Going Forward, Looking Back

In recent months I have spent untold hours laboring on my family tree.  I have found myself living the lives of my ancestors in their struggles for the right to be free and to live their lives in peace, hopefully giving an even better life to their children.  What a price some have paid.  Nancy and John Wesley Seals lost two of their sons in the Civil War; both were in their twenties, and both fought for the Union. John died a prisoner of war in Andersonville, Georgia.  Noel died at age 20 in New Orleans, Louisiana.  I have to admit that I have shed many tears for the people of my past, and I wish more people would examine their roots, not only to obtain insight from the past but also to recognize the signs of troubled times ahead.

In my search I encountered many cases of women dying of childbirth, plagues and war.  Considering the time, there was little that could be done to save a woman who could not deliver her baby or who developed a postpartum complication.  Plagues were spread because of poor living conditions and no viable treatment. And as for wars, it seems as though every generation has seen the devastation of some conflict that has taken the lives of so many young men and, yes, women.  Now that we will have women in combat, those numbers are sure to grow.  Why do certain individuals feel the need to be in control and to force their ideology on others?  Will this ever end? Looking at the current state of the nation, I think the answer is clear:  not in our lifetime.  There is an undercurrent building in our country like I have never seen before. Unfortunately, this is not limited to the United States, but nevertheless, it is here, and it is now.

The current administration has done little to calm the storm.  Actually, it would appear that they have only added fuel to the flames.  The President himself has made many inflammatory remarks about “the rich” and race.  This is basic Alinsky teaching:  isolate the enemy, or in the President’s words, “punish our enemy.” It is time we realize that the people of this country have elected a fraud who blinded the masses with rhetoric and promises of things to come.  Now he attempts to deflect the blame to the rich and racial inequities.

Although I have never lacked food to eat or a warm bed in which to sleep, my mother did struggle as a single parent to raise her child.  My mother told me stories of how her parents struggled during the Depression to provide for their family, sometimes having only tomato soup that had been canned from the garden the summer before; however, compared to others they had it good.  Throughout the generations, people have struggled—but why must we envy others?  We will never all be equal.  Redistribution crushes the initiative of the industrious and rewards the complacent. I have worked hard all my life, sometimes working two jobs, but do I loathe Bill Gates or Oprah? No, because they have a talent I don’t possess, and therefore we are not equal.  Life is a lottery; some people have better odds than others. That fact will never change.  We can teach people a skill, but it is up to them to use it.  If you tell someone that they are unable to live a decent life and prosper because of their circumstances or the color of their skin, then chances are that they will fail. Have we learned nothing?

Lt. Col. Allen West is a man whom I truly admire.  He said,

The first of the dreams that [my parents] instilled in me was individual responsibility and accountability. They taught me that in life you have consequences to each and every decision that you make, and when you try to shy away from those decisions, when you try to shy away from those consequences then someone will come in and allow you to be seen as a victim, and when you become seen as a victim, it’s a spiraling slope downward and downward. Before the next thing you know, you become dependent upon something and right here in the United States of America this is one of the things that we combat against because too many Americans are being castigated as victims. Too many Americans are not being individually responsible and accountable. Too many Americans are becoming dependent upon government and therefore government continues to grow. My parents and their dream was to have a son that was not a victim, but a son that was a victor, and that enables me to stand here before you today.

This statement basically sums up the ground rules for success.  Too many people in our great nation are not willing to take responsibility for their own actions, and building resentment towards those who do is not the answer. I know many people who have been ruined by circumstances beyond their control, but I also know that they are the exception.  We need, whenever possible, to give people a hand up and not a handout.

Recently I read an article about a mother who lost her job and had become so desperate to feed her children that she attempted to steal $300 in groceries.  She was caught, but after hearing her story the arresting officer went back and bought her $100 worth of food.  When word of her situation got out, she was given a decent job. What a great story of compassion for our fellow man.  Human kindness is not dead, but the government has it on the run.  Government is not the answer.  It cannot meet our needs. It has grown at an astounding rate over the past few years, taking more and more of our resources. It is my hope that we will look back and learn. The government wastes billions on green energy and then laments the condition of the poor. The government spends millions on a nonfunctional web site, but move along; there is nothing to see. They suck millions from industry that could be used to create jobs. Over the last 100 years the government has morphed into something out of a Sci-fi horror movie with its tentacles reaching into every aspect of our lives.

From Scotland’s Flodden Field in 1513 to WWII, my ancestors have been laying down their lives for a cause. For 500 years discontent and oppression have robbed mothers, father, wives, and so many more of the ones they loved. Look back America; the storm clouds are gathering. Our own government stirs the pot of discontent, regulating and taxing industry until it is in the throes of death, ultimately driving jobs to foreign soil. When the unemployment rolls grow, so does government dependence.

In 2014 we will be called to fight a revolution, not on a sodden battlefield but rather in the voting booths. We the People must come forward to save this great nation, if for no other reason than to honor the lives of those fallen heroes in our past, and yes, they were heroes.  They ended the tyranny of King George, freed the slaves, ended WWI which took the lives of over 10 million soldiers alone and they stopped Hitler in Europe. How much different our lives might have been if not for their sacrifice. We also owe it to future generations to leave America as we found it, a strong proud nation, an exceptional nation, a land of the brave and home of the free.

More importantly, this writer would also like to suggest that you read Chronicles 7:14 and follow the simple directions therein.