‘The Fourth of July’

 

Over the coffin of a fallen soldier

Is draped the flag of the United States,

Signifying that death lies within.

How many a Southern church, preparing

For a patriotic holiday

Is smothered in those Yankee banners

From roof to floor, inside the walls and out?

Worse than the churches of Asia Minor,

Sick and diseased, addressed by Saint John

The Revelator in the Holy Scriptures,

Not merely weak are they but truly dead –

 . . .

The rest is at https://www.reckonin.com/walt-garlington/the-fourth-of-july-poetry.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

‘The Spiritual Plane Is Manifesting after the Texas Flooding Tragedy’

 

In the wake of a serious disaster in the past, the tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2018 that killed thousands of people, someone wrote (in an essay that we can no longer find) that what is most noteworthy is not that such disasters happen.  Mankind has experienced them throughout his life on earth:  volcanoes erupting, earthquakes, fires, diseases, and so on with the rest.  What is remarkable, the writer said, is that despite all these disasters, in the face of so much grief and suffering, good things still happen in the world.

This applies to the tragedy of the flash floods that struck the interior of Texas on July 4^th [2025].  The deaths of the young Christian girls at Camp Mystic, together with the other deaths that have now surpassed 100 people total, are heart-wrenching.  And yet what do we see once again in the midst of this bleak picture of death and loss?  Virtues of all sorts:  Hope, generosity, self-sacrifice, and more besides.  Surviving campers joyfully singing Christian hymns; men and women heroically risking their lives to save victims of the flooding, or to locate the bodies of the dead.

What is this?  Who or what breaks into the death and destruction and despair of this world to bring light and comfort and healing?  It is Christ; it is Emmanuel; it is God With Us.  The sin and rebelliousness of men and women and the demons have caused chaos to reign in the world, but God has lovingly descended from the heavens to restore and mend what has been broken and damaged:

‘If there is any sense to be made of these tragedies from our poor, myopic perspective, it is one provided simply and eloquently by the Church’s liturgical worship. From Nativity, through Theophany, and on to Holy Pascha which we are now preparing, the common theme that we celebrate and proclaim to each other and to the world is summed up in the name given to Jesus at His birth, the name Emmanuel, “God is with us.” This means not only that God accompanies us, remains present with us, and provides hope and consolation in our times of grief and loss. It means above all that God shares our suffering. He takes part in our pain and anguish, fully and to the bitter end.

‘ . . . Another and still more important point, however, is the truth expressed in the name Emmanuel. In the midst of a critically unstable, and at times violently chaotic world, we can hold fast to the one truth, the one reality that matters: God is with us’ (Fr John Breck, ‘Why?,’ oca.org).

It is the love of Jesus Christ that is seen time and again when disasters strike and overwhelm us, that lifts us out of them, that keeps the world from falling completely into the depths of hopelessness.

The saints of the Church, the honored friends of Christ, are quite clear that what happens in the physical realm is a reflection of what is happening in the spiritual realm.  Without a doubt, Texas has become a veritable spiritual battleground.  Over the past year we have noted in articles here at The Hayride that largely Christian Texas has come under assault from Hinduism, the death cult of Santa Muerte, and Islam.  While the ultimate causes of tragedies like the flash flooding in Texas are mostly hidden from us, we could perhaps venture to say that, considering the warfare that is raging on the unseen spiritual plane, we should be surprised that the physical manifestation of that warfare has not produced more destructive prodigies than it has.

And Church history gives us a strong indication of how to keep both the spiritual and physical destruction at bay – by imitating and honoring the God-bearing saints, especially the Mother of God:

‘The image of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which we especially venerate today, is not merely a church feast—it is a celebration of deep significance for the history of our country. On this day, we commemorate the miraculous deliverance of our country from the aggressive expansion of Khan Akhmat. There is no need to delve into the historical aspects or examine that particular event in detail. What is important for us as believers is to highlight the main point: that every time our state stood on the edge of disaster, divine intervention—through the prayers of the Mother of God—saved us from imminent destruction. If it were not for Her special protection, if not for the prayers of the saints, if not for the firm faith of our forefathers, it is quite possible that we would no longer be gathering here in church for worship, and most likely our state would have ceased to exist long ago.

