Memorial Day

It is May 2010. The current administration is yet again under a cloud of scandel, this time they’ve tried to influence the election of a member of Congress. Of course why that is different than what happened with SEIU and the Black Panthers during the election (in Pennsylvania, go figure) I’m not sure. The president is going on vacation over the Memorial Day weekend and it has been reported he will NOT be present at Arlington National Cemetery for the commemoration of the day in which Americans honor those who have given “the last great measure” .

Given these events, would anyone believe that Memorial Day is an important occasion? There are grave doubts that the majority of Americans even know what the day represents. While those in the South have been decorating the graves of their fallen countrymen since before the end of the Civil War, the rest of the country has been observing “Decoration Day” as it was initially named, since after WW1. Twelve hundred soldiers, members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry, have been placing small flags on the 260,000 plus graves at Arlington since the 1950’s. Twenty four hours a day, all weekend, these soldiers patrol the cemetery to insure all flags remain standing. These men and women understand the sacrifice because they have accepted that they too may have to extend that same sacrifice in defense of this nation.

Why is it important to remember and reverence our “Fallen Heroes”? One reason is that without them and their willingness to give their all many of us would not be living at all. Freedom may have been lost to the despot, the king, the dictator or the commisair. The Chinese with their one child only policy can attest to the foulness of the dictation of reproductive requrirements. How many of us are not the “first child” or the “only child”? Which of you parents would give up one or more of your children? In communism there is no freedom to disagree, there is only obedience or death.

A country that will not value the sacrifices of it’s defenders refuses to remember what is needed to keep liberty alive. War is a very bad thing. It is a cancer to the world and a canker to the soul. The sad fact is that until human beings can live in peace the strong must protect the weak against those who refuse to behave in a civilized fashion. Today this country has men and women serving in far flung areas of the world, confronting the enemy of freedom, liberty, integrity, honor and reason. They fight those who would kill you, your spouse, your mother, father, children , siblings all because you don’t believe the way they do. They chant “death to America” and “freedom go to hell” as they subjugate more than 60 % of their own population. They are an athema to those who died defending “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. They know nothing about freedom or liberty and they seek to make others miserable just like themselves.

We celebrate those who gave their all because if we forget we diminish the worth of their sacrifice and we trample on the attributes of courage, integrity, and sacred honor that are our legacy from these our fallen comrades. We remember because some day, maybe sooner than anyone is comfortable with we may be called upon to fight the enemy in our country, state or community. We remember because if we do remember where we have been we will have no idea of where we want to go or in fact where we don’t want to go. We remember because we stand on the sholders of those who’ve come before, who have lifted us into the future with their willingness to die for us.

So this Memorial Day sometime between the hot dog and the ‘smores or perhaps before the Prince of Persia or the ball game remember those who fell that you might stand. Remember those who came back and thank them for their service. Recommit to being the best citizen you can be, encourge our leaders to return to the principles spelled out in our Constitution and exercise your right to make meaningful change at the ballot box. This is “our” country, it is our job to take up the standard those who’ve fallen have left us and continue on, better, stronger with more resolve.

They deserve nothing less.

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Skewing history, one lame movie at a time

First off I am not a spokesperson for the Mormon Church

Second I am not an apologist for the above.

Third anyone who does not know the stance of the LDS Church on same sex marriage has seriously NOT been paying attention.  The LDS church, the Catholic Church and many Protestant churches do not approve of homosexuality.  They believe it is in direct violation of scripture.  This is not a new tenet of Christianity.  One should hate the sin, but love the sinner. I seriously doubt any of the denominations that oppose gay marriage, teach their adherents to “hate” gay people, with the exception of the “fringe” groups like the Westburough Baptist Church (they’re like the flip side of  Obama’s Rev. Wright-crazy, hateful and disgraceful).

