They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Yesterday when I was watching the Glenn Beck program, I saw a picture that truly was worth a thousand words, and then some. I hope that most of you are aware of what happened over the past couple of weeks involving the Cambridge police, mainly Sergeant James Crowley, Henry Louis Gates Jr., and President Barack Obama. If you are unaware, then you can read in general what happened here.
So now let's fast forward to the actual Beer Summit. We have Sergeant Crowley, an accused racist who "acted stupidly" when arresting Professor Gates, we have Professor Gates himself, who accused Sergeant Crowley of racial profiling, and we have the President of the United States who felt the need to become involved and accuse Sergeant Crowley of acting stupidly, coming to the aid of friend Professor Gates, even when the President didn't know all of the facts, and admitted it later on. Now that the background has been given, here is a picture that was placed on the White House blog, showing these three men walking to the table where they would talk over a couple beers.
And thus come the thousand words that this picture shows. Professor Gates who apparently has trouble walking down the steps is helped by the man he accused of being a racist, while his "friend" President Obama, walks generally unconcerned in front of them. I have just one question: who is the true friend of Professor Gates? We have all heard the story of the Good Samaritan, and although this Beer Summit had nothing to do with life or death, I think we can find the same moral to the story with Sergeant James Crowley. This picture immediately vindicates him from all former accusations, and yet this was never his intention. The rest of the story finally makes sense. He never racially profiled anyone, but rather we see he has a genuine concern for his fellow man, one that I wish I would have if I was ever in his situation.
And this is as far as I will go, as I don't want to make President Obama the center of attention, because he gets his fair share from everybody else. All I want to do is to show the selflessness of a person that I have not seen recently. Maybe I am overexaggerating this, and maybe this was just a photo-op, but I still felt the need to give credit where credit is due. So thank you Sergeant Crowley for being the better man, and for teaching me a lesson that I have forgotten about as of late. I hope to have the same humility that you showed if I am ever in a similar situation.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Conservative Radicalism
Alright, so I know it's been a while since my last post. But thanks to people prodding me along and me getting over my laziness, I finally came up with an idea for a blog. In my past two blogs, I brought up some problems that I have begun to see in American society. Destructive progress and a subjective society. America today is nothing like what it was 250 years ago, when a group of people realized the potential that a free country could have. Today we see attacks on the free market in the name of "greed," we see attacks on racists in the name of "justice," we see attacks on big business in the name of "environmentalism." These are just to name a few. There are attacks on education in the name of "open-mindedness," attacks on religion in the name of "freedom." We are in a culture that needs to be politically correct, constantly appeasing and constantly compromising.
The dictionary defines conservatism as "the inclination, especially in politics, to maintain existing or traditional order." Maintain existing or traditional order. What happens when the existing order is no longer the traditional order? What happens when the existing order goes against everything conservatism was trying to protect? Whether you like it or not, we are living in and moving more and more towards a liberal culture, with people who are doing everything in their power to promote their agenda. Conservatism can no longer remain conservative, it is time for conservatism to become radical.
Now if you are reading this, I do not mean an extreme or insane kind of radical. Often when people hear radical nowadays, they think of terrorists or some nut who is trying to spread an extreme theory. This is not the radical I am talking about. I am talking about a conservatism that no longer "maintains existing order," but which actually undermines the current order to restore traditional order and values. I have to credit this idea to a book that I am currently reading called Letters to a Young Conservative by Dinesh D'Souza, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys what I have to say in my blog.
We have the ability to restore traditional order, to turn America back to its greatness and to progress as a country the way our Founders intended. But this will never happen through passiveness. This will only happen when conservatives decide to become radical and actively work towards changing the "new culture." Speak your mind, oppose the trends, be politically incorrect. People won't like it, and you will be accused many different things, but don't be discouraged. Dinesh D'Souza writes, "One has to be brave to defy these taboos and threats, and that is why one of the most important qualities needed among campus conservatives is courage." Stay strong, stay bold, and most importantly ask God for the strength, boldness, and opportunities to radically change the American culture.
The dictionary defines conservatism as "the inclination, especially in politics, to maintain existing or traditional order." Maintain existing or traditional order. What happens when the existing order is no longer the traditional order? What happens when the existing order goes against everything conservatism was trying to protect? Whether you like it or not, we are living in and moving more and more towards a liberal culture, with people who are doing everything in their power to promote their agenda. Conservatism can no longer remain conservative, it is time for conservatism to become radical.
Now if you are reading this, I do not mean an extreme or insane kind of radical. Often when people hear radical nowadays, they think of terrorists or some nut who is trying to spread an extreme theory. This is not the radical I am talking about. I am talking about a conservatism that no longer "maintains existing order," but which actually undermines the current order to restore traditional order and values. I have to credit this idea to a book that I am currently reading called Letters to a Young Conservative by Dinesh D'Souza, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys what I have to say in my blog.
