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Eulogy for America
The United States of America, born from strife and abuse. Men of courage, traitors to the land of their fathers, determined to be free, stepped forward to unite a people to a common cause. Realizing a Confederacy lacked stability because of fragmentation, these same men remodeled the Nation into a Republic of Independent Free Men who would democratically choose their representative in the halls of the Republic. And so the Nation was born and set upon the cycle of its life. These men were strong, fierce, proud men of values centered around family and beliefs that gave them a moral compass that rarely failed them.
Over time, these men were replaced by the voter with men of lower self standard and lesser desires to serve than to rule. This new generation of leaders continued supporting the ideas of the Republic until they noticed the personal profit to be garnered from their positions. And time moved on. As the Nation grew from it's infancy and childhood it divided, internally, seeking geographic lines of separation as economic and cultural differences defined regions. And there was conflict within. Again, in a time of need, a single man stepped forward to lead the fight for freedom for all men. From this embattled time, the Nation stepped forth as a young adult, tempered, strengthened and standing tall.
And again the Nation started becoming complacent and looking to take easier routes to maintain the beliefs upon which it was founded. And again, the Nation started into a morass of decay and lost vision. The responsible young adult was becoming lazy as a new generation was handed the freedoms hard earned by the blood of others. And again the Nation started onto the path of material gain. As the competition for material grew, so did the ease with which it could be attained. Tools and industry made it possible for men to replace craftsmen with machines and processes. Pride of workmanship started to decline as did the unity of the family unit.
As the nation continued to grow, it's very ideals were attacked from without. Challenged by forces great and small on all sides, the Nation stood tall, again, defending not only itself, but it friends. The Nation used its strength to win the challenges, protect it's friend, and bully it's allies. And the population of the Nation grew at a rate renewed and invigorated by the victory over an axis of hatred and oppression. Others from around the neighborhood also came to the Nation wanting the freedoms and the opportunities available there. And the need for material growth became ever greater as the numbers in the Nation exploded.
With the constant effort to increase material wealth, the foundations of the Nation started to crumble. The Family Unit was neglected, the Women left the traditional role of the home to also acquire material wealth for the Family. The Children were now less supervised. They did not benefit from the teachings and examples the parents of their parents had.
Soon the Men and Women of the Family started competing for who was the larger earner of material wealth. Laws were changed as those wanting material demanded equality. The Family unit crumbled and started breaking apart. As the generations passed the idea of having a Family became distasteful. The acquisition of Material wealth was augmented by the search fro personal pleasure, again leaving Children unwanted, abandoned and undisciplined, taught only by their parents the only important matter in their world was to win. Winning was defined as having more than others and working less to get it.
This lead to another generation of adults who were more guided only by self-individualism. This growing ideal of selfishness grew and expanded past the decaying Family Unit and integrated itself into the very structure of the society. The society of the Nation fragmented into smaller and smaller units. Each shouting louder to be heard by their Representatives in the Halls of the Republic. Each generation chose those that promised to return the most unto the lowest of classes hoping to be elevated from the bottom rung of the social and financial ladders. And again the Nation was weakened by fragmentation as individualism moved loyalties away from the whole of the Nation to the smaller groups that promised personal benefit and profit at the expense of others.
The Society fragmented into even smaller elements as the Nation was attacked from without by those who desired the benefits of the Nation without following the Laws of the Land to become members of the Nation. And again, the Nation fragmented as the Representatives promised to open the borders and let any less fortunate in with no regard to the safety of all or they promised to close the borders and restrict the flood of new comers. As this debate carried on, others of the Nation were standing and fighting for the Nation and those that make it. Fighting to protect the freedoms and the way of life and decadence the Society demanded. And with the decay of the Family Unit, this brave minority were excluded from the Society and labeled all manner of unworthy monikers.
And now the Nation, the Society, the Republic that was once great teeters and sways as its foundation continues to crumble into a morass of decadence, an absence of morality and the loss of values.
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As our Nation has grown and matured we have continued to lose contact with the great ideals that brought this Nation into being. A handful of men stood against tyranny as traitors to deliver themselves into freedom. Later, a single man stood as a leader in a time of great internal turmoil to strengthen and gather the Nation back into a single people. Then the Nation stood as one against an enemy of bullies who desired the wealth of our Nation and the enslavement of it's peoples.
Now we are faced again in a fight with jealous and zealous persons bent on cleansing the decadent Nation.
Now we are faced with fragmentation of the Society into small clusters of self interest.
To stand forward now, to put the interest of the Nation before oneself would only lead the death of that individual from starvation, exclusion and ostracized as unintelligent.
We no longer value Unity. We no longer support each other. We no longer look to others in need of aid and support in our times for abundance.
We have lost our strength.
We, as a Society, are already dead.
As a Nation, we may be too far gone to be resurrected.
I, for one, am proud to be ostracized for caring about our Nation as a whole.
Where do you stand?
Do you stand in the crowd, alone?
Or do you stand alone uniting to effect change in the crowd?
