A Nation Divided … Part 2

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amorality, chaos, compromise, constitution, courage, freedom, generosity, greed, honor, Intergity, kindness, lawlessness, moral compromise, moral gulf, rebellion, selfishness

A Nation divided against itself cannot stand …

Integrity. I hear a lot of banter around the political candidates concerning integrity. Who has it? Who fakes it? Why is integrity important?

Americans are angry and dissatisfied with the way business is done these days in Washington DC, and rightly so. We’ve been lied to and in many cases, deliberately misled. We are pandered to and patronized and treated like ignorant children by those high and mighty supposed “public servants.” But… what do we really want?

Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

Uh oh! I see the problem. Do you?

A Nation divided against itself cannot stand …

We say we want integrity, but how can we have integrity without moral principles? If morality is subjective, how can integrity exist?

I don’t want to be subject to your morality, and you don’t want to be measured by my morality. We are at an impasse.

Divisions have always existed in civilizations. Rich/poor, tall/short, young/old, etc. and divisions are not necessarily a bad thing. But the division (singular) we are witnessing in America (and elsewhere,) goes much deeper.

Our Founders referred to “unalienable rights endowed by our Creator,” but it is not politically correct to “force” someone’s ambiguous concept of deity on a society. What Creator? God? Which god? So again, we are at an impasse. If we deny that our rights are endowed by our Creator, where did they come from?

There has been a deliberate hammering over the last few decades, yes decades, maybe longer, the driving of a wedge between people, between ideologies. It is not between rich and poor. It is not between Democrats and Republicans. It is not between races. It is not between the various religions. It is much simpler, much deeper, and much more sobering. It has been happening slowly throughout my lifetime. Look around at how values have changed. Americans once sought virtue, moral strength, character. Now, we seek comfort, leisure, and material gain.

When asked whether the “state of moral values in the country as a whole is getting better or worse,” 72 percent said that they believe that the paradigm is worsening, while, in contrast, just 22 percent said that it is improving. More HERE!

On one side of this moral gulf is chaos, greed, selfishness, lawlessness, rebellion. On the other is structure, kindness, generosity, courage, honor, lawfulness, and … Integrity.

Do you remember when then President Bill Clinton was caught with his pants down? America collectively gasped. “How dare he … in the White House, too!” Noise was made about his indecency, but with the help of our all-but-state-run-press, we came to accept it and moved on. Just one example of our moral compromise.

“What we are seeing in our politics is the predictable result of what occurs when institutions, philosophies and faiths that once united us have either died or have been so co-opted by other considerations that when they’re most needed they lack the power to come to our rescue.” More HERE!

A house divided … moral compromise

Will we watch America crumble because of our selfishness?

The media has its “champions,” the Democrat party backs Hillary, but who does the Republican party back? Logically, it should back the leader, but if that is repugnant to them, they ought to back #2. Why don’t they? Could it be because the party doesn’t like Cruz’s conservative values, and they don’t believe Trump is a conservative at all.

I suggest this indecision is authored and fed by the media pushing THEIR choices on us. People, we are in deep doo doo, and sinking fast into the pools of our our ignorance and willful blindness. Our leaders are simply a reflection of our own indecision. We cannot have both freedom and amorality. We must choose or Hillary will win … and may God help us!

A Nation divided against itself cannot stand …

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TRAINED FROM BIRTH

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education, goals, honor, life, morality, poetry, purpose, SGT Sanchez

Although still recovering from his injuries overseas, Sgt. Sanchez insisted on leaving his electric wheelchair to walk the flag down Main Street, U.S.A., saying “If it’s for the colors, I’ll walk”

I was born at a time when freedom was honored,
Trained from birth to be a productive adult,
Emotive and intuitive, pensive and strong,
With many gifts and talents, among them, the gift of thought.

Back in those days, Parents and Teachers actually taught;
We learned how to read, how to interpret and think,
To see life’s difficulties as training for coming events,
Fodder for the cut and paste adventures in Life.