‘When our state stood on the brink of ruin, divine intervention—through the prayers of the Mother of God—delivered us from destruction.

‘How many military campaigns have there been, revolutions, diseases, epidemics—yet our nation, like a phoenix, always rose from the ashes. And of course, one is led to the thought that this is . . . also a sign of God’s special care for our nation through the prayers of the Most Pure Virgin Mary.

‘On one condition will the Lord always be with us—if we preserve the faith and our spiritual values; if we do not cave into sin and stand firm in defending our spiritual culture.  . . .

The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2025/07/garlington-the-spiritual-plane-is-manifesting-after-the-texas-flooding-tragedy/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

‘Flying Dixie’s Flag on the Fourth of July’

 

It is unsurprising to see the United States flag flying on the 4^th of July.  It is the day of the colonies’/States’ separation from Great Britain, and the beginning of their existence as countries on an equal footing with the others of the world.

And yet something is missing.  The Southern cultural element that should be present in Louisiana and the rest of Dixie has been cut out.  And one of the key components of that is the Southern flag, also known as the Confederate battle flag.

That might sound strange to some folks, but when one actually reads what Southerners of that day said and wrote, rather than the distortions and misrepresentations of it, they believed that their secession from the United States was an act of the same kind as their forefathers’ in 1776.  That is, the government in DC in 1861 had become an endangerment to them and the culture they wanted to preserve:  deeply rooted in agriculture, Christianity, the family, and good manners – values which are held in honor by both blacks and whites at the South.

The North at that time did, and still today does, live by the opposite values:  enamored with technology and industry, with various heresies, with the redefinition of the family, and personal behavior that is rude and disagreeable.

The typical Southerner continues to show his difference from those Northern values by his love for the outdoors, for pretty flower and vegetable gardens, for hunting camps and fishing ponds, by his Yes Ma’am and No Ma’am, by his intense desire for Christ, by his family reunions, by his rejection of the LGBT cult, etc.

The Southern flag is a good symbol of those values because it is a distinctly Christian flag.  The cross depicted on it is the Cross of St. Andrew the Apostle, who was crucified on an X-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.  This cross was chosen for the Southern flag thanks to the influence of the large numbers of Scottish people who made up Dixie’s population.  The Scottish highly venerated St. Andrew; their national flag in Scotland also features St. Andrew’s Cross.

 . . .

The rest may be read here:

https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/flying-dixies-flag-on-the-4th-of-july/

Or here:

https://www.hannapub.com/ouachitacitizen/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/letter-to-the-editor-confederate-flag-not-to-be-hidden-as-wicked/article_a47c8893-d812-4a6f-b2bd-eecaeb127087.html

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!

‘The Islamization of Texas and the Rest of the States’

 

This news article from Revolver reads like a horror story for those who care about traditional Texan culture, starting with de Vaca and de Coronado, on to Davy Crockett and Sam Houston, to Gen John Bell Hood and Lt Richard Dowling, and the rest of ’em:

‘As of now, Texas has the third-largest Middle Eastern immigrant population in America.

‘And that new influx of Muslims is already making sweeping changes in the Lone Star State. Just to be clear, the video clips you’re about to see weren’t filmed in Iran. They were filmed in Texas.

‘Yes, the footage is from 2022, but there’s nothing “old news” about it. Texas is changing fast, and the rise of the Muslim population and culture is playing a major role in that transformation.

‘Wall Street Apes:

‘“Seeing this in America, you should be aware of what’s happening in Texas – Texas is the number 1 state for fastest growing amount of new Muslim Mosques – Texas state government has allocated approximately $13 million in taxpayer funds to 18 Islamic organizations just in 2025 – Texas is now ranked 3rd for most Muslim Mosques in the nation – Texas is expected to overtake California for the number 1 ranking for most mosques nationwide numbers by 2025–2030, potentially as early as 2025 (THIS YEAR) if the rate new mosques being built continues”

‘https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1939900903508910201

‘Here’s another video from that event.

‘Amy Mek:

‘“Islamized Texas 🚨 The New “Mecca of the United States”

‘“Dallas has fallen….

