Under the Wolf Archives For 2008

Freedom Of the Eagle

Courage Of the Lone Wolf

American Heritage

©2006-2008

Through the Lens Of Happy Endings

My salute to Charlton Heston

DebV

The Most Important Issue

Deborah Venable

05/10/08

As media microphones capture responses from the question about the most important issue facing us in this election cycle, those of us who really think about it can probably list a plethora of issues that might answer it. Let’s see, in the last few months I have heard the so-called top response change several times depending on whichever way the wind happens to be blowing at the time. I doubt if any politician running for office this November can pin it down on a day-to-day basis.

As for the general public’s response to the question, it seems to fluctuate between the war in Iraq and the underlying threat of terrorism in the world, the economy and our shrinking dollar with our trade deficit figured in, border security and the effects of illegal aliens on our strained infrastructure, and global warming – reality or hoax. No matter how you slice it though, all of it eventually ties into the economy, and most Americans are just not savvy economists.

Here is what I believe. If the American people could come together in a common goal to elect only those representatives that could legitimately prioritize expenditures, take what’s left of our national checkbook and make it stretch to cover only what must be covered, and encourage individual citizens to do the same, the correct solutions to all our problems would come automatically and with lightening speed. I realize that is pie in the sky dreaming and more than a little wishful thinking, but that is precisely what it would take.

What comes out of this thinking is a very important fact. We, as a people, can still do whatever it takes to survive and prosper if and only if we are not divided. So, what divides us then? We are divided by our insistence on defining our basic philosophies, even if we don’t know the true definitions, even if we float back and forth across those lines of divisions depending on the specific issues we are addressing, or worse than that, sitting in the middle and refusing to make clear choices. We are at the mercy of politicians who will exploit our indecision and our ignorance.

It is bad science to only hear one side of a story, only consider one set of solutions to a problem, or make up “facts” that cannot be proven. It is bad economics to turn our finances over to someone else without periodic accountability, to shirk all responsibility for our financial outcomes, or to base our financial futures on what we can convince someone else we will be worth in that future. But it is truly very bad form for us to toss aside the importance of historic knowledge, the proliferation of a free and courageous spirit, and the absolute dedication of all who have unselfishly sacrificed to build and secure the greatest country on earth.

Some of the politicians we have elected for years and years have continued to lie, cheat, and steal the best that is this country just to satisfy their thirst for power. We are responsible for that! We are! We gave them their power, our trust, and our money and they gave us back a total misuse of all of it! Because of our poor decisions in the past, the pool of “hopefuls” to attain the highest office in the land is poisoned with ambitious power seekers who are woefully ignorant of the most important issue.

The most important issue is the treasure that is America. America is a living, breathing sea of humanity in a world that is starving for what we have. Ancient foreign lands have rich histories and proud citizens, natural wonders and abundant resources, strong armies and intellectual prowess, but none of them – not one – has pulled itself up by the bootstraps from a fledgling colony of misfits and castoffs to become the most strident defender of humanity the world has ever known – in a mere 230 years. That took uniqueness, individual sacrifice, and courage to learn from past mistakes and fix what was broken every single time we were threatened.

So, what is the most important issue facing us today? Preservation of the treasure – that sometimes ill-defined uniqueness that makes us tick. If we don’t start teaching our children exactly what that is, and insisting that the representatives we elect defend it with the power and resources we provide, then we will surely fall prey to a continuing divisiveness that will eventually wipe out the best thing humanity has going for it. The most important issue should always be the spirit that is uniquely American.

Defining the Dream

Deborah Venable

04/05/08

“I believe a stronger sense of empathy would tilt the balance of our current politics in favour of those people who are struggling in this society. After all, if they are like us, then their struggles are our own. If we fail to help, we diminish ourselves.”

Exerpt from The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by Barack Obama

Although I have not read Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope, I have read some excerpts from it. The above quote is typical “Obama Speak” in the usual style of his rhetorical speeches on the stump. Sounds great, sounds hopeful – if more than a little condescending – but void of real substance and showing a shocking lack of understanding of this thing called, “the American Dream”.

