Let me quote from my "Story Ideas" folder:
"Alexander began to see that things were going badly in America. People were losing jobs, inflation was up, global warming was taking over (bite me), people were looking for somewhere to turn. Alexander stood up and said, 'Hey, follow me. Listen to me. I can help you. I can make everything all better. I'll give you jobs, homes, stability, someone to count on and look up to.'
"With the help of a couple of friends, Alexander led the American people slowly to change their thinking. Alexander rose to power, eventually becoming the leader of America. Most people loved him, and anyone who didn't was labled "old-fashioned" or "against change". Alexander promised change, good change, and people believed him.
"After a little while in power, he began to lead the American people to change their faulty ways. He made new laws that, although they were completely against the Constitution, gave Americans less responsibility, and allowed them to lean more on the government, giving them peace and stability. Alexander made laws and regulations that covered so many aspects of life, that things were just plain easy for the people! No one had to take responsibility for anything anymore! It was a dream life.
"Even when Alexander's laws began to restrict things like what you could say, whom you could talk to, and how you could treat sick people, everyone loved him because he would make life better for them.
"Eventually, Alexander had laws governing almost every aspect of life. He had been ruling longer than most other leaders, but no one seemed to mind. Children were taught that Alexander had saved America, and everyone must love him. Alexander had complete power over the people, and no one seemed to care."
There's Alexander for you, just as his character sketch straight from my notes from summer/fall 2008 depict, word for word. Funny isn't it? How personal freedoms and the republic died at the hands of the most popular man in America? Isn't that funny?
Yea, I'm not laughing either.
I know this isn't in my Evolution series, and it's not Saturday, but this has been preying on my mind all day, I wanted to say that.
I don't understand. I just honestly don't understand. I don't understand how someone could swear an oath to uphold the Constitution, and then say in an autobiography that he thinks the founding fathers have no place in today's society, and the Constitution is a joke. Why would you swear an oath like that if you believed so the opposite? And why haven't people seen that?
How can you try to pass a health reform bill that restricts freedoms and is completely unconstitutional?
How can you promise to give better health coverage, to more people, and swear that it will cost LESS?
How can you peddle all these paternalistic ways of thinking and call this America? A Constitutional Republic? America is not about the leaders patting people on the back and saying, "There, there, I'll take care of you. You don't worry about a thing, I've got it covered." Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.
America is about teaching a man to fish, not giving him the fish on a silver platter and then telling him how to eat it.
Big government is what we ran from in England. Small government, power to the people, "give me liberty or give me death", stop taxation without reprsentation. Has America really forgotten all of this? Has America forgotten that people, good people, fought bravely and DIED so that we would never have to live with the kind of government our president is promoting? Have we forgotten, America?
The American people are one of three things at this point:
1. Against the direction our government is heading
2. Ignorant of the direction our government is heading
3. In support of the direction our government is heading
You can't really believe that this is heading a good direction. If you think it is, or you think it's at least not heading in a BAD direction, then you are fooling yourself. I'm sorry, but these kind of laws and ways of thinking lead to only one thing (socialism), and that is NOT what America is all about.
Do you support where this is going? If so, fine. Support it. If you are ignorant of it, please, open your eyes.
I am a strong believer in people chosing their own beliefs, thoughts, principles, ideas. Don't let yourself be indoctinated. Think. Look at history. This story we're living has been told hundreds of times in many different eras and civilizations. Time and time again governments do this. This leads to one thing, and one thing only: socialism, loss of freedoms, and destruction.
I have nothing left to say except, "Think." Think, America. You have a brain. You have a voice. Use them.
You're right. I should use it. You are not doing the right thing, you are spreading hysteria about Obama, and you need to take a second look at what you're talking about. How does the health reform 'take away our rights'? What is Obama's evil plan? You know what I think it is? I think, he Hitler and the league of doom are plotting to assasinate Jesus and Billy Gram. Yeah, that evil socialist!
ReplyDeleteIt dictates how people who are sick should be treated, who gets health care, and what is to be done about this.
ReplyDeleteIt is completely, utterly, and undeniably against the Constitution. If you disagree, you have not read the Constitution.
Instead of me saying what I believe, can I ask what you think America will look like in a few years? What do you think Obama's plans will do for our country as a whole? What long-term affects of his laws and restrictions do you see?
I think we will see a better country thn the one we're living in. I do not expect he will make any major or drastic laws, but I think he can help the recession and he will also help the situation in Iraqi. And the health care bill does not limit who receives healthcare, that's what the current system does. No death panels, euthasia, or any other myths.
