Thursday, February 13, 2014

The Gift





Since the man in the red suit’s midnight marathon of gift giving, I find myself reflecting on the gifts I have received in the past.  I have received gifts that I didn’t want or need, ugly sweaters and stinky colognes that were more a penalty than a prize.  I have received some fantastic gifts, those that I always wanted and was overjoyed to open.  Some times I have gotten things I thought I wanted only to be disappointed to learn that the TV commercial was better than what was in the box under the tree.  Every so often I have gotten things I didn’t want and wasn’t impressed by only to have that gift change my mind as it changed my life.

The gift I am talking about in this post is a gift so often taken for granted that a lot of people will think of it as a burden or a curse.  But if considered objectively it is a wondrous thing that has been handed down to us.  But this gift has been maligned and vilified as what is wrong with our Republic.  Let me take a moment to write in favor of American Politics.  

Our nation is a constitutional republic, which embraces the future.  All American believe that the future will be better, and we have been proven right to believe that.  Nostalgia has a place in our hearts, but we put our hopes in the future.  We plan and dream about the future.  But the future is not easy to predict.  The future comes when it wants to and where it wants to and brings with it new challenges. 

People from previous generations couldn’t imagine that obesity would be as much a problem for this generation’s health as malnutrition was in their time.  The world views of previous generations were formed by the technology that existed in their experience.  Industrialization, modern farming, advancements in transportation, and, modern medicine has done more to upend settled worldviews than any political philosophers’ ideas ever have.  It speaks through results, and it can’t be ignored. 

Many leftist use this sort of argument to advance the idea that the Constitution is outdated.  “The Founding Fathers didn't know about airplanes and they would have outlawed hate speech if they did.”  They are wrong in this because of how they see themselves.  They start from a rigid belief that everything that has gone before them is fatally flawed.  Their self assessment is that they are here to break the chains of convention and tradition that have impeded humankind from achieving a paradise on earth.  To their way of thinking the urgency of NOW trumps all other considerations.  They are trapped by the belief that everything new is better.  In their mad rush “Forward” they are willing to abandon any thing to see it replaced with something “new.” 

The Left’s embrace of the “new” blinds them to the truth that what they call “new” really isn’t new at all.  “There is nothing new under the sun,” is an axiom that every new generation learns only when they become the older generation, and sometimes not even then.  The ideas that the Left is so in love with are really very old. 

We have seen it time and again, in all parts of the world, when people are faced with catastrophic problems they want to turn to a strong leader to solve the problems for them.  Such leaders take on more and more power over the lives of those they govern all in the name of crisis management.  Laws are amended by edict and enforced by wimp.  Eventually the leaders become dictators and crush the rights of the people they govern. 

The truly new idea is the foundation stone of our revolution:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

The government must be subservient to the people.  The way this plays out is through politics.  People become passionate about an issue and that passion fuels action.  People talk about the issue and more people get involved.  It is from such simple origins that political movements start. 

At this time, we hear voices raised in frustration and acrimony in our nation’s Capital.  On one side there is a man with a pen and a phone and every intention to use them.  On the other is a group of people that all too often has done nothing when action was needed and much of what they have done needs to be undone.  Plenty of disagreement is taking place.  But nothing seems to change and the will of the people is being held back by an entrenched few that clings to their antiquated view of what our future must be.

We can see that nothing will improve without us.  If we don’t participate if we don’t advocate, if we don’t do the hard work that is needed, then we are giving up some of our rights.  Today it is very easy to ignore what is going on in politics.  All of us have things we would rather do.  The problems we face can seem so huge that they can be solved. But across our nation, some of us are standing up.   Grass root initiatives like The Right to Refuse are showing that passionate activists can have an impact on our out of control big government.

But politics is that ugly gift we received not thinking we would ever want it.  Our founding fathers and all that came from then till now felt the same way.  We should want it and we all should use it to create a future that we will be proud to leave to our children.  The Future is calling.  Will you answer?  Will you work in politics in defense of our God given Rights?  

