Where are the leaders?

Where are the leaders? Who will take us out of this mess? Even the best intentioned group, no matter how large, needs leaders. Where are they?

This person must be willing to sacrifice. Why? Real leaders do not just do what they do for themselves. They make decisions or set their country/state/municipality on a certain course because they have the welfare of the electorate in mind. This oftentimes means that leaders would rather go one way because it would benefit them personally, but they realize that to make that decision would consequently be worse for the majority of others. To make the right decision here, the leaders must be willing to sacrifice. Where are the great people today who are willing to sacrifice?

Our first President, George Washington, the Founder of our Nation, was a truly great man. His greatness stemmed not from exceptional athletic prowess nor his ability to thrill a crowd with his speeches. He was not great because of his prodigious intelligence, nor from his ability to make piles of money. He was a great man because he had a vision and risked everything—his honor, his money, his family, his very life—to accomplish that dream. He foresaw a nation free of tyranny; he foresaw a country that had enormous resources to be used and developed, he foresaw a country full of folks (not gentry) who were hard working and willing to risk everything they had for a small piece of land that the government could not dictate the use or disposal of. He worked tirelessly for decades to establish that dream, support that dream, and get out of the way of the development of that dream.

He did not want the job of President; he refused to be “crowned”; he wanted to go back to his farm and live his life. He eschewed fame and intensely desired anonymity. Yet, he could not turn his back when called upon to do his duty. He set multiple precedents to which modern politicians would do well to adhere. He designed the Presidency to be not a monarch’s throne but a leader’s platform. He designed the Presidency to be responsive to the PEOPLE and responsible for them, not dictatorial and authoritarian towards them.

Greatness, then, is not about what the person does individually as much as what he/she believes in and supports, fights for, and pursues, which then makes success and growth possible and easier for others. See, it is the what they do for others part that makes them great, not what they accumulate for themselves. That is what is missing in too many of the so-called leaders today. Nancy Pelosi would never sacrifice her own wants for the needs and desires of the masses.

The Bible tells us that if we can move mountains but have not love, our achievement is worthless. So if we can win Heisman trophies or Oscars and other awards, but we have not enriched the world by doing so, our achievements are worthless. If we are President of the United States and we ignore the people who elected us so that we can achieve an agenda we designed ourselves, what matter does it make in the long term other than the destruction of the true greatness that was once America—her people and their dreams?

So who is great in our world today? I cannot believe that any world leader of which I am aware could be classified so, especially not our President. His ambition to greatness is perhaps his largest stumbling block. He wants what he wants, not what we want. For that he will go down in history as a bully and a poor President. But, surely, there are some people out there who can see what needs to be done? Maybe they want to avoid the limelight. Maybe they have the ability to lead but would rather stay home and do their jobs and provide for and protect their families—just like George Washington did. We need these people to come forward now. We need to send the slovenly, selfish, and incompetent back home. We need to take back this country from those who are despoiling her and ruining her foundations. We need someone who will ask the people of this country what they want before trying to cram some Socialist/Communist agenda down our throats. We need someone who believes in the sanctity of human life. We need someone who will support programs to reward the core values of honesty, decency, and hard work in this nation instead of extolling those who lie, deceive, and punishing those who produce. We need a leader who does not simply set and agenda and follow it, but a leader who understands the country—its people—and works toward the betterment of the nation instead of merely his/her own personal desires.

We have lost something in my lifetime of what it means to be an American. We need to get it back. We need to be able to look at our flag and have pride. We need to regain our self-respect, and we need to be able to once again trust our state and national leadership. We must stop the public shaming of our most important protectors: our men and women in uniform—and that includes not only our military, but also our policemen and women. To publicly subject our soldiers, sailors, and marines to scrutiny that is simply based in the ugliness of political correctness is abhorrent and MUST be stopped.

Too many of our “representatives” and most of the Hollywood leftist elites are disdainful of our military, our intelligence gathering communities, our police forces across this nation. Movies frequently show them in a negative light, and they are either portrayed as stupid pawns or malicious, evil creatures. Our politicians deride them publicly without any fear of repercussions. In my life, experience has painted a far different image of these people. In fact, the military and police communities I have been privileged to experience are generally God-fearing and decent folk working hard everyday to ensure our safety. They voluntarily have given up much of the comfort that many of us take for granted. They live to protect us. The rare exception to that rule is not respected in their ranks and is usually self-censured. Discipline in the ranks is too important in their work to allow hot-heads with an agenda to work among them. To make wholesale denigrations of these fine people, as Washington and Hollywood are wont to do, is not only disgraceful, but also dangerous to the safety and well being of our nation.