ReplyDeleteHow will the country be better? What aspects of life do you think will be improved? What do you define as a "drastic law"? How do you think he will help the recession and the situation in Iraq?
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU, Kendra!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat's almost scary.
No I take back the "scary"...
thumbs up!
Aww, I'm glad you liked it so much! Thank you! Haha, you are more than welcome ;)
ReplyDeleteI think it will be better than it is now, which is much of an improvement if you look around. I think the recession will end and the ecomony will be bettter and our situation will abroad will also get better. A drastic law would be like one of the ones you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteYes, I figured those are the things you meant. I mean *how* do you think Obama will do this.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, but I think you're mistaken in thinking Obama is the only one who started our decline into this. Bush didn't help, and neither did his father or Clinton. It has been a slow process that started all the way back in the Civil War, when America ceased being "The United States are," and became the "United States is."
ReplyDeleteI don't really know what Bush did that pushed us towards socialism. I wasn't really into politics a lot when he we president, though, so it's possible that I just missed something.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why us saying "the United States are" is a bad thing. I think it symbolizes unity, not the road to socialism.
It's a fine line of course. On one hand, every republic in the history of the world has hit decline and collapsed at about the 200 year mark. Democracy is, undeniably, one of the most amazing inventions of mankind, and yet it is still based in the inventions of man, and therefore doomed to be tainted by our sinful nature. The founding fathers, even of this nation, made it quite clear that no matter how well they crafted the system to limit abuses of power...if the people stopped being responsible, then the system would stop working correctly. "rule by the people" is only effective if those people are responsible enough to rule in concert. Otherwise it is all too easy for a govt. to step in and take the decision making powers from a people that no longer wants the responsibility. People slide toward power structures. It's something the founding fathers realized and designed our system against. It's one of the reasons we have such a balanced system of checks in power and the constitution. But even the American system, which is undeniably the greatest republic in history, will fall when it's people lose their morality and will to do right. It's a fact. Democracy cannot function properly without the morality of it's people. Otherwise the only option is strong govt. because those same people will use their freedoms to kill each other and create violence. There is much more I could say, but I realize that America's only route to change is through a radical change in the heart of our nation. Otherwise our people just won't recognize what they are losing. The funny thing is that most recessions or depressions...which we aren't even close too...are caused by the greed of the people. The market crashes when people deal with their economy irresponsibly. For instance, the great depression followed the roaring 20's, a time renowned for its lax morals and rampant greed. If the only thing you care about is money...you will abuse the system until it backfires on you...
ReplyDeleteA few good point have been made so far:
ReplyDelete- The success of nations depend on the people of the nation. This is seen many times in the Bible. We can not legislate ourselves out of these troubles, only a heart by heart change of the people will make a difference.
- There may be some good thing that would come from Obamacare, but that is not the question we should be asking. What we need to ask is, what will be the cost? To be good stewards we must weigh the risk, the cost, and the benefit.
- Hitler and the league of doom are out to get us...Oh, wait, that was Alex...no point whatsoever.
Exactly, a democracy or republic is only as good as its people. America will not change for the better until there is a massive return to an absolute standard of ethics on a grassroots level.
ReplyDeleteI am of the opinion that if you want to live in a socialist or communist country, you should find another country to live in, not try to change OURS.
What you have in America, as shown by the turnout at the town hall meetings, is a HUGE number of people who like their country the way it is, (more than half in my opinion.) Then you have the other half who are more or less saying, “Yes I know you like it the way was, but we don’t so we are going to change it to suite our tastes and if you don’t like it, you are just a bigot, a religious nut, or an idiot.”
You think socialism or communism are so great, go to Russia, or Venezuela, or North Korea. What? You don’t want to because those are hellholes full of poverty and violence? Then stay here and stop whining.
America is great because it is FREE, you take away that freedom, and we will no longer be great.
I know that many people think that Obama is not socializing this country, but the simple fact is that taking authority away from the people and giving it to the government (even if a lot of the people want it to happen) IS socialism, or even communism, depending on how far you take it.
Folks that claim everything is relative have no problem forcing their views on others because in their opinion, there is no right or wrong. Thus the attempts to change our country to one where we are required to recognize all other viewpoints as equally valid, the attempts to force us to pay for the bad decisions of others.
Thus the fact that America is now the third most indebted country in the world, with ethical decay in our core that makes us despicable to our one-time allies.
http://www.kathylien.com/site/forex-blog/which-countries-have-the-most-debt
Communism is not where the government is in control. It is essentially a system of sharing. It is really the only pure form of government, but it will never work in a human society because of our basic emotions like greed, and lust for power. There are many dictadorships in the world, but no communist government. Even Russia wasn't really communist. How is Obama 'taking power away from the people?' And don't say the health reform because a lot of what people think about it is based on myths and advocacy journalism. And we need health reform. The majority of the country is in favro with that whether you like it or not. Recently, the cost of the health care bill was cut down to a price smaller than that of the Iraqi War and far less than half of what it was before.
