Starting Right
Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
Starting Right
The Nine Steps to Overthrow Democracy
What if a blueprint for dismantling democracy had been hiding in plain sight since 1954? Judge Keith Elber's discovery of exactly that in his college political science textbook forms the centerpiece of today's compelling episode.
When Judge Elber first read about the nine steps to overthrow democracy as a law student at Napa College, he dismissed it as an impossible nightmare scenario. Yet nearly seven decades later, he felt compelled to sound the alarm when he recognized these same patterns unfolding in America. This isn't conspiracy theory—Snopes verified the judge's account, making his warning all the more sobering.
The episode draws a powerful connection between this historical warning and biblical wisdom from Isaiah about societies that "call good things bad and bad things good." Despite the unsettling parallels, Today we offer a message of hope rather than despair. Even as we navigate confusing times where moral values seem increasingly inverted, we're reminded that awareness doesn't have to lead to anxiety.
Tune in for this thought-provoking episode that balances clear-eyed awareness with spiritual perspective. Subscribe now to continue receiving these daily five-minute reflections that help you start your day right.
Thank you, good morning and welcome to Starting Right. I am Danny Mac and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right. Every once in a while, someone will send me an idea or a thought or a story about what we might be able to talk about here on Starting Right, and I really enjoy getting those things. Last week, I received this one in an email. It was called Opinion from a Judge and immediately I was intrigued. But, quite honestly, the first thing I did was check the Snopes website about the article. Snopes is a place where they check out the validity of stories, these urban myths and ideas and stories that are going around, and they're trying to find out the accuracy of what's behind them. They're doing pretty hard on those stories that have no factual background. Well, snopes gave this story the thumbs up, saying that yes, it is an accurate story. So, after all that, let me share it with you because I think it will surprise you.
Speaker 1:Judge Keith Elber lives in California. Back in 1954, he was in law school, at Napa College. One of the classes he took was political science, and in his textbook in 1954, there was a page that essentially outlined steps to overturn democracy. You may find these nine steps somewhat interesting. Number one divide the nation philosophically. Number two Foment racial strife. 3. Cause distrust of police authority. 4. Swarm the nation's borders indiscriminately and unconstitutionally. 5. Engender the military strength to weaken it. Number six overburden citizens with more unfair taxation. Number seven encourage civil rioting and discourage accountability for all crime. Number eight control all balloting. Number nine control all media. In 2021, elber became concerned about what he was seeing happen in the country, so he took this information from his 1954 textbook and put it in a letter to the local newspaper. When Snopes interviewed him later, they asked him if he had anything he wanted to add regarding the letter he said at the time.
Speaker 1:I read the steps to overturn a democracy back in 1954, I thought that could never happen, that it would be a nightmare and it would be disastrous for this country if it ever did happen. Years later, when it was happening, the attempt to achieve those goals was a reality. I became very alarmed. I've pretty much dedicated my life to the justice system and laws. I was a bench officer for 25 years in the Supreme Court and I've been interviewed dedicated my life to the justice system and laws. I was a bench officer for 25 years in the Supreme Court and I've been interviewed by many news people. I don't know. I just feel that the current state of the country is a very sad commentary on the public being so dumb.
Speaker 1:When asked about his politics, albers said I don't have any comment about politics, it's not my specialty and so I don't say anything about it. I'm like Voltaire I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it. That's an interesting story that speaks so clearly about what's happening in our world right now. I guess it really shouldn't surprise us. God told us it was going to happen, but he also gave a warning to people who would call bad things good and good things bad.
Speaker 1:In Isaiah, chapter 5, verses 20 and 21,. The Bible says how terrible it will be for people who call good things bad and bad things good, who think darkness is light and light is darkness, who think sour is sweet and sweet is sour. How terrible it will be for people who think they are wise and believe they are clever. It seems like our world is going crazy and yeah, it probably is. But even in the middle of this craziness, there's no need for us to feel overwhelmed or defeated, because we have the promise of God's presence in our lives, and he will give you strength and wisdom and understanding to know how to deal with every situation we face, everything that we come across, when we're dealing with people who think that right is wrong and wrong is right, and that things are dark.
Speaker 1:When things are light, when it appears that nobody is making sense, it's okay. God is still God and he is still with us, and we still have the hope that there is in Christ. God is not in his heaven fretting over what's happening. His desire is for us to have life to the full, and a life full of joy and peace, and that's what he gives us. In the midst of it all, we need to be aware of what's going on around us. We need to be very aware of it, but we also can know that, in the midst of what's going on, god is our God of peace and strength, and he is here for us. I hope you have a great day, friends. We will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today and I invite you to join me Monday to Friday right here on Starting Right with Danny Mac.
