What is the American promise? What is the American dream?

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. – The Declaration of Independence

Is that not the answer to both questions? The promise: all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights. The dream: Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Politicians and their allied frauds throughout our history, and even more so in our present, have tried to redefine the promise and the dream into material terms. An education, home ownership, abundance…. It is the dream formula for failed nations.

When a man believes the dream is material and he cannot obtain the material objects that fulfill it, then he is left to conclude that the dream does not extend to him. He becomes convinced by unscrupulous and evil men that “the dream” is only obtainable by select groups. His situation is therefore unjust and can only be corrected through drastic change. A man that will ensure the loss of all his freedom and with it any real hope of achieving the materially defined dream offers him hope by promising the type of change that only he can provide. I will take and give to you what is rightly yours. I can and will deliver to you the American dream.

The problem facing a benevolent guarantor of hope is that when dreams or promises do not belong to him, he cannot take them away. In the same vein, he cannot give to you what does not originate with him… endowed by their Creator…. He can, however, take material things from one and give it another.

Our President has publicly professed that he has accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. I am not personally convinced that his walk supports his profession of faith, but only God knows his heart so that is something the two of them will settle on the appropriate day.

If we are led by a Christian man, would he not steer our nation toward following two of God’s most basic commandments? Those are the commandments that instruct us to love our neighbor as ourselves and to not covet his property. To love my neighbor as myself means simply, at least in my un-theologically trained mind, that I want the same good things for my neighbor as I want for myself. What I want for my neighbor are certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. I want him to have the freedom to make choices that will enable him to acquire the wealth and material possessions that he may desire – just as I desire for me. I do not covet his property in any form. What my neighbor acquires through the exercise of his unalienable Rights is his to do with whatever his conscience guides him to do. Taking his property and giving it to me, or anyone, because some man or government is convinced that a portion of my neighbor’s wealth rightly belongs to me or to the nation that promises to redistribute it to me, is not a Christian concept. It is also not a concept on which our nation was founded.

As I write this, around our country Americans are praying for a miracle that will return our nation to its underpinning which is very clearly expressed in the words of the Declaration of Independence … with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence… that set this nation on the path to becoming the most blessed nation known since the days of Solomon. The founding of the United States of America and the development of its Constitution led free republic is a miracle from God. It is a miracle that changed the world. It is one we are bound to preserve, because miracles are just that.

By definition, miracles must of course interrupt the usual course of Nature; but if they are real they must, in the very act of so doing, assert all the more the unity and self-consistency of total reality at some deeper level. – C.S. Lewis, Miracles

Understand the miracle that interrupted the usual course of [human] nature. Understand the promise. Understand the dream. Understand Who we should follow. Long live our blessed nation.

“I have so much faith in the general government of the world by Providence that I can hardly conceive a transaction of such momentous importance [as the framing of the Constitution] …should be suffered to pass without being in some degree influenced, guided, and governed by that omnipotent, omnipresent, and beneficent Ruler in whom all inferior spirits live and move and have their being.” – Benjamin Franklin, from The Writings of Benjamin Franklin, quoted here from A Miracle that Changed the World, The 5000 Year Leap

© 2012

I enjoy listening to the people with great voices who talk for a living. They are the background noise I need while I work. Mostly, I must admit; I listen because they cancel out my tinnitus. Their time slots in my work day are presently replaced by music – something that soothes my mind rather than assaulting it. When a radio head tells me that the only guy for them is Ron Paul, I hear the old analog dial spinning in my mind searching for something else. The same goes for Romney, Gingrich, Santorum or any other candidate for as long as any of them remain in the race.

The most destructive thing pundits, especially those with millions in their listening audiences or millions reading their books, can do to our electoral process is use their voices to shill for one candidate or another during primary election season. When they do this, they become no more useful to their listeners than is the remaining liberal media. They become MSNBC and undeserving of my time. I do not need a microphone driver to do my thinking for me. Most Americans do not.

I also love the brilliance of the television political panels that tell us who the only candidate is with any chance of winning the general election. Typically it is the polished, over-rehearsed one with nice hair and a lot of cash. He is the one who, although unspoken, would class up the cocktail party circuit and blend well with established Washington. He is after all, presidential. Then they tell us about the ones who could never win a general election. One cannot win because he travels the campaign trail towing his personal baggage car and his style is destructive rather than collaborative. One has a good message, but lacks the necessary charisma, cash, and establishment backing and, his social views scare away independents. Or, in their assessment, the one who is just plain nuttier than squirrel crap.

When all of their predictions and nuanced reasoning falls flat on its collective butt they are at a loss to explain why. They cannot explain why because they avoid the message while assessing the messenger. He may have won this time, but the polls tell us….

“Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle. America loves a winner. America will not tolerate a loser. Americans despise a coward; Americans play to win.” – General George S. Patton

General Patton just explained to all you over rated pundits, who could not figure it out, why Newt Gingrich won in South Carolina. The more you jump up and down on him while pushing others at us, the stronger he is likely to become.

For as long as I can recall, the accepted American and hopelessly liberal media has reviled and labeled every conservative voice. Liberal politicians, with the help of an eager media, have defined conservatives with every despicable brand one might imagine. If the liberal politicians proclaim it and the liberal media defends it and if it remains unchallenged, it must be true. Conservatives are greedy, money grubbing, middle class hating, homophobic, fundamentalist Christian racists who want to hold America hostage to their evil ideology. The ideology that insists that freedom is God-given and that people do not need government directing and meddling in their personal lives.

What is the typical conservative response? Assume self-defense mode. When you defend against nonsense, you give the nonsense validity. Conservatives, the nuanced, intellectually superior beltway version of conservatism at least, must stay on message. They must address only the issues and keep to the high ground. They must never utter a phrase that can be twisted to further define them as greedy, money grubbing, middle class hating, homophobic, fundamentalist Christian racists who want to hold America hostage to their evil ideology. It is a pathetic little media and mental war that conservatives have lost for decades. They have lost it for one simple reason. They are not playing to win. They are playing not to lose. There is a big difference. Why do you think the sports guys describe a football game strategy as conservative? It is a classier way of saying trying not to lose.

“If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun. Because from what I understand folks in Philly like a good brawl. I’ve seen Eagles fans.” – President Barack Hussein Obama

Like him or hate him, Newt Gingrich broke the code. Americans understand the code. When you are in street fight, one that may decide whether you live or die as a nation, you better be prepared for some eye-gouging, toe stomping and hair pulling. You better be prepared to land some solid body blows on your opponent and keep pounding him until he is on the ground and then when he is down jump up and down on him some more. Otherwise you become John McCain.

“Now there’s another thing I want you to remember. I don’t want to get any messages saying that “we are holding our position.” We’re not holding anything. …. We are advancing constantly and we’re not interested in holding onto anything except the enemy. We’re going to hold onto him by the nose and we’re going to kick him in the ass. We’re going to kick the hell out of him all the time and we’re going to go through him like crap through a goose!” – General George S. Patton

Americans love a good fight. Americans love a fighter. Conservatives, do you want to win? Then find and hold on to the fighting spirit. It is that simple.

©2012

Too often their approach to leading was at the expense of honorable men and women who did not stand to influence their careers one way or another – or so they thought at the time. At some point in their lives, demonstrated competence gained them promotions. At least, we like to believe that is what advanced them. At some other point, they lost focus of who they were and what they represented. Then their character flaws failed them, but not before the lives and careers of many others were harmed along the way.

In recent decades, there has been insidiousness at work that is destructive to the honor and integrity of our force. It has multiple heads, but a single focus. That focus, at least to this old retired Soldier, is the transformation of the world’s greatest fighting force into the world’s greatest social engineering laboratory. Added to that are the in-service politics driving selections for important assignments. Unscrupulous character deficient leaders are always standing by to benefit from social experiments and crony politics.

Understand one thing clearly. If our military is to remain the great force that it is, people who enter it and who are now serving must conform to the standards of the force. The force cannot continually reshape its culture and standards to accommodate individuals, groups and most frighteningly incompetence.

Writing this, I fully expect the sharp knives to come out. But, I do not care. I have had those stuck into me before, often from the same characters who at the time were smiling to my face and shaking my hand. When I was serving, I always said what I thought. Now I stand at a point in life, where it matters even less to me what people think or say about me. What is important is to speak out about what I see happening to the great institution that gave a wayward teenager a good home for most of his life. I pray that others in and out of the service will do the same. If we do not, we fail the many young Americans who dutifully and trustingly enter the United States Armed Forces.

In my book, The Three Meter Zone, in the chapter titled Build the Foundation, I wrote about Trust and Confidence. I recounted a story written in third person because I had no desire at the time to publicly embarrass the leader who owned this piece of my personal history. He was having enough issues at the time and the lesson from the story was more important than its characters. Leaders must have and keep the trust and confidence of the led.

