World Currents!--No.96

Maria
May 2, 2003

Maria #489 CM/FM 3244 25/4/99

The Amerikan Nightmare Is Here
—The Columbine High School Massacre!

1. On April 20, the worst school shooting ever to take place in the U.S. occurred in Littleton‚ Colorado, just outside Denver. Two students at Columbine high school‚ Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold‚ 17, went on a rampage with guns and bombs, killing 12 students and a teacher and wounding more than 20 others before taking their own lives. The killing spree left the 1,800 students at Columbine traumatized and the rest of the U.S. asking how teenagers could do such a thing. We wondered too, and asked the Lord if He could please give us some insight into this school shooting. He responded with the following message via Dad:

2. (Dad speaking:) The Lord revealed to me and warned us many years ago about what's come to pass in the U.S. today. All those dreams I had about the troublous times are now coming to pass. You can read about it nearly every day in the newspapers or watch it on TV. The Amerikan night­mare is here! It's not something that's gonna happen someday far off in the ­future, it's happening right now—today!

3. This school shooting is a great excuse for more dictatorial control—a giant leap forward for the AC's plans. People are saying it's the biggest U.S. school massacre to date, and needless to say, it has Americans up in arms. This is the perfect opportunity for the ACs to get on the bandwagon and make their moves. Various politicians and lawmakers have visited the scene already and they're probably formulating all sorts of new laws and policies. You can bet that this latest incident will occupy much of the country's and even the world's attention for weeks to come.

4. It promises to effect change in different sectors of society, as people in strategic positions are calling out for new courses of action to be taken. In politics, in the government, as well as in the private sector‚ folks everywhere are deciding what needs to be done, what new laws can be passed or new policies can be instituted. This is a perfect opportunity for the ACs to make major advances.

5. Maybe they'll say the Internet was the problem‚ so they need to clamp down on free speech there. Or maybe they'll say the parents were negligent, so they need more state control over their kids. Or maybe they'll say school kids need more counseling to help them resolve their differences peacefully, so they'll fill the schools with anti-Christ counselors that will try to root out any sort of "irrationality" such as religious tendencies. Or maybe they'll do all these things and more. It just depends on what they want to attack and what they figure the public will put up with.

6. Everyone's asking why, trying to pinpoint why it happened. What on earth motivated those boys to do such a horrible thing? Just what was it that pushed them over the edge? And the big question is how to avoid it happening again! Answering that question opens the door for drastic measures to be put into effect.

7. While there's plenty of debate going around on why kids kill other kids, most of those who theorize fail to see the root of the problem. While people are squabbling over where to put the blame—whether it's the availability of firearms‚ broken homes, lack of proper attention from parents, violence on TV and in the movies, perverted and ungodly music, violent video games, secret chat rooms on the Internet, social pressures on kids, peer pressure and cruel ridicule at school—they fail to see that all these contributing factors are merely a manifestation of what's really behind this reign of terror‚ and who's behind these tragedies—the ACs and their ilk!

8. People have said that these boys must have had some help to plant so many bombs in their high school. They had help all right, from all sides. They had "help" in pushing them over the edge from the very ones who are now condemning their actions! They may have been influenced by the neo-Nazi subculture, but often kids are set up to follow such groups in the first place by the conditions around them. I'm not excusing their behavior, but their interest in Hitler or any other extremist cause was just the tip of the iceberg.

9. Those boys had the help of society at large and plenty of encouragement that led them to do what they did and make the decisions that they made to unleash their terror spree. They had the help of a legal system which took God out of the schools a long time ago. They had the help of politicians who set limits on how parents could discipline their children. They had the help of a financial system set up by the big money boys, one which practically guaranteed that both parents had to work and had very little time left for their kids. They had the help of the movie industry, the media, the technocrats who created evil video games and the means of disseminating them at the click of a mouse.

10. They've had plenty of help from a culture that has forgotten God, a society which provides plenty of warmongers as role models, from the president on down—those who think nothing of committing grotesque acts of violence and crimes against the innocent abroad with their bombs and weapons of war, a society that glorifies murderers of the innocent as ­heroes. And those boys and others like them had the help of their parents, who through their blindness and self-centeredness didn't have it in them to give their own children the time of day‚ thus through their neglect have driven them away. Yes, those boys had help, all right—plenty of it from all sides!

