Four Infallible Ways to Navigate the Winds of Crisis -

by James Bascom

If there is one dominating characteristic that backlights American politics – on the right as well as the left – it is a growing sense of desperation. After nearly eight years of President Obama’s disastrous policies, the prospect of another Democratic president is simply unthinkable to most conservatives. For them, especially those activists in the trenches of the Culture War, the 2016 election is increasingly seen as one of the most important in our lifetimes, if not the history of the American Republic. They are desperate to avoid what might be the most liberal president in our history.

This desperation extends to the left as well. Liberal politicians, activists, and professional agitators, thwarted by a conservative Congress and a defiant American public that have blocked a significant part of President Obama’s agenda, are resorting to every legal and illegal tactic in the book to impose their agenda on America with unprecedented speed and ferocity. If anyone doubts the very real desperation and frustration on the left, then one doesn’t have to look any farther than the screeching followers of Bernie Sanders.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

Leftists are doing everything they can to exacerbate tensions and foment fear and uncertainty. By supporting the immigration of thousands of Muslim “refugees,” liberals are essentially facilitating the slipping through of Islamic terrorism into America. The so-called “Black Lives Matter” movement that has helped create a climate, in which police are being killed, has made Americans more fearful than ever.

Taking a page from totalitarian regimes around the world, liberals have begun to use fear to intimidate conservative Americans into silence. With a fanaticism that borders on religious fervor, the left has moved far beyond civilized debate and instead has initiated a type of great purge to root out everyone from academia, government, the military, and the corporate world who dares to oppose political correctness. This can be seen in the violent response from every liberal lever of power to North Carolina’s HB2 (the so-called “Bathroom Law”), Indiana’s failed Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), or the vicious attacks on Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who conscientiously refused to issue homosexual “marriage” licenses.

With fear comes another dangerous element: anxiety about the future. We Americans are a practical people who place great importance on planning for the future. Unlike other countries with a more indifferent attitude, American culture traditionally values overcoming future difficulties with planning and foresight. We apply this outlook to everything. In war, we ensure victory with utterly overwhelming technology and firepower. In finance, we hedge our bets to minimize exposure and risk. In our personal lives, we insure our property and even our lives against possible loss.

But this national trait can become a liability when we encounter situations with no apparent solution. When we are no longer able to foresee the future, when we feel that we are no longer in control of our destiny, we can easily succumb to discouragement and despair.

This combination of desperation, anxiety, and fear is deadlier even than the physical threats we face. This time-tested mix is used by revolutionaries to manipulate people into accepting ideas and policies they normally would not consider. Fear of a new World War led Western nations to appease Adolf Hitler in the thirties. Fear of a nuclear holocaust during the Cold War was used to intimidate Western nations into conceding to Soviet demands. Fear of civil unrest in the sixties and seventies allowed liberals to implement their radical social experiments and government programs on American society.

Likewise, the fear of riots, Islamic terrorism, and a third World War with Russia or China is influencing Americans to do today what was almost unthinkable a generation ago: to question and even doubt the foundational principles of our country and the Christian West and to retreat from the indispensable role that our country plays in the world today. Tragically, many Americans have already lost hope and are simply waiting for the inevitable crash. They have grown indifferent to the consequences of such a calamity and have abandoned the fight to save America. Some, taking an imbalanced view of our national faults, have even cheered on our enemies’ efforts to destroy America.

 
How can a concerned American navigate these pitfalls and discern the correct response to the crisis? The burning problems facing our country today do not have easy, obvious solutions. One thing we can do, however, is to adopt the right disposition so that we may not find ourselves deceived by the many false solutions that will lead our country to ruin. There are four specific things we must ask of God if we wish to successfully navigate the winds of crisis.

First, we must pray for calm. In times of crisis, those people who dominate themselves and maintain a cool head successfully emerge unscathed. In fact, it is precisely in times of deepest crisis when we need calm the most.