It was not until I arrived at my new assignment at Fort Myer, Virginia that I learned the back story. My first assignment there was as the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) for what was dubbed “Headquarters Command Battalion.” Yes, it was as insignificant of an assignment as it sounded and rather disappointing to say the least. The man I replaced was headed for an assignment in Germany. One highly sought after by CSMs from the personnel field. It was not the assignment promised me in my trust and confidence story, but another. His experience level was much less than what one would expect for the assignment he was given, but he was well-connected to the Office of Sergeant Major of the Army (SMA). His selection angered senior and experienced CSMs from his field. Too make an already too long story short, after his assignment it became time for selection of a new SMA. The man selected to be the new SMA was the man who broke his handshake personal commitment to me for reasons he proclaimed “he was not at liberty to discuss.” What did the personnel CSM do? He decided that he did not want to be a CSM after all. He gave up the sought after wreath on his rank insignia and with it the privilege of leading soldiers to do what? Return to the office of the SMA and work for the newly selected one. I do not have to give any more detail about this SMA. You will recall that he flamed out rather spectacularly. Following his court martial on sexual harassment charges he was discharged forever to be remembered for the last thing.

There are some very important assignments for NCOs in our Army. They should always be filled based on merit with men and women of demonstrated competence and high character. One of the most important is the Commandant of the Army’s Drill Sergeant School. The person responsible for being the example to and training the trainers that teach young Americans how to be Soldiers. On September, 21, 2009, the New York Times ran a long complimentary article hailing the selection of CSM Teresa King, the first woman, as the school’s new commandant. Not long ago, the Army Times reported that she was suspended from her duties.

“If we outline the allegations, people will jump to conclusions that she is guilty of those allegations,” said Col. Chris Kubik, a TRADOC spokesman. “We don’t want any sort of prejudgment. There may not be any substantiation to it, so we don’t want to mar Sgt. Maj. King’s good name — she does have a distinguished record and we don’t want anybody prejudging her.” -Army News Service

It is quite interesting that none of the reporting news services will “outline the allegations” that caused CSM King’s suspension. I hope they understand that bad news does not get better with age nor does it just go away in today’s connected world. If true, the allegations are disheartening. Unchallenged rumors are of bogus college degrees in her records, a sexual relationship with an enlisted Soldier junior to her and a drinking problem. If they are true, it is another spectacular failure of Army leadership. For the sake of our Army, let us hope that CSM King is not remembered for this last thing.

The Army must take a hard look at itself. It cannot continue to select and place people of questionable character into important leadership positions. In the name of political correctness and social engineering, are we failing America’s Soldiers and ultimately America herself?

©2012

Once upon a time in the Army, thinking and planning was based on what is essential. Not how much something costs, but whether doing it or not doing it is difference between success and failure. Living and dying. If the objective is to simply cut the national budget, then you can hack and slash until you get it where you want it, but not at the expense of putting our nation in danger.

What is our objective? Is it to defend our nation?

Some years ago, I participated in a research project on the World War I battle of the Meusse-Argonne. The offensive ended on November 11, 1918, which was also the end of the war to end all wars. The research did not begin with the battle itself, but necessarily with the pre-war years and the state of our Army from the beginning. It was important for us to learn what it took to win the decisive campaign of the war.

Before World War I, the strength of our ill-equipped standing Army was less than 100,000 men. With the rapid buildup for war we did not have sufficient equipment, even small arms, for the men we were sending to battle the Germans who had arguably the best Army on the planet at the time. We were so poorly equipped that many of our ”Doughboys” completed only rudimentary basic training and never fired a rifle before setting sail for Europe. Once there, they learned to shoot with British Enfield rifles. After all, we did not have any. The Europeans had a low opinion of us and our abilities, but welcomed the replacement stream of bodies.

So, how did we ultimately defeat a well-trained, battle hardened, and well-equipped German Army? We overwhelmed them. American Soldiers represented an infinite replacement stream of bodies while the German stream, worn down by years of war was rather finite. At the top of the Konigstuhl, in Heidelberg, Germany there is a German War cemetery. Some German Soldiers killed in World War I were re-buried there after the cemetery was built during the National Socialist years. Teenagers. We were not the better Army. We were not better trained or equipped. The Germans simply ran out of Soldiers. They filled their cemeteries with a lost generation of teenagers.

In the Army it is understood that the Generals will sometimes make mistakes. It is also understood that it is ultimately the Soldiers who pay for them. But understand clearly that it is the mistakes and ill-conceived miscalculations of politicians that ultimately fill our gardens of stone with the bodies of American Soldiers.

Not long ago, I wrote about Carter’s Army. It was an Army beaten down and worn out by years of combat in Vietnam. Its morale busted by liberal politicians, their allies in the media and a seemingly ungrateful public. Carter’s defense cuts further hollowed out the force. Our Army was in a sad and dangerous state. It was brought to that state by political bungling of a war and political disdain for those serving in uniform. Instead of regenerating the force, Mr. Carter cut it.

