Monday, October 17, 2011
Dream Coming True
Forty-eight years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous I Have A Dream (http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/mlk01.asp) speech. This evening, FOX News is headlining Herman Cain's surge in the polls, Cain Squeaks Ahead of Obama in New Election Poll (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/17/cain-squeaks-ahead-obama-in-new-general-election-poll/?test=latestnews). Whether or not HC stays at the top or is just the "flavor of the month," as Larry Sabato believes, all Americans should pause to be properly appreciative of this moment. Not only is the first black president - a former senator - serving in the Oval Office, but his strongest opposition at this moment is successful black businessman - a former CEO and chairman of the Board of Directors at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City (http://www.hermancain.com/about). While much remains to be discussed on the subject of race in America, we should all recognize the significance of this moment in American history.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Leapfrog: Time to Break the Cycle
Today, FOX ran the headline, Cain Leapfrogs Romney to Vault to Lead in Poll. Since the Iowa Straw Poll kicked off the campaign season, it seems to me that Republican candidates have been playing this pointless game. Leapfrog is a childhood amusement with an unfortunate infinity. Likewise, the Republican presidential race is becoming a cyclical, inside competition. We have forgotten the main objective. Generally, even children choose a destination and purpose for their game; however, it appears that our candidates are too busy trying to jump over each others' heads to remember where they are going. Of late, the Republican party appears to be plagued by a serious case of infighting. We have forgotten our core values and entertained personal preferences for far too long. The aforementioned article states that voters have become "disenchanted" with Rick Perry. This is the problem. Republicans must marry their idealism with realism. What is the big picture? It is as if each Republican/conservative voter is carrying around a fragment of a large painting, believing his square is the most important. In contrast, unless we put our squares together, we will never reach our objective. Because, our objective is the betterment of America and the defeat of Democratic liberalism, right? We should not be seeking enchantment in the perfect candidate but the best candidate, who effectively defends core principles. This principle applies to the candidates as well. There are some who, frankly, just won't be president. Therefore, they should forgo campaigning for themselves and focus on the objective - reclaiming the White House for the good of the People and the country.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/12/cain-vaults-to-lead-in-poll/
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/10/12/cain-vaults-to-lead-in-poll/
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Up & Running (& Writing) Again
After a bit of a break, WLC is back on track, a little bit of a new track. This site remains a space for discussion but will also exist as a destination for those needing a quick update on current events. As I mentioned in my bio, every American must be informed locally, nationally, and globally. Starting next week, I will be posting daily headlines, links, etc. in each of these areas. Because I am currently located in the Twin Cities, local news will be based on the metro area and the state of Minnesota. As always, links to my preferred news organizations and resources will be available on the sidebar. Please check these out as often as possible. I am glad to be back,
writing to collect and communicate my thoughts. Please, share yours, even if we do not agree. In the end, we must agree that freedom is too precious to waste and the comfort we enjoy in America is nothing short of a gift. One of my favorite things is popcorn and a movie on a rainy day, and I relish the few days a year when the only task at hand is to sit down with a good book and cup of coffee. However, in our modern world, I am made more and more aware each day of the freedoms that are being lost around the world and the freedoms that most have never had. For the most part, I do not have to worry about my safety - and as I write I am sitting comfortably in my living room that is probably nicer than most homes around the world. As I grow older, I also grow more grateful. I realize that even the opportunity to have a blog and write about whatever I choose is a freedom and I do not want to waste it!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Love & Marriage
Enjoying a weekend up north, and while I was doing some dishes today this Frank Sinatra song played on the oldies station my parents list to:
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other
Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementary
Try, try, try to separate them
It's an illusion
Try, try, try, and you will only come
To this conclusion
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like the horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can't have one, you can't have none, you can't have one without the other!
Call it what you like - cute, quaint, sentimental, naive, or out-dated. However, whether we like to admit it or not, everyone knows our society was healthier and our country stronger when it was built on the marriages and families that formed responsible, moral communities. In the mid- twentieth century, when this song was written, marriage was expected of young couples "in love" because it was seen as best for them, their future family, and their community. While some may argue that this is just old-fashioned, I would argue that our society has reaped no benefits from homes where parents have no commitment to each other. They are putting their children at risk of an unstable environment and putting their own wants ahead of the childrens' well-being.
It occurred to me how sad it is that, in the course of fifty years, our society has set aside even the most basic of values. We have chosen to ignore problems instead of addressing them, and our thinking has become twisted to the point of affirming destructive lifestyles - IE unmarried couples living together, having children, even gay marriage. Sinatra and his audience would be shocked to see this vital institution being discarded as it is today.