ReplyDeleteSo, just to be clear, you don't have a problem with working very hard and making lots of money, then the government taking half that money to give to some poor people who sit on the couch all day?
ReplyDeleteCommunism is not any purer a form of government than any other. Yes, you can't remove the selfish nature of humanity from any government, so it is always an influence.
ReplyDeleteThe ONLY way a communist/socialist government can function is by people in the government having the authority to force the haves to give to the have nots. Eventually, those in power within the government figure out they can get an extra share at will, and those who are workers figure out they are provided for no matter how lazy they are. This form of government encourages the worst aspects of human nature and discourage our best.
Our Democratic Republic is a great form of government when you look at how it was originally structured. By providing the liberty to provide for ourselves (and each other as we see fit as individuals), it encourages us to work hard, solve problems for ourselves, and stop investing in things we see not working. Liberals like to insist that the government has to take care of the poor and needy because it is right, but that is a fallacy. By creating big government and increasing the tax burden to support it, liberal influence in our government has discourage charitable behavior on two fronts. Firstly it reduces our discretionary income that we can invest in to causes we believe in. Secondly, it encourages us to think the government is supposed to take care of others (and so we are less likely to even when we can).
Fact, big government reduces liberty. I value my liberty, so I am against big government.
Comparing the cost of healthcare reform bills to the war in Iraq is just ludicrous. Many Americans may be in favor of health care reform, but that is not a specific agenda. Take me for instance, I am in favor of health care reform, I want to reform the government right out of having anything to do with Health care.
It's called the Right wing for a reason.
ReplyDelete(ba-dum PISH!)
=D
I think you guys are being a little one-sided. Alex isn't a communist just because he supports federal care...I don't agree with it in principle, but the intent behind it isn't bad. That intent is: to take care of people who can't take care of themselves. Like every system there are abuses, but it is highly unethical to assume that everyone on welfare or aid is a poor person who sits on a couch. According to the new welfare laws, you cannot recieve more than 5 years of federal aid your entire life...so it doesn't work to perpetuity. Plus, you have to demonstrate an active effort to find work and get off welfare...because of these reforms the people who are sitting around are more likely to be invalids or those with health problems that can't work like normal people and would suffer if someone didn't help them. Now I still disagree with the whole principle--christianity makes it clear that families and the church are supposed to take care of those who are truly in need...the federal govt. is far too big, in my opinion to deal with the problem...it would save a lot of money and abuses if we could help people on a more local level, but no one realizes that the more we take charity from the local level the more Americans begin to think it's not their problem. If we were to abolish welfare now many innocent people would probably suffer, because of this, in my opinion it shouldn't have been started, but that's what I was saying about the heart. A lot of our problems have no answer unless America is changed at the heart...it is our selfishness that makes us push our responsibilities to take care of the poor, sick, and widowed onto the federal govt...which, by the way, was a command from God...we are supposed to take care of each other...it is when we don't that other options that work less efficiently begin to be considered...
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way...Alex is right about the philosophical theory of communism. It is essentially a system of sharing, the only problem is that the theory tries to equalize people. It is a noble dream, yet equalizing people assumes everyone works the same, everyone has the same motivation/drive...etc.
ReplyDeleteActually christianity is the closest thing to fulfilling the communist dream, but unlike communism, it doesn't try to make people equal...it just makes sure we take care of each other...there are still rich and poor, but the rich have a moral obligation to the poor...that is if the people are truly poor. The Bible embraces natural consequences...and when people are not trying to take care of themselves...God's attempt to teach them wisdom is the natural consequences of their actions. This ties into my whole idea about the original, christian intention for aiding each other...on the local level each decision can be made in more clarity...if you attempt to have a government decide who will be given aid, the likelihood that you get lazy people who take advantage of it becomes more likely. That isn't to say people won't take advantage of the church...there are people that try to make their entire livings off of making up "sob stories" for churches so they can get money...our pastor deals with such people all the time...but at least christianity has God to help us discern...what is important is that people are helped, not whether or not we accidentally help a few fakes...that's my two cents. ;)
I agree, Danzibar. I was being a little one-sided.
ReplyDeleteI did not mean that our government was trying to give money to people sitting on the couch, I was just saying that's what communisim (and sometimes socialism) becomes.