At the height of the Cold War, our standing active Army strength was around 760,000. Down came the Berlin wall and the Soviet Union. Washington politicians were dancing in the marble hallways of the Capitol as peace dividend dollar signs destined for pet projects and cronies rang up in their beady eyes.

But not so fast, insisted Sadaam Hussein.

Being the only nation on the planet with the ability to project such power, we ultimately deployed the heavily armored 7th Corps to the desert. They rolled through and over Iraq’s “elite” Republican Guard and decimated the world’s 3rd largest standing army in short order. Political intervention prevented the complete destruction and ouster of the madman. We encouraged revolution then turned our backs while Hussein filled mass graves with would be revolutionaries.

With that great victory, it was finally time to cash in the peace-dividend. There is no more 7th Corps and our Army was reduced to nearly half its Gulf War strength. We were built down, made leaner. Large conventional force on force wars were over or so we were told. Now we were able to focus on important things. Political correctness or the inability to tell the hard truth lest feelings are hurt and our diversity or better described as out of one many rather than out of many one.

Now we have been at war for a long time. Our Soldiers are tired. Their equipment is worn. Political bungling has been the norm. They have endured all of it. Now some politicians believe that we can cure the national debt by cutting the military while we are still fighting the war that Iran started with us in 1979. All of this while throwing money by the bucket load from every government window in the land. Liberal ideology once again trumps reality. Unless we rid ourselves of inept Washington leadership, more young Americans will necessarily become again the infinite stream of replacements trying to restore peace to a world brought to turmoil by political idiocy.

Do you ever watch those wildlife shows on television? The predators do not attack the strong. They cut out the weak and kill it.

Truthfully, he is looking beyond the fate of the country he inherited and the one thing that keeps our nation safe, the powerful military he inherited that keeps the predators away.

©2012

Hear ye, hear ye, the world ends on December 21, 2012. We are also taught that when the day does come, there will be no proclamation. The Maya calendar is interesting to some I suppose. If they are right and my source is wrong, I suppose the joke is on me. But, if my source is right then I am all set and the cable TV scholars, who are convinced that space aliens can account for most everything on earth and their colleagues at the ACLU better stock up on asbestos underwear.

Here is what I know for certain. We cannot fix yesterday and we cannot predict tomorrow. As a people, we do spend much of our time trying both. The only thing we can do is work to get today right. If we work hard to get today right, yesterday will not need fixin’ and tomorrow we can work hard at getting it right again. If we work hard to get it right every day, then we will be prepared for whatever comes.

Hey Congress! See how that works.

There are other proclamations I also accept as truth. An important one tells us if we do what is right today, we will be blessed and prosper in the land that we have been given. It is a declaration proven true throughout our brief history. Then it warns us if we stray from doing what is right, we will not live long in the land we were given. I am no Mayan and no prophet, but the signs are that we are feeling the pains from many years traveling that well known highway to perdition.

When we consider the state of the land with which we have been blessed and the impact it does and can have on the rest of the world, maybe the Mayans do have it right to some degree. Maybe the world as we know it, at least our part of it, will end in December 2012 or more likely on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

I was driving home the other evening, a day before the calendar flipped over to 2012. I prefer the old two-lane blacktop and the country side to the Interstate. I was pretty much alone on the road and contemplating much of what you just read – if you made it this far. Adding to the mood was the sound of Elvis coming from the CD player in the car. He was singing How Great Thou Art. No matter what else you may think of Elvis, he could certainly put some spirit into singing gospel tunes. I looked out ahead on the road and up at the hilltop. Evergreen and the winter brown from the hillside blended perfectly into the powder blue, soft gray and white of the evening sky. All of it was highlighted with brilliant orange and red streaks from the setting sun. The thought that popped into my mind is that no mortal artist could paint such a picture as that about the same time as Elvis sang “When I in awesome wonder.”

Elvis then broke into a spirited Joshua fit the battle of Jericho.

They tell me, great God that Joshua’s spear
Was well nigh twelve feet long
And upon his hip was a double edged sword
And his mouth was a gospel horn

It was about that time that I decided that I cannot do much about the state of our nation. I resolve in this year to avoid discussions about the stupidity of the stupid or the morality of the immoral or the corruptness of the most corrupt. These people can destroy a great nation and many people along the way, but they cannot take what it important. Instead, I thought I would better serve my country by focusing on the man in my mirror. It is said that a person’s eyes are the window to his soul. I need to take a long hard look into mine and ask if I am doing it right today. In my world, even if the Mayans made a lucky guess and it all blows up on December 21, 2012 our souls will live on and we control our own destiny by doing what is right today.