I realize that gay marriage is another issue in and of itself, however, it is closely tied to the issue at hand. Some have argued that using legislation to prevent gay marriage is an attempt to legislate morality, that it is a freedom to which gays have a right. While our Constitution offers and guarantees many freedoms, it is clear that the Founders held strong moral convictions and sought to develop a society based on the same. I think they knew that we may stray from these Founding principles and beliefs, however, they knew that the risk had to be taken to ensure ultimate freedom. And, just as the Constitution provides for the rights of man, it also provides opportunities for us to defend our beliefs. I am willing to hear the viewpoints of gay rights proponents, and all I ask is that they be willing to hear mine. We both believe our view is correct, and, under the Constitution, we have the right to peaceably promote our views. As a Christian, I must raise my concerns about the gay lifestyle just as I am concerned for unwed couples, especially those with families. This is not legalism, it is a desire to see the best for my family, friends, community, and country.
Until, next time, blessings!
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like a horse and carriage
This I tell you brother
You can't have one without the other
Love and marriage, love and marriage
It's an institute you can't disparage
Ask the local gentry
And they will say it's elementary
Try, try, try to separate them
It's an illusion
Try, try, try, and you will only come
To this conclusion
Love and marriage, love and marriage
Go together like the horse and carriage
Dad was told by mother
You can't have one, you can't have none, you can't have one without the other!
Call it what you like - cute, quaint, sentimental, naive, or out-dated. However, whether we like to admit it or not, everyone knows our society was healthier and our country stronger when it was built on the marriages and families that formed responsible, moral communities. In the mid- twentieth century, when this song was written, marriage was expected of young couples "in love" because it was seen as best for them, their future family, and their community. While some may argue that this is just old-fashioned, I would argue that our society has reaped no benefits from homes where parents have no commitment to each other. They are putting their children at risk of an unstable environment and putting their own wants ahead of the childrens' well-being.
It occurred to me how sad it is that, in the course of fifty years, our society has set aside even the most basic of values. We have chosen to ignore problems instead of addressing them, and our thinking has become twisted to the point of affirming destructive lifestyles - IE unmarried couples living together, having children, even gay marriage. Sinatra and his audience would be shocked to see this vital institution being discarded as it is today.
I realize that gay marriage is another issue in and of itself, however, it is closely tied to the issue at hand. Some have argued that using legislation to prevent gay marriage is an attempt to legislate morality, that it is a freedom to which gays have a right. While our Constitution offers and guarantees many freedoms, it is clear that the Founders held strong moral convictions and sought to develop a society based on the same. I think they knew that we may stray from these Founding principles and beliefs, however, they knew that the risk had to be taken to ensure ultimate freedom. And, just as the Constitution provides for the rights of man, it also provides opportunities for us to defend our beliefs. I am willing to hear the viewpoints of gay rights proponents, and all I ask is that they be willing to hear mine. We both believe our view is correct, and, under the Constitution, we have the right to peaceably promote our views. As a Christian, I must raise my concerns about the gay lifestyle just as I am concerned for unwed couples, especially those with families. This is not legalism, it is a desire to see the best for my family, friends, community, and country.
Until, next time, blessings!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thoughts from Glenn Beck's book, Common Sense
I am probably the last conservative in America to read this book, but I finally did! The following are just some notes I wrote as I was reading:
P10: [on government] "They have set our house on fire and blocked the exits, all the while convincing us that there is nothing to fear because they are the fire department. When will someone cry out with the truth? They're not our saviors; they're the arsonists. They're not rescuing our country; they're destroying it. To save ourselves from political and economic slavery, we must first admit what we already know: America has serious problems that transcend this economic crisis. We must also recognize and admit our critical role in helping create these problems. Finally, we must choose to live by our founding principles and rid ourselves of the poison of those who are proven to have broken the law - no one is above it."
Thomas Paine, "The cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind."
Recently, I have been thinking about how my passion for history and love for art intersect. Others are generally puzzled by my political interests - which seem harshly practical - and appreciation for art - which is viewed as a fantastic subject with little basis in reality. On the contrary, art is, always has been, terribly political and made harsh social commentary - from Michelangelo to Jackson Pollock. Even more than politics, however, i am interested in ideas and the philosophies that shape life. This is why I study they American Revolution - it was not merely the rebellion of disgruntled colonists, but the culmination of the centuries of man's struggle to realize his purpose and natural right. the American Revolution was about ideas. Likewise, art is about ideas - many spiritual. As a Christian, I cannot help but be interested. Artists are always searching for meaning, attempting to realize and grasp truth and purpose. So too, the Founding Fathers. Theirs was a spiritual quest to attain the position for which they had been created - "with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." America is the realization of man's quest for freedom, man's quest throughout history. Art is a record of this search.
Thomas Jefferson, "The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling the futurity on a large scale." Politicians should consider themselves "unauthorized to saddle posterity with our debts, and morally bound to pay them ourselves."
P14: "There are no shortcuts in living and achieving the American Dream. It takes hard work, relentless dedication to your core principles and values, and, above all, patience. Nothing comes easy; nothing happens fast."
P43: Capitalism is the freedom to try and fail. Unfortunately, most Americans would rather not try so they won't fail. In a blind scramble to claim and keep the comfort they crave, these men and women are incurring the biggest favor possible. Not only is this apathy severe cowardice, it is gross misuse of American liberties.
P44: "When Americans say that socialism is a better system than capitalism they are essentially saying they prefer to be lead and fed by the state than be free." They are short-sighted Esau's slurping up the gruel of servitude.
