The Real I%

The Occupy Movement and the their accomplices in the media enjoy separating themselves from the "one percent" and identifying with the "99%" that represents "the people." Progressive politicians and pundits gleefully pounce on any conservative gaffes. The academic, chattering, governmental and financial leaders benefitting from current policies congratulate themselves on their enlightened views. They throw charity balls and make public appearances in their Chevy Volts (after deplaning from their Gulfstreams). They celebrate Che Guevera, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, embrace Islamicist radicals, casually call Israel an arpartheid nation and subject the Chick-Fil-A company to merciless abuse. They are silent about the treatment of women in Islamicist states, mute about the impending destruction of American economic and political liberty and willfully ignorant about what it takes to run a small- or medium-sized business. They screamed for the closing of Guantanamo in 2008 - today there is deafening silence. They basked in their pride as the first biracial President came into office, but they marginalize any African-American that stands for traditional marriage. They love dismissing the Tea Party as homophobic, racist and out-of-touch, while never considering the Tea Party platform has nothing to say about marriage, race or other fashionable concerns. This group ignores the thousands of thefts, and hundreds of assaults and rapes that are part of Occupy events while conservative events are orderly. These self-syled revolutionaries ignore the violent anti-Semitic activities of the Muslim Student Associations on college campuses. Any call for voter ID is deemed repressive and citizenship is considered optional. They excoriate Catholics, Evangelicals and Mormons, but remain silent in the face of totalitarianism in China and Russia.

Who are the "one percent"? It is not the mechanic trying to keep his shop open or the veteran rercovering from wounds. It is not the investor who is risking life savings on an idea. It is not a beleaguered public school teacher that cannot get parents to care. It is not the Walmart greeter or the oil rig technician. The real one percent are not the busy pastors helping people find peace in tragedy or the dedicated volunteers that read for the blind.

Yes, there are global, multinational cabals that value only their wealth and power. Oddly enough, many of these folks are funding the radical causes listed above. It suits their purposes to destabilize nations and encourage anarchy so they can make a profit and install their puppets. 

The pagan-secular Left is the real 1%. They can mobilize the dependent and disaffected, appeal to class warfare, play the race card when convenient and position themselves as the interpreters of all language. Did you know that words like initiative and personal responsibility are actually code for oppression and racism? You see, we foolish folks that cling to our guns and religion are too stupid to understand the "systemic" ills that keep people from prosperity. The real enemies of progress are the free market, traditional moral values and the intransigence of Israel. If we would just yield control to their self-anointed, self-appointed intelligensia, all will be well. We will live in "planned" communities, drive "smart" cars, breed only "worthy" children and enjoy maximal personal pleasure while having all our basic needs met by our benevolent despots. After all, we cannot take care of ourselves, can we? While we are at it, let's divide the USA into many nations, restore the mythical "Aztlan" in the southwest, give reparations ro all slave descendants and return all the land to the first nation tribes. Anyone of European origins can go live in...Kansas. 

This parody is fun...except that it is all true. The American Experiment in liberty based on virtue and truth is being exchanged for a subversive libertine-totalitarian vision where the bureaucrats and approved intellectuals and technocrats rule while the rest eat from the public trough (a trough without cetain ingredients or portions, of course.). 

The upcoming election is the most important since 1860, for it symbolizes a choice between living up to our founders' ideals of self-regulating, truth-based liberty or a globalist-socialist future that will diminish human flourishing and restrict freedoms - all in the name of "fairness."

But America's future is not determined by the occupant of the White House. Our future rests on the active, comnpassionate and intelligent involvement of all our citizens. We must awaken from our moral and spiritual stupor and choose a better future through reverence for the Almighty, respect for our neighbor and responsible work. Let's argue about policies while we cooperate on compassion. Let's debate civilly while we rebuild our infrastructure with private-public partnerships of integrity and transparency. Let's bring our troops home with dignity while deploying anti-terrorist forces effectively. Let's honor the miracle of modern Israel while inviting Palestinians to foreswear violence and share in Mideast prosperity. Let's celebrate marriage and permit other arrangements without rancor. Let's welcome millions of immigrants - legally. And let's vote and make sure only live citizens' ballots count. Above all, let's end the polarism and replace it with critical thinking grounded in love. At the end of the day, desiring the best for my neighbor and serving others with no thought of return will do more to change the world than any other affections or actions.

More Theater of the Absurd

As I counsel leaders and speak throughout the nation, I urge thoughtful people not to overreact to the political polemics and nonsensical diatribes that fill the 24/7 media space. It is really difficult to exercise patience and respond graciously to the follies that infect the airwaves and the web. In recent weeks, there are allegations and assertions that unveil the mental anarchy of our age and the childish communication that masquerades as civil discourse. Here are a few of the inanities we must endure in our 21st century Age of Solipsism (Create your own reality!):

The President of Chick-Fil-A affirms his belief in traditional marriage. There is no evidence of any discrimination in the company's hiring practices and no harsh words for those that choose other lifestyles. This simple assertion of moral conscience unleashed a firestorm of venomous attacks as the kindest CEO in the country is now portrayed as a homophobe and even the Muppets are breaking ties with the company's efforts to feed the hungry.