All of us control the destiny of this land with which we have been blessed. We must insist in 2012 that as a nation, we do it right. Today. “And the walls come tumbling down.”

©2012

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2: 8-12 NIV

Sometimes, I pull my wool hat down over my ears and go for a walk. Moving out of the neighborhood, I get the courtesy bark from the neighbor’s dog, a curious examination from a couple of squirrels and am nearly trampled by a rampaging buck in rut. He smells a doe somewhere, he just ain’t too sure about where. He disappeared into the tree line at a full gallop, so excited he probably ran into a tree and knocked himself out. The leaves are gone from the trees. The air is a little crisp, but for a few flurries, we’ve seen no snow. Houses and lawns are decorated for the season, some a bit overdone. Christmas cards are going out and coming in. The new Christmas movies are out. I’ve seen none destined to be classics like It’s A Wonderful Life, which we’ll watch for the bazillionth time. For the next few months, we’ll wonder if the angel got his wings whenever we hear a bell. We worry some about presents. What we might get, what we’ll give. The thought that used to go into them doesn’t always now. Getting something homemade is practically unheard of. Now, we savor the warmth of the plastic gift card we receive and worry if we spent enough money on the gifts we gave.

I can see smoke drifting up lazily from chimneys in the distance and smell the oak wood fires burning in fireplaces and wood stoves. It isn’t there, but my mind tricks me into smelling the spice cake my mother used to bake this time of year. I think about getting a big hunk of it fresh from the oven while it’s still steaming. Nothing tasted quite like that, especially chased with fresh milk or hot chocolate. I walk a little deeper into the woods. Nothing smells quite like the woods this time of year. The dead leaves I kick up while walking have a unique, earthy aroma. A squirrel skitters up the side of a tree right in front of me. He stops, safely out of my reach and watches. I come upon a wild holly bush and stick myself plucking a leaf from it. I make a pinwheel from the stiff holly leaf by putting the sharp points between my thumb and finger and blowing on it just hard enough to make it spin. I think of walking through the hills in the snow with my brother many years ago searching for a Christmas tree. I think about a wild sled run. I find a sturdy oak to lean against, pick a twig from a nearby branch and pluck it between my teeth. I survey the rolling hillside. The houses in the distance are visible only because the trees are naked of leaves. I ponder what might be happening in each. In one, Christmas cookies might be baking. In another, maybe they’re trimming the tree.

In my mind, the house is dark. Daylight’s not yet broken. My heart is beating slightly faster than normal. It’s Christmas morning. I slowly move the blankets away and begin to tiptoe toward the living room where the Christmas tree is. I step on a creaky floorboard and freeze, eyes wide. I listen, afraid that I might encounter an old elf gentleman and frighten him away. I peek into the kitchen and see that the cookies dutifully left on the table are gone. Then, in the dark, eyes still wide, heart still racing, I approach the tree….

I’m walking along the street in Chicago. A country kid in the city. I’ve never seen so many stores and all of them decked out for the holiday. Some have signs that say Xmas. I wonder why they’d do that. The sky is gray. The city is gray. The wind blows some newspaper down a slush-covered sidewalk. A panhandler begs for money. It doesn’t seem like Christmas. Something is missing, replaced by an X.

The air has chilled some so I flip the collar up on my down vest and I’m on the other side of the world walking a Christmas Eve post. I’m barely 19 years old. Sure, I have plenty of buddies around, but I’d trade it all for five minutes in that kitchen eating Mom’s spice cake. Then I think, because a few of us are willing to be here, many can be there at home. That thought perks me up some as I look into a glistening star filled sky and snug up the GI wool scarf around my neck. The clear night makes it colder. I wish it would cloud up and snow. Silent Night plays in my head.

It’s Christmas Eve. It’s nearing the end of the Church service and we light candles, each of us receiving the flame from the last Advent candle – the Christ candle. As the sanctuary lights dim, we raise our candles and sing Silent Night. There’s an incredible feeling of peace and hope.

Lying in bed, I realize it’s early. I hear something moving around in the other room. Slowly and cautiously at first it seems. Then I hear a rush of pattering feet and a curdling yell – Mom! Dad! Get up! Look what Santa brought! With huge grins and through sleepy eyes I share the joy and amazement.

From Su and I to you and yours. Have a blessed Christmas.

Copyright © 2004, J. D. Pendry

This time of year, there are things more important on which to focus than politics and politicians. Take some time off from the Internet and news. Focus on your many blessings and your family. Light a candle for the members of the United States Armed Forces who courageously serve us around the world. See you back here in the New Year. – JD

A war on Christmas is a war against what we call a decorated tree. It is a war against what we call the school break that arrives each year around Christmas time. It is a war against public display of Christian themed decorations. It is a war of political correctness of whether one should wish you a Merry Christmas, offer you a sanitized season’s greeting, or refer to an alternative list of faith based and made up celebrations, all so as not to offend. To that extent, I suppose you can conclude that there is a war about defining the holiday.