11. Whether you want to blame it on one or all of these factors combined, this recent shooting in Colorado is part of the grand plan. The ACs have it all methodically planned out. You can bet they're gonna utilize this reign of terror and the havoc it's causing to push their program. The Devil is smart and he's going to take advantage of all this havoc. The ACs have ­created and promoted and pushed all these contributing factors that have led up to these tragedies. They've got their finger in every pie.

12. Whatever angle you want to look at and blame—the movie industry, the media and TV broadcasts; the demonic music; the flourishing Internet where the kids have access to violent games, evil people and ungodly attitudes; the parents who work and work and work and aren't able to devote enough time and attention to their offspring, so that they're left without direction, supervision, and parental involvement; unloving and cruel behavior and ridicule from their peers; the availability of firearms and bomb-making know-how—all these different factors and aspects of the problem have been perpetrated by the ACs in some way or another.

13. The ACs have set the stage for these things in many different ways and have made it easy for kids to be pushed over the edge. You can take each of these contributing factors and analyze it and see that the ACs are behind it. Who produces the violent movies, the demonic music‚ the ungodly video games, and argues against any form of censorship that would hinder their rights to express themselves in such a way?

14. And let's consider the plight of parents today. Why don't the parents have time for their kids? Social and economic conditions today are such that the parents are virtually forced to work multiple jobs in order to survive, thus they simply don't have the time to devote to their children. All these factors work together. It's a vicious cycle! The ACs began the cycle, and those who've chosen to forget God fall prey to it. Then when a tragedy like this happens‚ the ACs are right there on the spot with their men and women in place to step in and offer their false solutions and to push their plan.

15. This latest, bloodiest school shooting is creating more havoc and fear than ever before. People in the U.S. have seen so many school massacres in the last few years, and everyone's determined to stop this sort of thing from happening again. So everyone's working together‚ and you can bet your boots the ACs have their folks in every single group, even if they're pushing the AC agenda un­knowingly. You have policemen and law enforcement officials who want to crack down on any extremist groups that would influence kids. You have teachers and principals who are going to demand conformity in the classroom, and be suspicious of any kids who are different in any way. You have state and government officials who want to help parents raise their kids or counsel them or get more involved in their lives. And among these groups you have those who are Christians who are pushing for what they think are good laws, but may find they've been deceived into promoting laws that will also be used against them in the end!

16. So here you have all these various factions working together. They're discussing what new laws need to be passed, or what laws need to be stopped from being passed, in order to put a stop once and for all to this type of horror ever happening again. There are lots of angles to this situation which the ACs can use to get a wedge in. Their plan in these school shootings and acts of violence with kids killing kids and committing these monstrous crimes is an advance on several sides.

17. Though everybody's climbing on the bandwagon and having all these dis­cussions and debates over what to do about this problem of violence among the youth‚ this is only for the sake of appearances, because those behind the scenes know exactly what they want done. All the investigations, all the supposed "evidence" they're turning up—it's all a part of the play. They're going through the motions of creating a scenario so that they can step in and do what they want. They're conditioning the masses, preparing them and getting them ready to receive their plan.

18. The Devil and his demons orchestrated these shootings as a part of his plan. He knew the precise moment he could push those boys over the edge, so that they could do his dirty work. "A child left to himself will bring his mother to shame." These children were left to themselves, and they not only brought their parents to shame but played a big part in the Devil's game. Their actions have now made people willing to accept more control, more monitoring‚ to be less tolerant of differing opinions, to be more willing to give up their freedom for what they see as more security. These are all major steps toward the Mark of the Beast and will lead ­toward his plan to establish control over the entire world.

19. This tragedy is another act in the play, one scene in the reign of terror that the ACs are perpetrating so that they can usher in their complete control. You see, they have to create the horror and the havoc so that they can then come in and save the day—similar to what they're doing around the world with crashes, wars, civil unrest and strife. Or as in this case, with this type of tragedy, a scenario that really hits home in the lives of everyone—outrages of violence in the schools that are claiming the lives of their own children. The Devil doesn't care if innocent lives are lost when it comes to these tragedies that are all moving the masses to accept his master plan.