And for those with Faith, we have the sublime example of Our Lord Jesus Christ when He slept on the boat of His Apostles on the Sea of Galilee during a storm. When Saint Peter woke up the Master with the despairing words, “Master, we perish!”, with a divine tranquility, He commanded the winds and the waves to cease. To His astonished Apostles, He asked, “Where is your faith?”A sign of personal greatness is the ability to stay cool while under fire, whether it be on the battlefield, during a debate, or in times of social unrest or confusion like our own. Some of the most memorable stories of heroism, for example, are on the battlefield when officers calmly and valiantly expose themselves to gunfire in order to calm their men and lead a successful counterattack. In times of crisis – in life no less than war – those who allow themselves to be overcome by fear or panic will always perish.

Second, we must ask to be guided by reason, not emotions. Fear and desperation are strong emotions that can lead people to forget or even deny what their reason tells them is true. When we see institutions crumble and our way of life under threat, we may easily allow ourselves to be deceived by slick propaganda and charismatic leaders who more often than not lead nations to ruin.

Our reason must also be firmly rooted in principles, namely, true philosophy, natural law, and the traditional Magisterium of the Catholic Church. Empires come and go, great leaders rise and fall, but the perennial principles taught by the Church must be our true refuge, especially in times of chaos and confusion such as ours. It is more important than ever to scrutinize proposed solutions in accordance with Faith and morals, to study the burning issues of the day with seriousness, and to resist the tendency to solve very complex problems with over-simplified “solutions.”

Third, we must pray to God, through the intervention of His Holy Mother Mary, for courage. Our generation is being forced to reckon with a crisis that has been brewing for generations. Seeds sewn centuries ago are only now coming to fruition. The left has expended enormous amounts of time, money, and effort to infiltrate every institution of power and influence to subvert what remains of the Christian social order.

In the face of such a daunting threat, it is easy to despair and simply retreat from the field of battle to await the inevitable collapse of society. It seems that the forces of the left are simply too strong to resist. This position, sometimes called the “Benedict Option,” is being promoted by some Catholic commentators. Although attractive to many, the “Benedict Option” can easily lead to an unconditional surrender to evil. And as any good spiritual director would say, surrender to the devil is not the path to Heaven.

And lest we forget, it is we and not evil who have the certainty of victory. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself promised that the gates of Hell will not prevail against the Church, and Our Lady of Fatima declared before the whole world that “Finally, my Immaculate Heart would triumph.” The Church has survived 2,000 years and can confidently say to the world, “I have seen other winds, I have weathered other storms.”[1] We must imitate the confidence and Faith of Saint Joan of Arc, who declared, “In God’s name, the soldiers will fight, and He will grant victory.”Nor is it rooted in reality. Evil has never simply allowed the good to live in peace.  Rather, evil men actively hunt down the good to pervert and destroy them. The ancient Romans sought out Christians and killed them wherever they were found. Islam has spent its entire existence invading Christian lands. Socialists have sought ever more sinister ways to conquer souls through propaganda, education, and culture. The only effective response to evil is and always has been to fight back with redoubled vigor.

Fourth, we must show openness and docility to the winds of the Holy Spirit. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways,” the Scriptures say.[2]  Although we often don’t understand why they come and for what purpose, the trials and tribulations of life that God sends us are always for our greater good. He may send us a grace to perform a particular mission, or He may ask us to make a unique sacrifice that is completely beyond our limited understanding.

The saints and heroes of history were asked to perform unimaginable deeds in the face of seemingly impossible situations. The Apostles as they began the conversion of the world to Christianity, Don Pelayo at Covadonga in Spain, Godfrey of Bouillon during the First Crusade, Saint Joan of Arc when called by her voices, or Christopher Columbus sailing for the New World, are just a few examples of heroes who heard the voice of grace and corresponded to it. Although they could never have foreseen the consequences of their obedience to God’s grace, it always resulted in some of the most glorious chapters in the history of the Church.

Like Our Lord in the Garden of Olives, we must respond to these moments of trial, confusion, and suffering with docility, obedience, and humility. “Not as I wilt, but as Thou will” should be our lifelong response to them. Rather than consult our own will, we must discern what God’s will is in a given situation.