P62: "We are once again living in the days that will 'try men's souls,' days that will be remembered by historians as great and perilous. But how will history remember us? Will we be remembered as the heroes of our time or as those who lost that which was most precious in order to satiate our own desires and appetites."
Thomas Paine, "until an independence is declared, the Continent will fee like a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its necessity."
P10: [on government] "They have set our house on fire and blocked the exits, all the while convincing us that there is nothing to fear because they are the fire department. When will someone cry out with the truth? They're not our saviors; they're the arsonists. They're not rescuing our country; they're destroying it. To save ourselves from political and economic slavery, we must first admit what we already know: America has serious problems that transcend this economic crisis. We must also recognize and admit our critical role in helping create these problems. Finally, we must choose to live by our founding principles and rid ourselves of the poison of those who are proven to have broken the law - no one is above it."
Thomas Paine, "The cause of America is in great measure the cause of all mankind."
Recently, I have been thinking about how my passion for history and love for art intersect. Others are generally puzzled by my political interests - which seem harshly practical - and appreciation for art - which is viewed as a fantastic subject with little basis in reality. On the contrary, art is, always has been, terribly political and made harsh social commentary - from Michelangelo to Jackson Pollock. Even more than politics, however, i am interested in ideas and the philosophies that shape life. This is why I study they American Revolution - it was not merely the rebellion of disgruntled colonists, but the culmination of the centuries of man's struggle to realize his purpose and natural right. the American Revolution was about ideas. Likewise, art is about ideas - many spiritual. As a Christian, I cannot help but be interested. Artists are always searching for meaning, attempting to realize and grasp truth and purpose. So too, the Founding Fathers. Theirs was a spiritual quest to attain the position for which they had been created - "with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." America is the realization of man's quest for freedom, man's quest throughout history. Art is a record of this search.
Thomas Jefferson, "The principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling the futurity on a large scale." Politicians should consider themselves "unauthorized to saddle posterity with our debts, and morally bound to pay them ourselves."
P14: "There are no shortcuts in living and achieving the American Dream. It takes hard work, relentless dedication to your core principles and values, and, above all, patience. Nothing comes easy; nothing happens fast."
P43: Capitalism is the freedom to try and fail. Unfortunately, most Americans would rather not try so they won't fail. In a blind scramble to claim and keep the comfort they crave, these men and women are incurring the biggest favor possible. Not only is this apathy severe cowardice, it is gross misuse of American liberties.
P44: "When Americans say that socialism is a better system than capitalism they are essentially saying they prefer to be lead and fed by the state than be free." They are short-sighted Esau's slurping up the gruel of servitude.
P62: "We are once again living in the days that will 'try men's souls,' days that will be remembered by historians as great and perilous. But how will history remember us? Will we be remembered as the heroes of our time or as those who lost that which was most precious in order to satiate our own desires and appetites."
Thomas Paine, "until an independence is declared, the Continent will fee like a man who continues putting off some unpleasant business from day to day, yet knows it must be done, hates to set about it, wishes it over, and is continually haunted with the thoughts of its necessity."
Witnesses at a high-profile congressional hearing on Islamic radicalization said Thursday that America is "failing" to confront the threat posed by homegrown extremism, as lawmakers for hours traded accusations over whether the inquiry unfairly singled out Muslims. (FOXNews.com)
Unfortunately, the truth is that Islam has, done, and will continue to produce and encourage terrorists and terrorist activities. Just as the Nazis were responsible for terrorizing Europe and the atrocities of the Holocaust, radical Muslims are responsible for attacking freedom around the world and the horrific events of 9/11. And, regrettably, as the German people suffered because of what their Nazi leaders believed and did, so to, all Muslims must be suspect. Whether or not they understand their religion well enough to know that it is not peaceful (and never has been and was not intended to be), by willingly associating with Islam they are not embracing peace and freedom. They are supporting a religion that is threatening life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in America and the rest of the world. By not standing for freedom, they are standing against it.
Unfortunately, the truth is that Islam has, done, and will continue to produce and encourage terrorists and terrorist activities. Just as the Nazis were responsible for terrorizing Europe and the atrocities of the Holocaust, radical Muslims are responsible for attacking freedom around the world and the horrific events of 9/11. And, regrettably, as the German people suffered because of what their Nazi leaders believed and did, so to, all Muslims must be suspect. Whether or not they understand their religion well enough to know that it is not peaceful (and never has been and was not intended to be), by willingly associating with Islam they are not embracing peace and freedom. They are supporting a religion that is threatening life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in America and the rest of the world. By not standing for freedom, they are standing against it.
Protestors, Security Clashing In Capital...Nextdoor.
My last post responded to news coverage of the protests breaking out in Middle East capitals. Ironically, the main item of news the past few days has been the major union protests at the state capital in Madison, WI. While there are a lot of issues at stake in this battle, the biggest issue is the attitude of average American citizens. Union tangles and policy disputes occur because, over the last few decades, Americans have developed an entitlement mentality demands everything and sacrifices nothing.
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