The hyprocricy of these "progressives" is clear. It is fine to bash Christians. It is OK to excoriate defenders of traditional marriage - as long as they are not Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or any other non-western culture! African-American pastors that oppose Obama on marriage are ignored or called "oreo cookies." If a conservative criticizes the Muslim Brotherhood or CAIR, she must be racist, xenophobic, ignorant or a victim of an all-powerful Jewish lobby. Passionate disagreement is fine - part of our American heritage. Character assassination and prejudice toward traditional folks is not noble. It is petty and exposes ignorance and laziness. It is easier to repeat talking points than do original research.

Michelle Bachmann and other congressional leaders are expressing concern about the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and other radical groups upon the current Administration. The reaction? Even well-meaning Republicans excoriate this call for inquiry, worried that they will be perceived as intolerant.

The only intolerance in this drama is from Keith Ellison and others that cannot abide honest scrutiny of their real agendas. The Muslim Brotherhood and its radical partners are dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the subversion of western democracy. These values are in their public documents and no amount of "hope and change" wishful thinking will alter the facts. When a major Muslim leader unequivocally affirms full freedom and plurality of perspectives and expresses admiration for the US Constitution and the right of Israel to exist securely in recognized borders - THEN I will believe what they say, but not before.

Language matters. Israel's control of "occupied territories" will end with real peace initiatives. Nobel Peace Prizes have been subverted by terrorists that refuse to give up their dream of Israel's annihilation. "Right of return" is absurd for millions of descendants of the original half-million Palestinians displaced by the 1948 war. More than half of these original refugees were deceived by Islamicist propaganda and unnecessarily left their villages. Many of their Arab relatives are full citizens in Israel - the only real democracy in the region.

There will be peace in the Middle East when Palestinian leaders fully recognize Israel's legitimacy, reject violence and share resources to build a new Palestine. Israel is a moral good for the world, a beacon of hope and redemption and a source of creativity and innovation. Can anyone name any new ideas, technologies or scientific breakthroughs emanating from Islamicist states? it is sad to see lands that were once home to thriving civilizations become enslaved to fatalistc, misogynist ideology.

We need a return to reason, a revival of reflection and a renewal of responsibility. It is time to exit this matinee of the theater of the absurd and enjoy the daylight of honesty, integrity and the sincere pursuit of truth. There are legitimate debates we need to have on medical care, infrastructure, military spending and deployments, public pensions and many other issues. People of conscience and faith can radically disagree (think William Jennings Bryan and William McKinley) yet still forge solutions that create a better future. We do need effective federal oversight of many things while retaing gretaer power locally. Real progree is possible when we bring humility and openness to the table and leave the sound bites behind.

Happy Birthday to the USA

July 4 is our nation's birthday. We are an experiment in virtue-based freedom that is now 236 years old, one of the longest eras of national stability in global history.

We are a self-correcting nation, with the Civil War of 1865 and the Civil Rights of 1965 correcting the birth defect of chattel slavery. Women finally voted in 1920 and 18-21 year old soldiers that could bleed were able to fill out ballots by 1972. We are still wrestling with our broken covenants with the First Nation/Native American tribes and our war with Mexico in 1848. In the midst of all the deserved criticism for Manifest Destiny and continental imperialism, people forget that no one north of the Rio Grande wanted (or really wants today) to be ruled by Mexico City and that thousands of leaders of conscience opposed the policies of rapapcious settlement.

We are the freest land in the world for people of all faiths or none to practice and preach their ideas without fear. Apart from tax issues and proper public permits, we are free to gather and express our ideas without prior permission. This was and is a unique reality of the USA.

We have amazing foundations of faith, freedom and sacrificial service. We have fractures of hedonism and enthnocentrism to repair and redeem. We still have too many unborn that are unwelcome and too many aged that are in oblivion. We have too many unemployed urban adults and too few political leaders with the courage to call for moral responsibnility. We are still a generous people, responding to crises with affection and alacrity. We are also spoiled, forgetting that even the (too) many that live in poverty in the USA are wealthy compared with half the world.

As we move into our 237th year, we aagain face "times that try men's (and women's) souls." Our future rests on recovering the humility, reverence and tenacity that built the land we enjoy. If we will choose life in all its dimensions, including caring for all from conception to coronation, there is hope. If we commit to empowering suceess through free markets under the rule of law, there is hope. If we can learn civil debate and roll up our sleeves and become an answer to the prayers and problems, there is hope.

In 2008 we were sold a slogan, "Hope and Change." In 2012, we need to become these words by doing and speaking the truth in love. If we will fear God, live within our means, stand up to intolerance and fear, affirm the central values of a virtuous society, and keep our marital and material covenants, there is hope.

Happy birthday, America. You are not a melting pot or a salad bowl. Your are a beautiful mosaic from every corner of world. Sometimes you are a crazy quilt with loose threads. But you remain a land worth praying for and serving well.