It Really Is About "We The People."

Someone recently said to me, "I believe that our current political climate is so polarized that government cannot function." Now, don't give me that, sarcastic "when has government ever functioned."

First, let us understand that while government should follow accepted accounting principles as it handles the people's money and is accountable for how that money is spent. But let us be clear, the United States Government is not a business; it is a political body. It is not Constitutionally designed to turn a profit and from it's inception at the Continental Congress was running a deficit and borrowing money. The founding Fathers may not have particularly liked it but they recognized that the government they were forming (that more perfect union) was going to have to borrow money to become a reality and borrow they did.

For my Christian brothers I need to affirm that there is no sin in borrowing money regardless of what the Christian financial gurus might say. We may borrow when we shouldn't but there is no sin in borrowing money. A quick take on money and the Christian can be found in Luke 12:16-21. By the way, a balanced budget does not rule out having debt. A balanced budget is nothing more than a financial spreadsheet where the outlay and the income when combined equal zero. One might say that if you have a surplus of income you do not have a balanced budget just as easily as you would say it if your expenses exceeded you income. But I digress

Back to the the government. As I said, it is not a business and was never intended to turn a profit or carry large reserves. It was designed to meet the needs of the nation as defined by the actions of the people's elected representatives in both houses of Congress and consented to by the sitting President. These needs would be decided through debate and persuasion and strength of argument as our elected representatives seek to bring their colleagues to a particular point of view and action. Some of these needs are as specific as the "common defense" and as undefined as the "general welfare."

Ideally this would be done on the basis of careful thought and sound reasoning flowing from facts and not feelings and/or beliefs. Certainly we can feel and believe strongly but in our system these cannot be forced upon the conscience of others. Everyone is entitled to their own feelings and beliefs but NOT their own set of facts. When our beliefs and feelings on an issue are at variance with other's belief's and feelings on any issue our system of government demands compromise not obstruction.

The founding father's envisioned the Congress as a place of debate and persuasion were men of good will worked through issues and came to a consensus of opinion that allowed the government to function. Once this consensus was arrived at through a vote in each of the two houses it them had to meet the approval of the sitting President at the time. The "Tea Party Patriots" by holding the Congress and the whole United States government hostage as they have done in the recent debt ceiling legislation have acted more like terrorists than representatives of the people.

Why is it every time we can't get our elected officials to conduct themselves properly and vote the way we want we try to change the Constitution rather than follow it. We don't need a Constitutional amendment to force our elected officials to do what we want . . we simply need to replace them with someone else. Let's elect people who will do the right thing because it is the right thing to do not because some segment of the population demands we do it.

The answer to our unhappiness with what we perceive to be over-spending on the part of government is not to hamstring the Congress' through a Constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget but by going to the polls and voting. If your congressman is voting for every spending bill that comes along and you don't like it vote for someone else or run for office yourself.

However, once elected that representative of the people must be free to act upon the facts before him/her and not be held to the feelings and belief's of his/her constituency. To do otherwise is to make them puppets on a string and take away their ability to use the good sense and judgment we believed them to have when we elected them. (Don't tell me you voted for them knowing they didn't have good sense and judgement.)

If anyone in my district runs on a "Tea Party" endorsement I am going to interpret that to mean their position on every issue is "don't confuse me with the facts my mind is already made up" and I will vote for their opponent. If that's too harsh put the blame where it belongs on that segment in the U.S. House of Representatives known as the "Tea Party Patriots." As someone recently commented to me, "The idea of "e pluribus unum" is foreign to them." Men who cannot (better: will not)compromise can serve no useful purpose in a forum that by its very nature requires compromise. Their acts of extortion in the Debt Ceiling issue has just about blinded me to any merits their ideas may have and some of their ideas do have merit.

It is a Sad Day For Constitutional Democracy

Most people who know me know that I am a believer in balance in life. I believe that God is the only perfectly balanced being. We humans, who are "created in His image and after His likeness," are somewhat less balanced. Some of us more unbalanced than others. And, just for the record lest I forget to say it later, I have always defined a fanatic as someone who cannot change his mind and will not change the subject.

