American Thoughts

This piece was written by a friend of mine, Dale Golden, from Tyler, TX. I see Dale and his wife every year in Rockport, TX where both of us perform, and he's written a good piece on the state of play in America today:

The crisis in California, which finds an immensely wealthy state on the brink of bankruptcy, and the current economic crisis facing America, have several common root causes that have led us to the brink of societal disaster. We must, as a nation, face these challenges with a renewed sense of willingness to abandon the treacherous paths that have brought us here and return, instead, to the more traditional beliefs that have made the United States of America the greatest country in the history of the world.

America's "melting pot" mentality has traditionally been so successful because as immigrants (for the most part, all of us) we have willingly embraced the traditional beliefs that America has stood for from the beginning, some of those being:

1. Freedom of religion, based on Judeo-Christian principles, with a deep respect for the Almighty and His Word. No sensible person, regardless of their beliefs, can truthfully maintain that our forefathers did not recognize the complete dependence upon God's mercy and grace with which we must approach our daily lives and our society as a whole. Without these principals, we are doomed to failure. We as a people simply cannot survive without a renewed sense of obligation and dependence upon our almighty God. The deterioration of faith in America is, above all other reasons, the primary cause for every problematic issue we face today. As a people, we have become so arrogant as to think we do not need God, that He is somehow no longer relevant. How did we ever manage to come to this point? Christians must return to God, and soon, or all hope is lost, for without God's mercy and grace, our situation is hopeless. Even for those who do not believe in Christianity, the pillars of faith which the Christian church is built upon are the standards which each and every American should hold dear.

2. Limited government intrusion into the daily lives of all people, with fair and equitable taxation for all. Currently, greed and gluttonous Executives and Politicians who are more interested in sacking the treasury and economy than being leaders has given us soaring deficits which can only be paid for by, quite literally, robbery of the future from every hard-working American for decades to come. We as Americans must demand, not suggest, an immediate cessation to the growing of this governmental monster which threatens to consume us all with it's insatiable hunger for money and power. We threw King George out once and we can throw this monster out as well, and must do so with great haste and much disdain.

3. The right to work and succeed according to the amount and degree that one is willing to sacrifice to achieve success. What we now have instead is an ever-growing class of welfare-abusers who would rather live as parasites on the working class than as contributors themselves. Our duty as citizens and Christians is to help care for those who cannot help themselves, but those who can work and choose to profit off the work of others should not be allowed to do so. This includes lawsuit-happy attorneys who make a living off of others productivity, politicians who engage in Pork-laden bills and so on. It is not Un-Christian or Un-American to expect those who can work to do so, and demand so. It is unfortunate when a company is no longer salvageable, but that is capitalism, free and simple. If your business model is not successful, you do not succeed. The recent spate of tax-payer rescues of these failures must cease, if not, who will "bail-out" the taxpayer? The free market will prevail. Socialism is a "dead-horse" which cannot be whipped into success. Socialism is a much-proven failure.

4. Obedience to the laws of the land, and the swift and just punishment for those who do not observe the same. It is not Un-Christian to punish those who break the law. The Bible teaches us to obey the laws of the land. Criminals who abuse the system must be dealt with, period. We must demonstrate to the criminal element of this society that we mean business. Limp-wristed law enforcement and punishment will no longer work. This includes criminals, lawyers and politicians who milk the system of millions with frivolous, time-and-money consuming lawsuits. Politicians who enact unjust laws in order to broaden their power base should be thrown out of office, by whatever means necessary. Patriotism did not end in 1776. Our law enforcement personnel across the country are tired and feeling hopeless to the inefficiency of "the system." If you don't believe me, ask one or two in your area and see what they tell you. It is a looming crisis that must be addressed NOW.

5. Actively embracing the culture of "Americanism." Throughout our history, when one came to America, they BECAME AMERICANS, not someone from another country who came here wanting to change this country to the wreck-of-a-society they sought to escape in the first place. Today, an overwhelming influx of illegal and unwelcome immigrants see America as a free meal-ticket, break our laws in their first act of coming into America, and then continue to consume as much as possible without ever contributing one positive thing or caring one iota about the traditions or future of this country. Criminal politicians who cater to this group of law-breakers and parasites simply to gain power through this voting bloc should be jailed themselves.

Any immigrant to this country should only be allowed to enter by legal means, prove they are willing to become productive members of society, demonstrate their allegiance to the TRADITIONAL American way of life, and then be welcomed with open arms into the magically-diverse miracle that is the United States of America!

6. The willingness to defend our country and beliefs, respecting, honoring and supporting at all times those who willingly serve in defense of the United States. Every freedom we have in this country comes first from God and second from the United States Military men and women who have, for over 200 years, so valiantly and bravely defended our way of life. Each one is a true hero and should be accorded the proper respect for their sacrifice. Those who actively seek to condemn, criticize and harass our brave servicemen and women should have their freedoms interrupted for awhile (jail-time) to help them obtain a greater respect for those who pay the price for freedom. One does not have to agree with a military action in order to defend our men and women in uniform and our troops in the battlefield. Each one is a national treasure who should be celebrated!

7. The right to assemble and bear arms. The rampant criminal element who are allowed to wreak mayhem on society should never be used as an excuse for honest, law-abiding citizens to lose their right to bear arms, period. Any variation of this right is simply an excuse for the government to increase it's death-grip on the backbone of our society - it's law-abiding members.

8. The honest election of leaders who respected and chose to follow the traditions listed above. There is a growing lack of respect and disdain for the traditional leadership and contributions that our forefathers have provided to make us what was once the greatest country on the planet. If you really believe the tripe that is so prevalent in our media about the great "white man-devil" that has led this country since it's inception, go to the beaches of Normandy, the fields of Gettysburg, the walls of the Vietnam memorial or the grasses of Arlington National Cemetery and ask yourself, where would you be without those sacrifices that "the man" (by a vast percentage) has so freely given. One cannot ignore the sacrifices of all genders, races and ethnicities in defending our country, but neither can we ignore which constituency makes up the bulk of those names and graves. Revisionist history isn't worth a red cent. It is only the attempts by a few to propagandize their beliefs on the masses when they do somehow manage to gain a foothold on power.

California has long been a leader in what is going on in the country. The State's current out-of-control illegal immigration, welfare-consumption, high-taxation, pervert-embracing, Christian-hating, Hollywood-influenced, Left-Liberal ideology has brought the State to where it is today. Catastrophe. The rest of America is not far behind.

America, you can either continue along this track of destruction or you can reach back and take hold of what made us great from the beginning. Either we embrace the word of God and humble ourselves before Him, seek his forgiveness and mercy, re-embrace a strong work ethic, limited Government and a love for this society that we are willing to sacrifice our personal wants and desires for, or we end up as an after-thought in the history of mankind, and soon.

The time for being white, black, red or yellow has passed. We must become, simply...Americans. Americans with the same goals, to make our country better, to learn from our past mistakes and move on. We cannot "move-on" without God leading the way.

These choices will have to be made and implemented over the howling of those who hate America, Christianity and traditional American values, but the same country who conquered tyranny, Hitler, Imperialist Japan and others will also triumph, with God's immeasurable blessing, over this threat, as well. This howling must be overcome with a chorus from those Americans who trust and believe in God and the traditional American way of life.

Your choice.

Dale Golden
Tyler, TX