Blogging for Caffeinated Thoughts

I just started contributing to a blog called Caffeinated Thoughts. I invite you to check it out and read my most recent post. Just click on the title below.

“Pocketbook Economics Meets the College Koozie.”

For stimulating musings on news, politics, culture, life and theology it is worth the read.

I welcome your comments both here and on their blog!

Thanks,
JP

P.S. I will still be posting thoughtful and humorous essays about family and life on this blog too!

A Case Against Apathy

I am a new contributor to the blog "Caffeinated Thoughts." Please check out my first post on their site. Just click on the link below. I would appreciate your comments!

A Case Against Apathy

Thanks, JP

We All Need a Little Enrichment

This year we joined a new homeschooling group and decided to experiment with some enrichment classes. Most of these classes are taught by a mom within the group who has a gifting or an interest in a particular area. Others are taught by professional artists and licensed teachers.

We signed each of our children up for three one hour classes once a week. Mondays are now affectionately referred to as our “school day.” The kids love their subjects ranging from Zoology to Public Speaking.

At dinner one Monday we were discussing what each of the kids had done in class that day. They regaled us with stories about the snake their Zoology teacher brought to class, the Dinosaur speech given in Public Speaking and the crafts made in Art (God bless that woman for giving me a break from scissors and glue)!

After most of the evening banter had died down and the little ones had splintered off to get ready for bed our 9-year-old lingered at the table. He took the opportunity to fill us in on his last class of the day, American Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. All at once he whipped out The Bill of Rights and proceeded to read them for us. Asking if we wanted to hear them was a foregone conclusion.

As our son read he paused to break down each amendment explaining what it meant. We listened politely as he continued, but the further he got down the list the more sober we became – taking in the truth and weight of the words he spoke.

Upon reaching the Fifth Amendment he needed a little help; so my husband and I took turns expounding on the meanings of the amendments. When we got to number ten I read,

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Well, it means that the states and the people should have more power than the Federal government,” I said.

Holding up his Bill of Rights he said with conviction, “Well somebody needs to show this to the Federal government!”

Indeed! Perhaps we all need a little Enrichment. I can’t remember the last time I looked at the Bill of Rights much less gave them due consideration. In light of this and the precipice on which our nation hangs, I am listing our Bill of Rights below. May it be an encouragement to us, a reminder of our great freedom, and an admonition of the responsibility we have to preserve what we have been so richly blessed with!

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48b

The Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Amendment VII

In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

*http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm

We Are The One World Government

Depending on your leaning the term one-world government might conjure up apocalyptic images of the end of the age, or it might throw you back to a couch in the 80s where you and a friend sat glued to the television as Michael Jackson and company sang “We Are the World.”

These days it seems that more than just preachers and pop stars are addressing the idea of a one-world government. In fact, nationalism appears to be a thing of the past. Government need only accuse its subjects of pride and prejudice while regaling world peace and unity, and the people fall in line. The desired effect sees lemmings marching mindlessly toward this one world union with hands outstretched ready to exchange hard won freedoms for a guilt-free conscience.

Lord Christopher Monckton, chief policy advisor to the Science and Public Policy Institute and former policy advisor to Margaret Thatcher, made the news two weeks ago after addressing The Minnesota Free Market Institute at Bethel University. Monckton spoke in regard to Global Climate Change and National Sovereignty.

Through detailed analysis Lord Monckton dismissed the premise that CO2 emissions generated by humans are responsible for measurable climate change. He demonstrated the flaws in the arguments of proponents of global warming by introducing peer-reviewed scientific evidence to the contrary.

In closing, Monckton called attention to a treaty soon to be negotiated in Copenhagen.
He stated:

I read that treaty. And what it says is this, “that a world government is going to be created.” The word 'government' actually appears as the first of three purposes of the new entity. The second purpose is the transfer of wealth from the countries of the West to third world countries, in satisfaction of what is called, coyly, 'climate debt' - because we've been burning CO2 and they haven't. We've been screwing up the climate and they haven't. And the third purpose of this new entity, this government, is enforcement."

Of course this "government" which is short hand for an international enforcement authority would not be actually elected by the people who would be required to live under its dictates. No doubt taxes would have to be raised in countries that would be compelled to pay environmental reparations to the Third World. The enforcement authority or "government" would also have the power to regulate energy policy in the countries that sign the treaty.

