Courage of our Conviction

I recently returned from a road trip with my family during which time we visited several of the beautiful natural spaces in the Western United states and many of the temples of our faith along the way.  During this time, and since, I have had time to consider much as we were largely out of the clutter of mass communication, news, internet, etc.  It is funny, even when we sometimes think we have removed adverse influences from our lives, how much remains.  It takes a change in daily routine to make one realize how much of the worldly influence still holds fast in our daily activities.  A couple of weeks of separation and solitude are good for the soul.

So here I am back home in my still somewhat removed Western Montana Mountain home, considering what to allow back as influences in my daily routine and what to shutter all together.  It is interesting that at this point those things which are most important are so plainly visible, yet within a few weeks, without conscious effort, those core convictions which make life have purpose and value will be swallowed up in the necessity of daily routine, those priorities, while still important, become at best guiding influences rather than the purpose for the activities that create our end.

With this clear perspective, let me set down plainly those things which are my convictions.  If you can find some separation to clear your mind, I would invite you to do the same.  Convictions, to me at least, are those things which you value above all else in life.  They are the purpose for which you act on the majority of the things you do.  Here are my convictions: Integrity, Faith, Family, and Freedom.  Yep, that is it.  Those are the drivers in my life at this point.  Without any one of these I would be at a loss, and when I stray from these, I reduce my happiness, effectiveness, and slow my progress in life. 

Since we are still in this cycle of a major election year, I will continue to orient my posts for the next couple of months to that end.  Some people say that this election is the most important of our lifetime.  When asked why, there are a multitude of reasons, but how important are they really.  I can boil the criteria for whom I will vote for to one thing.  Who most closely supports my convictions?

In the last few days, as I have begun to reengage the world and my daily routine, a few things have entered my sphere that have really made me think.  They have solidified for me, once again, not only the necessity of following our convictions, but why my convictions are what they are.

The first event was the horrific event of the killing of our Ambassador and staff in Benghazi Libya and the associated Islamic protests along with the media rhetoric around it. The second was the feigned liberal media outrage and attempted spin created over the truthful comments of Mitt Romney regarding the propensity of those who are in some way dependent on the government for their livelihood or subsistence to vote for him.   The third was a simple response to a discussion post on Facebook from a friend who I have long held respect for, that was somewhat different than I had expected.

I would like to address each of these in brief as each could fill an entire entry on their own and may in the coming days, but for now I would like to set them against my convictions.  Might you do the same?

The attack on our embassy, the method of torture and killing of our Ambassador in Benghazi along with the media storm surrounding it and the other protests should heighten our awareness of just where we, as Americans, stand in the world.  Our president, when he was elected or as he portrayed it, was anointed, gave a speech that suggested that by the mere act of his election, racial tensions were healed, environmental issues were being reversed, that the world had come together and we would all live in symbiotic harmony.  If you don’t remember the acceptance speech look it up, it is something to watch even now.  But was it honest, did he and has he acted with integrity?  The simple answer is NO!  Whether you believe he is eligible to be president or not, weather you think he is a good man or not,  this president has a consistent record of deceptiveness and misinformation, from his own personal biography, much of which we now know was carefully crafted and fabricated, though his presidency and most recently the official position on the killing of our ambassador, he has used those around him including a complicit media to maintain an image at the expense of integrity and without regard for those whom he was elected, not anointed, to serve.  Whether by malice or incompetence without the courage of conviction I will not judge, but the simple fact of record, is that integrity does not drive this man.  The atrocity in Benghazi also highlights the simple differences and complexity of Faith.  Our president thought that by nature of his special personage, the tables of animosity around the world, had been or at least could be reset as a result of his arrival.  Remember his speech at the Berlin Gate?  He was a “citizen of the world”, well whatever his conviction of faith, of which many are still unsure; be it that of Black Liberation Theology, Muslim, Jack Christian, or agnostic, what is sure, is that his arrival, policies, dogma, and apologetics for American exceptionalism have not reset the tables, have not subdued animosity, have only weaken us in the eyes of those who would destroy us in the name of their faith. 

http://freebeacon.com/witnesses-there-was-no-protest-in-benghazi/

Faith as a conviction is a powerful motivator, for good, or for evil depending on the source of inspiration.  I am a respecter of Faith, regardless of religion, given the source is that which inspires man to do good.  It concerns me as a person of faith when others either condone or apologize to or for those, who out of “inspiration,” do evil.

