A Sad Day in American History

"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

I fear we have failed our founders and our freedom...

Bumper Sticker

I saw a great bumper sticker today:

"Stay free. Govern yourself."

Well said.

It got me thinking about self-government and its relationship to external government. The amount of external government a people need is directly related to the amount of self-government that same people possess. And its a double-edge sword. The more external government imposed on a people, the less their need to govern themselves, and therefore a dependency is created by which more and more external control is needed. Freedom is awarded to and kept by those who have learned to govern themselves.

Think about it.

If we would govern our own finances, we wouldn't have need for government bailouts.
If we would govern our own bodies, we wouldn't have need for government welfare to support our illegitimate children.
If we took more responsibility for our own lives and futures, there'd be a lot fewer laws on the books.

Our country is headed in the wrong direction on this spectrum. So "stay free, govern yourself." And help others learn to do the same.

Obama-care, cont'd

Yet another alarming fact about Obama's proposed health care plan...

Senior citizens would be required, every five years, to have an "end of life" consultation, at which time it will be determined if society is better served by not keeping said persons alive. Like we've pointed out before, government-funded health care is simply not financially viable. So you have to cut costs somewhere, right? If the cost of keeping someone alive is too high, then society would be better off without them. You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

So, according to Obama, we don't really know when life begins, but now we're presuming to know when it should end. Or better yet, the government will decide for us when our life is no longer serving the greater good of society. They get to decide who does and does not get the medical care they need. You better hope you don't need a medical procedure--even one you'd be willing to pay for--that your government deems not necessary or cost-effective.

I don't think I need to draw all the conclusions of how scary this would be. In the words of Thomas Jefferson, "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."...including, apparently, your life.

This one's so shocking to me, I still have a hard time believing it's true. I mean, do we live in Nazi Germany or the Untied States of America???

Obama-care

Here is the link to an informative article from CNNMoney about Obama's health care plan--"5 Freedoms You'd Lose in Health Care Reform." It does a good job summarizing a few of the ways this proposed legislation would look practically and what it would mean for the average American.

Are You Going to the Tea Party?

There is a grassroots conservative movement organizing "tax day tea parties" around the nation for this upcoming April 15th. If you are an advocate of the free-market system and want to protest the out of control government spending, then make sure you attend your local TEA PARTY. Click here to see the official Tax Day Tea Party website and find out what's happening in your town on April 15th.

Spread the word to friends and family and join thousands on April 15th to let your voice be heard!

(For those of you who slept through history class, the "tea party" reference alludes to the original Boston Tea Party of 1773, an historic event marking the road to the American Revolution in which Bostonian colonists dumped British tea into the Boston Harbor as a protest against unlawful taxation.)

Patriotism???

The Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, Joe Biden, said today that paying higher taxes would be patriotic for wealthier Americans.  He also said, "We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people."

Patriotism, according to Webster's dictionary, is "love of one's country; the passion  which aims to serve one's country, either in defending it from invasion, or protecting its rights and maintaining its laws and institutions in vigor and purity."  Last I checked, the basic rights of Americans include things such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  A foundational right of Americans is equality for every person before the law.  How, then, can one justify taking from some that which is rightfully theirs?  Where is the equality before the law in that?  And now, men campaigning for the highest offices in our land are not only justifying it, but calling it patriotism.

This, my friends, is not patriotism; this is called socialism.

The dominant feature of capitalism is economic freedom.  It allows people to voluntarily decide what they want to buy, how much of it, what quality, etc.  It allows people to decide what they want to do with their own money.  In sharp contrast, socialism wants to do away with this basic individual freedom and replace it with an elite group (the government), who will then exercise increasing control over the market, attempting to equalize it as much as possible.

Why, though, is this so bad?  In short, because it doesn't work.  You see, people are basically selfish.  For many people, if they know they will end up with the same amount as their neighbor regardless of how hard they work, they simply will not work.  They have no incentive.

Author Robert Scheaffer says, "no intellectually honest person today can deny that the history of socialism is a sorry tale of economic failure and crimes against humanity...Socialism is simply 'envy' writ large, and elevated to a moral ideal.  It brands the most productive as criminals, and makes heroes of those who have difficulty achieving anything at all.  The full potential of the human race can never be liberated under such a warped ideal."

What this does not mean is that we should ignore the poor and leave them to suffer.  It just  means that socialism is not the best way to help anyone.  The goal should indeed be for everyone to prosper; the question is simply one of how best to achieve this.

In America we have adopted a welfare system, a method of redistribution of wealth, which is s tenet of socialism.  On the surface it sounds good.  Why would we oppose a system which helps those living in poverty?  For one, it is unjust--it makes people unequal before the law, taking from some to give to others.  But furthermore, it is a system that perpetuates poverty instead of remedying it.

We should indeed give generously to those in true need, those who are actually unable to work.  (And by "we" I mean individuals, churches, private organizations, etc.).  But it is in no way compassionate to remove all incentive for those who are capable of hard work.  Hard work, not a handout, is a lifeline for those living in poverty; it's an escape route to prosperity.

