The Triumph of Reason

Some of you may remember, last month I was reading Costco's monthly magazine when I came across an article asking whether animals deserve the same rights as people. The argument in favor of giving animals human rights came from an uppity-up at PETA at a time when celebrities were getting in line to strip their clothes off in photo shoots for the organization. You can read the riveting commentary here. (if you missed it, at least check out the funny picture)

Today, there is good news far all logical thinkers. This month's magazine contains a poll of reader's opinions on the last issue. Ninety-three percent sided with me! Now, I freely admit that I sometimes enjoy being in the minority. It is much more meaningful to stand up for your beliefs when you're standing alone. However, I am thrilled to see what I had always suspected. This is a country full of intelligent people seeking to make moral decisions while avoiding fad-thinking.

I certainly do not listen to the opinions of celebrities when I am weighing arguments to help me achieve an opinion on anything. But, I involuntarily laughed yesterday when I read that Angie Harmon (an actress, I think...not sure) had to come out and declare to the press the fact that, even though she disagrees with President Obama, she isn't a racist. The article I read pointed out that she is in the minority among celebrities in her thinking. It quoted 4 female stars all eager to tout Obama for being "articulate and so well versed," "thoughtful and considerate," and " a wonderful leader." It all makes for a nice fuzzy feeling if we're talking about someone running for student body president of a high school, but not much else. Of course, I'm not sure whether any of the actresses in question graduated from high school. Maybe they're trying to relive what they missed. Still, people will listen to what actors say. People will watch when actors strip naked for PETA. I am proud of the fact that I will not be the only one in this country who won't notice and doesn't care.

God Bless America!!!

A History Lesson

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

-Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America

Alexander Hamilton was opposed to the Bill of Rights. He felt that outlining specific rights for the people would actually limit freedom. He argued that it would be used as a tool of tyranny by excusing the restriction of rights not specifically included in the document. In answer to this concern, the ninth and tenth amendments were added. These specified, respectively, that the inclusion of a Bill of Rights was not to be used to limit individual rights and that the powers not specifically included in the constitution were to be the rights of the states and people of the country.

It’s staggering when you realize how short the constitution is. It’s mind boggling how very few powers are given specifically to the federal government. In our country, it is up to the Supreme Court to decide whether or not the laws passed by our legislature are legal under the constitution. So, we must ask ourselves, how can we possibly have so many laws when so few responsibilities are ascribed to the federal government?

Let’s take a look at one example. The federal government ruled in Roe V. Wade that it was illegal for a state to make a law forbidding abortion. How was this justified? The justices said that such a law violates the “due process” clause of the constitution (located in both the 5th and 14th amendments). It states, “No person shall be ... deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” The Supreme Court decided that statement inferred a right of privacy, which inferred a right to abortion. Now, I am not looking at all at the moral implications of this extremely divisive subject. I simply want you to understand the legal ones. It is why so many people consider abortion (whether morally right or wrong) to be a state issue.

You see, despite their 5th grade history classes, Americans have forgotten that the power to legislate in this country is far from absolute. Just because the legislature wants to do something and votes to do it, does not make it legal. Every law that our legislature passes has to be within the powers specifically given to the Federal Government by the Constitution.

This post comes at a time when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is pleading for broader powers. The government is growing at an unprecedented rate and I'm wondering where they are getting the extra authority. I checked today and found that the constitution is exactly the same number of words as it was when I was in the 5th grade. I would like to share with you this video and let you decide whether you think what the government is currently doing is legal. It’s not right; but is it legal?

She Gets It

"This is Chloe with a mad face."
-Chloe

I am extremely proud of my children. Everyone knows that, but mommy brag time usually doesn't fit with the theme of this blog. That's why I'm so thrilled today. I want to share with you an experience that happened yesterday. My husband had come home from the hospital early because he was scheduled for an overnight shift starting that evening. My two older boys were at school and the baby was in bed. So, my husband and I had the rare opportunity to sit down to lunch together, with just our daughter. Chloe is an amazing little girl. She's so different from her brothers and she's been a blessing in our lives since she was born in January of 2006. It happened that my husband had Glenn Beck playing when I called him for lunch. He left the radio program on in the background.

The show was nothing but a buzz in the background until it went to commercial. The animated voices and increase in volume caught our attention and we fell silent and listened to deep man's voice saying, "Sometimes bad things happen to good people."

A female voice cut in, sounding distressed, "I don't know how it happened. I only had a few drinks at dinner and then I was charged with a DUI."

As the male voice started explaining how a certain lawyer was going to rescue the poor woman, my husband intoned a sarcastic, "Ya," and I said, "I'm feeling the sympathy."

