America is in the middle of a crisis and it's easy to be overwhelmed with all the bad news coming at us. We're made to feel that we have no control over what's going to happen to us; and we're spending a lot of time blaming someone else. That time could be better spent doing the things we can affect. The good news is, there is a plan that will solve most of our problems. It's not a new plan; it's the original plan - one that took 5,000 years to learn. It's as relevant today as it was in 1776. The problem is that too few Americans know the plan well enough. We can do something about it - we can educate ourselves. And once we know there's a different path than the one we seem hell-bent on following; we can do some specific things that will turn the nation around. Not only that, but we will positively affect the entire world if we go where the Founders pointed us. Give them to your teenagers so that they will learn the truth about what made America the greatest nation on God's earth. The 5,000 Year Leap is probably the finest treatise on the formation of the United States that I've ever read.
Amazon and other online outlets have been flooded with orders for Dr. W. Cleon Skousen's book, "The 5000 Year Leap". Recently, Glenn Beck promoted the book on his 9.12 Project program. People ordering the book from Glenn's site and directly from Amazon are complaining that they're not getting the updated, official version of the book as shown on Glenn's site.
James Pratt recently secured the rights to publish Dr. Skousen's book from his family. This version, the only official version, is only available at www.usconstitutioncoach.com. You need to get this book. There are plenty of copies available at the link above.
I follow James' blog (link on the right). James writes about the things that are important and relevant in my life - and I think in the lives of my friends. His personal story is inspiring and provides hope in the potential for every human being. I encourage everyone to start following James Pratt. He's got some great stuff planned for the near future. For now, start with The 5000 Year Leap, and if you really want the ultimate U.S. history collection - order the U.S. Constitution Coach Kit. Once you own these resources you'll be among the few who truly understand the miracle that is America.
SFC Tart and Other Heroes
There's a guy on Facebook who started a group - Soldiers Aren't Heroes. He's catching a lot of flack, deservedly, from Facebook fans. I signed up for the group to get his hateful post removed from Facebook, not because he doesn't have the right to express his opinions, but simply because he's wrong. People have this notion that they have the right to do whatever they want, but that's not true: we only have the right to do the right thing. Man may make laws that permit people to do the wrong thing, but these laws are secondary to natural and spiritual laws, just as the law of aerodynamics doesn't negate the law of gravity.
I spent 24 years in the Army. These were my most productive years so far - but I'm not done living yet. Although I never fought in battle during those years, I did serve with combat veterans who are indeed heroes in my book. While stationed at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts, I served with a Medal of Honor winner; a former Marine sniper who had served three tours in VietNam before switching over to the Army and volunteering for his fourth tour.
Our Command Sergeant Major was the youngest CSM in the Army at the time, also having served multiple tours of duty in combat. I was in the Sergeant Major's office changing some light bulbs one morning when a Major walked in and demanded something silly and trivial. CSM Sinkata looked at the Major and replied, "Sir, with all due respect, get the hell out of my office." The Major was shocked and angered and marched into the Brigade Commander's office to complain about the Sergeant Major. After listening to the Major, the Colonel looked the Major in the eye and said, "You heard my Sergeant Major, get the hell out of my office too."
I served as a Platoon Sergeant in Bravo Company, 252nd Armor in Schweinfurt, Germany - the cesspool of the 3rd Infantry Division, in the early 1980s. Of all my tours, this was the worst. We were only 30 miles from what is now the Czech Republic and were always in the field either on alert or training. Our barracks were in terrible shape. Most rooms had no doors. Our motor pool was usually a mud puddle, and our compound was surrounded by beet fields. On days when the wind was blowing across our barracks, the farmers would use manure spreaders to fertilize their fields.
The only bright spot during my year in 252 was Sergeant First Class William Tart. SFC Tart was tall, thin, and surly. He had no real friends, but he had the respect of senior NCOs and officers. Many times we would be ordered to do something stupid, for no other reason than because a general was going to be visiting or some BS reason. More often than not, Sergeant Tart's platoon would be tasked with some particularly odious detail, probably because the staff and command knew that SFC Tart would get it done. He might not like it. He might tell you what he thought of you and your stupid ideas, but when it came down to it, SFC Tart followed orders. When he stood before his men in formation to give them the bad news, it wasn't coming from the First Sergeant, the Platoon Leader, the Commander, or someone else: the orders for his platoon came from him.
Sergeant Tart's men didn't like him. Neither did the men in other platoons. They didn't know that he stood up for them and that he often was able to get his superiors to listen to his advice, thus making their lives easier. I was the only NCO that Sergeant Tart felt comfortable talking to, probably because he knew I was missing my family back in the States as much as he missed his. SFC Tart carried a picture of his family. He worried about them, especially during that time when President Carter was in office and the military pay had been frozen for three years, gas was rationed, inflation and unemployment back in the States was in the double digits. Here we were thousands of miles away from our families, unable to do more than send our paychecks home so our families could survive. The way that Sergeant Tart chose to deal with his worries was to immerse himself in his work and to be the best platoon sergeant he could be. He might not have been the most personable leader in the Army, but he was the most professional that I served with. He cared about his men as much as he cared about accomplishing his missions. SFC Tart's men were the most proficient, most professional of any platoon in Bravo Company...or the battalion for that matter.
There are other soldiers that I served with who impressed me with their courage, loyalty, and professionalism. Most I can't even recall their names. There was Sergeant Joseph Vickers, with whom I'd sit and play chess during the middle of the night while monitoring Soviet radio traffic from the basement of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. There was Captain Wilbur A. Curran, the finest commander I ever served under. A former pilot in VietNam, CPT Curran was one of those laid-back officers the men loved. He promoted me to Sergeant. I still have the photo.
CPT Curran was succeeded by CPT Lester Crapps, the worst commander I ever served under. The man was fat, but he could run the daylights out of us. CPT Crapps had no personal life, so he spent his making our lives miserable. As is the way in the Army, CPT Crapps messed up, so much they had to move him up so they could keep an eye on him. I think that's the way it works in a lot of government positions.
Darren What's-his-name on Facebook claims that soldiers are not heroes; that they are stupid and don't know what they are fighting for. But I've been there, and I know otherwise. Soldiers fight wars to win the peace. Soldiers don't fight for politicians, not even for the President. Soldiers fight for something bigger - our nation and our liberties. You won't see tears running down a soldier's face because he's proud of who's in office; but you will see tears when the flag passes and the National Anthem is played. A soldier will risk his or her life because he knows that his team mate will risk their's. A soldier will snap a smart salute when he passes a superior, but his arm will rise slowly, linger on the brim of his cap, and lower ever so slowly to his side when he presents the flag to a widow or a mother who's lost her son in battle. A soldier will not leave a fallen comrade, and will do everything within his power to avoid harming the innocent. Unless one has served, they cannot know the sense of pride a service member has in being part of a team, of serving a righteous cause - freedom over tyranny - no matter where it rears its ugly head. Just getting up and putting on their boots every day is more than most Americans are willing to do; so yes - soldiers are heroes.
I spent 24 years in the Army. These were my most productive years so far - but I'm not done living yet. Although I never fought in battle during those years, I did serve with combat veterans who are indeed heroes in my book. While stationed at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts, I served with a Medal of Honor winner; a former Marine sniper who had served three tours in VietNam before switching over to the Army and volunteering for his fourth tour.
Our Command Sergeant Major was the youngest CSM in the Army at the time, also having served multiple tours of duty in combat. I was in the Sergeant Major's office changing some light bulbs one morning when a Major walked in and demanded something silly and trivial. CSM Sinkata looked at the Major and replied, "Sir, with all due respect, get the hell out of my office." The Major was shocked and angered and marched into the Brigade Commander's office to complain about the Sergeant Major. After listening to the Major, the Colonel looked the Major in the eye and said, "You heard my Sergeant Major, get the hell out of my office too."
I served as a Platoon Sergeant in Bravo Company, 252nd Armor in Schweinfurt, Germany - the cesspool of the 3rd Infantry Division, in the early 1980s. Of all my tours, this was the worst. We were only 30 miles from what is now the Czech Republic and were always in the field either on alert or training. Our barracks were in terrible shape. Most rooms had no doors. Our motor pool was usually a mud puddle, and our compound was surrounded by beet fields. On days when the wind was blowing across our barracks, the farmers would use manure spreaders to fertilize their fields.
The only bright spot during my year in 252 was Sergeant First Class William Tart. SFC Tart was tall, thin, and surly. He had no real friends, but he had the respect of senior NCOs and officers. Many times we would be ordered to do something stupid, for no other reason than because a general was going to be visiting or some BS reason. More often than not, Sergeant Tart's platoon would be tasked with some particularly odious detail, probably because the staff and command knew that SFC Tart would get it done. He might not like it. He might tell you what he thought of you and your stupid ideas, but when it came down to it, SFC Tart followed orders. When he stood before his men in formation to give them the bad news, it wasn't coming from the First Sergeant, the Platoon Leader, the Commander, or someone else: the orders for his platoon came from him.