20. You can bet there's lots in the works as a result of this sad tale in Colorado, new policies and laws that will be made in view of this latest shooting—and it's all leading somewhere! All the policies across the U.S. they'll now want to put into effect, every course of action that the government as well as private institutions will want to take‚ it's all pointing in one direction: to a dictatorial, regimented, totalitarian state—the Amerikan nightmare!

21. The Lord showed me many years ago that the U.S. would become a virtual police state, and you're seeing the fulfillment of it right before your eyes! The more events like this latest school shooting that take place‚ the more ­reason they have to put their laws into effect that bring them further along and nearer to this end. All the more reason they'll have to take control, in "the best interests of society," of course, and in order to "protect and provide a safe and secure environment." All in the "best interest" of the nation and the great American way, of course!

22. Satan set these kids up for destruction. He duped them into thinking there was no way out but death, and if they were going to die, they might as well take their enemies with them. Sad to say, they fell into the Devil's hand, who used them and then discarded them. It's a sad, sad story and a vicious cycle.

23. Satan has the parents duped too, and he gives them plenty to keep them occupied—all kinds of problems and worries and self-interests‚ often under the guise of "good intentions," because parents think they have to work so hard to provide for what they're deceived into believing is the "good life" for their children and grandchildren. And all the while, as they neglect their parental duties‚ they're destroying the very thing they say they love—their own children's lives. It's a vicious cycle that American society thrives on. They didn't have to get on the cycle‚ but they chose to when they chose to forget God‚ and this is the price they're having to pay. They're going round and round on a vicious cycle that's all designed to bring them to one end—AC control and his Mark!

24. Authorities searched for hidden bombs and explosives for days after this Colorado incident, and they say they finally found all of them. But they didn't, really. There are still plenty of explosives around, just not the kind you would expect. They're scattered around the U.S. and in different countries around the world. The most dangerous explosives they've got out there, and there're plenty of'm, are the kids themselves—others like these two boys who're capable of being pushed over the edge at the touch of any number of events that might set them off. The Devil has his time bombs planted, all right—those who he's been working on, planting his seeds in their hearts‚ filling their heads and hearts and minds with his violent pictures, causing them to be discontent, lonely‚ outcast, and so on. [Note: One month to the day after the mass­acre at Columbine High School left 15 people dead, another shooting took place in a Georgia high school. A 15-year-old sophomore armed with a rifle and a revolver wounded six schoolmates in Conyers, a suburb of Atlanta. The boy was described by classmates as an average teenager despondent over a breakup with his girlfriend.]

25. These violent kids are not the only ones the Devil has in the palms of his hands. He's worked on the parents too, giving them plenty to occupy their time and their thoughts to the neglect of their children. For the most part, they don't even see the gravity of the problem because they've become darkened in their understanding and blinded to the truth.

26. It's the ACs themselves behind these crimes. They've created the scenario‚ they've put the vicious cycle in motion, and they're pushing these kids over the edge with their propa­ganda through violent movies, music, video games, the Internet, and through their glorification of evil villains—those they call heroes, but who are nothing more than warmongering‚ blood­thirsty murderers of the innocent.

27. The ACs have created these crazy little monsters who they can count on to do their dirty work when the time is right. The youth are the scapegoats. They're victims, in a way. The ACs have created the conditions, created the ­monsters—first by taking the Bible out of the schools, and then replacing it with all the other input around them: From rock music to violent video and computer games, gory web sites, movies portraying violence, death and destruction all around, easy access to propaganda of devils on the Net, as well as easy access to firearms, and indifferent parents to top it off.

28. All things work together for good to those who know and love the Lord, but that's not necessarily true for those who don't know and love the Lord. In this case‚ they've worked together for evil at an ungodly public high school. Whether you blame the parents, or the gun laws, or the law enforcement agencies, or the violence in the movie industry, or the Internet—it's all working together. The ACs are using any means they can to wreak havoc and chaos and systematically usher in their new controlled system.

29. This latest massacre is an attack on many sides. You're gonna see the media pursue this to the nth degree! They're playing up the neo-Nazi link so that they can attack anybody and everybody whom they deem "extreme right." The authorities are saying they discovered large quantities of explosives on the school grounds, that they found more bombs, and that the boys' intent was to destroy the whole school. Well, whether those boys planted those bombs themselves or other people helped them, the outcome will be the same—and that's that they're gonna use this to build up their case against anybody who they consider on the outer edge.