Chloe, my precious little three-year-old, had the look that cartoons get when a light bulb appears over their heads. Very seriously, she intoned, "Mommy," She paused, as if thinking hard about it and then continued, "When you make bad choices, bad things happen." My husband and I both turned to look at her, shocked by the totally appropriate comment coming from such a tiny voice. But she wasn't done. She continued, "And when you make good choices, good things happen."

Skeptics may point out that she was just parroting things her mother says to her. And she is. But here's the point: She understands what those words mean and was able to apply them to an appropriate situation. It is never too early to teach your children about the responsibility that comes with the God-given gift of free agency. I am a very proud mom. And my greatest ambition is that the next time she hears the commercial that says, "Are you over your head in credit card debt? Well, it's not your fault..." she will know it for the lie it is.

Of course bad things happen to good people. But even children can understand that it is our choices that determine our destiny. Understanding this principle is the only way to guarantee our personal freedom and the freedom of our precious children.

(To be fair...I should point out that I left my darling girl with her daddy while I went to pick up my oldest from school. When I came home, she was in my bedroom painting the mirror, door, and carpet with my foundation cream. While I was attempting to scrub the make-up out of the carpet, she ventured into the bathroom and emptied my diaper pail into the toilet. Understanding doesn't mean obeying...but we're making good progress!)

A Victim of Victimhood

This may not seem like a funny post, but those of you who know me have learned to cope with my sense of humor. Yesterday, the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said, “This crisis was caused by the irrational behavior of white people with blue eyes, who before the crisis, appeared to know everything and now demonstrate that they know nothing.” He continued, “I do not know any black or indigenous bankers so I can only say [it is wrong] that this part of mankind which is victimized more than any other should pay for the crisis.” Excuse me while I pause to wipe the tears of hilarity from my eyes.

As a resident white person with blue eyes, let me be the first to apologize.

Dear President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva:

I wish to tell you, from the bottom of my heart, how deeply sorry I am for the current financial crisis. But I don’t believe the apology should stop there. I am much sorrier for the soft, politically correct racism that allows you to assume that there is one color of people who requires setting apart for special treatment. I am sorry for anyone who allows a child of one race to believe that they cannot become a doctor, scientist or banker. I am sorry for whatever made you think your insinuation that color is equivalent to job prestige is okay. I am sorry for subsidies, special programs, and any other unearned benefits to one race over another that taught children they are not good enough without the charity of others. I am especially sorry for the soft racism of low expectations that necessarily put you in charge of a country. I am sure there is an indigenous leader who could have done better, if people like you had not convinced him he was less than and dependent on you. On behalf of the white people, we are so, so sorry that we allowed you to be racist. But this apology isn’t for you. It’s for those people you pretend to be speaking for while you continue to condemn them to a life of believing themselves incapable victims of circumstance.

Sincerely,

Just another person who doesn’t care about color

Let’s take a quick skip down memory lane…Do you remember in May of 2005 when President Vicente Fox of Mexico said, “There is no doubt that Mexicans, filled with dignity, willingness and ability to work, are doing jobs that not even blacks want to do there in the United States.”

I honestly do not know what makes such disgusting racism acceptable, especially from people leading large countries. But I do know this: it’s time to start teaching the same curriculum to all children. It’s about choice and accountability. You reap the rewards of the actions you sow. Kids truly do have the opportunity to achieve anything they want to. The only think holding them back is leaders who teach racism and hopelessness as a matter of course.

The Misinterpretation of Heroes

"Whenever I hear any one arguing for slavery I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally."
-Abraham Lincoln

I find it hilarious how the news media loves to draw connections between pet politicians and great historical figures when it serves their causes. However, when they are presented by the actually documented philosophies of great historical figures that contradict their own, those same men become dried up old fossils who had no idea what our day would be like or what changes would be needed.

In the spirit of that, today I’m considering the comparison people have been drawing between President Barack Obama and former President Abraham Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln Once said:

"I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day."

Barack Obama once said:

"Who is Barack Obama? Contrary to the rumors you have heard, I was not born in a manger. I was actually born on Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the Planet Earth. Many of you know that I got my name, Barack, from my father. What you may not know is Barack is actually Swahili for 'That One.' And I got my middle name from somebody who obviously didn't think I'd ever run for president. If I had to name my greatest strength, I guess it would be my humility. Greatest weakness, it's possible that I'm a little too awesome."

Abraham Lincoln once said:

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is the superior of capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."

Barack Obama once said:

“I think when you spread the wealth around it's good for everybody.”

And…

“What do you think a stimulus is? It's spending - that's the whole point! Seriously.”

Abraham Lincoln once said:

"...I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."

Barack Obama once said:

“You know, my faith is one that admits some doubt.”

And…

"It's not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

It occurred to me that my posts have been too serious lately. So, to prevent that, I am throwing in this video on the subject. It’s just for fun! Keep the faith and join the revolution.

A Brilliant Speech

This was directed toward the British Prime Minister. It's a message we all need to hear.