Greatness is a rare human quality. Our culture tends to overuse the word. Look around you for those great persons—or the ones with potential greatness in them. The ones with the courage of conviction; ones who don’t light up under praise; ones whose time is now come. Maybe your neighbor? Is it you? We need another George Washington to save us from the debacle that is currently stirring in that town that bears his name.

Musings of a different type.

It occurred to me the other day, while praying my rosary, that we Christians too often intellectually understand that we are sinners and that Jesus died for our sins, but do we really comprehend what that means?

We are in a time of turmoil nationally, which means that many of us are in a time of turmoil personally. We have budget problems; we have moral problems; we have marital problems. You get the drift. Each area of our lives, however, presents an occasion for sin. We can cheat our employers at work or “fudge” on our tax forms; we can lie or let moral obligations slide; we can entertain the idea of cheating on our spouses. Our children see our confusion and observe closely how we handle these temptations and trials. It is my belief that a person’s character is reflected in what he/she does when no one knows about it. I also believe that there is always someone watching. That is why criminals get caught and children learn not to respect their parents. But a sermon is not my intent here. My meditations initiated these thoughts the other day, but they led me in another direction as well.

While mulling over occasions of sin, it occurred to me that people with whom I disagree, who make me angry with their ideas and policies, are humans too, also subject to God’s commandments. Should I not shudder for the state of their souls rather than rail at their wrong-headedness? Should I not be sad to think of the eternal reward in store for those who advocate abortion, for instance? What about the generations of people, who since the early 20^th century have rushed this nation headlong into a “godless” society, pushing God out of our schools, out of our government, out of our lives? Have I prayed for them? Have I done enough to inform them of God’s rightful place in this world? Have I allowed disrespect for God in my presence because I didn’t want to offend someone? How offended was God at these actions—or inactions--of ours? How complicit are we in these Progressivist goals? Have we really worked hard enough to ensure a place for Him in the world today? The Creator of our Universe has been pushed aside in favor of “multiculturalism” and “political correctness.” What is our responsibility now?

Each of us must seek the answer to that question in the recesses of his/her soul when communing with our God, but we must do it. I do believe that the only hope for the future of this nation—indeed our own personal future—is a return to the principles of Christianity, most of which, of course are based in the history of Judaism as well. We must love our neighbor—even our enemies. We must pray for those who revile us and despise us. The Passion of our Lord is the perfect example for us to follow: we must take up whatever crosses come our way in life, with reverence, and embrace them, as Jesus did. We must sacrifice for our enemies by praying for them and forgiving them, heaping “coals of fire” on their heads in so doing. We must at the same time learn to stand up and rebuke the evil in this world. We must not recoil from speaking out because it might offend someone. If the thought is right in secret, it is right in public.

Political correctness must die. We must execute it. I do not mean that we need to be mean-spirited or cruel, but we cannot hold back when our God is reviled, when our flag is desecrated, when our core values are insulted and devalued. We must stand up for them and for ourselves, or we deserve the same punishment and sorrow that will be heaped upon the enemies of God on Judgment Day. We deserve the kind of life we will have if the Progressives get their way. The inertia of inaction cannot be tolerated any more. We must act.

What we need.

Doesn’t it seem strange that the “shot heard ‘round the world” and the “block-busting” election of a Republican Senator should both have happened in Massachusetts? This is the state that is currently referred to only half-jokingly as the People’s Republic of Massachusetts, including all the attributes implied thereby. The people of Massachusetts have voted so liberally for so long that it seems surreal that they would elect anyone except a hard left liberal. But they did. The pundits are debating the whys and the hows.

However, the real point is this: It has begun. Just like the First Revolution, the revolt against tyrannical government intrusion into our lives has been happening in our country for several years now. People have been wriggling uncomfortably in their seats at government actions; we have growled en masse a few times (Remember how we shut down the switchboards in DC over the immigration mess?) We have begun to organize a little bit (We have planned and/or attended Tea Parties; we have made our presence felt at Town Hall meetings; we have emailed, facebooked, blogged, phoned, and written; new faces have popped up on the campaign trail.) We have even bucked the prevailing winds politically more recently in some state elections. But most of our actions until now have ended with a question still unanswered: What next? Well, Massachusetts has once again pointed the way. The Committees of Correspondence, the Sons of Liberty, and other pre-Revolutionary organizations demonstrated for us what we need to do: Prepare. We most likely will not have to physically fight for our rights (unless the SEIU gets more involved), but we will have to fight. We must read, study, and prepare our arguments. We must clarify our vision of America and what she stands for. We must speak out loudly and often on the issues that define us. The time for timidity for fear of offending is in the past. Political correctness must die. We cannot keep quiet when the very bedrock foundations of our great nation are under attack.