Sergeant Tart's men didn't like him. Neither did the men in other platoons. They didn't know that he stood up for them and that he often was able to get his superiors to listen to his advice, thus making their lives easier. I was the only NCO that Sergeant Tart felt comfortable talking to, probably because he knew I was missing my family back in the States as much as he missed his. SFC Tart carried a picture of his family. He worried about them, especially during that time when President Carter was in office and the military pay had been frozen for three years, gas was rationed, inflation and unemployment back in the States was in the double digits. Here we were thousands of miles away from our families, unable to do more than send our paychecks home so our families could survive. The way that Sergeant Tart chose to deal with his worries was to immerse himself in his work and to be the best platoon sergeant he could be. He might not have been the most personable leader in the Army, but he was the most professional that I served with. He cared about his men as much as he cared about accomplishing his missions. SFC Tart's men were the most proficient, most professional of any platoon in Bravo Company...or the battalion for that matter.
There are other soldiers that I served with who impressed me with their courage, loyalty, and professionalism. Most I can't even recall their names. There was Sergeant Joseph Vickers, with whom I'd sit and play chess during the middle of the night while monitoring Soviet radio traffic from the basement of the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. There was Captain Wilbur A. Curran, the finest commander I ever served under. A former pilot in VietNam, CPT Curran was one of those laid-back officers the men loved. He promoted me to Sergeant. I still have the photo.
CPT Curran was succeeded by CPT Lester Crapps, the worst commander I ever served under. The man was fat, but he could run the daylights out of us. CPT Crapps had no personal life, so he spent his making our lives miserable. As is the way in the Army, CPT Crapps messed up, so much they had to move him up so they could keep an eye on him. I think that's the way it works in a lot of government positions.
Darren What's-his-name on Facebook claims that soldiers are not heroes; that they are stupid and don't know what they are fighting for. But I've been there, and I know otherwise. Soldiers fight wars to win the peace. Soldiers don't fight for politicians, not even for the President. Soldiers fight for something bigger - our nation and our liberties. You won't see tears running down a soldier's face because he's proud of who's in office; but you will see tears when the flag passes and the National Anthem is played. A soldier will risk his or her life because he knows that his team mate will risk their's. A soldier will snap a smart salute when he passes a superior, but his arm will rise slowly, linger on the brim of his cap, and lower ever so slowly to his side when he presents the flag to a widow or a mother who's lost her son in battle. A soldier will not leave a fallen comrade, and will do everything within his power to avoid harming the innocent. Unless one has served, they cannot know the sense of pride a service member has in being part of a team, of serving a righteous cause - freedom over tyranny - no matter where it rears its ugly head. Just getting up and putting on their boots every day is more than most Americans are willing to do; so yes - soldiers are heroes.
Quotes from the Sages and Modern Thought
1. “Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.” - Robert Louis Stevenson
2. "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State." - James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 25, 1788 - considered the 'father of the Constitution'
3. "With respect to the words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." - James Madison
4. Thomas Jefferson's prediction: "The natural progress of things is for government to gain ground and for liberty to yield."
5. "There is in the nature of government an impatience of control that disposes those invested with power to look with an evil eye upon all external attempts to restrain or direct its operations. This has its origin in the love of power. Representatives of the people are not superior to the people themselves." - Alexander Hamilton - Federalist Paper No.15, 1787.
6. "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison - 1788
7. "I place economy among the first and most important of republic virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared." -Thomas Jefferson to William Plumer, 1816
8. "The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
9. "Democracy was the right of the people to choose their own tyrants." - James Madison
10. "Judge the future by the past." - Patrick Henry - 1736-1799
11. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none." - Thomas Jefferson, 1801 inaugural address.
12. "America... well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extraction, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force... She might become dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit." - John Quincy Adams; Address, 4 July 1821
13. "Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all... The Nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest ... Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world." - George Washington, Farewell Address, 17 Sept. 1796.
14. "I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be." - Thomas Jefferson
15. "No legislative act contrary to the Constitution can be valid. To deny this would be to affirm that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representative of the people is superior to the people." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper No. 78.
16. "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." - John Quincy Adams, 6th President of USA.
17. "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage." Alexander Tyler (When the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Scottish Historian/Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time. NOTE > some have questioned the source of this quote, and that the last name was 'Tytler', not Tyler)
18. "On every question of construction (of The Constitution), let us carry ourselves back to the time when The Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." - Thomas Jefferson
19. "A small leak can sink a great ship." - Benjamin Franklin
20. "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke 1729-1797
21. "Aided by a little sophistry on the words 'general welfare', [they claim] a right to do not only the acts to effect that which are specifically enumerated and permitted, but whatsoever they shall think or pretend will be for the general welfare." --- Thomas Jefferson 1825 to W. Giles.
22. "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but lose his own soul." - Mark 8:36
23. "No generation has a right to contract debts greater than can be paid off during the course of its own existence." - George Washington to James Madison 1789.
24. "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.
"Thomas Jefferson - letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802).
25. "...There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. ... Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." - Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837
26. "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." - Thomas Jefferson
27. “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” --Thomas Jefferson
28. "It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder." Frederic Bastiat's famous economics book The Law, published in 1850
29. "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." - Mohandas K. Ghandi
30. "You can fool some of the people all of the time, all the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln ??
31. "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato 429-347 B.C.
32. "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt (1759-1806)
33. "Trust but verify" - Ronald Reagan, U.S. President, 1980-88
34. "The only proper purpose of government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man's self defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper functions of government are: to protect you from criminals; the military, to protect you from foreign invaders; and, the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law." - 'Atlas Shrugged', by renowned philosopher Ayn Rand, 1957.
35. "The decline of great powers is caused by simple economic over extension." - Paul Kennedy 'The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers - economic change and military conflicts 1500-2000'
36. "Government is best that governs least." - Henry Thoreau, in 'Civil Disobedience' -'people should not permit governments to overrule'
37. "Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens against crimes against themselves or their property. When government -- in pursuit of good intentions -- tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the costs come in inefficiency, lack of innovation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player. It is my view that what is important is cutting government spending, however spending is financed. A so-called deficit is a disguised and hidden form of taxation. The real burden on the public is what government spends (and mandates others to spend). As I have said repeatedly, I would rather have government spend one trillion dollars with a deficit of a half a trillion than have government spend two trillion dollars with no deficit." - Milton Friedman, Noble laureate
38. "The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. Both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists." - Ernest Hemingway - 1899-1961 - Nobel laureate Literature 1954
39. “By adopting programs to redistribute substantial amounts of income, a nation guarantees that its government will become more powerful and invasive in other ways.” - Robert Higgs
40. "It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion. If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." - Dr. Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945.
2. "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives and liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement and prosperity of the State." - James Madison, Federalist Paper No. 25, 1788 - considered the 'father of the Constitution'
3. "With respect to the words 'general welfare,' I have always regarded them as qualified by the detail of powers connected with them. To take them in a literal and unlimited sense would be a metamorphosis of the Constitution into a character which there is a host of proofs was not contemplated by its creators." - James Madison
4. Thomas Jefferson's prediction: "The natural progress of things is for government to gain ground and for liberty to yield."
5. "There is in the nature of government an impatience of control that disposes those invested with power to look with an evil eye upon all external attempts to restrain or direct its operations. This has its origin in the love of power. Representatives of the people are not superior to the people themselves." - Alexander Hamilton - Federalist Paper No.15, 1787.
6. "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." - James Madison - 1788
7. "I place economy among the first and most important of republic virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared." -Thomas Jefferson to William Plumer, 1816
8. "The price of Liberty is eternal vigilance." - Thomas Jefferson
9. "Democracy was the right of the people to choose their own tyrants." - James Madison
10. "Judge the future by the past." - Patrick Henry - 1736-1799
11. "Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none." - Thomas Jefferson, 1801 inaugural address.
12. "America... well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extraction, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom. The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force... She might become dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit." - John Quincy Adams; Address, 4 July 1821
13. "Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all... The Nation which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest ... Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world." - George Washington, Farewell Address, 17 Sept. 1796.
14. "I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be." - Thomas Jefferson
15. "No legislative act contrary to the Constitution can be valid. To deny this would be to affirm that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representative of the people is superior to the people." - Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Paper No. 78.
16. "Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." - John Quincy Adams, 6th President of USA.
17. "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves money from the public treasure. From that moment on the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most money from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's great civilizations has been two hundred years. These nations have progressed through the following sequence: from bondage to spiritual faith, from spiritual faith to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependency, from dependency back to bondage." Alexander Tyler (When the thirteen colonies were still a part of England, Scottish Historian/Professor Alexander Tyler wrote about the fall of the Athenian republic over two thousand years previous to that time. NOTE > some have questioned the source of this quote, and that the last name was 'Tytler', not Tyler)
18. "On every question of construction (of The Constitution), let us carry ourselves back to the time when The Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed." - Thomas Jefferson
19. "A small leak can sink a great ship." - Benjamin Franklin
20. "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke 1729-1797
21. "Aided by a little sophistry on the words 'general welfare', [they claim] a right to do not only the acts to effect that which are specifically enumerated and permitted, but whatsoever they shall think or pretend will be for the general welfare." --- Thomas Jefferson 1825 to W. Giles.
22. "For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but lose his own soul." - Mark 8:36
23. "No generation has a right to contract debts greater than can be paid off during the course of its own existence." - George Washington to James Madison 1789.
24. "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.
"Thomas Jefferson - letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802).
25. "...There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. ... Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." - Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837
26. "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." - Thomas Jefferson
27. “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.” --Thomas Jefferson
28. "It is impossible to introduce into society a greater change and a greater evil than this: the conversion of the law into an instrument of plunder." Frederic Bastiat's famous economics book The Law, published in 1850
29. "Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed." - Mohandas K. Ghandi
30. "You can fool some of the people all of the time, all the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln ??