Freedom and Morality

I have a background in philosophy which, in real world speak, means trying to decide how we define right and wrong. I have spent many hours examining different theories and trying to decide what makes an action moral. Recently, I have been reading a book that defends capitalism. It argues that, regardless of the intentions of the heartless capitalists, it is what is best for society. It also defines the free market as an absence of moral principles. In other words, this author concludes that we must not be bound by morality, but by freedom. In this way, we fulfill the best interests of society.

I am deeply disturbed by the author’s assumption that freedom and morality are on opposite sides of the spectrum. You see, after years of examining different criteria for determining moral action, I came up with my own. Individual liberty IS a moral issue.

I explained to a good friend of mine that I believe that when a policy decision seeks to increase freedom, it is moral. When it seeks to take it away, it is immoral. This friend replied, “Well can’t you say that you want it to increase freedom unless that freedom hurts other people?” After some thought, the answer came to me: No. Think about all the great tyrants of history. They never came out and said, “I am a bad guy. I want to hurt people.” Their rhetoric was, “I am trying to improve society, to protect the weak from the strong, to protect individuals from their own bad choices.” Tyranny seeks to restrict individual liberty in the name of “protecting other people.”

Freedom of choice does not mean freedom from consequences, but that is a subject of another discussion. What it means is that we must allow people to choose for themselves and to live with the choices they make. Think about it this way. God does not compel us. So many people think that religion takes away freedom; it does not, unless it is enforced by a theocracy. Even then, the lack of liberty comes, not from God, but from men. Religion teaches us principles. When we choose to obey those principles, we find that we have more freedom. So, if we are taught to avoid drugs, and obey that teaching, we never become a slave to substance abuse and are free to choose again. What God does not do is strike us dead if we choose incorrectly. He allows the natural consequences of our actions to follow.

What I really want to say here is that the idea that freedom is a lack of morality is insane. Freedom is a lack of compulsion. Compulsion is the ultimate tool of Satan. Freedom is the first gift our Heavenly Father gave us. Let’s be careful not to let our choices destroy it.

Proud to Be

The newsrooms of the country have turned South to examine the drug wars on our border. This has been on my mind for some time because it seems to be what my friends and family always ask about. I haven’t had strong feelings on the matter. I still don’t. Immigration is clearly one of the most divisive issues in our country, yet I can’t bring myself to speak out on it. I live in a border town and issues of national security have been at the forefront of the national news, yet I don’t feel the urgency most writers are putting into their thoughts on the matter. I can see Mexico clearly when I drive to the local outlet mall, yet its troubles seem a world away. My husband worked with one of the victims of the recent upsurge of violence there, yet I am not concerned for the safety of my family.

Some people would conclude that I have fallen victim to the very ideals I love to speak out against. Some would argue that I am denying the reality of the situation because I am happy in my own ignorance. Perhaps they’re right. Perhaps. But I don’t think so.

My son is the only non-Hispanic in his kindergarten class. But it is not a class full of Mexicans. It is a class full of Americans, just like the millions of other classes across this amazing country. He plays with his friends, studies the curriculum, answers to his teacher’s discipline and does his homework. He does all the same things he would do no matter where he lived in America.

When I had occasion to call 911 last week, the police responded in a matter of minutes. There is no lawlessness or drug war here, no more than anywhere else. And while the federal government continues to beef up border security, the crime rate where I live remains among the lowest in the country. I constantly read about hit lists and headless bodies across the border and it feels like they might as well be across the Atlantic.

Why am I posting this? I feel like sometimes I come across as anti-government. I’m not. I believe firmly that the purpose of a government is to protect the liberties of its people. I continue to feel a great sense of pride at being an American. Whatever lawlessness exists a few miles from my home, it is the lawlessness of a land that is not part of the United States. I am profoundly grateful for this country. I hope I have passed that love on to my children.

I feel an immense sense of pride when I see a soldier in uniform. I feel an even greater sense of pride when I see the way my four-year-old's eyes light up because he noticed the solider too. We love our country know that the gratitude we have for those who fight for it requires us to show responsibility for the preservation of our freedom.

Moving Mountains...a little at a time

This may be the most important message I ever share on this blog. Yet, it is also the simplest. I read an article over the weekend that asked the question, “Is this the end of America?” It looked at the trend toward abandoning everything that this amazing country has ever stood for and wondered, unapologetically, if the culture and people have changed too much to rebound back toward a government rooted in the principles of individual liberty. I have also found that many of my family and friends are feeling hopeless at the rampant stupidity that seems to have been let loose among our citizenship. By this, I refer to the hoards of people, of late, who have been arguing that feeding, clothing, maintaining, employing, housing, educating, entertaining and justifying the individuals in this country is the responsibility of the government, without expecting any negative consequences at all. Without caring about the trade off of liberty.