 Are you ready to accept this Gift?

Friday, October 11, 2013

Guest Blogger: Citizen "Q"


In an attempt to broaden the conversation, I have invited the famous Citizen "Q" - Stephen Quist to write a post so it can appear in the Worcester Tea Party Newsletter.  I encourage all to read what he has to say and to post rebuttals in the comments section. 

Matt,
Thank you for the opportunity to send in some differing thoughts/views and opinions from the left.

Teaparty.......I have a huge disagreement with the teaparty lecturing everyone else in our country on your interpretation of what you 'think' the US Constitution means and anyone disagreeing with you is considered un-American and un-patriotic.....which is why even today your numbers of membership nationally are stagnant.....your message resonates only amongst yourselves all the while, teapartiers and moderate republicans are in a  battle  for the heart and soul of the republican party.
40+/- teaparty members in the house along with a few Senate Repubs are holding our entire country hostage and that is untenable and un-American

Government shutdown.......There is no way possible nor is it an American way to shutdown our government and refuse to increase the debt limit (govt shutdowns occurred previously but never involving the debt limit)
without it affecting our national security and our standing in the world.
The US Senate accepted the House proposal Ryan plan of a budget number of $988billion......the Dems conceded their number of $1.27T.......republicans won the budget battle....you got the numbers you wanted and yet repubs/teapartiers insist on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory...it's now not good enough so lets move the goal posts again......

Obama........I have lived through Presidents from JFK (just born) through today and I have never witnessed such a concerted meanspirited effort to discredit, demean and outright despise President Obama. From questioning his citizenship, falsely accusing him of being a Kenyan to being a Muslim......GW Bush never had the level of hate/critisism foisted on him like is being done to this President....I think it's very interesting that W refuses to criticize/insult or demean Obama

Boehner.....Is the most ineffective House Leader there has ever been....in fact it's Senator Cruz calling the shots in the House undermining the Speaker and that is dangerous for the independence of our 3 branches of government no matter where we all stand on the political spectrum
McConnell....notice how silent he has been throughout the financial crisis......he's in a heated battle to retain his senate minority leaders seat and does not stand by the convictions of his beliefs to step up like a man and weigh in on this debate......he's concerned about re-election rather than running our government

Cruz......teapartier extroidinaire fake filibustering and equating those supporting the ACA as appeasers to hitler and nazi's......and those on the right were silent....silence equates to acquiessence.......Sen Joe McCarthy and Father Coughlin come immediately to mind and that is abhorrent and I am not sure that anyone would want to walk alongside either one

Food Stamps......all across the country, even here at home in MA,  teapartiers/republicans were rejoicing that the most vulnerable and needy amongst us had food snatched from their kitchen table to the tune of $40,000,000b over 10 years and yet in the same breath the cheers were heard for the largess bestowed on Mega-Agricultural Corporations in the form of $170,000,000b in subsidies
Matt I touched briefly on some topics amongst many.....and I apologize in being brief re: my remarks, but this is my point of view and I represent no one but myself, I hold no allegiance to any political party....I vote the candidate not the party.....

In complete disclosure and as I have done in radio/ blogging/posting on various sites I am known as and identify with my nickname Q......I do not hide behind aliases nor cower in anonymity I believe in my stances and convictions and have no problem placing my name to that which I espouse.......can any of your fellow teapartiers ( not geared at you Matt - you stand up to be counted each and every time) truthfully say the same?

In closing I consider Matt a friend even though we disagree, some times vehemently, on a variety of issues, and yet we can toast a beer together and talk about these issues in a civil respectful manner.......why is it Matt is the exception and not the norm in the teapartier group dealings with the public at large?

Respectfully,
Stephen P Quist

P.S.  I do not consider myself to be out side of the norm of the membership of the Tea Party Movement.  It is because of the greatness of spirit of our membership that we have accomplished so much.