“Let’s go, Brandon!” has become a popular euphemism for a derogatory chant directed at President Joe Biden. It began in early October when NASCAR driver Brandon Brown won a race at Talladega. While a local news reporter was interviewing Brown immediately after his win, the crowd behind him shouted the derogatory chant. The news reporter then said, “As you can hear the chants from the crowd … ‘Let’s go, Brandon’,” but everyone knew that the actual words chanted were barely like “Let’s go, Brandon!” In a failed attempt to disguise the crowd’s clear words, the reporter created her own version of the chant.
Renaming and Reshaping Reality
This article is not about Biden or his policies. It is not even about crowds shouting derogatory chants at public sporting events across the nation. It is about the desire of many in our country to rename certain actions in ways that do not correspond with reality. These people despise reality so much that they are willing to lie, protest, riot, burn, curse, shout, sue, denigrate, defame, and assault anyone who does not agree with their demonic ideology.
I don’t use the word “demonic” casually. Satan is the father of lies, and the people who perpetuate these denials of reality do so with such anger and hatred that to say their deeds are purely human provocations is a severe understatement. One has only to watch a single episode of the mainstream media reporting to witness this vast distortion of reality.
Their postmodern actions have become organized against truth, and their ideology has become influential at all levels of our society (e.g., government, education, media, commerce, and religion). Their goal is to destroy objective moral truths and reshape society according to their malevolent designs. The “Let’s go, Brandon” chant is simply a symptom of a much more sinister problem.
Postmodernism’s Lies
The following examples show some of postmodernism’s lies over the last century and their relationship to one another:
Lie 1: Sex is primarily about pleasure
In 1930, contracepting by married couples crept into mainstream Christianity through the Anglican Church. The contraceptive mentality denies the procreative and unitive purposes of sex. By denying these purposes, sex no longer needs to be reserved to the confines of marriage between one man and one woman. Sex within a contraceptive framework becomes an objectifying and mere hedonistic pursuit (pleasure for pleasure’s sake).
Lie 2: Fornication and divorce are morally licit
By reducing sex to a mere pleasure-seeking act, marriage became a less revered tradition. In the 1960s, divorce rates in America began to increase and marriage rates began to decrease. There was a direct inverse proportion between the two. Although numerous factors contribute to these issues, the point is that marriage had become a less virtuous and respected pursuit in our postmodern world. Additionally, the sexual revolution made fornication a “right” that no one must ever judge as immoral.
Lie 3: Abortion is not murder
By destroying marriage and responsible parenting within this God-designed framework, postmodernists began their cry for abortion rights. They often deny that abortion is murder and cloak this most vile act under the euphemisms of “women’s rights” and “women’s health.” Their mantra continues to be “My body, my choice.” The problem with this logic is that the baby’s body is not the woman’s body. This should be clear to any objective thinker.
Lie 4: Homosexual “marriage” is real
By destroying the sexual act’s meaning and purpose, postmodernists have ushered in a gay revolution in which homosexual actions by people who suffer from same-sex attraction are legitimized and celebrated at all levels of society. Additionally, if sex is merely about pleasure, marriage can be defined as whatever the postmodern advocates and sympathetic government leaders say it is.
Lie 5: Men are women and women are men
If murdering the unborn is not really murder and homosexual “marriage” is real marriage, then confusing sex and gender is no big deal. If a man feels that he is a woman or a woman feels she is a man, then everyone must, according to postmodernists, accept this fantasy and use language that appeases these psychologically disturbed people. Rather than placating them, we should be encouraging them to get psychological and spiritual help.
Relativism
All these heinous actions ultimately have their roots in moral relativism. Although relativism does not seek to outright deny morality, it relegates truth to individual feelings. “Your truth is good for you. My truth is good for me.” By making our feelings rather than God and reality the purveyor of truth, relativism set the stage for postmodernism. Unfortunately, postmodernism has set the stage for atheism’s expansion, and atheism will set the stage, as it has in other cultures, for communism.
