Ivan and Boris Again
Thomas Sowell has another excellent article at Townhall.com.
There is an old Russian fable, with different versions in other countries, about two poor peasants, Ivan and Boris. The only difference between them was that Boris had a goat and Ivan didn’t. One day, Ivan came upon a strange-looking lamp and, when he rubbed it, a genie appeared. She told him that she could grant him just one wish, but it could be anything in the world.
Ivan said, “I want Boris’ goat to die.”
Variations on this story in other countries suggest that this tells us something about human beings, not just Russians.
It may tell us something painful about many Americans today, when so many people are preoccupied with the pay of corporate CEOs. It is not that the corporate CEOs’ pay affects them so much. If every oil company executive in America agreed to work for nothing, that would not be enough to lower the price of a gallon of gasoline by a dime. If every General Motors executive agreed to work for nothing, that would not lower the price of a Cadillac or a Chevrolet by one percent.
Too many people are like Ivan, who wanted Boris’ goat to die.
Click through and read the whole thing, more government is the problem not the solution.
Thomas Sowell : Ivan and Boris Again – Townhall.com
The Other Deficit
Cal Thomas has a brilliant post at Townhall today, I have wondered out loud why there such rampant civic illiteracy in this country. He is much more kind than I am. I constantly have conversations with people who don’t know the most basic tenets of our government. Simple things like what the President actually does, or more importantly, doesn’t do.
The money quote:
Part of it, I think, has to do with the continued embarrassment by the liberal education establishment over America and what it means to be an American. From their guilt about prosperity and our freedoms, to their opposition to “dead white males,” college professors, especially since the ’60s, have favored the trendy and quaint over the established and proven.
Click through he makes very good points.
Cal Thomas : The Other Deficit – Townhall.com
Evil Concealed By Money
Walter E. Williams is one of the most articulate conservatives in the media today. In addition to his columns and radio fill ins he is a distinguished professor of economics at George Mason University. I have heard him many times on the radio and I have always been impressed by his ability to make the seemingly complex simple. As I have said many times in this space the solutions to our problems are not complex they are simple. It’s about returning to the foundational principles this country was founded on as articulated by the founders not the media or politicians.
In this article he explains why socialism is evil. He makes the case that socialism is a form of slavery. The money quote:
The bottom line is that we’ve become a nation of thieves, a value rejected by our founders. James Madison, the father of our Constitution, was horrified when Congress appropriated $15,000 to help French refugees. He said, “I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” Tragically, today’s Americans would run Madison out of town on a rail.
Be sure to click through and read the whole thing. It’s very good.
Walter E. Williams : Evil Concealed By Money – Townhall.com
B.T.W. I’m working on a post defining conservatism and then I’ll get back to the conversation with Jordan. It’s been a very busy and draining week.
A huge dose of perspective.
I just found out one of my best friends on earth lost their oldest son to suicide.
Please pray for the family.
The Power of Your Name
I’ll get back to Jordan’s questions this afternoon but for now something has been on my heart and mind for a few days.
My friend has been after me to get Lincoln Brewsters new CD Today is the Day. A couple of weeks ago I got it. Wow!
In the interest of full disclosure I am a guitarist. I love screaming guitars and Lincoln is one of the best alive today. I first heard of him when he played on a Hosanna Music CD titled The Smithton Outpouring, He also played on Daryl Evans earlier CD’s. I bought his first CD titled simply “Lincoln Brewster” when it came out and proceeded to wear it out. He has a number of releases in between however for reasons beyond my explanation I never bought them. I am so glad I got this one.
This new album is the complete package. Of course the guitar work is second to none but the writing and collaboration has grown so much. The song I can’t shake and have played dozens of times is cut number seven “The Power of Your Name”, here are the lyrics:
Surely children weren’t made for the streets
and fathers were not meant to leave
Surely this is not how it should be
Let Your kingdom come
Surely nations were not made for war
or the broken meant to be ignored
Surely this just cant be what You saw
Let Your kingdom come, Here in my heart
I will live to carry Your compassion
To love a world that’s broken
To be Your hands and feet
I will give with the life that I’ve been given
and go beyond religion
To see the world be changed
By the power of your name
Surely life wasn’t made to regret
and the lost were not made to forget
Surely faith without action is dead
Let Your kingdom come, Lord break this heart
Your name, is a shelter for the hurting
Jesus Your name, is a refuge for the week
Only Your name, can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name, holds everything I need.
Here is what I have been thinking. Until His kingdom comes in our hearts, get beyond religion and be His hands and feet. Until we start living like their is power in His name, surely nothing will change.
An Apology, a Thank You, and a Conversation Starter.
