George Will is a nationally syndicated columnist and one of the more respected commentators in our society today. I don't always agree with him but he has been on a roll of late. It's not that he is leading the way in warning us that our constitutional government is in jeopardy, for the message has been out there for some time but he is one who contemplates patiently before joining a fray. I refer you to his latest article that can be accessed at http://www.realclearpolitics.com/.
If I could summarize just a few points here: Will begins by taking us back to the Founding Fathers intent on three issues, the rule of law, the relevance of the Constitution and American Exceptionalism. He gives two reasons for the necessity of action, the first being that we have elevated the office of the Presidency above what it was meant to be and I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. The second is that government regulation is growing at an alarming rate and that that very regulation is "an apparatus responsive to Presidents." The cause of this he assigns to Congress with words from The Bard, The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.
According to the author the Congress has permitted this to happen in assigning its responsibilities to others. He quotes James Madison from Federalist 45 in "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined." Will rightly describes the concept of American Exceptionalism as "obnoxious to progressives (liberals.)" thinking it a "crude stain of patriotism." This is part of the problem today in that many proclaim that they love America and that they are patriots but their actions belie their proclamations.
Will writes that the result of a "long pedigree" and "rich scholarship" was our "exceptional Constitution," which says not what the government must do for Americans but what it cannot do to them." He hit the nail square on the head when he summarized with "Two years into Barack Obama's presidency, we know what he meant about hope and change -he and other progressives (liberals) hope to change our national character."
This conclusion has been at the forefront of my thoughts since the junior Senator from Illinois and acolyte of various and nefarious world changers such as Saul Alinsky and George Soros came into prominence with their writings and their money in that he (Barack Obama) wants to change America, from being America...to something else. This is a far cry from merely changing the results of our common hopes and goals. This was done with deception, knowing that Americans would consider a change in course for the Ship of State but never lower the Stars and Stripes to raise another flag. Even exceptional articles such as George Will's latest will not ruffle the feathers of those who have assumed their new posts of power for they know very well that more is involved here than merely presenting information to have it scrutinized by the public, for that public is so enmeshed in pastimes and entertainments that it does not have the ability to think through issues anymore.
As Evgeny Morosov puts forth in his new book The Net Delusion, The Dark Side Of Internet Freedom, people will utilize the trivial entertainments of the Internet before they consider the political ideas that come from it and that this plays into the hand of tyranny more than freedom loving activists. Morozov also refers to what has become known as the Ringelmann Effect in that a French agricultural engineer conducted a experiment in 1882 where he was able to determine how much effort an individual put into a designed task of pulling with all his might on a rope. He was then able to have a group pull on that same rope and divide the tension by the number of people. What he found out was that people expended less energy when pulling within the group. The individuals had slacked off when not on their own. This is where we are at today. We depend on talk radio or a Tea Party, or in this case Congress. We live in a malaise as a fish lives in water. We take pride in being part of a group but if that group should collapse is there any substance in us to continue?
Similar to what George Will wrote, we have let ourselves down. We've done that by not relying fully on God as our strength. He was pushed aside one step at a time and we considered it the better part of valor to let it happen. America has no future recognizable to any of its past if we do not, individually, humble ourselves before Him. Our Constituion cannot help us if we look to it as a god in place of a gift of order given by God. As we pull on this rope in a tug-a-war we need dependence on Him who will not slack off. I have reprinted in my blogs a number of prayers from the book Vally Of Vision edited by Arthur Bennett and available at any bookseller (isbn 9780851512280) and I'll offer another here. If and when you see through the mist that our beloved nation is in dire straits, prayers constructed such as this one can, should God will it, guide us even through the thickest fog:
O Thou Giving God,
My heart is drawn out in thankfulness to thee,
for thy amazing grace and condescension to me
in influences and assistances of thy Spirit,
for special help in prayer,
for the sweetness of Christian service,
for the thoughts of arriving in heaven,
for always sending me needful supplies,
for raising me to new life when
I am like one dead.
I want not the favour of man to lean upon
for thy favour is infinitely better.
Thou art eternal wisdom in dispensations
towards me;
and it matters not when, nor where, nor how
I serve thee,
nor what trials I am exercised with,
if I might but be prepared for thy work and will.
No poor creature stands in need of divine grace
more than I do,
And yet none abuses it more than I have done,
and still do.
How heartless and dull I am!
Humble me in the dust for not loving thee more.
Every time I exercise any grace renewedly
I am renewedly indebted to thee,
the God of all grace, for special assistance.
I cannot boast when I think how dependent
I am upon thee for the being and every act of grace;
I never do anything else but depart from thee,
and if I ever get to heaven it will be because
thou willest it, and for no reason beside.
