Deace: The Devil comes to Davenport

A recent RealClear Opinion Research poll revealed some eye-opening details about our present American moment:

• 47% of Democrats say free speech should be legal “only under certain circumstances.”
• 34% of Democrats say Americans “have too much freedom.”
• 75% of Democrats say government has a responsibility to censor “hateful” social media posts.
• Only 31% strongly agree with the statement, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

What does it look like, in practice, to live a place where many if not most people believe in controlling what you say and what you think? Are you thinking of a college campus, or maybe Antifa headquarters, in someplace like Portland, Oregon?

Oh, no. It’s much worse than that.

How about we drive a couple of hours from my home in the heart of red-state Iowa. Our destination is the Eaton Corporation in Davenport, “a vibrant and progressive community” that has been called “the Most Livable Small City in America.”

Davenport is also where Corey Cunningham, father of 11, was fired from his job in August. The 41-year-old had his employment terminated for his disgraceful choice to (checks notes) wear T-shirts with Bible verses on them.

Yes, you read that right. Wearing Bible verses at work is now a “fireable offense” in the heartland of a country that has turned its collective heart against God.

Cunningham had never displayed his opinions outwardly before last summer, when the Easton Corporation decided to go full pagan. Up went the rainbow flag to celebrate Pride Month, as well as an invitation to purchase and wear LQBTQFU-supporting T-shirts with “#EatonPride” emblazoned on the front. All spelled out in national ... err ... rainbow colors.

The company’s dress code says office clothing may “not distract or interfere with the ability of others to work” or be “provocative” or “offensive.” Sounds great! If the rainbow “religion” gets full clearance along those lines, seems like a T-shirt with Proverbs 16:18 is just the yin to the rainbow’s yang.

“Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

Unfortunately for Cunningham, he wore this “offensive” T-shirt one day and a few others with quotations from Christian scriptures on other days. And so began the emails and meetings and demands to change clothing, sending him home from work, and refusals to provide religious accommodation, until his job was finally threatened and ultimately taken away from him.

Pay no mind to the fact that, as a quality manager, Cunningham had earned Six Sigma Black Belt status as an expert in his field. He was entrusted with important responsibilities and oversight to make a very large company as efficient and as profitable as possible in the making of products with military applications.

Whatever. What does it matter against the cult of LGBTQ666 personality? It’s a cult that was ironically reinforced by one of the Eaton jackboots with scriptural references of his own. Yes, one of the Eaton bosses actually told Cunningham it wasn’t OK to bring awareness using Scripture by trying to, heretically, bring awareness using Scripture.

You can’t make this stuff up. And you don’t have to, because it’s reality now. America has a new religion now, and the Spirit of the Age will not share its glory with another.

Old and busted: “Jesus died for us.” New hotness: “Kneel before Zod.”

Legal counsel is now on the scene with Cunningham to help him work through the aftermath of the charge of “violating the workplace harassment policy.” Put another way, Cunningham’s speech was deemed unworthy — or even blasphemous — by the high priests at the Eaton Corporation, which, as a military contractor, clearly understands the chain of command at work here: four legs good, two legs bad.

That Orwell fella clearly knew his stuff.

For his part, Cunningham relishes none of this. The Scripture that guides him as much as any can be found in 1 Timothy, which admonishes Christians to live a peaceful and quiet life.

Except, Cunningham says, when doing so would be akin to causing him to sin.

So he didn’t stay silent. He couldn’t. No matter how uncomfortable things got, and I think we can all agree that figuring out how to provide now for a family of 11 with no job qualifies as uncomfortable. Because something far bigger was at stake. Souls. Truth. Reality. All of it.

The way Cunningham sees it is how God sees it: I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.

“I have no desire to bring a spotlight to myself,” Cunningham said. “If anything, it is completely the opposite. My goal is to glorify God in all ways and for evil to be exposed.”

Amen. Well done, good and faithful servant.