Wrong answer or wrong question?

By Andy Torbett

The great warrior chieftain of the Hebrews was preparing for a crucial and pivotal battle in the Jewish people’s nomadic quest to reclaim the land of Abraham. The night before the battle, Joshua left the encampment for a contemplative walk.

As he surveyed the walls of the city they would attack in the morning, he noticed in the pale moonlight a soldier before him with his sword drawn. Joshua quickly put his hand to the hilt of his sword and called out to him asking, “Are you for us or are you against us?” Imagine Joshua’s surprise when the warrior answered, “No!”

Joshua had set the parameters for their relationship with the two options in his challenge to the perceived opponent. The nameless moonlit warrior completely ignored the premise of the question. The second half of his response gives inkling to why this warrior so disdained Joshua’s challenge.

The full answer was this, “No! I am the Captain of the Host of the Lord!” While Joshua might have been thinking, “Wrong answer,” this Captain was emphatically announcing “Wrong Question!”

Joshua was informed in no uncertain terms that the Host of the Lord is on nobody’s side and that Joshua better get on their side. It would seem that even in the modern enlightened age we live in today, we still struggle with asking the “Wrong Questions.”

As a result of some of the activism work I do, there are a certain news feeds that I follow pretty regularly. I was very disappointed one evening to read a startling question on a story through what I thought was a conservative outlet. The question was in reference to the presidential primary and it read, “Which candidate has the answer to save America?”

Whether you believe the Captain in the pale darkness was an angel, a Christophany, or just a character in a morality fable, I for one found a sudden empathy for his frustration that necessitated a demand for a third option. Yes, that rumbling you hear is our Founding Fathers spinning like tops in their graves. Will someone please stand up and say “No” to a one-man solution?

This is a Republic! It is not meant to fixed by one man, no matter how big his hair or… whatever … that… is. We are not supposed to be deciding if the Constitution is on our side or not. We can’t change it so we can “get those people because they deserve it and they’re mean to me.” We can’t force businesses to stay in this country even when it makes us mad when they leave. Why? Because the Constitution says you can’t, that’s why! We need to stop asking and trying to make the Constitution be on our side, when we are supposed to be on the Constitution’s side.

No, the Constitution is not Theocracy, but for the love of the Republic will somebody please stand up against this push to anoint a savior? Can we please stop looking in the ballot box for the messiah? When will Americans who love freedom stand up amidst this desperate din and shout? No!

Andy Torbett of Atkinson writes a regular column entitled The Maine Conservative Voice. He can reached at meconservativevoice@gmail.com.