The Day After ...

More than two centuries ago, Thomas Jefferson observed, ‘Yes, we did produce a near-perfect republic. But will they keep it? Or will they, in the enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of freedom? Material abundance without character is the path of destruction.’ Jefferson believed that America's survival lay primarily in the character of her people.

Likewise, Samuel Adams warned future generations by referring to ‘good manners’ as the vital ingredient a free society needs to survive. Adams said, ‘Neither the wisest Constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt.’

As the few FReepers to whom I have pinged this probably know, I spent a lot of time over the past three weeks speaking to people about the need to re-elect Rick Santorum. While I was uplifted by the average person’s willingness to listen and comprehend -- and by the number who seemed to be swayed toward voting republican after listening and questioning -- it is still very disturbing to be personal witness to the number of voters who had intended to vote based on superficial perceptions resulting from snippets of campaign advertising, much of which was sheer distortion or out and out fabrication. For every one voter whose door was approached by a conservative intent on informing him, I am sure there were a thousand who entered the voting booth yesterday never having been ‘set straight’. It is beyond disheartening.

So, while I returned home every night uplifted by the fact that people are very one-on-one receptive, the ‘bigger picture’ is pretty grim.

With each succeeding year, the American populace becomes less informed and more special-interest oriented. Combining the ongoing illegal alien problem (whose solution is nowhere in sight) with the ‘education’ that our children are receiving in our public schools (placing less emphasis on our proud heritage, and civics in general, every year – focusing instead on phony, leftist multicultural philosophies), and the Marxist influence in virtually every institution of higher education, exactly what kind of optimistic view can we embrace of the intelligence/knowledge/allegiance of the new (both alien and youth) voters coming down the pike? Where is there a reason to believe that future disingenuous, un-American, anti-liberty candidates and programs will be held accountable by a citizenry that is even more apathetic, disinterested, special-interest-oriented, or leftist-indoctrinated than today’s voters?

Patriotism requires allegiance, education, strength, endurance, courage, resolve, and action. But it does not require the wearing of rose-colored glasses. Until our leadership addresses the illegal alien problem, until the number of voters who feed at the government socialist welfare/entitlement trough (as forewarned by deTocqueville) can be dramatically reduced, and until we determine to educate our children as to their proud heritage and the dangers posed by relinquishing it, election results will continue to fall in favor of powerful liars who can voice the biggest promises to the host of least informed minds.

I believe we are fighting a losing battle. But, unless and until the battle is lost, we are called to continue to do our part to keep the enemies (both foreign and domestic) at bay. To do any less would hold us just as accountable as those passive, 'sideline Americans' who choose not to be a part of the crusade to reclaim this republic from the scoundrels who call themselves leaders, but who bear no allegiance to our Founders and their vision.

I believe the results of yesterday’s election will have strong and insistent implications for the future of our republic. Barring a miracle of God, or a personal/spiritual epiphany on the part of the generally apathetic and/or ignorant-by-choice citizenry (the former is always possible; the latter grows more unlikely with each passing day), I believe that the following events are very likely to occur over the next few years.

Prepare for a dramatic increase in the invasion of America by an irresponsible, parasitic, malevolent army which chooses to thumb its nose at the critical concepts of the rule of law/national sovereignty by illegally crossing our southern border with the over-riding purpose of reaping the benefits of two-plus centuries of courage, moral sacrifice, work, excellence, and unprecedented prosperity … without any intention of contributing their own. In the process, and under the governance of left-leaning American ‘leadership’, they will play an integral role in the realization of the socialization of America. Even worse, we will witness the complete erasure of our borders, and the establishment of a North American Union, in knee-jerk deference to the eventual vision of one-world governance, under which our Constitution will become increasingly ridiculed, mocked, and eventually declared entirely irrelevant, and the vagaries of Marxist/socialist-authored and implemented international law will take precedence.

Personal and corporate industry will find themselves under relentless attack, with government, academia and media working feverishly to revoke the citizens’ right to keep the fruits of their labor, and replace it with a monstrous entitlement state which will ensure a massive, far-reaching, involuntary redistribution of wealth – aimed at punishing personal and business excellence and ambition and promoting personal and business mediocrity, with the end result being a dramatic increase in the power of the state and complete dependence on state largesse for our existence.

There will be continued erosion in respect for, and protection of, the institution of marriage and the nuclear family. Government will become even more of an advocate for homosexual rights, abortion rights, and laws which will continue to attack and destroy any notion of the importance personal responsibility for one’s own actions. Families will find themselves under relentless attack, with the government usurping increasing power over the lives and minds of the children of America, and with parents finding themselves serving simply as biological creators and temporary physical custodians of wards of the state.