For a man who is himself a product of one version of it, he seems to think that it is out of reach for just anybody, which would include most of us regular folks.

The truth is that the American Dream is individually defined. It is the life we choose to make for ourselves, and it is that choice which insures American success. Success is measured only in positives and need not be balanced against negatives to achieve credibility – unless, I guess, your worldview is of a socialist nature.

The “against all odds” scenario is inspiring and useful in an anecdotal sense, but is not a requirement to prove attainment of the American Dream. Satisfaction with a life well lived, comfort in one’s own company, and pride in a community and way of life that did not stand in your way suffices nicely as that proof.

It seems most modern politicians must have a label to define their beliefs, an allegiance to one or more collectives, and a commitment to enforce their perception of justice from their acquired seats of power. It is also evident to us “regular folks” that representation of us is not something they consider important in their job description. What they consider most important is defining what they want to represent and then selling it to us to get elected. All too often we buy it hook, line, and sinker.

I have written many times about the “silent majority” or “sleeping giant” and how I truly believe that it exists. The glaring fact is that it has been inadequately represented for so long that is more like a “cry in the wilderness” than a strong influence on the American way of life any more. Politicians have been allowed to get away with the rationalization that they really do represent the majority, and disenfranchisement of the many for the few is now commonplace in American government.

So, here is my cry in the wilderness: representation does not exist in the candidates for leader of the free world this election – not for any of us who have achieved the American Dream, and not for anyone striving for it honestly. If the giant rouses up enough to reach for a pot of coffee before the next election cycle, perhaps we can change that.

Contrary to popular belief, the definition of the dream does not need changing.

Rejoicing in Easter Celebration is uniquely Christian. I invite you to read last year’s Easter Page again for it is still very relevant today. DebV

Thanks to Alan for supplying this interesting tidbit:

Easter this year is: Sunday March 23, 2008

As you may know, Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier!

Here are the facts:

The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!). The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818.

So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Political Quagmire

Deborah Venable

03/16/08

If you don’t feel trapped in a political quagmire right now, you really are not paying any attention. That is a fact. This was a blowout news week, from the governor of New York’s sex scandal to the Democrat frontrunner for president’s church outrage. Sex scandals have been a dime a dozen lately, so I don’t even care to comment on that, other than to say in the words of someone famous, “let it be.” He’s out, and the public shouldn’t care about any more press on that story.

Moving on to Senator Barack Obama – it is way past time for the media to care about this guy enough to quit giving him a pass. I have always thought that he was the most dangerous candidate for president in this election.

At least with Clinton, we have familiarity and plenty of illumination in the dark corners of that powerful campaign. What we see is what we get with the Clintons.

I think maybe Obama is slightly ahead of his time, though. We haven’t quite fallen to the depths we would have to in order to hand over the reins of power to such an unknown quantity as he represents. Obama’s questionable religious beliefs are a regular smorgasbord of possibilities – and at this time in our history that had better concern us.

Obama is the product of two radical activist atheists spawned from different religious backgrounds and two different races. Those are the facts. If Barack Obama thinks that his extensive exposure to different cultures, different religions, and life in different parts of the world qualifies him for foreign relations in some unique capacity, I have to wonder about his judgment. If he thinks that he can bridge all the gaps in race relations in this country, I would have to question the construction of such bridges, or at least see some blueprints. If he thinks that he can fairly represent the values of this predominately Christian nation, I must thoroughly understand how his religious values were formed from such chaotic beginnings to whatever he truly believes now. I also have to understand his political philosophies that were so obviously fired in the furnace of communist influence from his parents.

On the race thing too, I would truly like an answer to some questions. Why did he decide to identify with his black side and all but renounce his white heritage? He supposedly loved his white mother and detested his black father, so how did that happen?

Nothing would please me more than supporting a black person or a woman of any race for the office of president, IF I thought he or she was the best person for the job, but race or gender should NEVER be the primary reason to support anyone! Neither of these candidates is qualified for the office, and neither would be considered if not for race or gender. Period. Ferraro had it half right.

