Wednesday, November 05, 2008

I'm Back...

...for a minute, anyway. I wanted to share this thing that I wrote for my family and friends.

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Now What?


Wow. That hurt, eh? Can we get a recount—oh, never mind.

The strangest things can pop into your mind at a time like this. As I sat contemplating all the bad things that are sure to befall our country under this new administration, I had a sudden recollection of a sappy but sincere little poem that I wrote some years back. It is about overcoming pain, sadness, and sorrow to find a good and happy future. The key, according to my witty little verse, is not being controlled by fear—which is, as we all know, the great motivator.

Well, fear is what motivated all of us to get out and vote on Tuesday, and we see where that got us. The reason it didn’t work is because it was too late. We waited for fear to motivate us, instead of maintaining real vigilance on our country. We were too complacent for too long, and it caught up to us… they caught up to us. Accept that so we can move on.

At the close of the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, as Benjamin Franklin left the hall in Philadelphia, he was asked, "What kind of government have you given us, Dr. Franklin?" He replied: "A republic, if you can keep it."

For generations, most people who read that quote were not sure exactly what he meant. How about now? Does it make more sense now?

The perspective necessary to understand today’s problem cannot be achieved until one understands our history. Before anyone thinks that this is the worst thing that has ever happened to America, allow me to mention a few other “progressive” democrat Presidents with aspirations of dictatorial powers who came before our new messiah.

Under Woodrow Wilson and—less than a generation later—Franklin D. Roosevelt, America was under the thumb of virtual totalitarianism. Individual rights shrank at a level inversely proportional to the mushrooming size of the federal government. The good of “The People” soundly trumped the good of the person. Never in our history had individual rights been so curtailed. In fact, Obama—as our newest would-be Il Duce—will have to work very hard to get to the level of fascism that Wilson and Roosevelt attained. If he does not succeed, I am sure it will not be for lack of trying.

How, then, did we ever recover from such periods? The real answer is that we never really did. Fortunately, the American people swung back the other way after each of those periods—first by electing Harding and Coolidge, then with Truman and Eisenhower. This allowed the country to regain at least some of its equilibrium. The damage, though, was real and lasting. Rather than viewing the Wilson and Roosevelt eras as individual anomalies, it is far more accurate to say that they were the ice breakers for “the movement.”

The next standard bearer for the movement was LBJ, who brought us the “Great Society.” Like the New Deal before it, this was another grand scheme that grew the government exponentially while promising to end poverty and bring prosperity and fairness to all. LBJ’s plans, coming on the cusp of the “counter-culture revolution” of the sixties, were designed to take maximum advantage of the fears and financial hard times that some people were feeling, while simultaneously demonizing “the rich” (sound familiar?).

Also noteworthy was the stunning hypocrisy of LBJ and the democrats—evidenced by their campaigning against Barry Goldwater by calling him a warmonger, as they themselves were embroiling us in Vietnam.

{ As a more than slightly disturbing side-note: look back at the last hundred years and see who got us into wars… was it the “warmongering” Republicans? WW-I: Wilson (d), WW-II: Roosevelt (d), Korea: Truman (d), Vietnam: Kennedy/Johnson (d). }

All of these past democrat tyrants have much in common. First, through populism and class warfare rhetoric, they fooled a significant portion of the population into supporting them. Next, they used their power in an attempt to force “fairness,” which was really just another way to say socialism. Finally, they all attracted a certain kind of thuggish followers, who were more than willing to use force and corruption to further the movement. You can ascribe evil to these past Presidents’ motives if you wish—but I like to believe that, for the most part, they really did believe in their ideas and wanted what they thought was best for the country. The problem was, they lost sight of the fact that America was never designed to be shaped by government. In fact, the exact opposite is true.

Again the question comes: how did this happen? Well, you need look no farther than one of our old enemies to find the answer:

We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have communism.” --Nikita Khrushchev, former Soviet Premier


The Marxists were a lot of things, but stupid wasn’t one of them. They knew us and they knew that our fundamental weakness would be that our society would get soft and complacent over time. And, indisputably, we did.

So, there’s our brief history detour—now, back to today. We have a choice to make right now. We can choose to stick our heads in the sand and just wait out this newest crisis of government; or, we can take this as the final wake-up call that it is and get involved. I mean really get involved. We must absolutely ensure that we never again let fear be our last resort. How, you ask?

For starters, we can get to know what is happening with local politics. It all starts with the school boards and the city councils and the county commissions. There is no one closer to our everyday lives than our local politicians… and yet we have come to systematically ignore them. All of these social degradations—schools, culture, etc.—came about because we were all too busy with our lives to get involved.

Next, we can take a lesson from the leftists and make our voices heard when something goes against what we know to be right. Not just on the big things like illegal immigration, but on everything that could affect our lives or the lives of our children. I know we all have jobs and lives and cannot be professional demonstrators like the “anti’s” are… but still, when it counts, we have to let ourselves be heard. The era of the silent majority has brought us to where we are today, and we have to stop that trend immediately.

Finally, we can remain strongly attached to the principles that we claim to have. The only way to do that is to live them and defend them. This means we constantly remind ourselves what is important to us and what we will not tolerate. It means that we will teach our children right from wrong, and enforce those things in everyday life. No more sliding into decadence (or, as Judge Robert Bork so eloquently put it: Slouching towards Gomorrah).

