A Difference Refined

There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. Wisdom is the ability to use knowledge. Stupidity is the inability to correctly process knowledge. Ignorance is the lack of information. There is no cure for stupid. Arrogance is self-imposed stupidity. A good example of arrogance is the politician who knows what the majority of the American people want (those that they work for) as well as the Constitution that they are sworn to uphold and yet do what they want to do anyway. These rantings of mine are an attempt to cure the ignorance and or arrogance of some people. As John Quincy Adams once said, “ The duty is ours, the results are God’s”. The reason things are done should be because they are the right things to do.

God grants our rights, according to the Declaration of Independence. If the enemy can get rid of God, they can get rid of our rights. Without God we have no rights. So, by definition of their own beliefs (not mine), atheists have no God given rights since they can’t possibly believe that God grants them. Instead, their rights are only those granted or taken away at the whim of the state. Why then do we let the unbelief of the atheists dictate what, where, and when we can express our faith. The idea that we must tolerate the views of unbelievers at the expense of those held by believers seems only to be relevant when it is the Christian view that is involved. For example, in this secular and politically correct atmosphere, if the issue deals with Muslim beliefs the prevailing attitude is that we must walk on eggshells to respect their beliefs while it is considered fair game to trash and ridicule Christian values and beliefs. America has always celebrated the birth of Jesus, not the birth of a holiday. It’s Merry Christmas, not happy holidays.

I recently heard Hal Lindsey say, “ A gun doesn’t smoke until after it has been fired”. Therefore, if you find a smoking gun, the damage has already been done. The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) has recently grasped control of the Global Climate Change controversy by determining that carbon dioxide is a dangerous environmental hazard. Please, in the future, don’t breathe out. You will be expelling carbon dioxide gas and endangering us all. This was accomplished by firing the gun behind us while our attention was on Cap and Trade. The enemy will have their way, by hook or by crook, regardless of the will of the people.

“We The People”, the will of the people, as well as what is right and decent, is of no relevance if it interferes with the present government’s agenda. “We The People” and the will of the people are paramount in our Constitution. This is why our president indicates that the Constitution may interfere with his plans, and those of congressional people like Nancy Pelosi who refuses to even answer questions about the constitutionality of what they are doing. Our political leaders have completely lost the view that they work for us, not the other way around. We vote them into office to be our “representatives.” They are then supposed to vote according to the wishes of the majority of their constituents. Instead they now say they are going to vote “their conscience” regardless of the desires of their constituents. They have turned our democratic republic (rule by the people) into an oligarchy (rule by a few). What has happened to “ by the people, for the people”?

Remember Abraham Lincoln’s words from the Gettysburg Address:
“that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Remember the words of the Preamble to our Constitution:
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America

Note, it does not say “we the politicians, the government, the President, the Supreme Court, or the United Nations. It says, “We the people of the United States”

The Declaration of Independence established the basis for our country and the Constitution states how it should be run.

Regardless of the right and wrong of it, do you want to pay for the abortion of someone you have never even met? How about breast augmentation, nose jobs and tummy tucks? I refer here to procedures done for purely “cosmetic” reasons, not true medical needs. Of course, if one has so much money that they don’t mind contributing to the “cosmetic” procedures, then let them do so willingly from their own pocket without forcing the rest of us to do it whether or not it is against our will. Around the world under socialized medicine, these things and others are covered by tax dollars. As a result we are now hearing about long waits for medical care and denied care due to lack of funding. In addition, health care givers who don’t believe in abortion, etc. are being forced to do them regardless of their personal beliefs. Wow, we really need this in our country! What about individual responsibility? We have the best medical care in the world. It may need to be tweaked. Pre-existing conditions being denied for coverage is wrong for those who were previously insured, but makes sense for those who choose not to buy health coverage until they are sick. Insurance is designed to spread the risk over a large number so that the impact on the individual is not catastrophic. Those who play the system nullify this.

Socialism and moral decline necessarily go hand in hand. Get rid of the influence of God’s word and you open the way for socialism through moral decline. There is no right or wrong when there is no religious influence. Under socialism man makes the rules and they are arbitrary according to who is in power at the time. The power of force is the only constraint that exists in that world. There are those that may try to present the idea that Jesus promoted socialism. What a perversion of the idea of giving unto others based on charity towards others, which is done from the heart and the free will of the individual to be the giver and/or the receiver.

Under socialism it is the state that takes the place of God and forces some to “give” unto others. This is NOT the same as charitable giving. Rather it is the state taking from some to give to others as an entitlement. Jefferson once said that the one of the greatest dangers to the existence of a democracy is when the people learn that they can vote entitlements for themselves regardless of whether they have earned that right or not. It is the same reason why the rule “no work, no food”, based on biblical teachings, had to be followed if the early colonies were to prosper and survive. This idea that it is the government’s job to provide is the greatest enslavement of the masses that there can be. It is based on the same ideas of plantation owners who told the slaves, “I alone know what is best for you. You are too ignorant to really know what is best for yourself. So you just do what you are told, and be satisfied with what I decide you need.” That is exactly what governmental entitlements do- we the government will grant you rights that we deem as necessary for you. Which means that we, the government, can also retract those rights at any given time, as we see fit to do so.” It was this same attitude of the governing elite of the Greeks who “gave” to the masses as they saw fit. By either giving or with holding, the elite held complete control over the masses, making them slaves to the will of the few. As one of the elite of today has put it, if we cannot control others by the power of persuasion, we will then control by the persuasion of power (SEIU president Andy Stern). If the state can undermine the individual’s nature to be responsible and self reliant, then the state can keep the individual from prospering to the highest level based upon his own willingness to strive and prosper by his own good work ethics. There are those who would say that the government is only looking out for the “little man”. I urge you to think again. Is the government really helping the people by these “entitlement programs”, or are they merely increasing their own hold of control upon those they say they are trying to help. Please, look at what this system has done to our country. We have more and more depending upon the handouts of the government rather than striving to truly get ahead in life. There is a difference. It is akin to being an enabler to an alcoholic or addict, rather than letting them face the real problem so that they can then choose to fight to regain control of their own destiny in life to once again be free of the enslavement of things that would control and defeat them.

Our founding fathers knew what we have apparently forgotten over the last 200 years. As I have said before and I will say again, read the founding documents. Knowledge is power, and without knowledge you will be left to the will of others. With the proper knowledge, you will be able to have the control over your life that the founding fathers intended. Keep in mind that you need the wisdom to use that knowledge, so pray as Solomon prayed, for wisdom.


Rick and Ginger Rahn