31. "The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato 429-347 B.C.
32. "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." - William Pitt (1759-1806)
33. "Trust but verify" - Ronald Reagan, U.S. President, 1980-88
34. "The only proper purpose of government is to protect man's rights, which means: to protect him from physical violence. A proper government is only a policeman, acting as an agent of man's self defense, and, as such, may resort to force only against those who start the use of force. The only proper functions of government are: to protect you from criminals; the military, to protect you from foreign invaders; and, the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law." - 'Atlas Shrugged', by renowned philosopher Ayn Rand, 1957.
35. "The decline of great powers is caused by simple economic over extension." - Paul Kennedy 'The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers - economic change and military conflicts 1500-2000'
36. "Government is best that governs least." - Henry Thoreau, in 'Civil Disobedience' -'people should not permit governments to overrule'
37. "Government has three primary functions. It should provide for military defense of the nation. It should enforce contracts between individuals. It should protect citizens against crimes against themselves or their property. When government -- in pursuit of good intentions -- tries to rearrange the economy, legislate morality, or help special interests, the costs come in inefficiency, lack of innovation, and loss of freedom. Government should be a referee, not an active player. It is my view that what is important is cutting government spending, however spending is financed. A so-called deficit is a disguised and hidden form of taxation. The real burden on the public is what government spends (and mandates others to spend). As I have said repeatedly, I would rather have government spend one trillion dollars with a deficit of a half a trillion than have government spend two trillion dollars with no deficit." - Milton Friedman, Noble laureate
38. "The first panacea for a mismanaged nation is inflation of the currency; the second is war. Both bring a temporary prosperity; both bring a permanent ruin. Both are the refuge of political and economic opportunists." - Ernest Hemingway - 1899-1961 - Nobel laureate Literature 1954
39. “By adopting programs to redistribute substantial amounts of income, a nation guarantees that its government will become more powerful and invasive in other ways.” - Robert Higgs
40. "It is the absolute right of the State to supervise the formation of public opinion. If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." - Dr. Joseph Goebbels, German Minister of Propaganda, 1933-1945.
Ronald Reagan - The Last of America's Great Visionaries
"There can be no question that Mr. Reagan was one of the greatest visionaries since Lincoln to occupy the presidency of the United States" - December 4, 2000 - by Steven G. Calabresi, a professor of law at Northwestern University and National Co-Chairman of the Federalist Society.
History, unless it is rewritten, will record Ronald Reagan as the exception to more than a century of mediocre Commanders In Chief. As George Washington set the moral bar after which no other President has been able to attain; so Ronald Reagan set the economic and patriotic bar that no President since him has even approached. Certainly we are a nation divided against itself as greatly as it was during Lincoln's tenure; and our economy has retreated below that of what Ronald Reagan himself inherited.
The Reagan era was:
1. The first era in 50 years that the private sector share of the economy was not reduced by government expanding its share of the economic pie faster than economic growth. In fact, government's share was reduced for the first time. Reagan believed that government was part of the problem, not the solution to America's problems.
2. Federal social spending ratios stopped rising, and fell, for the first time in over 3 decades. Lyndon Johnson's social programs, aggravated by Carter's ineptness and reluctance to make hard and necessary decisions had Americans facing double digit inflation, double digit unemployment, and double digit mortgage rates prior to Ronald Reagan taking office.
3. The early 1980s was the first interruption in the rapid up-swing of federal regulatory activity spending in 2 decades. In fact, during the 1980s, spending declined in real terms - - only to resume its fast upward pace in the 1990s.
4. Taxes were reduced by large amounts, and the economy expanded together with a new climate of competition and regulatory burden reductions. This resulted in higher employment, which in turn provided greater revenue to the government.
5. A decade of declining real median family income was reversed to the upside. In 1978, I purchased my first home - at a 24% interest rate. When rates dropped under President Reagan and I refinanced, my disposable income increased by 16%.
6. Double digit inflation and interest rates were eliminated as mentioned above.
7. Debt increased due to lack of congressional spending cuts following tax cut approval, but debt ratios were higher 9 years later. Still, when President Reagan left office, the debt ratio was 54% compared to 71% under President Clinton.
8. International terrorism was faced head-on. While nations like Iran and Libya thumbed their noses at President Carter, they saw in Ronald Reagan someone willing to stand up to them. The Soviets found out that Reagan was not only able to build a larger missle defense system but was willing to use them in defense of our nation.
9. The Evil Empire was brought to its knees, without increasing the defense spending ratio, ending a 40-year cold war. I served in Berlin, Germany during the Carter years. Berlin was the spy-capital of the world then. Anytime Americans visited East Berlin we were shadowed by Soviet and East German military. 110 miles behind the Iron Curtain, the Soviets in East Berlin were brazen. On one occasion, they informed us that they would fire a dummy round into our compound to prove how powerful they were. As stated, a round fired from over 20 miles away landed on the 40 yard line of our football field. Our mission was not to defend Berlin should an attack come, but to destroy intelligence before the enemy could get to it. We were expected to hold off an attack for no more than 30 minutes before being overrun. A decade later, Ronald Reagan had the Soviets tearing down the Berlin Wall and the nation of Germany reunited. This was preceeded by the mighty Soviet army being forced out of Afghanistan by freedom fighters supported by American weapons and money. Ronald Reagan was not afraid to tackle those who prey on the weak or who threatened democracy.
10. A 2-decade slide in voter turnout and citizen trust in government was reversed, only to collapse to new lows in the 1990s. Ronald Reagan won by embarrassingly wide numbers in both elections. That record was only reversed in the last election as unprecedented numbers turned out to vote, not so much for President Obama, but for change that would hopefully improve the lives of angry and frightened Americans. So far that change has not been positive.
During the last election, many candidates - even those on of the opposite party evoked Ronald Reagan in an effort to appeal to the American voter. Regardless of party, Ronald Reagan was respected and loved by Americans for his positive attitude, his humor, his great ability to communicate, his steadfast focus on defeating communism, and the way he treated everyone around him. People knew that Ronald Reagan cared about them and about America. He had confidence in the people and in America's potential for good in this world.
We need another Ronald Reagan...but he, or she, has yet to step up. Perhaps that's as it should be. George Washington reluctantly left retirement three times to serve our country - each time because he knew that someone had to lead. We must be careful to not lightly entrust our freedoms to those who wave their hands most frantically for the position. Let us look towards that person who's vision in not based on their ideals but on America's founding principles of smaller government, more liberties for the citizen, to live within our means rather than indebtedness, who will protect our nation and represent America abroad as the apex of civilization where free men and women cooperate for a greater good.
History, unless it is rewritten, will record Ronald Reagan as the exception to more than a century of mediocre Commanders In Chief. As George Washington set the moral bar after which no other President has been able to attain; so Ronald Reagan set the economic and patriotic bar that no President since him has even approached. Certainly we are a nation divided against itself as greatly as it was during Lincoln's tenure; and our economy has retreated below that of what Ronald Reagan himself inherited.
The Reagan era was:
1. The first era in 50 years that the private sector share of the economy was not reduced by government expanding its share of the economic pie faster than economic growth. In fact, government's share was reduced for the first time. Reagan believed that government was part of the problem, not the solution to America's problems.
2. Federal social spending ratios stopped rising, and fell, for the first time in over 3 decades. Lyndon Johnson's social programs, aggravated by Carter's ineptness and reluctance to make hard and necessary decisions had Americans facing double digit inflation, double digit unemployment, and double digit mortgage rates prior to Ronald Reagan taking office.
3. The early 1980s was the first interruption in the rapid up-swing of federal regulatory activity spending in 2 decades. In fact, during the 1980s, spending declined in real terms - - only to resume its fast upward pace in the 1990s.
4. Taxes were reduced by large amounts, and the economy expanded together with a new climate of competition and regulatory burden reductions. This resulted in higher employment, which in turn provided greater revenue to the government.
5. A decade of declining real median family income was reversed to the upside. In 1978, I purchased my first home - at a 24% interest rate. When rates dropped under President Reagan and I refinanced, my disposable income increased by 16%.
6. Double digit inflation and interest rates were eliminated as mentioned above.
7. Debt increased due to lack of congressional spending cuts following tax cut approval, but debt ratios were higher 9 years later. Still, when President Reagan left office, the debt ratio was 54% compared to 71% under President Clinton.
8. International terrorism was faced head-on. While nations like Iran and Libya thumbed their noses at President Carter, they saw in Ronald Reagan someone willing to stand up to them. The Soviets found out that Reagan was not only able to build a larger missle defense system but was willing to use them in defense of our nation.
9. The Evil Empire was brought to its knees, without increasing the defense spending ratio, ending a 40-year cold war. I served in Berlin, Germany during the Carter years. Berlin was the spy-capital of the world then. Anytime Americans visited East Berlin we were shadowed by Soviet and East German military. 110 miles behind the Iron Curtain, the Soviets in East Berlin were brazen. On one occasion, they informed us that they would fire a dummy round into our compound to prove how powerful they were. As stated, a round fired from over 20 miles away landed on the 40 yard line of our football field. Our mission was not to defend Berlin should an attack come, but to destroy intelligence before the enemy could get to it. We were expected to hold off an attack for no more than 30 minutes before being overrun. A decade later, Ronald Reagan had the Soviets tearing down the Berlin Wall and the nation of Germany reunited. This was preceeded by the mighty Soviet army being forced out of Afghanistan by freedom fighters supported by American weapons and money. Ronald Reagan was not afraid to tackle those who prey on the weak or who threatened democracy.