30. Now they're gonna have the excuse they want to further crack down on the hard right extremists‚ and anybody else whom they deem worthy to fit into that category with'm! Now they'll have the excuse they want to keep a close "watch" on "those kinds of people" who've "proven" responsible for these tragedies. They're now gonna have another good excuse that justifies them in their own sight, so that they consider it their duty to watch "those kinds of people" closely‚ to scrutinize their every move‚ and if need be, put an immediate stop to any activity they deem a danger to society at large.

31. Boy, this is gonna give'm every excuse they need to further pursue many groups who are considered, as the ACs dub it, "extreme" or "apocalyptic," including "fanatical Christians"—anybody the System considers is out in the right–wing margins. Of course, you know who they group within those boundaries, don't you?

32. So further persecution of true Christians is one of the main purposes of these attacks, and it's all aiming to give the government every excuse in the book to watch people more closely whom they deem a little bit crazy, or weird and unusual. This is one thrust of this tragedy—to prove to society that there's a need for Big Brother surveillance; to not only watch out for‚ but to take action against and put a stop to, if necessary, anyone whom they consider a threat to the community.

33. All this should be more than obvious to our Family, but I'll tell you, this is not all! This is not the only thrust of this latest shooting, and it's not the only direction this is headed. This is not the only purpose of the ACs per­petrating this tragedy and others like it. It's not only to suppress and stop us and others like us—those who would speak out for the truth—but it's also to further hypnotize the masses.

34. Have you noticed how every time one of these outbreaks occurs, they begin targeting the parents themselves? The Devil always mixes a lot of truth with his lies, and while it's true that in most cases the parents are a great deal to blame, let's take a look at where all this is leading. In many cases the parents have played a major role in contributing to producing children who are capable of these crimes. The parents have turned their back on God in order to serve their false god of materialism, the almighty dollar, which they worship. But remember, the Enemy's playing both ends against the middle here.

35. The Devil has duped the parents and given them what they consider a good excuse to neglect their children. He's filled their lives with all sorts of things to occupy their time, and they've chosen to leave their offspring to their own devices. They've discarded the Bible and its Godly principles, and in doing so they've gotten rid of an absolute standard of right and wrong, discipline for their kids‚ and purpose and meaning in life. They may have had good intentions in wanting to raise their kids right, but the end result was that they grew up confused, ­loving Mammon rather than God.

36. Likewise‚ the Devil has filled that void the kids have inside with plenty of his own ­devices. Satan has been right there on the spot to fill their hearts and heads and minds with his pictures of violence and destruction, so that when he decides to trigger one of his living time bombs, when the time is right and he wants to push one of these kids over the edge when it serves his purpose—boom—you have a ­tragedy like this!

37. So where's this leading? The graphic images of violence they see all around them through the media, the movies, the Internet‚ the sounds of violence and destruction they hear through their music—all these things have been planted by the ACs to help create the existing conditions. The parents have been conditioned so that it seems the natural, normal, and unavoidable thing to neglect the kids. And now the ACs will turn right around and highlight the problem parents—pin the blame in large part on them, so that they can now offer a solution to this problem too. And just what do you think that would be?

38. It's quite clever. If the parents are not going to do the job of parenting and raising their children to be productive members of society, if they're unable to control their own kids‚ then what? In the name of law and order, in the best interests of the nation‚ to assure that society is a safe and orderly place to live for all, if the parents are not gonna do the job, then the govern­ment might just have to take over and do it for them! It's all leading to more control.

39. You hear it more and more. It's all over the news now, where they talk about the need for "increased counseling" for these troubled chil­dren. You're gonna see this more and more, where the ACs are pushing for "counseling" for both the kids as well as the parents. When they start talking like they are now‚ about the need for society to help these kids and provide a way that they can "systematically" help'm sort out their emotions and "think through" the disturb­ances and ill feelings they experience, it's time to watch out!

40. You can bet the kind of "help" they have in mind is certainly not gonna be by giving'm the truth of God's Word and His solutions—which is the only way they'll ever really solve anything. When they're talking about helping these kids sort out their problems and deal with their trauma, they're talking about in a non-religious way—in fact, in an anti-religious, totally System way that has no real solutions. It's all leading up to guiding and controlling the masses, and to eventual acceptance of the Mark of the Beast.