Statements like those above are usually made to elicit a reaction, but that isn’t an altogether bad thing. While we need to be careful and not overreact like Chicken Little did, we must still consider such statements and research the validity of the claims for we may indeed find that the sky is falling! In light of that I found a draft of the aforementioned treaty and began to read it. I listened to Lord Monckton’s speech in its entirety, and I am continuing my own research on both climate change ‘theology’ and the United Nations. My initial findings are disturbing and somewhat in line with those of Lord Monckton.

The UN is a curious body. While there may be advantages to having a forum where world leaders can gather, there are the obvious pitfalls such as grandstanding dictators, murdering despots masquerading as corrupt politicians, and corrupt politicians posing as benefactors of the people. For years we have witnessed this organization wield treaties in an attempt to grab power and push its own agenda. How wonderful to be at the reigns of such an assembly. Why you could rule the world by means of blackmail and underhanded diplomacy.

Personally, I am very wary of giving rulers, whom I have had no party in electing and have no interest in vesting, aid in determining which liberties my country will uphold and which ones they will take away. These foreign leaders should have little to no decision in the course my country takes concerning climate change, industry or defense.

Still, I wonder will climate control be the avenue through which the UN realizes its liberal global agenda. What defense is there for critics of the policies purported to address the flawed science of global warming? Resisting the propaganda is inconvenient at best and scandalous at worst. It is a gamble that truth seekers take and in so doing are widely condemned as earth haters, barbarians and the like.

America at large has believed the lie perpetrated by those in the United Nations and the partisan scientific community. As a result we have been guilted into accepting the blame laid on us by the world. The price we will pay is our sovereignty and freedom.

As far as this one-world government is concerned, it may come, but that is not our immediate plight. I am not interested in conspiracy theories, and I am not worried about the apocalypse. I know where I stand.

What I care about right now is freedom. The freedom found in America still offers hope to many across the globe. If that freedom is taken from us, it is taken from multitudes. If we let the freedoms we don’t care about – the ones we’ve never really used slip away, then it won’t be long before our speech is muffled or silenced altogether. Government will reach in and take and take until it has all it needs. Sadly, it will never be enough.

It is arrogant for us to think that what has occurred in so many other nations cannot happen in America. The question is will we stand idly by and watch as our nation goes up in flames. In that regard I suppose the images we began with are appropriate as we end. If we will not act and we will not speak then perhaps we could simply join hands together and sing “We Are the World” as we watch it burn.

*One of the great reasons we need to pay attention and guard our freedoms is so that we might share God's Word without censorship. Today I share truth from Isaiah. I am always amazed at how God uses his Word to speak to the issues of the day.

Isaiah 8:11-19
11 The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people. He said:
12 "Do not call conspiracy
everything that these people call conspiracy;
do not fear what they fear,
and do not dread it.
13 The LORD Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy,
he is the one you are to fear,
he is the one you are to dread,
14 and he will be a sanctuary;
but for both houses of Israel he will be
a stone that causes men to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
a trap and a snare.
15 Many of them will stumble;
they will fall and be broken,
they will be snared and captured."
16 Bind up the testimony
and seal up the law among my disciples.
17 I will wait for the LORD,
who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob.
I will put my trust in him.
18 Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me. We are signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD Almighty, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn. 21 Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, will curse their king and their God. 22 Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.

There are many things that vie for our attention in the media both socially and politically, but I pray that we might look to God and his Word for our response to the problems that present themselves each day. Lord God, have mercy on us and rekindle our love and passion for you so that others might come face to face with your grace and truth.

When Thinking Tanks

At what point did our thinking tank?

Was it when we abandoned our work ethic and became dependent on handouts from the government? Maybe it was before that when we refused to curb our spending because of our own personal and corporate greed. Could it have tanked when we accepted the proposition that government really does know what is best – rather than the individual? Or was it in the midst of all of this when we simply stopped believing that our voices could even be heard within the sea of corruption that stymies Washington?

Regardless, it appears that many of us haven’t let the collective brain melt bother us too much because we don’t think that politics affects us immediately or personally. The sad thing is we are wrong and unaware of the degree to which it does. So we plod along through our days, weeks and months wholly unconscious that we are being stripped of our liberties one by one – a little here, a little there, just so that we barely notice. Sadly, when we finally do notice we may find that the decisions made by those in power affect us much more personally than many of us ever imagined they would.

For our part, I think we tend toward one of these three schools of thought.

One, we are in agreement with big government’s policies and don’t take issue with whatever our party thinks is best. “After all, they must have our best interests at heart.” We reason, “Those who disagree are against progress and motivated by self-interest not the good of the whole.”