True, it might be a good and noble idea, but it won't and shouldn't work in America. In America, we're all about being free.
ReplyDelete*Free people are not equal, and equal people are not free.*
You're right about that; it's done with the best of intentions.
ReplyDeleteBut playing Robin Hood with my money isn't a good idea.
(unless they ACTUALLY play Robin Hood, and dress up in tights and steal my money in a strangely theatrical style, with bows and arrows and merry men and everything. I mean, I'd pay to see that anyway, so why not?)
^I was referring to Danzibar's comment^
ReplyDeleteI am headed out the door....but I just have to say that there is no similarity in any way between Communism and Christianity. Communism is a worldly corrupt perversion of the relationship we are supposed to have with each other. I know you didn't equate them directly Danzibar, but to even suggest that there are similarities in intention is incorrect. It is also incorrect that communism is about sharing. Sharing is when you give of what you have out of love, stealing is when you take what somebody else has whether they want you to or not. Communism is stealing (even if they wear tights KnightWing!)
ReplyDeleteBard, I don't think you really know what communism is. It has been given a bad and negative name is our society, so people have a more negative view and usually scewed view of it. Communism isn't stealing, it says that everyone shares everything. So I can take your car, but you can crash in my house. It works that way. If someone takes something that you want, you take it back. But the other person has their 'turn'. And how is it a global corruption?
ReplyDeleteWhich is fine, until everyone decides that they'll just use someone else's stuff. Then, everyone stops working and there IS no stuff.
ReplyDeleteThis is when the government starts making laws about when, where, and how you have to work.
Communism is more than the lack of owning property, it is the lack of individuallity altogether.
ReplyDeleteCurrently I have ownership of property. To switch to a communist form of government and insist that I have no property, would be stealing it from me. Communism is not about sharing, because to share you must have something and choose to share it. Sharing is impossible in a communist form of government because you own nothing.
True...I figured someone (like Bard) might take offense at a comparison of christianity and communism...but, if you have studied the history of communism, the original intention of "the theory" (not the government) as I put it, was liberation from our fallen systems. Which is ironic because it turned out to be a fallen system--as one could have well expected looking at our past track record at redeeming ourselves from the fall. communism took root in countries coming off monarchy and despotism...a system in which the rich usually stay on top and live by forcing everyone else to stay where they are. The communistic idea was, as we have said, to redistribute the wealth that these people felt had been stolen from them...but by this point it had already moved beyond the philosophy to the unworkable government form. It would be like comparing the president of Enron to yourself...a despot to a hard working american citizen. many of the elite in these oppressive countries deserved to be overthrown, they were draconian elite. Where the mistake was made, was the idea that no one should ever rise above anyone else again. There is a difference between honest gain and dishonest gain. But as Alex was saying...that resulted from the attempted application of the "dream" of communism...which was not to have an oppressive government regulating wealth, but more of a utopia. In fact, communist ideas came out of the early French fiction about utopian society. A society in which there wasnt so much a system of forced sharing, but a familial spirit in all humankind that caused us to share willingly what we had with others...it was not until the revolutionaries of the red army seized upon this doctrine, that they attempted to make it feasible. And
ReplyDeleteof course it didnt work...as I said, only God and Christianity can change the hearts of people that much...that was why I mentioned the two in referance...not that christianity is fulfilling what you view as communism, but that communism may have originally been another worldly expression of our inner hunger for God and harmony. It was tainted of course...but humanity...even apart from christianity still has a hunger for God that often causes us to try our own remedies to problems like sin and greed...God had a better plan, but that doesnt mean that the initial founders of the communistic theory didnt have good intentions. Everything apart from God will fall...including our much more successful American attempt at government...it is folly to suggest that any government can stand on its own feet without God...and that is one of the reasons our system is now having problems as well...granted, as Bard said I like our attempt a whole lot better, but we cant judge from the pedestal of history and assume that we would have been smart enough to see where communism was going if the revolutionaries in of our own country had come spreading an idyllic picture like communism. Individually that is! I could get into a whole nother discussion on the success of our revolution due to the effects of the first great awakening. Did you know that we converted the colonies from about a 10-15% sincere christian percentage to 90% in about 20 years? Im extremely happy we had our revolution in a time that God was moving so powerfully! It helps when God is there to guide us...
To forestall other arguments I will say right here though, that Bard is right about communism as a government...all applications so far have resulted in what he described...but you must understand that we are talking about two things...Alex is talking about the original intent, Bard is talking about the 'intent's' application as a government...
