8 thoughts on “The Most Safe Country In Central America: Power Follows Popularity Because Of Performance”

  1. My Daughter and a friend just got back from 10 days exploring El Salvador. She told me that it was a beautiful, clean and safe country . All in all she said it was a wonderful adventure.

  2. On this first point- “El Salvador’s ideological division was artificial” in relation to the American continent and it’s contemporary politics.

    To this point- it would not be applicable here (to the good ol’ U.S.A.) today. Ideology itself, and many modern concepts, are imported to these traditional agrarian societies in South America (as they are imported all over the world, including North America.) In a country like El Salvador which, until very recently, was rooted in agrarian and Christian life- Of course, if you ignore them, they are manifest as phantoms.

    But in our country the divide is tangible, deeply-rooted, and still real- Northern v. Southern. Hobbesian v. Agrarian. Jeffersonian v. Lincolnian- you get the gist.

    A false ‘union’ of ideologies would not apply here but would be cut from the same humanistic cloth as the other great wars of unification of the 20th and 19th centuries. Also- just imagine how out of sync these imported ideas (such as infanticide, militant atheism, post-modern industrialism and cosmopolitanism) are with the traditional way of life which is essentially become extinct today- how can you ‘drape over’ and ‘iron away’ those differences? Only an anti-Christ figure could pull off such a stunt.

    1. Thanks for some interesting comments, Inocencio.

      There is no doubt that the change Bukele brought has disrupted some previous patterns. I get the sense you might not be enthralled with what he has done.

      1. I should thank you! I want to see myself enthusiastic, although I am admittedly unfamiliar as a whole with the situation in El Salvador – but I am skeptical that the general pattern may be applied in a -universalistic- fashion unless there is a serious turning back and change of mind in the people of this continent beforehand. That is which is essential. Change cannot be wrought from outside, but from the inside. Turning Americans to any contrition of introspection is made even more difficult by the fact that they are become, essentially, rootless- like spores, drifting from here to there, without a history. Indeed we are in need of strong and resolute leadership. But unless there is a sincere turning back (metanoia) of people to their common sense and Christian heritage it will not be true change- for again, true change is from within, not without (The Lord said: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”). I would speculate (and I say speculate- given I know nothing of their country, but am rather an outsider looking in) that the change being wrought in El Salvador (which indeed is political) is a manifestation and product having more to do with an inner *undoing* of an element still (a) nascent (and having entered in recently- for when was their national situation agitated specifically, and why? who was the enemy and actor?) and (b) altogether foreign to these simple and Christian agrarian people. I’ve seen Bukele make appeal to the basic sensibilities of this simple people in his public speech (such as basic concepts of manners and love of the land), but not sure about God- although I am not sure he himself could be categorized as a traditional Christian (in El Salvadorian terms) which makes me somewhat skeptical- can he be called a bearer of the true values of his people? If not- it is still worthwhile and noble he is a defender, and I cannot say with all certainty that any given, let us say, denomination is the essential characteristic of their people. Back to this land of North America- what soil is there, for such noble ideas such as piety, justice or virtue, when the basic ethos is pleasure-seeking convenience, selfish lukewarmness, and historical rootlessness?

        1. You raise some great points, Inocencio. These are definite concerns that conservatives ought to be attending to, although you are right the prevailing governmental culture often does not.

          1. The fact of the unrepentance and turning away from Christian heritage for the sake of these captivating Northern/Hobbesian secular ideas of rule is one thing that the American people are guilty of.

            But here is the critical thing-

            Is authority from God?

            Or is there a method that secular (or even anti-Theist) bodies may employ cynically to secure power? Namely: “Popularism” leads to being given power.

            You may even have the externals of Christianity in such a government. But if internally it is dedicated, not to God, but to the service of ‘man’, you have anti-Christ, who will be one that merely serves the selfish interests of the aforementioned unrepentant people.

            Look at how Pilate was driven to crucify the king of glory, although he found no guilt in Him, merely because of the “populism” he gave to the jews. It is the same sin:

            Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.” But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. So Pilate decided to grant their demand. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.

            So there- yes. Strong leadership is needed to defend a nation. But we are now in the times of anti-leadership- when any legitimate convention (such as that of power being given because you meet the demands of your subjects) will be used by evil. In El Salvador it is one thing (because those are still simple agrarian and deeply Christian people.)

            But what of this land here? Where Americans today (because of their sins) would mostly be content to have merely a worldly ‘problem solver’ that feeds them earthy bread, and exchange their faith and morals for such authority.

            There must be tending to the more essential things- the inner things. Repentance and turning back- to the land. Going back to true faith, and be willing to die for it.

            Otherwise, the rulers of this age will meet our demands to our demise. They will appeal to our demands/desires- but with the aim of subjugating us via our passions and lusts.

          2. I agree with you, and especially agree that repentance is critical.

            With regard to earthly leaders, however, the Bible has examples of imperfect leaders being used by God for good purposes. We can’t expect perfection in our leaders. We can, however, expect that they do the right thing fairly consistently.

Comments are closed.