The necessity of engagement

2010-07-05T13:15:00.000-07:00

The Tea Party has brought many patriotic Americans together who share a love of our great nation and the constitutionally sound principles which have gotten us where we are today. This is a step in the right direction however I feel there is one area where we seem to be dropping the ball. This area is our outreach to the younger generations and is highlighted by every meeting that I attend. We can make a difference today however if we wish for our struggles and changes to remain in the future, it will depend on the younger generations to carry the touch of freedom we have ignited.

We have our immediate goals and objectives for the Tea Party Movement. We would like to restore our government to constitutionally sound principles as written by the founding fathers in not only the Constitution, but also realize the context that has been given to the initial conception of the Constitution in the many writings by the founding fathers such as the Federalist Papers. We also wish for our government to conduct itself in a fiscally responsible manner and quit wasting taxpayer dollars on pork barrel projects and the expansion of government bureaucracies. As Thomas Paine said, “That government is best which governs least” however the truth of this statement seems to be all but forgotten by so many Americans.

Before the great awakening of those in the Tea Party movement, many of us sat idle and complacent to the many changes taking place around us. Though we didn’t particularly agree with some of the things we saw going on, we also hadn’t reached the point where we were willing to stand up and say enough is enough. We are now facing the consequences of this today with the future generations of our nation being less informed than ever. This is where I feel one of our greatest opportunities lies if we choose to take advantage of it.

In the Tea Party there are many fathers, mothers, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. As such we already have a much higher level of credibility than any politician or teacher. What I feel we must do is develop a cohesive strategy to reach out to those younger individuals around us and leverage this credibility. As we reach out and engage them, we must also let them know the future of their nation and the world they live in will depend upon the choices they make and the officials they elect. We must stress the point that their vote does matter and they are the future of our country. We must stress how important it is for them to pay attention and look beyond the nice sounding speeches given by politicians from all parties on the campaign trail.

I know the interest is there amongst these individuals however unless we work to help them realize the stake they have in what is going on, I doubt they will do it on their own. I frequently hear from individuals, even 30+ year olds, that they probably don’t keep up with what is going on as much as they should. When this happens I ask them about current events and what they think about them. I never challenge their position or criticize their lack of knowledge as I know that will only put them on the defensive and cause them to be less receptive to the information I offer. I ask general questions to feel them out and then proceed to get deeper into the facts at the heart of the issue.

As these conversations progress and more facts come to light, I usually find most can agree with me on at least some of the facts if not all of them. This is the common ground we must find. From here we can build and develop the interest we have created to continue the dialogue and move further towards getting them involved. This will be a long and tedious process in many cases but can also be relatively easy in others. It is worth the challenge and is one I think we must all step up to. As Thomas Jefferson once said, ”Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.”

A Culture of Complacency

2010-06-11T12:14:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this blog it is probably safe to say that you care or at least understand the troubles facing our nation well enough to be searching for information and facts to help you determine where you stand. For this I commend you. As I sit here typing there is a silent enemy descending upon our nation and I only see it getting worse as time goes by. The enemy I speak of is the culture of ignorance and complacency that appears to permeate our younger generations and many of the older for that matter. I encounter this enemy almost daily and while I understand politics and government aren't very interesting to many individuals, I am still amazed at how completely uninformed so many are and how easy they find it to not care.

For too long I have tried talking about such issues just to be abruptly cut off and told they couldn't concern themselves with such matters. I don't know how many people realize what they're ultimately saying is that they don't care about their own future. They don't care about the future of the kids they either will or already have. They don't care about the nation and world they will leave for future generations. This is sad to say the least.

Though I find such events troubling, I am also encouraged from time to time when I have the opportunity to speak and inform people I meet in my day to day interactions with them. I try to squeeze in a tidbit here and there about the latest issues to see where they stand and then challenge them to support their stance. I see that many do care however I also see how terribly ignorant many are of the facts surrounding the issues. For example I was at a bar and asked some younger people what they thought of the health care reform bill. Many were quick to say they were all for it until I asked how they felt about the possible 12% state tax on their income to support the cost. I asked how they felt about the government telling them what insurance they "have" to have. As a general rule positions, stances, and opinions quickly changed as they were confronted with more and more facts.

This lead me to wonder how it is that college age students could be so blissfully ignorant about the world they live in? They are either still in college or recently graduated from high school and yet it is like they have never taken an American or world history lesson in their entire lives. They can tell you the latest news regarding Heidi and Spencer's breakup, the latest sports numbers and draft picks for their favorite team, yet when asked simple questions about the world they live in and events leading up to now.......... Yup, nothing.

Now I know there is much to be desired from our current public school systems but you have got to be kidding me. Wisconsin has some of the highest taxes in the country yet this is the best education our tax dollars can provide? I am inclined to believe the taxpayers are getting ripped off and what's worse is that they're paying a fortune for "Generation Me's" full of self absorbed brats, preoccupied with sex, drugs, and celebrity.

Now I don't mean this as an attack on parents as I realize families are working more and more to pay ever increasing taxes and still afford to pay the rest of their bills and raise families. The problem occurs with the educational system and pop culture as I feel both have created the enemy facing us today. Heaven forbid anyone mention God in school but sex education is perfectly ok. These are just a few of the issues contributing to the problems facing our world today however I think we can all also agree recognizing problems is only as good as the solutions that follow. With that being said here are a few common sense solutions I believe we can agree upon.

1) We need God back. America was founded as a Christian nation with our rights having been endowed by the creator. Congress opens up with a prayer, God is on our money, and angels and other divine imagery is all over our capital buildings in Washington and around the country. Despite these facts many have tried to replace our country's history with a more secular one under the guise of the separation and establishment clauses as interpreted by activist judges. This must be stopped.

2) Get rid of "social studies". If they want to call it what it is, they should refer to the class as "liberal revisionist history". History is fine but social studies undermines the true history of America and the basis of our great nation.

3) Bring back competition. I mean this in the sense that we need to do away with the touchy feely garbage at our schools and get back to winners and losers. If you want to win you must be more motivated and ambitious than the next guy. This has been the American way since we were founded. As I think of this I am reminded of a high school in Colorado that did away with having a valedictorian since it implied one student had done better than the rest........ Umm yeah. I thought that was supposed to be the purpose. It rewards 1 student for working harder than the rest........

4) Teach the declaration of independence, constitution, and federalist papers. These documents gave rise to the greatest nation on the face of the earth and should be taught in the clear, right vs wrong mentality they were written in, not in the revisionist context commonly taught today.

5) Be involved with your children. Ultimately this is a war and if we wish to defeat the enemies facing our country today, ignorance and complacency, we must instill our own conservative, Christian, capitalist values into them as it certainly won't be happening at the liberal establishments known as our public schools or the pop culture that permeates their lives. Lead by action though. As I'm sure we can all agree words are only as good as the actions that follow.

In closing I would like to leave you with a quote from one of our wise founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson. As in many cases he has already seen and prescribed the correct course of action in winning this conflict, "Educated and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."

Liberty Ally

The necessity of engagement

A Culture of Complacency