I am politically a centrist. I believe the center keeps one balanced. That's important because I want to be brought more perfectly into the image of my God, who as I stated at the first is perfectly balanced. Oh yea, before I forget. God is not a Democrat or a Republican; He is not a Capitalist or a Socialist; and He is not even an American . . . He is God and there is none equal to Him though we are encouraged to be like Him.

Now to what's on my mind and from the look of my Facebook wall, television, and computer news on everyone elses' mind as well . . . . the debacle in Washington.

Hence to say I am disgusted with what I am witnessing in Washington D.C. would be a gross understatement.

My disgusted is directed to elected officials in general for allowing things to reach the place where "We the people" are being held hostage by a handful of single issue men. But my real disgust is reserved for the so called "Tea Party Patriots" who claim they are only doing what they "were elected to do."and are at the heart of this stalemate. Don't forget that the Tea Party was an act of rebellion not a part of any democratic process. Add to that what they are doing to our economic welfare and they are not patriots either.

Let me suggest to them that they were not elected as dictators of the United States. They were not elected to bring financial ruin to the nation and the American people. They were elect to represent their constituents and persuade their colleagues through argument and debate. Unable to persuade, they hold the process hostage by making demands that they know will not be met. These extortionist (I see them as political terrorists) do not understand our Constitutional democratic process or maybe they just don't agree with it but they certainly don't respect it.

All they have succeeded in doing is making a mockery of our Constitutional democratic process and rendering Congress impotent. I don't know what can be done today to fix this but come election time changes should be made. In fact, some of these boneheads have even said that they don't care if they get re-elected. I hope their constituency is listening and replace them by an overwhelming vote.

As to the rest of Congress . . . shame on you. Shame on you for not taking this bull by the horns and throwing him to the ground. Where is the leadership? Somehow I just can't see Sam Rayburn, Tip O'Neil, Everet Dirkson, Jim Wright, John McCormick, Lyndon Johnson, or Mike Mansfield putting up with this nonsense! We have none and we don't have it because we have elected weak-minded people who apparently are relying on magic to solve our problems. It appears to me that the way out is for the President to invoke the 14th amendment and unilaterally raise the debt limit. Maybe not the best answer but it is an answer and would show real leadership

My friends, we are morally obligated to pay the bills we have already made. Once we do that we can have a meaningful discussion about reducing our national debt and reform our tax code. We cannot allow a this handful of psuedo-patriots to destroy what our neighbors, our fathers, and our ancestors fought and worked for over 200 years to build just because they can't win their arguement in the people's forum. God help us because we don't seem to be able to help ourselves.

What Went Wrong?

Back in the early 1960's then Speaker of the House of Representatives, Sam Rayburn speaking at the opening of the 87th Congress observed that "Christian civilization is facing the greatest danger today it has ever faced in the past two centuries -- since Christ Himself walked upon the earth."

I wonder what he would say today. Maybe, "I told you so." Or, more than likely he'd be speechless. I'm not sure he could have imagined where we would be today when it comes to Christianity in America.

As I reflect back on my own experience as an evangelical Christian who was born in the mid-1940's and experience the evangelical revival of the 1950's as a youth and served as a Baptist pastor heavily involved in denominational life into the 21st century I wonder, "What went wrong?".

I lived through my own denomination's fight, the so called "Battle for the Bible," which in fact was really a battle for the denomination and control. Saw first hand a bloody civil war in our Southern Baptist religious life that set Christian brothers against one another. It was my first experience as a "full-time" Christian minister with the decline of Christian ethics not just in the pew but the pulpit as well.

It was in the mist of this that American Christianity decided that to preserve our Christian American heritage we had to become politically active. Soon religious leaders were forming packs with politicians who spouted the right words but whose personal lives were far from the words they spoke. In short, we decided that we had to become political if Christianity was to be saved in America. I want to say to those who lead us down that path what Dr. Phil often says, "How's that working for you."

It didn't work then and it is not working now. Why? Because in the process we lost our direction as the Body of Christ. We ceased attempting to be salt and light to our nation and became just one more large Political Action Group. We stopped depending on God to preserve us and started asking Him to bless our attempts at it.

I suggest that we do what has always worked . . . . Get our own house in order. "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Dr. A. C. Dixon, a fine expositor of the Word of God, once said, "that when we depend upon organization, we get what organization can do. When we depend upon education, we get what education can do. When we depend upon money, we get what money can do. When we depend upon singing and preaching, we get what singing and preaching can do. But when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do."