I must appeal to John McCain to step up and lead us out of this political quagmire. If you cannot defeat these two, God help us when you try to defeat our enemies and set America on a righteous path back to freedom.

Extreme Radical Views?

Deborah Venable

02/24/08

For the Irish in anyone and the human spirit in us all, a very Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

The story of Saint Patrick is a tribute to overcoming negative odds as well as a tribute to Christian influence. If you haven’t taken the time before, this link and this one should be interesting. From a pagan, to a slave, to a Christian convert, and finally to the Patron Saint of Ireland, his was a life filled with meaning.

We associate the Shamrock, (actually the three leafed clover) with St. Patrick’s Day because he so eloquently used it to explain the Christian Trinity.

DebV

I must thank my dear sister-in-law for reminding me (via a recent email) of an incident that happened some twelve years ago. The fact that it still has legs after so long, is heartening, even though it could have been today’s news. We should all stop and think the next time we hear a story of Christian persecution about how we should be responding.

On January 23, 1996, Christian Church Pastor, Joe Wright, was asked to deliver a prayer before the Kansas House Of Representatives. This is that prayer:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us O God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.
Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state. Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

The prayer hit the internet in various forms and has circulated ever since in email boxes all over the world. At least one lawmaker walked out of the session in protest during this prayer and others took to the floor afterwards to make speeches criticizing what the House Minority Leader at the time, a Democrat, called, “the extreme radical views” reflected in the prayer.

Paul Harvey aired the prayer nationally on the radio in February of 1996.

Let’s take a closer look at these “extreme radical views” shall we?

The views expressed in this prayer are those of a practicing Christian seeking forgiveness and guidance for a legislative body about to embark on a session of deciding law for the predominately Christian citizens of a state within a predominately Christian nation. Furthermore he was invited to do so! Radical? His point was adequately proven by the admonishment of those who complained I would think. “Woe to those who call evil good.” To that I would add, “ and to those who call good evil.”

Alexis de Tocqueville, in his famous 1836 book Democracy in America, described the common thread important among differing denominations:

“The [denominations] which exist in the United States are innumerable. They all differ in respect to the worship which is due from man to his Creator; but they all agree in respect to the duties which are due from man to man. Each sect adores the Deity in its own peculiar manner; but all the sects preach the same moral law in the name of God...Almost all the sects of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same.”

The representatives who so resented the sentiments of this pastor, and others who have spoken out against his prayer did nothing more than prove the appropriateness of his words. These people who are oh so tolerant of other beliefs, including those who wish us all dead, will always be Johnny on the spot to persecute the true Christian viewpoint. Always.

There is a very good background article on this site – from which I pulled the above quote. Here is one more quote from the same site and from a more modern source:

"All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, but those who believe must be free to speak of and act on their belief, to apply moral teaching to public questions… Tolerant society is open to and encouraging of all religions, and this does not weaken us; it strengthens us… Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society and without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure." - Ronald Reagan

Thanks again, Dee! I love you, and we all needed that! DebV

Answering the Critics

Deborah Venable

02/08/08

As most of my regular readers know, I write with a “take no prisoners” attitude when dealing with ignorance, apathy, and liberal philosophy. I consider myself part of a necessary balance in a mostly liberal literary medium.

While I receive very little feedback to this website, occasionally I will get a communication from a thoughtful person coming from a more than slightly different point of view. One such communication hit my email box recently from a person describing himself as holding both liberal and conservative views. He sent me a copy of an ebook he has written called, My America . . . Is Democracy Floundering? His feedback was directed at an article I wrote some time ago called, Democracy By Default, and his comments were very polite and positive.

His book is passionate above all else, but thoroughly sprinkled with an obvious dislike for George Bush and the current administration. However, the stated purpose and theme of the book was to encourage a more active involvement of the electorate. To that end, we agree that too many know and care too little about the power of personal involvement in our self-governing political system.

The following is my response to Mr. Flanagan :

Hi Fred, Thank you for the comments on the article, Democracy By Default, and for providing me with your ebook, My America . . . Is Democracy Floundering?

