Wednesday.....Culture.....Press On

Merriam-Webster defines a demagogue as a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power. It defines a tyrant as an absolute ruler unrestrained by law or constitution; a usurper of sovereignty. It defines a despot as a person exercising power tyrannically. A free people will prosper only as long as they choose good, wise and able leaders. This is not as easy as it might seem for we don't always look for wisdom in those we put into positions of power. We may selfishly opt for someone who promises things that benefit us without regard to how it effects others. We may cast our vote against someone we dislike without regard to the abilities of the person that can serve this purpose, and we might simply be taken in by a slick charlatan who doesn't reveal his intentions or show his lack of wisdom until he has power. In any of these cases, we find ourselves ruled by a poor leader at best, and unfortunately, maybe a wicked despot. We often have no one to blame but ourselves when this happens. We tend to sit back, wring our hands and wonder how this came about. They gave no indication that they would be a tyrant. They seemed to respect my opinion when they wanted my vote. I was taken in by Jimmy Carter in the fall of 1975. He seemed honest..and he was. He seemed capable...and he wasn't. He was naive, as was I, and I had no excuse. I served three years in the army and had just graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, was a reader, yet had no clue. I knew how to formulate an opinion, but not an argument, for a sound argument demands a full understanding of both sides of a subject. I was unjustly confident in my abilities of discernment. I have been humbled more times in my life than I could even attempt to document. Maybe you have seen a book marker in Barnes & Noble that has five words on it spoken by Winston Churchill...Never, never, never give up. Stonewall Jackson was more aggressive than any general that this nation has ever produced. As difficult as the task was, as tired as his men were, he set the gaze of his steel blue eyes on them and said just two words...Press on! I'm reading John Bunyan's A Pilgrim's Progress again, for the umpteenth time, for there is no better arrangement of words within the English language, with the obvious exception of the Word of God, that describes the frailties of man, the need to never, never, never give up and press on, and the only source of strength to accomplish this, than his book. Have you found yourself in the predicament of having a poor leader, even a disastrous one? If you live in the United States of America you have. Is there another situation in your life where decisions made in your stead have not been wise? Learn from it and keep on going. If this country survives, it will be because of unrelenting determination, humility and a reverential countenance toward the God that blessed it to begin with.