10/22/2026
Who or what has so thoroughly bewitched America that it's compentency has chosen incompentency over compentency?
This question asks something deeper than who holds power: What has so distorted America’s judgment that we sometimes reward incompetence and disregard competence?
“Bewitched” recalls Paul’s question in Galatians 3:1: “Who hath bewitched you?” His concern was that people had turned away from truth they had already received.
Applied as a reflection on America, the answer may be several influences working together:
1. Loyalty without accountability: defending our side even when its conduct contradicts our standards.
2. Fear and resentment: allowing what frightens or angers us to outweigh sound judgment.
3. Celebrity and performance: confusing confidence, popularity, wealth, or eloquence with ability.
4. Repeated falsehood: accepting familiar claims without examining their truth.
5. Misplaced priorities: choosing someone who promises our preferred outcome while overlooking character and competence.
But competence must also serve a righteous purpose. A person can be highly capable at deception, exploitation, or injustice. We need ability joined with honesty, wisdom, humility, and concern for others.
Another searching question for all of us is: “Do I require the same truthfulness, character, and competence from those I support as I must demand from those I oppose?”
America’s judgment suffers whenever allegiance becomes more important than truth—and recovery begins when we are willing to let truth correct our own side, too. hbjr
