United We Stand

COMMENT SUMMARY: No comments were received.

MY COMMENT:  It is a temptation not to make disparaging remarks about President Obama’s character because he did not attend Justice Scalia’s funeral.  However, he is an employee of the American people, and as my employee I think it is more appropriate to remark on his job performance.

Every country has a political and a ceremonial head of state.  For example, in Great Britain the prime minister is the political head of state, and Queen Elizabeth II is the ceremonial head of state.  In the Unites States the president wears both hats.

DISCLAIMER:  If the president stayed away from the funeral for security reasons, that is reasonable.  It also reasonable that he would not want to publicly announce that he stayed away for security reasons.  It would give the terrorists and others too much prestige.

The news media gave conflicting reports about the reason President Obama did not attend the funeral.  One report was that he felt it would be turned into a “political football” if he attended.  So, he sent Vice President Biden instead, while paying his personal respects at the viewing.  The other report that I am aware of was that he sent the vice president because he was busy selecting his nominee to be Justice Scalia’s successor.  The prima fascia evidence provides nothing that should have prevented his attendance.

Certainly, there is ample precedent for the vice president to attend funerals of behalf of the president.  However, absenting himself from this type of ceremonial duty seems to be a pattern for Mr. Obama.  He did not attend Margaret Thatcher’s funeral, and no ally has supported the United States more since World War II than Great Britain.  He did not attend a memorial for the fallen in Paris following a mass shooting.  Many of the leaders of the free world participated in that march in Paris, and President Obama’s absence was conspicuous.  Is it any wonder that our friends no longer feel they can count on us for support?

According to Megyn Kelly of Fox News, Mr. Obama’s failure to attend Justice Scalia’s funeral was the first time that the president did not attend the funeral of a justice of the Supreme Court when both were in office.  The Supreme Court is “the highest court in the land,” and the pinnacle of the judicial branch of our government.  President Obama seems to be unable to recognize any authority to be equal to, or greater than himself, and that is one of his greatest failures as a president.

I believe that avoiding Justice Scalia’s funeral, at the very least, gave the appearance of wrong doing.  It also gave conspiracy theorists one more thing to add to their list of suspicions about the circumstances surrounding Justice Scalia’s death.  NOTE: The issue of the National Enquirer on sale at this writing bears the headline, “Scalia Was Murdered.”

Unfortunately, this is one more disappointment to add to a long litany of disappointments in Mr. Obama’s job performance.  His presidency, in my view, is a failed presidency.

Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” (Matt. 12:25 NIV) President Obama has been called the “Divider in Chief.”  Soon we will be electing a new president.  When you choose who will vote for, please use the ability to bring us together as a nation as one of the criteria in making your selection.

Respect

President Obama did not attend the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.  He and the First Lady paid their respects by going to the viewing and observing moments of silence beside the casket and Justice Scalia’s portrait.

QUESTION:  How do you feel about that?

"Lest we Forget." (Rudyard Kipling)

COMMENT SUMMARY:  The United States needs enough military strength to project power in situations where our foreign policy involves us in the affairs of other peoples and nations.  We are the target of hostility from abroad, whether deserved or not, and we need to be able to defend ourselves from attack.

MY COMMENT:  I think it is important to decide what we must defend against; and on whose behalf.  Since World War II, the United States has carried the burden of defense for the “free world” and much of the world that is not free.  I think it reasonable to expect our allies and “friends” to assume more of the responsibility for their own defense, or at least to reimburse us for it.  I think that getting support from other nations for the cost to us of their defense should be the first step toward funding our military and intelligence services.

I can’t describe all our national defense needs in detail here.  My view is that we have underestimated the challenges we face.  President Obama was elected with a mandate from the people to reduce our military commitments overseas, and he did; with the complicity of Congress.  Americans want peace, but peace at any cost is shortsighted.

I have training and experience that gives me some insight into military matters.  Although I am not an expert, I have enough general knowledge to provide an informed opinion.