In Return to Order, John Horvat writes about the dangers we now face as a nation and the ease with which we may fall into false solutions:

“…at a time when the situation calls for firm principles, decisive action, and unity, we could find ourselves scattered in a confusing jumble. A psychological climate could reign where there is a doubting of all certainties, a supremacy of the emotions, and a rule of relativism. What characterizes these false solutions is a general loss of faith in political solutions and a corresponding tendency not to believe in anything at all. We run the risk of a reaction driven, not by convictions, but only by frustration, whim, and rage.”[3]

Let us pray to God, through the intervention of His Blessed Mother, to have the courage to face our present crisis with true Christian heroism and the wisdom to discern and avoid the traps laid by Satan, the father of lies.

[1] “Alios ego vidi ventos; alias prospexi animo procellas,” Cicero, Familiares, 12,
25, 5.

[2] Isaias, 55:8

[3] Horvat, John, Return to Order, p. 110

Four Infallible Ways to Navigate the Winds of Crisis -: Four Infallible Ways to Navigate the Winds of Crisis

How to Delete Your Facebook Account … and Reclaim Your Life -

By John Horvat II

I received an email from a reader asking me to republish an article I wrote about how to delete a Facebook account. The only problem is that I never wrote or posted an article on the subject. However, the request intrigued me, and I decided to take up the challenge and write an article.

My angle will be different from those that take Facebook users through the many steps needed to purge their digital footprints. I cannot compete with these experts who explain the technical process of getting off.  However, I believe that much more important than deleting the virtual account is eliminating the desire for connectivity that has turned the smartphone into a tool to feed obsessions. I will focus on this aspect of the Facebook disconnect that most people do not consider.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

The task is a bit complicated by the fact that I am not on Facebook. I belong to that unconnected portion of the population that has never been “friended” or “unfriended” by virtual strangers. However, I am on other social media and am certain that the psychological disconnecting procedure is very much the same.

A Two Part Process

Of course, I am assuming you really want to get off Facebook and you have made a definitive decision to leave for one reason or another. My only focus will be how to get off Facebook, not the reasons why you should.

Once you decide you do want to get off Facebook, leaving it is a two-part process. The first and easiest part consists of deleting your Facebook account. Just leave Facebook in one fell swoop. Search the Internet for instructions to make the move and follow them exactly. Celebrate your liberation—perhaps with one final post before hitting the delete button.

The second part of the process is much harder and consists of three not-so-easy steps. These steps will help prevent relapses back to Facebook or using other social media to take its place. It cuts to the core by deleting the driving impulses that make the Facebook account so attractive.

The problem with social media is something I call the frenetic intemperance of our times. It is that constant desire that permeates all fields and causes one to crave everything, instantly and effortless, regardless of the consequences. This frenetic intemperance is tearing our country and its economy apart. It affects family and spiritual life.

Step #1: Reject Imaginary Worlds

In the case of Facebook, frenetic intemperance consists of that incessant urge to be connected, check notifications and instantly feel validated by others. Social media tend to create imaginary worlds of followers and friends or shares and likes that take on an importance much greater than what they really are. There is also the tendency of self-aggrandizement by which people seek to imagine and present themselves as more than they actually are to impress followers in these imaginary worlds.

Thus, the first step consists of not giving importance to these false metrics. The connectivity you sense is often a false connectivity since a good number of your now-former Facebook friends really don’t know who you are, and probably will not miss you when you leave their world. When the urge comes to reconnect with Facebook, tell yourself that it is much better to have two real friends than two thousand Facebook “friends.” It is much better to receive expressions of approval and affection from a real person than to receive a thousand “likes” from virtual friends you hardly know.  It is much more enjoyable to view magnificent scenes through one’s own eyes than through the frenetic selfie lens of trying to impress friends on the Facebook wall.

When the temptation comes to start using other social media, spend some time away from them to experience just how unimportant these imaginary worlds can be. Put social media in context and take control of your life.

Step #2: Limit Connectivity

The second step in eliminating Facebook urges is to limit connectivity to social media and the Internet in general. Facebook feeds off the desire of eternal connectivity. It continually sends notifications to assure you that you are important. It incites you to answer instantly and thus interrupt what you are doing which ends up taking up so much precious time.