I was watching the news as a well know reporter (Heraldo Revera) was explaining that the Muslim societies that have been protesting and attacking us around the world "are a hundred years behind western civilization, we have to regard them almost as children" with regard to their fundamental violent religious behavior.  This was after a week of hearing that their motivation was a film trailer on You Tube.  As I listened to this reporter, I realized that what he was saying is that these radicalized Muslims need a hundred years to evolve their society into a Godless - religious beliefs don't matter society  like most of Europe and much of the US have become. As unlikely as this evolution is (they have held the same beliefs for a millennia), I have another question, is this really idea an advancement to societal development? Is this what liberals feel is the equalizer that will draw all mankind together? Or is this logic just another liberal excuse/victim rational to excuse behavior that is deviant, deteriorative or just plain evil.  I maintain it is the latter.

While I vehemently disagree with radicalized Muslim doctrine (that which is used to incite violence), I only disagree with it slightly more than the views of those on the left who protest and oppose and moral and responsible behavior, in the name of tolerance and "equality". The right to act in an immoral, degenerative way, or to work acts of evil, is not an advancement to our society.  Just because you can act in such a manner, for whatever reason, does not make it right or good.  This goes for unnecessary dependency (unwarranted welfare), deviant sexual behavior (the act of homosexuality), the murder of unborn life for convenience sake (medically unnecessary abortion), or the murderous behavior of a belief that others lives are worthless because they do not share the same faith.  The source of all of these behaviors is not good.  It comes from another place, one that I choose not to endorse.

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/mark-tapson/the-sexual-pathology-of-the-libyan-attackers/

It is time to stop making excuses for evil. The fight against Muslim governance and the associated repressive behavior has been a struggle for centuries, after all that was what the crusades were about. Not saying that crusades were good, but that the philosophical difference is not one that we should excuse, it will not go away, we must stand for good.

It is time to stop the Politically Correct degeneration of our society.  It is time to stand up for integrity and call deception and evil out for what it is.  We live in a country founded on the principles of Faith, liberty and freedom to enjoy the fruits of one own labors.  We are losing that foundation.  We have given up Freedom for the promise of security; we have given up integrity for the appearance of tolerance.  We have given up faith in capitulation to those who are “offended”.  We accept the lack of integrity from our political leaders as normal because we have ceded much the responsibility for our own well being to the “better judgment of others” knowing full well from observation that they are void of integrity.

How is this good for us, our families, and our country? The answer is simple, it is NOT GOOD!  It is past time to stand up for our convictions.  Past time to examine our own beliefs and abilities.  Time to return to integrity of self, to the faith of our fathers that we are endowed by our creator with rights that are not subject to men, but rather, the foundation that men who seek to lead are subject to God, and as our elected servants, they who shall be great (in their own mind) shall be least, and they that shall be humble shall be great in the sight of God and of men.  

Whoever you are, weather you have family, fame, fortune, or are suffering from the current climate that we have allowed to be brought upon us in this country.  Consider your convictions, what is the source of your inspiration.  Stand for that which you value regardless of that which you see as acceptable to others.  If you have lost integrity in your life. Start fresh and return to your core values.