Emergency Preparedness
Due to recent and local weather events, I realized I was woefully under prepared for emergencies. So, I have started building emergency kits, again. This is a call for an open discussion of what makes for a good emergency kit. If you are a particular professional that deals with emergencies, safety or emergency medicine, your input would be greatly appreciated.
This is what I have started with:
one each large black plastic trunk, watertight -- Pep Boys - $25.00
two woolen army blankets -- $10.00/ea
one gallon lamp oil -- $2.50 --
one glass oil lantern -- $7.00
five large heavy black trash bags -- already on hand
one medium sized medical kit that includes -- $55.00
minor band aids
bandages & gauze
sterile needle and suture
variety of cleaning, sterile and anti-bacterial packets
watertight container
EMT scissors
single sided razors
tweezers
rubbing alcohol
peroxide
motorcycle wet weather gear/dbl sided yellow & black -- $45.00
two tarps 12x12 and 10x10 -- Harbor freight sale $4.00 for both
rope -- Ace Hardware – $4.00/50' @ 1/4” and 20lb
small bag of char coal (for helping dry wet wood to burn) in sealed plastic bags
crank charge flashlights (2)
crank charge emergency radio with beacon light (1)
'Biker's Tent' – quick and easy to set up super lightweight and tightly packed tent for motorcycle campers -- 10'x8'x6' -- $65.00
hatchet
limb saw
leather man
matches and lighters (sealed)
2 empty clean milk jugs for fresh water
$200.00 cash and a $200.00 prepaid credit card
folding camp shovel
Sleeping bags
various campsite gear (picnic basket with plates/utensiles/cookware, etc)
Fortunately, I already had much of this list about the apartment. I simply decided to gather is all together and make ready a kit. This is for short term in place or on trips emergency kit. Some of it over kill, and I'm sure some things are missing.
For long term or evacuation required emergencies, I have added to my 'kit' a 3500W generator, a coleman camp stove (will run on K1 kerosene), rechargeable batteries and recharger, handheld CB radio with additional long antenna range of about 3 miles. Pair of FRS radios from Walmart. Compass and other similar items for the local army surplus store.
I will add more to this list and additional details as they come available.
Comments on Fred and Fred's Principles
Last night on Chris Byrne's blog “The Anarchangel” was a video link to Fred and his comments to the people of Iowa. Although he looked about as interested as a four day corpse at a Thanksgiving Dinner, I truly did enjoy his comments.
In today's political landscape I doubt there is a single candidate that shares the same ideals I do, but that is part of what makes our nation the best on the planet. Fred has the chance of 'being another Reagan' for us, providing clear leadership and maintaining a more center of the road position of conservative values.
As I listened to Fred's speech to the people of Iowa I was hit by a simple realization about what Fred had to say. As a conservative Fred believes in empowering the people of the nation. A true conservative does not see the nation as an uneducated gaggle of victims in need of nurturing, but instead as the beautiful and engrossing potential of being much greater than the sum of our collective selves.
From what I have seen and read about the man, he is very much for reasonable common sense usages of government. He wants to put the idea of serving the nation back into government. Each payday we are serviced by our government and he may be able to back that down a bit.
Items I disagree with from Fred's statements are social items that will take time to balance out and the President is NOT the person to force the balance. For example, his statements regarding his religious beliefs. More power to you Fred, but not all of us are Tennessee Church of Christ Christians. I'm all for a person seeking wisdom from a higher power, but that wisdom still needs to meet the basic tenants of our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Keep your Bible in your desk drawer, Fred. Fred is Pro-life and he is welcome to that philosophy. With a 100% Pro-Life record I believe Fred may be over looking a few things about personal responsibility and personal freedom. Fred is also against gay marriage. Again that is his personal choice and philosophy. Neither of which belong in a law restricting people's basic and fundamental right to the pursuit of happiness.
Positives of Fred's principles, now that the trash is out and being considered, are very much in line with what I personally believe. Below are excerpts from his website with my comments following each excerpt.
Individual Liberty . As Jefferson spelled out in the Declaration of Independence, our basic rights come from God, not from government, and that among these inalienable rights is the right to liberty. We must allow individuals to lead their lives with minimal government interference.
And Jefferson had it right. More right than Fred may be willing to admit. The Declaration of Independence stated 'Creator' NOT God. This permits and opens the nation and individuals to follow believe and worship as they wish. Perhaps Fred's wording was chosen due to the higher percentage of Christian fundamentalists in the for Right side of the Conservatives.
Personal Responsibility . The corollary to liberty is responsibility. No society can succeed and thrive for any duration unless free people act in a responsible way. All of us must take responsibility for our actions and strive to improve our own lives and to contribute to building a better society.
There can be no true liberty nor true freedom if people are not held responsible for their actions that impinge upon the freedoms of others. Whether the issue is a matter of accepting responsibility in a car accident to being responsible citizens and raising children to be the same. From the small and petty to the major and life altering, to be free, we must be responsible. “Responsibility is the yoke we all bear to enjoy our freedoms” is a comment my high school civics teacher used often, particularly when someone complained about something not being 'fair'.
