Broad is the Way

Let us return to James Madison and his astute observa-tions regarding men and angels. (See original James Madison post dated March 28, 2009)

There is an old saying that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Put another way: The foolish don’t stop to consider fully the risks and ramifications involved when plunging into the unknown. Therefore, they often find themselves in dire predicaments, with one following another, and the next worse than the previous one.

Recent steps taken by our national leaders have many concerned about our future stability as a nation. Bold and broad changes were rushed into effect with little or no thought given to long-term consequences. Thoughtful Americans are left wondering what manner of pernicious seeds are being cast as we race further into this highly dubious business of “saving our economy.”

The Bible teaches us that there is but one narrow path to life but that the road to destruction is broad and easy to find. Any fool may discover it and remain upon it with little difficulty.

It would appear that our new President and many members of Congress, in their overzealous desire to bring about “change,” have found that latter road and believe they are onto something truly brilliant, amazing and novel.

Our Constitution was written to confine our government and its office holders within certain narrow limits. Yet our current leaders are daily rushing well beyond those limits like frenzied fools.

Conclusion: Further evidence that what James Madison said was true: “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” And what’s more, no written constitution would have been necessary to “oblige it to control itself.”

If you want to see how little resemblance there really is between men and angels, keep permitting Chief Executives, members of Congress and Supreme Court Justices to trample our Constitution out of existence.

Ask Not...

In America we have the uncommon privilege of openly offering our opinions and beliefs to our political leaders. And they, by the same token, may offer theirs to us

For example, in President Kennedy’s inaugural address he advised the American people: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” Apparently he believed, even then, that Americans were growing a little too accustomed to leaning on their government for support.

Keeping a country healthy--socially, spiritually, politically and economically--requires a sincere effort on the part of citizens and government alike. There are things a good government ought to be doing for its citizens and things good citizens ought to be doing for their government. And those duties and responsibilities we owe to each other must be maintained in a perpetual state of harmony and balance if we are to be a happy, successful and vibrant nation.

So what are some of the things goods citizens should be doing for their country?

First and foremost, Americans ought to be conscientious about voting. It is, after all, a special right not granted to everyone in the world. Moreover, Americans should know why their government was framed the way it was and why its unique attributes provide to us the blessings and benefits they do. Furthermore, every American should be well versed on how those who formulated and established our government intended it to work.

I realize our schools are no longer teaching these things, so we may need to acquire that knowledge on our own. But the fact is, you cannot fully appreciate the country you live in if you are not thoroughly acquainted with its distinct character as well as the people who poured their hearts and treasure into it to make it distinct. Some of those people may have been your own ancestors.

Additionally, every citizen should be obeying the laws of the land and living a useful, productive life. By doing what we know is right and by bearing our own load rather than passing it over to someone else, we are making ourselves, our community and our nation stronger. Nations are made great not through sweeping and expensive government programs but through the honest and steady efforts of the common man and woman. A nation made up primarily of deadbeats and losers simply cannot prosper or endure.

Parents have a special responsibility to their country. They need to be providing a safe, healthy and loving environment for their children to grow up in. In other words, if you are going to have a child, help it get off to a good start in life, a start that will assist him or her in becoming a fully functioning and productive member of our society. Remember that giving a child a part of yourself is more important than giving him or her the latest electronic gadget. And by all means, don’t in any way expect the government to raise your child for you. The government is a very poor substitute for a nurturing mother and father, despite what Hillary Clinton thinks.

Now let’s turn our attention to the government.

What the government essentially needs to be doing is leaving us alone. It’s incessant and prejudicial meddling is destroying the moral fabric of our society. A good government does not care for its citizens like an overbearing, bloated nanny. What our government really should be doing, but is neglecting badly, is guaranteeing to its citizens their God-given and Constitutional rights. If it were doing that, it would be providing us with what we need most.

Unfortunately, at this time, our government is not doing that. Instead, many of our elected representatives are forsaking their oaths of office and deserting the Constitution. A good many of our leaders in Washington have completely lost touch with reality and are behaving like juveniles on spring break. They are not just recklessly spending the tax dollars provided by the current generation of American workers, they are already dipping deeply into the future earnings of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

This kind of irresponsible behavior can’t be attributed to stupidity alone. Rather, it would appear that some among us, probably the obscenely rich, are orchestrating the downfall of our present system of government so that it may be replaced by a ruling elite made up of selfish, arrogant people who will manage our country’s shrinking natural resources for the benefit of a very few.

Before it is too late and while we are still permitted to do so, we must unite and begin utilizing our right to speak up. We must not hesitate to express our profoundest political beliefs to our elected representatives in Washington--the President, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and so forth. They work for us and are bound by a contract called the Constitution.

Paraphrasing President Kennedy we might advise our wayward leaders in this way: “Ask not how you can continue plundering your way to absolute power, ask instead how you can transform yourselves into more humble and faithful servants to the American people.”

The Supreme Law of the Land

In the aftermath of the recent mortgage and credit debacles that were caused largely by the federal government, our new President has wasted no time assuming unprecedented and sweeping powers. For example, the federal government now apparently owns, ostensibly on behalf of the American taxpayer, what amounts to a controlling interest in several major corporations, or at least enough interest in those companies that the President believes he can bypass the share holders and terminate a top executive whenever he feels like it.

But there are some fundamental questions we need to be asking ourselves. For instances, from where does the President draw this extraordinary authority and is he acting legally? The fact is, our President and some members of Congress are steadily and systematically arrogating to themselves powers commonly held by a totalitarian regime. In other words, they are greatly exceeding their legal authority. In actuality they are exercising nothing more nor less than the illegal power wielded by a common thief.

In America the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Let me repeat that. In America the Constitution is the supreme LAW of the land. Therefore, those who deliberately violate it by assuming powers that are not theirs, whether they be the President or members of Congress, are engaging in willful criminal behavior. Put plainly, they are law breakers; outlaws, if you will.

We are governed by laws in this country, laws enacted by our duly elected representatives. Until those laws are changed or repealed, we are all expected to abide by them. That is how we maintain order in our society. That is how we keep ourselves from degenerating into a rabble. We all just can’t go out and break laws simply because they seem burdensome to us. But apparently that’s how the President views the limitations placed upon him by the Constitution.

I can’t speak for the rest of you, but I believe the Constitution should be meticulously preserved and strictly upheld by everyone, and most certainly by all those who have sworn before God to uphold it. And this much I know for sure. If we continue trading it off for a mess of pottage and then realize we’ve made a mistake, we’ll pay hell getting it back.

Publisher’s note: For our readers’ edification we include the following…

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

--The Presidential oath of office as established by the U.S. Constitution.

A Distant Planet

We live in a deep, dark corner of space on a jewel-like orb warmed and lit by a blazing star. So far as we know, we have no immediate neighbors. Yet despite our apparent isolation, we have on this rich whirling sphere everything we need to sustain ourselves.

We call our secluded home among the twinkling stars earth. It is the only home the human family, our family, has ever known. All our ancestors have lived and died here. All our history, good and bad, has been played out here.

We are composed of many nationalities or sub-families--brothers and sisters, uncles and aunts, people who long ago splintered off and went their separate ways.

We have exhibited as a family, and continue to exhibit, many destructive and dysfunctional tendencies. We are a determined group of home wreckers. On many, many occasions, even within the last century, we have gone after one another hammer and tong, killing mercilessly and laying waste to much of what we have built.

We are left to wonder why a family blessed with so much abundance and with such a lovely home would be so angry and discontented.

Perhaps it is time we reminded ourselves that God is our Father, that He created the earth, and that He has promised it to the meek.