I admit it’s scary. Worse, it feels very much like we’re being forced down this road by people who are the victims of the very mentality they are beginning to cling to. It’s a kind of perverse mental slavery that forces us to conclude that we cannot survive independently. We are victims of a society that holds us down, by no fault of our own. We are dependent on that same society for our very existence because we do not have the capability of fighting this discriminatory system. And those of us who know these ideas for the load of nonsense that they are, are starting to look the other way because we don’t have the strength to deal with it. We have families to take care of and we recognize that if we let ourselves become discouraged, we will be overstressed and unable to handle everything else we’re juggling. As a result, many people have just begun ignoring the world.

Last week, I explained to my husband what I had discovered about my friends. They weren’t uninterested in current events. They simply didn’t feel there was any need to focus on what they couldn’t change.

Well, I’m not going to argue that it’s possible for one person to change the course of history. What I am going to say is that small steps are the very best defense and optimism is the fuel that makes those steps possible. This is the reason I post stories of motherhood and how it relates to choice. There is no more powerful force in this country than parents. We can write our senators. We can vote on our principles. But the most important thing we can do is teach our children. Teach them that they are capable of anything. Teach them that work and faith build bridges. Teach them that they are not limited by the world they live in, but by the choices they make. Teach them to inspire, enable and assist. Make sure the message the upcoming generation hears is the antithesis of the garbage infesting the world. We must teach our children about freedom and about responsibility. And we must instill in them the love that we have for America.

Words of Wisdom from Marion G. Romney

This article is quoted from Marion G. Romney (1897–1988). His words in their entirety are featured in this month's Ensign Magazine. The online version is available here.

"I clipped the following article from the Reader’s Digest some time ago. It reads:

"'In our friendly neighbor city of St. Augustine great flocks of sea gulls are starving amid plenty. Fishing is still good, but the gulls don’t know how to fish. For generations they have depended on the shrimp fleet to toss them scraps from the nets. Now the fleet has moved. …

"'The shrimpers had created a Welfare State for the … sea gulls. The big birds never bothered to learn how to fish for themselves and they never taught their children to fish. Instead they led their little ones to the shrimp nets.

"'Now the sea gulls, the fine free birds that almost symbolize liberty itself, are starving to death because they gave in to the ‘something for nothing’ lure! They sacrificed their independence for a handout.

"'A lot of people are like that, too. They see nothing wrong in picking delectable scraps from the tax nets of the U.S. Government’s ‘shrimp fleet.’ But what will happen when the Government runs out of goods? What about our children of generations to come?

"'Let’s not be gullible gulls. We … must preserve our talents of self-sufficiency, our genius for creating things for ourselves, our sense of thrift and our true love of independence.'

"The practice of coveting and receiving unearned benefits has now become so fixed in our society that even men of wealth, possessing the means to produce more wealth, are expecting the government to guarantee them a profit. Elections often turn on what the candidates promise to do for voters from government funds. This practice, if universally accepted and implemented in any society, will make slaves of its citizens. (emphasis added)

"We cannot afford to become wards of the government, even if we have a legal right to do so. It requires too great a sacrifice of self-respect and political, temporal, and spiritual independence.

"In some countries it is extremely difficult to separate earned from unearned benefits. However, the principle is the same in all countries: We should strive to become self-reliant and not depend on others for our existence.

"Governments are not the only guilty parties. We fear many parents are making 'gullible gulls' out of their children with their permissiveness and their doling out of family resources. In fact, the actions of parents in this area can be more devastating than any government program."

Just for Fun...

I just watched this on Neil Boortz's website. Very funny! Enjoy!

The Mandatory Volunteer

Weekday mornings are tough on me. My oldest son needs to be at school at 7:45. Since his school is a few miles away, I have to have all four children up, fed, dressed and in the car by about 7:15. We drive to the school, find a place to park, unload the kids and walk a couple blocks to where the kindergarteners line up. My oldest hugs the little ones and goes inside. The rest of us start back to the car. Wednesday is garbage day, so I always make sure my cans are at the road Tuesday night. On most mornings, at least one of them has been emptied before we leave. I am always rushed, however, and never find the time to bring it in before running off with the kids. A few weeks after we moved here, I came home from the elementary to find my cans were already returned to the side of my house. It started happening regularly.

One morning, after I had come home to find the garbage already brought in, I heard the recycling truck outside. I went on with my morning work. A few minutes later, I heard my recycling can being pulled up my driveway. I ran to the window, eager to see who was bringing it in. A retired couple lives across the street and one house down from me. They were here when the neighborhood was built in 1970. I had met them a couple times. If anything, I should have been serving them. But this man had been faithfully bringing in my garbage can every week. I don’t know why he did it. Perhaps he saw me struggling with my small children and a husband who was always at work. Perhaps he hated to see the can left at the curbside for very long.

