And now come the Mia Culpas…No one can doubt the polls and the media failed to see the Trump victory. Why? Primarily because reporters sat it out in their offices on the East and West Coasts staring into computer screens scanning what other news sources reported as the pulse of the people. Never getting out to the southern and rust belt neighborhoods, where the voters were disgruntled with political business as usual, perpetuated the views of the echo chambers the national press finds itself in. The failure of the journalists to go where the story was makes them “repeaters”, not “reporters”, of the news. In 1831, the famous historian, statesman and social philosopher, Alexis deTocqueville, toured the country of America. His purpose was to observe the American people and their institutions. In search of what made America great, he went into “her fertile fields, boundless forest, rich mines, public schools… I sought it in her democratic congress and in her matchless Constitution.” But then he wrote: “Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power.”

National headlines are filled with the newest threat to National Security — an election day disaster, in which the process of tabulating and recording votes may be compromised.

The 2016 Presidential Campaign is judged, by all accounts, as the most unprecedented, unpredictable and strangest campaign in modern history. It’s been unusually ugly; it’s been nasty and it’s produced two candidates who possess “HUGE” flaws in character and style. As one writer put it: “out of 320 million people, is this the best we could do?” Truth be known every candidate for leadership here and around the world, past or present, is flawed due to the raw material that makes them who they are…their humanity! Our human flaws permeate every institution - family, school, work, government, community and church.

Odds makers, the world’s financial markets and the experts were certain Britain would vote to remain in the European Union. The “markets” were up for days before the big “Brexit” vote. When the votes were counted all the prognosticators were wrong! The vote wasn’t even close. Few people could read the tea leaves of discontent brewing in the heart of so many Brits. This event is one of a long string of history-making events that have rocked history and caught all of us unaware:

'What is love? What is creation? What is longing? What is a star?' thus asks the last man, and he blinks. -- Friedrich Nietzsche

When I was attending college for art I became rather dismayed by the development of art in the past century. I wondered how we got from beautiful meaningful art of the past to the banal silliness of postmodernism. At that time, a friend gave me a copy of Francis A. Schaeffer's Escape From Reason. Schaeffer's book offered a profound understanding of the development of culture. Schaeffer was concerned that Christians were unaware of the new environment which make it difficult to communicate the truth of scripture. He traced the development of philosophy to the arts and then to mass culture to show how it shaped the world-view of the 1960's. Although

He nicknamed himself “The Greatest” and few disagreed. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1942, Boxing Heavyweight Champion Muhammed Ali died earlier this month. He wasn’t the first personality to step onto the world arena who eventually earned enough public recognition to be branded with a bigger than life nickname!

In the twentieth century, Elvis Presley was “The King” (reportedly responding to the title when he first heard it by saying: “only Jesus is King”).  John Wayne was “The Duke”. Then there was the singer who called himself “Prince”.  It seems to me as if we are subliminally longing for a monarchy!