Let me begin by expressing that Colin Reger, who happens to be the former city recorder, is a decent man and nothing in this column should suggest otherwise. In a recent opinion piece published on MyBuckhannon, Fmr. C.R. Reger expressed his regret voting against Ordinance 434. Ordinance 434 was titled as a ‘non-discrimination’ policy, which sought to make it illegal for business owners to deny service to someone on the basis of sexual orientation.
It has been proven by judicial precedence, ‘sexual orientation’ in non-discrimination laws includes both: if the individual is being denied service solely because of their sexual orientation, or if the individual is being denied service because the service requested is directly related to their sexual orientation.
For example, if the service of an orthodox Jewish photographer is requested to take pictures of a same-sex wedding, this religious photographer could be heavily sued in civil court and lose their business license. This is even applicable if the Jewish photographer would have been willing to take a single portrait of a subject that happened to practice homosexuality. This is important, because the Jewish photographer is not refusing to provide service to someone out of hatred, but rather because of the limitations of their religious beliefs preventing them from partaking in a same-sex ceremony.
In his column, Fmr. C.R. Reger stated that his motivations are based upon kindness and compassion. Certainly, these are proper motivations. The problem is that those who proposed this ordinance are not motivated by the same intentions. The verbiage of this ordinance was not proposed by an unorganized group of bullied members of the LGBT community who were looking for some sort of relief from their perpetual pain and suffering.
This ordinance was brought to council by a Charleston lobbying organization called Fairness WV, which is motivated by every kind of wicked desire known to man. This is the organization that fights in Charleston for 10-year-old boys to have access to hormone blockers so they can begin transitioning, citing the mad experiments of John Money, who argued that the younger you transition a child, the more likely they will resemble the opposite sex.
This group is operated by political sadists, who gain sick pleasure from inflicting pain upon others for their monetary benefit. This is an organization that is primarily subsidized by trial lawyers who want ordinances and legislation passed statewide, like Ordinance 434, so they can pad their own pockets with the numerous lawsuits these policies create. Greedy lawyers are the benefactors here; not people bullied for being gay. Nevertheless, they manipulate the emotions of people to do their bidding. They prey on good-hearted people like Fmr. C.R. Reger to take their bait, and then fight for the wrong things for the right reasons.
Saul Alinsky, a communist community organizer, developed this Chicago-style political tactic. Alinsky is infamously quoted as saying, “People always do the right thing for the wrong reason.” Therefore, for Alinsky, in order to get your corrupt agenda through, you have to find the wrong reasons that motivate people. In this case, the agenda or “right thing” is to increase the salaries for trial lawyers while maliciously targeting the faith community. The “wrong reasons” are claims of “equality, kindness, inclusion, and compassion.” Fmr. C.R. Reger has bought into these fictitious claims, while maintaining a good-intentioned heart.
Earlier in my youth, I had difficulty understanding how the political system worked. I thought most people were motivated by their own version of what was good, though perhaps we had different views of what policies are promotive of success and which policies are not. Then, I went to Charleston. I spent time in the halls of the capitol with left-wing lobbyists and saw with my own eyes how this system works. We are all being continually manipulated, at times, without even knowing it.
The simple reality is that most politicians and lobbyists are not well-intentioned. They are solely motivated by personal self-centered, power-hungry aspirations, accompanied by monetary desires. And unfortunately, it is not just politicians. Much of the electorate in various regions of this country are also fueled by the same self-centered desires. People want to be affirmed in their self-centeredness. They want to be told ‘their way’ is okay.
Why is church membership declining, and most remaining churches preaching a message of self-worship? Because traditional orthodox teachings of Christianity confront the fallenness of ourselves and our need for an internal transformative work to progress in righteousness. This first requires acknowledging our own personal depravity. In today’s world, acknowledging our own personal depravity is translated as “a lack of self-esteem.” Conviction for doing something morally wrong is referred to as “anxiety.” There is so much focus on how we personally feel, yet no focus whatsoever for how God, our Creator, feels.
We live as if there is no God and the Crowleyan occultist mantra of ‘Do what thou wilt’ has become the philosophy for our society. Today, we just call this ‘libertarianism.’
It is also quite astounding to see Fmr. C.R. Reger express at that particular moment he violated his internal nature. It is my sincere belief that this was an example of God momentarily softening one’s heart, using him to do His will. Just as God momentarily changed Pharaoh’s heart to prevent the continued persecution of His people, it is now clear God momentarily changed Fmr. C.R. Reger’s heart to prevent the persecution of His people in Buckhannon. The same malicious motive of Pharaoh is shared by Fairness WV; however, Fmr. C.R. Reger’s heart was full of compassion. God redirected his genuine compassion to reach an appropriate decision.
It is my sincere prayer that the words I have expressed in this column do not cause any perception of disdain for Fmr. C.R. Reger. My goal is not to bash, issue a declaration of judgment, or ring a bell throughout the streets of Buckhannon yelling, “shame.” Rather my focus and sole motivation, as it has been for my entire life, is for the well-being of others and do everything within my power to put evil to rest.
God used Colin Reger to put evil to rest that night, and it is my heartfelt prayer that one day he will see that.