41. These violent crimes are being committed by younger children all the time—mass murder by teenagers! Who do you think will make the decision for minors to accept the Mark of the Beast? Parents make decisions for their underaged kids. In order to receive medical aid, for example, minors must have parental permission. So who do you think will have to give consent, or who will sign their own kids up to receive the Mark? Wouldn't that be just like the Devil to say, "Come, parents‚ bring your child in for this little implant for his/her own good, for your own good, and for the good of our wonderful and fair society!"

42. That's just like the Devil and his ilk! They've created these killer kids who are easily pushed over the edge, who wreak violence, which then creates havoc‚ panic, and fear, which then sets the stage both to get rid of the fanatics and also creates the need for more programs to counsel the kids!

43. This hype is simply creating a platform for more indoctrination and con­ditioning. If you'll notice, in situations such as this recent shooting, they're right on the spot to call in the "experts‚" the psychologists and psychiatrists, their "learned" men and women. What do you think all these profess­ionals they call in are so "learned" in? What solutions are they going to offer? Believe me, it will point towards the AC solution. The ACs have their psychobabblers positioned in strategic locations to give counsel, to analyze and theorize, and it's all leading the public in one direction. They're blind leaders of the blind. But there's someone behind the scenes who's not blind, the Devil, and he knows exactly where he's leading the masses!

44. Who do you think for the most part these "experts" belong to? These so–called experts are programmed with the solutions, all right—the one and only AC solution of more control, of turning everyone into robotic zombies, good little Systemites who will bow down and worship their god—the Beast—and accept his Mark.

45. They've got a plan, all right! The ACs have set the scenario by creating the violent kids, and now they're ready to come in with their solutions to stop the violent kids to ensure that the nation is a safe and secure place to raise a family. This is part of their plan—the "counseling" plan—counsel for the kids and counsel for the parents. It's time to get rid of the violent kids—through "counseling," through teaching them how to deal with their inner conflicts and emotions in a System way—and it's all leading them to accept dictatorial control. When the violence gets bad enough, as it is now‚ the parents—as well as other youth, peers of these killing kids—will grasp at anything to end it for fear of their lives!

46. It's all leading up to one end—to program the masses to accept the new regime, the new improved system in which everything will appear to be under perfect control, all nice and safe and secure, where there'll be no more violent kids and brutal crimes.

47. If parents can't control the kids, the gov­ernment will come in and help to "parent" them. The AC system has created the violent kids, and now they're ready to step in and provide the solution to violent kids. It's all leading to more conformity in the name of safety and secur­ity. It's another step toward a crackdown on anyone who "they" decide they want to dub "extreme" or "fanatical," as well as a major step towards stricter control of the individual through surveillance. It's all leading to nice, peaceful, regulated control, in a society that can be rid of fanatics and outbursts of violent crimes by violent youth.

48. You all know the ACs have been trying to control the individual all along through all these different means I've mentioned—the advertising, the media, the movie industry, the Internet, and on down the line! And we can't forget through their ungodly educational system, as well as the popular trend in this century to seek "professional help."

49. Do you realize how many folks in America send even their small children to a shrink? Many of these psychiatrists and psycho­­analysts and psychotherapists are henchmen and women of the AC! Not only are they shaping the minds and norms of society through their "counsel," but they often prescribe drugs to calm the kids down. They're giving all kinds of drugs to young children these days, who supposedly have this disorder and that disorder. What do you think are in those drugs? You can bet many of these drugs they give for mental disorders are helping to alter minds!

50. It's a nightmare—the Amerikan night­mare! The ACs have their people in strategic pos­i­tions where they're setting the trends. They're nothing more than psychobabblers, spouting off the Devil's own propaganda, as they've been doing for years! While there may exist a few sincere people in this field, even a few good Christian psychiatrists‚ a lot of others are anti-Christian or even anti-Christ.

51. What's the goal of psychotherapy?—To help alter behavior! Many of these psychological techniques they use are merely ways they can brainwash you into being a nice little System­ite robot! So, as in the case of this school killing, when they start calling in the so-called "profess­ionals‚" you can bet they're bent on shaping minds, all right—the kids' minds‚ the parents' minds, and the minds of society at large!