10. A 2-decade slide in voter turnout and citizen trust in government was reversed, only to collapse to new lows in the 1990s. Ronald Reagan won by embarrassingly wide numbers in both elections. That record was only reversed in the last election as unprecedented numbers turned out to vote, not so much for President Obama, but for change that would hopefully improve the lives of angry and frightened Americans. So far that change has not been positive.
During the last election, many candidates - even those on of the opposite party evoked Ronald Reagan in an effort to appeal to the American voter. Regardless of party, Ronald Reagan was respected and loved by Americans for his positive attitude, his humor, his great ability to communicate, his steadfast focus on defeating communism, and the way he treated everyone around him. People knew that Ronald Reagan cared about them and about America. He had confidence in the people and in America's potential for good in this world.
We need another Ronald Reagan...but he, or she, has yet to step up. Perhaps that's as it should be. George Washington reluctantly left retirement three times to serve our country - each time because he knew that someone had to lead. We must be careful to not lightly entrust our freedoms to those who wave their hands most frantically for the position. Let us look towards that person who's vision in not based on their ideals but on America's founding principles of smaller government, more liberties for the citizen, to live within our means rather than indebtedness, who will protect our nation and represent America abroad as the apex of civilization where free men and women cooperate for a greater good.
Glorifying the Father
My favorite blog is Woodshavings, written by my friend and pastor Jimmy Chalmers. Jimmy has been down in New Orleans helping families rebuild their homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Jimmy posts daily updates on his blog, keeping the rest of us informed on the progress and telling us stories about the human beings behind the statistics. Recently Jimmy has had the priviledge of working with groups of teenagers who forego their spring breaks and senior trips to do something far more important - helping others. In spite of all the doom and gloom we hear on the news today, there's good things happening, and they are being done by the generation who are inheriting the mess my generation is leaving them. There is hope for America when our young people can grasp what our politicians cannot - that serving others, not having authority over others, is what makes America great. The work being done in NOLA today is being done by volunteers, not by the government. Most of those volunteers are there because they want to serve God. Long after the people of NOLA have given up hope in our government, they can still hope in the Father, who continues to send help their way in the form of pastors and tradesmen and teenagers.
Then the Father blesses those who serve by using the people of NOLA to serve them. Mrs. Phillips and Mrs Holloway and so many grateful recipients of God's army of volunteers turn around and cook for those who came to help. They give God thanks for His provision, they tell their stories so that the rest of us can know the faces behind the statistics.
Together, they all paint a picture of the love of God for His children. He doesn't mind sharing the spotlight with us, but what a wonderful way of inspiring hope where there is none, a sense of accomplishment where there's doubt in our purpose, and love when we think we're in this world all alone.
I'm certain that Jimmy is going to return to his family and friends a changed man. He's been a vital part of what God is doing in people's lives. It's for this time and this place that Jimmy was created; and he is giving his life so that the Father is proven real and relevant and involved in our circumstances. This is the type of cooperation I believe God intended between us and Him; so that whatever is done in Heaven is done here on Earth.
Jimmy posts daily updates on his blog, keeping the rest of us informed on the progress and telling us stories about the human beings behind the statistics. Recently Jimmy has had the priviledge of working with groups of teenagers who forego their spring breaks and senior trips to do something far more important - helping others. In spite of all the doom and gloom we hear on the news today, there's good things happening, and they are being done by the generation who are inheriting the mess my generation is leaving them. There is hope for America when our young people can grasp what our politicians cannot - that serving others, not having authority over others, is what makes America great. The work being done in NOLA today is being done by volunteers, not by the government. Most of those volunteers are there because they want to serve God. Long after the people of NOLA have given up hope in our government, they can still hope in the Father, who continues to send help their way in the form of pastors and tradesmen and teenagers.
Then the Father blesses those who serve by using the people of NOLA to serve them. Mrs. Phillips and Mrs Holloway and so many grateful recipients of God's army of volunteers turn around and cook for those who came to help. They give God thanks for His provision, they tell their stories so that the rest of us can know the faces behind the statistics.
Together, they all paint a picture of the love of God for His children. He doesn't mind sharing the spotlight with us, but what a wonderful way of inspiring hope where there is none, a sense of accomplishment where there's doubt in our purpose, and love when we think we're in this world all alone.
I'm certain that Jimmy is going to return to his family and friends a changed man. He's been a vital part of what God is doing in people's lives. It's for this time and this place that Jimmy was created; and he is giving his life so that the Father is proven real and relevant and involved in our circumstances. This is the type of cooperation I believe God intended between us and Him; so that whatever is done in Heaven is done here on Earth.
Glenn Beck - 9 Principles to Believe In
Glenn Beck, one of the brightest, courageous, and honest reporters in media today has been studying our founding fathers and has come up with 9 principles upon which we can turn America around from our country's socialistic policies. Follow the link above and if you agree with Glenn, then email him your picture. Do it today!
God bless America.
God bless America.
Old People Are Out of Touch....Not!
By my senior year of high school, I thought I'd figured out the course of my life. It was the middle of the hippie generation and Elvis had been relegated to the 'oldies' and the Beatles were experimenting with LSD. I assumed that my education had provided me everything I needed to know to succeed in life, and that the advice and admonitions of my parents and other adults were no longer relevant to my generation. After all, man had already walked on the moon; when my parents were my age they were still riding in horse and buggy. The big vinyl records my parents bought had been reduced to more mobile cassette tapes that could be play in cars or boom boxes. Technology had made obsolute the world my parents knew, and the rules that worked for them no longer mattered in the modern age of my youth.
Fast forward thirty-nine years: I'm 40 years older than my youngest child - just as my parents were in their 40s when I was born. The math I learned in high school is being taught in middle school today. I struggled to learn how to use a typewriter, and elementary school kids are typing on computers and wiring electronic devices for their parents. Where I was taught two years of a dead language, my daughter has learned four years of Spanish - a good thing since there's so many Hispanics in our country today.
My daughter can argue (not that she has, but she could) that the values and experiences I had growing up are no longer relevant to the world today. She can assert that her world provides nuclear energy, computers that calculate at light-speed, cell phones, the Internet which makes it possible to communicate with people on the other side of the world, missle defense systems, satellites that can bounce television signals or can zoom in and find a mountain goat standing on the side of the Himalayas. Where we only put a man on the moon, there's now a space station orbiting our planet. People today can text and twitter and blog and webinar, and never have to affix a stamp and wait on snail mail.
My parents wouldn't recognize the world I live in today. It has advanced so far in my own life time. But here's the thing: My generation didn't build the rocket that took the first man to the moon. We didn't invent the cassette player or electric guitars or any of the modern conveniences that I enjoyed.... It was my parent's generation that created those things! And the things that my daughter takes for granted today were built by my generation, not her own. Every generation has created so that the next generation can enjoy more from life than what they were given.
Who knows what great advances in technology lie ahead for my daughter's generation? What she will learn, given time and experience, is that the principles that guided man to the moon, to the space station, and ultimately to space colonization are relevant to every generation. It is vision, courage, compassion, love, faith, discipline - those intangible things that are inherent to human beings created in the image of our Creator, that makes us always relevant to all humanity. Certainly greed, hatred, pride, jealousy and lack of compassion are present in all generations, but even children know the difference between right and wrong. By choosing to limit ourselves and putting others first, we accomplish great things that improve the world. Conversely, by seeking power over, and ignoring the needs of others, we make the world a more terrible place.
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments upon which mankind would live in relation to Him and to one another, one of those commandments was this: Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, so that thy days shall be long upon this earth. God said that His wisdom is passed from one generation to another, and that man's longevity on this planet is assured only if we tap into that wisdom.
It is incumbent upon the next generation to determine what they will do for future generations. They can choose to go it alone, but they do so at their own peril. After all, I love my daughter and I want her life's experiences to be better than my own. I can live without ever traveling beyond the earth's ozone, but I leave her to reach for the stars. Like my parents, and the generations before, I pray for God's wisdom for myself and my children and for future generations.
Fast forward thirty-nine years: I'm 40 years older than my youngest child - just as my parents were in their 40s when I was born. The math I learned in high school is being taught in middle school today. I struggled to learn how to use a typewriter, and elementary school kids are typing on computers and wiring electronic devices for their parents. Where I was taught two years of a dead language, my daughter has learned four years of Spanish - a good thing since there's so many Hispanics in our country today.
My daughter can argue (not that she has, but she could) that the values and experiences I had growing up are no longer relevant to the world today. She can assert that her world provides nuclear energy, computers that calculate at light-speed, cell phones, the Internet which makes it possible to communicate with people on the other side of the world, missle defense systems, satellites that can bounce television signals or can zoom in and find a mountain goat standing on the side of the Himalayas. Where we only put a man on the moon, there's now a space station orbiting our planet. People today can text and twitter and blog and webinar, and never have to affix a stamp and wait on snail mail.
My parents wouldn't recognize the world I live in today. It has advanced so far in my own life time. But here's the thing: My generation didn't build the rocket that took the first man to the moon. We didn't invent the cassette player or electric guitars or any of the modern conveniences that I enjoyed.... It was my parent's generation that created those things! And the things that my daughter takes for granted today were built by my generation, not her own. Every generation has created so that the next generation can enjoy more from life than what they were given.