ReplyDeleteThere is an excellent quote in the wrinkle of time series about this discussion: communism government has attempted to solve the problems of human power abuse with more power...obviously this cant work...you cant force people to be good...Gods approach is the opposite...our love and faith is made perfect in weakness, through our submission to each other, not throuh our insistence that others meet our needs. You serve first...
ReplyDeleteWhew! That is a lot of good info and insight Danzibar.
ReplyDeleteI really don't care so much what the intensions of communists were (or any other utopian minded folks), I care about the application. As you expressed, apart from God, utopia is impossible. Your reference to A Wrinkle in Time reminds me of another story, Time Changer...
http://www.timechangermovie.com/
...It is a movie about the folly in separating morality from God's word (seeking utopia vs. seeking God).
I especially care about the application of these ideas in my own government. When we see the failure of an idea, such as communism, over and over, it seems like attempting to apply it now is intentional failure. This post started by talking about the systematic erosion of our liberty, and whether you call it communism, socialism, or liberalism, that is what is happening in the US (and many other nations).
There has been an frighteningly blatant effort by the Liberal majority to erode liberty. We shouldn't be surprised though, how long have liberal elites held disdain for the principles of the founding fathers? Our form of government is no more perfect than any other, but at least there was an effort made to restrict it's ability to infringe on our beliefs.
Think of it this way, as a government, communism fails, but in our nation it can function as a voluntary group known as a commune. That is because, with minimal restrictions, we have the right to apply our ideas, even communism, as we see fit. Our ideas can succeed or fail based on their merits and our execution of them. It is a BIG problem though when the government starts propping up certain efforts that are failing, often called special interests, because they can’t survive on their own. The strength of our country is individual liberty, a competitive free market, and the courage to let bad ideas fail. The consistent atrophy of the latter two principles is now threatening the former.
'My friends, we live in the greatest nation in the history of the world.
I hope you'll join with me as we try to change it.'
-- Barrack Obama
I looked up the quote, and had trouble finding it, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and say it's true. Under some context, this quote can look bad, but change happens all the time. Even with the strictist constiutionalist. We do need change, but not the kind you think he means. Liberal have no intentions of eroding liberty. Republican always say that 'a tyranny is forming!' but they hardly ever give any relevant evidence to back it up. They just say "look at the reforms! The change! It's becoming a dictatorship!" People are always going to say this, I don't believe it's true, but they'll still say it, and if they want to I have no problem with it, as long as it doesn't become violent and they bring up some relevant proof for once.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting way of doing things Alex, you get to say "Republicans always say..." but then chide me as if I never provide you with any relevant proof.
ReplyDeleteI never even said those things.
I did say that liberty was being eroded, and it is, and has been for a long time. The worst way is by passing laws to provide entitlements to those that pay little or no taxes, and fund them by raising taxes on those of us who do (we are back to men in tights KnightWing!). How does that erode my liberty? It makes taking advantage of opportunities that require investment (of time and money) out of reach.
Need something simpler? How about REQUIRING me to buy health insurance whether I think it is a good investment or not? How about REQUIRING me to participate in the social security scam, or the unemployment insurance scam?
Here is one you liberals really love, gun control. How about affirmative action, EEOC, and the fairness doctrine?
I am a constitutionalist, and I am not afraid of change, I have quite a few things I would love to change, starting with the current administration.
You said, "Liberals have no intentions of eroding liberty." There is that word again, intentions. I do not really care if you intend to or not, I care about whether you actually erode my liberty.
They have no plans, intentions, hopes, ect. Constitutionalist want what they call 'change', which is really just returning to the way things were and keeping it that way, not moving forward which (unfortunately for you) is inevitable. I didn't say that you made up the GOP, so saying "Republicans say . . ." does not apply directly to you and on one else.
ReplyDeleteConstitutionalist - A person who adheres to the philosophy of constitutionalism.
ReplyDeleteConstitutionalism - Government in which power is distributed and limited by a system of laws that must be obeyed by the rulers.
I believe that the federal government should performs a few specific tasks, and the citizens (as individuals and via local government) should govern themselves. Progress and change ought to come by me making my own choices and working together with others of like mind. I am a conservative.
Liberals seem to believe that the only way to achieve progress and change is by having the federal government force citizens to change regardless of their beliefs.
Constitutionalist are not against all change, but they do believe there ought to be a set of basic foundational principles that do not change.
This nation was started with a limited government that had as it's main duty the protection of the liberty of it's citizens. It was left to those citizens to succeed or fail using their liberty.
It seems to me many no longer value liberty and prefer entitlements provided by the federal government. The only way the federal government can provided entitlements (health care, welfare, food stamps, social security, etc.) is by taxing at greater and greater rates.