To overcome the connectivity urge, take measures to limit your connections with cyberspace. Take time out from connections during parts of the day or weekends. Do not sleep next to a connection or go to bed with an iPhone in your hand (as a surprising number of people do). Make it difficult to connect during selected times by using programs that schedule access. Dumb down your smartphones with apps that limit use or embarrass you by telling you how many [hundreds of] times you have connected on a given day.

 
In short, take back control of your life by spending less time connected. Above all, realize that connectivity is often neither urgent nor necessary. You are not the center of the world. The world will survive quite well when unconnected to you. You will also feel much less burdened when you cut the ties to virtual worlds and strengthen those in the real one.

Step #3: Fill the Void with Something Else

The final step is to fill the Facebook void. Obviously, we spend enormous amounts of time on Facebook because we think it fills a need in our hurried postmodern world.

This is not unreasonable since we are social beings that crave interaction with others. Personal contacts serve to provide that human touch that is often suffocated by the frenetic intemperance of our times.  Our problem is that we often substitute this needed personal interaction with contacts with so many faceless Facebook friends. We come to prefer a rapid fire of short cold, vacuous postings to the rich personal experience of a conversation full of nuance and context.

The way to overcome the Facebook void is to fill it with real interaction and development. Such alternatives might involve the art of conversation and reading. Of course, high on the list of replacement is screenless time with family and friends. Filling the void can find expression in art and music. Above all, it should involve in connecting with God and your relationship with Him. We need to slow down, think, reflect … and pray. Everyone has a unique personality with God-given talents that can be developed and brought to bloom. Take the time wasted on social media to let your light shine upon those around you.

Doing Those Things That Really Matter

This is how you can delete your Facebook account and the impulses associated with it. It is not easy, but it can improve the quality of your life and open up time to do those important things that matter.

To those who prefer to remain on Facebook, the same three not-so-easy steps can also be applied. By taking these measures, you can control your usage and not be enslaved in imaginary virtual worlds. However, the moderate use of social media involves constant restraint since the urges toward instant connectivity will always seek to make you want more and more.

The important thing is to have the courage to face up to Facebook and other social media that become obsessive. Technology exists to serve us, much as a horse serves its rider. If we are serving technology, then we are not riding the horse but being dragged along with foot in the stirrup behind it. We need to take steps to get back in the saddle.

How to Delete Your Facebook Account … and Reclaim Your Life -: How to Delete Your Facebook Account … and Reclaim Your Life

Answering a Troubling Question: Man, Woman, or Whatever? -

By John Horvat II

A friend of mine recently rejoiced because he had finally found a job after being unemployed for a few months. It was an engineering job with a good company comparable to the one he had before. However, there was one thing about the final interview that bothered him. He was asked: “What is your gender?”

My friend is an outdoorsman with a wife and children. It is evident that he is the man he is, so he was understandably offended and embarrassed at the same time. He was perplexed that this query was presented as a serious question that he had to answer for a job that is all about physical observable reality. The fact that it is now part of the standard operating procedure of a reputable engineering firm is a disturbing omen of terrible things to come.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

Worse yet, I can imagine that some liberal readers might even look with sympathy upon the question that I view as troubling since they see it as somehow making amends for the centuries of “oppression” suffered by those who think themselves transgendered — long before the term or notion was invented. Such sympathizers have always prepared the way for the acceptance of absurd trends.

The simple fact is that this question did not just happen. It is the fruit of a long process. It also points to the appearance of future existential questions that will cast doubt on just about anything.

We can take the sexual revolution of the sixties as a point of departure for what we are experiencing. This revolution sought to install a culture that leads people to resent the very idea of restraint and scorn the spiritual, religious, moral, and cultural values that serve to order and keep society in balance. It declared that all morality is a mere “construct” of society that can be and should be “deconstructed” to make room for new levels of freedom.

As a result, the sexual revolution has done much to break down the barriers between the sexes. It has ushered in a wave of promiscuity that has led to the proliferation of divorce, contraception, abortion, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, unmarried couples, and pornography everywhere. All this has contributed to destroying society’s moral fiber and mainstreaming every type of sexual disorder. It has to a large extent succeeded in obtaining this particular goal.

