The political climate in the United States has reached a never-before-seen low. The “wire-tapping,” “Russian involvement,” and seemingly endless other scandals now dominate headlines. The vitriol seen during the presidential campaign has only increased since the election. Hatred, betrayal, blatant partisanship, fighting between and within political parties, constant outright lying as a political strategy, and a “no compromise” approach are now the norm.

This is a picture of the most powerful government in the world reaching almost absolute gridlock after decades of worsening corruption. What a broken system! Yet American democracy is seen by many as a “shining example” to other nations. In truth, it has become a stunning example of a nation desperately in need of God’s government—one built on justice, equity, right judgment, and righteous values.

The apostle Paul, citing the prophet Isaiah, said, “The way of peace have they not known” (Rom. 3:17). This is not just speaking of world peace and the elimination of war, but of how people get along with one another. This includes partisan factions within governments. There used to be more people who entered situations attempting to be “peacemakers” after a certain fashion. No more. Every issue has now become “weaponized.” Everything is point, counterpoint and action, counteraction. A wise man told me long ago that “cooperation multiplies and competition divides,” something now rarely understood.

While President Trump battles ideologically “dug in” groups within his own party, Democrats are more emboldened than ever after his healthcare bill collapsed without even coming to a vote in the Senate. The battle over the nomination of a Supreme Court justice was one of the biggest hurdles for the new administration. Republicans resorted to the “nuclear option”—changing Senate rules so that 51 votes instead of the usual 60 are needed to select the next Supreme Court justice.

Looking back at the year-long run-up to this event reveals the bitter divide between political parties.

The Wall Street Journal reported during this time: “The confirmation battle over Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, shaping up as the most contentious in a quarter-century, is less about his qualifications than the propriety of his appointment and the bitterness of the country’s divided politics. Many Democrats see Judge Gorsuch as a usurper, an illegitimate pretender to the Supreme Court seat that rightfully belongs to Merrick Garland, the Barack Obama nominee whom Republicans denied a hearing for 293 days until his nomination expired. ‘This is a stolen seat being filled by an illegitimate and extreme nominee,’ Sen. Jeff Merkley (D., Ore.) said on Jan. 31, the day President Donald Trump announced the Gorsuch nomination.”

Terrible attacks in Mr. Gorsuch’s hearings largely revolved around partisan fervor against him, designed to undermine his competence and character. The Real Truth never takes political positions, but this is the latest example of big decisions being made solely along party lines, with all facts ignored. The result is that, for the government to move forward, Republicans changed procedural rules relating to the Supreme Court for the first time in history—setting a new precedent.

Meanwhile, the global arms race continues to reach terrifying new heights. Notice the following description of the newest missile technology developed by Russia: “The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers will not be able to stop new high-speed Russian missiles by the time they enter service,” The Independent reported.

“The new Zircon missile can reportedly travel at five to six times the speed of sound, using a state of the art ‘scramjet’ engine, which takes the oxygen it needs for propulsion from the atmosphere instead of a tank on board.

“This makes it smaller, lighter and faster than other engines of its type.

“Developed by the Russian military, it could be operational as early as next year, at which point it will likely be fitted to a nuclear-powered Kirov class warship as well as strategic bombers and submarines.

“Travelling at a speed that can reach to between 3,800mph to 4,600mph, the missiles will be able to evade the air defence systems of the new 60,000-tonne naval carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, which are currently under construction.

“The Royal Navy’s current Sea Ceptor missile system can only shoot down missiles travelling up to 2,300mph.

“It means the two ships, the first of which is not expected to be fully operational before 2020, could be rendered obsolete by this new development in hypersonic warfare despite costing up to £7 billion to build.”

Then there was the deadly terrorist attack that struck in the heart of London: “A knife-wielding assailant driving a sport utility vehicle mowed down panicked pedestrians and stabbed a police officer outside Parliament on Wednesday [March 22] in a deadly assault, prompting the hasty evacuation of the prime minister and punctuating the threat of terrorism in Europe. At least four people, including the assailant, were killed and at least 40 others injured in the confusing swirl of violence, which the police said they assumed had been ‘inspired by international terrorism.’ It appeared to be the most serious such assault in London since the deadly subway bombings more than a decade ago” (The New York Times).

A terrorist attack in Russia claimed even more lives when a massive bomb blast on a train essentially shredded 11 people and wounded twice as many more. But a much bigger outrage occurred on the same day. Apparently the Assad government in Syria gassed hundreds of its own people, 86 have died. This includes many children and babies. The pictures were simply horrible to view. I could barely stand it. The American president, standing beside King Abdullah of Jordan, reacted viscerally, telling reporters, almost verbatim, “you will see what I do about this—you will see what I do about this…”

This of course led to the airstrike by American forces on the Syrian airbase that launched the chemical attack. This act created a firestorm across the world, with some nations praising the attack, and others denouncing it.

Finally, another article was released showing how the world is violent and all wrong in now almost endless ways. Here is how the terrorists’ tactics are evolving: “An ISIS-linked group of hackers has released a ‘kill list’ of 8,786 names and addresses in the U.S. and U.K., calling for lone wolf attacks on the targets in a chilling video posted online. The hackers, known as the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC), orders those watching to: ‘Kill them wherever you find them.’ In a posting Sunday night on Telegram—a private messaging app—the group first warned that a release of the names was imminent. About 10 minutes later, the hackers posted the actual list, which includes names of seemingly random individuals from primarily the U.S. and U.K., according to the terror monitor SITE” (Fox News). Think of the fear just this development will engender in the United States and United Kingdom.

Jesus Christ said many times to “watch” during the period just before His Return. I urge all readers of The Real Truth magazine: Do not miss a single day following the news! Fight the pull to simply “tune out.”

World conditions could be compared to a gory photograph taken during war. We have all seen photos we wish we could unsee. Our natural tendency is to look away. But the news is different. We must keep watching—and on a daily basis!—when others around you are dropping out in greater numbers, pursuing pleasure and escape.

Keep reading The Real Truth magazine for news analysis found nowhere else.