I live in the United States of America. I live in the country where people once came seeking refuge from oppressive governments, murderous thugs, and dictators, and to just have a chance to taste the freedom of which we boasted. Nothing feels like freedom. Nothing comforts the soul like the security of man protected God given freedom. At least that is what they once came here for. Now they come to bring to America their failed notions of how a society should be. Worse yet, they have found support for their endeavors in the highest offices of our land.

Most people I knew in the military and with whom I served looked upon service as more of an honor and privilege than a mere job or duty. We were protecting something worthy of the potential price one might have to pay. We were an apolitical bunch. Sadly, most of us did not even vote. Naively, we trusted the citizenry to protect freedom on the political front.

Soldiers know good leaders and they can pick out a bad one from well beyond his maximum effective range. The law of the land placed civilian leadership over us. That is as it should be in a free nation. We knew who set the national strategy from which the missions derived that eventually touched each individual Soldier and his family. We did not always like the direction, but we always adhered to our sworn oaths to obey the orders of the officers appointed over us. As long as they were legal orders, but when orders and missions seemed directionless and pointless, even the best of us internally questioned our commitment to them. That instills a dangerous sense of uncertainty- a questioning sense of uncertainty. That happens when the direction lacks clarity.

Clarity comes from leadership. A leader with clarity focuses down on what is critical and places the unnecessary aside for those times when life is a little less pressing and complicated. Leaders that, in the eyes of the led, lack clarity are motivated by things other than what the led see as the pressing issues – what should be the common focus. Because of their motivations, they are dishonest pretenders proclaiming one thing for the ears of the masses while pursuing ends that are in total opposition to the words that come out of their mouths.

In the United States of America, I should not find myself wondering if I have sufficient weapons in my home to protect my family and me or whether I need to arm myself outside my home so as not to become a victim of some half-raised and half-witted “flash mob”, but I do. In America, those kinds of concerns should not occupy space in our minds. I should not have to wonder if I have sufficient food and medical supplies stored in my home to survive for an extended period, but I do. I should not have to be concerned that the Washington ruling class will decide one day that it is necessary to take what I have earned and saved over my lifetime to provide food stamps, and five years worth of unemployment, and to pay mortgages of deadbeats, or to bail out communist led unions, but I do. I should not have to wonder how many Americans share my thoughts, but I do. When thoughts such as this own my solitude, is not freedom already lost? Freedom is imprinted on our hearts while we are still in our Mother’s womb. It is God given, remember? It is also a living state of mind. It is at the core of our national soul. People who know their freedom is guaranteed think and act much different from people who fear losing it.

Why do you think the United States of America is the strongest, most prosperous and most generous nation in the history of the world? Is it because we are smarter than everyone else? No, it is because God has blessed us.

We have reached our Romans 1 moment in history and in our national relationship with God. Our President has declared to the world that we are not a Christian nation. No matter that declaration, God will not abandon us. He will let us continue on our path to national self-destruction if that is what we choose. Or we may seek his blessing. We need a leader that is bold enough and one who has clarity of mind and the strength of heart to proclaim to Americans the direction in which our nation must turn. If we are given that clear choice in 2012 and we choose the path that we are on now, we are finished as a nation.

Freedom is not found elsewhere in this world. There is no place else for us to go.

©2012