The Turn

Last night marked a change in the country.

Granted, the change had already occurred...last night was simply confirmation of it.  The United States of America, or rather 50% of her, chose big government and the nanny-state over liberty.  Chose hand-outs rather than a hand-up.  It's a sad, disgusting time.

I don't want to sound fatalist about it all.  America has endured so many terrible events in her history.  World Wars, depression, Civil War, floods, famines, droughts...we've seen it all.  The difference, and the bit that worries me, is this:  We rose to those occasions.  We, as a people, buckled down and pulled through.  We worked hard, harder than anyone expected us to.  We sacrificed our sons and daughters.  We fought, brother against brother.  We defeated evil, we stood strong and defiant in the face of overwhelming odds...not because our government told us to, but because we had faith in an Almighty God, and had the pride and courage to press on.

I say "We".  That isn't actually the case.  "They" did all those things.  Our fore bearers, those that came before us that granted us the gift that is this country. "We" on the other hand, have grown soft and compliant.  Amazing, considering that our forefathers tamed this country.  They struck out, with little more than hope, and built the foundation our country is built on.  They fought a tyrannical government for independence.  They created a society that has endured because of freedom, not in spite of it.  They resisted oppression, both in their own country and in others.  "They" provided the example.  "We" ignored it.

We were a republic.  A place where each state decided what was best for her people, with a limited federal government to hold us together. The balance has shifted.  No longer is our government limited...they now have a hand in every facet of our lives...from what to eat, to what we drive, what we wear, the list is endless.   Our forefathers would wring their hands in disgust at what we've allowed this country to become in a few short generations.  They would say "How can a country, so rich in blessings, be so bankrupt spiritually and mentally"?  They'd have a good point.

Last night, 59 million people said "let the government choose for me".  Shocking.  Shocking because the government has proven in the last century that everything they touch becomes more expensive and less efficient.  Government, it seems, no longer exists to protect the rights of our people...rather it now exists to perpetuate itself.  Last night, it made significant strides in doing so.  Are we so ignorant, as a people, that we require guidance from an all powerful government in every single decision of our lives?  A government made up of human beings...as fallible, lazy, boastful, and corrupt as any other in society.  A decade ago, I would have said no.  Today, I say at least half of us may be...or rather, half of us have grown so accustomed to living off of the backs of other people, that their primary concern is whether they'll continue to get their gratis, responsibility free lives.  Half of us have bought into the lie that morality is the root of intolerance.  Half of us believe that success should not be lauded, but should be looted.  Our honor, our sense of justice and pride, have atrophied.  I'm terrified as to what the treatment for such an atrophy may be...what may be so jarring to our country that would snap that half of the country out of their government induced stupor.  Sadly, we're likely to find out.

Do I believe that America will survive this?  Sure.  Though not the bold, adventurous, blessed America we all once knew.  We will survive as a bland amalgam of those who take, and those who provide for the takers at the end of a barrel.  We'll be told our religion prevents tolerance...so we need to abandon it.  We'll be told that we all need to "pay our fair share"...though we won't be told how much that is, and won't see a return on our investment.  We'll be told that our morals make us pariahs...don't you want to be loved by everyone?  We'll be shown that hard work doesn't pay...or at least it doesn't improve your station in life.  We'll be told to let the government choose for us...they have our "best interest" in mind.

Those of us with honor, with pride, with strength of character will resist.  We will pour everything we have into righting the ship before it capsizes.  Our media has abandoned us, don't expect to see stories on the network news about those of us who simply won't bend to the will of a government proven to lie, cheat, and steal when convenient.  We'll be branded: obstructionists, racists, bigots.  We'll hear the claims so often that their true, awful, meanings will be lost on our people.  We must not waver.  Our brothers and sisters will need independent, hard working men and women.  People who know the value of a days work.  People who know that if given a shotgun, a Bible, and a compass they'll never go hungry, never lack for guidance, and never be lost.

Do not lose hope.  Though we may not succeed in stemming the tide of big government and socialism at this moment, this seemingly endless cycle of debt and handouts, moral bankruptcy and reverse racism, cannot be sustained.  When it fails, as it inevitably will, we will be left to pick up the pieces.  Let us pray that when we're called, we'll rise to the occasion, and generations ahead of us will point to a time when America faltered, but her proud people picked her up, dusted her off, and set her back on the path to prosperity.

God bless the United States of America...You know we need it.