The war is not against Christmas. The war is against Christ, against Christianity, and against Christians.

God gave us many gifts. He created the heavens and the earth and Charles Darwin. He is the one source of freedom, the principle on which our nation was founded. He gave us his Son, whose birth we celebrate on December 25, a date established by men rather than by the actual event.

For Christians, everyday is a celebration of the birth of Christ.

I might be a cynic and most certainly I have a biased point of view, but do you really believe that people around the world would flock in droves to their favorite market place to purchase winter solstice presents. So, God gave us another gift important to our survival. Celebrating the birth of Jesus helps businesses turn a profit each year and as a result keeps many millions of people employed. The employed are able to support their families and purchase the goods that are produced in our waning environment of economic freedom. Without His celebration, the current economic ruin brought to us by politicians would be infinitely more disastrous. Clearly, He does a better job stimulating the economy than any politician’s fictitious stimulus plan. Of course, that means little to the men longing to replace God in our lives.

The war on Christianity is not reserved for one day or one season of the year. It is continuous. I recommend that your read David Limbaugh’s book, Persecution.

Do you recall when George Bush during debates responded with Jesus Christ when asked who the most influential figure in his life was? He publicly professed his faith, although there are pundits who questioned it, and was not timid about it. He was not afraid to state that he prayed to God for guidance. The liberals and many squeamish establishment types openly questioned whether a president should “wear his Christianity on his sleeve.” I always thought that wearing it on your sleeve was a curious expression. Obviously, it is preferable to liberals that one hide his true identity from scrutiny while seeking public office, unless maybe he is atheist or homosexual.

Politicians routinely profess their faith because all of the polls indicate a Christian believing majority resides in the United States of America. For most liberals and other pundits, this does not raise any eyebrows or elicit wearing it on your sleeve comments. Professional athletes have been crossing themselves before stepping into the batter’s box and pointing skyward when slugging a homerun for ages. Could it be they are grateful for steroids? Could they be praying that they not get a nasty breaking fork ball? I do not profess to know their hearts. Football players have been taking a knee in the end zone in a prayerful pose for quite some time now – just before the dance and spike. But, when Tim Tebow did it the liberal pundits were beside themselves. Why does he insist on wearing it on his sleeve?

Why do you reckon the response was different for President Bush and Tim Tebow than it is for others? It is simple really. Faux Christianity does not frighten or threaten liberal beliefs, atheists and moral relativists. The real deal does.

If you profess Christianity with a political wink or if your body is covered in tattoos and all of your hair does not fit inside your hat, your pose may well be just that – a pose. Again, I do not profess to know anyone’s heart, but be assured no one will ask you why you wear it on your sleeve. It is when your Christian walk matches your talk that you become threatening to the many facets of moral relativism one encounters in free America. You are a challenge to the liberal America that insists other groups of people wear their identities on their sleeves.

Just one final thought that may highlight our national direction. Hillary Clinton announced to the United Nations Human Rights Commission (an oxymoron by the way) the President’s national strategy for the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) rights. I support the protection of the basic human rights of any person, but I do not recall such a national proclamation of support when the Egyptian army was killing Coptic Christians or for any of the many documented cases of Christian persecution and murder in Islamic states. Maybe we are no longer a Christian nation – or at least not Christian led.

Pray that God gives Tim Tebow the strength he needs to resist the multitude of temptations most assuredly headed his way.

The war is on Christ. Christmas is just one battleground.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

©2011

Merry Christ-mas, Mr. President: An Open Letter to President Obama

I have seen a sizeable chunk of our world. My travels confirmed some things for me. One in particular. Politics is politics. No matter the location, it is clearly and sadly a profession for and of scoundrels. Tailor made for unchecked and even protected criminal activity. To confirm that, you only need to look at what happens when a potential anti-scoundrel approaches the near impregnable walls of national politics manned by legions of Roveshivicks.

I am convinced that any and I mean any type of government would work in the best interest of the governed if its politicians were men and women of character – if they were people we could trust to put the nation’s interest ahead of self-interest or political party interest. Unfortunately, that is why we must be governed by laws, not men. Even our founders conceded that our constitutional representative republic form of government would only work if led by men of character who governed by law rather than philosophical whims and self-interests. We are on the verge of self-annihilation because the character deficit in Washington is bigger than our budget deficit.