A full frontal assault against “Big Brother” government happened in Massachusetts Tuesday, January 19, 2010. The Independent voter grabbed the reins of this nation, and we will not let go. We, the PEOPLE of the United States must now declare our independence again and be ready to fight for our rights. We cannot be bound by partisan folly. We must once again follow Massachusetts and revolt against government takeover of our lives, whether it be Republicans or Democrats trying to erode our Constitution.

WARNING: WE MUST NOT RELAX NOW! If anything, we must redouble our efforts across the nation. We must be ever vigilant in managing our employees in Washington. We must find new people to challenge all 435 Representatives and all 33 Senators who will be up for re-election this fall. Some of the incumbents will receive our vote because they have earned it. But many will fade into the footnotes of history as “has-beens” who never really were. They sought position and influence for themselves and forgot their roots. They ignored us at their peril and will now pay the price for that arrogance.

We need to find people who will not fly to Washington and become just another cog in the “politics as usual” wheel. We need people who will “serve” their two terms and go back to their jobs. We need people who would rather stay home and continue on with their lives, but who are honest and decent people willing to sacrifice for us. We need people who want the will of the people to take precedence over their own ambitions. We need people in Washington who are like us.

Where is our spine?

Where are the backbones in America today?

I think lately about my father, a WWII wounded veteran, who loved this nation and all its symbols so much that he instilled in us the same love and respect. His generation has been called "The Greatest Generation." And I don't disagree with that. However, I think his generation would be saddened by the fact that each generation of Americans does not earn for itself that designation.

Do we not see ourselves as willing to fight for what is right? Have we become "less" than our fathers? After all, why did they fight, bleed, die? Not for glory, I will guarantee you that my father NEVER sought glory. He quietly reared his children to fear God, love family, and respect our authorities, but he could get angry when those authorities did not do what he considered right. He had strong ideas about what was right and what was wrong, and in my adulthood, looking back on how we were taught, I can see that he was correct about his beliefs a whole lot more than he was wrong.

1) We were never allowed to ask, "Do we have to go to church this Sunday?" That one question one time when I was about 10 merited a swat on the rear. It is a given; you give back to God from the bounty he has given you. Time was part of that. God was where we started, not what we went to when and if we had time, money, talents left over.

2) The flag. I can remember during the 1960's how flustered he would get seeing people use the flag or parts of it as clothing. "You aren't supposed to sit on the flag," he would say. The flag is our symbol, our focus for doing what is right. To secure the liberties and benefits the flag represents for those who come after. To be disrespectful of that flag is to tarnish the memory of those who bled and died to maintain this nation's greatness.

3) Respect your elders. "Sir" and "Ma'am" were part of nearly every sentence that came from his mouth in the presence of elders. We were expected, nay--required, to do the same. Manners were part of the "correct" way to live. That included behavior toward those in authority and those we do not like. Just because we disagree, doesn't mean we have to be disagreeable. The way "politics" has sullied common discourse today appalls me. People need to remember that each person we meet is a creation of our God. When we treat them without that dignity, we sin--yes, I said it--SIN.

4) Veterans. To this very day, I thank anyone in uniform for their service to our country. They volunteer these days. They give up something to be in uniform. Often times, that something is being home with family during holidays and skimping on purchases because they can't afford it. My husband is a veteran and proudly wears his 11th Airborne cap wherever he goes. When we have been near soldiers, sailors, marines, they invariably treat him with dignity and respect, even when they are young and full of the vim and vigor he had at their age. They don't laugh at an "old man." They see a veteran, just like my father taught us to. They have learned in the military what respect is all about.

Many other lessons were learned from this great man, my father; however, I am glad he doesn't live today. He would be so sad at the direction our country is following. How can we throw aside the liberty he and others fought for? How can we let our "government" become so powerful that it will control our very lives soon? Our Founding Fathers and my father would be depressed and appalled at what is happening.

My question is this then. Do we have the spines that our fathers had to stand up to tyranny? Believe me, tyranny is what is going to happen if we do not stand firmly against it. The Constitution is dying; many in Washington don't even bother to give it lip service anymore. When asked where in the Constitution Congress was given the right to do what they were doing, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representative, the third most powerful person in the United States, said to the reporter, "Are you kidding?" Does she mean that she doesn't know where she is given that power? Does she mean that she doesn't believe she needs that power? What did she mean? In my mind, if you as a member of Congress cannot find a part of the written Constitution that gives you the authority to do something, you should NOT do it.

Maybe more of us should remember our past, our fathers, our former greatness as a nation and shudder when we see the forces aligned against those values and principles which seemed so clear to them. We must fight against this onslaught against our liberties. We must be willing to sacrifice time, money, talents, and self for the continuation of our forefathers' dreams, hopes, and desires for our nation.

Give them all pink slips

We are going to fire all the Congressmen and women this fall. Yes, we can.