Our once great nation is being reduced to constant infighting and corruption rather than the common pursuit of good that once permeated our culture. The Greatest Generation will soon be a relic of our past and, I believe, the Worst Generation is growing strong amid a complacent, live-and-let-live society.
The Necessary Catholic Response
The Catholic response must be what it has always been. Learn, obey, and share the truth lovingly with others. The Catholic Church is the only institution on earth that has the fullness of unadulterated Truth in the realms of faith and morals. Someone might accuse me of boasting, but I will boast of Christ and His Church any day versus postmodernism with its superficial, contradictory, fantastical, and hedonistic worldview.
Every Catholic must pray, fast, and give alms. We must, according to our abilities, give our time, talent, and treasure to combat the Church’s enemies and build up the kingdom of God. If we do not glorify God at home, work, publicly, and privately, evil will overcome the world with even more vigor than we are now seeing.
So, here is my advice to all: passionately tell your families, friends, and coworkers about Christ and His one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church. Make the Sign of the Cross and pray at every meal, even when eating in public. Volunteer at local charities. Teach at your parish. Work with your parish’s evangelization committee. If it does not have one, work with your pastor to create one. Most importantly, place all your trust in God and do the work to which He is calling you.
I thought you were going in a different direction with this post but in the end I was not surprised where it went. At this point it seems to me that those who endorse homosexual, feminist and in some cases abortion are holding the moral high ground over those that claim to be representatives of the church. All you have to do is look at the leaders for each side and see for yourself who advocates for truth and who is willing to lie blatantly for their own selfish gains. At least homosexuals, feminists and pro abortion advocates truly believe in their perception of truth while those in the church should know better and many do know better but are willing to accept lying as a way of getting what they want in the political arena. This hypocrisy has become so corrupting that now any nonsensical and insane conspiracy deception are swallowed up as gospel truth without question. I pray that good people start speaking out to drive this rot from the devil out from our Church.
Cites an obscene chant (without noting that it’s obscene) and yet manages to blame the reporter for trying to be civilized about it.
I noted its obscenity in the first sentence. Try reading thoroughly, Capt. Crunch.
Also, the reporter lied about the chant.
You said it was “derogatory”, which is soft pedaling it, quite a bit.
Thanks for contributing nothing as usual, Capt. Crunch.
I called you out. You did not react well.
Wonderful.
Nate-My apologies-I thought you were recounting statements by clergy or some unelected person or heretic wearing papal white in your Lies 1-5. Fine article. Thank you. Guy., Texas
Ha! I hear ya, Guy. In this day and age, confusion abounds even among those who should know better.
Although my comment will probably be quite misunderstood, I do note that the verbal modification of the chant is preferable to the intended meaning while still making a point. I would also note that we are expected to docilly accept the blatant falsehoods foisted on us by our politicians without reaction. There comes a time when the cup truly runeth over and a verbalization of non-acceptance is certainly preferable to a physical reaction that many prefer in the form of burning buildings and committing mayhem in the streets. Finally, I would recommend that those in authority deeply reflect whether their own actions in contrary to the expected moral behavior of our leaders is the source of much dissatisfaction by the populace.
Well said. Thanks Donald!
[…] Perpetual Adoration is the Fuel That Runs This Parish – C. Zimmerman at Catholic News Service “Let’s Go, Brandon!” – Nate Guyear at Catholic Stand Fall Mass Style: Warm Up to Inspiration (Catholic Mōdê […]
I don’t agree that moral relativism is the problem. Some people struggle with same-sex-attraction and gender dysphoria. I have neither of these problems and I am thankful to God that those were not crosses that I was tasked with carrying.
I dont think we accomplish much by dwelling on others’ sins and reminding how heinous we think those sins are. I think more is accomplished when we consider what our struggles and temptations are and help other people learn how we have learned to sin less.
