I have been studying how America was founded on the biases of common law. Common law is the idea that court cases are settled on precedence and local values and ideas. Common law’s authority is founded on Private Property rights. In essence, anything and everything is legal as long as it does not injure or harm someone’s person or property. Punishments for crimes under common law are also based directly on the crime. You steal a cow, you give a new cow to the owner. You take a life, you forfeit your own life, etc.
Common law assumes that people can morally govern themselves. This process works only so long as the People of the land are willing to do what is right. Once a people start to become immoral, they lose their ability to govern themselves and common law must be replaced by the more tyrannical form of law called statute law. Statute law is founded in rules and regulations and is enforced by fines and prison sentences. Unlike common law, the fines do not go to the victim, nor do they equally match the crime. You break the speed limit and you pay a predetermined fee; you steal a cow, you may pay restitution but you also go to jail.
Common law protects personal freedoms and property by encouraging common sense and common courtesy behaviors. Statute law dictates to the people what is right and wrong and controls the people for the benefit of the Government under the guise of protecting the people’s safety.
The United States of America’s law is now based almost 100% on statute law. Another way of looking at it is “law of proclamation” (Tyrannical law). Our leaders proclaim what is law and it becomes enforceable. What was legal yesterday can put you in jail today, because a new proclamation or statute was created. In other words, our elected officials have deemed us too immoral to govern ourselves through common law.
I am going to stop here for today. The above is rather dry and so I prefer to keep this post short for you to read over a couple of times. It sets the foundation for our next series titled “American Entitlement” where we will exam how “We the People” have given up our right to be self-governing.
If you have been asking yourself, “what happened to my Country?” then you need to read the upcoming blogs where we examine just how we have lost our faith and country.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
FREEDOM: What more could we lose?
I have heard a lot of Americans talk about how hopeless they feel right now. They wonder if they will ever be able to believe again. America put their belief in a president that said he could give them hope, he could bring about a change that would save America. Our hope was betrayed and many of us now simply have sat down, too confused to now how to move forward.
We are losing the freedom to hope, to dream, to believe in something bigger than ourselves. But hope is not lost. We are still Americans! Our parents and our grandparents have seen hard times before. They have fought in world wars and stood in breadlines, waiting for a chance to feed their families. Yet somehow America has prevailed. She has always picked herself up off the floor and pushed forward into the future. Are we going to be the generation that just gives up? Are we going to be the ones to throw in the towel on the American Dream? What about our children and grandchildren? What will they think of us if we give up?
There are those in our government that will tell us that they know best, that we should simply sit still and wait for them to fix all the world’s problems. They want us to lose hope in ourselves, and put the hope in them. Our President had the right idea when he campaigned on Hope. He knew that was exactly what the American people needed. The issue is that instead of telling us to believe in ourselves, he asked us to let him change the world for us. Our Country was built on the backs of people like you and me. Her past issues were solved not because one charismatic leader swooped in to save the day, but because collectively the American people said, we will survive! Americans strapped on their boots and went to work, they believed in themselves and this gave their children a future to hope for.
Do we have enough faith today to believe, or are we simply resolved to watch our dreams float away? American is still a great land. It is still a place where everyday Americans can take responsibility and move this country forward. Currently, we are cowering under the covers and hoping that our government will scare off the monsters in the closet. But, if there is one thing that I know for sure about the hearts and souls of all Americans, it is that we don’t hide for long. Our parents and our grandparents chased their own monsters out of the closet, tackled them to the ground, tied them up and then put them behind class at the history museum so that we would not forget that we have the power to do anything.
Ask yourself today: what kind of American are you? Are you going to continue to believe that hope is gone, or are you going to stand up and realize that hope has not left us? We have been looking for some great leader to show us the way. The problem is that each one of us holds hope in our hands. We must learn to believe in ourselves, to have faith in our American communities, and to look first up to our God and then to our own feet to find the power to tackle our own monsters. Let us walk together into a strong and meaningful future!
We are losing the freedom to hope, to dream, to believe in something bigger than ourselves. But hope is not lost. We are still Americans! Our parents and our grandparents have seen hard times before. They have fought in world wars and stood in breadlines, waiting for a chance to feed their families. Yet somehow America has prevailed. She has always picked herself up off the floor and pushed forward into the future. Are we going to be the generation that just gives up? Are we going to be the ones to throw in the towel on the American Dream? What about our children and grandchildren? What will they think of us if we give up?
There are those in our government that will tell us that they know best, that we should simply sit still and wait for them to fix all the world’s problems. They want us to lose hope in ourselves, and put the hope in them. Our President had the right idea when he campaigned on Hope. He knew that was exactly what the American people needed. The issue is that instead of telling us to believe in ourselves, he asked us to let him change the world for us. Our Country was built on the backs of people like you and me. Her past issues were solved not because one charismatic leader swooped in to save the day, but because collectively the American people said, we will survive! Americans strapped on their boots and went to work, they believed in themselves and this gave their children a future to hope for.