Whatever the reason, it has led to a friendship between our families and changed the dynamic of my neighborhood. We are no longer a part of the isolationist world that is emerging everywhere. They have told me how glad they are to see children playing outside again. I have told them how much I enjoy their stories of the railroad and raising a family here. When we stand in the front yard and talk, sometimes other neighbors venture out and join us. So much good has come from that one simple act of love.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed “The Generations Invigorating Volunteerism and Education Act,” known as the GIVE Act. This piece of legislation includes a provision to create a task force to explore, in part, "whether a workable, fair and reasonable mandatory service requirement for all able young people could be developed and how such a requirement could be implemented in a manner that would strengthen the social fabric of the nation."

My heart dropped as far as it could when I read that sentence. The government is actually going to explore whether they can require young people to give service. I am overwhelmed by the evil nature of such a thought. When I was in school, I was required to read certain books. Now that I can read whatever I want, I avoid the ones that were assigned to me, along with anything else by their authors. Requiring service is going to destroy the very nature of it, take all pleasure from it, and make people resent doing it. Can you imagine how my experience would have been different if the service was something required of my neighbor?

Opponents to the bill think it is a huge waste of money in difficult times and it was created specifically to indoctrinate young people and funnel more money to leftist causes. These may be legitimate concerns, but they are not what send shivers down my spine. Do you know why the people in foreign countries do not donate money the way Americans do? They are praised for being so generous because of their government’s forced “charity.” All aspects of love are gone. All aspects of free agency are gone. The world is turning away from service, charity and love, and I can think of nothing more wicked or dangerous. Do not suck the love out of service by allowing it to become a requirement. Mandatory service is nothing but slavery with a pretty name. Let’s continue to serve our neighbors because we love them.

What is a free gift? Aren't all gifts free?

Maybe...But the government doesn't give gifts.

President Obama recently said that the government should be responsible for a child's education, "From preschool to their first job." Well, I cannot imagine the unqualified disaster that would result from socializing this country's colleges, but I have something to say on the issue of preschool. I live in an area where preschool is provided within the local school districts. This was presented to me as a wonderful reason to live here.

My son attends the preschool, because we cannot afford to pay for him to go to a private school. This would cause most people to think the system was working. But consider this: We pay $1000 for our mortgage every single month. A third of that is taxes, much of which supports the school district. We pay a monthly tax for our son's school. If we stay here, we will be paying for my son's "free" preschool long after he's graduated from college.

Since it's a gift, however, the government wants us to surrender our freedoms in return. Most obviously, I was not able to use my own money to choose my own preschool. But they don't stop there. They will only allow my to take my son out of school for two reasons: 1. personal illness, 2. death (either personal or a close family member). If he misses more than three days, they will send a truant officer to my home and summon my husband and I to court. To take him out for half a day for immunizations, I need to provide a doctor's note. These requirements are especially surprising when you consider that we live next door to an army base. It is against the rules for a parent to take children out of school for a few days vacation before dad is deployed for a year. It's another small step in government's attempt to trump family.

But it's not just the educational system; bigger government will always mean less freedom. Let's stop pushing for more programs that can and should be provided by the private sector and quit mortgaging our children's futures.

For Me and You

As someone who graduated with a degree in public relations, I find myself always evaluating my communication. I tend to over explain almost everything, afraid that I am being unclear. That’s why I felt like I needed to define the purpose of this blog last week. Knowing what I want to say, I am wondering who I am trying to say it to. I am no political analyst. I don’t have the right to claim I’m much more knowledgeable than everyone else. My message is simple. It’s not divisive and I’m not trying to change minds or provoke a fight. You see, I don’t think I’m qualified to change the minds of people who have strong feelings. And I hate fighting.

So who am I writing to? Well, it turns out that most of the people I associate with are not well informed on the issues I am passionate about. When I state my feelings I am usually met with mild questions that reflect misinformation, if I am met with anything besides a blank stare. You see, we are not the state senators or the wealthy. We are not movie stars, liberal arts college students, or philosophers. We are the parents, church goers, and self supporters. And for most of us, our lives are also self-fulfilling. We are happy with the choices we have made. We are happy with our families. We are happy in our faith.

That means, very often, that understanding current events is simply not a priority. Our priorities are our jobs, our children and our churches. We don’t like the direction the country is headed right now, but we cannot be passionate about it because we need to remain positive to be the best support for those we love. We like to be informed, but we find ourselves studying the patterns of emergent literacy in young children or techniques for decluttering our closets instead of politics. You see, we are in control of teaching our kids to read and keeping our homes well-maintained. We vote, but the overall direction of the country feels completely out of our hands.

