lord almighty has proven time and again, his willingness to smite the dark forces who corrupt the children. God works in mysterious ways. Perhaps his servant Putin will deploy the aptly named Satan ICBM and vaporize the Hollywierd pimps and pedos.

Who knows? But if it happens, I am certain that it will be God’s will behind done.

Anonymous said...

I appreciate you acknowledging my intellect, but your assumptions have made an ass of you. I didn't vote for Trump, and I don't believe it was a conspiracy.

Not only that, but I do believe, unlike the liberals, that what happened on 1/6/2021 didn't come close to imperiling our republic. Of course, your kind are worried about a democracy, which we don't have. So your fretting was/is unwarranted.

It seems like the Democratic Party is creating more fools than Donald Trump could ever do. No one on that side of the aisle seems the least bit concerned by the amount of money, and time, their Democrat representatives have/are wasting trying to place blame on Trump. So, who is being made the fool? Shouldn't your representatives be working on legislation to improve your life? Maybe Mr. Thompson can take time from his busy TV work to help his district, or maybe not.

At least the pissant knows, and is about its business.

Anonymous said...

Last Tuesday night I went to CNN.com to check election results. Out of curiosity, I counted exactly one article about Joe Biden and eleven articles on Donald Trump. That is an 11:1 ratio.
Yes, Trump is hated.

Anonymous said...

Not only that, but I do believe, unlike the liberals, that what happened on 1/6/2021 didn't come close to imperiling our republic. Of course, your kind are worried about a democracy, which we don't have. So your fretting was/is unwarranted.

Isn't that convenient?

Because the events that day did not actually come to fruition with the mob grabbing hold of Nancy Pelosi, or Mike Pence. That Mike Pence did not decide to follow Trumps instructions to deny the results of the election.

The funniest shit to me is that the same people that rushed the capital that day, went back home utilizing this nation's infrastructure, from the highways to the airports, to the trains, made stops at grocery stores, and fast-food restaurants to feed their faces.

They enjoyed every creature comfort this civil society has to offer at this moment, then tried to change it in an instant, and just hours prior were trying to change the way this nation functions in regards to "peaceful" transfer of power. You geniuses thought it was going to be business as usual, if that mess was successful!? LMAO!!!!

Kingfish said...

I'm not approving your comment because no cops were killed in that riot. None died of their injuries. I corrected Sid Salter on it and I'll correct you. No such comments are getting approved.

Anonymous said...

Sid Salter wrote a falsehood?! Horrors! I sure such transgressions have not occurred more that 5,000 or 6,000 times.

Anonymous said...

Isn't what convenient? What point are you attempting to make? You're posting incoherently. You seem to be in a manic state. Is this the emotional state that causes/caused you, and the left wing of the Democratic Party, to act so irrationally? Maybe you should have gone to your safe space before you hit send.

There was one that didn't utilize this nation's infrastructure, that was Ashli Babbitt. She didn't get to go home.

Why shouldn't those people use the infrastructure their tax dollars helped build? Why shouldn't they continue to enjoy the benefits as U.S. citizens? Do you think they suddenly ceased to be U.S. citizens? Is that what you think, that because they are Trump supporters they should suddenly be stripped of their rights and due process? Ain't you a great American.

Let's see if the Justice Department agrees with your panicked view. Of the 865 people arrested, how many are charged as traitors? How many charged with the instigation of a revolution? How many with trespassing, or some lessor offense? How many will hang, because that's the penalty for treason?

There was nothing going to happen there that day, to cause the United States of American, the great republic she is, to fall. The continuity of government would have prevailed. Stiffen up buttercup.

Anonymous said...

@ June 20, 2022 at 2:30 PM

Isn't what convenient? What point are you attempting to make? You're posting incoherently. You seem to be in a manic state. Is this the emotional state that causes/caused you, and the left wing of the Democratic Party, to act so irrationally? Maybe you should have gone to your safe space before you hit send.

The points are clear and concise and it's mighty convenient how Trumpers are trying to say there's no "there there" when it comes to January 6th, 2021. Water it down and change the narrative all you want. But if the tables were turned and there was another political party and its supporters doing the same thing, Republicans/conservatives would cry for martial law.