Do we have enough faith today to believe, or are we simply resolved to watch our dreams float away? American is still a great land. It is still a place where everyday Americans can take responsibility and move this country forward. Currently, we are cowering under the covers and hoping that our government will scare off the monsters in the closet. But, if there is one thing that I know for sure about the hearts and souls of all Americans, it is that we don’t hide for long. Our parents and our grandparents chased their own monsters out of the closet, tackled them to the ground, tied them up and then put them behind class at the history museum so that we would not forget that we have the power to do anything.
Ask yourself today: what kind of American are you? Are you going to continue to believe that hope is gone, or are you going to stand up and realize that hope has not left us? We have been looking for some great leader to show us the way. The problem is that each one of us holds hope in our hands. We must learn to believe in ourselves, to have faith in our American communities, and to look first up to our God and then to our own feet to find the power to tackle our own monsters. Let us walk together into a strong and meaningful future!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
FREEDOM: What else are we losing?
Have you noticed that people seem more stressed lately? Life just is not fun anymore for a lot of us. Granted, with the economy the way it is, I can understand people’s concerns, but I have begun to wonder if there is not something deeper to their current state of gloom.
As I watch and study people’s reactions to the current state of our world, I have noticed something in the hearts of Americans that I have never seen before, and this realization scares me to death! We have become apathetic. For the first time in the history of our country, I am hearing more “I don’t cares” or “I just have to look after myself and my family” or “Sure, I am concerned, but I just don’t have time to worry or get involved”. Simply put, this attitude is un-American. I would even venture to say that it is anti-American.
There is a core freedom that has been stripped from the American population and that freedom is our freedom to care: to care about those around us, to care about our futures, to care about our children’s future. We have bought into the idea that the Government is taking care of us so we don’t have to worry. They will provide for our future; we just need to worry about ourselves. Just in case I am not being clear, let me clarify that I am saying we as Americans have traded in our honor and our sacred privilege to help those around us and we have become selfish. We have decided that being politically correct is more important than simply being correct. We would rather look the other way in the face of opposition than stand on the principles that, for so many generations, have made this country great. We are told that it is wrong for us to share our beliefs, to talk about our views, or to care about politics in general. Do we really believe that? Do we really buy into the fact that in order to be a good American we must stay silent? More importantly, the apathy that we are taught to have at work and at school has caused us to stop looking around for ways to help. Our hearts have hardened for the sake of our jobs or our grades and the result is that we have forgotten what it means to care to the point that to even hear someone have passion raises red flags in our brainwashed minds.
What is this apathy doing to our society? Because we have been told not to care, we don’t know our neighbors. “How are you doing?” has become a greeting rather than a question. We busy ourselves with selfish pursuits, never stopping to ponder the consequences that our lack of caring has upon ourselves and those around us.
We can talk about political change until we’re blue in the face but until we jumpstart our ability to care, change will be impossible. Ultimately our selfish, politically-correct, self-preserving, auto-pilot, “don’t get in my way”, “I can’t wait till the end of the week”, mindset gives no room for progress, and even less room for hope. In the end we are stressed, not because we have too many meetings, not enough money, and too large of a mortgage: we are stressed because we are alone. You don’t care about your neighbor and your neighbor does not even know your name, and that, my friends, is not how we were made to live. Regardless of what pop culture tells us, the important part in life is not how high you climb the ladder. The real meaning of life, of progress, of success, is how many steps we did not take because we stopped to help up the person next to us.
Let’s take back our freedom to care even if it means (yes, I will say the scary word) “sacrificing.
As I watch and study people’s reactions to the current state of our world, I have noticed something in the hearts of Americans that I have never seen before, and this realization scares me to death! We have become apathetic. For the first time in the history of our country, I am hearing more “I don’t cares” or “I just have to look after myself and my family” or “Sure, I am concerned, but I just don’t have time to worry or get involved”. Simply put, this attitude is un-American. I would even venture to say that it is anti-American.
There is a core freedom that has been stripped from the American population and that freedom is our freedom to care: to care about those around us, to care about our futures, to care about our children’s future. We have bought into the idea that the Government is taking care of us so we don’t have to worry. They will provide for our future; we just need to worry about ourselves. Just in case I am not being clear, let me clarify that I am saying we as Americans have traded in our honor and our sacred privilege to help those around us and we have become selfish. We have decided that being politically correct is more important than simply being correct. We would rather look the other way in the face of opposition than stand on the principles that, for so many generations, have made this country great. We are told that it is wrong for us to share our beliefs, to talk about our views, or to care about politics in general. Do we really believe that? Do we really buy into the fact that in order to be a good American we must stay silent? More importantly, the apathy that we are taught to have at work and at school has caused us to stop looking around for ways to help. Our hearts have hardened for the sake of our jobs or our grades and the result is that we have forgotten what it means to care to the point that to even hear someone have passion raises red flags in our brainwashed minds.
What is this apathy doing to our society? Because we have been told not to care, we don’t know our neighbors. “How are you doing?” has become a greeting rather than a question. We busy ourselves with selfish pursuits, never stopping to ponder the consequences that our lack of caring has upon ourselves and those around us.