I love, as a feeble, afflicted, despised creature,
to cast myself on thy infinite grace and goodness,
hoping for no happiness but from thee;
Give me special grace to fit me for special services,
and keep me calm and resigned at all times,
humble, solemn, mortified,
and conformed to thy will.
If I could summarize just a few points here: Will begins by taking us back to the Founding Fathers intent on three issues, the rule of law, the relevance of the Constitution and American Exceptionalism. He gives two reasons for the necessity of action, the first being that we have elevated the office of the Presidency above what it was meant to be and I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. The second is that government regulation is growing at an alarming rate and that that very regulation is "an apparatus responsive to Presidents." The cause of this he assigns to Congress with words from The Bard, The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.
According to the author the Congress has permitted this to happen in assigning its responsibilities to others. He quotes James Madison from Federalist 45 in "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined." Will rightly describes the concept of American Exceptionalism as "obnoxious to progressives (liberals.)" thinking it a "crude stain of patriotism." This is part of the problem today in that many proclaim that they love America and that they are patriots but their actions belie their proclamations.
Will writes that the result of a "long pedigree" and "rich scholarship" was our "exceptional Constitution," which says not what the government must do for Americans but what it cannot do to them." He hit the nail square on the head when he summarized with "Two years into Barack Obama's presidency, we know what he meant about hope and change -he and other progressives (liberals) hope to change our national character."
This conclusion has been at the forefront of my thoughts since the junior Senator from Illinois and acolyte of various and nefarious world changers such as Saul Alinsky and George Soros came into prominence with their writings and their money in that he (Barack Obama) wants to change America, from being America...to something else. This is a far cry from merely changing the results of our common hopes and goals. This was done with deception, knowing that Americans would consider a change in course for the Ship of State but never lower the Stars and Stripes to raise another flag. Even exceptional articles such as George Will's latest will not ruffle the feathers of those who have assumed their new posts of power for they know very well that more is involved here than merely presenting information to have it scrutinized by the public, for that public is so enmeshed in pastimes and entertainments that it does not have the ability to think through issues anymore.
As Evgeny Morosov puts forth in his new book The Net Delusion, The Dark Side Of Internet Freedom, people will utilize the trivial entertainments of the Internet before they consider the political ideas that come from it and that this plays into the hand of tyranny more than freedom loving activists. Morozov also refers to what has become known as the Ringelmann Effect in that a French agricultural engineer conducted a experiment in 1882 where he was able to determine how much effort an individual put into a designed task of pulling with all his might on a rope. He was then able to have a group pull on that same rope and divide the tension by the number of people. What he found out was that people expended less energy when pulling within the group. The individuals had slacked off when not on their own. This is where we are at today. We depend on talk radio or a Tea Party, or in this case Congress. We live in a malaise as a fish lives in water. We take pride in being part of a group but if that group should collapse is there any substance in us to continue?
Similar to what George Will wrote, we have let ourselves down. We've done that by not relying fully on God as our strength. He was pushed aside one step at a time and we considered it the better part of valor to let it happen. America has no future recognizable to any of its past if we do not, individually, humble ourselves before Him. Our Constituion cannot help us if we look to it as a god in place of a gift of order given by God. As we pull on this rope in a tug-a-war we need dependence on Him who will not slack off. I have reprinted in my blogs a number of prayers from the book Vally Of Vision edited by Arthur Bennett and available at any bookseller (isbn 9780851512280) and I'll offer another here. If and when you see through the mist that our beloved nation is in dire straits, prayers constructed such as this one can, should God will it, guide us even through the thickest fog:
O Thou Giving God,
My heart is drawn out in thankfulness to thee,
for thy amazing grace and condescension to me
in influences and assistances of thy Spirit,
for special help in prayer,
for the sweetness of Christian service,
for the thoughts of arriving in heaven,
for always sending me needful supplies,
for raising me to new life when
I am like one dead.
I want not the favour of man to lean upon
for thy favour is infinitely better.
Thou art eternal wisdom in dispensations
towards me;
and it matters not when, nor where, nor how
I serve thee,
nor what trials I am exercised with,
if I might but be prepared for thy work and will.
No poor creature stands in need of divine grace
more than I do,
And yet none abuses it more than I have done,
and still do.
How heartless and dull I am!
Humble me in the dust for not loving thee more.
Every time I exercise any grace renewedly
I am renewedly indebted to thee,
the God of all grace, for special assistance.
I cannot boast when I think how dependent
I am upon thee for the being and every act of grace;
I never do anything else but depart from thee,
and if I ever get to heaven it will be because
thou willest it, and for no reason beside.
I love, as a feeble, afflicted, despised creature,
to cast myself on thy infinite grace and goodness,
hoping for no happiness but from thee;
Give me special grace to fit me for special services,
and keep me calm and resigned at all times,
humble, solemn, mortified,
and conformed to thy will.