I am writing for us. For me, because expressing these things makes me feel empowered. It’s a sense of personal fulfillment that makes me a better mother. For everyone I care about, it’s because congress has just spent more that $13,000 dollars for each man, woman and child in this country. I believe, as John McCain stated, that, “…so far it's been pretty obvious that the stimulus package is an exercise in generational theft.” I want our children to be free. I hope parents will take time to try to understand these issues of fundamental liberty, so that our children will have the same freedom we enjoy.

What is a Spawn of Ignorance?

This website was not planned. It was born out of a desire to speak my frustrations the day after the most recent presidential election. I was frustrated by the outcome and also by the people who seemed to be losing hope because of the direction of the country. Because it all came together willy nilly, I recently realized that I have never taken the time to define it. I’m certain that my ideas come through in my writing, but today I want to tell you exactly what the thesis of this blog is.

The title of my blog is a quote by William Lloyd Garrison. In case you’re unfamiliar with him, he was a prominent abolitionist and advocate of women’s suffrage. While many notable abolitionists of the day were arguing for a gradual transition from slavery to freedom for Blacks, Mr. Garrison called for, “"immediate and complete emancipation of all slaves". This is also the goal of my blog.

You see, we’re no longer talking about an enemy as clearly visible as chains and forced labor. That makes it all the more dangerous. We’re talking about the soft, whispered slavery that is politically correct and willingly submitted to. Obviously, I address political issues here. So many people think its okay to vote away their freedoms in exchange for “being taken care of.” But, the quote states that “Tyrant’s are but the spawn of ignorance, begotten by the slaves they trample on,” and I interpret that in a much broader sense. I am opposed to all tyrants, be they politicians, disease, drugs, misinformation, misunderstanding, addiction or cruelty. I often talk about the growth of government, but I also oppose the tyrants that come from our own choices.

There is one more aspect to my writing. I believe, firmly, that the greatest tyrant of all is helplessness. I know so many who have said, “Look, I agree with you, but there is nothing I can do.” I have said this blog will always be positive. Maybe I worded that wrong. This blog will always be empowering. The only way to defeat helplessness is to speak up and continue acting honorably. Too many people think that there is nothing they can do.

I believe in people, not in institutions, government, or protectors. I believe that free agency was a gift from God and should not be surrendered in exchange for any perceived benefit. So, the goal of my writing is the same as the goal of Mr. Garrison’s. I state, as he did in the first issue of his newspaper, “I am aware that many object to the severity of my language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice. On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak, or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her babe from the fire into which it has fallen; – but urge me not to use moderation in a cause like the present. I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – AND I WILL BE HEARD. The apathy of the people is enough to make every statue leap from its pedestal, and to hasten the resurrection of the dead.”

Members of the Moral Community

From the Associated Press:

CANBERRA, Australia — When a dark intruder smashed through his bedroom window and repeatedly bounced on his bed, Beat Ettlin was initially relieved to discover it was a kangaroo.

"My initial thought when I was half awake was: it's a lunatic ninja coming through the window," the 42-year-old told The Associated Press on Monday. "It seems about as likely as a kangaroo breaking in."

But his relief was short-lived. Moments later, he heard his 10-year-old son Leighton Beman scream from bed: "There's a 'roo in my room!"

"I thought: This can be really dangerous for the whole family now," Ettlin said.

The extraordinary ordeal for the family of four began at 2 a.m. Sunday in their house in the upmarket Canberra suburb of Garran.

Ettlin, a chef originally from the Swiss city of Stans, wrestled the thrashing and bleeding 90 pound marsupial out the front door.

The kangaroo vanished into a nearby forest from where it likely came. The family reported the intrusion to police and to wildlife authorities.

And the story continues (as written by me):

Police set up a perimeter around the forest and shouted for Mr. Kangaroo to come out with his hands up. It is likely that the animal misunderstood (due to dialect differences), because police had to wrestle him to the ground. All of the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave while the excessive use of force is investigated. The Canberra Police chief defended their actions explaining, “This is a very dangerous kangaroo who willfully attacked a family in their home. My men didn’t know the motivation behind the attack, but they had every reason to believe that Mr. Kangaroo was armed, unstable and very dangerous.”

Mr. Kangaroo’s public defender is skeptical of the police motivation. He said, “Mr. Kangaroo is a victim of circumstance. We have reason to believe that he was slipped a bad fungi while grazing at a popular meadow. He clearly thought the victim’s house was his own. Furthermore, it’s simply ridiculous for the police to argue there was any aggression in Mr. Kangaroo smashing through a bedroom window. In his culture, that’s a perfectly acceptable form of entry. None of this would have happened had we not stolen this land from the kangaroos in the first place. I am suggesting that my client countersue in a court officiated by kangaroos. These people had no right to build a house on land that belonged to another species.”