We saw an example of this in Mitt Romney’s currently attacked speech from last summer that was cut by a left leaning media source to create a sensation, and with the mainstream media’s willing aid, did.  This was the distraction of the moment that was going on to change the focus from the misinformation coming out of the White house about the attacks on our embassies around the world by radical Islamists.  (The attacks were not over this You tube film trailer, it was as it was 11 years ago; it was an act of terrorism inspired of a radicalized faith that hates America, and sees it weakened by the current administration.)  Mitt had made a speech at a fundraising event in which he said there were a large percentage of people who, do to their reliance on government for their lively hood or subsistence, were not receptive to his message, that they were predisposed to vote for President Obama because of their dependence.  This was truth, maybe not comfortable truth but it was truth.  He said it was not his goal to reach these people in terms of message for the election but to reach those who had not already made up their mind.  This is truth, maybe not comfortable truth but it was truth.  Now if you listen to the leftists in the media who cut the recording and used a clip to spin a different meaning, you might understand differently what he was saying.  But truth stands on its own as does integrity.  I have sat in homes of people who are as husband and wife, spilt in their political philosophy.  I have heard the logic for why the left leaning person would vote for the current President, not because of policy, or what he has done or accomplished but because if he were not elected, “I would not have my job”.  This particular person holds a position that is paid for by a government program.  Policies were not the issue, spending wasn’t the issue, integrity wasn’t the issue, only personal subsistence.  And the sad fact is that we have created such a level of enabling programs, government jobs and entitlements beyond that which is truly necessary that there are a great number of our citizens, dependent on these programs that fear their loss. The truth is not always pretty but it is still the truth.

I would say to any person, employed in any way, by any level of government, or compensated by  government subsidized funds, that if you yourself recognize that your position or compensation received from whatever government source is not necessary but exists only because of the political persuasion of a power base, then you are part of the problem.  You are, by virtue of your understanding, voiding your own integrity.  Someone is suffering more because of your willingness to take that which you know is not needed.  That which you enjoy is from the hand of another who earned it. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am not suggesting that all government jobs are unnecessary, or that they provide no value, but there are many that are either misplaced (at the federal level when the should be at the state or local) or are funded (especially at the federal level) outside of constitutional parameters and serve largely to bolster a power base rather than to serve a necessary constitutionally authorized purpose.  The same is true for the many arts, aid, and some portion of entitlement programs.  Government is, and has almost universally proven to be the least efficient means of delivering goods and services to its citizenry and those who are linked to dependence on it are enslaved to a system of socially repressive and productively deteriorative behavior, often believing that they are involved in a cause that is just the reverse, but in reality they are part of the parasite in the free economy that our country was founded on, and that our military (actually authorized by the constitution) have fought for, sacrificed, and died for.  Truth is not always comfortable but it is truth.

The final item that has solidified for me that it is our convictions we must stand for not a political party was the response from a friend, into a query as to whom my friends were supporting and why.  You may sense, as I did a bit of frustration, and even embarrassment in the response as I did, but I at least applaud my friend for the willingness to share the thought: 

               

 I have looked at both candidates very carefully. I watch a lot of news on both sides. From what I see they are both good men. They are both honest men who love their families. I'm always afraid to put political comments on here because I am more liberal than my friends and neighbors. I am liberal because I feel that helping people does not make us weak. It makes us strong. I'm more liberal because everyone has a right to believe how they want. And I'm a liberal because human rights issues are important. You call it redistribution of wealth, I call it building roads for all, paying teachers and police what they are worth and yes helping the poor, sick and needy. I am a liberal for good reasons, and I believe others are conservative for good reasons. But in government we need to compromise, listen and respect other views.

This friend, one that I grew up with, who shares my faith, a person whom I have always had respect for, has arrived at a very different perspective than I at this point in life.  I share many of the same concerns but believe the solution is very different.  I will share my response then comment a little further to wrap up this post:

While you did not do as the post topic requested, I can take from your answer that you are either leaning or decided on voting for President Obama. Could you please cite for me what you feel he has done or will do doing his next term that is driving you that direction if it is the case? 

