Taking Ownership

"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."

So begins one of the most incredible documents ever written, our United States Constitution. Yet often overlooked in this magnificent instrument, are its first three words ... "We the people."

This is OUR country! It does not belong to the politicians in Washington, the think tanks, the mass media, the corporations, the lobbyists. This country belongs to us.

As Americans, we face three, very pressing threats.

1) The most immediate threat, the one with the most horrific potential, is the threat from Islamic terrorists. But many in our nation, including sadly a number of our top leaders, have foolishly buried their heads in the sand, and are conducting themselves as if Islamic terrorists were but an illusion, something George Bush dreamed up.

2) Secondly, we face the very serious threat of open borders and the mass influx of illegal aliens. Why Mr. Bush, Attorney General Gonzales, and Homeland Security Secretary Chertoff refuse to enforce the law, is a great mystery to many. By failing to protect our borders, punish companies who knowingly hire illegals, and arrest and deport those who are here illegally, our leaders are inviting disaster upon our nation. They are not only turning a blind eye to lawbreakers, they are essentially endorsing unlawful behavior. A nation that refuses to control its borders, and fails to enforce its own laws, cannot expect to survive.

3) Finally, the third threat, though not as immediate or as deadly, is the ongoing plague of political correctness. Under this new regime of thought and speech surveillance, certain words, certain views, and certain ideas are now forbidden. If not set straight soon, the long-term implications are grim. There is a reason why our founders put freedom of worship, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in the very First Amendment to our Constitution. Preserving these freedoms is vital to the survival of our country.

I have been amazed, and even somewhat flustered recently, as I have spoken to friends and family about the need to get involved in helping to pull our nation back from the brink of disaster. It is, after all, OUR country.

"What can we do?" they reply, "it's too late."

I have told my kids this: "I fear that by the time you reach my age, America will look more like a Third World country than the prosperous, capitalist nation it is today. And if we don't do something soon, and on a massive scale, our future may be lost for a long, long time."

"Just what is a Third World country?" they ask.

"A Third World country is a nation where the wealth is held by only a few, where the masses live from hand to mouth, and struggle to survive each day. A Third World country is where the power rests in the hands of a dictatorship, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, a very weak democratic form of government, or some other form or system where the vast majority of people are left out of the decision-making process. A Third World country is a place where there are but two classes of people—the super rich, and the super poor."

The fruit of plenty that we 21st century Americans have enjoyed, comes primarily from seeds sown by our forebears. They understood the principles of freedom, productivity, hard work, and self-sacrifice.

But sadly, we have morphed from a nation of citizens into a nation of consumers. We now live to enjoy our things in the quiet of our private, undisturbed space. We live off the fat of the land, but we do not prepare well for our future.

In simpler terms, "Give me my stuff and leave me alone."

Oh sure, we have our 401Ks, our retirment packages, our social security benefits, and our equity-laden homes which we hope will carry us through retirement. What we seem to have lost though is an understanding of the principles that have enabled us to enjoy such blessing. We go merrily on our way, day-to-day, with minimal thought of how decisions made in Washington today will impact us for generations to come.

America's great success can be attributed largely to the incredible, historic freedoms we have enjoyed. Here, anyone with drive, determination, motivation, and hard work can become almost anything they want to be. Historically, our nation's laws have been geared toward enabling the individual to prosper, to rise from poverty to wealth, from a life of drudgery to a life of relative comfort.

But we are now on a path of relinquishment. We have intellectually and emotionally surrendered ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously, to the notion that the big decisions and big problems are better handled by someone else.

Just recently, speaking of the current administration, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made these public remarks:

"It's also important to understand these policies are consistent with the administration's theory about how we should manage our economy: leave it all up to the individual. That's why they want to privatize Social Security and let individuals bear the risks. .... They call it the ownership society. But it's really the "on your own" society." entire speech here

Ms. Clinton, you are WRONG! Your socialist thinking reduces down to something we have all said at one time or another ...

"They need to do something about that!"

But who is they? Poor grammar aside, "they" are someone we think is supposed to solve our problems for us, that group of people elected or appointed to fix things, to take care of us.

Well guess what? "They" have really messed things up!

It is our fault, really. Most of us have set idly by and watched things slowly slip from our fingertips. America worked so well for so long that we have just come to believe that it will be that way forever.

Well it won't. We have not tended well the garden of our Republic. Many weeds have sprung up these last seventy-five years, and choked out the healthy ideas which carried us forward for so many generations.

The idea seeds being planted today are grossly inferior to the ones sown by our predecessors.

But it isn't too late. The first step is to recognize that this country belongs to ALL of us. We American citizens are not second-class, second-tier, or relegated to the back of the bus. It is still within our power to set the course for our nation's future.

For the last several years, I have been regularly writing and calling my Congressman and my Senators, challenging them to vote and make decisions which will restore and retain the freedoms our Constitution was crafted to protect. I even communicate with the White House from time to time.

And I have a stack of their response letters. Most of the letters I receive from officials are "cookie-cutter," mediocre, pablum-like responses. It's sad. But I keep writing anyway.

<<< Here's a picture of me pretending like I'm doing something important. Click on it.

From my vantage point it seems like many of my fellow citizens have rolled over and are playing dead!

Wake up. Join the fight. Don't surrender. Do it today!

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