Wealth is not inherently evil.  Sometimes people become wealthy by oppression and exploitation, and that is evil.  But many people become wealthy by hard work, sacrifice, risk-taking, genius.  Most of the time, in this country, the wealthy inevitably prosper countless others by virtue of all the wealth they generate.  They create jobs and opportunities that would not otherwise exist.  They invest in other businesses, thereby generating even more wealth and economic growth.  But the government in effect removes from them this potential if they take from them this prosperity.  The government takes a few dollars and minimally provides for a family for a day, but if this money were left in the hands of those who were capable of creating it in the first place, it just may have created a job that would substantially provide for a family for a lifetime.

On the flip side, we can certainly not stand by and watch some prosper by corruption and exploitation.  Our system of government can only work for a moral people.  I recently heard a theologian say that capitalism is a stool with three necessary legs:  political freedom, economic freedom and moral restraint.  We are, to a large degree, losing the leg of moral restraint.  Consumers have lost restraint in their spending, and some banks and other large companies have lost restraint in their willingness to take advantage of those who don't know any better.  What do you think we can do about this?  While we must be vigilant about not seeing our political and economic freedom eroded by an increasingly gigantic government, we must also be vigilant to stand against economic immorality.

Taken By Force

We're back... Sorry, it's been awhile...

In light of the 4th of July (one of my all-time favorite holidays), I thought I would highlight an organization doing amazing work among our military. Force Ministries exists to minister to and support our nation's military and military families. Their mission is Christ-centered duty. Their purpose is to impart faith in Christ, instill patterns and principles for victorious Christian duty and ignite individual calling and destiny among our service men and women.

This is often an overlooked demographic in our nation, but these men and women deserve our utmost respect and honor, our support and care. Regardless of one's belief about the current war or war in general, these military families pay the highest price for the freedoms we enjoy in America. We can't even begin to understand their sacrifice. Thank goodness for organizations like Force who are meeting a need among these very deserving families.

I had the privilege of hearing the President and Co-founder of Force Ministries, Greg Wark, speak this week and he told amazing stories of the heroism and heartache that goes along with serving our country militarily. I was so impressed with his work and that of Force Ministries and just wanted to give our faithful readers (if we still have any) a chance to see what Force is all about. So check out their site. You can even donate to their efforts online.

I encourage you all to take every opportunity to bless and thank our military men and women. Buy them a slice of pizza in the airport or something (yes, I have been known to do that). Most of all, pray for them and their families and ministries like Force who are taking the Gospel message to an often unreached group of people.

P.S. (Can you have a p.s. to a blog?) Check out the book "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell. Marcus was part of an elite SEAL operation in Afghanistan and was the only surviving member of his mission... I've never read the book but I've heard Marcus interviewed and it is an amazing story. Force Ministries works closely with him and Greg Wark highly recommended the read.

Memorial Day

I'm a day late, but I would be remiss if I fail to pay tribute to those whom this holiday commemorates. So, to our troops and to our veterans, to those who have given their lives throughout our nation's history and to those who are risking their lives even as I type these words--THANK YOU!! There are no words that can convey to you the extent of our gratitude. You are our heroes.

I am humbled and awed at the sacrifices that have been made to build what I consider the greatest nation on earth. I am so thankful for the freedom I inherited because others paid the ultimate price. I am truly proud to be an American.

And now, to those of us who have been privileged to receive this gift, the cost of which we can't begin to comprehend, I charge you to guard it with utmost solemnity and vigilance. May we not be guilty of ignorantly squandering that which was not easily obtained. It's hard to understand the value of something you've never been without. But that is what we must do or we will surely find ourselves without it. As Wallace Bruce once said, "Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours."

Suffrage

For me, a political science major and aspiring future player in politics, voting in this primary was a very interesting experience. Shockingly, as I drove to my district's polling locale, I was anything but excited about casting my vote due to the fact that I was anything but excited about any of the candidates. For the first time in my relatively short voting career, I was actually still unsure to whom I was going to give my much coveted vote as I pulled up to the building. I am a person of passionately strong convictions, and it is unnerving, to say the least, not to have a candidate to whom I can unreservedly give my full support.

Despite all of this, something else overcame me as I stepped behind that obtrusively cumbersome voting machine (is that still the best mechanism they have?). I think I experienced something akin to what the average male undergoes as they slip behind the wheel of whatever they consider the most exciting car to drive (sorry, I'm so automobile illiterate I can't even come up with a specific kind of car to insert to make my point). But this was exhilarating. I felt empowered. I, little ol' me, completely unknown by anyone who's anyone, was about to directly affect the future of one of the most influential nations on earth. Wow, what an amazing privilege! What a weighty responsibility. So many things flashed through my mind's eye in that instant...the people throughout our nation's history who gave their lives to give us this freedom; the people of Afghanistan, whom I had the privilege of knowing as they literally risked their lives to cast a vote in their very first election. They certainly know what I'm talking about.

I made one other observation on my way out, as my fellow poll-goers pinched our cheeks (and yes, I mean mine as well as my baby's)--I was literally the only person in the entire place under 65. Now I wonder, is that simply due to the time of day I voted, or does it say something else about my generation? Hmmm...