I was rummaging around in the Bunker the other day when I found an old stack of 5 by 7 index cards held together by a dry-rotted rubber band. They were covered with hand scribbled phrases and quotes that had meaning to me when I wrote them down. They were my advice cards. They still held meaning as I read them. They reminded me of a more sane time. It was a time when information did not come to me at light speed and I took time to contemplate it, digest it and think proactively about it. Now, I find myself being reactive to much of what I see, hear and read. This is probably exactly where the political class prefers that I stay – emotionally tied to an argument or glommed onto a personality rather than applying any depth of thought to them or their ideas. I expect that I am not alone.

One of my old advice cards captured my attention.

It takes ability to get to the top. It takes character to stay there.

I do not know who coined that pearl of wisdom. Ability implies competence and character implies positive personality traits such as honesty and selfless service. Sadly, the adage does not stand up when you consider the profession of scoundrels. Politicians require sparse ability beyond some oratory skill. At least that is what we appear to put most store into these days. Given that, they need only a slick public relations team and scriptwriters to keep them – or their teleprompters – on message. Ability in the form of competence to govern under the law of the land, the United States Constitution, appears neither necessary nor desirable. Their character? Sadly until they have proven it, their character is typically a work of fiction developed by their image builders and then further embellished by an unscrupulous press.

When we see someone trying to break in to the political club, he or she often has a proven record of ability with documented accomplishments. It is an ability record that stands scrutiny. That is why the political class always, without fail, attacks their character. The Washington Tidal Basin is filled with the hopes of men and women destroyed by character attacks built on innuendo and not proven allegations insinuating fatal character flaws. Character assassination is the mainstay of Washington politics these days and just like stupid Charlie Sheen like antics, we hang on every word until a potentially good leader for our nation can no longer stomach the slimy process and quits. We end up with charlatans in charge. Is it what we deserve?

Character assassination does not end with politics. It is a tool for those who want to destroy any person or entity when ability is established and proven. People who want to destroy our nation, too many from inside Washington politics, cannot contest the ability of our system to provide liberty and enable prosperity. Instead, they attack our national character through antics such as occupy Wall Street. They do that, by the way, with Ivy League indoctrinated rich kids who never worked for anything in their lives. The anti-military, also too many from inside Washington, cannot contest that our military is the most able on the planet. To bring it down, they constantly try to degrade the ability of the only entity that can ensure their freedom. More insidious than that however is their attack on its character. Isolated incidents are painted as representing the entire force or they try to change the character of the force through unchallenged social engineering. Left unchecked and with the help of allies inside the services, they will ultimately succeed. They will give us a military that is less able and whose character is strong on political correctness and short on what made our services the world’s best war fighting force. It will look like the rest of the country. Sadly.

Character counts.

©2011

C. S. Lewis, one of the greatest minds of all time, could pack more logic into a single phrase than most could hope to achieve in a manifesto. His reasoning is clear and his point concise. For all things, be thankful.

“We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is “good,” because it is good, if “bad” because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.” – Letters: C. S. Lewis/Don Giovanni Calabria

When Mr. Lewis wrote of “our eternal country”, be assured that he was not writing about his Great Britain or our United States of America. The atheist turned Christian was speaking of the eternal country that follows our brief respite in this world. Nothing here is permanent. Our eternal country, to which we are all destined, is either a place so amazing our feeble minds cannot fully comprehend its wonder or a place of such misery and suffering that we cannot fathom its horridness.

In The Screwtape Letters, (which I recommend along with
Mere Christianity) Lewis said:

“Humans live in time…therefore…attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself and …to the Present. For the Present is the point at which time touches eternity…in it alone freedom and actuality are offered.”

My meager interpretation: The path I choose presently points me to my eternal place and if I choose correctly, it is in eternity that I will realize true freedom and understanding.

Of course, if you worship at the altar of Charles Darwin you have no thoughts of eternity. You have nothing steering you to choose between good or bad because in your world, there is no good or bad. You accept that you were not created. You believe you are a product of happenstance. Before you, there was nothing. Beyond you and this world, there is nothing. All things are relative. What an utterly dark, blank existence that must be. Even though you see nothing for yourself beyond this temporary existence, you still have reason to be thankful.

Be thankful that God decided that you should be born in or permitted to live in the United States of America. It is a place where the Christian value of God –given freedom and free choice, on which our nation was founded, allows you to choose any faith or no faith. You are allowed to choose your “present” path and you will not be executed for the choice unless the present you choose is capital crime and even with that you might die of old age. When you choose your present, realize that you are also choosing your eternity. Be thankful that in the USA, for now, you still have the freedom to ponder your choice.