We need to do now what we should have done then . . . "Repent and do the things you did at first." I suggest that the proper role for Christians is to get off their political soap boxes and down on their prayer rugs and pray in earnest. We need to sprinkle a goodly amount of confession and repentance in that praying as we ask God to heal our land. Remember, God's time honored order of things is that it is God's people who must swallow their pride and prostrate themselves before Him. "Judgement begins in the House of the Lord." It's high time we Christians stopped carping and complaining about those outside the house and as one who lives in the house follow God's directions if you really want God to heal the nation. Don't know if you noticed or not but it is the Christian's sin that prevents God's blessing on the nation and too many of us are playing the role of Achan and trying to keep our sins hidden. Is it possible that our national experience today is the product of all the hidden sins of Christian people.

Could it be that in our zeal to heal the nation we have actually told God, "Not to worry, we will get this done" in a way that doesn't involve humbling ourselves and confessing our sin. Well, you see what we have produced. Perhaps we should try something a little more novel, like, really doing what God commanded. He didn't suggest this he commanded it. If as a Christian you want the nation healed then you must take I Chronicles 7:14 serious.

I remember hearing the late Pastor Pepper Rogers as he talked about his experience as a child of riding in the rumble seat of the family car saying that, "God does not ride in the rumble seat. If He isn't driving then He isn't riding." Christian friends, lets move over and let God have the steering wheel.

Mr. Pogo You Were Right.

I recently read the original text of Grover Norquist's anti-tax pledge that many (too many for my liking) members of Congress have signed. Keep in mind, these members of Congress did not sign the redacted version of this pledge. Oh no, they signed the original document. By so signing they reveal a great deal about about their common sense, intellectual acumen and moral bankruptcy

If they had simply signed a pledge to oppose tax increases I would have no major complaint. However, when they signed the document they revealed much about themselves. Here's the deal. At the time your and my Congressional representatives signed this document it opened with an erroneous and egregious series of paragraphs on slavery asserting blacks under slavery were better off as families than they have been since Obama became President. It went on to assert that these slave homes were homogeneous with both a father and a mother in the home.

This is just plain wrong. Nothing could be further from the truth. By signing the "tax pledge" they are saying they were in agreement with this poppycock. In short, they just created some new history (nothing new these days). Why would anyone sign a pledge that contained such tripe? Do you suppose they even read the thing? If not, that is even more egregious.

But putting that part of this aside I still have to ask, Why would anyone with half a brain sign a pledge to do something no matter what happened in the world they would stand pat. Reminds me of what a psychiatrist friend of mine once said about counseling youth. He said, "It's true they have all of the answers but they don't know any of the questions." To these folks it doesn't matter there's a war going on; doesn't matter that their own parents and grandparents get thrown under the bus; doesn't matter that we will be driven deeper into recession or what has actually become depression for about 15% of the population just so that they can keep some commitment they made to some guy in Minnesota. In my book you must understand the problem before you tout a solution.

I used wonder how we got where we are as a nation. Well, I no longer wonder any more for I have found the answer I've been searching for. We got where we are because the people who are in the driver's seat are the ones who sign documents like this one. We got here because we elected these dopes. Indeed Mr. Pogo, we have met the enemy and you were right, "he is us."

Come election day I will be voting for a pragmatist and utilitarian and not an idealog or someone who is so much of a dufus that they would become a slave to someone else's ideas.

It's Not Our Fault!

Ten years ago, James Roosevelt, Jr. Associate Commissioner for Retirement Policy Social Security Administration testified before Congress regarding the state and condition of the Social Security Trust Fund. He said, "The truth is that Social Security is completely solvent today, and will be into the future because it has a dedicated income stream that covers its costs and consistently generates a surplus, which today is $2.5 trillion. Estimates are that the Social Security surplus will grow to approximately $4.3 trillion in 2023, and that reserves will be sufficient to pay full benefits through the year 2037. After 2037, Social Security would still be able to pay for 78 percent of benefits even with no adjustments to revenues or benefits."

Which brings me to this: I resent the fact current Conservative political wisdom feels it necessary to create the image that we boomers are the ones who would mortgage the security of our children and grand children by accepting the benefits we have spent our entire working lives paying for. If I understand Roosevelt correctly the money that I and my fellow Boomers will be receiving is in fact our own money.

