Posted on 02/29/2024 4:26:48 AM PST by MtnClimber
Sometimes hardship is the driving force for necessary change.
One of the most valuable lessons experience has taught me is that initial victories can degrade into bitter defeats, while heartbreaking defeats can blossom into unexpected victories. It has led me to see history not as some linear progression of events following a logical rhythm toward human happiness but rather as a complex system with repeating cycles, new variables, and endlessly moving parts. I have come to realize that almost everything in life -- whether good or bad -- should be approached with a healthy dose of “wait-and-see” circumspection.
Presidential elections offer ample support for this proposition. During the month of uncertainty following the 2000 contest when Al Gore refused to concede to George Bush, every hanging chad on Florida’s butterfly ballots seemed important. Reclaiming the White House after Bill Clinton’s sex, campaign finance, and Chinese bribery scandals felt like a critical course correction for America’s future. When Islamic supremacists attacked us at home the following year, having President Bush in the Oval Office -- as opposed to the global-warming-obsessed “inventor of the Internet” -- was a huge relief. We had a man willing to make difficult choices and take the fight to an enemy that had long sought our annihilation. He was the right man for those chaotic and trying times… right?
As the years passed, that answer became less clear. While the Patriot Act broadened the toolkit for tracking down foreign threats, its nefarious use as a domestic surveillance weapon took a sledgehammer to Americans’ privacy. Rhetorical battles against Islamic supremacy morphed into another “politically correct” surrender in which Americans were required to speak of Islam as a “religion of peace.” Fighting the terrorists overseas somehow meant we were also expected to open our doors to millions...
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
I am done with listening to political correctness.
Fantastic article.
“Patriot Act ... its nefarious use as a domestic surveillance weapon took a sledgehammer to Americans’ privacy.”
How many times do we have to say that? F GWB. The very first time it was mentioned, I thought, “Oh, no.”
The best life experiences I had were when I was out of work and running out money. It really focuses you to get out of a rut. I recommend one or two hardships in adulthood as a positive experience to be overcome in space and leading to doubling or tripling your salary after some focused concentration and application of capitalist principles and work ethic.
Me too. I was never for it
Everything changed on September 11th, 2001
In ways some of us never dreamed of; especially on that particular day
Excellent article. I have passed it on. Thx for posting.
There were a few folks here warning about it way back then - I was reading their posts
And now.......
‘1984’ has arrived - in many ways
I’m Trevor
Thanks.
As unfortunate as it is, political change won’t occur until a significant number of people experience hardship and understand exactly who is responsible for their misfortune.
bookmark
The Gen Z’s, Generation X’s, and Millennial’s will need to learn what the meaning of hard times, depression and hunger really is.
When times get hard and the only thing on the people’s minds is the value of scrap iron, tin, aluminum, and lead down at the scrapyard. And that awful growl in their belly nags at them as they scrap out America’s glorious past. That’s when they’re going to start looking around for someone to blame..
Only then will the uprising start. And just maybe they’ll start singing the proper anthem, take down the rainbow flag, and just maybe the “Stars and Bars” will again fly......maybe. But, THEY are the ones who must suffer and learn the hard truth.. No one GIVES you freedom, that’s something you pay for with your own skin.!
A great summation of the last little bit...that breaks my heart.
In America today, the fight for individual liberty has returned as a vital political issue. The struggles for religious freedom, parental rights, and the protection of life have become essential issues. Sometimes the worst hardships are the unexpected driving force for long overdue change.
I often pray for a good man size problem...............................for others. It is very encouraging to see answered prayer.
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
Hebrews 12
“The best life experiences I had were when I was out of work and running out money.”
It was the same for me.
That was when I met the woman who is still my wife several decades later.
I knew she was not a gold digger—because I was broke.
;-)
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