The last several months I have talked to friends and family members about what is going on with the government. Before the election in 2008, I had even started this blog to talk about all things political.
The actions of the government or the tales that have been told about blogs and internet in general pulled me back. The what ifs put a hold on my speech. I had enough on my plate without causing more stress through my opinions (and I have LOTS of them).
It has only been in the last few days that I have decided to not hold back any more. I can not tell my kids to do all that they can do and refuse to do that myself. It is time for me to stand up and speak my heart and mind and let the chips fall where they may.
3 Rants on Government that I have Held Back
1. President Obama thinks that children are not learning because they are not spending enough days in school. The truth is that teachers are being forced to teach for tests and not for education. Home school and private school children learn more in less time and for less money.
2. The government is getting too involved with my personal life. A mother, just helping out the neighbors, got in trouble for watching the neighborhood children until the school bus arrived to pick them up. This rant also includes neighbors who are too nosey for their own good because one of the neighbors had to have called and made a complaint.
3. There are so many issues when it comes to the government “fixing” the health care system that I’m not sure where to start. The truth is that most people have health care that they want and those who do not can find health care if they make choices to get that health care.
This is only the beginning. There are so many things that we need to talk about when it comes to our daily life. The government needs to hear what we have to say. I am still a bit nervous – I must confess – but I am stepping out.
This country needs you. You are a vital part of the success of what this country is and what this country is becoming. The time has come for each person to stand up and become more – not just for self but for posterity.
Tips for Stepping Up
1. Become more involved. No matter where you are in your walk, your taxes pay for the schools, the running of the city and other items. Attend the public meetings so that you can be aware of what is going on around you. Make your voice heard. Then come out of those meetings and share your knowledge with all the people that you know.
2. Become more concerned. It may not seem like the issues coming up involve you but if you let them pass with out a blink then there will be no one standing with you when the issues do affect you. Take issues to heart and be willing to help your neighbor and not just self.
3. Become more responsible. Ultimately every issue does have something to do with your life because YOU are the government. Complaints have no room because the government is the people. When I am involved – intimately, personally and consistently – then I become responsible and aware.
It is easier to turn away from the issues than face them head on. The only thing that is accomplished by avoiding what is going on is that you give away your power. It is time to take back the power and stand up for the country. It is time to become a link in the chain that holds this country high.
Obama is very savvy when it comes to dealing with the public and with people in general. He knows how to accentuate his assets and diminish his negatives. It’s an amazing talent that he has revealed most recently during his travels to the Middle East.
The President was referred to only by his first and last name during the campaign. His middle name – Hussein – was not one that went over well with many people in the United States. It is understandable that it would not be used during the campaign.
The name is useful in the Middle East. It helps him to identify with the people in the region or at least helps them to identify with him. President Obama has been introduced using his full name during his trip through out the Middle East.
There have been some articles about how this new move of using Barak Hussein Obama shows President Obama’s close ties to the Muslim community. It seems to me that it is just one more move that shows President Obama thinks about his audience completely and stages his speeches so that they will have the most emotional impact.
People move on emotion. President Obama is using that knowledge and his skill at moving people with his power speeches and other nuances to move his agenda along with out question. To me THAT is the one thing that people need to be watching. What name President Obama uses is not nearly as important as the policy that he is pushing through.
The nomination for the Supreme Court Justice has been named and Bill O’Reilly was discussing Sonya Sotomayor on his show last night. The conversation turned to the base of the Republican Party and how if Republicans fought the nomination – even on the basis that she believes the appellate court is where legislation is made – that the Republican Party would suffer.
There has been so much babbling about dwindling Republican Party (I’ve only heard Glenn Beck discuss the dwindling of BOTH the Republican and Democrat Parties). The truth is that is shouldn’t matter about the parties. The Legislative Branch answers to the state and to the people – NOT to the parties.
Something has to give. When people are no longer able to say what they understand based on facts of law (and not feelings or emotions) then there is a problem. People have been raising their voices to the sky with “Tea Parties” and other types of protest. Those in the ruling class (the press, the congress, the state governments) better start listening.
Bill O’Reilly is wrong. Those men and women that feel Sotomayor is a bad choice for the Supreme Court should reveal the facts. There may be no way to STOP the truck – as was mentioned several times on Bill O’Reilly’s “The O’Reilly Factor” – but it may be slowed down just enough that the truck doesn’t do as much damage.
The other night I watched a movie from the Hallmark Channel about a lady that saved orphans during World War II. I was moved by the fact that one woman was able to make such a difference. Then it dawned on me that often times it is just one voice, one person, or one family that takes that extra step and makes the impact that moves the world. The truth is that we should all be that one person.
One Life CAN Make a Difference
1. Your life is not perfect, I get that. There may be clothes piled up (clean or dirty doesn’t make a difference if they are still piled up). You may be struggling with running late, being unorganized or some other habit that tends to slow down the process. There will always be a reason or excuse NOT to get involved but you have to push through to make a difference.
2. You may not be in a position of authority, but you can write to your congressmen and senators. You can sit down with your family and discuss the issues that you are passionate about. You can take some time to LEARN what the issues are. Knowledge is a empowering and the tongue is the only offensive weapon in the arsenal (according to Ephesians 6).
3. You may be very busy in your own life (especially if you have children that are into extra activities). It only takes five minutes to call up a friend, send a nice note or let another person go before you in line. Would you be willing to give up five minutes if you knew it could change the world?
4. It takes smaller pieces to make a masterpiece. Try to see the smaller parts and quit focusing on the larger image. You can be one of the grains of sand that creates the sandcastle even if you have no idea how the sandcastle will come together.
Without one person there would be no Christianity, there would be no emancipation proclamation, there would be no “dream” or Obama. One voice and one person has made a difference since the beginning of time. What are you going to do today that will begin to make an impact on the world?
