Elon Musk: The Devil in Disguise?
It has been said time and time again that if it weren’t for double standards, Democrats would have no standards at all. Nowhere has that been more on display than in the few weeks that Elon Musk and the DOGE crew have been at work rooting out decades of waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government at the direction of President Donald Trump. It’s also probably safe to say that those who are crowing the loudest about what DOGE is doing have the most to hide. There has not been one Democrat who has actually stood up and applauded the uncovering of billions of taxpayer dollars being wasted on stupid stuff like “Sesame Street” in Iraq. Instead, they have just gone back to their favorite catchphrase and just plugged in Musk’s name, calling him a “threat to democracy!”
There has been a bit of tough talk. A few weeks ago, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) rambled on about fighting Trump’s agenda “in the streets.” It’s what Democrats do when they are forced out of power by voters. They throw temper tantrums because they just cannot believe that the voters gave an emphatic “no” to their screwy agenda. But with Elon Musk and his team cutting and slashing here and there, Democrats are in such a state of panic that the veiled threats of violence are no longer quite so veiled, and at least one comes from an interesting place.
Dr. Steve Caudle is the Pastor of the Greater Second Missionary Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During his sermon on Sunday, Dr. Caudle did what all good men of the cloth attempt to do: gin up their congregation. Get them excited and inspired. Only Dr. Caudle wasn’t talking about divine intervention. He was talking about another kind of intervention, the violent kind. Dr. Caudle took the opportunity of having a captive audience to stoke the fears of his parishioners, even those who might remember a time when fear was commonplace in their community. He said,
“In this nation, I’m worried that we are on the verge of bloodshed. This is an attempt to take us back to a day that we do not want to go, and we will not go. Therefore, there will be a conflict. I pray that the peace of God will win out and overcome the madness that is attempting to overcome this nation. And I will say to you, beloved: no one likes violence, but sometimes violence is necessary. When Elon Musk forces his way into the United States Treasury and threatens to steal your personal information and your Social Security check, there is a possibility of violence.”
Dr. Caudle wasn’t done yet. He then compared Musk to the devil, saying, “Sometimes the devil will act so ugly that there is no other choice but to get violent and fight.” He then proceeded to take a verse from the Bible completely out of context to prove his point.
Wow. It’s a lot of bearing false witness to unpack. First, Elon Musk has not forced his way into anywhere. He and his team are working at the behest of, whether Dr. Caudle likes it or not, a duly elected President. Neither Musk nor his team are getting paid. Second, Elon Musk is the world’s wealthiest man. Why would he need to “steal” anyone’s personal information or Social Security check? Dr. Caudle then went on to mangle the true meaning of a Bible verse. I certainly am no one to question someone’s belief, but if there are any true believers in Dr. Caudle’s flock, they know he mangled it, on purpose, and should call him out on it. After all, isn’t the truth supposed to set you free?
Some people do and say a lot of really bad things, all while hiding behind the title of Pastor, Minister, or some other clerical title. Dr. Cauldle began his statements by saying that no one likes violence, but sometimes violence is necessary. I agree that no one likes violence, but I don’t believe that he doesn’t want violence. If he truly did not want violence, he wouldn’t be lying about what Elon Musk is doing or not doing, and he wouldn’t be giving the possibility of violence a wink and a nod, which is exactly what he did. How does he think violence will help the people of his congregation? What “day” does he think Elon Musk or anyone else is taking him back to? Why is it that Dr. Caudle believes his best course of action is scaring his parishioners into believing that in America, it’s perpetually 1956? I don’t believe he can honestly answer these questions, and because of that, I think he really does want violence. The biggest question might be this: what if Dr. Caudle gets his violence? What then?
For the first time, at least in my lifetime, a president has talked about reducing the size of government and is taking the steps to do it. We have known for a long time that Democrats are champions of big government, and now we know that even from the pulpit, they are willing to protect it any way they can.