Government intrusion into the education of our children will escalate. Despite the unconstitutionality of the federal government dictating education policy, it will continue its aims at leftist indoctrination of the generations to come through the political power implicit in loans, grants, regulations, activist court decisions, and curriculum manipulation. Government-controlled curricula will continue to downplay, if not eradicate, the importance of our constitutional heritage while indoctrinating our children in environmental mythology, globalist doctrine, and sexual liberation. As a result, future generations will not understand their proud roots, nor be willing to defend the noble society which emerged from them.

The federal government will continue to pass laws focused on driving up the cost of medical care, so as to eventually allow the government takeover of that all-important industry. The direct takeover of medical care in programs like Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the free hand that trial lawyers have obtained in dictating the terms of care (while coincidentally lining their own pockets, and those of the politicians to whom they choose to contribute) have played a major role in the destruction of what was once the most excellent health care system in the history of the human race. The government’s interference in the healthcare free market through ERISA mandates related to HMOs and other managed-care organizations, and the medical aspects of our tax code, will continue to undermine healthcare in American, while lining the pockets of the privileged few, driving good doctors out of business, and eventually placing the government in complete control of our health and well-being. When medical care is forced to circumvent government rules and bureaucratic management, it will not be long before the quality of each and every American’s life will be profoundly and inalterably affected.

The left will eventually impose its own brand of ‘faith’ on the American culture – a secular humanist ‘faith’ in which man and his needs and follies are the focus of ‘worship’, and the mention in the public square of the name of the one and true God becomes legally and politically verboten … there will arise an incrementally, governmentally-imposed ‘faith’ in which moral absolutes are deemed criminally intolerant and situational ethics are raised to the level of holy sanctimony.

The war on Islamic fascism will be transformed into a series of compromises with evil, including the retreat of American forces from the Middle East, which will result in brutality against liberty-oriented Middle Easterners that will rival the bloodshed that occurred in the killing fields of Cambodia. Our enemies, in the Middle East and the Far East especially, will become dramatically emboldened, and our genuine allies, Israel and Taiwan especially, will find themselves looking down the barrels of vicious, barbaric, unyielding guns … and, when they turn around to see who is watching their backs, they will see nothing but darkness.

There will be another terrorist attack (if not a simultaneous series of attacks) on America, made possible by a deadly combination of open borders and failed paper-tiger policies, which will make the holocaust of 9/11 seem like a walk in the park. The increased demands for vigilance, defense of sovereignty, and sense of nationalism that occurred five years ago have all but evaporated into the political ether, and the after-effects of what was surely our final wake-up call have fallen by the wayside. There will be no more wake-up calls. There will be death blows, after which America will be brought to her knees, pleading for mercy with barbaric madmen, and no longer capable of even whispering the word ‘freedom’, let alone defending that noble, precious, God-given gift.

The democrats controlled congress for forty years, from 1954 through 1994. Ronald Reagan was entirely responsible for paving the way for the Republican Revolution. The miraculous and providential accomplishments of the Reagan Revolution are now nothing but a fond memory. And, to those who believe that the pendulum will eventually swing back, and that conservatism will regain the prominence and power necessary to reclaim our beloved republic from the scoundrels, I say there is no time to wait to reclaim her again. We have run out of options and wiggle room. The hot breath of a mad and unprecedentedly barbaric and determined adversary, bent on our annihilation, is breathing down our necks now. They will not be denied ... nor does our current leadership – especially after yesterday’s election results – appear to have what it takes to hold them at bay.

The majority of Americans cannot continue to accept, at face value, leadership which says what we want to hear, and then proceeds to do as they wish (which, in the case of the current, and now future, leftist leadership on the Hill, requires the eventual subjugation of American citizens to the state, and the eventual subjugation of the American state to globalist governance). Simply put, the future of our republic will lie in the willingness of her people to take the time, and expend the effort, to look beneath the surface. Believing the words from the mouth of a leader is a conscious choice that must be made by every concerned citizen. As with any choice, it cannot be made without critical thought. Believing their words was okay when our leaders in Washington were virtuous. It is a deadly practice when they are anything less.

Over the last twenty-four hours, I have heard countless references to the need for bipartisanship and building bridges. Bridges are only as desirable and powerful as the relevance of what lies at the other end. I, for one, want no part of bridge-building, when doing so means creating a meandering, but single-minded, path to self-destruction.

the host of least informed minds.