So, what are you going to do with your life now? As an American, as a Conservative, and mostly as a Christian and a family man, I am going to rededicate myself to the principles that brought America to life. I am going to make it my business to redouble my efforts to educate my fellow citizens whenever I can. I am going to keep my eye on our elected officials—because I am going to remind myself time and again that they work for us!

My advice to all of my fellow Patriots:

Feel right… because you are.

Live right… because you should.

Remember, everyone sets an example, one way or another. So, set the right example and keep your head up with the pride that comes from living right.

I’ll close as I opened: with my sappy little poem. I just now read it again, and I have to say that it is some pretty damned good advice… I think I’ll take it, and I hope you do, too.


The Other Side

On the other side of sorrow,
I tell myself each day,
Is a doorway to tomorrow,
Through which we'll find our way.

On the other side of sadness,
It must be true as well,
The answers to our madness,
O'er there must surely dwell.

On the other side of all that pain,
Just waiting to be found,
Is all the good we stand to gain,
Once fear stops leading us around.

....... ©1998 kmg



Kurt M. Grinstead, Gunnery Sergeant, USMC (Retired)

8 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, there. It's good to hear from you again. Awesome post.

My thoughts, fwiw...

I will not despair because it is what it is. We conservatives can make a lot of good come out of this situation if we chose to. How's that saying go... a silver lining in every cloud. Like you said, we have survived much worse, and we will survive this. It ain't the end of the world!

My son has enlisted in the US Air Force, and we would have much rather seen him led by CIC, John McCain, but it's not going to happen that way. I must admit that I find it rather nauseating that the poster boy of the military-hating left will be CIC of the greatest military in the world. We will be praying a lot these next 4 years, for our son and yes, for President Obama.

May God have mercy on us all.

SAJ

5/11/08 15:11  
Blogger kmg said...

Hey, Sharon-- great to hear from you again!

Congratulations on your son joining the AF! My son is still in the Marine Corps, so I feel your pain on the CIC thing.

They say that people get the government they deserve... but what about those of us who didn't vote for him???

6/11/08 06:24  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I know what you mean. Today I was listening to Chris Plant on WMAL (Washington, DC). He was asking his listeners if they hoped for the sake of the country that Obama would do well, or if they wanted him to fail even if it meant he could hurt the country we love. After the way the liberals shamelessly advocated for a defeat in Iraq so they could reclaim the White House, I have to pray that he governs well for the sake of the country. I just don't see him being able to keep the far left in check though.

My son is in the DEP, so we won't find out until April/May when he leaves for boot camp. He graduates from high school in June. I'm sure I don't need to tell you how proud I am to have one of my children serve this great country of ours in the armed forces.

I got to see him sworn in at MEPS. The speech that the Marine officer (can't remember his rank) gave before he took the oath was inspiring. I had a lump in my throat and a smile that stretched from ear to ear!!

I almost drove off of the road because I was laughing so hard when my son give me the low down on his physical. He said he was sitting in a room with about 25 guys in his underwear and he couldn't figure out why each time one came out of the room where the doctor was, he had a strange look on his face. Apparently, there was one major detail of his processing that the recruiter forgot to mention. LOL!!

We will be moving to Virginia next summer, somewhere near McLean. There should be a lot of houses on the market in February with a new adminstration coming in January. Anyway, I'd love to see my son stationed at Andrew's. We would be so close to him then. One of my closest friend's son is on the crew of Air Force One. He's going to give him a tour of the base soon.

Hope all is well with you and yours. God bless.

6/11/08 18:23  
Blogger kmg said...

I feel the same way. We all have to root for America, regardless of who the President is. Having said that, we also have a duty to keep a close eye on him and his extreme following. "Fundamental Change" is more than a catch phrase to them (see a new post coming here soon).

Ah, yes... those military physicals-- gotta love that!

We lived in Northern Virginia for three years back in the 80's. It was a very nice place then... not sure now-- since Virginia went all blue on us.

Take care-- talk to ya soon!

7/11/08 07:00  
Blogger Barbara said...

Thanks for your words. And I love the poem!

I will forever believe that we live in the greatest nation on earth! We have taken our freedoms for granted while others have forever tried to take them away. Perhaps, now that we have awakened, we will learn to be more vigilant over the things that GOD has given to us. We have become too complacent and it has caught up with us.

All we can do is pray for our leaders, that God can change their hearts, lead them in the direction our nation needs to go, and things won't be as bleak as they seem to be right now.

God is still in control. I still trust that he meant what he said in his word, so why fear what man can do to us? Life is worth living, and I plan to live the best I know how, and be joyful while doing so - none of this 'hang my head and wallow in my sorrow' attitude! My life hasn't changed - just the President will be someone else that God has allowed to come to office come January 20, 2009.

8/11/08 20:08  
Blogger kmg said...

Wow... thanks for the lesson in perspective, Barbara! I appreciate that reminder, and I completely agree with you.

8/11/08 22:35  
Blogger warhorse said...

Erm ... not to defend the Democratic party, but do you really think anyone could have kept America out of either World War, under the circumstances obtaining at those times? The Dems just happened to be in the hot seat when those things blew up, IMHO.

12/11/08 15:58  
Blogger kmg said...

I'll give you that on WW-II, but there is good reason to believe that Wilson actively worked to get us into WW-I. He knew that a wartime state would be the perfect way to secure additional powers.

13/11/08 08:35  

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