We are suffering the consequences of this revolution in the tragedies of shattered lives, broken families, and empty churches that litter the social landscape and are tearing the nation apart. The “freedom” offered by the sexual revolution has yielded disastrous consequences that weigh heavily upon all society and the public purse.

However, even with the generalizing of promiscuity since the sixties, it proved impossible to be rid of all restraints. Those who pushed forward the sexual agenda had to admit the undeniable physical reality that the male and female categories still exist and carry with them their respective restrictions. They still had to work inside the complex parameters of a male/female world.

Moreover, inside this male/female reality, there always exists the possibility of forming a family and the re-establishment of a morality that would undermine the “gains” of the sexual revolution.

That is why this next phase of the sexual revolution — the transgender revolution — is so threatening and bizarre. The agents of this change need no longer be anchored in physical reality, logic, or biological science. Reality becomes what you imagine it to be. In such a fantasy world, one can ignore the obvious and ask: Are you a man? Woman? Something in-between?

That is to say, we have entered the reign of fantasy where concrete reality is forced to conform to delusions. This is not the action of some isolated and confused individuals that want attention and that does not affect the population as a whole. No, the official business establishment is now institutionalizing fantasy and making it part of their reality. It involves schools, universities, and government institutions that are abolishing sexual pronouns, inventing new ones, and penalizing those who make mistakes in their use.

And that is the troubling part of the question. No society can function inside such a framework of fantasy. Modernity is based on a rational foundation and amaterialism that needs predictability, statistics, and real-time data to work efficiently. Since fantasy abstracts from logic, it must use force to compel people to adhere to its erratic and irrational rules. When the obvious man can no longer be considered a man, the obvious woman can no longer be considered a woman, fantasy rules. Any new imagining (beyond transgenderism) can become the norm. And that is dangerous, for fantasy is the stuff upon which tyranny is built.

How would you answer the troubling question?

As seen on americanthinker.com

Answering a Troubling Question: Man, Woman, or Whatever? -: Answering a Troubling Question: Man, Woman, or Whatever?

The Manliness of the Prodigal Son

By James Bascom

The parable of the Prodigal Son is one of the most memorable and moving of all Our Lord Jesus Christ’s parables. Many who cannot name all Ten Commandments can nevertheless give a rough outline of the story. It has been widely represented in Christian art since the Middle Ages, and even today is often referenced in literature and film.

Its divine themes—grievous sin, terrible suffering, true repentance, and unconditional forgiveness—are like the finger of God touching the very heart of the human condition. No matter how often we see others follow the same path of perdition as the Prodigal Son, our pride fools us into thinking that our lives will end differently. No matter how much we are warned, we fall into sin. No matter how much we sin, we repent only when we encounter suffering. And no matter how virtuous we think we are, we are all Prodigal Sons in need of forgiveness from an all-merciful Father. These themes touch Americans very deeply.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

On the one hand, we are a nation that maintains a good and healthy regard for justice, especially towards unrepentant evildoers. We cheer the policeman who arrests the rogue criminal and find satisfaction in his just reward of a long jail sentence. We still support, by a large majority, the death penalty for our very worst criminals. We instinctively fight back against Islamic terrorism and—to the horror of liberals everywhere—cheer when unarmed American civilians beat unconscious would-be terrorists on a French train, or when an American Navy warship blows Somali pirates out of the water.

But something has changed in the American soul over the last few generations. Although we still have a love of justice, we increasingly refuse to take responsibility for our actions. We shirk our duties and obligations. We have the tendency to blame everyone and everything except ourselves for our faults and failings. And worst of all, we feel no shame for assigning blame and even cheer those who do so.

This mentality dominates in so many parts of our culture. Our legal system is overwhelmed with frivolous lawsuits from people who often take advantage of their own mistakes to extort money from others. Husbands and wives often blame each other for their marital disputes and prefer divorce to working through difficulties. Hollywood glamorizes characters that live for themselves and shirk responsibility, and even portray idealistic and self-sacrificing people as stupid or naïve.