Who knows what great advances in technology lie ahead for my daughter's generation? What she will learn, given time and experience, is that the principles that guided man to the moon, to the space station, and ultimately to space colonization are relevant to every generation. It is vision, courage, compassion, love, faith, discipline - those intangible things that are inherent to human beings created in the image of our Creator, that makes us always relevant to all humanity. Certainly greed, hatred, pride, jealousy and lack of compassion are present in all generations, but even children know the difference between right and wrong. By choosing to limit ourselves and putting others first, we accomplish great things that improve the world. Conversely, by seeking power over, and ignoring the needs of others, we make the world a more terrible place.
When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments upon which mankind would live in relation to Him and to one another, one of those commandments was this: Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother, so that thy days shall be long upon this earth. God said that His wisdom is passed from one generation to another, and that man's longevity on this planet is assured only if we tap into that wisdom.
It is incumbent upon the next generation to determine what they will do for future generations. They can choose to go it alone, but they do so at their own peril. After all, I love my daughter and I want her life's experiences to be better than my own. I can live without ever traveling beyond the earth's ozone, but I leave her to reach for the stars. Like my parents, and the generations before, I pray for God's wisdom for myself and my children and for future generations.
Down on Main Street
My father ran a hardware store in downtown Oxford. On one side of his store stood a pool hall and on the other, Jones Drug Store. Across the street was Morton-Sherman hardware, a slightly larger and better-lit store than my father's, and both owned by George Morton. Both stores had their own loyal customer base. Morton-Sherman attracted the tradesmen - painters and carpenters; Morton's drew the farmers. I often recall my father hefting one hundred pound sacks of feed onto each shoulder and walking it out to a farmer's pickup. Dad believed that service was included in the sale.
During the winter, when there were no crops to tend, those farmers who knew the guitar or banjo or autoharp would spend the days around the coal-fired pot bellied stove, playing bluegrass and spitting into empty coffee cans. My dad could play with the best of them. Customers were seldom in a hurry and the store was often full of people enjoying the music.
Some days, when things were really slow, my dad would pull out the barrel with the checkerboard and he, in grey work shirt and a farmer in bib overalls would slap the board, mumbling "King me". Dad always played the red checkers and won more than he lost.
My father dropped out of school in the fourth grade. He was needed on the farm. He grew up with a love for the soil and an appreciation for the farmer. Dad learned math on his own. He maintained a ledger in which he wrote how much seed, fertilizer, and canned goods he loaned out to farmers on credit. At harvest, the farmers would sell their crops and come pay their bills. If my dad knew they'd had a tough year, he forgave much or all of the debt. That's how he and other businessmen treated their friends and neighbors when I was growing up.
Saturdays were the busiest days at the store. My brother and I would walk the four blocks from our house to the store. We'd look at the candy jar and our dad would nod his OK for us to take a peppermint or horehound stick from the jar. Sometimes we'd help out by weighing and bagging nails or filling glass jars from the molasses barrel. Usually my father would give us movie money for a matinee at the Orpheum Theater. If there was any money left, we'd buy bubblegum, candy and comics at Roses Department Store. Across the street from the Orpheum was the fire department and the court house. In front of the court house was a news stand called The Blue Dot. The Blue Dot was run by a blind man. As children we were always amazed that he could make change from paper money just by the way it felt.
Oxford's downtown consisted of one block of stores on Main Street, another block of stores on College Street, and two blocks running horizontally in either direction from Williamsboro and Hillsboro Streets. The east end of town was anchored by a couple of service stations, one a Texaco and the other Esso; the west by a Chevy dealership. To the north was the Methodist church, and to the south was the First Baptist Church. In the dead center of town were two barber shops - Basement Barber Shop where I got my first haircut, and City Barber Shop where the good barber worked. Within those six commercial blocks were businessmen, bankers, judges, deputies, and ministers, and all knew each other by first name. Six days a week, these people passed each other with a wave or finalized a contract with a handshake and a promise; they tipped waitresses, checked the oil and washed windshields, fed parking meters, rang up sales and wrapped packages.
On Sundays, downtown Oxford was quiet, except at the Methodist and Baptist church ends. Awnings were rolled up and the blue law enforced as the townspeople worshipped and rested from six days of labor. Those were truly Happy Days for me; simpler, friendlier times when my dad made a decent living for his wife and sons. Certainly things weren't perfect back then, but people like my dad lived as good a life as they knew how. The lessons I learned have stuck with me and I strive to live up to my dad's example. I wish my children could experience the childhood I enjoyed.
During the winter, when there were no crops to tend, those farmers who knew the guitar or banjo or autoharp would spend the days around the coal-fired pot bellied stove, playing bluegrass and spitting into empty coffee cans. My dad could play with the best of them. Customers were seldom in a hurry and the store was often full of people enjoying the music.
Some days, when things were really slow, my dad would pull out the barrel with the checkerboard and he, in grey work shirt and a farmer in bib overalls would slap the board, mumbling "King me". Dad always played the red checkers and won more than he lost.
My father dropped out of school in the fourth grade. He was needed on the farm. He grew up with a love for the soil and an appreciation for the farmer. Dad learned math on his own. He maintained a ledger in which he wrote how much seed, fertilizer, and canned goods he loaned out to farmers on credit. At harvest, the farmers would sell their crops and come pay their bills. If my dad knew they'd had a tough year, he forgave much or all of the debt. That's how he and other businessmen treated their friends and neighbors when I was growing up.
Saturdays were the busiest days at the store. My brother and I would walk the four blocks from our house to the store. We'd look at the candy jar and our dad would nod his OK for us to take a peppermint or horehound stick from the jar. Sometimes we'd help out by weighing and bagging nails or filling glass jars from the molasses barrel. Usually my father would give us movie money for a matinee at the Orpheum Theater. If there was any money left, we'd buy bubblegum, candy and comics at Roses Department Store. Across the street from the Orpheum was the fire department and the court house. In front of the court house was a news stand called The Blue Dot. The Blue Dot was run by a blind man. As children we were always amazed that he could make change from paper money just by the way it felt.
Oxford's downtown consisted of one block of stores on Main Street, another block of stores on College Street, and two blocks running horizontally in either direction from Williamsboro and Hillsboro Streets. The east end of town was anchored by a couple of service stations, one a Texaco and the other Esso; the west by a Chevy dealership. To the north was the Methodist church, and to the south was the First Baptist Church. In the dead center of town were two barber shops - Basement Barber Shop where I got my first haircut, and City Barber Shop where the good barber worked. Within those six commercial blocks were businessmen, bankers, judges, deputies, and ministers, and all knew each other by first name. Six days a week, these people passed each other with a wave or finalized a contract with a handshake and a promise; they tipped waitresses, checked the oil and washed windshields, fed parking meters, rang up sales and wrapped packages.
On Sundays, downtown Oxford was quiet, except at the Methodist and Baptist church ends. Awnings were rolled up and the blue law enforced as the townspeople worshipped and rested from six days of labor. Those were truly Happy Days for me; simpler, friendlier times when my dad made a decent living for his wife and sons. Certainly things weren't perfect back then, but people like my dad lived as good a life as they knew how. The lessons I learned have stuck with me and I strive to live up to my dad's example. I wish my children could experience the childhood I enjoyed.
Hope For Our Young Generation
A week ago Friday, 17 year old Danny was playing basketball with his dad. For perhaps only the second time in his memory, Danny won. His dad boasted that that would be the last time Danny beat him. It was. The following day, Danny's dad passed away.
A few months shy of graduating from high school, Danny found himself planning and paying for his father's funeral. He chose the music, found a pastor, and made the arrangements. On Saturday, Danny eulogized his dad, referring to him as his best friend.
On Sunday, Danny visited with us in Creedmoor at The Carpenter's Shop, which meets at Jon & Jill's Restaurant on Main Street. He listened to Jimmy talk about using our God-given talents to help others, as Jimmy has been doing for the folks down in New Orleans. Following church, Danny came over to our house for lunch. I'm very impressed with the character of this young man.
Danny recently joined the N.C. National Guard and will ship off to Ft. Benning, Georgia for basic training in June, followed by advanced training in air traffic control at Ft. Rucker, AL. Danny hopes to attend college so he can become an Apache helicopter pilot. He chose the National Guard because he wants to be close to home to help his mom raise his two younger brothers and a sister. Chances are that in a couple of years Danny could find himself serving in Afghanistan or wherever his country needs him.
When he's not in school making good grades, Danny is working sometimes two jobs to help provide for his family. When his father passed, Danny stepped up to the plate in spite of the pain of his dad's loss. Danny is a young man of excellent character and courage. He is already on his way to becoming a good leader.
Danny gives me hope for America's future. He understands sacrifice and duty to family and country. He doesn't demand someone else bear his burdens; he mans-up and does his best. I'm proud to know this young man and I pray for him, that he will realize his potential for making his part of the world better.
A few months shy of graduating from high school, Danny found himself planning and paying for his father's funeral. He chose the music, found a pastor, and made the arrangements. On Saturday, Danny eulogized his dad, referring to him as his best friend.
On Sunday, Danny visited with us in Creedmoor at The Carpenter's Shop, which meets at Jon & Jill's Restaurant on Main Street. He listened to Jimmy talk about using our God-given talents to help others, as Jimmy has been doing for the folks down in New Orleans. Following church, Danny came over to our house for lunch. I'm very impressed with the character of this young man.
