Principles Revisited

What are our principles, as individuals or as a nation? I addressed this a few nights ago when waterboarding was in the news every minute of every hour. Some questioned the rationality of my thinking. Why would I be opposed to waterboarding when so much good came out of the practice? "We saved possibly thousands of lives." My mind goes back to the condemnation of Saul Alinsky when he wrote that the end justifies the means. Rules for Radicals, outlines that the means are disposable if the end goals are meet. This is the same type of thinking that justifies the torture of other humans. The practice of waterboarding uncovered information that saved the lives of Americans. Now are we of the opinion that the means were justified by the end result? If that did not work, would cutting off a finger knuckle by knuckle be acceptable, if it saved American lives? I guess the answer only comes through our principles. Please do not misunderstand, I do not feel these people deserve to be treated kindly nor do I think that President Obama is doing the right thing by exposing this issue. I am challenging you to look at your principles and identify what makes torture correct. If you can justify it in your mind, maybe you should reexamine the Rules for Radicals and see where you are at on the scale. I still think that the president is taking our country down the wrong path, but torture is against the principles of our nation.

Martin Luther King wrote, "Actually, time itself is neutral; it can be used either destructively or constructively. More and more I feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than have the people of good will. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right." As we look around us today we can see our nation turning against the principles it was found upon. They my cry foul with the torture of evil people while the leadership of our country pull the rug out from under its very fiber. We can sit silently while it happens or speak up and and try to save her!

I know that I lot of my friends and family will disagree with me on this point, but the more I think about the use of waterboarding the more I am siding with President Obama. This is one point that I agree with him, waterboarding is against the principles of this Nation. Being conservative I want to be OK with getting information that saves my loved ones, but at what cost? It raises the question can there be a small deviation in Integrity? No matter what the cost can you, as a person, accept the torture of another human? The argument that they caused tremendous pain on many people does not change the fact that we are a people with principle. We are fighting terrorism with terror? The practice of waterboarding is wrong and I think that no matter what proof you provide of stopping an attack. The point is mute, because you will never know if proper treatment would have produced results.

Where Did It Come From, Where Did It Go?

The it, I am writing about, is the humility it took to build this Proud nation. Now that is an oxymoron, isn’t it? Look at the two pictures. Prayer today is scoffed at as a weak man paying respect to what? Some God that
does not exist? A God that knows so little that you cannot see Him? Some attack the very nature of God saying, “I thank God, who ever she is.” Barack Obama’s minister said “This Nation wants us to sing 'God Bless America.' No, no, no, God damn America.” Mr. Obama apologizes for our arrogance
as a nation. Apologize for what? Maybe apologize for not acknowledging that there is someone else that deserves reverence and consultation. General Washington knew that it took humility to build. Humility to realize that taking an idea and birthing a nation that would be a candle to light the direction of
hope, virtue, knowledge, charity, the ability to choose for oneself, took the guidance of Heavenly Father. Thus we say its praise, One Nation Under God. President Obama knows arrogance because of his own. Now, we are no longer a Christian Nation but a nation of citizens. The candle on the hill, built with humility, is now being shadowed by the bushel of arrogance of individuals that trust in the arm of man and shun the very notion of asking for guidance from a wiser more experienced individual, our Heavenly Father. Built on the knees of founding fathers in miserable conditions, shall we let her be shredded by arrogance of poses in lavish surroundings?

It has been quite some time since I made a post. I just do not have much time to sit in front of the computer to write my thoughts. The world seems to have gone into a tailspin. The economy has gone crazy, the political environment is though we are in a different world, and the gay marriage issue has changed the generational dormancy of hatred towards the church. So many references to the early saints were given a General Conference this year; I guess we are going to in some small point start experiencing some of what they went through. There is so much attention given to this issue of same sex marriage. I cannot believe that it has come to this point. The family is the last stand of the war against corruption within our society. What a mess we find ourselves in. First sex became a freedom statement. Which brought on a vast amount of out of wedlock births, no fathers in the home created limited direction in the home. Free sex also was a precursor to the breakdown of the family through divorce, which my home fell victim. Now we have gone from a single mom or dad household to a two mom or dad household. This is just another attack centered on the family masked in the veil of intolerance and discrimination. The bottom-line is, same sex relationships are against the nature of our God. I have heard people say “it is natural for same sex people be attracted to each other, you see it in the animal world all the time.” I cannot believe people want to compare themselves to animals to define nature. I do not feel that people that have same sex attraction are less important than I am. Nor do I feel that I am any better than they are, nor that my Heavenly Father loves them less than he loves me. Someone just needs to make a stand for what is left of the moral fabric of this society.

Just Tired

I am tired of hearing the same thing over again

The mean main streets of America, patients are thin

Taxation beyond belief is what you hear them cry

Son in the Army for this, he may die?

Social reengineering "the rich do not do their share"

The lazy, less fortunate, where money comes? Should care?

The power of technology information is never clear

Email from my step mother, my father, cancer?

Where is our society with all its advantages?

Email? texting? Voice mail? Closet closing stages?

Socialism, Marxism, Capitalism? It’s all a play

A play on your emotions, guns pointed in, I'll stay

America the great and proud still people care

America's Got talent votes live on the air

Mr. Obama, President, the first of his kind

Not black, Not white Economic Slaves, we are blind

First to wave the flag of defeat, of a philosophy that made us, us
Without a shot fired, without bloodshed, the first, the first? I am just tired!

Scrament Meeting

Today was a good day at church. The talks centered on the Fourth Article of Faith. Sacrament Meeting today was one of the more powerful from start to finish that I have experienced for a while. In today's world it is easy to get caught up in too many activities. Just waking up in the morning there is little time for reflection. Usually one has to get up and moving and not stop until it is time to go to bed. Where is there time to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost? One of the speakers reflected on the talk by Elder Oaks, "Good, Better, Best." With a world that is extremely busy we need to choose what activities are best for us and our families. This week has been enlightening from start to finish. My boss shared a poem with me. He pulled me aside and said "I know no one would believe that I am a poetry type of person, but let me share something with you." It was a poem by Rudyard Kipling, "The Gods of the Copybook Headings." I really enjoyed the poem and it started me thinking about life in our world and the spiritual promptings I have felt to make a stand in the world that seems to be crumbling around us. I am grateful for this week and how God touched my life. Which brings one more Conference talk to mind by President Eyring, "O Remember, Remember." How has God touched my life this week? I talked to my son that is in the Army, for the first time in two months. My wife and I were able to share some time with each other this week. My third oldest daughter mad the honor roll. She had a serious learning disability and has been in resource since fourth grade for English challenges. This year she is in College Prep English. My daughter in College called just to say hi. My youngest daughter played cards with me. My youngest boy that almost died at birth wants me to sit with him and share "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" I talked to my oldest daughter and she is OK. My boss shared another poem with me called IF and it talked to me. Sometimes it is hard to see, but God does touch our lives.