Two, we just don’t want to get involved. We tell ourselves, “It takes too much time. I’m not sure I’m really qualified to speak to those issues. I’ll let the person who handles those kind of things handle them. Surely someone is holding them accountable. I have a business and a family to manage, why should I concern myself with the bureaucracy of people out of my scope of reference.”

Three, we are scared – scared of the implications if we stand up and speak out. We ask, “What if I’m wrong? I don’t have all the answers. When is it right to speak up, and when should I just be silent? What kind of response will I receive?”

For many I have noticed the tendency to jump on the bandwagon of popular thought, or that thought which everyone applauds as forward and inclusive. But for the one who differs on politics or issues of faith there is often no parade. Fear may cause him to tiptoe through a landmine of friends whom he is worried about upsetting lest he bring a firestorm down on himself along with the label intolerant. This same fear may keep others from coming to his aid.

These paradigms are nothing new. They play out day to day, from decade to decade, which is why this at some point ceases to be about politics or even current events. For at the end of the day all politics is folly, and every society a vapor, a breath. Every man’s reason is flawed and every man is subject to his Creator.

With this in mind we must ask ourselves. Are some ideas superior to others? The answer is yes, because truth is non-negotiable. Are some governments superior? Again, yes. It must be so because absolutes do exist. There are universal, physical and moral laws that we are bound by, and they demand adherence. Above all we must value the right of individuals to live their lives and sustain their liberty in peace. The entanglements of an invasive government choke out liberty. Therefore the government which protects its people without encroaching on their liberties is a superior form of government.

Let us not forget these words penned by our forefathers, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence 1776

These men believed we each have a right to the pursuit of happiness but not necessarily to happiness itself or to another’s pursuit of happiness on our behalf. We lose ourselves when others begin making decisions for us. That is why we have a bill of rights.

George Washington said, “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

More recently Gerald Ford stated, "Government big enough to supply everything you need is big enough to take everything you have. The course of history shows us that as a government grows, liberty decreases."

We can no longer be bullied by a power-hungry government. We must no longer allow our taxes to be spent on stimulus packages the government can neither afford nor implement. No matter how good they are for us.

Is it my job to care for the widow and the orphan? Yes it is, but it is not government’s job to make me care for the widow and the orphan. This is the responsibility of the church and the individual. And we – the church, have failed on many fronts. First we have failed to speak truth with boldness, clarity and love, and secondly, we have been slow to follow through on Jesus’ command to take care of the least of these.

Are we selfish? Yes, we are, and we should weep over this sin. But the answer to our problems does not come by throwing money that we do not have at these problems. It certainly does not come from giving our earth more attention than we do her Creator. It comes only through repenting as a nation over our sin. This sin has been committed, not against the nations of the world, but against our God whom we have ignored. It is then and only then that our thinking will begin to rise from the gutter in which it now stagnates.

Maybe we should take our cue from the Old Testament which reads, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

When is it OK to Exploit Children?

Have you heard of Roman Polanski? Let me introduce you...

The filmmaker/pedephile was arrested Saturday, September 26th, regarding a three-decade-old underage sex case as he arrived to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Zurich film festival.

Celebrity, Debra Winger claims that the event was “exploited in an unfair fashion,” but last I recall it is the thirteen-year-old victim who was exploited – through use of drugs, alcohol and forcible sexual relations by a forty-four year old man who then fled to France the evening before his sentencing. This man now seventy-six is unrepentant and just “not sure if anyone was hurt.” Yes, those are his words.

His advocates claim we should let bygones be bygones. Others state that, “It’s really no big deal because we have so many other important items to deal with.” Since when is justice a choice? Do we give someone a pass because they are popular, or because they claim to be an artist given to the radical circumstances of the times?

We as a society should condemn those who support a pedephile like Roman Polanski. And I mean we should be taking down names! I’m disgusted by some of the articles I’ve read listing celebrities and public officials who support this fugitive of justice. I’m shocked by the people I’ve heard call into radio programs to justify Polanski’s actions and attack our justice system’s recent arrest.

How is it that we reward criminals and admire their outstanding achievement in business while ignoring their moral depravity? This man was set to receive a lifetime achievement award for his work as a director in film. He has scores of followers crying out for his release. But where are the voices crying out for the children? Where are the voices that demand justice?