Has something happened in the last 10 years to change that? Well, duh, yea! We turned every thing over to our children to enjoy our retirement. Then the economy tanked. the work force shrank by 10%, the money supply dried up, the housing market collapsed and Wall Street tanked. But none of that was caused by the Boomers.

It is not the Boomers who are Mortgaging our children's future and destroying our economy . . . it is the hotshot who live on Wall Street." It is the Bankers, Investors, etc. The Boomer's big mistake was trusting these geniuses when they said what they were doing was good for us and the nation when in fact the only people it was good for was them.

Now, here's my advice to my Congressman and all the rest of that myopic crowd in Washington. Do what you want with your money but leave our money alone. If you need a bridge to nowhere borrow the money from your friends on Wall Street or the whiz-kids called mortgage brokers. But don't ask us to pay for it. If you need a study to determine how many legs there are on a millipede try just catching one and counting his legs. Just learn to say "no" to yourself and the people walking through your office doors. Doesn't matter who they are or who they represent just say, No, no, no!"

Personally, I'd seize their assets and give to someone else to manage and invest. I certainly would leave it to them to restore the economy. Take it away from Leamon Bothers and give it to Billy Bob and his buddies. They'll invest in Main Street America not Wall Street.

Trust me when I say, whatever is wrong with the nation put the Boomers in charge and we will fix it.

There Were Giants In The Land In Those Days

Genesis 6:4 speaks of a time when "there were giants in the land." I want to take that verse out of context and apply it in a totally different way. In the 18th century America there were giants in the land. These men were children of the Enlightenment and each one reflected that in his life and thinking. Some were farmers by trade while others were lawyers; some were bankers while others were craftsmen. They came from all walks of life but they had one thing in common . . . they were all influenced by the Enlightenment and they all wanted a new government.

I sometimes wonder how it is that in 1776 when the population in America was barely 3 million people the country could produce so many giants: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, John Adams, John Hancock, Alexander Hamilton and a dozen or more lessor but certainly outstanding lights and our day of 320 million people we cannot produce one.

We should not pretend that the founding fathers were men who were monolithic in their thinking and/or actions. You know, as my uncle used to say about caves, "you seen one cave, you've seen them all." As already stated they were "children of the Enlightenment" but they were each one their own distinct person. No two of them were the same. They didn't created the Constitution because the all thought alike but in spite of the fact they didn't think alike. They created this magnificent document because they worked together to achieve a common end.

Now don't misunderstand. We have smart people in our day. Some are even Rhodes Scholars, most have done well financially and many have generous hearts and all the other virtues that we see as desirable qualities in our leaders. But even with all this there are no giants. Why don't we have any giants in the land in our time?

With all their differences the men who forged our Constitution were first and foremost Patriots. Though they often disagreed politically and in some cases ideologically they never accursed each other of being less of an Patriot because of it. Some of them leaned toward the traditional English model; some came from a religious backgrounds; others were decidedly secularists but, none were exclusionist. Hence on the big issues they could work together to find a way.

What do we do . . .we throw rocks at each other. We denigrate those who don't agree with our positions and our way of thinking We call them bad Americans or worse yet declare they are not true Americans. We draw lines in the sand on every single issue and have the audacity to insist that everyone has to bend to our way of thinking. If they don't we question their patriotism.

I propose that what what we need today are some giants. Some congressmen and Senators who will stop checking which way the political wind is blowing and act with courage and integrity and do what is best for the nation. We need elected representatives who will lay aside their ideologies, political parties, and personal welfare and work together for the good of the nation. These are crucial times and we need some statesmen who will put their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor on line, roll up their sleeves and go to work for the welfare of the nation.

I believe that when our congressmen become statesmen and stand up and lead the nation will follow. When this happens there will once more be giants in the land and the nation will proper and the people will rejoice. Until then we must continue to wonder. "were are the giants for our time?"

By the Way, do you realize that the United States of America was the first and perhaps only nation that was a created a state before it became a nation. These giants of the 18th century wrote a decidedly secular document, the Constitution, that created a state and then set about creating a nation called America and a people called Americans from a hodgepodge of people. We have been doing that ever since, i.e., creating Americans.