This is the scariest thing of all. Last week a local TV station, WGAL, put up an interview with Casey (Santorum's was a day or so earlier) in which he was asked whether he would support drilling the ANWR. The first thing out of his mouth was that there would be environmental 'issues' with that. Duh. There are environmental issues with going to the bathroom too! Hey, we're Americans. We figure things out, we solve problems, we invent. Besides, didn't we already build a pipeline up there somewhere?

The next assertion was that drilling for oil in Alaska would not affect our dependence on foreign oil. I could not believe I was hearing such a stunningly stupid statement. Bad as that is, what causes despair is that so many would vote for such as this.

Anyway, it's nice to read a well written piece which engendered - for the most part - intelligent, civil responses. Too many threads anymore are just overrun with juvenile piling on and amateurish analysis, not to mention the obligatory "It's Bush's fault."

In order not to miss any future posts, please add me to your ping list.

Excellent commentary, as always, Mia.

What I am suggesting is that the need to go ‘outside the system’ … indeed the need to correct the countless ailments that are destroying our civilization, and those ailments themselves … wouldn’t exist but for one thing: the fact that the citizen has become lazy, diverted, and otherwise ignorant.

The press and academia would not possess the inordinate power to destroy if the people insisted on being informed, educated and vigilant (the three major qualities needed for a free republic to survive). Despite constant criticism that the Constitution is somehow ‘flawed’ in that the Framers didn’t envision a tyrannical press, an activist judiciary, etc. … I see the only major flaw (and it is one that the Framers could not have addressed, because any Constitution must assume eternal citizen vigilance over it) in the Constitution consists in the fact that the Framers could not include the death-wish-societal flaw that the citizenry would no longer care enough to keep the press, the judiciary, and all other aspects of our government and society answerable to them.

Sadly, the bottom line in the fall of our republic will be the people’s diversion by bread and circuses.

What it will take to save her from that fall is informed, resolute patriots who recognize that the Constitution has been abandoned, and who are willing and prepared to wrest the reins of power from those who have dismantled it. And it isn’t going to happen via the election process.

I have bookmarked your response, and will have a look at the valuable links as soon as time permits.

Thanks, as always, Mia for your powerful insights.

To those of you who are advocating working ‘outside the system’ let me offer I microcosmic example of what often happens in such circumstances, especially to young people.

Our son is a Physics teacher at a vo-tech high school located about forty miles from us here in south-central Pennsylvania. Being disgusted with what he has seen the AFT and the NEA do to education in this country, and having been personal witness to what he sees as their misguided (putting their own interests before those of the children) policies and goals, he is only one of only two teachers who has steadfastly refused to join the union.

When Dan began teaching four years ago, there was little interest in taking Physics among the student population. Now, four years later, there is a long waiting list of students eager to take his courses. He is one of those rare teachers who successfully involves hands-on teaching methods, who treats his students with a carefully-crafted balance of respect and discipline, and who keeps his expectations high while also instilling in his students a desire to meet them.

But, as a result of the simple fact that he does not belong to the union, both the administration and a segment of the faculty go out of their way to do what is within their power to make his job difficult.

One of numerous examples:

Two weeks ago, there was a red-alert lockdown at his school. When the lockdown was announced, Dan and his class happened to be walking by the large physics storage room, so he immediately directed his class into the room. It has no windows, a dead-bolt lock on the door, and is as close to a ‘fort’ as anywhere in the school. While in there, he kept the students calm, instructed them as best he could what they should do in the event that the red alert took on increased danger, and kept them still and talking about subjects that were of interest to them. The students remained calm and enthralled with the conversation to which he steered them.

A few hours after the lockdown had ended, he had occasion to talk with a few of the students who attend the class of the teacher who is both another science teacher and a strong union rep. It appears that that teacher virtually ignored the lock-down procedures – even allowing his teaching to continue undisturbed, with children walking past the classroom windows, etc.

Long story short … of the two of them, our son and the union rep, the one who was called on the carpet was Dan, because allowing his students to take refuge in the storeroom could have resulted in damage of the expensive equipment.

This is just one of countless examples of ways in which the administration has attempted to discourage his enthusiasm and thwart his innovative, hands-on style of teaching. And it has been made clear on many occasions that, were he to join the union, he and his teaching philosophy would be looked at much more favorably.

I believe that this situation represents a microcosm of what happens to countless independent-minded Americans who are wise to the machinations of, and motives behind, many of the powerful political special interest groups that, through the power of extortion, wield significant power in the forming of national policy. Not only has the power of the individual to affect policy fallen by the wayside, but so, in some cases, has his ability to live his life and do his job, without consistently needing to battle against forces representing the pressure to conform to ‘the system’.