Here’s the dirty little secret the pro gay marriage  folks don’t want you to know about.  California has one of the most liberal “partnership” agreements in the country.  Gay couples do not NEED to get married as they have all same rights as heterosexual couples.  What the gay marriage debate is truly about in California is forcing churches to perform marriages that they consider outside of their doctrine.  Catholic churches, LDS churches especially would have to solemnize unions that are an anathema to their doctrine.  Not because they “hate ” gay people, but because they believe that marriage is and should be between a man and a woman, as it was between Adam and Eve.  While it is true that some heterosexual couples need help to or sometimes can’t get pregnant, children are most often the inherent result of such heterosexual pairing, which is part of the grand plan.

Choice is the one of the guiding principles of such a plan, so it is given to each person to choose to believe or not to believe, to adhere or not to adhere, to deviate or not to deviate.  No one makes anyone belong to a certain doctrine, nor do they insist one adhere to a specific religious ideology, this is NOT an Islamic oligarchy.  But those who do choose to belong to a religion should be free to follow the doctrine of said group and execute their inalienable right to free speech, free thought and act upon those values which they hold dear, under the law of the land.  As long as citizens continue to reject same sex marriage those who work to that end are  honor bound to respect that decision.

If the community you live in chooses to promote a lifestyle that goes against your religious beliefs or lack there of, it might be time to find a community that is more sympathetic to your ideals.   My family and I left the East Coast for just such reasons.  The idea of  drugs and sex as appropriate activities for middle schoolers was not something I was comfortable with.  Parents who threw keggers for underage children with the reasoning “I take their keys so no one drives home drunk.  Since they’re going to drink anyway at least they’re safe,” was NOT in my parental methodology.  I did not want that kind of life for my children .  So we, their parents, decided to move somewhere that that kind of attitude would be less of an issue.  That’s how freedom works, at least it use to in the Pre- Progressive Era.

Of course now the inmates have taken over the asylum.  The loonies have left the bin.  Right is wrong and wrong is in charge. Forgive me for the religious injunction but “God help us all”.

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Equality?

So the Reverend Al wants everything to be equal.  He wants every thing in everybody’s house to be equal.  Well fine, then.  Let’s talk equal.

Religion will be outlawed, after all one can’t have more than one church, that’s not equal.  One kind of pet or more likely no pets as some people are allergic.  No cable or dish, not everyone can afford them. They’re gone.  New cars or any cars, a thing of the past.  New clothes only from one store……….let’s pick Wal mart because more people shop there, majority rules you know, in the new order.  No DVD’s unless everyone has them and they all must be exactly the same or else it’s not equal.  No more movies, not everyone can afford that.  No minority movies either, equality you know. Personal property will become the stuff of legends.  No going to college, after all not everyone is interested in college so the rest of you people who want to advance your eduction, too bad, so sad, it’s just equal.  No more children after all not everyone can have children, and that’s not far.  Sterilization for all, now that’s equal.   No affirmative action, everyone is equal. No more minority set asides, they’re just not equal.  No more resturants, amusement parks, no proms, no nothing.  No jobs, all will simply get a stipend from the federal government to sit around doing nothing because that will make us all equal. But wait who will pay the taxes to feed the masses, clothe the naked, house the homeless, that’s right, there won’t be any taxpayers just tax gluttons.   We won’t need legislatures any more just one person to run things but wait, that would make him more equal than the rest of us so I guess no one gets to be in charge.  Just who is in favor of chaos I like to know?  Well I know but I bet most folks don’t have a clue.

Life, Al is not equal.  Sometimes you have more, sometimes you have less.  Those who work hard, save, invest do better. Those who sit on their butts watching Geraldo, Judge Judy, Jerry Springer and Oprah, sucking from the government teat, inpregnating teenage girls and killing each other with knives, guns and whatever else is handy don’t do well. Surprise, surprise, surprise.

I don’t want your version of equal.  I don’t want communities where young thugs roam the streets shooting at whatever takes their fancy. I don’t want to live anywhere that parents can’t or won’t disipline their children.  I don’t want to be involved with people who refuse to take responsibility for their actions and refuse to admit their problems.  White, black, yellow, red, brown it doesn’t matter. What matters is integrity, honesty, loyalty, freedom and sacred honor and those virtues know no color.

I realize these words are not in the Reverend’s vocabulary.  Maybe someone should help him look them up.

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