Let me be clear. This is not about Roman Polanski.Is it any wonder that there still exists in our world the wholesale exploitation of people through the slave trade? We have set the table for the appetites of those who continue to degrade women and young children. We need only look as far as our own computer and the bloodlust of the Porn industry. To borrow a quote from Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu in his recent UN address, “Have we no shame? Have we no decency?”

Below are a few statistics concerning modern day slavery and human trafficking. I would ask that as you read them you first consider your own children, and then that you please pray considering how learning these statistics might move you to action.

Lord have mercy on us. We have excused ourselves through ignorance for too long.

Statistics:
An estimated 27 million people are held in slavery worldwide, meaning there are more people enslaved in the world now than were taken from Africa during 300 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

After drug trafficking, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing. (hhs)

Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims are annually trafficked across international borders worldwide. (Dept of State)

In the United States alone, it is estimated that there are 200,000 slaves.

The average price of individual slaves is less than a new cell phone or about $90. (nfs)

By 2010, Human Trafficking will be the # 1 crime worldwide. (Dept of State)

Every 10 minutes, one person is trafficked into the U.S. Around the World, a victim is exploited every minute.

Each year, more than 1 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade. Approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. (Dept of State)

The majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. (Dept. of State)

13 is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution in the USA. (FBI)

(*Source for statistics http://www.free-international.org/)
For more information check out: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

I agree with the French President...who'd of thought?

I wrote this note a week ago during the UN summit and after recent statements by French President Nicolas Sarkozy I've decided to post my own commentary regarding current U.S. foreign policy. Here goes:

President Obama’s foreign policy appears naive at best and dangerous at worst. The administration’s most recent decision to scrap the ground base missile defense shield for Eastern Europe telegraphs a posture of indifference toward our allies and panders dangerously to our enemies. Likewise our approach to strategic arms reduction at this point in time puts our national security and that of our allies at great risk – at risk because those to whom we would make ourselves vulnerable do not adhere to the same rules.

We endanger our own citizens as The United States caves to world pressure to be nice and play fair. Our longtime allies – Poland, The Czech Republic and Israel sense betrayal, and these friends are certain to bear the brunt of our attempts to court dictators like Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Kim Jong-il. And for what do we trade our friends? Is it the reputation as a tolerant, world-conscious United States, or is it for treaties with pompous leaders who would use our Chamberlain-like acquiescence to move forward with their own maniacal plans – nuclear proliferation and the like?

Has history taught us nothing? Is it possible that diplomats think so much of themselves that they believe they can make mad people sane by catering to their whims and entertaining their lunacy? This is the height of arrogance. This pride and denial of reality is what put Europe in danger in the 1930s and set the stage for fiends like Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.

I suppose many are tired of hearing references to the WWII era, but they bear repeating. We are following in the footsteps of a weak and woeful Great Britain weighed down by the ineptitude of Neville Chamberlain. But the stakes are far greater today as we deal with an unparalleled access to information and technology – technology which can cripple and kill from thousands of miles away or be carried lightly in a suitcase.

Have we imagined that man’s consciousness has evolved since the 1930s? Have we gone mad? Evil is still evil. Men still thirst for power and will seek to promote themselves to the detriment of others when left unchecked. There is no negotiating with mad men. They understand nothing, but their own lusts. They respect nothing but the fear they incite, and they will hear no voice but their own.

Appeasement is futile.

Public Servanthood

We have largely dismissed the notion of true service – that service which requires something of us for which we gain nothing in return as if it were but a notion.

One may assume that a public servant is one whose duty it is to serve the public. While that may be true, how and in what capacity they serve is varied. The term public servant encompasses a large group of people who work in all sectors of government from police officers and technical staff to senators and governors. But when I see the title public servant I immediately connect it with an elected representative.

This elected servant fills his role by serving to represent the best interests of the body – that is his body of constituents – before his peers and those who enact law and public policy. In taking that oath of office he agrees to dismiss his own prejudice and determines to act lawfully on his constituents behalf. But there remains that potential for these public servants to imagine such self-importance that they are quickly reduced to those who simply serve in public. Can we in good conscience call this service? For what are they serving but to enhance their own ego and secure greater power for themselves and special interests?

What answer is there? What recourse when the discourse has become such that ordinary individuals are considered inconsequential – mere pebbles in the politician’s shoe. In the republic there is but one answer, remove the shoe of the politician so that he no longer must deal with the pressure of the pebbles which threaten to upset him. If he can no longer bear the abrasion then he may no longer serve the public that grates so frequently against his conscience.