Hi joanie; thanks for the ping. I have run out of superlatives to describe your work, so just let me add another -- well done. Since I can't add so much as a jot or tittle to improve on your amazing piece, I felt compelled to share with you an email I sent out some time ago to an acquaintance. Please feel free to add to or comment on my "random thoughts".

Hi again Bob,

Thanks for the "random thoughts". It's sometimes interesting to have a look at others' thoughts, especially ones who appear to be "thoughtful" individuals. You qualify.

I'll take a stab at a few of your random thoughts with a few of my own -- just for grins.

"Not even God was able to run the Garden of Eden with only two humans." If true, it is only a stone's throw to conclude that God cannot be "all-knowing", "all-powerful" and "all-caring".

In its simplest terms, God gave Man the freedom to choose between Him or the prospect of becoming as gods. We know how that worked out. Free agency, as you're probably aware, is the term most often applied to the concept. And while God has the ability, He could not give Man free will and also control him and his surroundings. Could God have removed all evils including temptation from the equation? Certainly, but then Man would not have been free. In essence, liberty is the greatest, and potentially worst gift He gave to Man.

I realize how difficult it is for anyone to believe how or why an all knowing, all powerful and all caring God could or would allow such atrocious behavior from his creation(That's all of us btw, some are just worse than others). I struggled with this very thing for years myself, in particular how He could allow abuse of innocent children. I had decided if there was a God, he would not allow this particularly egregious behavior; ergo, there probably was no God.

For whatever reasons, some years ago He allowed me a tiny peek into what He's about. The closest I can come to describing this revelation is Saul's/Paul's "road to Damascus" experience. To say I was awestruck doesn't even come close. There are actually no words I've ever found available to describe it. However, I became aware of so many things in a matter of what could have not been more than a few seconds. The thought entered my mind during these few seconds or so that I might not survive the sensory overload, such was the amount of information being transferred. Just to give you an idea, I wrote 12 pages in a spiral notebook with side notes all over the place of items I would try to fill in later. I was able later to only recover a fraction of the information from my side notes, which BTW were mostly in the form of questions. About 15 pages altogether -- all from several seconds(maybe less; I'm not sure); from a snapshot if you will, of what He's about.

I know this, there is a power in and of the universe(not my words) which we cannot begin to comprehend. He is everything He says He is and He knows what He's doing. He loves us, His creation, more than we can even fathom. He is powerful beyond words; omnipotent doesn't describe it. Did He create the universe and all that's in it? The Bible says He did, I know He could have, with only a thought.

Given this information, I can no longer question His actions, or more accurately, His inaction. You've doubtless heard the expression, "God is in Heaven and all is right in the world"? I believe a more accurate turn would be, "God is in Heaven and all is as He said it would be". That is to say, when Man chooses his own paths, things may go well -- for a while. Considering God's timeline, a few hundred years is but a breath to Him; He will give us some time to get it right -- but not forever. When He gives up on this bunch(as He knows He will), He will salvage a remnant and start over. I daresay Man will never learn, but then what would you have God do? Without His complete knowledge, we have no way of answering that.

As our nation moves away from God we can expect things to begin unraveling. If we as a nation are unable or unwilling to follow His lead and His commandments, our fate is sealed IMHO. Any efforts that don't include His wisdom and guidance are destined to fail. I've probably said it before but we can't defeat the evil in our midst on our own; the recruiting of [-] notwithstanding IMHO. You're probably familiar with this passage:

Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

I believe the passage is prophetic. How do we fight this force on our own? I say we likely can't, but that doesn't necessarily mean we do nothing. We have got to request the assistance of the only one that probably can help at this point. If we ask for His guidance we may stand a chance. We're running out of options don't you think?

Regards,

It is incumbent upon us to deal with these issues on a personal level, starting at our own door. Personal responsibility is optional in America; we choose to accept it or reject it as we see fit. No individual is required to accept responsibility and be held accountable for their egregious errors made in their walk of life anymore. It is up to the individual whether he or she chooses to accept the consequences of their own actions … With so many exits available at our beck and call, acceptance of responsibility for our actions has become the new measure of one's virtue. The person who heeds this clarion call and holds fast to their portion is the one to be admired.

Beautifully and artfully said, Braveman.