Experts are watching this case closely because it resembles the now infamous case of the man who defamed the culture of apes by insensitively claiming that, “Congress is nothing but a group of apes grunting at each other.” He was, of course, turned over to the apes by our legislature and brought up on charges in an ape court. That case has been going on for 23 years now, owing to the difficulty of determining whether the judge is the one reporters have titled "the scratcher" or the one reporters have dubbed "the screamer." Although the tide of that argument is turning, (One prominent reporter recently said, "There are good indications its the screamer. I mean, he beats his chest a lot, so we wonder if that's not a way of passing sentence) experts are not optimistic that there will be much of a precedent set.

Animal rights activists hope that the show of fairness by the government will result in a more tolerant society where breaking through people’s windows is understood to be the olive branch that it clearly is.

WHY I AM WRITING THIS:

1) Because I think I’m funny.

2) Yesterday I was idly flipping through Costco’s magazine, “The Costco Connection,” when I came upon this headline, “Should animals have the same rights as people?” It included this, very interesting line, “Animal rights advocates say that…animals should no longer be regarded as property, or used as food, clothing, research subjects, or entertainment, but should instead be viewed as legal persons and members of the moral community.” (emphasis added)

Seriously? I could not believe that this was an honest to goodness argument among intelligent people! Look, either we’re animals or we’re people. If we’re animals then everything we do is based on instinct and the law of the jungle. If we’re people then we’re capable of rational thought and planning. But, who knows? After all, we could generate all kinds of new jobs by giving kangaroos lawyers, social workers, and senators. It could just be a creative new way of gerrymandering. ("I'm sorry the census is taking a lot longer this year, Mr President. There is some evidence that the Republicans have padded the data on the number of mosquitoes living in certain red states.") Wait a minute…I may have just uncovered an evil plot! This blog might be on hiatus for a bit while I flee the country.

We don't need anyone to take care of us

"Now, I'm principled against emancipating, in any case. Keep a negro under the care of a master, and he does well enough, and is respectable; but set them free, and they get lazy, and won't work, and take to drinking, and go all down to be mean, worthless fellows. I've seen it tried, hundreds of times. It's no favor to set them free."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 29

That quote is lunacy; even the author's contemporaries saw her writing for the irony it held. But why, oh why, do so many of us think we still need someone to take care of us?

I have had a few people comment that they don’t understand my assertion that welfare creates the need for welfare. I want to briefly explain it in the way that makes the most sense to me.

As a mother, I have had the opportunity to learn a lot from watching the other mom’s around me. I have observed the different parenting techniques and been able to ascertain what seems to work and what doesn’t. The thing is that mom’s love to make threats. When you are in a situation where your child needs to obey you and he/she is refusing, it’s very common for a parent to say something like, “If you don’t put these toys away right now, I am going to throw them away.” Well, children like to push their limits. I think we all know the parent who makes the threats, but never follows through. I think we also all know the children that have learned to ignore their parent’s promise of consequence, because it never materializes.

The thing with government programs, is that they go a step further. The natural process of action and consequence says that if you do something stupid, there is a negative reaction. Government programs take away the natural negative consequence of bad decisions. And then, they give a reward for the bad behavior under the guise of “entitlement.” It goes something like this.

Mom: “Sweetheart, if you don’t show up to work, you will get fired and then you won’t have any money.”

Kid, “I overslept because I am so overstressed right now. My boss fired me”

Mom, “Oh, you poor thing, that boss is such a jerk. I will give you a few dollars to help you get through this tough time.”

The consequence disappears, but this mom never ends with that. She follows up with:

“It’s so unfair the situation you’re in. Bosses never like you. They don’t understand you. You have never been taught to be successful because you have never had a boss that appreciates you. It’s not your fault you can’t keep a job.”

Wait a minute! Who tells the kid that he’s incapable, mistreated and held down? How would the outcome be different if the mom had said: “I don’t want to hear an excuse from you. It’s your decision to succeed or fail. When you make good choices, good things happen. When you make bad choices, bad things happen.”

You see, the concept of self-sufficiency is dying. People want to be taken care of. This is why the government taking over charity is so scary. The government, as an entity, operates on a system of rules. If you qualify, you will always be able to receive the government charity. People begin to choose stay unmarried, because that sort of decision is rewarded. Single mom’s are victims who deserve welfare. People choose to work less hours. Harder workers are taxed more heavily. When the God-created system of natural consequences is messed with, and the system begins rewarding stupidity, stupidity will become acceptable and sought after.

I firmly believe in the Christian ideal of taking care of your neighbor. This means that I believe in charity. But there is a difference between a church’s giving and the government’s. The church can uphold the ideal of good choices by adapting to meet individual needs.

Mom: “Look, I’m going to help you because I love you, but if you don’t get another job by next week, you’re going to have to deal with the choices you made. And once you have that job, you will pay me back, so that you understand that you cannot get ahead by being lazy.”