We can talk about political change until we’re blue in the face but until we jumpstart our ability to care, change will be impossible. Ultimately our selfish, politically-correct, self-preserving, auto-pilot, “don’t get in my way”, “I can’t wait till the end of the week”, mindset gives no room for progress, and even less room for hope. In the end we are stressed, not because we have too many meetings, not enough money, and too large of a mortgage: we are stressed because we are alone. You don’t care about your neighbor and your neighbor does not even know your name, and that, my friends, is not how we were made to live. Regardless of what pop culture tells us, the important part in life is not how high you climb the ladder. The real meaning of life, of progress, of success, is how many steps we did not take because we stopped to help up the person next to us.
Let’s take back our freedom to care even if it means (yes, I will say the scary word) “sacrificing.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
FREEDOM: What we are really losing?
Two blogs ago, I told you that the next series of blogs would be about the freedoms that we are losing. Chances are, you thought I would be talking about our freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and second amendment rights. While those freedoms are at stake, and while we must fight to secure our bill of rights, there is a much deeper, underlying set of freedoms as risk. While we focus our attention on the noticeable freedoms being challenged, our very right to life, our very core as Americans, is systematically being pulled out from under us. It is the loss of these underlying freedoms that ultimately will make us slaves to our government and destroy our Republic.
For instance, taking last week’s blog, if we lose our ability to elect people who will represent us then naturally we will lose the freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution. However, if we can retain or, as the case may be, regain the freedom to choose elected officials that will represent us, then naturally all of our other freedoms will be safe. The time for settling for the least of two evils is over. We must demand that good, honest, and ethical people who understand our rights and the importance of the Constitution be put into office. If we truly believe that each election is simply about choosing the best bad candidate, then all is lost. Our Republic was not built on politics; it was built on honest, everyday people stepping up to do their part. It is not too late, but we must act now.
The freedom that I want to talk about today is our freedom to live life unabated by undue burdens. Granted, this freedom is not directly guaranteed by the Constitution, but we are guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and we are guaranteed an unobtrusive federal government with very little power over the daily lives of the American People. Today, we cannot even purchase a box of cereal without a federally mandated nutritional label on the packaging. Whether we realize or not, everything that we do is directly regulated by the federal government. We cannot fly from LA to San Francisco without taking off our shoes, belts, sweaters, coats, opening our laptop bags, removing our watches and wallets, loose change, and submitting to random searches of our person and belongings. Notice that I picked two cities within the same state. Constitutionally, the Federal Government has no jurisdiction within the state of California to regulate intercity travel. Our freedom to simply live our lives is at stake, perhaps it is already lost (though, it is not too late to take it back). Now, every time we turn on the news or download our email, we are reminded of more government intervention, from healthcare, to gun control, to our ability to choose what and who we listen to on the radio and TV. Of course, all of these government regulations are for our “safety” or to insure “fairness”. But, what really is at stake is our ability to be free from undue burdens; each new safety regulation makes it just that much harder for us to simply exist in peace. Sure, most regulations are small, almost unnoticeable, but that is by design. No, this is not by some great big conspiracy, but well-meaning people in power do not understand that their “protection” of us interferes with the very core of what makes us America. They wrongly think that just a small regulation won’t really negatively affect us and besides it will just make the people that much safer. I, for one, am not afraid of calories in my cereal, but I tremble before a government that thinks it is their duty to protect me from said calories.
It is not so much the fact that our cereal manufacturers have to post the information; the real issue is why the government thinks that its responsibility is to force the cereal companies in a free country, in the United States of America, to label the packaging in certain ways. The real issue is that if our government thinks that it must get involved in such a minuscule, unimportant issue such as our morning cereal choices, what do they think about the real issues such as our businesses, our local government, our banks, our healthcare, and our children’s education? We are just beginning to see the real plans that Government has for these major issues. If we allowed them to get involved in our breakfast, why are we now so surprised that they want to get involved in the rest of our lives?
We have willingly given up all of our little freedoms that we did not think were important, but the precedent that it set was to tell the government that we did not mind their interference, that we would not fight for our freedoms. Well, now that all of the little minuscule issues are under the government’s control, they are coming for the rest of our lives. Will we hand the major issues over as easily as we handed off the “littler” issues? Well, I suppose you have the freedom to choose, whether you will stand or not, but take heed, for if you choose not to stand soon, you will not have a choice on anything.
For instance, taking last week’s blog, if we lose our ability to elect people who will represent us then naturally we will lose the freedoms guaranteed to us by the Constitution. However, if we can retain or, as the case may be, regain the freedom to choose elected officials that will represent us, then naturally all of our other freedoms will be safe. The time for settling for the least of two evils is over. We must demand that good, honest, and ethical people who understand our rights and the importance of the Constitution be put into office. If we truly believe that each election is simply about choosing the best bad candidate, then all is lost. Our Republic was not built on politics; it was built on honest, everyday people stepping up to do their part. It is not too late, but we must act now.
