Time for Americans to Grow Up
Yes, times are tough. Yes, it causes anxiety. However, we need to be careful how many witch hunts we want to pursue, and even more careful where we place our faith! When times turn tough, and the economy is in a squeeze, it amazes me how many people want someone to take care of them. People want a solution, any solution. We frantically look around for a leader to “fix” the problem. That attitude has historically led to some of the biggest tragedies endured by the human race. The opportunistic leaders and strategies chosen under duress have usually resulted in a leader that has instead fixed blame, and created even larger problems.
Imagine if you will a time of severe economic downturn. A collapsed Wall Street that leaves a global economy reeling. With money becoming more devalued by the minute, many banks begin to fail. The savings of the middle class is virtually wiped out over night. Rival political parties that should come together to enact legislation instead become bogged down squabbling over details of legislation. As unemployment rises the society is pushed further into economic hardship. It becomes ever more popular to blame the capitalists and the “blood sucking bankers.” A man, who early in his political career had associations with some very questionable characters, has since cleaned up his act and gained the respect of industrialists and upper middle class socialites. As this society’s economic hardships ensue, a well timed election is at hand, and this man campaigns on a slogan of change. People, who barely knew who he was only a couple of years prior, now elect him as their new leader.
Do you recognize the society? Surprise! It is Depression era Germany! The man elected to change everything and looked to as the saving grace of the troubled nation is Adolf Hitler. His campaign slogan, “Alles muss anders sein!” Translated into English it reads, “Everything must change!”
Early in his career Hitler was a street brawling revolutionist. He had appeal among disgruntled, semi-literate people prone to violence. Hitler spent much of his time in Vienna coffee houses in post World War I Vienna, with bohemian intellect 5b4 ual types. These people spend time espousing peace, but they share an underlying loathing of the system, any system, and in the right set of circumstances will be happy to set off a social revolution. These people share many qualities with the likes of Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. By the time 1930 rolled around, Hitler had gained the support of German industrialists, and upper middle class socialites. His goal now was to gain mass appeal among German voters, and his supporters saw that his main attributes were his charisma, his speech making abilities, and his knowledge of what people wanted to hear. Sound familiar?
But wait a minute. Wasn’t Hitler and the Nazi party right wing fascists? Nope. Here’s another surprise, they were left-wing socialists. Take a look at the following two quotes:
“True, it is a fixed idea with the French that the Rhine is their property, but to this arrogant demand the only reply worthy of the German nation is Arndt’s: “Give back Alsace and Lorraine”. For I am of the opinion, perhaps in contrast to many whose standpoint I share in other respects, that the reconquest of the German-speaking left bank of the Rhine is a matter of national honour, and that the Germanisation of a disloyal Holland and of Belgium is a political necessity for us. Shall we let the German nationality be completely suppressed in these countries, while the b68 Slavs are rising ever more powerfully in the East?”
“This is our calling, that we shall become the templars of this Grail, gird the sword round our loins for its sake and stake our lives joyfully in the last, holy war which will be followed by the thousand-year reign of freedom.”
Anyone who reads either of these two quotes and knows even a little bit about Hitler would think they came right out of the mouth of Adolf Hitler. They were in fact written by Friedrich Engels, a German socialist who was Karl Marx’s co-author. The socialist agenda is even embedded in the name of Hitler’s political party, the National Socialist German Workers Party, or Nazi for short. Long before Hitler ever came to power, you might be surprised to learn that the swastika was first worn by the Soviet Red Army during and after World War I. Take a look at this image in a Soviet socialist manual.
The graphic on the right page was the patch worn by the Soviet Red Army. Look familiar? Prewar socialists, even American socialists, wore the swastika based on the fact that it has two interlocking “S” letters to symbolize socialism.
Here is what Hitler had to say about the Nazi flag, “As National socialists we see our programme in our flag. In red we see the social thoughts of the movement, in white the nationalist thoughts, in the hooked-cross the mission of fighting for the victory of Aryan man and at the same time the victory of the concept of creative work.” Sorry to disappoint all of you who learned from your public school teachers that Hitler and the Nazi party were an extreme right-wing movement, they were indeed left-wing socialists and thought of themselves as such.
Another trait of socialists is their distrust and hatred of the Judeo-Christian faith. Yes Hitler executed Jews and we all know how much Hitler loathed Judaism, however few are familiar with the master plan of the Nazis to persecute the Christian Church as well. According to the Nazi Master Plan, seen here prepared by the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) Research and Analysis Branch, currently in the possession of Cornell Law Library, the Nazis had a deep hatred of Christians, and plans to persecute them as well. During the Nuremberg Trials these facts came out quite clearly. True Hitler used “Christian-speak” to gain initial favor with the masses, however, once in power his actions and documents proved otherwise. This hatred of the Judeo-Christian faiths is also seen in the Soviet Union’s wiping out of the church, insisting on atheism, as well as church persecution in communist China.