 

We teach this mentality to our youth. When “helicopter parents” berate their children’s teachers for daring to give them a less-than-stellar grade, or when they confront a referee who made an unfavorable call in a sports game—regular occurrences today—those children learn that actions have no consequences. When able-bodied fathers sign up for food stamps rather than earn an honest living, or when career women abort their unborn children so they can continue to climb the corporate ladder, children learn that irresponsibility pays off.

A generation of Americans has grown up immersed in this ethic of irresponsibility. Unfortunately, there is no easy way out. Without a widespread conversion, a culture of irresponsibility naturally falls into a death spiral. Selfish, irresponsible people corrode their own culture, economy, and family structure, which leads to further selfishness, finger-pointing, and irresponsibility.

That brings us back to the Prodigal Son. In His infinite Wisdom, Our Lord Jesus Christ’s parables were given as supreme examples for all times and all peoples. Indeed, the parable of the Prodigal Son has many striking similarities with the specific situation in which America finds herself, and provides a clear path to repentance and conversion if we are willing to take it.

For a little while at least, he spent his father’s inheritance enjoying all the delights the world had to offer. Food, drink, and prostitutes were his new idols. Secure with his inheritance and new “friends,” he likely scoffed at his father’s paternal advice. When he talked about his father—if he did at all—he may have even mocked his former life at home.The Prodigal Son certainly didn’t leave his father’s house thinking he might end up herding swine. Although he walked away from immense wealth and happiness, he probably thought that he could enjoy the pleasures of the world while avoiding the pitfalls that befell other, less “enlightened” young men. His father, no doubt, warned him of the dangers of the world, but even he was unable to sway his son’s determination.

In spite of all his father’s paternal advice and love, it was only through suffering that the Prodigal Son began to seriously consider the folly of his life. A great famine came upon the land, making life expensive. The Prodigal Son soon ran out of money and was reduced to herding swine. Worse than any physical suffering must have been his public humiliation. His new master may have known him before the famine struck, saw him frequent the local taverns, and stagger back drunk to his comfortable lodgings. If so, he probably didn’t let him forget it, as he went about his daily tasks taking care of his master’s pigs.

As he sat watching the swine devour the husks that he so ardently wished to eat, many ideas must have flashed through his mind. He may have been tempted to wallow in self-pity. He could have spent his days, telling anyone willing to listen, all the gory details of how “they” caused his misfortune.The Prodigal Son likely had many legitimate grievances against others for his predicament. The famine that exposed his bad decisions was not his fault. Our Lord did not give a cause, but it could very well have been a man-made disaster. Perhaps the “ruling class” of that country, like the Prodigal Son himself, made bad decisions, which destroyed the local economy. There might have been a war that exhausted the whole country and crippled agriculture. As a rich man in a foreign country, he was certainly a target for thieves and hucksters.

This is the effeminate response to a crisis. Effeminate men are unable to do the two things that define manliness: take responsibility for their actions and to do one’s duty regardless of the difficulty. They blame others for their own faults, create intricate justifications for their irresponsibility, and above all criticize men who don’t make excuses (behind their backs, of course).

This timeless parable has many lessons for us Americans today. Our culture, economy, and society are in crisis. As John Horvat points out in his book, Return to Order, we are spending our inheritance like passengers on a great cruise ship without any consideration for tomorrow. While we are enjoying ourselves, our government is paralyzed, our economy is plunging full speed into bankruptcy, and the traditional family is disfigured almost beyond recognition. A modern-day famine in the form of an economic crash would plunge the whole world into chaos.The Prodigal Son, on the contrary, reacted to his predicament with true manliness. It took courage to confront his failings directly, to say the words “I have sinned” and to ask for forgiveness. To be sure, there certainly were factors outside his control that contributed to his misfortunes, but he recognized that he alone bore ultimate responsibility. It took manly heroism to humiliate himself in front of his father, older brother and their whole household after he had so proudly defied them and suffered the consequences.

Like the Prodigal Son, we have a choice. We can listen to the many voices of irresponsibility coming from both the left and the right. They place the blame exclusively on others, be it “Wall Street”, the Chinese, or the “1%.” These outside forces, to be sure, have indeed played a role in undermining our economy. But to place the blame entirely on them is akin to a man who blames a casino for taking his money. The casino certainly was dishonest in its dealings with him, but no matter how one may spin it, the blame for his loss lies entirely in his disordered tendencies and vices.

