Two Little Towns

Nearby my home here in Northwest Ohio are two little towns that have been tempting me to use them metaphorically. There are other towns in the region that are phenomenal candidates for illustrative purposes, but these two are a mere 15 miles apart and are perfect for a reflective metaphor. Liberty Center and Whitehouse are ideal settings for an apocryphal look at our current situation in the United States of America. For those of you familiar with our little corner of the world, the nation and Ohio, you will note that I’m not writing about Luckey, Kansas, Texas, Oregon or Florida all of which are situated here. No, it’s Liberty Center and Whitehouse that have captured my attention. Maybe someday I’ll extol the beauties of Melmore, Belmore and Elmore…..but I doubt it.

Whitehouse is a great little town with excellent eating places and a number of small local businesses who treat one fairly and do quality work. It hosts an annual cherry festival, so what could be better? The town bridges the gap between the fertile farmlands of our region and the forested remnants of the Black Swamp. The greatest drawback for Whitehouse, however, is its name. The White House is a symbol of a nation that has become corrupt and venal. The White House has been the temporary home for megalomaniacs, incompetents, liars and thieves. The notion of pristine purity that should be projected by the stark alabaster façade of the building has been indelibly stained by occupants who cavalierly ignored their oaths of office to protect and defend The Constitution of the United States. Many of our former presidents disgracefully violated their solemn duties, but the present inhabitant and his surly ungrateful spouse have inflicted grave damage to the stately old mansion and its legacy.

The White House and its adjacent West Wing has become the seat of numerous unconstitutional power grabs by frustrated Chief Executives whose sense of self-importance is second only to their maniacal desires to impose their will on the Congress, the courts and, more tragically, the people of the nation. The White House has been the scene of underhanded deals, outright bribery and secretive efforts to hide the truth from the citizens of the United States. It is the center of power in a power hungry city. It houses (at least for now) the most powerful and influential head of state on the planet. The White House or The Executive Mansion as it is formally named is the symbol of liberty, hope and opportunity through the world. Nearly all of us grew up believing that even we…yes, you or I, could be President of the United States someday. The machinations of the elites and the crony capitalists have punctured that dream, but the promise of the Founding and the structure of the Framing are still with us….though tragically ignored.

Ideally one could point to the White House (Whitehouse), the Capitol or Washington, District of Columbia, as the center of liberty. But alas, that is not the case today. Liberty Center is roughly 15 miles from Whitehouse, but the ideal it represents is generations and light years from the President’s official home. Because our political class and their nefarious accomplices have so thoroughly trashed the concept of freedom that formed our nation, the center of Liberty is difficult to locate. Is it in Kansas (the state) near the geographic center of the country? Is it in Texas (the state) where the economy is booming? Is it in Montana where folks can enjoy the “big sky’ and generally ignore the bleating of the D.C. crowd? Perhaps the center of Liberty is in Idaho…land of rugged terrain, fertile valleys and Ruby Ridge. No, it clearly isn’t there…no matter how remote or far off the grid it may be. It may be that the center of liberty has been secured in a vault somewhere and buried far beneath the ground where the bureaucrats, politicians, regulators and busy-bodies can’t find it.

The answer to our perplexing question is really a simple one. The center of liberty can be discovered when the hearts and minds of a few people are fused in a passion for freedom. It only takes a few, then several more followed by a determined cadre who builds brigades of patriots to spread the message of liberty. The movement grows and its intensity increases until someday…..soon, we pray….a new freedom engulfs the land, and the people prosper.

It has been my good fortune to have seen people who hold a love for liberty in their hearts and minds. I have met many of them, but their numbers are not yet sufficient to restore the promise of freedom for all. Many, many more are needed. If they come, will it be in time? Whitehouse and Liberty center merely 15 miles apart but metaphorically they are not in the same universe.

Comment: cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

The Oath of Faith

·         The Oath of Allegiance:

"I hereby declare, on oath,

that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

One of my fondest memories surrounding a formal occasion is from the Naturalization Ceremony held at Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia on July 4^th, 1976. President Gerald R. Ford administered the “Oath of Allegiance” to nearly two dozen people who wished to be citizens of the United States of America. It was a thrill to witness an event so inspiring on the Second Centennial Anniversary of the “Declaration of Independence” at Thomas Jefferson’s home. Later that afternoon my little family and I stood curbside on a street in Charlottesville watching a parade which featured Queen Elizabeth as the honoree. It has been more than 35 years since that memorable day. My two children are adults with children of their own, but I continue to recall many aspects of that day. Pomp and ceremonies however are not enough to preserve the essence of a nation. The country those new citizens pledged to support and defend no longer exists.

The new citizens lived in various lands around the globe, but they knew about America. Perhaps a family member had preceded them to our land, or they watched and read the news for their impressions of our country. Maybe the rumors and gossip that floated through their villages, town and cities filled them with hope and a dream for freedom and opportunity. They found a way to come here. After several years of laboring and studying they took the test and swore the oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America.....their NEW country that they chose.

When they left their native lands, they stepped out on faith. They chose to pursue freedom and opportunity. They tore up their roots and followed their dreams for liberty. A few years after that 1976 ceremony President Reagan described America as a “shining city on a hill.” He described a place where the glowing embers of liberty could be nourished to become the fires of freedom. It is so different now. The government that the Constitution of the United States brought forth has become a dangerous threat to our liberty and an enemy of our personal prosperity. The shining hill described by President Reagan has been perverted and converted to a new Mount Olympus for the political elites and their favored friends.

In theological circles when someone distorts the faith, we call it heresy. When self-serving career politicians, their corporatist sycophants, and statist fellow travelers twist their oaths of office and their constitutional obligations to their own benefit and power, we must call that treason and corruption. Neither God Almighty nor the Constitution of the United States invests them with the power or the authority to micro-manage my life....or yours.

The elitists who believe that they know more than we do about how our lives should be lived are corrupt and flat out wrong. Our liberty has been submerged beneath a tide of too-big government, and our freedom is drowning in a sea of regulation and legislation. Because of their oppressive meddling, our nation is at the brink of collapse. Because of their insistence that they know best, we are struggling to survive. Because of their cupidity and our stupidity, we may have squandered our chance for that shining city on the hill.

Thirty-five years ago a young man, his young wife, their six-year-old daughter and their infant son observed a monarch from a nation from which our country declared its independence two hundred years earlier. The majesty and power of her throne and her country has dwindled over the centuries to become little more than a memory. I pray that my children and grandchildren can someday stand on a curbside in an American city and witness the formerly powerful symbols of those who have stolen the dream. Maybe I should say....those who have mortgaged the dream. The faith and hope of those new citizens from 1976 must be restored again. The shining city on the hill must glow again. Liberty and freedom must rule again.

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