I just don’t know how things got twisted around,
And comfort and ease became watch words and goals,
Is nothing worth working toward, nothing innately prized,
And what about morality – Is it all about fast pleasure?

I weep and I mourn for our culture of leeches,
Unwilling to work – unable to dream,
But able to kill, to rape, and to languish
Without a purpose, without goals, without freedom.

Oh people, my friends, don’t you see what’s going on;
Don’t you feel the manacles tighten with each handout received?
Don’t you sense the great insult: always underestimated,
Coddled and indulged as lies wrap around and around?

Hear me and break free; please open your hearts,
To think for yourselves as the valued creations you are;
Yes, masterpieces of ability and bundles of talent,
Nobility untried awaiting Truth to break you free.

** For Inspiration Monday via Bekindrewrite

Once a Soldier, Always a Soldier ~ Thank You!

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American Veterans, Benghazi petition, heroes, honor, military, patriots, truth, veterans, Veterans' Day

EVERY VETERAN’S DAY, I stand with millions of Americans in debt to all Patriots who have gone before us in service to our great nation. Though I am a Vet, I served in time of peace, and dared to wear the same uniform as those brave souls who faced cunning and ruthless enemies. It is a debt I cannot repay, but it is a debt for which I am and grateful. I only wish more, particularly young people, had a better grasp of the ugliness of oppression experienced in other parts of our world. Maybe then, their appreciation of the liberties we yet enjoy would be greater.

Washington at Valley Forge. Lithograph by F. Heppenheimer, 1853.

THIS VETERAN’S DAY, there is a dark shadow looming overhead as our President continues to stonewall and dodge the questions of the American people concerning the Benghazi fiasco. CIA Directer Gen Petraeus resigned this week to avoid inquiry. Gen Ham of AFRICOM was “fired” after refusing to obey the order to “Stand down!” There is a general PURGE as President Obama removes record numbers of senior military officials. There are several websites collecting signatures on petitions, but I selected the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ). Please take a minute and stand on our enduring Oath to “Support & Defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic … ” Do this in memory of our fallen comrades. Do this to honor the memory of all who have served and given their all for their nation. And Pray …

BENGHAZI UPDATES:

• Paul: Benghazi should preclude Clinton from presidency
• Ratcheting Up Benghazi Questions
• Benghazi: Can Survivors Answer the Growing List of Questions?
• CBS: Government has put ‘extraordinary amount of pressure’ on people not to talk Benghazi

Pray for:

• the TRUTH about the Benghazi attack, “Fast & Furious,” the downed chinook with 20 members of elite Seal6 aboard for starters;
• a unified American people;
• a clear and vibrant vision for the future; and
• an honest effort to reclaim the moral high ground of American Values

Taking Time to Salute the Heroic 1 Percent

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"life lessons", Afghanistan, America, character training, Germany, gratitude, honor, Human nature, Iraq, Military appreciation, patriotism, patriots, respect, spiritual, WE THE PEOPLE

I talked to my daughter yesterday. She is active duty Army. She asked if I had heard about the 3 MPs killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan. They were from her current unit. The names had not been released yet.

Three US MPs based in Hohenfels, Germany killed in Afghanistan

Three U.S. soldiers died July 5, 2011, in Paktia province, Afghanistan of injuries suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

They were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan fighting the Global War on Terror.

The soldiers were assigned to the 709th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Hohenfels, Germany.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Joshua A. Throckmorton, 28, of Battle Creek Michigan;

Spc. Jordan C. Schumann, 24, Port Saint Lucie, Florida; and

Spc. Preston J. Suter, 22, Sandy, Utah.

Politics, in general, is about ideas and ideals. It’s PEOPLE that make up our great nation. Those who dare to serve in uniform, from our local First Responders (police, fire, EMT, etc) to the Border Patrol to the US Military, are our unsung heroes. Their stories are untold and easily forgotten among the really important stories, like the “Casey Anthony” trial that command our attention.

Taking time to salute the 1 percent

“After nearly a decade of war, it’s easy to become numb to it.