The freedom that I want to talk about today is our freedom to live life unabated by undue burdens. Granted, this freedom is not directly guaranteed by the Constitution, but we are guaranteed the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and we are guaranteed an unobtrusive federal government with very little power over the daily lives of the American People. Today, we cannot even purchase a box of cereal without a federally mandated nutritional label on the packaging. Whether we realize or not, everything that we do is directly regulated by the federal government. We cannot fly from LA to San Francisco without taking off our shoes, belts, sweaters, coats, opening our laptop bags, removing our watches and wallets, loose change, and submitting to random searches of our person and belongings. Notice that I picked two cities within the same state. Constitutionally, the Federal Government has no jurisdiction within the state of California to regulate intercity travel. Our freedom to simply live our lives is at stake, perhaps it is already lost (though, it is not too late to take it back). Now, every time we turn on the news or download our email, we are reminded of more government intervention, from healthcare, to gun control, to our ability to choose what and who we listen to on the radio and TV. Of course, all of these government regulations are for our “safety” or to insure “fairness”. But, what really is at stake is our ability to be free from undue burdens; each new safety regulation makes it just that much harder for us to simply exist in peace. Sure, most regulations are small, almost unnoticeable, but that is by design. No, this is not by some great big conspiracy, but well-meaning people in power do not understand that their “protection” of us interferes with the very core of what makes us America. They wrongly think that just a small regulation won’t really negatively affect us and besides it will just make the people that much safer. I, for one, am not afraid of calories in my cereal, but I tremble before a government that thinks it is their duty to protect me from said calories.
It is not so much the fact that our cereal manufacturers have to post the information; the real issue is why the government thinks that its responsibility is to force the cereal companies in a free country, in the United States of America, to label the packaging in certain ways. The real issue is that if our government thinks that it must get involved in such a minuscule, unimportant issue such as our morning cereal choices, what do they think about the real issues such as our businesses, our local government, our banks, our healthcare, and our children’s education? We are just beginning to see the real plans that Government has for these major issues. If we allowed them to get involved in our breakfast, why are we now so surprised that they want to get involved in the rest of our lives?
We have willingly given up all of our little freedoms that we did not think were important, but the precedent that it set was to tell the government that we did not mind their interference, that we would not fight for our freedoms. Well, now that all of the little minuscule issues are under the government’s control, they are coming for the rest of our lives. Will we hand the major issues over as easily as we handed off the “littler” issues? Well, I suppose you have the freedom to choose, whether you will stand or not, but take heed, for if you choose not to stand soon, you will not have a choice on anything.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
FREEDOM: WHAT IS AT STAKE
Today everyone most likely knows someone yelling about how America is going down the drain and how we are all going to end up as slaves to the government. There are so many issues out there and it is confusing to figure out exactly what it all means for me as an individual. There are people angry about government healthcare, higher taxes, bank bailouts, gun control laws, federal takeovers of the auto industry, public schools, foreign wars, the failing American dollar, H1N1 virus conspiracies, and the list can go on. If you are like me, you end up getting overwhelmed and start ignoring everything just to keep your sanity. We end up telling ourselves that, although these issues may be important, “they don’t affect me personally and there is nothing I can do about it anyway”.
As you may know by now, this blog is not about dotting lines between special interest groups, corporations, and government officials to create conspiracies. This blog is not about issues. This blog is about us, Americans, our livelihood, our faith, and our ability to maintain our way of life. There are plenty of other sites that will tell you why you should fear the government; read them if you want. This blog represents the bigger picture. Thus, before I can talk about what is at stake, you must understand why it is even in danger. We get bogged down by the multitude of issues surrounding us and it becomes difficult to recognize the real problem. Let’s strip away the issues for just a moment. If we take away all the debates and all the new government programs, we are simply left with people. Herein lays the real issue: I am surrounded every day by individuals yelling at the people in charge of our government. Then, when the government does not accept our directions, we yell louder. We all run around seeing issues everywhere that we must fight off, but below the issues are people, people driving the issues through our lives and into our homes. We must start ignoring the issues and look at the bigger picture. Who is running our government? Do we agree with them? Are they working for us? Has public service begun to mean that the public serves them? If we don’t like the issues coming out of our government, then is it not reasonable to think that it is because of the people within our government? Your congressmen would like you to think that they are fighting for you on the issues that matter, but your congressmen are the government. They make the issues; they direct the course that America is on. We chase after the issues like a dog after a bone, and yes, the government threw the bone. In truth, as Americans we will never agree on all the issues and we end up dividing ourselves because of issues, oddly enough. However, everyone I have talked to from all different walks of life agrees that congress is not representing the people, nor are they following the Constitution. In reality, no amount of issue fighting, protesting, letter writing, or yelling will change that. But the solution is very easy. Vote for different people. Vote for fresh faces. Vote not on issues, but by the integrity of the person running. Let us stop chasing after irrelevant issues and instead turn our attention directly to the source, the people running the government.
