Liberty Lies in the Heart

More and more people are dissatisfied with the direction in which our leaders are taking us. We may not be geniuses... not that our leaders are... but it's been obvious for decades that there's something wrong with our government. And what's missing in the equation is not genius, but COMMON SENSE: sound practical judgment, independent of specialized knowledge or training. And INTEGRITY: steadfast adherence to a strict ethical or moral code; doing the right thing for the right reason, even when no one is watching. I'm talking about CHARACTER... the sum of your parts... Who You Are. This can't be over-emphasized, because as long as those things are missing, there will be chaos in the lives of every day people like you and I.

I'm not saying that every politician is lacking character, or that every American is the embodiment of character. But it seems that the average politician is lacking it more than the average American embodies it. I think that's why when people talk about where our country is headed, they say, "I'm discouraged. Our leaders are doing things that are illegal, immoral... even unconstitutional... and there doesn't seem to be a way to stop them". They want to just opt out... disengage... tune it all out. Maybe they want to believe that will work for them on some level, but the hard, painful truth is that the process, whatever it is, continues. With or without them. And one morning they'll wake up "shocked" to find themselves left to grapple with the results.

Perhaps they'll wake up like auto dealership owners did with all their hard work, money and dreams stolen, without explanation. Without rhyme or reason. Without recourse. Just taken through action initiated by their government.

Or perhaps they'll wake up like auto bond investors did expecting to be first in line in bankruptcy court, as law dictates, only to be last, after the government and the UAW. As this administration dictates.

Maybe they're business owners, desperately needing work, who'll wake up to find that they're not allowed to even submit a bid for work generated by stimulus money. Because they're not a union shop.

Maybe they'll wake up on a gurney in a "government" hospital praying they'll be cared for before it's too late... or being denied necessary care because a political appointee sitting in an office somewhere, decides they're too old or too sick to "waste" time, energy and money on.

Liberals call this "alarmist rhetoric". I call it recognizing the facts... a wake-up call. People world-wide have been, and still are, imprisoned or killed by their own governments for wanting a government like ours... one that Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, said should not be allowed to perish... a government "of the people, by the people and for the people":

Instead of giving up we need to keep standing up for what's right and what's ours... while our freedoms are still intact and our lives are still ours to live as we choose.

• Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. - Judge Learned Hand