What Moves the Heart and Stirs the Soul!

I remember as a child in school being taught that our nation was special.  We were taught to take pride in being an American, that the freedoms that was guaranteed to us by our constitution was bought at the high price of the blood of our patriotic forebearers.  It was impressed upon me that some day I might have to defend this country that I so dearly love.  These are the ideals I grew up believing and I believe them just as strongly today.  We live in an age of cynicism and deceit where people are often ridiculed for holding to the ideals that the founding fathers of our great nation held to be "self evident".  It is true that our country does not always govern by the edicts set forth in the constitution.  How could slavery have existed in a nation that held to the notion that "all men are created equal"?  How is it that an eviction order of the Mormons was signed by a governor of Illinois?  This nation is not perfect.  Mistakes have been made and people have been harmed, but far more good has come from this "noble experiment" than ill and we still hold to our ideals.  Ideallic life is not possable when dealing with fallable people, but life without holding to ideals would be a bleak and unbearable existance.

Listening to Obama's speech to the UN this week made my stomach turn.  To the world, he does not speak of the greatness of the nation that allowed him to reach the pinnacle of his career ( president of the nation that he shows nothing but comtempt for).  He tells the world that in the eight months of  his  reign  presidency, change has taken place and that we are a better nation than before.  He must believe that he truly is the messiah of our nation (his arrogance and hubris is palpable, almost an entity unto itself).  Does he truly believe that this nation has only just now come into its greatness and moral direction because he has now taken the stern?  How can he so easily dismiss all those great Americans before him?  If asked, I'm sure he would deny the charges I have just laid out, but how can anyone who pays attention not see him as the liar that he is?  How can anyone support this man?  Unless, of  course, you have the same goal in mind; the same impossible goal of utopia for all at the expense of  individual achievement and personel freedom.  Just remember, my fellow Mormons, that  this is the same promise that Lucifer gave at the great premortal meeting - that none shall be left behind.  I just ask this question:  how important is the Lord's gift of  free agency?  Keep watching and listening to our president, than ask yourself - how much value does Obama give to your freedom?  If you pay attention, I think you just might come to the same conclusions that I have come to.      

Jane Curtain, Please Come and Play, I promise I'll be Gentle.

9/12/09 Has come and gone and I could not be more proud of the people who participated in protests across the nation, especially those who took our message to Washington DC.  The network news agencies and newspapers that lean left reported, "Washington marchers to number in the tens of  thousands" while the London Telegraph reported closer to a million.  There is no doubt that the dominant mainstream media is in the tank for the left and Obama in particular.  I observed this media bias in 1981 when I saw the sneer on Peter Jennings' face when he had to report that laser weapons research had produced some positive results on account of President Reagan's "Star Wars Initive".  I will never forget how Jennings looked, as if he had just swallowed a lemon whole.  Media bias since then has become increasingly more obvious.  Any stories that would place the current administration in a poor light, the mainstream media (what Rush Limbaugh has coined as the dinosaur media) will not cover.  Thank God for alternative media outlets!  At the same time, stories of Republican wrong doings are treated with great aplomb. 

I, on occasion, will listen to left-leaning talk show hosts (about an hour at a time is all I can handle).  I find that listening and reading the opinions of those that oppose my point of view helps me to solidify, justify and, once in a while, readjust my opinions and arguments.  It is astounding the lengths the other side will go to discredit us.  They call us racist.  They label us as a "fringe group" and say that we do not represent a very large section of the populace.  Even when staring at numbers of protestors that put their pro-Obama support marchers to shame.  One critisim a local talk show host leveled was that the right protested about imaginary problems while the left protested about real things such as war.  He was challenged by a caller that talked about out of control spending, to which the host conceeded, but dismissed it as if it was one small problem and one that didn't rise to the same level as an "illegal war".  Besides, it was the Bush Administration that started the spending spree.  It is true that it was Bush who started it, but for Obama and Congress to continue this policy of spending our kids future in to oblivion is like firemen dumping gas onto a burning house.

What I would like to ask those who read my blog is how would you defend our side to said talk show host's charges of  "imaginary problems" (be respectful)?  I know this is like explaining why the sky is blue or grapes are sweet, but it will be a good way to strengthen your opinions and give you an excersize in critical thinking.

