Poo poo pah doo, Mr. Robinson

 While it is sung, Jesus loves you, the rest of us have questions. Like – how on earth did you ever get elected Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina while carrying so much baggage? Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post gives the best insight into that answer. She says North Carolina Republicans may have known about Mr. Robinson’s more than checkered past, but “they knew their base would be lapping it up.” She is right.
 
On some level we have always liked the bad boys. Perhaps it is an alter ego thing that we see the bad boys as tough guys and put them in high places to take down those against whom we have grievance. That is the appeal of Donald Trump and others in MAGA world. Character is overlooked because these people have no shame in eviscerating norms and bringing down the whole house. It’s hard to imagine such deep grievance.
 
The belligerence and denial with which Mark Robinson has met these latest revelations, too lewd to even repeat, is typical for the person charged with what is more than moral depravity. It is the revelation of a deeply sin sick soul. 
 
The arrogant bully is a danger wherever he or she appears. The most ludicrous thing is that Robinson remains on the ballot! Despite losing most of his campaign staff he continues to spew his bellicose venom against those would question his honor and character. How have we come to this? 
 
David Brooks wrote a column titled, “How America Got Mean,” in the September 2023 edition of The Atlantic. He writes about the “rise of hatred, anxiety, and despair” among the American people and outlines four reasons he thinks the moral fabric of our nation is unraveling. 
 
·      Technology – “Social media is driving us crazy.” It is like the wild, wild west. Unbridled. Unregulated. Filled will propaganda and disinformation. It is addictive and dangerous.
·      Sociology - We’ve stopped participating in community organizations. We are isolated – like someone going into a private room with a trans-gender porn film and a pizza. 
·      Demography – The white hegemony of America is waning. We are a more diverse nation. Some call it the browning of America. And plenty of white people are afraid and angry about it. White people are panicking, gathering guns and forming militias. 
·      Economy – there is widespread economic inequality, “insecurity that leaves people afraid, alienated, and pessimistic.” I would add, people are mad as hell and not going to take it anymore. 
 
Mr. Brooks continues to say, “We live in a society in which people are no longer trained in how to treat others with kindness and compassion.” People feel it is a first amendment right to give into their worst impulses, like selfishness and cruelty. 
 
It’s about morals and integrity, people, and what we are doing to train responsible leadership and citizens. It’s as if a counterculture of shock is what a lot of us clamor for. That’s why people like Mark Robinson and Donald Trump get elected. They say what we have been taught not to say; they are our mouthpiece.
 

David Books implies that we are being reduced to animalism. The dog-eat-dog world seems growing around us. 
 
Of course, none of us is perfect. But there is a world of difference in being imperfect and being a perv. Apparently, Mr. Robinson is content with perv status. There are some who say, no matter what is said about you, it’s okay as long as they spell your name correctly. If that is true, Mr. Robinson is thriving in the ink being spilled on his story. He is everywhere in the news. 
 
Right wing media outlets say David Brooks is a fear monger selling untruth. The real truth, they say, is that left-leaning people are destroying the country, forming cabals. The disinformation machine is well oiled today. And people, when told often enough, will believe anything. (Even that the world really is flat. Galileo be damned!) 
 
Because so many have lived out of grievance for so long, they have lost their moral ballast. Evil licks his chops as the people carry forth in sin. 
 
Lib Campbell is a retired Methodist pastor, retreat leader, columnist and host of the blogsite www.avirtualchurch.com. She can be contacted at libcam05@gmail.com