Mares Eat Oats

Mares eat oats, does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. There…I have successfully implanted a sing-song tune in your mind that will drive you crazy for the remainder of the day. Government wants your money, your property and your liberty. If only that catchy ditty were as memorable as the first one. The opening lyrics suggest that much of what we know and remember is a product of repetition. We hear a tricky catch-phrase over and over again and it becomes embedded in our unconscious minds while assuming the mantle of truth. Goebbels understood how our minds functions and used his knowledge to promote and justify Hitler’s evil designs.

You’ve probably heard the saying that a lie repeated often enough assumes a position of truth. That approach is precisely the one used by socialists, progressives and their fellow travelers to distort the Founding Vision of our nation. By constantly regurgitating their lies and misinformation, many listeners begin to accept the distortions as truthful. Over time the gross misrepresentations become truisms and generally accepted by the populace as fact. One of those mythical truths is that government can solve problems….particularly those of an individual nature. There are three basic elements that form government: force, law and compliance. Without the power of force government cannot coerce people to follow its dictates and demands. Law is the means whereby government legitimizes its use of force, and compliance by a willing or frightened citizenry is vital for maintaining order. The practice of sloganeering and myth-making reinforce all three elements of government.

The invincibility of government is one of our most enduring myths. When difficult issues vex us, we or other interested parties request government involvement….but if we were historically astute, we would know that government rarely solves problems. In my view government has traditionally made matters worse because of its notorious inflexibility and focus on money and force as the greatest sources for a remedy. While our minds may accept the meme of government competency, all we have to do to shatter the illusionary bubble is to recall various representatives of government agencies who have been lazy, unmotivated or rude. I remember when it first dawned on me that preachers, doctors and lawyers were ordinary people just like me. Perhaps they possessed extraordinary gifts in certain areas, but for the most part, they are normal people. Government workers and bureaucrats are very similar…..without the gifts. Generally speaking….anything they can do (in triplicate), we can do better.

We appear to have lost our “edge’ as a people. Our “can do” spirit that we inherited from our pioneering ancestors has been transformed into a “let the government do it” attitude. Because of the reluctance of the people to just say “NO” to government interference in our lives, our politicians have become spineless representatives of a weakened constituency. Our sovereignty as individuals and as member states of the union has been eroded to microscopic size as we sing along in our unconscious minds the tunes glorifying government and praising the power of the very entity that holds us in contempt. For most of us it is easy to observe that government is too big and inefficient, but while many of our cohorts accept this premise, we must further inform them about the systematic dysfunction in the entire government apparatus. Point by point, item by item nearly every aspect of government is broken. Yet…it continues to grow and assume more power over our sovereign lives.

The mass media are cheerleaders for Big Government so they are constantly advancing the narrative that bigger is better. In addition countless numbers of favorable-government PSA’s (public service announcements) assault our senses. Private-sector charities and improvement groups do not have the resources or waste their resources on advertising. They concentrate on their missions and purposes whereas the government and its allies use the cables, satellites and airwaves to sway your minds about the amazing magical remedies available through your friendly government programs. Repetition does work….too effectively it seems.

http://youtu.be/8EMUkITxTKg  So, enjoy this little ditty as it penetrates your mind for the remainder of the day, and be thankful that I didn’t use this one below as my example.

http://youtu.be/APmHR2bmQgw  See, constant repetition of themes works as a tool for compliance. The second song has no lyrics at the beginning, but you KNEW the words.

Have a great day. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist. Resist.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Church versus State

There is an organization that promotes the separation of church and state (Americans United for the Separation of Church and State). While their avowed purpose appeals to me, I share their desires but for totally different reasons and without banning the church from the market place. The AU believes that the church is a negative force in the social and political culture of the United States. My view, on the other hand, is that the government (state) is too restrictive regarding the church’s role in the society…particularly of the Christian faith. Any faith that attempts to evangelize without the use of force or intimidation should be welcome in the public square.

For Christians who may be fearful about such an open position, please recall the Hare Krishna movement of a few decades ago. My encounters with them were primarily limited to airports, and while I found them a tad annoying, they were harmless. And I never fell under their evil spell. There may be some Krishnas lurking around somewhere, but their movement seems to have lost its impetus and is no longer a visible presence. My view is that a state-enforced religion is inherently more ominous than a religious free-for-all in the marketplace. I have confidence in the truth of my faith, in the power of Almighty God and in the salvation message of Jesus Christ. State intervention is neither needed nor desired. If the state were to “implement” the Christian faith as an “official” government policy, then the distortions would begin immediately. I suspect that politicians and bureaucrats have no more respect for God and his Word than they do for the Constitution of the United States of America.

If the United States is indeed a Christian nation, the evidence will be in the fruits of the people….not in the laws, rules and regulations of Big Brother. The more involved the government becomes in defining the faith and its practices, the more likely it is that the government-approved Christian faith will be an abomination in the eyes of God. Freedom of religion in the United States should include the right to openly profess one’s faith….or no faith. It should allow one to question other belief systems without fear of reprisal or government punishment. Faith and belief are internal contracts with the Supreme Diety that often involve public professing. Public coercion, however, should never be part of the worship because the listeners’ hearts will be hardened and unwilling to hear the truth. In addition when a state endorses or promotes a singular faith, the priests either become politicians or the politicians become clergy as the two power centers are merged.

A state-mandated or state-endorsed faith is detrimental for another reason. Belief, faith and adherence are by their very nature individual matters. To collectivize them under the auspices of the state places another party between the believer and the Lord. We can note that within the evangelical Christian community there are differences or variances regarding doctrine, emphasis, organizational structure and ritual. Will the state mandate Methodism, Catholicism or Pentecostalism as the “official” practice of the state. What about all those independent bodies of believers who do not belong to any formal denominational organization? Will the state insist on pre-tribulation or post-tribulation teaching? Will baptismal immersion be required or forbidden? These are the types of issues that when incorporated into official governmental policy or protection can truly destroy the vibrancy of numerous congregations and their members.

One of the major tenets of the protestant Reformation was that the interpretation of Scripture should not be the sole province of the clergy. Each individual is responsible for reading, understanding and learning the Word. As a result there are many sects within the Christian galaxy who may agree on a few fundamental basics but differ widely on other aspects of the faith. If the government as chief endorser and promoter of the faith were also charged with promulgating the “correct” interpretation of His Word, the dangers of misuse and misapplication rise geometrically as government would twist the Scriptures to satisfy its own purposes. The essence of the Gospel would be undermined by self-serving bureaucrats, and the people could be placed in political or spiritual peril. Our nation would revert to the church states of old where political enemies of the governing class would be charged with heresy and removed from public discourse.

If the church is to survive, it must not be an entrenched arm of the government. The faith, the mercy, the grace and the knowledge of God are enough for the church to withstand any onslaught by private or public entities, but if the church and its teaching were co-opted by the government apparatus, the only true outlet for believers would be the underground. The modern remnant would be relegated to the catacombs just as the first century church was. The state-sponsored church would sink in corruption, true evangelism would be forbidden and the enemies of individual liberty would prevail. In the final analysis the church, any church, should be free to vigorously proclaim the truth, but the state or government should never endorse it or embrace it.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com