Let’s stand up and take back our government by telling our elected officials that they are fired. This is still our right, but this right is at stake. We have begun to believe that the government is too powerful for the people to change it, yet every 2 years the House of Representatives has to be reelected. Every 4 years the Senate must be reelected. We the people have just forgotten what Election Day means. It does not mean that we choose the least of two evils; it means that we protect our right to choose our representatives by voting for people willing to follow the Constitution or we run ourselves. Election Day is not a ritual or a privilege to take for granted it: is our duty. We are losing our right to elect those that we want to see in office, not because of any government conspiracy, but because everyday Americans won’t run for office. We leave the “dirty work” to the very people we say we don’t trust. Perhaps it is time that the everyday American gets their hands dirty. In the end, our freedom to choose good, honest representatives is at stake, merely because the good and honest people (that’s you and me) refuse to stand up. Our inability to govern ourselves has put our country, our faith, and our very lifestyle in grave danger. There is a lot more at stake, a lot more to be lost if We the People do not awaken to the fact that we must take control of our own lives by taking back control of our own government.
As you may know by now, this blog is not about dotting lines between special interest groups, corporations, and government officials to create conspiracies. This blog is not about issues. This blog is about us, Americans, our livelihood, our faith, and our ability to maintain our way of life. There are plenty of other sites that will tell you why you should fear the government; read them if you want. This blog represents the bigger picture. Thus, before I can talk about what is at stake, you must understand why it is even in danger. We get bogged down by the multitude of issues surrounding us and it becomes difficult to recognize the real problem. Let’s strip away the issues for just a moment. If we take away all the debates and all the new government programs, we are simply left with people. Herein lays the real issue: I am surrounded every day by individuals yelling at the people in charge of our government. Then, when the government does not accept our directions, we yell louder. We all run around seeing issues everywhere that we must fight off, but below the issues are people, people driving the issues through our lives and into our homes. We must start ignoring the issues and look at the bigger picture. Who is running our government? Do we agree with them? Are they working for us? Has public service begun to mean that the public serves them? If we don’t like the issues coming out of our government, then is it not reasonable to think that it is because of the people within our government? Your congressmen would like you to think that they are fighting for you on the issues that matter, but your congressmen are the government. They make the issues; they direct the course that America is on. We chase after the issues like a dog after a bone, and yes, the government threw the bone. In truth, as Americans we will never agree on all the issues and we end up dividing ourselves because of issues, oddly enough. However, everyone I have talked to from all different walks of life agrees that congress is not representing the people, nor are they following the Constitution. In reality, no amount of issue fighting, protesting, letter writing, or yelling will change that. But the solution is very easy. Vote for different people. Vote for fresh faces. Vote not on issues, but by the integrity of the person running. Let us stop chasing after irrelevant issues and instead turn our attention directly to the source, the people running the government.
Let’s stand up and take back our government by telling our elected officials that they are fired. This is still our right, but this right is at stake. We have begun to believe that the government is too powerful for the people to change it, yet every 2 years the House of Representatives has to be reelected. Every 4 years the Senate must be reelected. We the people have just forgotten what Election Day means. It does not mean that we choose the least of two evils; it means that we protect our right to choose our representatives by voting for people willing to follow the Constitution or we run ourselves. Election Day is not a ritual or a privilege to take for granted it: is our duty. We are losing our right to elect those that we want to see in office, not because of any government conspiracy, but because everyday Americans won’t run for office. We leave the “dirty work” to the very people we say we don’t trust. Perhaps it is time that the everyday American gets their hands dirty. In the end, our freedom to choose good, honest representatives is at stake, merely because the good and honest people (that’s you and me) refuse to stand up. Our inability to govern ourselves has put our country, our faith, and our very lifestyle in grave danger. There is a lot more at stake, a lot more to be lost if We the People do not awaken to the fact that we must take control of our own lives by taking back control of our own government.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Lost Heart
In ancient times, invading armies would win wars by surrounding a walled city and trapping the people in their own homes, cutting them off from supplies, water, reinforcements, and safety. The invading army, however, could hold out as long as the needed, easily resupplying and reinforcing their own forces. Eventually, the besieged town would have to make a decision. Though starving and outnumbered, they could make a futile attempt to fight off the invaders or they could lose heart and simply surrender their town, praying for mercy. A well-fortified town could be protected on the inside by a force 1/10 the size of the invading army, but on the other side of the wall, a well-supplied army could simply wait for the town to starve or to bring their smaller forces, in desperation, to an open battle where the larger army would have the advantage. In most cases, a besieged town's only hope was to have gotten out messengers before the town was surrounded. If the messengers could just reach their allies, there could be a victory for the town. This, of course, meant that the towns’ people would have had to see the advancing army well in advance. They would need to have been watching the horizon for distant threats and, once a threat was seen, they would have to take quick and decisive action to save their town.
Today, American Freedom has been besieged. The enemy has completely surrounded it. Because of the Constitution, it is well fortified but it is ill-supplied and desperately under forced. Freedom is strong and it will not back down but the problem is that its allies have lost heart. Freedom sent its messengers but we are too busy to come to its rescue. It would take too much for us to stop our lives a few hours a week to protect Freedom. Perhaps we believe that Freedom is old and antiquated or that if we simply ignore Freedom's call for help, once it is destroyed the enemy will not come after us.
