Posted on 05/25/2005 6:03:17 AM PDT by Theodore R.
How to take America back
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: May 25, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern
© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com
The political debate in America between conservatives and liberals usually leaves conservatives thinking they won, but liberals actually moving the country in their direction.
Let me explain how this works.
Liberals have an idea of where they want to take America. They don't explain that it is in the direction of socialism. Instead, they tell you they want the government to restrict possession of firearms, they want the government to control health care, they want government to spend more on education, they want government to redistribute wealth more equitably and they want government to protect the environment from the ravages of man.
That's what they say they want – along with a host of other demands.
What they really want to do is to transfer all of man's accountability to God to accountability to government. They want to diminish personal responsibility and de-incentivize personal initiative and achievement. They seek to replace the natural order of the world as defined through the Ten Commandments and biblical revelation with a coercive, new, man-made set of rules and regulations.
And what do conservatives want? Where do they want to take the world? How do they counter the real goals of their opposition, as well as those unstated objectives?
By definition, conservatives don't really have a goal – other than preserving the status quo, defending their turf, battling back against the political and moral offensives of their adversaries.
And that's why they keep losing ground – even when they are winning battles.
For instance, let's say there are 1,000 battles under way at any given moment between liberals and conservatives. I'm sure there are actually many more, but, for simplicity's sake, let's assume 1,000.
There might be a battle in Congress over a new ban on a category of firearms. There might be another battle over an increase in Medicare spending. There might be another battle over teaching sex education in schools. There might be another over food-stamp eligibility. There might be another over the Endangered Species Act.
Notice that the overwhelming percentage of government initiatives promotes the liberal agenda. It may be as high as 99 percent. So even if conservatives win 80 percent of the battles, the liberals advance their agenda by 20 percent.
That's because winning a strictly defensive battle gains a political movement no ground.
This was the most important point I made in my most recent book, "Taking America Back." Unless you have defined goals, other than beating back the enemy, you cannot advance an agenda and win new turf.
That's why I believe conservatism, by definition, at best forestalls the persistent, relentless march of liberalism and, ultimately, socialism and tyranny.
So what is the alternative?
The alternative is something that doesn't exist as a political movement, per se, in America today – a radical vision, not unlike the one put forth by our founders, for freedom, personal responsibility, accountability to God and self-government.
That's what we need in America. That's what we lack.
That's not to say there aren't millions of Americans who share this dream. It's just that they are unorganized. There is no political party that represents them. There are few organizations promoting this agenda. There are almost no effective political leaders who understand what I am saying. There are few visionaries painting the picture of a better way of life – not by turning back the clock, but by imagining a future where freedom is expanding, where personal responsibility is on the increase, where our rights come from God, not government, and where the shackles of government are being destroyed, not mass produced.
Liberals are effective because they are change agents. They point out a problem – either real or imagined – and they ride to the rescue with solutions that advance their warped, corrupt, freedom-stealing agenda.
Conservatives are not change agents. They are relegated to fighting back against the proposed solutions of the liberals. They win some of those battles, they lose some. But win or lose, the liberals advance their agenda.
This is such a simple and profound concept, but it goes unnoticed, unrecognized by even the most politically astute observers.
Liberals have bad ideas, but great tactics and strategy. Conservatives may have better ideas, but they don't realize the game they are playing won't permit them to win. The only question is how long it will take before they lose everything.
Those who believe in freedom, in accountability to God, in self-government, in personal responsibility rather than coercion, need to understand that conserving those ideals is not enough. They need to be expanded.
What's our destination? Is it that shining city on a hill in which the citizens bow down to a sovereign Creator-God and who do unto others as they would have them do? If that's the goal, the picture needs to be painted just as our founders painted it more than 200 years ago.
And those of us who hold fast to that vision need to be willing to sacrifice our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to restore it.
How many of us, I wonder, are ready to break the bands that tie us to an inevitable drift to tyranny?
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"What they really want to do is to transfer all of man's accountability to God to accountability to government."
And he nails why Religion & Socialism are natural enemies: one seeks to sublimate the individual to God, the other demands supplication of the individual to the State.
Take America back from whom?? We are all Americans, and things happen as they are supposed to.