I have read it, and have benefited from what you have to say via additional understanding of your particular species of Patriotic American Liberal. It is obvious to me that you care deeply about the country and the future. There are some – on both the right and the left – that leave me wondering about them in that respect.

I could answer much of what you have to say piece by piece, but I think the core difference in our philosophies hinges on our differing expectations of government. I expect very little from government. Because the numbers of those who expect more and more seem to be growing, the size, scope, and power of government is growing at an alarming rate. This accounts for the party power battles that have rendered both parties so ineffective at doing the people’s bidding. If government power were not such a trophy, party political power would not be the attractive asset it is to so many politicians. It would simply be a job that needed doing by a few dedicated and qualified representatives of responsible individuals to promote differing policies in getting the same job done. Politics is a lousy career to pursue, but the power we have anointed on government has led to politics appearing to be an attractive way to make a living. Shame on us!

All of government, from the smallest localities to the U.S government, has been given the go ahead to control all individuals from cradle to grave. If we have a spat with our neighbors, we run to government. If we find hardship in our family relationships, we expect the courts to sort it out. If we can’t handle our own financial security, there must be a government plan to help us. If we don’t want to investigate our own purchasing choices well enough to avoid certain pitfalls, it is up to government to “protect” our outcomes. A large percentage of Americans don’t even want the responsibility to protect themselves from bad people – so the rest of us can’t be trusted to do that for ourselves either! And for all the talk of personal privacy in decisions of health and well-being, far too many think the government owes them health care on a silver platter and on demand! Choice is the paper tiger of philosophical arguments when you consider just how little of it we have.

But we are still the best and greatest country on earth, with the very best working system of government ever conceived.

Ramming education down the throats of American children from an ever more tender young age and through even more years of mandated, standardized schooling has NOT resulted in a smarter society. Here again, education is certainly not something that government should ever be in control of – but we, the people have demanded it, haven’t we? You talk about wasteful government spending – there is an excellent example of it!

I have to take exception to your definitions of conservative and liberal philosophies. It is the conservative platform that believes in limiting government powers, and the liberal view that uses government to control those things and people that they are anything BUT tolerant of. You have fallen into the trap of assuming that conservatives are not caring, considerate people on social issues just because the majority of us think that mothers should not legally be allowed to kill their babies in the womb. We also think that people should not be coerced into accepting aberrant “lifestyles” as normal via government legislation, and we don’t think that government should make decisions about our private property, (including our income), and taunt us for being racist, bigots for encouraging charity to begin at home and not with government.

Social Security was one of the most flagrant misuses of government power in our history! The largest purpose it has served is to remove much of the social responsibility for individuals to care about each other while using a vast resource of wealth in ways that do not measure up to a benevolent people! It has also given politicians of all stripes a bone to chew on, bury, and dig up to chew on again every time they need a distraction from far more important issues. Government will never trust people to take care of themselves, so people can never trust government to do it for them. Now why is that such a hard paradox to understand?

Limited government, on the other hand, as our Founders envisioned, is the necessary evil that must constantly be constrained by a decent and moral people that want very little from it. Just protection of our borders from foreign hostility, fair trade representation in a world economy, and a positive face on a proud land of rugged individualists to the rest of the world’s governments. Our entangling alliances with other nations have always and will always lead us into wars, but once we are there, we must be victorious in our efforts. To do less is to betray each and every American who ever bled and died to protect us. That is what the last few generations of Americans have had a hard time understanding. War is a serious endeavor and not one that we can walk away from without sacrificing the soul of our nation.

The Military Industrial Complex is real and has been necessitated by the many evil entanglements we have found ourselves in. We must remain the strongest nation on earth because we are the freest. We are “man’s last best hope” – philosophically, governmentally, and economically – and it falls to that military superiority to keep it that way. It also falls to the American people, through the leaders we elect, to keep that power under moral control.