I just did a quick internet search and raw estimates I saw are that <1% of our population is transgender and about 4.5 % are LGBTQ. Its interesting that Im forever sitting through homilies and reading articles like this railing at these people. We are are focused on telling these people how sinful they are. Interesting that "do not be gay or claim a different gender" didn't even make it into the 10 Commandments.
What IS a commandment is to not commit adultery. This article reveals that on a group of adulterers, nearly 25% were Catholic.
https://aleteia.org/2014/06/17/one-quarter-of-american-catholics-cheat-on-their-spouses/
I have seen adultery up-close and it destroys marriages and families…marriages where we stood in church and made sacred vows in front of people.
I am so tired of Catholic dudes spending inordinate time bashing the relatively small condemning gay and trans populations while ignoring the much more common sins right amongst them that is destroying families. You did mention that divorce is bad but how often is that divorce caused by adultery & porn? Worry about you and your bros and how you can keep your marriages free of porn and adultery. You worry about you and let the trans person you haven't even met work their stuff out.
Thanks Tabitha! I have a few responses to your comments. First, this article is not about the sins you mention per se. It’s about relabeling these sins as something other than what they are. For instance, many in our country contend abortion is not murder when it clearly is.
Second, you told me to worry about myself and my bros – a hypocritical statement no doubt. I could just as easily tell you not to worry about my views on sinful behavior and to worry about your views and your sisters’. I could also tell you not to worry about other people’s pornography use and adultery. Essentially, stay in your lane. After all, if I’m not allowed to write about sin then you are not allowed to either. So, think before you write.
Third, pornography and adultery indeed rip apart families, and Catholics write plenty on these topics as well. Catholics also have ministries that help folks with these sins so that they can effectively conquer them and hopefully make it to heaven. My guess is that you have contributed nothing to this cause. Instead, you get on Catholic sites and blather about how you don’t like a particular topic.
Fourth, we all have choices to make. I suggest you turn to God and be part of the solution rather than problem.
You’re not getting the point here. In general, homilies and articles like this aren’t aimed at those experiencing gender dysphoria or same sex attraction. Homilies and articles like this are aimed at people *denying* the media and a few but very active members of those groups are constantly shoving homosexual behaviors and transgender in everyone else’s faces. You give the statistics of approximately 1% and 4.5% for transgender and homosexual respectively, but 100% of shows feature at least 1 homosexual couple and usually at least a transgender individual. Our children are constantly inundated with homosexual and transgender media. When’s the last time the media embraced that same-sex attraction and gender dysphoria are actually disorders of the human psyche? Or when is the last time the media acknowledged that we are capable of loving the damaged humans, but not their actions?
The stance you advocate “staying in your lane” is basically ignoring the directive from God to instruct the ignorant. Christians through all ages have spoken out about moral evils of their day. In fact, the Pope during WWII was criticized for “staying in his lane” instead of coming out publicly and harshly against the Nazi regime. When evil is in front of us constantly and represented as good, we must stand up for what’s right and object to the evil.
Perfect reply, Erika! Thanks for contributing to the discussion.
Thanks Joe!! I agree.
Can’t take a joke? I’m pretty sure we have decency laws that prohibited the commentator from repeating the actual chant. And they shouldn’t have repeated it because it was vulgar and inappropriate for children who might be watching to hear.
This piece reads a bit like the guy that stands downtown with a giant cross yelling at people to convert. I would argue that both sides need to accept reality in different ways. Our level of knowledge has changed over the past 2,000 years. Refusing to accept and adapt to this new knowledge is going to continue pushing people away.
And this is even more problematic when combined with refusing to truly acknowledge the evil that the church has done through the sex abuse crisis. Catholics are exhibiting a bit of Stockholm syndrome. The church abuses us and our children repeatedly. Rather than demand change, we say yes father, may I have another. If this is the church’s approach to rejuvenating itself, it will fail.
Thanks for continuing to show us your postmodernist colors, Kyle.