I don't think most conservatives disagree with you about the ideas of helping others, human rights, or the role of government in the infrastructure of our country. We may disagree on who's responsibility (ie. government or individual/religious) it is, and if it is the government's responsibility, at what level (local, state, or federal) it should be handled under the constitutional structure of our country. One philosophy is that it is the responsibility of the individual to first take care of himself and his family (ie self reliance) then as he is able to share and to aid others. With regard to government, this same philosophy would say that the federal government has limited powers (ie as enumerated in the constitution and it's amendments) and that all other powers are reserved for the states as they and their citizenry decide, this would include most infrastructure, education, and public assistance. The founders believed and wrote via the federalist papers that when the federal government assumed these type of powers it would be the end of our republic because the ability of government to create dependency (control the citizenry) for the sake of power becomes the driving force of decision. That is being born out today. Not just by this administration but by the entire federal gov. process.

The real question is are you okay with the socialization of our republic? Are you in favor of continuing to spend beyond our means. Is dependency on the government for subsistence consistent with your philosophy, as that is where we are and will increasingly become if the path that we are on continues. And if all this is okay with you, then who will pay for it as the private workforce continues to shrink, the government labor roles and entitlements grow and foreign money ceases to flow to our country as a result of our fiscal irresponsibility.

Someone once said: Render therefore unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s. At what point does Ceaser (ie government) become God. I would answer this, when we allow the government to assume a role (power) that forces one to do what we are granted our agency to choose to do. It seems to me that the plan of forced compliance came from another source.

This is the crux of the necessity of conviction.  While I feel the logic of liberalism is misplaced in general; the logic that human rights, helping others, freedom of belief, etc. are liberal not conservative values is in itself distorted.  They are values that are of individual conviction, not of a political party.  The parties would have you believe that the other is uncaring, want to do harm, etc., but this is for a want of power, not out of rational observe actionable logic.  The large majority of people in this country want good, they want reasonable human rights (as outlined in our founding documents) they are willing and often desirous to help others.  We are and have always been a nation that has been willing to assist in times of need.   These are not items that are divisive.  The divisions comes from the extreme, from those who would like to create “rights” and special classes where none exist, those that take offence at others views and would legislate away rights such as freedom of speech and religion, those who would sacrifice rights for political correctness, those who would make excuse for bad, immoral, even evil, behavior.

My friend is right in that we need to maintain the human rights that were defined in our constitution, right to say that we are stronger when we are willing to help others, right to maintain that we should be free to believe as we choose!  These are not Liberal or Conservative values, they are American values.  They are values that our Founders held individually and structured a government that was to allow individuals, even local government to flourish as individuals chose to uphold them. They sought to provide a framework in which there would be cooperation among the states to provide for national security from threat and influence abroad and to limit the power and influence of that national authority at home.  The provision and power to provide basic services, aid, and even education was left to the states so that the freedom of people to believe and live as they chose would be preserved.

Our division of opinion, my friend and I, and largely that of the majority of good Americans comes in the method of delivery.  I believe in the goodness and potential of the individual.  That freedom and rights apply at the most basic level; ourselves.  We have the right to choose to be who we want to be and we have a moral obligation driven by that inspiration that is of God to do good.  We are a nation of laws to control and maintain a level of civility from those who are void of integrity values and conviction.  We are not a people who is meant to be controlled, subject of, and/or compelled to do, anything as a result of national government oversight, their oversight is to be servitude to us and is only to maintain our freedoms.  Both parties are far awry from these basic tenants of our Republic.  Neither party conforms to or serves completely the interest of the American Citizenry. Many political figures have devolved to act on only that which will help them maintain power.   It is for this reason that we cannot, should not, must not rely upon party politics, but must be engaged at a more basic level.

We must seek out truth, not the spin from media sources, but look at actual records and source information to determine who most closely meets our individual convictions.  Regardless of the platform or party line, it is only our conviction, mine being: Integrity, Faith, Family, Freedom,  that will carry us through troubled times and guide us successfully forward.  Stand for what you believe in and choose those that act as you would.  Truth is not always comfortable but it is still truth.

The choice this November: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=D9vQt6IXXaM&hd