Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Line in the Sand

As Conservatives, we have become activated in the last year. We join Conservative groups; we support causes and candidates who are like-minded; we attend tea parties and town hall meetings to make our values known. Some of us blog, tweet, email, text, and facebook. We VOTE. Some of us even run for office.

And like our Founding Fathers, we appeal to those in power for redress and authentic representation. However, as Patrick Henry stated in the excerpt below, we have tried it all, and we continue to try to reach our representatives in Washington, but they will not listen.

Sir, we have done everything that could be done, to avert the storm which is now coming on... Our petitions have been slighted; our remonstrances have produced additional violence and insult; our supplications have been disregarded; and we have been spurned, with contempt, from the foot of the throne.”

Most of us are frustrated, as our Founding Fathers must have been, to be so ignored, spurned, and insulted. Our Congressmen and women have voted in direct opposition to the majority opinion on so many issues, we wonder if they hear us at all. Most of us cannot fathom what our next steps must be to preserve our liberty and our great nation from the storm that is upon us now. We hesitate to contemplate what steps we will be willing to take if our pleas and actions continue to fail to elicit a listening, responsive ear from Washington.

Many freedom-crushing and potentially devastating circumstances confront us today. The enforcement of the so-called “Fairness Doctrine” would not result in fairness at all but rather a silencing of dissent. We already are being punished for use of language that is not “politically correct.” Gun confiscation would effectively render a populace prey to a tyrannical government. Massive voter fraud, orchestrated as in past elections by ACORN or similar groups, would effectively deny you a vote that counts. The lack of a governmental will to protect us from illegal immigration and Muslim extremist violence imperils us more each day. Confiscatory taxation will deny the American dream to many. A monetary meltdown—caused by irresponsible and reckless spending of your tax dollars, as well as those of your children and grandchildren--is the tsunami rushing upon us. Top all of this off with a budget devastating government run health care system—and make no mistake, there will be a government run system if ANY kind of bill passes. No matter what it says when passed, it will morph into that totalitarian monolith of the United States Health Care System run by unelected bureaucrats appointed for their Socialist/Communist points of view.

Any of these possibilities or any combination of them will crush what this nation has been. The only people who cannot see this are those who choose not to.

It would be shortsighted to assume that “It can’t happen here.” It is already happening in many instances, and surely there is more to come if this administration and Congress have their way.

The question then becomes this: “How far am I willing to go to secure the freedoms I still have and retrieve the freedoms that are already lost?” The answer to that question will require much soul searching for each of us. Are we willing, for instance, to break laws which are patently unjust? Thoreau did. Remember “Civil Disobedience”? Are you ready to form Committees of Correspondence? Are you ready to man the barricades? Are you ready to do battle with SS-like thugs? (Remember how the SEIU thugs beat up a “teabagger” for disagreeing with them peacefully.) I do not believe I am overstating the situation. Progressives have no boundaries or stopping points. They cannot be expected to “play by the rules.” If it works, it is right. (Reference Saul Alinsky, the Progressive’s guru.)

If the Progressives (read Liberals) take our measure in the coming months and find us wanting in resolve and fortitude, they will continue to push. They will keep pushing either incrementally or act in one fell swoop. The end results will be the same. They will sew chaos and obtain their ends. Our Republic will be gone and we will be slaves to an atheistic system that punishes initiative and hard work. We will lose America. If, however, they get their nose bloodied in the imminent confrontations, they will be forced to back down. The uncertainty currently evident among their ranks, which was created by the setback in Massachusetts, will dissipate. They will regroup and formulate another tactical plan, as evidenced by the arrogant State of the Union Address. We must, however, present a united and forceful front against all forms of Progressivism or it will crush us.

Given this assessment of the Progressive threat to our freedoms--and the rapidity with which it is already taking place--your own private commitment should be made quickly. Once again, you must decide for yourselves what price you are willing to pay. Where will you draw the line in the sand that shouts: “Go no further; we will not abide it.” When you have honestly made that self-commitment, then you will be ready to help take back our future. As Patrick Henry said in 1775 and I quote:

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Monday, January 11, 2010

What have the rats been gnawing on?

Fellow Arkansans (and other Americans too; we are all in this together):

For too long now we have elected people to carry out our will in Washington (or Little Rock), and then promptly turned our minds to more pressing matters such as earning a living. Maybe we occasionally wonder how these Senators and Representatives are looking out for our state, but our busy lives preclude much more serious thought and our wondering fades from our minds. Then something will happen. Our attention will suddenly and in a quite focused manner turn to some proposed piece of legislation which will have impact on our lives, or perhaps some law maker is caught with his/her fingers in the till--or worse. We are awakened from our political slumber.

Such is the case, I believe, with this health care initiative, which isn't really about health care at all. It is about assuming power of a huge portion of our lives and a large slice (1/6 or 1/7, depending upon the source of the numbers) of the entire national budget--not the government budget--the national budget. The politicians want to control our national medical expenditures as well as what they already control.

A recent Rasmussen poll found that 67% of Arkansans do not want this legislation to go forward, but our Senators and our Representatives are moving "hell bent for an election" to hop on the bandwagon and cram this down our throats. They are selling out their constiuencies to partisan political pressure.

Even though they are Democrats, I believe that OUR REPRESENTATIVES--paid for out of our pockets, and serving at our leave--MUST be held accountable to us. We must demand a higher standard from OUR representatives than those espoused by the likes of Chuck Shumer, Barbara Boxer, or Al Franken.

My point is this: We can no longer afford--and probably never could have--to let legislators, no matter which party they claim--have a free reign. They are, after all, our employees. No boss would let his/her hirelings behave in such a way as to be detrimental to the boss. Why should we? We must pay very close attention to what our elected members of Congress and state legislatures are doing. Yes, I understand that it is just another responsibility we must commit ourselves to, while trying to keep food on the table and the mortgage paid. If we do not keep a close vigil, we will wake up some morning to discover that the rats have gnawed away our Republic.