“You read the newspaper, you watch the television and it just keeps coming, one day after another until it all runs together. You mourn the dead and you celebrate the victories, but you can’t allow yourself to feel too deeply or it becomes too much. If you’re one of the 99 percent of Americans not actively fighting this country’s battles, war is difficult to understand.

“But we must try. We owe it to the 1 percent.

“For them, it’s not complicated. It’s not about surges and drawdowns and Capitol Hill bickering. For the men and women who will lace up their boots in Afghanistan or Iraq today, their only goal is to complete the mission and lie down to sleep at night one day closer to coming home.” Each of these young men are REAL people, REAL Americans. They have families and loved ones, they have flaws, but they are heroes.

WOUNDED WARRIOR Softball Team

Watch the video!

The quiet heroism of America’s secret warriors

Were they heroes? Or were they fulfilling their job descriptions?

“We know the bare outline of the May raid: Some of the United States’ best sailors and soldiers entered Pakistan undetected, slipping through the darkness in secret stealth helicopters across 100 miles of potentially hostile territory. They continued the mission despite losing a helicopter and dispatched the target — elusive al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Then they scooped up a wealth of intelligence materials and disappeared.

“Although there’s plenty the public may never know about the operation, the details that have leaked out have been breathtaking, providing a rare glimpse into the ultra-secretive world of the U.S. military’s most elite troops.” CONTINUE READING

In Celebration of Flag Day – June 14th

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America, character training, Flag Day, God, honor, military, nationalism, patriotism, respect, service members, USA

Tuesday is Flag Day in the United States of America.

The Pledge of Allegiance

I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

A few interesting things about our Flag. “On June 14, 1777, in order to establish an official flag for the new nation, the Continental Congress passed the first Flag Act: “Resolved, That the flag of the United States be made of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing a new Constellation.” Subsequently, it took three executive orders to establish and confirm the dimensions and proportions for our Flag today. LEARN MORE

The Fourth of July was traditionally celebrated as America’s birthday, but the idea of an annual day specifically celebrating the Flag is believed to have first originated in 1885. BJ Cigrand, a schoolteacher, arranged for the pupils in the Fredonia, Wisconsin Public School, District 6, to observe June 14 (the 108th anniversary of the official adoption of The Stars and Stripes) as ‘Flag Birthday’. In numerous magazines and newspaper articles and public addresses over the following years, Cigrand continued to enthusiastically advocate the observance of June 14 as ‘Flag Birthday’, or ‘Flag Day‘.

Wave Your American Flag Proudly!!!

America is unique in that her beginnings were noble. The early pioneers, pilgrims, puritans, and dreamers sought a land of freedom. Even among themselves, there was not complete agreement about if or how to form a local government. But they were intelligent enough to understand that together, finding the common ground and building on that. From there, our nation grew and flourished, I believe, because of in inherent willingness to share, to give of whatever we had to those with less. The first settlers from Europe understood hardship and from their own affliction learned compassion … along with some fear.

The stories of the first encounters with Native Americans are mixed. Some were heroic and honorable, some were not. While there are many things in our history for which we can be ashamed, there are many more acts of kindness and compassion. In my opinion, this compassion has been in past times, a driving force, an underlying current that kept us moving in a good and worthy direction. There are times in our history we forgot our compassion only to be reminded by some cruel and harsh reality. In America, I don’t know one way or another about other places, as my personal experience in other nations is limited, but in America, it has often been true that hard times bring out the best in us.

Look around. Do you see neighbors in need? If you are able to help, consider it. If you cannot, perhaps you might pray. Care. On this Flag Day, care …

We really can’t depend on the government. But together WE THE PEOPLE can re-build Joplin, Tuscaloosa, and America!

We must honor those who serve in uniform here and abroad, and remember that they sacrifice friends and family at the very least to protect the interests of the United States. Visiting Europe may not seem so severe, but living there for a year or more … well … it’s not HOME! THANK YOU, Service Members wherever you are!!!! Keep safe!!!!!

GOD, please continue to bless our GREAT nation, and flood her with your MERCY!