Good article, the logical conclusion of which is that all true Americans should join the Liberatarian Party and sing Kumbaya. And if there were that many "true Americans" it would - like any political scheme - work like a charm.But the Libertarian Party gets what - 4% of the vote, tops? Would that it were otherwise.
Please use the original title of a published story. Thank you.
Sounds like al-Qaeda's argument against constitutional government
Just keep singing the WND anthem. That's what we need to do.
look familiar? singing only passes time, and in that time the liberals gain agenda points
no, we need to achieve a goal of elimination liberals AND their agendas
Is Farah calling for revolution? Perhaps I haven't had enough coffee.
I read a book in 1960 which made this same point (don't recall the title). At that time the national debt was about 300 billion. It is now 25 times as much ... 7.8 trillion. Freedom cannot long endure in a country whose politicians, liberal and conservative alike, recklessly spend our children's future. IMO, therefore, the conservative agenda should first be to reverse this suicide course before we reach the point where everything else is irrelevant.
It is time to work together for the benefit of our nation, not to split apart. Let us look at the inherent good in people rather than focusing on our faults, but let us not shirk our own beliefs in things we know are right. Let us see what little difference we can make each day in our little corner of the world. Let us ask what work there is to do to help rather than sit on the fence, supervising and complaining.
look familiar? singing only passes time, and in that time the liberals gain agenda points
no, we need to achieve a goal of elimination liberals AND their agendas
I'm not a singer. I'm a doer. And in striving to do what's right and making a difference, I work AGAINST the liberals and their agendas.
I work AGAINST the liberals and their agendas.
kinda figured you might, just wanted to clarify
Sounds good to me.
Good read.
???
Dear Theodore,
The answer is quite clear. Reduce all agencies to the absolute minimum described in the strict constraints of the Constitution.
As Congressman Crocket said, charity is not the business of government. Thus all programs such as the New Deal and the Great Society are not allowable - so simply obey the Constitution and shut 'em down.
Sell off lands un-Constitutionally owned by government and use the money to pay down the national debt. And while on the subject of the natikonal debt, shut down the Federal Reserve and pay the interest to ourselves rather than the 13 stockholders of "the FED".
Since much, if not all of the IRS annual take is spent paying interst to the FED, taxes could be lowered.
And the last point I'd suggest would be a national sales tax.
Summary: De-regulate, reduce taxation, return to individual responsibility. It worked for a long time once before - it still can. If we insist.
This is a call, to those who love freedom. It matters not whether you are for freedom to carry guns,or the freedom to look at porn, the freedom to speak your mind or read certain books, or, heaven forbid, the freedom to have an abortion(which I strongly disagree with). What is is important is that all of the groups I mentioned, and many I did not, all want federal government out of their lives. That simple fact is what is important. The rest is an armchair arguement. Do you want government out of your life? If the answer is yes, then save these nitpicking ideas for your state government, after we get the Feds off our collective back. Deal with the real issue, federal usurpation of our soveriegn rights, and forget the dumb stuff for now. there are so many of us, pulling in different directions with a thousand pet peeves, and that is what makes us weak and ineffectual. unite, and fight the real battles, and save your peeves for your state government, after we get the federats out of our houses, cars, and lives.
Is this the primary that Bret Schundler is favored to win?
This was on Final Jeopardy Monday. Alex Trebek allowed the contestants to leave out the word "shining." Why? Reagan inserted "shining" in his reference. It was "city on a hill" in the original John Winthrop.
There's only one revolution that will work: a spiritual revolution. That's the one that Jesus spoke of to Pilate, the one that's not of this world. Paul wrote:
"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."
The agents of this spiritual darkness in high places seek to overthrow liberty, because it enables men to choose God. Conservatives who defend their right to view porn, for example, are just as dangerous as liberals who would educate our young to accept homosexuality as normal and natural. Both parties, in these instances, abuse God-given rights of free speech and press to advocate notions that are contrary to God's laws.
If as the Declaration of Independence states, that our rights are given by our Creator, wouldn't it be adviseable to show reverence to Deity and show our gratitude for our freedoms by respecting his commandments as best as we can?
James calls this the "perfect law of liberty" in which man enjoys total agency, yet willingly controls his detrimental behaviors to comply with the principles of righteousness. He promises "this man shall be blessed in his deed." That would be a revolution that would transform not only America, but the world at large. The "revolution" Farah describes happens within our hearts.
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