I personally think that Freedom has simply been too easy for our generation. We have not yet had to sacrifice for it, we do not understand life without it, and thus, we cannot comprehend its true importance. We have also become a selfish people. We pass by broken down cars, because we are late for our own meetings. We look the other way when our neighbors need a helping hand, because we have to mow our own lawn. We now ignore the value of life, closing our eyes to everyone but ourselves. Why would we protect Freedom? Why should we? What has it done for us recently?
Where are the good men and women of this country? They are too busy. They don’t want to get involved. They think someone else will take the fight. They think that the threat does not really exist. The battle to protect Freedom will be lost, not because we are lazy or inadequate or unprepared. The battle will be lost simply because no one showed up, because it is easier to believe that the threat does not really exist. It is easier to say that “politics” are just for politicians. It is easier to say that we don’t pick sides. Are we just complacent? I really don’t think so. We simply do not know what is at risk.
The next few posts will help you understand what is at risk. Read them slowly, let the reality sink in, and once you fully understand what we all could lose, I believe that you, as an American will step up to the challenge.
Today, American Freedom has been besieged. The enemy has completely surrounded it. Because of the Constitution, it is well fortified but it is ill-supplied and desperately under forced. Freedom is strong and it will not back down but the problem is that its allies have lost heart. Freedom sent its messengers but we are too busy to come to its rescue. It would take too much for us to stop our lives a few hours a week to protect Freedom. Perhaps we believe that Freedom is old and antiquated or that if we simply ignore Freedom's call for help, once it is destroyed the enemy will not come after us.
I personally think that Freedom has simply been too easy for our generation. We have not yet had to sacrifice for it, we do not understand life without it, and thus, we cannot comprehend its true importance. We have also become a selfish people. We pass by broken down cars, because we are late for our own meetings. We look the other way when our neighbors need a helping hand, because we have to mow our own lawn. We now ignore the value of life, closing our eyes to everyone but ourselves. Why would we protect Freedom? Why should we? What has it done for us recently?
Where are the good men and women of this country? They are too busy. They don’t want to get involved. They think someone else will take the fight. They think that the threat does not really exist. The battle to protect Freedom will be lost, not because we are lazy or inadequate or unprepared. The battle will be lost simply because no one showed up, because it is easier to believe that the threat does not really exist. It is easier to say that “politics” are just for politicians. It is easier to say that we don’t pick sides. Are we just complacent? I really don’t think so. We simply do not know what is at risk.
The next few posts will help you understand what is at risk. Read them slowly, let the reality sink in, and once you fully understand what we all could lose, I believe that you, as an American will step up to the challenge.
Friday, September 25, 2009
American Economics of Progress
Can our country recover from our current economic woes? For some, they are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. For others, life is still a struggle. Either way, the constant fear remains forefront on the hearts of so many people: what if something else happens to our economy?
Let’s take a step back. How did we get here in the first place? We gave our jobs and our industries away. We literally outsourced our wealth. For the sake of “progress,” we closed down factories and shipped commerce overseas. We provided customer service by hiring people to answer phones in distant lands. We improved efficiency by lowering standards of quality. Having a job became a privilege rather than an American right, and those that succeeded in life were seen as having the means to “share” their wealth. We created colleges that taught our young people to fall in line rather than to ask questions, and we built up a work atmosphere of mediocrity. Harsh words, perhaps, but tell me, are they not true?
The simple truth is that if we want a strong economy, we must build one. There is no easy way out. Americans must start rebuilding what “progress” has destroyed. We need factories, we need small business, we need local banks, and we need local communities to stand together and to pull our American work ethic out of the ground where it is buried. Remember when being polite was mandatory and you did not have to teach customer service? Remember when hard work equaled efficiency? Remember when raises were given based on merit rather than government mandate?
What happened to our America? Who took it from us and how do we get it back? In reality, we gave it away. As our freedoms, commerce, and communities were taken from us –for progress- we did nothing. We bowed our heads and hoped that the changes would not affect us. Now, years later, we are reaping the rewards of our silence.
Yet, there can be hope, but hope takes action. It takes you believing in America. Are you willing to step up and be counted? We can rebuild our country. We can make America strong again. We can stop being progressive long enough to create real progress, the kind of progress that creates jobs, creates community, and will bring back a sense of pride in a day’s hard work. We must stop thinking that the Government and bailouts to large corporations will fix anything. Did the bailout help you? Did it save your neighbor’s house from foreclosure? In the end, we must learn to hold ourselves accountable for our own success or failure. We have been lazy for too long; now, we must go back to work. We must move to rebuild both our broken political system and our devastated economy. It will be hard, it will be stressful, and yes, you will have to sacrifice. But is it worth it to you? Can you look into the eyes of your children and tell them that you will do nothing to save their country and to protect their future? Your inaction says it all. So get up and challenge yourself to protect and to serve. Show your kids that America is still a country for the people and by the people. Teach them by example that hard work and sacrifice creates more progress then outsourcing and government handouts. Be a shining light, a beacon of hope, for your lost countryman. If you don’t who will?