Danny recently joined the N.C. National Guard and will ship off to Ft. Benning, Georgia for basic training in June, followed by advanced training in air traffic control at Ft. Rucker, AL. Danny hopes to attend college so he can become an Apache helicopter pilot. He chose the National Guard because he wants to be close to home to help his mom raise his two younger brothers and a sister. Chances are that in a couple of years Danny could find himself serving in Afghanistan or wherever his country needs him.
When he's not in school making good grades, Danny is working sometimes two jobs to help provide for his family. When his father passed, Danny stepped up to the plate in spite of the pain of his dad's loss. Danny is a young man of excellent character and courage. He is already on his way to becoming a good leader.
Danny gives me hope for America's future. He understands sacrifice and duty to family and country. He doesn't demand someone else bear his burdens; he mans-up and does his best. I'm proud to know this young man and I pray for him, that he will realize his potential for making his part of the world better.
I Know Ma Ratts!
Relatively few Americans today devote attention to preserving and protecting the democratic principles we take for granted. Like the frog who's slowly boiled to death in a kettle, Americans are being lulled into accepting more and more government control over their lives. Each successive generation surrenders personal liberties in exchange for not having to preserve them. In my own lifetime, America has gone from the greatest force for good on this planet to a nation of ineffective, lazy socialists. As a result, there is a rise of evil regimes torturing and killing millions of innocents because they no longer fear the United States. We must reclaim our national virtue and morality and lift America back to its place of significance in worldly affairs, but first we need to reeducate our own citizens.
We begin with an understanding of the principles upon which our Founders based their vision. These great men and women rejected the European theories of government and believed that a free citizen could create prosperity for himself and for the nation. In our Declaration of Independence, the Founders declared that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --"
The Founders then went on to identify those rights in the Bill of Rights. It was their intention to provide equal rights for all; but what does it mean when they say that "all men are created equal"?
They understood the difference between equal rights and equality. It was their intention to provide equal opportunity, but not to expect equal results. Take for example our nation's policies on education: We provide, at tax-payer expense, a free secondary education for all (including non-citizens). Granted, there are disparities in the quality of the teachers and the way the school systems divide up the funds, but overall, every child is given the opportunity to learn the basics of what it takes to succeed in life. Because some students do not put forth the same effort, they don't make the same grades as those who put forth more effort. Equal opportunity, but not equal results. Where our school systems fail however is when we lower the standards so that under-achievers can have the appearance of success. In an effort to be sensitive to some, our educational system has stifled the potential of all. America's educational system stacks up poorly behind less affluent nations, and we've lost many high-tech jobs to other countries as a result.
In fact, I believe that failures in our schools can be linked to the quality of the leaders we're raising up. Our Founders were all men who read and studied philosophy, theology, and politics. They were learned men who understood human nature. Our politicians today were taught by the radicals of the 60s and 70s who wanted to trade democracy for an unrealistic utopia. Where our Founders learned from history, our leaders today are taught revisionist history. Our education system has also failed to produce visionaries like our Founding Fathers. Our politicians today spend most of their time blaming the other party and the rest of their time taking more and more taxes to pay for things the government was never intended to be involved in.
The current efforts of the President and Congress to 'stimulate' our economy is another example of where our public servants fail the American people. President Obama believes that it is permissable to take from the more successful citizens and redistribute it to the less productive. Our Founders believed, correctly, that every citizen is entitled to equal rights but not equal possessions. It has been proven over and over that some people can lose fortunes and regain them while others can gain them and turn right around and lose them. What was important to the Founders is that every citizen be afforded the right to pursue prosperity for themselves and their kin. When the government decides to penalize the entrepreneur to subsidize another class of citizen, they violate the law by violating the rights of the affluent. Some may think that's OK, that the wealthy (a subjective term), can afford to lose (have stolen) their possessions and money; but when the government is given that sort of power from the people, they can choose to exercise that power over all citizens. This is why it is important for all citizens to protect and preserve our rights by voting out the greedy and power-hungry politicians.
Alexander Hamilton said that "Inequality would exist as long as liberty existed...It would unavoidably result from that very liberty itself." Our Founders understood that the citizens "cannot delegate to the government the power to do anything except that which they have the lawful right to do themselves". (Dr. Cleon Skousen, The 5000 Year Leap) It is illegal for my neighbor to take something from me simply because he doesn't have it. So too, it is illegal, according to our founding documents, for the people to expect the government to take what is not theirs and give it to someone else. This is communism, and it hasn't worked in other nations - which is why so many foreigners attempt to immigrate to America.
Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and now President Obama have advanced the welfare state philosophy in violation of their oaths to protect and defend the Constition of the United States. Our Founders never intended for the government to have power over helping the 'less fortunate'. Responsibility lies with the individual citizen first, then with the family, the neighbor, the church, the county, and then the state. No federal authority to provide for the welfare of our citizens was granted or deemed necessary - yet every four years politicians win elections by promising the people what it does not have the legal right to give; and they deliver by stealing from other citizens.
We begin with an understanding of the principles upon which our Founders based their vision. These great men and women rejected the European theories of government and believed that a free citizen could create prosperity for himself and for the nation. In our Declaration of Independence, the Founders declared that "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --"
The Founders then went on to identify those rights in the Bill of Rights. It was their intention to provide equal rights for all; but what does it mean when they say that "all men are created equal"?
They understood the difference between equal rights and equality. It was their intention to provide equal opportunity, but not to expect equal results. Take for example our nation's policies on education: We provide, at tax-payer expense, a free secondary education for all (including non-citizens). Granted, there are disparities in the quality of the teachers and the way the school systems divide up the funds, but overall, every child is given the opportunity to learn the basics of what it takes to succeed in life. Because some students do not put forth the same effort, they don't make the same grades as those who put forth more effort. Equal opportunity, but not equal results. Where our school systems fail however is when we lower the standards so that under-achievers can have the appearance of success. In an effort to be sensitive to some, our educational system has stifled the potential of all. America's educational system stacks up poorly behind less affluent nations, and we've lost many high-tech jobs to other countries as a result.
In fact, I believe that failures in our schools can be linked to the quality of the leaders we're raising up. Our Founders were all men who read and studied philosophy, theology, and politics. They were learned men who understood human nature. Our politicians today were taught by the radicals of the 60s and 70s who wanted to trade democracy for an unrealistic utopia. Where our Founders learned from history, our leaders today are taught revisionist history. Our education system has also failed to produce visionaries like our Founding Fathers. Our politicians today spend most of their time blaming the other party and the rest of their time taking more and more taxes to pay for things the government was never intended to be involved in.
The current efforts of the President and Congress to 'stimulate' our economy is another example of where our public servants fail the American people. President Obama believes that it is permissable to take from the more successful citizens and redistribute it to the less productive. Our Founders believed, correctly, that every citizen is entitled to equal rights but not equal possessions. It has been proven over and over that some people can lose fortunes and regain them while others can gain them and turn right around and lose them. What was important to the Founders is that every citizen be afforded the right to pursue prosperity for themselves and their kin. When the government decides to penalize the entrepreneur to subsidize another class of citizen, they violate the law by violating the rights of the affluent. Some may think that's OK, that the wealthy (a subjective term), can afford to lose (have stolen) their possessions and money; but when the government is given that sort of power from the people, they can choose to exercise that power over all citizens. This is why it is important for all citizens to protect and preserve our rights by voting out the greedy and power-hungry politicians.
Alexander Hamilton said that "Inequality would exist as long as liberty existed...It would unavoidably result from that very liberty itself." Our Founders understood that the citizens "cannot delegate to the government the power to do anything except that which they have the lawful right to do themselves". (Dr. Cleon Skousen, The 5000 Year Leap) It is illegal for my neighbor to take something from me simply because he doesn't have it. So too, it is illegal, according to our founding documents, for the people to expect the government to take what is not theirs and give it to someone else. This is communism, and it hasn't worked in other nations - which is why so many foreigners attempt to immigrate to America.
Presidents Hoover, Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and now President Obama have advanced the welfare state philosophy in violation of their oaths to protect and defend the Constition of the United States. Our Founders never intended for the government to have power over helping the 'less fortunate'. Responsibility lies with the individual citizen first, then with the family, the neighbor, the church, the county, and then the state. No federal authority to provide for the welfare of our citizens was granted or deemed necessary - yet every four years politicians win elections by promising the people what it does not have the legal right to give; and they deliver by stealing from other citizens.
Get Into the Pool
The following must be credited to Louie Giglio, associate pastor of North Point Community Church.
In my studies of America's history, I've been introduced to ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things. Some were unwilling, some believed passionately in a cause, some were in the right place at the right time - or the wrong place at the wrong time. The thing is, that out of hundreds of millions of Americans - citizens of the greatest nation ever on planet Earth, only a tiny fraction have stood out.
We've made heroes of people who've accomplished something in life. Americans used to look up to Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Alvin York. Today we look up to entertainers like Mylie Cyrus and Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps. See the difference?
Well, I've heard of someone who gained fame not for being the best athlete, but for being the worst in their sport; but in my view, he's a hero. Eric Moussambani, a native of Equatorial Guinea, was given the opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympic Games. Only eight months earlier, Eric had never swam. He learned in a 20 foot hotel swimming pool - not the regulation 80 foot pool. On the day he was to compete, Eric found himself in the last heat. There were only two other competitors; one from Niger and the other from Tajikistan. Both of these swimmers were disqualified for false starts. Only Eric stood poised to dive when the buzzer sounded.