The lesson here is about handing over control out of fear. The problem comes when we as a people are willing to make knee- 5b4 jerk reactions to difficult situations. We are all adults. We moved away from home long ago to raise our own families and be adults. Yet when things get tough, we revert to curling up in a fetal position, sucking our thumbs, and look for someone to take care of us. We look to government, anyone who will step up with a promise of a better tomorrow. We are willing to cast aside very dubious associations, past performance (or lack of), track record, and a deep look into what a candidate really stands for, as long as they are a smooth talker and promise to fix it. We want big government programs to bail everyone out of the mess. Opportunists prey on fear to rush through legislation that would never pass in normal conditions. That’s when it hits you. Somewhere in there you just handed more control over to big government without taking time to carefully review what is going on. It is now even easier for a Hitler to rise to power. We are in an age of quick sound bites and surface summaries of the issues. We are willingly spoon-fed and less self-educated about issues, events, and history.
The political platform of the liberal, left-winged Democrats is big government, and big spending. They blame “the wealthy” and the “blood-sucking” capitalists for everything. The more you make, the more they want to take in taxes and hand it over to those making less. That is the definition of socialism, and it should have no place i b68 n our country. I have no problem with programs that offer a hand up to those who are down on their luck, but I do have a problem with a hand out that encourages people to stay right where they are and feed on the government gravy train, while blaming someone else for their situation.
The founding fathers of this nation knew the problems and evils of big government. They were careful and meticulous in their crafting of a Constitution that places the power with the people. They saw the most benevolent form of government as one that takes it’s marching orders from the people, and exists by the “consent of the governed.” Benjamin Franklin said, “A nation that sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.”
However, for such a government to exist, the people must be accountable, taking responsibility together for the situations and hard-times we face, learn from it, and grow. They must be hard-working, literate, and willing to learn and be educated. We each must waste less time fixing blame and pointing fingers, and be willing to look hard at the decisions each of us made to arrive where we are. This nation was built by people willing to pull themselves up by their boot straps and do what needed to be done to overcome dire situations. Our nation has a long history of generation after generation facing difficulty and adversity head on, not running and whining. Our government wasn’t created to punish success, it was framed to encourage it’s pursuit!
Our founding fathers also had a deep faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They continuously referenced the Bible as a light to guide them. For more detail see my article titled, “What Separation of Church and State?”
Where do you place your faith? In the government? In the FDIC insurance on your bank account? Just this past week reports abounded about the FDIC using $16 billion last quarter to sure up and seize more failing banks. This leaves them with reserves of less than $19 billion to cover over $10 trillion on deposit in U.S. banks. Perhaps you trust your job, or your home value? How is that working out for you? All are sinking fast in these economically challenging times.
Instead of floundering around looking for answers to uncertainty in fallible people and human made institutions, we are instructed to place our faith in God. Jesus said, “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:20
During His Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of min 5b4 e and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” ~Matthew 7:24-27
Notice Jesus didn’t say if the storm comes. He said the storm comes. We are told we will have trouble in this life, but we are to rely on God. For many today, praying to God to sustain them in times of calamity is a last resort, instead of a first response. After we have exhausted ourselves and used our own strength, power, and understanding, we crawl to God wearily begging for His help. Yes we are to work and clean up our own mess, but we are to do so prayerfully in God’s strength, and then not worry. If you are going to pray, don’t worry, but if you are going to worry, don’t pray.
When speaking about worry Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 5b4 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” ~Matthew 6:25-34
Jesus didn’t say do whatever you want, I’ll still take care of everything. He said, “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” It doesn’t mean be self-righteous, and it doesn’t mean God expects you to be perfect. God knows we aren’t perfect, that is why Jesus had to pay our fine. However, God does expect you and me to try our best. To continually grow in knowledge of Him, seeking out His will and admit when we make mistakes, learn and grow.
Sometimes calamity happens through no fault of our own. Sometimes God will use it as a way to turn a rebellious people back to Him.
Not all Democrats are atheists. Many pro b68 fess faith and attend church. However, more often than not the platform of that party stands for things that are in direct opposition to God. The most extreme to the left are the worst offenders, and the least likely to meet in the middle. Extreme leftists are socialists, plain and simple. You can see how that ideology has worked out throughout history. Socialism is a failed system. Don’t push the panic button in trying times. If anything, it is the difficult times that call for cool heads, deep thought, and a well executed strategy.
Historically free markets tend to do a better job of correcting themselves since the laws of supply and demand tend to always work. Over inflated bubbles in markets exist in periods of over exuberance and the natural effect eventually is a downward correction. It levels out and recovers. When the market is up, people think the party will never end, and when it corrects, they freak out, panicked that it will never recover. Once you blame the free market and add artificial solutions through government intervention, history shows the problems become more complex and take even longer to correct. Many historians and economists feel that government interference through New Deal programs only served to prolong the Great Depression; throwing good money after bad. Lastly, be careful when you use your power to vote. Make sure the solution you think is wonderful really isn’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Trust in our country the way it was founded, and trust in a Holy, loving God Who wants only the best for his children.
References: John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) A Conservative Teacher The History Place – The Rise of Adolf Hitler American Thinker-How the Great Depression brought Adolf Hitler to power
“Our founding fathers also had a deep faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. They continuously referenced the Bible as a light to guide them.”
I don’t think this statement is accurate at all. I think most of the founding fathers were deists who had little use for Christianity and did not subscribe to the bible.