Let’s take a step back. How did we get here in the first place? We gave our jobs and our industries away. We literally outsourced our wealth. For the sake of “progress,” we closed down factories and shipped commerce overseas. We provided customer service by hiring people to answer phones in distant lands. We improved efficiency by lowering standards of quality. Having a job became a privilege rather than an American right, and those that succeeded in life were seen as having the means to “share” their wealth. We created colleges that taught our young people to fall in line rather than to ask questions, and we built up a work atmosphere of mediocrity. Harsh words, perhaps, but tell me, are they not true?
The simple truth is that if we want a strong economy, we must build one. There is no easy way out. Americans must start rebuilding what “progress” has destroyed. We need factories, we need small business, we need local banks, and we need local communities to stand together and to pull our American work ethic out of the ground where it is buried. Remember when being polite was mandatory and you did not have to teach customer service? Remember when hard work equaled efficiency? Remember when raises were given based on merit rather than government mandate?
What happened to our America? Who took it from us and how do we get it back? In reality, we gave it away. As our freedoms, commerce, and communities were taken from us –for progress- we did nothing. We bowed our heads and hoped that the changes would not affect us. Now, years later, we are reaping the rewards of our silence.
Yet, there can be hope, but hope takes action. It takes you believing in America. Are you willing to step up and be counted? We can rebuild our country. We can make America strong again. We can stop being progressive long enough to create real progress, the kind of progress that creates jobs, creates community, and will bring back a sense of pride in a day’s hard work. We must stop thinking that the Government and bailouts to large corporations will fix anything. Did the bailout help you? Did it save your neighbor’s house from foreclosure? In the end, we must learn to hold ourselves accountable for our own success or failure. We have been lazy for too long; now, we must go back to work. We must move to rebuild both our broken political system and our devastated economy. It will be hard, it will be stressful, and yes, you will have to sacrifice. But is it worth it to you? Can you look into the eyes of your children and tell them that you will do nothing to save their country and to protect their future? Your inaction says it all. So get up and challenge yourself to protect and to serve. Show your kids that America is still a country for the people and by the people. Teach them by example that hard work and sacrifice creates more progress then outsourcing and government handouts. Be a shining light, a beacon of hope, for your lost countryman. If you don’t who will?
Saturday, September 19, 2009
What’s that Word Again…?
Do you remember that word? You know the one I am talking about. We use to it describe the benefits of being American. What is it called? Remember, it was used to represent opportunity, progress, and American Greatness…I think our Country was founded on the concept. If I recall, thousands have died over the last 200 years to protect the word…oh well…what does it matter anyway? It is just a word; after all we are still American, right?
That forgotten word is “freedom!” Perhaps it is not yet completely eliminated from our vocabulary. We still throw it out there from time to time, but it has turned into more rhetoric than an actual belief and way of life. Is it too much of an extreme to believe that we could forget the word all together? For those that do not care about the power of the word, the above illustration probably has little effect. They simply go about their lives, everyday giving little thought to their rights and freedoms. The problem is that those people are all of us. Sure, we claim that we have freedoms, but try taking a water bottle onto a plane. Try opening a personal checking account without giving out your social security number. Try taking a new job (in the private sector, mind you) without filling out at least two government-issued forms. Try driving to the grocery store without your driver’s license, car registration, and proof of insurance. Try purchasing those groceries without paying a tax for the privilege of being able to provide food for your family. Now what was that word again? Right, as Americans we are FREE. Free do to whatever we please as long as we have the proper documentation, follow the proper procedures, and pay the proper taxes. But, if we dare decide that we want to take our own bottled water onto a plane, we no longer have the freedom to travel. If we forget our proof of insurance or are a day late in registering our car, we are criminals. If we don’t fill out our government forms, we can’t get paid. If we can’t afford taxes on our groceries, we can’t buy food. These are not extreme examples; these are every day issues that each of us FREE Americans have to deal with just to complete a day of life in a country founded on limited government.
The real issue, the reason why I think that soon we will completely forget the word “freedom,” is that we don’t care. We eagerly throw our water bottle away before we get on that plane simply to insure that we don’t miss out on our vacation or business meeting. We say that we must conform to society in order to insure our protection and our way of life. Yet, the very measures put in place to insure our protection jeopardize our way of life. In the end, we are left no safer, but less free. However, we continually excuse the rules, regulations, and laws as being there for a reason and being set in place by people wiser than ourselves. This is foolishness. Our government was set up for the people and by the people. Stop and think for one second; do you truly believe that your congressman, that your president, is smarter and wiser than you? Don’t get me wrong: I strongly believe that we should respect our elected officials. They are doing a job that we are not willing to do. But, I also believe that we must work hard to elect officials worthy of our respect. American Freedom is not a slogan: it is our way of life! Freedom is not a privilege awarded to us for good behavior; it is our birth right as citizens of the United States of America. Freedom is your inheritance passed on to you by great people who sacrificed much to acquire the great wealth that we squander to purchase the idea of safety and security.