At this point, Eric could have looked around at all the fans and tried to explain how he'd just learned how to swim a few months ago. He had seen how fast the swimmers were in the previous heats and knew that he had no chance of beating any of them. He could have made excuses and tried to prepare the fans and judges for what he knew would be an embarrassing performance, but Eric didn't do any of these things. He simply jumped into the pool - he didn't dive like the other athletes, but jumped - and he started dog paddling his way to the other end of the pool. Eric moved his head back and forth as other swimmers had done, although his head remained above water the entire time. When he got down to the end of the pool, he didn't do a nice flip and push off for the return leg, he grabbed onto the edge of the pool, caught his breath, and started swimming slowly back to the finish line.
By the time he was half way back, Eric was struggling. Even members of the media were removing their jackets and preparing to jump in to save him from drowning. But Eric pressed on, paddling his way to the finish line in one minute and fifty three seconds, a minute and four seconds behind the winner. Pieter van den Hoogenband.
When Eric finished his lap, he had the biggest grin on his face. The fans and media were cheering for him. A few laughed at his efforts and remarked that he should never have been there. One reporter wondered if Eric's home town of Malabo even had a pool if this was the best they could send to represent their country. Yet for Eric, he set his own personal best record and the national record for his country. Most importantly, Eric jumped into that pool and finished what he had started. Four years later, Eric had dropped a minute off his time, but was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic games because of a visa mistake. Still, his name will go down in history; not for being the best at what he did, but for doing his best with what he had.
In a culture that is enthralled with celebrity and with being close to exceptional people, how many of us choose to jump into our circumstances and give it our personal best? We are, afterall, human beings, not has-beens.
We were created to be passionate about life. Specifically, we were created to be passionate about God's life and our relationship with Him. The disciple Peter lived, ate, and learned from Jesus, but he's remembered most for walking on water. Sure, Peter sank when he took his eyes off of Jesus, but Peter understood that Jesus had something he wanted. He wanted to experience Christ, so he got out of the boat and into the sea. We should all desire to live above our circumstances and experience life as God created us to share with Him.
We should all be like Enoch of the Old Testament. Enoch was seventh in descendance from Adam and all before him had lived into their sixth, seventh, eighth and even ninth centuries. Enoch's son, Methusulah, lived longer than any other man since Creation. Enoch, however, only lived a little over 300 years - a young man in ancient times. But scripture tells us that Enoch walked with God for three hundred years. Enoch had an intimate relationship with God. He talked to God, walked with God, he spoke to his people for God, and scripture tells us that one day God took Enoch - he didn't die, God just hugged him a little closer and Enoch woke up face to face with his Creator.
Most of us cannot picture ourselves being so devoted to God that He just reaches out and takes us home, body and all. We can't even imagine walking on water like Peter or caring for thousands of lepers like Mother Teresa. We might know a lot of facts about God, but perhaps we've never experienced Him personally.
However, we can do what Eric Moussambani did - jump into the pool and give it our best shot, with the knowledge that at the other end of this life is a reward with a Father who's been waiting for the opportunity to give us a hug and a high-five for finishing our life's race.
In my studies of America's history, I've been introduced to ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things. Some were unwilling, some believed passionately in a cause, some were in the right place at the right time - or the wrong place at the wrong time. The thing is, that out of hundreds of millions of Americans - citizens of the greatest nation ever on planet Earth, only a tiny fraction have stood out.
We've made heroes of people who've accomplished something in life. Americans used to look up to Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Alvin York. Today we look up to entertainers like Mylie Cyrus and Olympic athletes like Michael Phelps. See the difference?
Well, I've heard of someone who gained fame not for being the best athlete, but for being the worst in their sport; but in my view, he's a hero. Eric Moussambani, a native of Equatorial Guinea, was given the opportunity to participate in the 2000 Olympic Games. Only eight months earlier, Eric had never swam. He learned in a 20 foot hotel swimming pool - not the regulation 80 foot pool. On the day he was to compete, Eric found himself in the last heat. There were only two other competitors; one from Niger and the other from Tajikistan. Both of these swimmers were disqualified for false starts. Only Eric stood poised to dive when the buzzer sounded.
At this point, Eric could have looked around at all the fans and tried to explain how he'd just learned how to swim a few months ago. He had seen how fast the swimmers were in the previous heats and knew that he had no chance of beating any of them. He could have made excuses and tried to prepare the fans and judges for what he knew would be an embarrassing performance, but Eric didn't do any of these things. He simply jumped into the pool - he didn't dive like the other athletes, but jumped - and he started dog paddling his way to the other end of the pool. Eric moved his head back and forth as other swimmers had done, although his head remained above water the entire time. When he got down to the end of the pool, he didn't do a nice flip and push off for the return leg, he grabbed onto the edge of the pool, caught his breath, and started swimming slowly back to the finish line.
By the time he was half way back, Eric was struggling. Even members of the media were removing their jackets and preparing to jump in to save him from drowning. But Eric pressed on, paddling his way to the finish line in one minute and fifty three seconds, a minute and four seconds behind the winner. Pieter van den Hoogenband.
When Eric finished his lap, he had the biggest grin on his face. The fans and media were cheering for him. A few laughed at his efforts and remarked that he should never have been there. One reporter wondered if Eric's home town of Malabo even had a pool if this was the best they could send to represent their country. Yet for Eric, he set his own personal best record and the national record for his country. Most importantly, Eric jumped into that pool and finished what he had started. Four years later, Eric had dropped a minute off his time, but was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic games because of a visa mistake. Still, his name will go down in history; not for being the best at what he did, but for doing his best with what he had.
In a culture that is enthralled with celebrity and with being close to exceptional people, how many of us choose to jump into our circumstances and give it our personal best? We are, afterall, human beings, not has-beens.
We were created to be passionate about life. Specifically, we were created to be passionate about God's life and our relationship with Him. The disciple Peter lived, ate, and learned from Jesus, but he's remembered most for walking on water. Sure, Peter sank when he took his eyes off of Jesus, but Peter understood that Jesus had something he wanted. He wanted to experience Christ, so he got out of the boat and into the sea. We should all desire to live above our circumstances and experience life as God created us to share with Him.
We should all be like Enoch of the Old Testament. Enoch was seventh in descendance from Adam and all before him had lived into their sixth, seventh, eighth and even ninth centuries. Enoch's son, Methusulah, lived longer than any other man since Creation. Enoch, however, only lived a little over 300 years - a young man in ancient times. But scripture tells us that Enoch walked with God for three hundred years. Enoch had an intimate relationship with God. He talked to God, walked with God, he spoke to his people for God, and scripture tells us that one day God took Enoch - he didn't die, God just hugged him a little closer and Enoch woke up face to face with his Creator.
Most of us cannot picture ourselves being so devoted to God that He just reaches out and takes us home, body and all. We can't even imagine walking on water like Peter or caring for thousands of lepers like Mother Teresa. We might know a lot of facts about God, but perhaps we've never experienced Him personally.
However, we can do what Eric Moussambani did - jump into the pool and give it our best shot, with the knowledge that at the other end of this life is a reward with a Father who's been waiting for the opportunity to give us a hug and a high-five for finishing our life's race.
Founders
Recently I've been studying our founding fathers; those men who envisioned and equipped America to become the greatest nation on Earth. They were remarkable men, and women; yet at the same time they were ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times. These patriarchs of our nation came from diverse economic and social backgrounds, yet they worked together to create a better world, and there is no doubt that America has been part of the best human experiment man has ever undertaken....despite the apologists who wish to rewrite our history.
I have often imagined living during the formative years of this nation. I envision there was a lot of excitement and passion for the cause of liberty. I ask myself, could I stand steady in battlefield formations as cannon and musketballs shredded the men on either side of me? I can only imagine the agony of marching barefoot along roads that consist of frozen, muddy ruts, or facing starvation and disease as part of an ill-equiped army. What motivated these people to risk everything for something they'd never experienced? What prompted farmers and merchants to set aside their livelihood and follow men like George Washington against a better organized and experienced enemy?
Certainly there have been great Americans since our country was founded, yet their achievements have been individual rather than for the collective good. We've benefitted from Thomas Edison's inventiveness and Henry Ford's business savvy, from the philanthropy of Andrew Carnagie, the invention of powered flight by the Wright brothers, the prose of Emerson and Longfellow...and the list goes on - but none of these risked as much for so many.
Certainly, there are no great visionaries leading our nation at this time. They try to tweak and improve on the foundations laid by others, but the mark they leave in this life will pale in comparison to the likes of our Founding Fathers. There is no shortage of pride and confidence in our public servants today, but what is missing and what the Founding Fathers had, was courage and faith. Courage to do the right thing regardless of the consequences, and faith in the Creator and the wisdom found in His Word.
Many of the things that our founders feared would threaten America's liberties are being borne out today as Americans surrender our freedoms in return for comfort and not having to be responsible for something greater than ourselves. Fortunately, there are a relative handful of Americans who understand and appreciate the sacrifices of our Founders and who themselves are willing to risk it all to preserve the Republic. We are on the brink of the next American Revolution where men and women will debate, exhort, and reason among themselves, and fight - if need be, to reclaim the vision that was America. It is possible that these patriots will be looked upon by their own countrymen as law breakers and extremists, but they must try and restore the principles upon which democracy really works. Otherwise, America's greatness and the good it means to the entire world will soon be a thing of the past.