You may have noticed that I have not chosen to answer the many specific concerns you mention in your text dealing with your assessment of this administration and decisions they have made. Your thought process is obviously entrenched in a negative opinion of the last few years – just as mine were through much of the previous administration’s terms. I don’t believe we could prove each other right or wrong in our opinions of these specifics. But we must realize that the media did much to effect the environment of both administrations. What we know or don’t know about them is largely due to what was and wasn’t reported. I do believe that presidents make decisions based on a body of evidence that the general public never sees. Second-guessing leaders who have been duly elected and appointed to administrations is like a jury deciding a case after viewing only a smidgeon of the evidence. Granted, sometimes decisions are not made on the evidence alone, but also on motives of lesser or greater worth.

That is why we MUST take special care as an electorate to put into power those people we consider to be the most moral choice we can make. Morality in this nation of ours DOES matter. I don’t think it comes from belonging to an organized religious group either, but I do believe that the morality of this nation is rooted in Christian values, and trying to dispute that just shows an ignorance of our history. Upholding a true Christian identity is not something I would see as a black mark against a political candidate. True Christianity already makes the “separation” between that religion and government, (“render unto Caesar . . .”), so it is a moot point.

I wholeheartedly support your efforts to encourage more people to become involved in the selection process via voting, debating, and voicing clear opinions after educating themselves well enough to do so. This will be an interesting election cycle because I do not believe that either party is truly satisfied with the roster of candidates for president each has presented thus far. I know my favorites have already dropped out of the race.

Sorry to have bent your ear for so long with this response, but I thought your contact deserved it. Regards, DebV

In my quest to find previous articles I have written but have been lost in my own files due to my inadvertent computer data dump, I retrieved this one from the Federal Observer site. It was originally published at Etherzone almost six years ago, but their archives are not complete now. The subject of the article is very fitting in this election cycle.

DebV

What a Deadly Combination,

Old Age, Bad Health, and Government Insurance

By Deborah Venable

Whatever caused a free society to think that government could answer to real human need? That is not and never has been its goal or its purpose, yet Americans in ever increasing numbers continue to look in that direction for answers to basic problems of being human. As long as the Social Security system continues to exist, there will be a shackle on the souls of Americans from the cradle to the grave - a shackle that spits in the face of human decency and laughs at real human need.

While politicians spew promises to that all-important sector of American voters, aging and disabled, the wool is pulled further and further down over the eyes of all ages. Charity is no longer understood for what it is supposed to be and duty is extracted through coercion instead of encouragement and free will. Need is not assessed in reality by government agencies - never has been. Applications for assistance are dealt with in the same way as lottery winnings might be passed out. No rhyme or reason exists in the machinery of government intervention in personal lives. Each time a new bill comes up on the floor of Congress, (to help older and disabled Americans), it is debated with all the compassion of a pack of wolves deciding which prey to go after for supper.

No, government is not a friend to the needy among us. The future of those who will become needy is largely in the hands of the voting bloc that is now dependent on government, so what are we, who are not quite there yet, supposed to do to inject some sanity into such an impossibly insane system? Those much younger have been conditioned by a lifetime of government brainwashing to accept eventual dependency as a good thing, and those who will never need it are continually coerced into feeding the destructive system. Meanwhile the courts are filled with bankrupt citizens fighting to survive in this immoral climate created by greed and ignorance. Defying all laws of economics, legislative bodies continue to add insult to injury while they nurture the idea of "social security."

Suspect any politician who claims to "fight" for the rights of older Americans, just as you would steer clear of those who herald themselves as champions of "the children" - for they do not represent either group. They are merely riding the socialist train to the political winners' station and will embark on unrelated journeys to their own success. Listen and heed the scant handful of concerned representatives who preach individual independence, and unencumbered family cohesiveness. True "social security" is found in the soul of humanity that embraces respect and charity for real need. It cannot be mandated - nor should it - and it cannot be replaced by a system that will sit in judgment of disbursing the hijacked funds of hard working citizens without any regard to personal need. The disabled and infirm are forced to sacrifice their pride to beg for what is rightfully theirs, while many lazy and/or less deserving citizens are encouraged to accept a stipend they are unwilling to earn. It happens all too often in this horrendous system of Social Security. Yet, politicians are unwilling to place the demolition charges necessary to bring it down. It is the untouchable third rail of the political track and everyone knows it.

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