The weather being what it has been, I have had more time on my hands than usual. This gave me more time to do things that I haven't been able to get around to and to engage in more personal reflection than usual. I would like to share with you the fruit of my Rainy Day reading, review of current events and other musings.
One of the casualties of having my personal odometer 'turn-over' a few times is that I start not noticing things. The 'been there, seen that syndrome' is in full swing and it takes something fairly extraordinary to stir me from my 'glossy-eyed, time-to-check-out stage'. In this election cycle, I would have to say that I am more so.
This week, however, I saw a segment on my favorite TV news station of a new book that is currently out and it really woke me up. I'm still experiencing 'flash-backs' of the translated interview of a young North Korean named Dong-hyuk SHIN (say that fast, three times). He is one of three persons to have ever escaped from a North Korean Gulag death camp.
Shin has written a book, with the help of a Western writer, called Escape from Camp 14. I think this will be a must-read for me, although my to-read list is already ridiculously long. Some of the bullet-points that arrested my attention are: Shin was responsible for the firing squad execution of his own parents (he reported them as a young child); he was subsequently raised by the same Camp Guards that killed them; the friend who helped him escape literally threw himself on lethal electrical fencing so that Shin could climb over his back to freedom; over 200,000 North Koreans are likewise imprisoned merely for their opinions; and, finally, 'The Beloved Leader of North Korea' not only punishes the dissident, but his entire extended family ... down to the THIRD GENERATION in order to keep his country solidly under the control of fear. I'm thinking that many in that forlorn country have thought more than once, "How did things ever get this bad?"
I’m about half-way through another book that was given to me, The Second Mayflowerby Kevin Swanson. It's an optimistic assessment of America, including where this country was back in 2007. You remember 2007, don't you? That was before we started on 'Mr. Obama's Wild Ride'! (Incidentally, I'm not a big fan of Roller-Coasters that only go down. But I digress!)
To a lesser degree, but with no less concern, like Shin and his countrymen I have to wonder how things got this bad in America. It's not as if I recall receiving a ballot or signing anything that clearly said, "Sign up for this and your Nation will be transformed into a Third-World Country right before your eyes!" I have found it humorous that for over three years, whenever I called my Dad back East, we would end up fighting over politics and the merits of the current Administration's policies. I seem to have won this battle without there even being a clear armistice; I just looked over one day and my Dad was on my side on the issue. I just smile and let him think it was all his idea. For some unknown reason, he has always accused me of being a smart-aleck.
Still on the same topic: I just finished reading the classic, The Law by Frederic Bastiat. I have wanted to read this for some time (Thanks, David!). I confess that I have Homeschooling envy, and this book is one of the many treasures that I have missed out on up until now. By this time, you're probably thinking that I'm a bit of a bookworm, but the truth is that it has been raining a bit, lately: happy providence.
Mr. Bastiat, some 170 years my senior, has answered my question rather succinctly (remember: 'how did things get this bad?'). I had to keep looking at when the book was first printed because he could well have been writing today. It would have had to be to an Internet Blog that he wrote, I suppose, because he would be a bit too truthful for our Main Stream Media, today. I will try not to spoil the ending for you, while still giving a clear view of why I brought this up to begin with.
As the title implies, the book is about law; law in the general sense. Because of our country’s Christian background, our law served the very simple and important, albeit negative purpose, of stopping things from interfering with our freedom, our productivity and the possession of our belongings. We made our law nearly omnipotent and for nearly 150 years, things worked pretty well.
Somewhere along the way, however, someone discovered that since law was so powerful, it could be used to get things for people that they wanted, but that they didn't want to actually work for. This created two problems, that our Forefathers warned us about: (1) if the government can give you something, it can also take it away; and (2) if the government gets involved, it will use the omnipotent power of law to make somebody else pay for what you want.
Yes, the Founding Fathers were having this same discussion over 200 years ago, but perhaps we haven't been paying attention. As a matter of fact, the more I inform myself on what is currently going on, I see a number of areas where America hasn't been paying attention, as it should. As Shin, the North Korean people, Frederic Bastiat and, now, the American people can attest: you have to be careful what you ask for ... You might get it, and more!
In this upcoming Election Cycle, besides the ad-hominem attacks, "he's a Marxist, he's a Right-Wing Radical," there will be a good deal of discussion of what the next Administration can do for us. This is actually at the crux of the problem:whoever wins this election, if his platform consists of what the government will do for you and yours in 2013 and beyond, we all lose. We lose in higher taxes, our children’s futures and our cherished freedom.
The Government's misbegotten help comes at too high of a price! If there is anything that I might be sure of, it is that there is something that is going on, presently, with your government that you don't personally care for. Call it a lucky guess. That being true, I would ask if you would think that it would be easier for you to redress those things while the right to do so is legal or when it is, all-too-soon, illegal? Even our all-too-silent media outlets are becoming alarmed at how quickly our First Amendment Rights are evaporating.
My point is, that now is the time to slide forward from the seated position on the couch and start becoming vocal with your duly elected government about their direction and the cost to you and your family.
I have learned that even local elections, which don't fly the flags of a particular Political Party, are the staging areas for both meteoric political careers and the foundation of national policy shifts. I have learned that our Federal government is handing out money at the local level like they are at a Macy's Parade in exchange for zoning language, positive votes on bills that stay below the radar, and support for departmental policies that have material affect on how we live our day-to-day lives.
As a hint, what impact would there be on your life if your ability to have access to water was restricted? What about your ability to jump into your car in order to complete your errands? What if your taxes became so prohibitively high due to soaring national debt that you had to start making even harder choices than your household currently does? I don't like to be scared or to scare others for either selfish reasons or for purposes of entertainment.
That being said, I so dislike the stress that such things bring that I'm generally willing to take that extra step in order to resolve the issue in my favor, well in advance of my running out of choices. How about you? You like making up your own mind, don't you? May I suggest that it's time for all of us to show ourselves to be much more deliberate than we have ever been before? The fork in the road is upon us. The margin for error is small.
This battle may be won or lost by the distance of a hair's breadth. There is no sacrifice that we can make at this stage that will go unrewarded. If it feels like we are pushing an anvil uphill, imagine the results if we cease to keep the pressure on. I would like to spend the 4 th of July, next year, slapping my friends and family playfully on the back and reminiscing about how we almost lost America, rather than the reverse. Now, go ahead and do the Right thing!
Jim Steed ... taking "The Right Angle"