Be thankful that you have a mind and the ability to think and reason, whether you believe it a gift of His creation or a product of random chance and evolution. You can think for yourself, although many of us clearly do not. You can make your own choices. You cannot choose your past, although there are famous and audacious cases of invented pasts. You cannot choose your future, but you can hope for it and have faith in what it holds. You can only choose your present, this moment, not the next.

Be thankful for your mind that allows you the clarity to choose. May it also give you the character to accept the consequences of your choices.

Be thankful that you live in a nation where obesity is more of a problem than starvation. It is a nation whose poor own cars, television sets, cell phones, and computers and have air-conditioned living quarters.

Be thankful that you live in the world’s most charitable nation. That is charity that originates with individuals who have chosen their present wisely and not from a benevolent government.

Be thankful for the men and women of this nation who volunteer each day to place themselves and their lives between you and anyone – foreign or domestic – who would deprive you of your freedom to choose.

Be thankful that you are in a land that is more blessed than any nation in the history of the world and that you get to choose peacefully its leaders – a most important present choice.

Be thankful.

pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. – 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 (NIV)

May you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving.

© 2011

“An honest man’s the noblest work of God.” – Alexander Pope

Each one of us holds to a set of principles. They may not represent a mainstream set of values. In fact, they may be the direct opposite of what is considered mainstream. Attempting to define mainstream only adds to the confusion. Who defines it for us? Those who try to do so by telling us what most Americans want or what most Americans believe or what is best for most Americans. The problem is the leader or would be leader attempting to define mainstream for the rest of us runs it through his or her personally held belief system. It creates a dichotomous environment. An environment where what is expressed to us as mainstream, the values to which we should all adhere if we are normal, is in direct contradiction to those principles outlined in our founding documents. I believe I may have stumbled upon the definition of un-American.

A leader has obvious choices to make. He or she can both align their personal belief system with and preserve the Judeo-Christian principles on which our nation was founded or head off on a path based on a totally different belief system in order to “fundamentally transform” the United States of America. Leaders hoping to change our country into one that functions based on their personal belief systems, no matter how skewed from the founding their beliefs might be, must be dishonest with the people. It is a subtle dishonesty. It is a deceitfulness that draws in those who want to believe. The dishonorable leader speaks tempting words and makes utopian promises. He or she will always speak of preserving those great “American values” without ever defining them thus leading the weak minded to accept that he or she personifies the original values. The sheep follow the wolf just as the children did the Pied Piper – never to return to where they began.

Dishonorable men or women who want to lead our nation could never get a foot up if they did not have powerful supporting forces. The most destructive force in our country in that regard is the media which bills itself as factual providers of information and news. It is a media that is dishonest at its core. If there was any integrity in the industry amongst those who actually drive the stories of the day, a corrupt, incompetent, dishonest politician would have no chance of ever holding elected office. When what you are is equivalent to what the North Korean News Agency is to Kim Jong-Il, then you have abused your first amendment right to become nothing more than a pack of political liars. Sadly.

Dishonorable politicians supported by a dishonest news media are prime examples of a free people misusing the freedoms derived from the Judeo-Christian principles on which our country was founded in order to propel themselves into power. They will follow the Pied Piper until they realize too late that the only freedom left for them is to report to the masses what the Pied Piper tells them to. That is when they will also learn that the collective does not have much use for factual news reporting. The honest among them will be shot and the mediocre among them will be shoveling crap on the collective farm. Ah, utopia. Grand is it not?

Our leadership has expressed to the world that we are not a Christian nation. Does that not imply then that we are a Post-Christian nation? C.S. Lewis wrote about Post-Christian man:

For they neglect not only the law of Christ but even the Law of Nature as known by the Pagans. For now they do not blush at adultery, treachery, perjury, theft and other crimes which I will not say Christian Doctors, but the pagans and the barbarous have themselves denounced.

They err who say “the world is turning pagan again.” Would that it were! The truth is that we are falling into a much worse state.

A code of honor is an uncompromising commitment to a way of life. Even the dishonest are committed to a way of life. They are dishonorable when they try to portray “their way” as something it is not. Their way is not supported by a foundation of integrity without which it eventually collapses taking with it those who blindly followed.

If, as Americans, we do not know to what we are truly committed as freedom loving individuals we are doomed as a nation. There is no pre-Christian America. The only place that we have to return to is our beginning as a nation founded on Judeo-Christian principles. If we accept, as our leadership has implied, that we are a Post-Christian nation, then as C.S. Lewis warned, “we are falling into a much worse state.”

I would lay down my life for America, but I cannot trifle with my honor. – John Paul Jones

What is your Code of Honor? Are you willing to discard it?

©2011