Saturday, May 25, 2013

A Time to Remember

The Sun is shining, the grass is green, the temperature is just right, the birds are chirping, and gas prices are higher than ever.  It must be Memorial Day Weekend.  Garage Sale signs are out, boats are loaded, beaches are full.  Barbeque pits are lit and the smells of the meal to come fill the house.  Children running around the yard playing games while their parents sit and talk about growing up, high prices, and government scandals.  The roads are filled with traffic, the parks are teeming with family outings.

The white tombstones lay in a straight line, row by row, as far as the eye can see.  Captains, Sergeants, Privates, Pilots, Yeomans all laying still.  Killed in action in a foreign land and now home to lay in eternal rest. Some are fresh high school graduates.  Others are career military persons.  They have served on ships, in the air, under the sea, and on the land.  They come from every state in the union.  some even fought to preserve the union.  Others fought to make our country possible.  They were sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, and friends.  They endured the pain of war.  Some came home without arms or legs.  Others came with nightmares and memories that control their present day.  Yet, they do not stop enlisting, going, and coming back wounded, maimed, alive or dead.  They wore uniforms of blue or green.  Some wore white.  They freed cities and peoples.  They protected us and our freedoms.

This is the time to remember Dan, Rob, Scooter, Sam, John, Peter, Paul, Mary, Susan and Sally who left us behind to take up arms and face death to defend the land we call home.  They make it possible for the stars and stripes to wave over the land of the free and the brave.  In fact, these brave men and women made this day possible.  They paid the price so we can live where we want, buy what we want, say what we want, and worship who and where we want.  They fought for the rights we enjoy and for the freedoms we hold so dear.

They came from farms and cities.  They were educated and uneducated.  They banded together as one to give us life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!

Let us stop and remember them on this Memorial Day Weekend.  If we know someone who is alive and a veteran, let us thank them for their service.  If we know those who have died defending us, let us give thanks for them and pray for the families who miss them.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Tip of the Iceberg

Over a hundred years ago, the Titanic sank after a collision with an iceberg.  The Captain and the Crew only saw the tip of the iceberg that was jutting out of the icy waters of the North Atlantic.   There are times we cannot see the trees for the forest. Things are not always as appear for what we see on the surface is not always the whole story.

Once again, our country is in an uproar over events in the halls of government.  This time we have three "scandals" grabbing the attention of the Press and Congress.  Are these events deliberate?  Are they plots to divert our attention from members of congress who spend a lot and accomplish little?  Are they attempts of the President and the Executive Branch to punish enemies?  Are they violations of the law?  Who can we believe?  What can we believe?

The "buzz" word of the day is "trust".  We hear that the American people have lost "trust" in their government.  Some are saying this is worse than "Watergate" while others are seeking to explain that this is the work of subordinates who did not have the permission of the administration to perform such actions or that they administration ignored warnings and sought to soften or hide the truth.

The real issue is truth.  What really happened?  What are the facts?  Did the President order the IRS to target the tea party/patriotic/912 groups when they applied for tax exempt status?  Who knew what and who ignored what in the attack on the Benghazi Compound?  Did the President order wiretapping of Associated Press reports to find the source of links in his administration?    Are these situations pointing to something bigger than what appears on the surface?

When we elect our President and Vice President we "trust" them to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the office by obeying the laws of our nation, providing true and accurate information to us, and leading us to reach the goals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

We elect members of Congress for the same purpose.  They should seek to represent the views and needs of the citizens they serve by passing laws, providing balanced budgets, approving appointees of the executive branch, and overseeing the actions of the executive branch.  We "trust" the members of the legislative branch to do the right thing, be honest, and seek the good of the nation.

Members of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President and approved by the Senate.  We "trust" them to interpret the laws passed by Congress and approved by the President  in light of the constitution.  We trust them to determine if the situation is a violation of the Constitution or if if the situation is constitutional.

Our "Trust" gives us assurance that officials will do what they have been sworn to do.  We rely on their oath of office as assurance they are people of character and will seek truth and be truthful.

Once again, we are bombarded with claims of "cover up", "misuse and abuse of office", and "lying".  We are sitting in judgement and in violation of a basic legal principle of our country, we jump to conclusions before we know the facts.  This is the problem isn't it?  We condemn ourselves as ordinary hard working citizens by accepting what is reported on the news or is claimed by a group without knowing the facts.  We jump to conclusions and we form "lynching" mobs to hang someone or send someone to jail.  We need a scapegoat.