We have the ability to restore traditional order, to turn America back to its greatness and to progress as a country the way our Founders intended. But this will never happen through passiveness. This will only happen when conservatives decide to become radical and actively work towards changing the "new culture." Speak your mind, oppose the trends, be politically incorrect. People won't like it, and you will be accused many different things, but don't be discouraged. Dinesh D'Souza writes, "One has to be brave to defy these taboos and threats, and that is why one of the most important qualities needed among campus conservatives is courage." Stay strong, stay bold, and most importantly ask God for the strength, boldness, and opportunities to radically change the American culture.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Rediscovering Our Unalienable Rights
Okay, so let me recap my last blog, because this one will be tied to it. In the last blog we see that not all progress is helpful, but rather that some is destructive towards a society and towards a country. We also realized that politicians and citizens have used the Constitution as a tool to carry out the "progress" that they want, because they do not view it as an immutable document, but rather a guideline for how America should be today subject to change. In other words, they view the Constitution as subjective, open to opinions, debate, and discussion, rather than an objective, unchanging standard for American government and society. But before I continue, I have to say that this is not every politician, and probably not even most, but it is a view that I have noticed is growing larger and rapidly in America.
So the main point of this blog will be my opinion on why these views have been growing. But in order to do this, we have to realize why the Constitution is an unchanging standard in the first place, and to do that I think we have to go to the Declaration of Independence once again. And in this Declaration are the famous words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." This could be the most important sentence within the Declaration of Independence, because from this single sentence we get the reason for the Revolution and the basis for the Constitution. The colonies broke free from Britain because they were denied the unalienable Rights given to them by their Creator, and then they created the Constitution to protect those rights given to them by their Creator, and create a system of government that would be able to protect those rights the most effectively.
Now what would happen if that society largely stopped believing in that Creator and those inalienable rights given to man by Him? Unfortunately this is being seen in America today. Everything has become relative to what man thinks, since there is no ultimate authority from the Creator to keep things from changing. If people believe that the Constitution is based on rights given to them by the Creator, then it will not change and is the ultimate foundation for America. However, if people largely begin to believe there is no Creator, then the Constitution along with truth and morality become relative, and are then susceptible to change.
You might ask why is this that big of a deal or what difference does it make? Well, we are beginning to see the consequences of this type of thinking, especially through the judicial branch and the Supreme Court. We see some of the justices, not all, ruling based on their opinions and emotions rather than testing cases to what the Constitution says. Then, they build on their former rulings in future ones, saying based on Court Case ____________ (fill in the blank) we ruled this, so now we are going to base our decision on that ruling rather than based on the Constitution. In other words, the Creator is no longer the supreme authority, but man is, and man becomes the author of our rights.
When this happens, people can then be promised "fake" rights that man creates, which sound good but end up taking away individual rights, and also the rights of others. And even today we see new rights that have never been a part of this country: gay rights, the right for health care, abortion rights, and others, while we see our Constitutional rights under attack, such as the right to bear arms and property rights. If nothing changes in America, it will be no surprise to see more man-made rights created and Constitutional rights come under attack.
But like I said, it is not too late to stop the attacks taking place. We need to stand up for what we believe, and be able to refute others who think differently. I will stand up for the rights given to me by the Creator and urge you to do the same. What do you think?
So the main point of this blog will be my opinion on why these views have been growing. But in order to do this, we have to realize why the Constitution is an unchanging standard in the first place, and to do that I think we have to go to the Declaration of Independence once again. And in this Declaration are the famous words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." This could be the most important sentence within the Declaration of Independence, because from this single sentence we get the reason for the Revolution and the basis for the Constitution. The colonies broke free from Britain because they were denied the unalienable Rights given to them by their Creator, and then they created the Constitution to protect those rights given to them by their Creator, and create a system of government that would be able to protect those rights the most effectively.
Now what would happen if that society largely stopped believing in that Creator and those inalienable rights given to man by Him? Unfortunately this is being seen in America today. Everything has become relative to what man thinks, since there is no ultimate authority from the Creator to keep things from changing. If people believe that the Constitution is based on rights given to them by the Creator, then it will not change and is the ultimate foundation for America. However, if people largely begin to believe there is no Creator, then the Constitution along with truth and morality become relative, and are then susceptible to change.
You might ask why is this that big of a deal or what difference does it make? Well, we are beginning to see the consequences of this type of thinking, especially through the judicial branch and the Supreme Court. We see some of the justices, not all, ruling based on their opinions and emotions rather than testing cases to what the Constitution says. Then, they build on their former rulings in future ones, saying based on Court Case ____________ (fill in the blank) we ruled this, so now we are going to base our decision on that ruling rather than based on the Constitution. In other words, the Creator is no longer the supreme authority, but man is, and man becomes the author of our rights.