The victim mentality has become so rampant in our society that people are undervaluing themselves and children are being held down by the belief that they are incapable. It was the government that told them that. I want my children to become everything they are capable of. That will never happen, however, as long as I am unwilling to teach them about choice and accountability. Charity out of love is the answer. Political charity is charity to gain power. It will always leave the receiver subservient. It will always create the need for more political charity.

Remember that my ultimate goal is always freedom and empowerment. I am not interested in promoting any agenda. I am not concerned with political parties: I am a registered independent. I have absolutely nothing to do with any organizations. I simply believe that freedom is a God-given gift. I believe that people are inherently good and can make extraordinary things happen. My purpose in writing this blog is to encourage individuals to make decisions that bring liberty and capability. I oppose all forms of slavery, even the politically correct ones.

'We don't own your laws; we don't own your country; we stand here as free, under God's sky, as you are; and, by the great God that made us, we'll fight for our liberty till we die.'" Chapter 17, pg. 194

This is Funny!

I watched quite a few of the CPAC speeches with my husband. Frankly, we got a little bored. There was a lot of politics being thrown around and not a lot of practicality. I was interested to watch Rush Limbaugh since various new organizations were touting his speech as brilliantly whipping up the conservative base. We watched about half of it. Quite frankly, I think too much time in radio has ruined this man as a speaker. He seemed to have very little direction and too much repetition. This is not a comment on his widely varied points; it's just that he could have done with a little less impromptu and a little more preparation. As is, he didn't say much of anything in the part of the speech we watched. Romney did a good job, although his style is a little too practice polished for my taste. I actually thought that Ron Paul was the best speaker, despite being controversial even at CPAC.

Ann Coulter was different. I expected a very serious speech about the direction of the country from her. What I got was 25 minutes of stand up comedy. Well, it just so happens that I like comedy...A LOT. So, I am posting her speech here in hopes of sharing a few smiles.Don't take it too seriously and you might find yourself in a better mood all day.

I couldn't find it in one video, so if you want to see the whole thing, you're going to have to watch all three shows posted below in order.

Our Next Move

The Democrats have pushed through their enormous spendulus plan. I am not going to spend time arguing about whether or not it’s going to stimulate the economy. That subject has been done to death. What I want to address is how people are duped into believing that conservativism is heartless. It’s really easy for a liberal to stand up before the country and push program after program by saying they are the Robin Hood’s of the world. They want to protect the poor and save the innocent. Isn’t that what good people do? Well, I, for one, have a very easy time picturing Robin Hood as a politician. You see, if you give a man a fish, you have a man who is dependent on you and subservient to you. Why in the world would you want to teach him to fish?

Yesterday my one reader (I know we disagree, but please stay loyal-I need a reader) asked me how in the world I can argue that we should not judge people in the same breath that I argue that we shouldn’t be funding people’s mistakes. I told her that paying money to someone who has done something stupid with their lives is a judgment, just the same as putting them in jail would be. And I do not believe that it is the government’s place to make such judgments on the lives of its citizens.

She expressed concern for the children, as so many have. In her defense, I had pointed out that women could not be paying to have themselves artificially inseminated with octuplets and polygamists couldn’t be supporting their lifestyles without massive welfare payments (http://www.childbrides.org/taxes.html), so it was me who brought the children into the argument. I said these people were victims of the system because our welfare programs enable their bad choices.

You see, the fact is that these circumstances were created by the current system and, I believe, that welfare is only necessary because of welfare. As I addressed in an earlier post, the people in this country are the most generous in the world. They are delighted to share with those less fortunate than themselves and always have been. Our charities and churches are the best in the world. But, the current administration doesn’t want that. They want to have control of the charity, so that they can control the people.

Consider the current situation. The democrats are pushing through massive spending, much of which could be considered “charity.” To pay for it, they are putting a cap on the amount of charitable spending the most generous Americans can deduct from their taxes. In essence, the government is now requiring that charitable giving be routed through them. Why does this upset me SO much? Because: a church gives out of love; a politician gives to ensure his power. These are the exact same techniques that have made Hugo Chavez so wildly popular.

Furthermore, the government wants there to be more development of jobs. So, they are raising the taxes on those that would be developing new businesses so that they can pay to have the government in control of development. It’s another power play.

Government welfare is self-perpetuating. It creates its own need and even its own expansion. It is government intrusion into healthcare that has caused problems. Providers have to charge paying customers a lot more to recoup what they’re loosing on government programs. Likewise, a mother with 6 kids might think twice about having herself impregnated with octuplets if she knew she was going to have to find a way to feed them. Conservatives don’t want people to be hurt. We want them to be free. We can see the system for the slavery that it is.

Once government takes control of charity, do churches come next? What about the press? That is, according to his recent address to Venezuela, Hugo Chavez’s next move. What’s ours?