52. This is all leading somewhere. It's not merely a case of a couple of boys who watched a horror movie and decided to go out and do the same. It's a methodically planned scheme moving the masses to accept AC control. The youth in this case are the scapegoats. They're the problem; therefore the government is gonna have to come up with ways to control'm. All the while, they can turn them into the little robots they want them to be. "Fit into our norm, conform to our regime if you want to be safe."

53. The Amerikan nightmare is here, folks! Watch out! You're to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, and you'd all better pray without ceasing! The world is getting darker all the time, so let's pray for the wisdom and strength to keep on preaching the truth. The Lord promised He would keep you right up to the very End‚ so stay close to Him—lest you find yourself caught up in the middle of the Amerikan nightmare!

54. Pray without ceasing and be ready at all times to flee as a bird to the mountain—else the wicked shoot the upright in heart! (Psalm 11:1-2). If the Lord is leading you to a place of service on the needy mission field, you'd better go! Flee as a bird to the mountain of the Lord—the place of service where He wants you! As long as you stay close to the Lord and in the center of His will, He'll keep you through anything. The wicked will reap the judgments of God‚ but the Lord loves the righteous and upright in heart, and He'll make His face to shine upon you. (Psalm 11:6-7). God bless you and make you a blessing to many, and keep you witnessing right up to the End! (End of mess­age from Dad.)

Expecting the impossible of parents

Don Feder, Jewish World Review

Except for the National Rifle Association, no one has taken more hits over the Littleton, Colo., killings than families. "Where were the parents?" critics cry. Liberal child-rearing advice is a mishmash of contradictions: Monitor your child, but don't invade his privacy. Raise him to behave decently and respect the rights of others, but don't discipline him. While they're lecturing us about our responsibilities, the elite has created a cultural sewer for adolescents to swim (or sink) in.

"How could their families have raised monsters like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold?" the experts ask. But too many children are raised by their surrogate parent—the culture. When concerned parents try to protect youth from the more invidious aspects of the same, they're called censors and control freaks, and told their repression is apt to provoke an adolescent backlash.

If the parents of Harris and Klebold had searched their sons' rooms for armaments and explosives, they would have violated the boys' privacy. Wearing swastikas and shouting "heil Hitler" in school was protected by the teens' freedom of expression.

For generations past, the key to successful child–rearing was moral instruction backed by stern discipline. Transgressions brought an excursion to the woodshed for a philosophical encounter with a razor strap. Today, parents who heed the Biblical injunction about rod-sparing are likely to find themselves facing a felony rap.

Parents can't win. The impossible is expected of them—direction without discipline, monitoring and control while respecting the "rights" of 12-year-olds‚ all in the context of a culture that undermines their authority and seduces their children by playing to their darkest instincts. Liberals want to raise your children then blame you when they pack a high-­powered rifle in their school bag.

Searching for answers

Joseph Sobran, United Press Syndicate

The recurrence of random slaughter in public schools shows that abnormality itself is now treated as normal. But the rash of school slaugh­ters has so far passed over private and religious schools, which in a sense have seceded from the mainstream culture. Those schools, like the home-schooling movement, exist chiefly because so many parents want to shield their children from that culture.

In private schools, people can still pray, study the Bible‚ and teach absolute standards of right and wrong. The pupil grows up knowing he has an immortal soul and must answer to his Creator for his sins.

A truly educated child is one in whom the habits of virtue are instilled without apology. When the desire to behave in a godly way becomes a habit, the child doesn't have to wrestle with his conscience before deciding whether to kill a classmate who teases him.

The "search for answers" should terminate in the answer so many parents have already found: religious education.

School security measures

(AP) Going to class will be a little more like boarding an airliner for many U.S. pupils as educators try to prevent more bloodshed in America's schools.

They'll walk through metal detectors and past police or other guards. A stray word about violence could mean trouble if someone overhears and reports it—perhaps anonymously.

In Springfield, Missouri, schools, any pupil from kindergarten through high school who even utters a threat will be turned over to juvenile authorities and kept out of school until evaluated by a counselor.

Elsewhere, kids will be wearing photo ID badges and toting book bags made of see-through materials, if they're allowed to carry book bags at all. They're being given hotline numbers to report signs that a schoolmate could turn violent‚ and some will face punishment if they don't. Many more will be exposed to workshops‚ classes and counseling on keeping violence out of arguments. n