Before the sequester our military was sized to fight small regional conflicts, one at a time.  When the need came to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time, while troops were still stationed in Europe and South Korea, we had to rob Peter to pay Paul.  The result was that inadequate resources were allocated to both theaters of conflict.

We have done a good job with developing rapid reaction forces and special operations teams that can respond to emergencies around the world.  We have failed to utilize them properly in some cases, and we have been successful in others.  Our standing Army, Navy, Marines and Air force are too small to successfully oppose Russia or China, or both, in a major war or to respond to multiple regional conflicts simultaneously.

Russia and China have historically relied on overwhelming their enemies by numerically superior forces.  Additionally, they have learned from observing us in Iraq that they must improve their technological capabilities, and they have done so.  Our military is too small to fight a large scale war against Russia or China, or both.  They know it, and they are expanding their influence as a result; sometimes by force.  We need a large enough military to provide a credible deterrent that will eliminate the risk that they will start a war on the assumption that we will back down.  That is the high road to World War III.

We have relied on technology to enable our smaller military to defeat a larger force.  We have been somewhat successful, but we have become over-reliant on technology.  We are vulnerable to electromagnetic pulse attack and anti-satellite weapons, which could render our highly technical weapons systems inoperative by neutralizing our computers and satellites.  It is true that some of our systems have been “hardened.”  However, we remain vulnerable to attacks on our technology and to being overwhelmed by numerically superior forces.

Defense spending should correspond to what we need to defend ourselves.  Our government needs to set aside political squabbling and do a sober assessment of our security needs; now and in the foreseeable future.  Sufficient resources must be allocated to give the military the ability to accomplish its mission.  Much has been made of wasteful military spending, and controls should be in place to keep that in check.

There has been, however, a wasteful boom and bust relationship between spending during active hostilities, and spending when hostilities are concluded.  The size of our military was drastically reduced after the world wars.  The result was that we were not prepared to fight when the next war came along.  In the past we have had time to build up our military and deploy it before we were defeated.  Simply put, we can’t do that anymore.  Our modern military must be technologically superior in order to offset the advantage that our enemies have with larger forces, but it must be large enough survive a first strike and still prevail in a world war.

It is wasteful to build our military up, and then tear it down, only to have to build it up again.  It is wasteful to send our war fighters to the Middle East for multiple tours, and then kick them out when we bring them home.  We waste their valuable combat experience, and it is a disgraceful and callous display of ingratitude.

So what is the answer?  It is that we need to spend enough on defense to meet the challenges that we ask our military and intelligence services to meet.

There is another national defense, which does not come from military might or economic superiority.  It comes from behavior as individuals and as a nation that pleases Almighty God.  In his poem “Recessional,” Rudyard Kipling warns against trusting only in military power and forgetting God.  No nation can stand if God withdraws His protection from it.  Historically, the United States has governed itself according to Judeo-Christian values.  Now we are turning away from our historic moorings, and we are following the values of secular humanism, atheism, and personal convenience.  We have rejected the idea of absolute truth, and followed situational ethics.  The decline in our national fortunes is due, more than anything else, to turning our back on the God of the Holy Bible.

National Defense

Defense spending was cut as part of the sequester, which was passed at President Obama’s suggestion because Congress could not agree about spending.  As a result, the size of our military has been drastically reduced.  Some feel that the military is now too small, and that it cannot meet the existing and potential threats to our national security.  This is your chance to let the world know what you think about that?

QUESTION:  How large do you think the military needs to be for our nation to be adequately protected?

A Path to Freedom

COMMENT SUMMARY:  My thanks and gratitude to those who sent their comments about freedom.  They contributed that our freedoms are precious and that we would not want to live in a country that wasn’t free.  We are all lucky to live in the U.S.A.  The importance of passing on an understanding of our freedoms to the next generation was emphasized.

MY COMMENTS:  Freedom is the ability to think, feel, do, and become what you want to if you are able to.  In America, those who founded our country spoke of freedom often and forcefully:

Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death! (Patrick Henry)

A man who will not die for freedom deserves neither life nor freedom. (Benjamin Franklin)

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The Declaration of Independence states that the rights of mankind are God given, and the Bill of Rights provides protection for the freedoms enjoyed by American citizens.  In order to prevent people from taking away the freedom of others, Americans elect representatives who establish laws and administer the government according to those laws.  At least, that is how things are supposed to work.

Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves. (Ronald Reagan)

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The Swiss have a saying, and I will try to do it justice.  However, I am doing this from memory, so cut me a little slack.  The saying goes:

“Ich bin ein freier Schweizer, und ich tun und lassen, was ich will.”

Loosely translated it means:

“I am a free Swiss, and I do and allow what I please.”

However, laws and cultural norms limit what we are allowed to do, in order that we may have the benefits that come from living in an organized and interdependent society.  In some countries, cultural norms exert stronger influences on what people do than in others.  Likewise, the degree to which freedom is limited by the government varies greatly around the world.  In theory, nobody can make us do anything.  In fact, they can make us pay if we don’t.  Our bodies and the natural world around us also limit our freedom.  You can’t go naked in a blizzard.

Further, we voluntarily limit our freedom in order to maintain interpersonal relationships.  We surrender some of our autonomy in order to stay married, keep our friends, maintain employment, and retain employees. The maintenance of relationships, then, requires some degree of accommodation.

How much freedom are we willing to give up to survive, and what do we do when we hit the limit of what we are willing to give up?  What happens when you have to choose between your freedom and giving up a friend or a spouse?  What will you do when some terrorist puts a gun to your head because he or she doesn’t like your religion?  I stand in awe of the students in Africa and Oregon who said they were Christians knowing they would be killed for it.  God has given us free will, and we can be as free as we choose to be; or dare to be.

If we are to avoid anarchy and lawlessness, we must accept that with freedom comes the responsibility to choose to in ways that do not harm others or violate their rights.  Alfred Adler spoke of developing a sense of social responsibility, and believed it was part of the healthy adult personality.  The study of ethics tells us that our first responsibility is to do no harm.

Unfortunately, it seems that today more and more people recognize no moral authority greater than the self, and we also have to deal with terrorists, tyrants, and other criminals.  As a result, we have to decide as individuals, and as a society how much freedom we are willing to part with in order to be reasonably free from harm.

All I can say from the human standpoint is that, when in doubt, we should go back to the basics.  We must insist on our constitutional rights.  We benefit from living in a nation where the people freely elect those who make the laws. Therefore, we are obligated to obey the law; unless it conflicts with the laws of God or violates our constitutional rights. I do not advocate violent rebellion.  Today, the police and military are well trained and equipped.  Unless the private citizen is equally well trained and equipped, the private citizen will not prevail in an armed conflict with the authorities.  Do not, however, obey unconstitutional laws and regulations or disobey God to please men.  Practice peaceful civil disobedience.

In our personal relationships, it is better to be on good terms with those you interact with, so be flexible. However, we should not accommodate others to the point that we lose our self-respect.  Jesus told us to love others more than ourselves and to treat them the way we would like to be treated.  That is very difficult in our own strength, but with God all things are possible.  Jesus recognized that there would be times when we would need to defend ourselves. So, He also told us to sell our coat and buy a sword if we do not have one.  We have the right to defend against those who attack us or try to harm others.

There is a freedom that we can have which takes precedence over the cares and limitations associated with the freedom we have in this world.  It is the freedom we have when we accept Jesus Christ as our savior.  Before we are saved, we are enslaved by a host of rules that neither I, nor anybody else can keep.  No matter what your background, there are things that we know are wrong.  Yet, we continue to do them.  We fall short of the person that we somehow know that we need to be.  We do it to gain acceptance or status from friends, to get some kind of material gain … or simply because we get a kick out of it.  Regardless of the motive, we can’t make ourselves stop. No matter how much we try to stop in our own strength, we find a way to mess up somehow … because we want to gratify our appetites; our lust, greed, pride, vengeance, and anger.

