Strength of Character

It's tough for some Christians and/or Conservatives to read and watch the news without freaking out over the current state of America. Let's just say it's the "calling good evil and evil good" syndrome.It breeds fear and anger, and we must find the strength to confront it.

This morning on Twitter, one gentleman wrote that if someone voted for slavery then they shouldn't expect a patriot to spill his blood over them. I say to all of you- a true patriot will "spill his blood" over anyone because that's who they are. Our troops do it all the time. They die in wars fought over people who wouldn't do the same for them. It's what makes America different than others. Our first responders do it all the time as well- standing in the place of the citizens, dying to keep them safe. Do we have that character and strength?

One day when I was being fitted for my first police uniform, word came that a police officer had been murdered while on a traffic stop in a nearby community. When they gave his name, it shook me to my core: it was a young man that I had gone to high school with. A friend. I went to the funeral with safety pins all up and down my legs, which required me to stand for the entire service. And stand I did, vowing that when tragedy strikes, my response must be running toward it, not away from it.

All of us must find the inner strength to see the problem and move toward it. Whether it is prayer over the sad situation in our nation, or a real disaster that requires us to do something physically. And in all of that we must find wisdom. I see rampant rumors and conspiracy theories spread across the internet...none of which exhibit the kind of wisdom and calm response that we all must have in order to combat the growing darkness in America. As a friend of mine once put it, "believe no one, take everything to the Lord first."

Isaiah 60 states that gross darkness will cover the earth. It's already here. But if we want our light to shine in that darkness, strength of faith, strength of character, strength of love must be our rallying point. Will you be willing? Willing to allow that strength of character to be built in your life? Or will we all fold up into a ball of hatred, anger, and bitterness over the way things are unfolding before us? You choose.

Tragedy and Triumph

Last night, I grieved over a 26 year old security officer who sat innocently in his patrol vehicle as he was "assassinated" by a terrorist. He was totally unaware of impending death. The news reporter said that all he had ever wanted to be was a cop. Having worked with many police officers over the years, the whole thing bothered me greatly. The young man got out of bed, dressed for work, not having any idea that it was his last day on earth. I imagine him pinning his MIT badge on his uniform as he looked in the mirror, then reaching up to straighten his tucked in uniform shirt. It was the last time he would ever do that.

While watching the coverage of the Watertown incident, I ran through the entire Boston bombings and ensuing week's events in my head. Policemen, firemen, EMTS, and civilians fighting to save the lives of those around them in the midst of the chaos of bomb blasts. Police being attacked by explosives as they chased suspects through the streets. And finally a quick phone call by a citizen who amazingly survived after checking his boat and seeing the last suspect...a phone call that caused the entire world to descend on a quiet neighborhood in Massachussetts. The adrenalin, the intensity,the horror, the tragedy and the triumph all rolled into one week.

One thing remains paramount for all of America at this juncture in history: we must work together as well as law enforcement did last night. We must stop polarizing our nation by personal wants and desires,or the need for power and control, and remember that only unity works against evil. We must understand that we have enemies that will stop at nothing to destroy us. America was shaken by the incident in Boston, but it did not destroy us only because the people rose up and refused to be defeated. Cops fought, people fought, and through the tragedy of person loss and broken hearts, they managed to stand hand in hand. We must stand hand in hand as a nation or our enemies win.

Tomorrow's showdown

So word has it that Thursday April 11, is the big day when Congress blasts through new gun control legislation to "Fix" what's "wrong" with gun availability in America. And many Republicans are set to vote for it mostly because they are intimidated by the media and deceived by gun control advocates.

First, I am extremely aware that gun violence is real. I've read enough books and seen enough media controlled TV to understand that America is chock full of wackos. The issue here isn't that there is gun violence, but what CAUSES gun violence? The current crop of gun legislation is like handing an aspirin to a sick person. It treats the symptom for a while (until they take too many and get a brain bleed- speaking from personal experience).

Violence is a symptom of a society in desperate need of help. As fear of the crazy people grows, so too will the desire to restrict, limit, and contain law abiding citizens. Symptoms, not causes. Fear, not faith.

This blog was created because I told everyone that what is unseen influences what is seen with the eyes. Bad guys don't obey laws. Crazy people can't think like "normal" people. The symptom is violence, the cause is a society that hates God and has allowed a different crop of spirits to run it. Selfish, self-centered, without conscience, all of those things breed violence. We've put it on television, in movies, in music, in books, and on video games. We don't spend time with our kids to help them understand such things; we shove them in a corner with their earphones and let them fend for themselves because we're too busy or plain selfish to care. We murder babies by the thousands every day because we're too self-centered to take the time to deal with a child. Hey, it interferes with our lives. So if you're wondering why all the violence? It's by design, the design of the forces of evil. And it's only going to get worse until we repent and change our ways of thinking. Get a clue, America!

Weeble Wobble and Nanny Government

One of the most glaring problems with the current leadership of the world and the United States is their continual use of what I call "weeble wobble" in both treaties and legislation. Whoever the attorneys are that come up with this junk are masters at making something sound like something it's not.
Let's take the UN ARms Treaty for an example: The language seems so logical- regulating the trafficking of tanks, and big monster weapons across country borders. But when it gets to "small arms," suddenly the language goes all weeble wobble. It leaves it open for "interpretation," which means that unscrupulous people who could give a rip less about the Bill of Rights can twist the wording for their own agenda. And with the current crop of liberals who don't have a flippin' clue about what an "assault weapon" really is, that's dangerous.
Make no mistake: this government wants us disarmed and powerless. My dad, an avid gun collector, told me many times growing up that governments run by evil men always try to disarm the populace, and take away property rights. Why? Because citizens who own property and guns have strength. Take those two things away and they have none.
Another example is Obamacare. Hidden taxes, exhorbitant costs, secret things written as weeble wobble within a giant document that no one bothered to read before passage.
A government run by good men sees the value of a strong populace and strives to create an atmosphere where the people can flourish and hold personal responsibility. Without personal responsibility, the people can't thrive. When a government looks like it's thriving rather than its people, it becomes unwieldly and top heavy...ultimately it is destined to fall over like that big statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad.
A government run by evil becomes a bunch of control freak nannies. They use legislation to have power over the people, removing all semblance of personal responsibility. They use weeble wobble language to create a climate of worry rather than one of faith and hope. You can't do this, you can't eat this, you can't blah blah blah, so we have to "control you because you're all stupid." Unfortunately it is past annoying; it creates a nation of sheep who can't think for themselves. And that's what evil likes to do: give their minions power over us. Let's not allow the weeble wobble to create any more nanny government!