We must reject this effeminate response and imitate the manly example of the Prodigal Son. Like him, we must look inward very deeply and ask ourselves if our vices, and not some faceless external enemy, are the root cause of our predicament. How much do I participate in the “frenetic intemperance” of our modern economy? Have I participated in the cruise ship mentality, spending as if there were no tomorrow? Do I grieve for our beloved nation, or do I shrug my shoulders at her destruction as if it were the bankruptcy of a Fortune 500 company (a pity to be sure, but no real loss)?

Do I live according to the Rule of Money, which elevates all that is vulgar, egalitarian, and materialistic, or the Rule of Honor, which admires the sublime, heroic, and noble? Do I embrace the restraining influence of Christian morality in economy, with its natural checks and balances rooted in the Ten Commandments, or do I participate in the modern mania for destruction of every barrier and restraint? If so, am I willing to turn away from this path and return to my Father’s house, or do I care only for myself and for today, with no regard for tomorrow?

Our society and economy will return to order only after we take responsibility for our actions and do our duty to God and country, no matter how difficult. The father of the Prodigal Son was willing and ready to receive him at any moment, but he was powerless to help his son until the day when he stopped blaming others, admitted his guilt, repented of his sins and returned to his father’s house. But no matter how sinful he had been, the father was willing to forgive and forget in an instant all the evil his son had done, and to even rejoice in his return. Our nation is that Prodigal Son. May we respond to God’s grace and muster the courage necessary to imitate his manliness and return to the house of our most loving Eternal Father.

'Return to Order’ Earns Tenth Award: Underscores Book’s Broad Appeal

SPRING GROVE, PENN (Aug. 27, 2016) – The book, Return to Order, has just won its tenth award, a milestone that underscores the author’s message is resonating with an America that needs to find its moral compass. The book, written by John Horvat II, vice president for The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), earned first prize in the 2016 CIPA EVVY Book Awards in the social science category.

“The award is a great honor,” Horvat commented. “I think it shows how the book’s message speaks to our confusing times with answers that appeal to a broad range of people.”

Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society —Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go is reaching readers and driving discussions nationwide as Horvat speaks to groups, talk show hosts and leaders. He has been inspiring listeners with his candid and motivating messages making the necessary links between the economy, faith and moral values. He demonstrates that society’s secular, materialistic culture is causing social and economic ruin.

Free Book: Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society—Where We’ve Been, How We Got Here, and Where We Need to Go

The CIPA EVVY Book Award is significant because it is one of the oldest independent publishing competitions in the country. It is sponsored by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association (CIPA), along with the CIPA Education and Literacy Foundation (ELF). It attracts writers in 39 categories from all over the world.

The award comes as nearly 240,000 copies of Return to Order are in circulation in print, e-book and audio formats. Horvat has given presentations in more than five dozen cities across the nation and in Europe and has participated in more than 350 media interviews in the past three years. He is also a frequent contributor to numerous national news outlets including American Thinker, Crisis Magazine, Imaginative Conservative,TheBlaze and others.


“The mediating institutions that once allowed for civil debate are wearing down, The unifying principles that set the groundwork for a governing consensus no longer unify. said Horvat recently in an article on CrisisMagazine.com. “That is why a return to order is so important.”

Return to Order has received dozens of endorsements from church, military and political leaders. It has ranked #1 on Amazon/Kindle in four countries.

“This book proposes a revitalization of long-standing Christian practices as an antidote to current economic discontinuities. Using practical-minded recommendations to resolve massively complex societal issues, Return to Order is a proposal that should be welcomed by those looking for a path to economic recovery and a tempering of future disruptions,” says Chicago Daily Observer President John B. Powers.

For more information about Return to Order, to receive an electronic media kit, or to schedule an interview with John Horvat, please call 717-309-7147 or email jh1908@aol.com.

'Return to Order’ Earns Tenth Award: Underscores Book’s Broad Appeal: ‘Return to Order’ Earns Tenth Award: Underscores Book’s Broad Appeal