I have often imagined living during the formative years of this nation. I envision there was a lot of excitement and passion for the cause of liberty. I ask myself, could I stand steady in battlefield formations as cannon and musketballs shredded the men on either side of me? I can only imagine the agony of marching barefoot along roads that consist of frozen, muddy ruts, or facing starvation and disease as part of an ill-equiped army. What motivated these people to risk everything for something they'd never experienced? What prompted farmers and merchants to set aside their livelihood and follow men like George Washington against a better organized and experienced enemy?
Certainly there have been great Americans since our country was founded, yet their achievements have been individual rather than for the collective good. We've benefitted from Thomas Edison's inventiveness and Henry Ford's business savvy, from the philanthropy of Andrew Carnagie, the invention of powered flight by the Wright brothers, the prose of Emerson and Longfellow...and the list goes on - but none of these risked as much for so many.
Certainly, there are no great visionaries leading our nation at this time. They try to tweak and improve on the foundations laid by others, but the mark they leave in this life will pale in comparison to the likes of our Founding Fathers. There is no shortage of pride and confidence in our public servants today, but what is missing and what the Founding Fathers had, was courage and faith. Courage to do the right thing regardless of the consequences, and faith in the Creator and the wisdom found in His Word.
Many of the things that our founders feared would threaten America's liberties are being borne out today as Americans surrender our freedoms in return for comfort and not having to be responsible for something greater than ourselves. Fortunately, there are a relative handful of Americans who understand and appreciate the sacrifices of our Founders and who themselves are willing to risk it all to preserve the Republic. We are on the brink of the next American Revolution where men and women will debate, exhort, and reason among themselves, and fight - if need be, to reclaim the vision that was America. It is possible that these patriots will be looked upon by their own countrymen as law breakers and extremists, but they must try and restore the principles upon which democracy really works. Otherwise, America's greatness and the good it means to the entire world will soon be a thing of the past.
Freedom vs Democracy
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." President John Adams, Oct 11, 1798.
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." President Thomas Jefferson. "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent an sudden usurpation." President James Madison. "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
"They that would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
"Posterity--you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." John Quincy Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom -- go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!" Samuel Adams
"Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom." Patrick Henry
"The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths.' He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation...." Francis Scott Key
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Thomas Paine
"If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him....Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." William Penn - founder of Pennsylvania
"By removing the Bible from schools we would be wasting so much time and money in punishing criminals and so little pains to prevent crime. Take the Bible out of our schools and there would be an explosion in crime." Benjamin Rush - signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from anothe quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing." Daniel Webster"I shall stand by the Union, and by all who stand by it. I shall do justice to the whole country...in all I say, and act for the good of the whole country in all I do. I mean to stand upon the Constitution. I need no other platform. I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country's, my God's, and Truth's. I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American; and I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end of my career. I mean to do this with absolute disregard of personal consequences.What are the personal consequences? What is the individual man, with all the good or evil that may betide him, in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great country, and in the midst of great transactions which concern that country's fate? Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer, or if he fall, in the defense of the liberties and constitution of his country."
"The brief exposition of the constitution of the United States, will unfold to young persons the principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion. Noah Webster
Of the 56 men that signed the Declaration of Independence, those closest to the British forces paid the most dearly for signing the treasonous and illegal Declaration of Independence. All 56 signers faced death by hanging.
Francis Lewis had his home and estate plundered. His wife was captured and brutalized, later dying from the effects of bad treatment.
William Floyd and his family were unable to return to their pillaged home for seven years.
Philip Livingston was forced to leave his family and died alone in 1778.
Lewis Morris and family spent the entire war in exile, their vast estate and fortune destroyed.
"Honest John" Hart left his dying wife and 13 children behind, hiding in caves and forests. Years later he returned to find his wife's grave, his 13 children gone. He died alone, a broken man in 1779.
Richard Stockton was brutally beaten upon capture, and mistreated in prison. He died in 1781 a despondent 51 year-old.
Robert Morris lent his vast fortune and credit to the cause. He died broke in 1806.
William Ellery had his home and property looted.
Thomas Lynch Jr. sought vacation to aid his failing health, dying in a shipwreck.
Thomas Heyward, Edward Rutledge and Arthur Middleton lost their vast fortunes while in prison. Mrs. Heyward died while her husband was imprisoned.
Thomas Nelson Jr., despite failing health, served as a commander in the militia, and spent his personal fortune on the cause. At the battle of Yorktown, he ordered his own home destroyed by cannon fire while it was occupied by the British.
Abraham Clark was notified his two sons were captured and being brutally tortured while in prison. The British offered Clark his two sons freedom if he would renounce his signature on the Declaration of Independence. With a heavy heart he answered, "NO."
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." President Thomas Jefferson. "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
"There are more instances of the abridgement of the freedom of the of the people by the gradual and silent encroachment of those in power, than by violent an sudden usurpation." President James Madison. "We have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."
"They that would give up essential liberty for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Benjamin Franklin
"Posterity--you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." John Quincy Adams
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom -- go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!" Samuel Adams
"Bad men cannot make good citizens. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with freedom." Patrick Henry
"The patriot who feels himself in the service of God, who acknowledges Him in all his ways, has the promise of Almighty direction, and will find His Word in his greatest darkness, a lantern to his feet and a lamp unto his paths.' He will therefore seek to establish for his country in the eyes of the world, such a character as shall make her not unworthy of the name of a Christian nation...." Francis Scott Key
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Thomas Paine
"If thou wouldst rule well, thou must rule for God, and to do that, thou must be ruled by him....Those who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants." William Penn - founder of Pennsylvania
"By removing the Bible from schools we would be wasting so much time and money in punishing criminals and so little pains to prevent crime. Take the Bible out of our schools and there would be an explosion in crime." Benjamin Rush - signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our overthrow. Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from anothe quarter. From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence. I must confess that I do apprehend some danger. I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men and become the instruments of their own undoing." Daniel Webster"I shall stand by the Union, and by all who stand by it. I shall do justice to the whole country...in all I say, and act for the good of the whole country in all I do. I mean to stand upon the Constitution. I need no other platform. I shall know but one country. The ends I aim at shall be my country's, my God's, and Truth's. I was born an American; I live an American; I shall die an American; and I intend to perform the duties incumbent upon me in that character to the end of my career. I mean to do this with absolute disregard of personal consequences.What are the personal consequences? What is the individual man, with all the good or evil that may betide him, in comparison with the good or evil which may befall a great country, and in the midst of great transactions which concern that country's fate? Let the consequences be what they will, I am careless. No man can suffer too much, and no man can fall too soon, if he suffer, or if he fall, in the defense of the liberties and constitution of his country."
"The brief exposition of the constitution of the United States, will unfold to young persons the principles of republican government; and it is the sincere desire of the writer that our citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament or the Christian religion. Noah Webster
Of the 56 men that signed the Declaration of Independence, those closest to the British forces paid the most dearly for signing the treasonous and illegal Declaration of Independence. All 56 signers faced death by hanging.
Francis Lewis had his home and estate plundered. His wife was captured and brutalized, later dying from the effects of bad treatment.
William Floyd and his family were unable to return to their pillaged home for seven years.
Philip Livingston was forced to leave his family and died alone in 1778.
Lewis Morris and family spent the entire war in exile, their vast estate and fortune destroyed.
"Honest John" Hart left his dying wife and 13 children behind, hiding in caves and forests. Years later he returned to find his wife's grave, his 13 children gone. He died alone, a broken man in 1779.
Richard Stockton was brutally beaten upon capture, and mistreated in prison. He died in 1781 a despondent 51 year-old.
Robert Morris lent his vast fortune and credit to the cause. He died broke in 1806.
William Ellery had his home and property looted.
Thomas Lynch Jr. sought vacation to aid his failing health, dying in a shipwreck.
Thomas Heyward, Edward Rutledge and Arthur Middleton lost their vast fortunes while in prison. Mrs. Heyward died while her husband was imprisoned.
Thomas Nelson Jr., despite failing health, served as a commander in the militia, and spent his personal fortune on the cause. At the battle of Yorktown, he ordered his own home destroyed by cannon fire while it was occupied by the British.
Abraham Clark was notified his two sons were captured and being brutally tortured while in prison. The British offered Clark his two sons freedom if he would renounce his signature on the Declaration of Independence. With a heavy heart he answered, "NO."
A Life of Significance
My friend and best selling author, James Pratt, has a great post on his blog where he relates the story of a homeless man he met and befriended. Go to the link above or to www.jmprattcom.blogspot.com and read 'About Life and Camelot, Cory and You'.
Then, go to my pastor and friend, Jimmy Chalmers' blog and read about his experiences as he helps families in New Orleans. Jimmy chronicles a month out of his life that he's devoted to helping victims of Katrina. www.jchalmers.blogspot.com.
Both James Pratt and James Chalmers lead lives of significance, and the world is a better place because of them. These men are the sort of citizens our Founding Fathers envisioned Americans would be.
Then, go to my pastor and friend, Jimmy Chalmers' blog and read about his experiences as he helps families in New Orleans. Jimmy chronicles a month out of his life that he's devoted to helping victims of Katrina. www.jchalmers.blogspot.com.
Both James Pratt and James Chalmers lead lives of significance, and the world is a better place because of them. These men are the sort of citizens our Founding Fathers envisioned Americans would be.
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