Sunday, April 27, 2008

You Have To Make A Choice

Sometimes it is strange how a series of events occur that inspire me to write. This week was one of those weeks that, by weeks end, an idea was beginning to formulate itself in my head for an article. Then my good friend, the Grassroots Granny (www.grassrootsgranny.com)sent out an e mail that capped it all off. But I am getting ahead of myself, so let me go back to what started this process in the first place.

It all began with a discussion I had at work concerning who I intended to vote for. After I told them if I could not cast a vote for Ron Paul I would probably not bother to cast a vote for president, even though I would still vote on ballot measures and other issues.

This person asked me why I wouldn't vote for Hillary or Barack Obama? I told them there are many reasons, and began listing them. When I got to their desire for universal health care, the woman stopped me and asked what is wrong with everyone having health insurance. I told her nothing is wrong with the idea of everyone having health insurance, as long as the federal government does not tax me for it, or run it.

She said, but isn't that what our government is for? Aha, I thought to myself, another person who knows not the function of their government. I then asked if she could tell me where in the Constitution it says the federal government is responsible for making sure everyone has health insurance. She could not, but said, "It must be in there somewhere."

After counting to ten, well maybe twenty, I answered that it is nowhere to be found in the Constitution that the federal government is responsible for providing Americans with health insurance. I then told her that the Constitution does say that whatever powers are not granted the federal government are reserved to the states and to the people, by 10th amendment. Therefore, I continued, if you really want everyone to have health care, why don't the people contact their respective state legislator and ask that they sponsor a bill to create a state run program, (a thought I find repulsive and unwise, but nevertheless within the legal guidelines of our Constitution.)

She tried again to say that it would be better if the federal government did it so all the states could have the same program. I finally said, 'Listen, if the federal government assumes powers it is not authorized by the Constitution, what is to stop if from assuming powers that you may not want it to?' (As though this hasn't happened already, but I didn't want to get into that with her at this point in time.)

She said, well we could always stop them? I said, could we? How? She didn't know what else to say, except that she intended to vote for Hillary anyway.

This person obviously could not grasp the concept that there is a right way to do things, and a wrong way to do things. I find that quite prevalent in discussing politics with many. It is quite frustrating to say the least. I often have to refrain from insults or just slapping some sense into them. I have developed a lot of patience because of people like her. I guess that is a blessing in disguise.

The next event took place yesterday. A woman came to my home early in the morning and left some religious information, no, not Jehovah's Witnesses, it was a local Baptist Congregation. She was a pleasant woman, so we discussed politics, gardening, and other subjects for about an hour before she departed.

That evening my son was reading the pamphlet she gave me and asked me why a person can't go to Heaven just because they are nice, or at least nicer than a lot of other people.

I began by telling him that he should not worry about comparing himself to others when it comes to his worthiness to enter Heaven, he should compare himself to Jesus. He then said, but Jesus was perfect, and I am never going to be perfect. I said, that is true, but your goal should be to come as close to perfect as you can.

Next I told him to get into Heaven he would have to accept Jesus as his Savior. Just believing in Jesus would not be enough. He has to accept the sacrifice Jesus made for him, admit to Him that you are a sinner and then ask for his forgiveness and help in your life. Then you should begin to try and live by the teachings of Jesus.

He did not like the idea, not because he was worried he couldn't do those things, but because his friends were not likely to do them as well, and he didn't want all his friends going to hell. Noble thought, but not of his concern until he first made sure he was on the right path himself.

Somehow our discussion ended up on the subject of eternity. I told him that our life here on earth is nothing more than a blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things. Would it not be prudent to be on the safe side and do what you know is right to prevent yourself from being damned for all eternity. I told him that there is not middle ground, you either accept Jesus into your life, or you don't. You can choose to work towards going to Heaven, or you can sit back assured that you are going to hell. He looked a bit despondent after our conversation, but at least he has thought it over.

That was yesterday, then this morning, my good friend, the Grassroots Granny sent me an e mail asking that we make a list of opposites, good/bad, woman/man, right/wrong, well, you get the picture. The idea was to show that in most things there are opposites, with no middle ground. You are alive, or you are dead. You are obeying law, or you are disobeying them.

Those are the same concepts I have been dealing with all week, and her e mail was just the icing on the cake for me. This has been the hardest subject for me to get through to people, that there is no middle ground on many of the issues I discuss. Our government is either obeying the Constitution, or they are not. We are either paying attention to what our elected representatives are doing, or we aren't.

Sometimes this issue has me feeling as though I am banging my head against the wall, I get so frustrated that I cannot get people to understand this simple concept. I explain the facts, present documentation, quotes, and news articles to people, then I show them in the Constitution where it says the government is not supposed to be doing this, or they are supposed to be doing something they aren't. I get the 'dumb cow' look.

I recently got an e mail from a gentleman who called it 'dumbass syndrome'. I found it an apt title, but not one help me when attempting to get my point across.

Anyway, my point is that it has been an interesting week, with all these events tying in together like that. The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways. On a side note, I did get a boost around Wednesday. I got an e mail from a woman who had discovered my articles on the Federal Observer. She was genuinely interested in learning about the subjects I write about. So I am closing the week out with a glimmer of hope that there are people out there who are willing to learn, unlike the woman at work who will vote for Hillary, no matter what.

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