No problem! Although I wouldn’t really say I’m post-modernist. I’m just willing to acknowledge that some things we (humans) used to accept as objective truth turn out to be wrong. There was/is an objective truth set by God. I’m arguing that we were wrong previously. And just like it couldn’t be “proven” before, we still can’t “prove” the morality of many actions. We can discuss various topics and come to our best conclusions as to what God’s will is, but the conclusion can change as we garner more information. Even modernists (which I think you claim to be?) argue about what the objective truths are. What I see here and from a large sect of the church is close-your-eyes-plug-your-ears-ism.
Thanks for the response, Kyle! You said, “There was/is objective moral truth set by God.” I completely agree. But you also said, “…some things we (humans) used to accept as objective truth turn out to be wrong.” I completely agree with this too. Accordingly, we need to distinguish between the moral law and the other sciences. God gives the moral law in written form, on the heart, and through Christ’s Holy Spirit-guided Church, which is tasked with developing and infallibly defining moral precepts as humanity continues to develop. God and His Church have not gotten these laws wrong.
Other scientific conclusions are not directly revealed by God and require human investigation alone. Consequently, scientists believe certain things one day and completely abandon their positions another day. Nevertheless, science has certain laws from which it can work to develop legitimate conclusions.
With these things in mind, we can distinguish between vacillating scientific conclusions and solid moral laws. Scientific conclusions may change, but the moral law does/will not. As long as human nature exists, the intrinsic moral law will continue to accompany it.
Thus, attempting to relabel moral prohibitions as morally licit will always be morally wrong. My article simply gives examples of some asinine conclusions many in our society have reached.
Additionally, you said, “And just like it couldn’t be ‘proven’ before, we still can’t ‘prove’ the morality of many actions.” I presume you also mean we can’t prove the immorality of many actions. And now we enter the crux of your problem … moral relativism and “Pope Kyle.”
With morality susceptible to human perception and change, we could never know what is absolutely right or wrong. But the statement, “There are no objective moral truths,” which is what you seem to believe, is self-refuting because this statement, which is about morality, could not be objectively true. And since you want to push this moral “truth” on others, you apparently want to be our pope. But since you do not occupy an office established by Christ, I reject your opinions on this matter.
Finally, you need to enter the open-your-eyes-unplug-your-ears-ism of the Catholic Church. Outside, in protestant-land or wherever you are, you’re simply sitting in a sea of relativism.
If you want to cede your perception – which is reflective of God’s gift of reason to you – to someone else’s human perception (the pope), be my guest. But remember that your opinions are still based on someone’s human perception. And also remember that people, including most Catholics, do not recognize that person’s opinions as objectively true. The idea of ceding your opinion to one person is a relatively new (and misguided) Catholic idea from approximately 150 years ago.
You seem to have a problem with truth, Kyle, and continue to base your opinion on what “most” people would say, as indicated in your reply. Your responses on this site reflect your ignorance, and your opinion is based on the mistaken notion that truth is always susceptible to change. If this is the case, then you have no notion of truth. Accordingly, I have no obligation to respond to your messages. I hope, one day, you decide to come to the Truth and leave your ignorant beliefs and rantings behind.
What you’re doing is hiding behind the church, and using the church as a club to bash other people. If others don’t trust the same person/organization you do on things that are not objective, that evidently means those other people are ignorant.
This behavior is some of the worst “fruit” produced by the catholic church. And I’m being completely honest when I say you sound like a member of a cult. You say the same things a member of Jonestown might’ve said. You just happen to fully cede your trust/belief to the pope/church rather than Jim Jones.
First, that’s correct, Kyle. When it comes to faith and morality, I “hide” behind the Church as if “hiding” behind God, since God the Son founded the Catholic Church. Second, no one ordered you to put your ignorance on display. You have chosen to do that. Now, deal with the consequences and stop whining.
Excellent analysis and counsel about how we should go forth! Bravo! And obviously, we Catholics should avoid any “pottymouthism” especially as it can detract from our witness!