I will attempt to play devil's advocate (don't worry "Jane" I'll be gentle) unless there's a liberal lurker that would like to come forward and argue the other side (you would be more than welcome and appreciated as long as you're respectful).

Please Stop Trashing My Ethics.

I hate litter. I find it hard to think well of anyone who can drop trash while within 50 feet of a trash can. I throw Frisbee's to my dog in an area we refer to as The Bowl (it's an indented lawn area in our townhouse community). There is a bus stop on the east side of the bowl where people waiting for the bus find no problem dropping their trash into our bowl area. I spend ten to fifteen minutes just picking up trash every time I take my dog out to play. It rankles me to no end the disrespect these seemingly callous bus riders show to me and my neighborhood. I now have a dilemma and it is this: Recently, I had a job at a truck stop where part of my job was picking up trash. I find it easier picking up trash when I'm paid for it. In fact, I find it's my zen moment (a simple mindless task I can do while zoning out and thinking of the higher meaning of life or, in actuality, what I'll eat for lunch). Ethically, I think it's irresponsible to litter but would I have had a job if no one littered in the truck stop? Imagine how many jobs would be lost in a society where no one littered. This got me thinking. What if we lived in a world where people took responsibility for themselves and respected one another? We would have no need for the police. Security guards would go the way of the dinosaur (a job that I currently hold). Where would a good portion of America's wealth come from if our weapons manufacturers had no reason to build weapons? If neighbors were to take care of their less fortunate neighbors, what would a whole army of welfare workers do? Speaking of army, what about the armed forces? How would they feed their families if they were not paid to defend our country? Do you see what a moral dilemma this train of thought has brought me to? I would like to see the elimination of the negative elements of society but what will I and others do for work? Perhaps we need the liberal ideology of the authoritarian taking care of people less capable so that we can all have a place in society.


I have a confession to make that I am not at all proud of. Since I lost my job in October, my family and I have been on Medicaid and food stamps. I feel somewhat the hypocrite being on the dole and preaching the negatives of big government. It gives me pause to think that I might be wrong about the attributes of smaller government and the bettering of the individual. Could it be that when drawn out, we as a society need our less than desirable elements to function? Could it be that we need a central authority to manage our lives, to make sure that society does not crumble from its own success?


Before you think that I've exchanged my "dark side" membership card for a more "enlightened" vision please read on:


What I have presented to you in the preceding paragraphs is what is known as a false dilemma. If there were no litterers, people who now spend time picking up trash would be freed to pursue greater interests. If there was no reason to build bombs, if there was no need to drop bombs, buildings, homes, and lives would not have to be rebuilt. If we did not need police, security guards, armed forces, welfare workers, etc.... There is no telling the potential that would be unleashed in the pursuit of positive, constructive and life affirming achievements by those who are freed from the need of having to protect society.


Time and time again we have been warned that modernization would cost us jobs and swell the ranks of the unemployed. Henry Ford put most buggy whip manufacturers out of business but spurred on unprecedented economic growth. I remember hearing how computers and robots were going to create havoc in the nations labor pool. The unions were so frightened by this that they fought against modernization of any kind for years. In case you haven't noticed, robotic systems and computers are everywhere and we have had low unemployment rates throughout the eighties, nineties and into the twenty-first century.


If this is not yet an axiom, than I will claim it as mine. Only positive results can occur from the elimination of negative influences or the positive achievements of man; thus saith Rocslinger.


Consider the fact that archaeologists find civilizations buried underneath one another. Most societies are dragged down from their greatness by the erosion of morality and the growing influence of a selfish and corrupt population. Each time there is a downfall of a civilization, the next one has to start from scratch. Imagine if there were no downfall; if we could continue from generation to generation going back for thousands of years? Is it possible that we might be a star faring race by now; or that we would know so much more about the human genome that we could unlock greater potential in ourselves (maybe I wouldn't be fat, old or balding; I'm just saying.......)?


False dilemma's are a politician's bread and butter. Beware the man that tells you there is a crisis and an immediate need for your money. Or the man that says you need to change your behavior to save the planet, especially, if he's unwilling to set the example. Look out for a president that says that we must totally dismantle our health care system, right now, or millions will continue to suffer. If we want to continue to be a great nation, we must train ourselves to look past the immediate and consider what unintended consequences can be wrought by responding to the false dilemma's so often presented to us by those who's motivation is less than stellar.