It all started when I posted two articles:
One from the American Thinker titled, “What Do the Election Results Mean for Conservatives”, and one from National Review Online titled, “America’s True Genius”.
I mentioned in the first post that I wanted to start a discussion and my friend Jordan Peacock took me at my word and posted a couple of comments with a link to his BLOG:
Related to the American Thinker post he said:
“he was shocked at the violence of language”, and “it’s the us-versus-them rhetoric, the demonization of all who do not fit within the author’s bounds of “conservative” that has me concerned the most.” and “there are ways to work alongside people who one is in great disagreement with, without cognitive dissonance or compromise of one’s standards.”
Jordon also referenced an article by Don Miller as counter point. Don talks about his journey from Reagan Republican to Obama supporter. Related to the NRO article Jordon posted a link to his BLOG as response in which he takes on a number of issues.
Since Jordan brought up so many issues and his response serves as a perfect segue into what I was planning to write about anyway I decided to make my response into a series of posts that will feed into Facebook and worshiptherock so people there can comment as well.
I will address each issue one at a time over the next couple of days. I welcome your comments, please keep it civil.
I have re-read the American Thinker article a couple of times and it’s true the tone is harsh. The reason I posted it and spoke “glowingly” about it is because it takes Republicans to task and says what needs to be said in a very “matter of fact” way. It is also the compromising of conservative standards that caused the sound whipping Republicans received at the polls last week. In my passion and disappointment I was blinded to “the us-versus-them rhetoric”. For that I apologize and thank my friend Jordan for calling me on it.
I also agree that people who disagree can work together. I travelled to Salt Lake City two years ago and was able to attend the National Student Dialogue conference last year where we met with General Authorities of the Mormon Church and students from BYU trying to accomplish that very thing.
Where I take exception is the idea of “the violence of language”.
We have taken things which are important and made them unimportant while elevating the world’s ideas to an unapproachable status. For example: situational ethics and relativism over absolute truth, respecting ideas over respecting people, quality of life over sanctity of life, diversity over unity and tolerance over vigorous debate for the purpose of winning in the arena of ideas.
While I don’t believe the old saying “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” if the violence of language was enough to cause Mr. Miller to turn from his conservative values I wonder how deeply he held those values in the first place. My initial observation of his article was his religion and politics were not his own but his parents and was not founded in principle or core beliefs.
Don has authored a brilliant piece of persuasive writing. He gives us an overview of his life story wherein he offers anecdotal evidence that conservative Christians are legalistic, shallow, uneducated people, who don’t think for themselves and live in fear of anyone who doesn’t believe the same things they do, don’t have the same skin color, and don’t share their political interests. Then goes on to tell us why an Obama presidency and democrat ideas are the answer.
I am not questioning his personal experience and I will not defend legalistic churches or deceptive politics. I do find fault with his facts and conclusions. I’ll get to that next.
America’s True Genius
By Alexander Benard & Anthony Dick on National Review Online
I am thinking about a couple of ideas that will definitely start a discussion. In the meantime; heres a primer.
There are those who argue that the principles of the founders are woefully out of date — that our old ideals of limited government and individual liberty need to be revised and updated to accommodate the sweeping government intervention that the complexities of modern society demand. But Americans have always believed that our founding principles are not merely the product of a particular society or point in time. The principles are universal and inalienable or, to quote the Declaration of Independence, they are “self-evident truths.” These moral truths have not weakened over time, but rather have been strengthened by our national experience and our advances in social and economic understanding. Free-market capitalism has led not to the oppression and misery of the working class, but to a record of prosperity and a standard of living that are the envy of the world. Our conservative Constitution, skeptical of change and rooted in respect for the tradition of ordered liberty, has not made us inflexible but has rather safeguarded us from the turbulence of political fads and the temptations of radicalism.
Be sure to click through and read the whole thing,
America’s True Genius By Alexander Benard & Anthony Dick on National Review Online
Anyway
People are often unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives’;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and
some true enemies; Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it man never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.
By Mother Teresa
What do the election results mean to conservatives?
Another excellent essay from the folks at the American Thinker.
Check it out.
American Thinker: What do the election results mean to conservatives?
Oxfords top 10 most annoying phrases
My personal favorite “anyways” didn’t make the list. Maybe next year.
The top ten most irritating phrases:
1 – At the end of the day
2 – Fairly unique
3 – I personally
4 – At this moment in time
5 – With all due respect
6 – Absolutely
7 – It’s a nightmare
8 – Shouldn’t of
9 – 24/7
10 – It’s not rocket science
Oxford compiles list of top ten irritating phrases – Telegraph
My Songs
