The Conservative Son

Our local newspaper, the DPA, was insane enough to once again publish my most recent letter "To the Editor." While I am glad and gratified that they saw fit to print my ramblings, I must say that they have taken to editing my editorials.

I am no prima donna, but I spend hours picking just the right words to express what it is that I want to say. I wouldn’t mind them messing with my work so much if they would, as my daughter suggests, pay me.
****************************************************************************

To the Editor:

“Make us a king!” That’s what the tribes of Israel said to Samuel. He warned them that a king would take the best of everything they had. He warned them that a king would conscript their youth into his service and weigh them all down with heavy taxes and war. Samuel reminded them that the Lord God Jehovah was their King, but they would have none of that. They wanted nothing more than to pass the decisions of their life on to someone who, at least in their own farcical estimation, was more qualified than they were. They simply wanted to be taken care of.

Sadly and predictably, the people would not hearken unto Samuel’s words of warning. When Samuel complained to God, God told him, “They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me.”

Israel rejected their King in Heaven for a king on earth. They rejected the self-government of their tribal-states in their desire to be “like all the nations.” (Incidentally, only in America does “state” not mean “nation.”)

Today, politicians promise us more and more. More and more Americans are happy to take more and more. Many voters simply support whoever promises to increase their wages or guarantee their retirement, education, health care or food stamps. In short, a growing majority ask, “What’s in it for me?” Sadly, too many have cast their ballot, in more than one election, considering only personal gain, never contemplating the costs of such government extravagance. And if someone else is forced to pay for their goodies, well, they’re okay with that.

Our snake-oil salesmen in Washington D.C. argue that the cripple will never walk, the blind will never see, the hungry will go unfed and the old and sick will die if the government doesn’t step in to help. A lot seem to think that some how, some way with enough taxes and regulation, the federal government can solve all of our problems. What’s next? Will they tell us that if we give up enough of our freedom and money they can legislate away death? (That’s about all that’s left for them to promise.)

I’ve heard it said, “Somebody’s got to do something!” Well, they cried those same words in the Depression of nineteen-thirties Germany and, sure enough, someone “did something.” He did something that resulted in the deaths of millions in the most destructive war the world has ever known. He took good care of his people, providing for their every need and they hailed him as their “Fuhrer.” Yes, he kept every promise he made right up to the point when the shooting started.

My ancestors and yours came to this country by hook or by crook, but all by great hardship. Many came seeking freedom of religion; many came seeking a fortune. Some came as slaves or indentured servants. Some came merely seeking adventure. Countless died at sea and at the hands of those defending what was then their own country. Still, they kept coming! They keep coming today. They come on boats and planes and cross deserts, rivers and oceans, but they keep coming!

One thing’s for sure, they didn’t brave the swelling tides of the Pacific and the Atlantic for free health care. They didn’t endure starvation and lost loved ones for Social Security. They didn’t leave the tacit safety of hearth, home and king for food stamps. Neither did they sell all they owned and leave everyone they knew behind, never to be seen or heard from again, for “free” government education that would make them out to be liars when they told their children, “There is a God and it is He who has made us and not we ourselves.” Funny, most of our ancestors came here to escape a tyrant a thousand miles away, yet we today choose a thousand tyrants a mile away.

Recollecting the first time I voted, I was so excited, idealistic and, perhaps, naïve. I voted as if my vote not only counted, but also would be the deciding one. When choosing a candidate, I can honestly say, that I still think only of the good of my beloved country and not my personal gain. Yes, I’ve considered the effects that one candidate or another might have on the economy or the environment, immigration, the debt, national security, etc. Still, I always pick the one I believe loves America and freedom the most. My question is always, “Does he love liberty?” I still take it that seriously. No brag, just fact.

What’s my point? For far too many Americans today, rugged individualism is anachronistic at best and anathema at worst. They say, “Yeah, it’d be nice to live free, but if someone doesn’t provide my health care, I won’t be alive anyway! Isn’t it good that the government takes care of us?” These sad-sacks sound all too much like the slave saying, “If it wasn’t for master, I wouldn’t have a roof over my head.” Well, our “masters” in Washington seem to think they can provide us a roof much better than we can for ourselves. “Give us your money and your freedom and we’ll make you…comfortable.” Sheesh!

So, I ask you, Mr. & Ms. Citizen, what will be on your mind when you cast your ballot this November? Will you be thinking about the blood of patriots whose sanguine sacrifice anointed that Holy of Holies we call the voting booth? Will you be thinking of the liberty that your ancestors prayed for as they walked, for the first time, upon this Eden shore? Will you be thinking about your grandchildren and at what point there will be so much central government control that they are no longer free?

Israel sold its sovereignty for servitude. What will you sell yours for? Will you trade the fire of liberty for tepid comfort? Will you exchange autonomy for a gilded cage? Will you sell so cheaply that which was bought for us by others at so great a price?

Labels: America, D.C., freedom, Israel, kings, liberty, presidential campaign, presidents, Samuel, Saul, slavery, voting, Washington