Why shouldn't those people use the infrastructure their tax dollars helped build? ............Do you think they suddenly ceased to be U.S. citizens? - it's comical how they took it for granted while storming the capital. The minute they stormed the capital, they ceased to be citizens, and one of their ilk was walking the halls with a confederate flag, they became "confederates" in my eyes.

Thank you for bringing up Ashli Babbitt, because she clearly did not have respect for authority when they told her to stand down. She should have complied with law enforcement.

There was nothing going to happen there that day, to cause the United States of American, the great republic she is, to fall. The continuity of government would have prevailed. Stiffen up buttercup.

Deny, stay in a state of bliss. You can talk all this shit today because the worse case scenerio did not happen. Kiss your babies sweet cheeks, because they won't have a great republic for long! LOL!!!!!

Anonymous said...

You just ain't cut out for this, are you? I stated it plainly, maybe you can't comprehend what you read, I did not vote for Trump, neither will I vote for him in the future.
Damn, man, you need to do something about that Trump obsession. That's not healthy. They have medicine for that. Talk to your mom about it.

I'll throw this in there, also, I don't belong to the Republican Party. Your kind are the ones that belong to a party, you're not strong enough to stand alone. Me, I'm an American.

You finally got around to saying how you really feel. You would be judge, jury, and executioner. Which makes you no better than Stalin, Hitler, Mao Zedong, or any other of the many despots that's murdered millions of people over the years. Also, like them, you don't have what it takes to do the right thing. You only like American principles when they are working on your behalf. In other words, American in name only, which is a far greater danger to the republic than anything that happened on 1/6/2021.

Anonymous said...

You just ain't cut out for this, are you? I stated it plainly, maybe you can't comprehend what you read, I did not vote for Trump, neither will I vote for him in the future.
Damn, man, you need to do something about that Trump obsession. That's not healthy. They have medicine for that. Talk to your mom about it.

I'll throw this in there, also, I don't belong to the Republican Party. Your kind are the ones that belong to a party, you're not strong enough to stand alone. Me, I'm an American.


Slow down Ke-mo sah-bee, there is nothing but "anonymous" posters and Kingfish on this thread.

There are a couple of people calling out Trump supporters, and a couple of others that are talking about liberals and democrats. No one on here, at any time said they did not vote for DJT. How else is anyone supposed to assume otherwise when Democrats and liberals are being targeted in their arguments?

Mighty arrogant to make the comment, "you are not cut out for this"

Not cut out for what, debate? LMAO!

Here we go, the inauspicious passive-aggressive independent voter that has voted for nothing but Republicans since 1998, telling people they are a true "Free thinker" and "Independent", while woefully being biased and unwilling to admit it.

That second paragraph was a hoot too Skeeter! The shit some of you come up with when someone ruffles your little petulant feelings. LOL!!!



Anonymous said...

Officer Brian Sicknick‘s family and medical examiner would disagree with Kingfish’s narrative of the events. I guess you can’t blame Kingfish for letting the facts get in the way of his own twisted version of reality.

Kingfish said...

Get lost. As usual, you are making up things.

NPR story

Anonymous said...

@2:45 kingfish - quote from the medical examiner "all that transpired played a role in his condition."

Quite the coincidence that the day after he is attacked, he suffers two strokes, but I guess it’s not the least plausible thing that side believes about the events of that day.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, kind of like that other side believes Ashli Babbitt got what was coming to her, right? Ain't that side special?



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Trollfest '07 was such a success that Jackson Jambalaya will once again host Trollfest '09. Catch this great event which will leave NE Jackson & Fondren in flames. Othor Cain and his band, The Black Power Structure headline the night while Sonjay Poontang returns for an encore performance. Former Frank Melton bodyguard Marcus Wright makes his premier appearance at Trollfest singing "I'm a Sweet Transvestite" from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." Kamikaze will sing his new hit, “How I sold out to da Man.” Robbie Bell again performs: “Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be Bells” and “Any friend of Ed Peters is a friend of mine”. After the show, Ms. Bell will autograph copies of her mug shot photos. In a salute to “Dancing with the Stars”, Ms. Bell and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith will dance the Wango Tango.

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In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

This is definitely a Beaver production.

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