It seems so few are immune to this reality, and it is unfortunate that history supports this. It is a wonder that any man or woman survives the political arena much less emerges unscathed. I have facetiously wondered if the rites to enter public office include the dismantling of ones principles along with their prejudice. Though there are exceptions, it is a tragedy that so many are blinded by power and influence. For too often what rises in policy bears little in resemblance to what many public servants promised when they left home and entered the capitol, be it in their respective states or in Washington itself.

Shall our public servants be the left alone to shoulder this blame? No. We have failed to hold them accountable either through our apathy or our ignorance. We can no more extricate ourselves from responsibility than we can remove ourselves from the human race. We have left inconvenient, albeit important matters in the hands of humans given to every temptation. When given license and free reign one may be prone to corruption with what is mistaken as the very will of the people at his back. He surmises, “The people put me here. They trust my judgment, and I indeed know what is best for them even if they do not know it themselves.” This logic gives rise to pride and pride gives way to the fall.

We can trace this to Adam and his original sin. Adam and Eve discounted God’s warning and gave in to the serpent’s temptation thinking it would put them on level footing with God. Even Solomon, noted as the wisest man who ever lived, pursued foolishness in his old age, forsook the living God and followed after his lusts, bowing down to wood and stone. Each of these individuals was given tremendous power only to squander it on their own passions.

In contrast, Jesus always sought the will of God before acting. This discipline allowed him to see beyond himself. Observe Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper before his crucifixion:

"Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:14-17

Also, when asked about leadership positions in Jesus Kingdom, Jesus responded:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28

This is the public servant which I long to see in myself and in my community - the kind that lays down his life and considers others before himself. I wonder what that job listing might look like.

War, Foreign Policy, Abortion, Cap and Trade, The Fairness Doctrine, stimulus after stimulus – there is a battle raging, and it’s not one fought across party lines. It can’t be. The parties are too similar, and I’m fed up. I don’t know where to turn my frustration – so I’m venting. The politically squeamish should beware.

On the way toward any proposal I have many questions and observations to share. I wonder. When did we sell our souls? How long have we believed that government, any government is our salvation or even has our best interests at heart? Is it because we’ve had it so good for so long? Is it because we really believe they are smarter than us or that they have examined the issues more deeply? If so, it is only because we have chosen our ignorance. We have incredible freedoms fought and paid for by countless Americans and drafted just outside a tyranny that our founding fathers experienced firsthand.

We appear to be freer than any country in the world, possibly freer than any people has ever been. Is that what makes it so easy to give our freedoms away? I wonder if we will recognize that we have no one to blame but ourselves when we finally realize those freedoms are gone.When will we wake up and think for ourselves instead of letting bureaucrats in Washington or our state capitols, Republican and Democrat alike, do it for us. Last time I checked we were a Republic where individuals matter not just the collective whole.

Shame on me for saying and doing nothing for so long. Shame on me for being afraid of what people will think if I speak up. Shame on me for thinking my voice doesn’t matter and that individuals can’t really make a difference. Shame on us for calling on government to do what it is our job to do – to feed the poor, clothe the homeless and take care of the orphan and the widow– to name a few. How long will we follow party lines and ignore our own responsibilities? Shame on us for feeling entitled to be served by the government – for it is in accepting that service that we sign away more and more of our personal freedoms.

What about freedom of speech and freedom of religion? How long before not just the cars we drive, or the businesses we run, or the light bulbs we use are a target of legislation. The truth is even those unalienable rights are already on the chopping block being carved up for limitation as I write, and it’s all done by “experts” for our own good.

The time to act is now. We have ignored the warning signs of a society that has turned its back on God. We have gone about business as usual and been lulled into apathy by our comfortable lives. But the battle is raging whether we join the fight or not. Many a nation has fallen into corruption because of the comfort and apathy of its citizens. Will we be footnotes in the pages of a tragic history?

I was hesitant to write on politics because I prefer to share my opinions one on one until I read these word by C.S. Lewis. They screamed out at me and begged to be shared.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good, will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” ~ C.S. Lewis

My call is for us to pray. I believe that God is calling us to repent as a nation for our sin against him. If you are reading this and you are not a Christian, then I would simply ask that you consider the claims of Christ. The revolution begins in our hearts, and we live out truth on a daily basis. We speak truth in our actions and by refusing to be silenced by those who would tell us not to speak.

For those who prefer to leave politics in a quiet corner, please understand that we are beings who cannot compartmentalize our spirituality from the rest of our lives. Jesus is either Lord of all or he is not Lord at all.