Free Markets . Free people are best equipped to order their own affairs, and the common interest benefits from and is improved by the aggregate success of all. We must reform our tax system, encourage investment, support entrepreneurial spirit, open markets abroad to American goods, and minimize burdensome government regulations to continue to expand the economy and bring increased wealth to all Americans.
Wow! What a concept. Americans competing within and without, openly and transparently. 'The People' should be the one's determining reasonable prices by their decisions on what to buy, when. Support this with the opportunities for inventors and entrepreneurs to compete fairly with the 'big boys'. Sometimes the little guy is closer to the solution than the mega-corp entities that do so much to control congress. Just imagine if all the different engine designs of the last 50 years were unlocked and made available to the open market? Imagine a Ford Explorer SUV getting as much as 50 MPG on the open highway.
Limited Government . Government must be strong enough to protect us, competent enough to provide basic government services, but limited by the delineated powers in the Constitution.
Government is strongest when it is small, tight and efficient. Fewer laws, equates directly to more liberty for all. Simplification laws and processes would make it possible for American's to actually KNOW that they are or are not in violation of the laws of the land. I am hoping this would include actions to remove laws rules and regulations that keep the government as the ultimate provider for a variety of services. Welfare comes to mind.
Federalism . Our Constitution innovatively guarantees our liberties by spreading power among the three branches of the federal government, and between the federal government and the states. In considering any action by the government, we must always ask two questions: is the government better equipped than the private sector to perform the task and, if so, what level of government (federal or state) ought to do it. Washington is not the seat of all wisdom
WOOHOO! “Washington is not the seat of all wisdom.” I love that line. It is so perfect. So many politicians are always showing the 'doyouknowwhoIam' attitude, putting on a face of being omnipotent of what is and what is not 'right' for Americans. If it is not defined as a responsibility of the federal government, identify it should be. Otherwise pass it to the individual states. If the states are not the correct location for such a rule, as the federal level is not, then there is no need for the rule because it will negatively impact the liberties of the majority.
Protecting our Country . The first responsibility of the federal government is to protect the nation and the American people. There is no more important task. We must have a strong and effective military, capable intelligence services, and a vigorous law enforcement and homeland security capacity.
The FIRST responsibility. The federal government is constitutionally charged with protecting the people and the American way of life. Noted difference between Liberals and Conservatives: Liberals would coddle and shelter the populace, taking liberties in exchange for less personal responsibility. Conservatives push for the people to be an active part of any and every form of national protection. From the volunteer military forces to actually being responsible for our individual actions.
Traditional American Values . A healthy society is predicated on belief in God; respect for all life; strong families centered on the institution of marriage—the union of a man and a woman; and self-respect and tolerance of others. While we are all free to live our lives in the pursuit of our own happiness, the government has a responsibility to respect the right of parents to raise their children and to promote the values that produce the strongest society.
Fred, the health of a society is not determined by how many of the people attend church on Sunday Morning. But the society's respect for life, personal liberty as well as personal responsibility as well as the foundation of healthy people, self-respect and tolerance of those with a differing perspective. Bring on the freedoms and liberties, Fred. I was brought up in a Christian based household, but I was also encouraged to find my own path through life. So long as a person stays true to themselves and true to the simplest principles of our our Nations foundations, they will rarely go wrong or offend others of differing beliefs but similar principles.
The Rule of Law . We protect our liberty, secure our rights, and promote a just and stable society through the rule of law. We owe to ourselves and our fellow citizens our own adherence to the rules, but tough law enforcement and punishment for those who do not. A free and independent judiciary that interprets the law by adhering strictly to legal text and respects its limited role in our system of government is essential to our security and freedom, and we need judges who understand that role if we are to preserve our republic and freedom.
The judiciary is to determine the legality of a law, based upon the constitutionality of the law. Their personal beliefs have no place on the bench. For examples of this look into the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco.
Conserving Our Nation’s Resources . Each of us is put on Earth for a limited period of time. We must always strive to ensure that the resources we use to lead our lives are here for future generations to enjoy and use as well.
Go Green, America. Go Green! Ha. Nice thought and an honorable goal. But to pull it off, the mindset of American's will need to change from the instant and immediate gratification crew to one of progressive planning and determined management of the planet as a whole, not just our nation. We can not, as a government tell another government what to do with it's national resources. However, as a people, as a nation of independent thinkers and responsible citizens we have the power to deliver the same message to others that our government can not legally influence. We have the power to avoid supporting that nation by purchasing the products of other nations.
All in all, I agree with and like Fred for my candidate of President. If only he would awaken from his chrysalis, spread his wings and let the world know he was there. Reagan stepped up to the mike and was active. He moved when he spoke. He insured that people understood he was a force unto himself. Freddy you wanna be considered a Reagan Era Conservative? Then step into Ronnie's shoes, boy. Show us what you got.
P. Blacksmith
