Starting Right is a 5 minute Day Starter to help keep you motivated, encouraged, and focused throughout your day. DannyMac is a pastor, teacher, motivational speaker, husband, and father. His years of leading and training people have given him vast experience in helping individuals to accomplish change in their lives and meet their goals. He can help you set the course for your day by offering practical advice from God's Word in a positive and fun way. There is no better way to begin your day than by Starting Right with DannyMac.
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A listener forwarded me a short piece called “Opinion from a Judge,” and it grabbed my attention for one simple reason: it sounded like the kind of story that spreads fast whether it’s true or not. So I did what I wish all of us would do more often in our media-saturated world, I checked it. Snopes affirmed the account, and what came next was both fascinating and unsettling.
The story centers on Judge Keith Albert, who remembers a page from a 1954 political science textbook describing steps intended to overturn a democracy. We walk through that list and talk about why themes like division, distrust, civil unrest, weakening institutions, and media control matter to everyday people, not just political commentators. Albert’s own reaction is a key part of the conversation too: after dedicating his life to the justice system, he says what he once thought could never happen began to feel alarmingly real, while still insisting he isn’t trying to play politics.
From there, I pivot to a deeper lens: Isaiah 5:20-21 and the warning about calling evil good and good evil. When the world feels upside down, faith is not denial, it’s grounding. We can stay aware of what’s happening around us while choosing peace, wisdom, and hope in Christ, trusting that God is present and steady even when culture is not.
If this encouraged or challenged you, subscribe to Starting Right, share it with a friend, and leave a review. What part of the story made you stop and think?
Good morning and welcome to Starting Right. I am Danny Mack, and I'm going to be here every Monday to Friday to help you get a great start to your day. So grab your cup of coffee, sit back and relax for the next five minutes as I help you start your day by starting right. Every once in a while, someone will send me an idea or a thought or a story about what we might be able to talk about here on Starting Right. And I really enjoy getting those things. Last week I received this one in an email. It was called Opinion from a Judge, and immediately I was intrigued. But quite honestly, the first thing I did was check the Snopes website about the article. Snopes is a place where they check out the validity of stories, these urban myths and ideas and stories that are going around, and they're trying to find out the accuracy of what's behind them. They're doing pretty hard on those stories that have no factual background. Well, Snopes gave this story the thumbs up, saying that yes, it is an accurate story. So after all that, let me share it with you because I think it will surprise you. Judge
Keith Albert lives in California. Back in 1954, he was in law school at Napa College. One of the classes he took was political science, and in his textbook in 1954, there was a page that essentially outlined steps to overturn democracy. You may find these nine steps uh somewhat interesting. Number one, divide the nation philosophically. Number two, foment racial strife. Number three, cause distrust of police authority. Number four, swarm the nation's borders indiscriminately and unconstitutionally. Number five, engender the military strength to weaken it. Number six, overburden citizens with more unfair taxation. Number seven, encourage civil rioting and discourage accountability for all crime. Number nine, control all media. In 2021, Albert became concerned about what he was seeing happen in the country. So he took this information from his 1954 textbook and put it in a letter to the local newspaper. When Snopes interviewed him later, they asked him if he had anything he wanted to add regarding the letter. He said, At the time I read the steps to overturn a democracy back in 1954, I thought that could never happen, that it would be a nightmare, and it would be disastrous for this country if it ever did happen. Years later, when it was happening, the attempt to achieve those goals was a reality, I became very alarmed. I've pretty much dedicated my life to the justice system and laws. I was a bench officer for twenty-five
years in the Supreme Court, and I've been interviewed by many newspeople. I don't know. I just feel that the current state of the country is a very sad commentary on the public being so dumb. When asked about his politics, Albert said, I don't have any comment about politics. It's not my specialty, and so I don't say anything about it. I'm like Voltaire. I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it. That's an interesting story as it speaks so clearly about what's happening in our world right now. I guess it really shouldn't surprise us. God told us it was going to happen, but he also gave a warning to people who would call bad things good and good things bad. In Isaiah chapter five, verses twenty and twenty one, the Bible says how terrible it will be for people who call good things bad and bad things good, who think darkness is light and light is darkness, who think sour is sweet and sweet is sour, how terrible it will be for people who think they are wise and
believe they are clever. It seems like our world is going crazy, and yeah, it probably is. But even in the middle of this craziness, there's no need for us to feel overwhelmed or defeated, because we have the promise of God's presence in our lives, and He will give you strength and wisdom and understanding to know how to deal with every situation we face, everything that we come across. When we're dealing with people who think that right is wrong and wrong is right, and that things are dark when things are light, when it appears that nobody is making sense, it's okay. God is still God and he is still with us, and we still have the hope that there is in Christ. God is not in his heaven fretting over what's happening. His desire is for us to have life to the full and a life full of joy and peace. And that's what he gives us in the midst of it all. We need to be aware of what's going on around us. We need to be very aware of it, but we also can know that in the midst of what's going on, God is our God of peace and strength, and he is here for us. I hope you have a great day, my friends. We will talk again tomorrow. Thank you for listening today, and I invite you to join me