Freedom is a dangerous word. It has killed many people who were willing to fight for it. Our generation has been given this gift freely and without personal sacrifice. Let us not forsake the gift by keeping it locked in the closet or by trading it in for temporary wealth, let us instead work hard to pass that same gift on to our children and grandchildren.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Too busy for the good life.
As Americans, we are some of the busiest people in the world. We rush through our days, passing by all the people around us simply so that we can end the day with more on our to-do-list than when we started. We think that busyness is equal to productivity. We sincerely think that the busier we are, the more important we are, and the more that we will have to show for our lives.
Terms like neighbors, community, and Sunday dinner have been replaced with meetings, network groups, and luncheons. I admit that up until this Sunday, I had no problem with America being busy. Over the three day weekend, my wife and I decided to go grocery shopping Sunday afternoon. I figured that we would have the market all to ourselves, as people would be spending time with friends and family, picnicking and barbequing. To our surprise, the market was packed with people piling up their carts like they had not been to the store in months. Once we finally made it to the checkout stand, the cashier looked at me and stated that she was surprised that people were not with friends and family. She said that they were telling her they were all too busy and needed the three day weekend to catch up on things. The statement got me thinking. Are we really too busy and what does that statement mean for the future of our country?
As I pondered the question, it dawned on me that if America loses its sense of community, working ourselves out of friends and family, this one error could be more devastating to America than any politician or political movement. In fact, the realization that America is too busy answered a much deeper question that I had been asking myself. How did America get to this point, the point where freedom is an afterthought or a tagline rather than an actual state of being? The problem is that we are simply too busy to care. We don’t converse about issues. We don’t have time to care about what is important to those around us, and we don’t share a community bond or identity. We simply go about our lives believing that if we are busy enough, all our problems will go away. Let us stop, just for a moment, and think about what is really important. America’s structure and success is built on a foundation of local ties, local government, and local involvement. If we become too busy, then the state and federal governments have to step in and take charge. Ask yourself: do you want D.C. deciding what is best for you? Do you believe that they will have your best interests at heart? If not, then your only option is to slow down and care about what is around you. Your community, your friends, and your family should be your responsibility. Some have argued that America is simply lazy and that is why we do not care, but I do not see this being the problem. We are not lazy enough. We need time to sit back and relax, to build relationships, and to create local bonds that can tie this county back together. What are we working for, if not to build a good life? How can we assume to have a good life without the protection of a strong community to insure our local freedoms and ways of life are preserved?
Monday, August 31, 2009
Faith & Country
Faith and Country. Those two words can stir up more emotion, debate, and misunderstanding than perhaps any other words. Wars are fought and lives are lost because of these two words. It has been that way since the beginning of time.
In our new enlightened, modern, and sophisticated age, there is a solution to these deadly words. The cry is getting louder every day. Eliminate them! The question is asked “How can such deadly words can be of a value to anyone?” Would it not be easier to forget about beliefs and to lose national identities for the betterment of human kind? There are many out there that see the abandonment of these two words as the magical solution to the world’s problems. There is, after all, no denying the fact that these two words kill.
Perhaps, our new enlightened views are blinding us from the real question. While our President is apologizing to the nations for us being American and unbelievers question the necessity of faith, I cannot help but wonder what the world would look like without these words. My question for those who would argue against these words is this: If they are so unimportant to us as a society, as humans, then why have we been so willing to defend these unimportant words with our lives for centuries? If there was really no meaning behind our dedication to our faith and our country, why would it matter? The very fact that we are willing to die for these two words demands that we study them with more respect. It is human nature to protect our valuables, and no valuable is more cherished by more people across cultures and continents than their faith and county. To undervalue these words is to undervalue what makes us human.
I am an American and I am a Christian. Many would say that by proclaiming this fact I am being insensitive to other faiths and to citizens of other countries. But it is my deep commitment to my faith and my country that allows me to empathize with people of other faiths and other nations. It is reasonable for me to understand and respect the fact that if I feel strongly about my faith and country, that others would feel the same about their faith and their country.
The problem is that our ability to freely and openly identify ourselves, our beliefs, and our values is being challenged at an unprecedented rate. I refuse to be ashamed of my faith and my country. I refuse to believe that the absence of these words will create a better society. Does this make me closed-minded and biased? To some it does, but if you think about it, who is more closed minded? The person that chooses to take a stand for a specific belief or the person who denies all belief? We must open our eyes. We are not the biased ones. We know what we believe and we recognize the value of our beliefs. The bias is not found in our faith and country: it is found in those that, because they do not understand or believe, think that they have the right to tell us that our cherished values do not matter.
I invite you to take a journey with me through this blog. Let us regain our passion for what matters most in life. Let us not be ashamed of who we are or what we believe. As it stands, we still have the right as Americans to identify ourselves, but if we fear those that would take this right away, if we hide in the shadows or think for a moment that our silence will make the naysayers go away, think again. Our way of life and the ways of life for all Americans, perhaps for the modern world in general, is at stake. This is not a battle of sticks and swords, mind you. This is a battle of men and women like you who are willing to take action, to lead by example, and to step out and say that if our leaders will not represent us, then we will run for office. We will become the new leaders. Why? Because we understand the value of Faith and Country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)