When we are saved, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in us.  If we surrender to the Holy Spirit’s guidance, He takes away our desire to gratify our old sinful nature.  He gives us a new nature that wants to turn away from our old way of living and to please God.  As long as we are in this world, we are still going to have to contend with sin, but we no longer crave it above the fellowship we now have with God.  If we sin we regret it, and we are unhappy, but praise the Lord, that if we confess our sins He forgives us and restore us to full fellowship with Him.

Everything we do serves a purpose.  What we think or feel, say and do results in good or evil.  When we accept Jesus as our savior, we are given the ability to serve Him through the power and the leading of the Holy Spirit. As we grow in Grace, we become more and more like Him.  We continue to be sanctified until we are called from this life to be with Him.  This is the gospel.  It is the good news that brings joy.  It is true freedom … from slavery to sin and death.

Freedom

We are blessed to live in the United States of America, where citizens have a lot of individual liberty; as compared to the rest of the world.  Whatever follows, please realize that I thank God that I am an American.

The founding fathers would not approve U.S. Constitution, until it included language that protected the rights of citizens.  These rights include, but are not limited to: freedom of speech, the press, assembly, religion, and the right to keep and bear arms.  Americans can travel or move anywhere they want to in the United States without asking the government for permission.  The Declaration of Independence says that we have a God given right to life, liberty and the pursuit happiness (property).

Listening to the broadcast news, it seems that a lot of people believe our freedom is under attack.  So, it may be a good idea to think through what freedom means to each of us.

QUESTION:  What does freedom mean to you?

A New You

SUMMARY: Again, no comments were received.  .

MY THOUGHTS:

Psychologists recognize that people defend by keeping their true self to themselves.  With others, we "put our best foot forward."  We only show more of our true selves to those with whom we are intimate; in the interpersonal sense and/or in the sexual sense.  If fact someone once defined intimacy as being able to be who we really are, without fear of rebuke or of being exploited.  Psychologists say that we adopt a Persona, like a mask, to show to other people, and we adjust it based on the reactions it produces in them (the looking glass self).  I think that much of the sense of loneliness modern people feel is due to their inability to be authentic, and to the fear that they will not be accepted by others if they reveal their "true colors."

Each person is unique, and their personality is distinctive.  However, we are also alike in many ways.  People sometimes search to find answers to the question, "Who am I."  We send our DNA off to strangers to learn what part of the world our ancestors came from.  We look to our parents, and how they raised us.  People say, "He is just like his dad."  It is said that we are products of our culture, or environment, or poverty.  We often identify with famous  people, and try to emulate them.  To some people their racial or ethnic identity is important to who they think they are.  On the bumpers of our cars we see that someone is the proud parent of a student at a certain school.  We say that we are Democrats, Republicans, or disaffected politically.  Men draw a lot of their identity from what they do for a living.  Some people see themselves as victims.  Others see themselves as "movers and shakers."  As we get older, we tend to see ourselves in terms of how we have met life's challenges, trials, and temptations.  The list could go on and on, if it hasn't already.  The good news is that the things that we believe are part of our identity do not have to be permanent; unless we think they do.  We can change, but often it takes the power of God to do it.

In Christ, you can become a new person.  The old passes away, and all things become new.  God has promised that anyone who believes in Jesus can be saved.  Are you sick of always settling for a life that you are ashamed of?  Would you like to live forever, starting today?  Turn away from the sinful things that are making you unhappy.  Humble yourself and surrender yourself to Jesus.  The Holy Spirit will live in you and give you the desire please God; to take up your cross and follow Him.

Pray for these things, and you will given the power to become a Child of the Living God.  You will never see yourself in the same way again.  Get a modern language version of the Bible, and read it starting with the New Testament.  I recommend the New International Version (NIV).  Then, find a Bible believing church.  (Stay away from cults that do not teach the fundamental doctrines that the Christian Church has always taught throughout history.)  Schedule a meeting with the pastor or start attending the Discipleship or New Believer's classes.  Share with them your experience, and ask for guidance.  Listen to the Holy Spirit calling you  The Grace of God is a free gift, all you have to do is receive it.