Yet, we never stop to research the source of our information.  Who supplied it and what is motivation for supplying it?  Is there a political motivation?  Is this a power play to smear and destroy one group so our group can gain the power?  

We should not accept "status quo".  We can do something about this.  We can demand truth by voting, by speaking out, by writing our Representative and our Senators.  We have the right to petition, the right to speak out, the right to protest.  As long as we allow such actions as we see in all spectrum's of the current situation to continue, we have no one to blame but ourselves.  This is our country.  We have fought and died to be free.  Now, let us accept the fact we have allowed this to happen and it is time all of us say this is enough.  Let's tell Congress it is time to act  by dealing with the problems facing our nation.  Let's tell the President that is is time to lead us.  Let's seek truth not for political gain but because it is the right thing to do!








Saturday, May 18, 2013

In God We Trust

Our currency has the motto, "In God we trust" ,  engraved on all paper and coin currency.  The pledge of allegiance to the U. S. Flag has the words "under God" in the declaration.  The Declaration of Independence declares that we are endowed by our Creator.

Most Americans accept these phrases as an integral part of the fiber of our country.  Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Native American Religions, recognize there is a being greater than all of us.  Our bill of rights guarantees that we have the right to worship.  Some view that his only refers to the Christian religion and not any others.  While many view this as freedom of religion, others view this as freedom from religion.  e 

So which God if any do we choose?  Does the Government (Federal, State, or local) have the right to chose one religious group over another?  Members of the North Carolina State Legislature introduced a bill that would establish a state religion.  This is such a scary bill.  Our country was established by individuals who fled Europe due to the religious persecution they experienced.  Yet when they formed colonies, they became persecutors based on their religion.   Native Americans were considered heathens and were forced to submit to Christianity often by the sword or other means.  The Puritans often tortured Quakers, Catholics, Baptists, etc who entered the Bay Colony.

Seems as though we have forgotten the significance of the basic bill of rights when it guarantees that I have the right to worship or not worship.  This means there is no law demanding that I belong to this church or that mosque.  Yet, there are those who wish to force me by a bill to establish a state religion.  There are those who ostracize me and seek to convert me if I belong to a different group than they do.  These individuals think they understand God and know the right interpretation of Sacred Writings so they seek to make laws based on these Sacred Writings.  In Muslim Governments this may mean that women may be treated as property and subjected to abuse.  In the United States, Christian groups seek to make laws that favor their views or interpretations of the Bible.

The big question is:  Which Christian group has the right to do so?  Do Catholics have the sole right to dictate the laws of our nation?  Do Baptists have the right?  How about Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians?  Do those who claim a "Literal interpretation" vs those who do not have the right? Which Muslim group has the right?  Which Jewish sect has the right?

No one group has the right to dictate who I worship, when I worship, where I worship, and how I worship.  The same way no one group has a right to dictate that all Americans believe a certain, live a certain way, or practice icons and traditions.  Some groups believe they have the right to do so though and they seek to make laws that reflect their views and beliefs.

We are a spiritual nation for sure.  The majority of us believe in rights and wrongs and the existence of a Higher Power.  Our laws reflect our spirituality in many ways, for we are given basic rights by our Creator to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  This pursuit often leads to conflicts in religious beliefs and practices sometimes even in members of the same religious sect.  Who has the right to determine the course of action?

This is where the Spirituality comes into play.  There is a universal desire for justice, liberty, and mercy.  There is a universal desire to be loved and to love.  There is a universal desire to be accepted and to accept.  Jesus summed it up like this, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  If we desire and thirst for justice, then we must be just or fair in our treatment of others.  If we want liberty, we must allow others to live, act, and believe differently than us. If we want mercy, then we must be merciful.

Do I sound like a liberal?  Some would say so, but I am not.  I am rather conservative in my views and practices, yet I have learned a valuable lesson:  listening.  As I listen, I also learn.  When I learn, I grow to understand, accept, and love.  As I grow in understanding, acceptance, and love, I become just.  This does not mean I accept anything and everything for I do not.  What it means is I allow others to be different than me and I learn how to appreciate who they are.

Yes, I am a Christian and I seek to live as Christ taught us to live.  May we all learn more about ourselves and each other!