Because of the corruption of the Constitution, the exponential power of special interest groups, and actual recent keep-the-populace-entertained-but-quiet legislation (CFR highest on that infamous list), the power of the individual to affect change …. even to maintain his own God-given individual rights …. has suffered seriously (sometimes deadly) blows over the past fifty years.

But if that remnant of us that recognizes the increasingly tyrannical nature of the beast simply shrug our shoulders and surrender, the battle will be lost at that crucial point.

As I said all through this essay, I am anything but optimistic about the future of our republic (the bottom line for that lack of optimism being the fact that I believe all of our problems could be faced, and eventually solved, if the citizenry were as educated, informed and vigilant as is required by the Constitution of any free society). But, what little optimism I do possess rests in the knowledge that a handful of patriots has not lost sight of the concept of the sense of personal responsibility of which you speak. And that small handful of patriots also recognizes that there is no greater responsibility than the defense of liberty.

Continued best to you and yours, BraveMan …

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

Given the rate that liberals are reproducing vs the rate that conservatives reproduce, there is no way the country will stay 50/50 red/blue. (by the time conservatives have their first child, liberals have produced a generation and a half to two generations - if only half of those people vote conservatives will be outnumbered very quickly) …

2006 will be seen in retrospect as the beginning of the end of conservatism as a viable political voting block - there simply won't be enough of us to win an election. Add to that the fact that the Federal Gov wouldn't let us take a state or two and leave the sinking ship of liberal socialism and we're screwed.

Add to that the fact that illegal aliens, and their offspring, will eventually represent one of the largest American voting blocks (and, make no mistake about it, the leftists among us see this as one of the major goals of their open-door policy), and your argument is even more powerful.

In this extremely disturbing video, Jose Angel Gutierrez, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, speaking to an enormous throng of illegal immigrants (tens of thousands) last year somewhere in the southwest, advises, ‘We are millions! We just have to survive! We have an aging white America. They are not making babies. They are dying. It’s a matter of time. The explosion is in our population!’

His views are seconded by Art Torres, Chairman of the California Democrat Party, who observes, ‘When I hear the question, ‘Why do you fight so hard for Affirmative Action?’ I tell my white colleagues, ‘You’re gonna need it!’ (Translation: it won’t be long before his ‘white colleagues’ are a minority in America).

Thanks for the excellent insights, Abundy.

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

I am speechless, FGS.

Your post is a masterpiece of semi-political analysis and, at the same time, one of the most compelling examples of personal witness for Him that I have read in recent memory.

We have just begun attending a new church, and I have been asked to teach the adult Sunday school class. I would like your permission to read your post to the class in a future lesson for which it would be appropriate.

Thank you so much for sharing your letter here!

Along with every other word in it, I found these especially precious:

God gave Man the freedom to choose between Him or the prospect of becoming as gods. We know how that worked out. Free agency, as you're probably aware, is the term most often applied to the concept. And while God has the ability, He could not give Man free will and also control him and his surroundings. Could God have removed all evils including temptation from the equation? Certainly, but then Man would not have been free. In essence, liberty is the greatest, and potentially worst gift He gave to Man.

I know this, there is a power in and of the universe(not my words) which we cannot begin to comprehend. He is everything He says He is and He knows what He's doing. He loves us, His creation, more than we can even fathom.

As our nation moves away from God we can expect things to begin unraveling. If we as a nation are unable or unwilling to follow His lead and His commandments, our fate is sealed IMHO. Any efforts that don't include His wisdom and guidance are destined to fail. I've probably said it before but we can't defeat the evil in our midst on our own.

Continued best wishes, as always, to you and yours, FGS. You are a true patriot and a faithful and effective witness for Him ...

~ joanie
Allegiance and Duty Betrayed

And I believe the power of propaganda has taken on a whole new dimension, given that the power to think and analyze critically is becoming a lost art among the citizenry.--joanie-f to M Kehoe

Indeed, (altho I would add that true critical thinkers have always been in short supply).

Liars and prevaricators are going to have their way with us unless and until another major tragedy of the scope of 9/11 or beyond occurs, and, by then, it may well be too late to salvage what's left.
With that said, I admire (and always have) your love of this country, but cannot share your optimism (at least 'optimism' in relation to what I see as my own 'pessimistic realism').--joanie-f to M Kehoe

There is little difference between citizens (and media) so devolved and the armies of brainwashed Muslims who accessorize their vests with bombs.

It is becoming increasingly obvious: We cannot save our democratic republic with elections.

Once we understand this, once we understand that we must go outside the system to save it, once we understand that this is war, not democratic process, we regain control. We see the solution. And the pessimism vanishes.

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