It has been said that if you are conservative when you are young that you don’t have a heart but if you are liberal when you are older then you don’t have a brain. That simply isn’t a true statement. There is no right or wrong when it comes to your personal stance, but being conservative is an easy and compassionate path to follow.
Steps to Being Conservative
1. Learn history. The more that you understand about how this country came to be (from the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving to the founding fathers to civil rights) then the more that you will understand how faith and values have played an inherent role in the establishment of the THESE great United States.
2. Read and understand the Constitution of these United States of America.
3. Realize that although we act as one country we are – by the very creation of the unity – fifty different states working as these United States of America.
4. Reach out to your neighbors. Getting to the top of the game is not about seeing how many others can be elbowed out of the way. True success is marked by the number of successes that lie in the wake.
5. Recognize and accept the cost. The founding fathers literally risked everything to insure a better life for their children and the future. It is imperative that we all being to ask “what am I willing to sacrifice to make life better for my children?”
Anyone that is willing to stand up for freedom, success and the traditional values that have made these United States great can be a conservative. There is always room for more conservatives because the more success that there is then the more success that there can be.
Yesterday I received a phone call from a lady that wanted me to come get some of her plants. She calls me every time she divides her plants even though I don’t see her or hear from her any other time of the year. She does it because of the respect that she had for my Grandmother and Grandfather (who have been gone for two decades).
The character that the two of them had has carried over to the third generation. I am reaping the results of the character of my grandparents. It’s proof to me of the importance of character even in this day when your word, your integrity and your character seem to be the least important thing around.
Tips for Building Character
1. Be on time. It seems like a small thing but if I can’t trust you to just be where you say you’ll be when you say you’ll be there then how can I trust anything else that you say?
2. Say no. Stop hem-hawing around the issue and say no if you are unable to attend an event or if you have no intention of attending.
3. Finish what you start. Our children have to complete any activity that they start even if it turns out that they don’t love it. Everyone should have this mind set. Once you commit to doing something – teaching Sunday school, participating on a board or cleaning a park – you should do it consistently and with all that you have until the end of the term. If there are no terms then give a sufficient notice so that you can be replaced before you leave.
4. Follow the rules. You may not agree with all of the rules but if you will break one then how can I be sure that you won’t break another? Besides, it’s hard to tell the kids to follow the rules when you don’t follow them yourself (this DOES include the speed limit).
Character matters and it will not just follow you but will follow your children and grandchildren. Leave a legacy that they can carry proudly.
The other day I was asked about how I feel about the direction of the country. The economy is still struggling and the government is spending like they are printing money but I believe that the country is headed in the right direction. It has nothing to do with circumstances or even stimulus packages. The country is headed in the right direction because of the people.
The news media has portrayed a recent poll about the direction of the country as a rise in support for Obama. The truth is that people are seeing these United States as their own once again and are feeling like it is possible to make a difference.
Reasons the Country is Headed in the Right Direction
1. People do no longer trust the media for their news. They are digging into the truth for themselves and then spreading the word by grassroots efforts and just sitting around the picnic table.
2. Individuals are speaking up to their representatives in all levels of government to let them know they are unhappy or that they do support the stands that are being taken that goes against the norm.
3. Consumers are recognizing that debt is enslaving for their personal lives but also for their government and are demanding that the government sticks to a budget just like individual households and businesses must stick to a budget.
People see that the country is moving in the right direction because they are taking personal responsibility. They believe in their own abilities and that is reflected in the direction that these United States are now moving.
Many Americans are fed up with how the government is spending their money. In an attempt to get the attention of the politicians, the average people are holding “Tea Parties” all around the country. You may not have head about it because the main stream media isn’t giving it much leverage.
The focus is on the amount of debt the government is building up. One little girl was wearing a t-shirt that said “get your hand out of my piggy bank.” People are waking up to the realization that all this government spending will have to come out of the pockets of taxpayers.
It is not right for ordinary citizens that are paying their bills and fulfilling their debts should be required to also pay for the minority that isn’t spending responsibly. It is fortunate that the internet is allowing ordinary people to share information and to come together through these tea parties and other gatherings. Many of the tea parties around the country are scheduled to occur on April 15th to remind the government that it is the people that the politicians work for and not political groups, companies or organizations.
Understanding the government finances is important to your daily life. Higher taxes mean more challenges to living (or getting) a debt free life. More spending means more taxes. Make your voice known – have a little tea.
The Glenn Beck program on Fox News was a shock to my system yesterday – Friday. I don’t always watch the program, but the house was quiet and I needed a break from my work. It will run again on Saturday, March 14 at 8 pm CST but I recorded it anyway. It was that powerful.
It left me with the hope that I could make a change – in me, in my family, in my area and even in my country. The program launched the 912 Project which calls all of us to look to 9 principles and 12 values that helped make this country what it is and to put those all back into our lives – and into our country.
• Honesty
• Reverence
• Hope
• Thrift
• Humility
• Charity
• Sincerity
• Moderation
• Hard work
• Courage
• Personal responsibility
• Friendship
Glenn Beck has called us all to meet up again on September 12, 2009 – just six months from now – and share how we have changed this country for the better.
Change is good and the 912 Project was the right motivation for me at the right time. I intend to watch the program again with my husband and my older children. My hope is to watch it with friends and other family as well. The more people on a mission to change then the more that change will rock the world!
I’m still kicking around the possibilities of what I need to do and what I can do and what I am willing to do. The Founding Fathers were all willing to sacrifice everything to make a change. They did it for their children and the future of the country. I am taking time to pray over what I am willing to do, to give up or to become to secure the future for my children and grandchildren.
What will you do in the next six months to make a positive change to you, your family, your town, your state and your country?