‘“Muslim men pounding their chests in the streets of Texas for Ashura, while over 70 mosques, Islamic schools, political groups, and “religious leaders” already dominate Dallas.

‘“You think this looks foreign now? Give it five more years. Our demographics are vanishing, our culture erased, and our leaders sold us out without a fight.

‘“Where are the values that built Texas?

‘“Gone – replaced.”

‘https://twitter.com/AmyMek/status/1940331571044896980’ (‘This isn’t Iran… It’s Texas…,’ revolver.news).

Alarmingly, Texas’s situation isn’t unique.  Islam is gaining ground all across the US, where the number of mosques has increased by 31% from 2010 to 2020, from 2,106 to 2,769.

We are heading for a gigantic reckoning in Texas and many another State in Dixie and beyond.  The political institutions that we’ve grown accustomed to aren’t going to last very long under the influence of the imams of Dallas, Minneapolis, etc.  What has developed under Christianity will change dramatically under Islam.  We are not so keen on some of Alexander Hamilton’s views, he being a strong proponent of turning the United States into an empire with a powerful central government, but he expressed the truth when he wrote in 1799,

‘“I hold with Montesquieu, that a government must be fitted to a nation, as much as a coat to the individual; and, consequently, that what may be good at Philadelphia may be bad at Paris, and ridiculous at Petersburg.”

‘In other words, not every people was capable of political freedom because not every people is grounded in the same moral code, religion, civic understanding, and cultural norms that helped forge this nation. A republic is not held together by geography, but by bonds of belonging and loyalty. It requires a people who speak the same language, revere the same traditions, and share the same worldview and morality’ (Brianna Lyman, ‘You Can’t Celebrate 1776 While Ignoring The Invasion We’re Dealing With In 2025,’ thefederalist.com).

But the importance of religion goes beyond its effects on the political system.  The soul’s relationship with God the All-Holy Trinity is most essential.  And this is why Christianity must be upheld and Islam and other religions discouraged, because only the Church can unite us with God.  An homily given by Elder Philotheos for the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul illustrates both the blessings that come from faith in Christ and the curses that befall those who reject Him:

‘Without neither fear nor trembling, he [St Peter] stood before kings and tyrants, teaching and rebuking and remaining fearless in the face of threats and dangers. Eager and tireless, although he was an elder, he began preaching from Jerusalem, running to Judea, Antioch, Pontus and Galatia, Bithynia and Cappadocia, Europe and Asia. In Rome he was martyred for Christ by being crucified by Nero with his head down.

‘ . . . Like a winged eagle he traveled the whole universe preaching the word of God and baptizing those who believed. In this Apostle one sees wonderful and extraordinary things that transcend all human power; that is why Divine Chrysostom was right to exclaim in one of his sermons: "No other Paul will be born." His struggles and efforts for the gospel are beyond reason; the dangers, tribulations, sorrows, and other afflictions are indescribable.

‘Listen, my beloved ones, in a few words, you have heard the achievements of the foremost Apostles. How did they perform such signs and wonders? By what means? With faith. All the wondrous and extraordinary things that the Apostles and all the Saints did, they did with faith.

‘This is the faith of the Saints, but what is the faith of our Christians today?

‘What do I see, what do I hear from the illiterates, the peasants, the shepherds? Blasphemies, obscenities, thefts. What do I see in the rich, in the merchants? Greed, seizures, avarice. What do I see in the rulers? Egoism, arrogance, flattery, deceit, covetousness. In all, both the people and the clergy, one sees negligence, lethargy, corruption, paralysis. And then we wait for progress, we wait for wars, sorrows and misfortunes to stop. I said it, I say it and I will keep saying it; when we repent, when we become pious, then our troubles will cease’ (Elder Philotheos Zervakos, ‘On the Feast of the Foremost Apostles Peter and Paul (Elder Philotheos Zervakos,’ johnsanidopoulos.com).

 . . .

The rest is at https://thehayride.com/2025/07/garlington-the-islamization-of-texas-and-the-rest-of-the-states/.

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Holy Ælfred the Great, King of England, South Patron, pray for us sinners at the Souð, unworthy though we are!

Anathema to the Union!