When this happens, people can then be promised "fake" rights that man creates, which sound good but end up taking away individual rights, and also the rights of others. And even today we see new rights that have never been a part of this country: gay rights, the right for health care, abortion rights, and others, while we see our Constitutional rights under attack, such as the right to bear arms and property rights. If nothing changes in America, it will be no surprise to see more man-made rights created and Constitutional rights come under attack.
But like I said, it is not too late to stop the attacks taking place. We need to stand up for what we believe, and be able to refute others who think differently. I will stand up for the rights given to me by the Creator and urge you to do the same. What do you think?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Founding Who?
Well, with my first blog, I guess I'll stick with the "theme" I created. So let's jump right into it. Progress has always been a part of America, and without progress, America would not be where it is today. Whether it be the introduction of machinery in the Industrial Revolution, or the invention of electricity by Thomas Edison, or the invention of the airplane by the Wright brothers, progress has been a central theme to America's society, and all of these examples have made America a better country. But when does progress actually lead to regress?
See, not all progress is beneficial to society, but this kind of progress has been pushed on Americans, especially in recent years. We are told by politicians that progress is the way of the future, and like all of the aforementioned things, will help America become a better place. Unfortunately, it is not healthy progress being pushed on us, but detrimental progress. We hear that our culture is changing, so America needs to progress to meet those changes. What they fail to mention is what that progress will cost us.
Recently, how often have you heard that our founding fathers were just a bunch of old guys who only made a Constitution applicable to their culture, but since America has progressed, so does the Constitution? What this is saying is that the Constitution is still living and that it is still subject to change according to what the general public wants, or even scarier, what the people in power want. If I completely lost you, let me give you just a couple of the many examples of what I mean.
First, let me talk about religion, since it is something I care a lot about. Well, as we all know, prayer is no longer allowed in school, and intelligent design is no longer taught in public schools. This seems to be ironic, being that most, if not all, of the founding fathers believed in God, which is clearly evident even through reading the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We have rights endowed to us by our Creator, and the First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.." But judges managed to take away prayer from schools, the 10 commandments from a judges office, and are now trying to take away "under God" from the pledge of allegiance, all in the name of progress of a society.
Now politicians are trying to redefine marriage. They have redefined life, or rather determined when life starts when talking about abortion. And women have been given the right to do what they want with their body all in the name of progress. Since when does this trump what the founding fathers said about everyone having the right to life given to them by their Creator. But those words are meaningless since America and its culture has progressed, and how they would see things our way if they were living today. There are many more examples of this destructive progress that I do not have the time to write about.
It is time to stop this kind of detrimental progress, and relearn the founding of our country and what it was meant to be. If nothing changes, then progress will end up destroying every bit of morality and every fiber of America's greatness. So let us stop and examine what we are and what we should be, go back to the people who founded this country who got their ideas from the Being who created this world, and start a new kind of progress that will put us back on track.
See, not all progress is beneficial to society, but this kind of progress has been pushed on Americans, especially in recent years. We are told by politicians that progress is the way of the future, and like all of the aforementioned things, will help America become a better place. Unfortunately, it is not healthy progress being pushed on us, but detrimental progress. We hear that our culture is changing, so America needs to progress to meet those changes. What they fail to mention is what that progress will cost us.
Recently, how often have you heard that our founding fathers were just a bunch of old guys who only made a Constitution applicable to their culture, but since America has progressed, so does the Constitution? What this is saying is that the Constitution is still living and that it is still subject to change according to what the general public wants, or even scarier, what the people in power want. If I completely lost you, let me give you just a couple of the many examples of what I mean.
First, let me talk about religion, since it is something I care a lot about. Well, as we all know, prayer is no longer allowed in school, and intelligent design is no longer taught in public schools. This seems to be ironic, being that most, if not all, of the founding fathers believed in God, which is clearly evident even through reading the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. We have rights endowed to us by our Creator, and the First Amendment says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.." But judges managed to take away prayer from schools, the 10 commandments from a judges office, and are now trying to take away "under God" from the pledge of allegiance, all in the name of progress of a society.
Now politicians are trying to redefine marriage. They have redefined life, or rather determined when life starts when talking about abortion. And women have been given the right to do what they want with their body all in the name of progress. Since when does this trump what the founding fathers said about everyone having the right to life given to them by their Creator. But those words are meaningless since America and its culture has progressed, and how they would see things our way if they were living today. There are many more examples of this destructive progress that I do not have the time to write about.
It is time to stop this kind of detrimental progress, and relearn the founding of our country and what it was meant to be. If nothing changes, then progress will end up destroying every bit of morality and every fiber of America's greatness. So let us stop and examine what we are and what we should be, go back to the people who founded this country who got their ideas from the Being who created this world, and start a new kind of progress that will put us back on track.
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