Excuses, Excuses....

I was in a personnel seminar a few years ago where the moderator, who was black, suggested that we should all stand up and go to the corners of the room, then return to the middle. She said this was because white people hold more social power than blacks, and that this movement was to symbolize that we whites were "giving up" our power so we could all be equal. I refused to do it, explaining, "One of my sons is black. We got him when he was taken from his mother by Child Protective Services. She was a mess--drug addict, never employed, sometimes homeless--but she was never without excuses for her condition." Later the moderator asked me how I intended to keep my son from suffering from racism throughout his life. I said, "Well, first and foremost I'm going to make darned sure he's never put into a group where the moderator tells him someone else must give up something before he can succeed."

"If I admit I am responsible, I may have to admit that I have been irresponsible." -- Stephen Covey

The Congressman's Mistake

I recently heard a couple of guys on the radio discussing whether or not a known terrorist should be allowed to speak at a university. One guy, a former congressman, said he should be allowed to speak because we have freedom of speech in this country. The other said the terrorist should be prevented from speaking to the impressionable young minds.

This disagreement arises from a common misconception in the United States: that we are great because of our freedom. I submit that this is not the case. The United States grew to greatness because of our virtue, not our freedom. Freedom without virtue is anarchy, and will eventually bring about oppression from those who yield to the basic human desire to control one's neighbors. Virtue without freedom, however, will eventually bring freedom for all.

This is why we, with maximum freedoms, have murdered 50 million babies, why we find our teens behaving like animals, why we have an infinite amount of graphic pornography on the Internet, and why our entertainment industry is dedicated to the corruption of our children. It is also why we are beginning to see a clamping down on some of our freedoms. Expect that trend to continue as long as we deny God.

"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers - and it was not there . . . in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there . . . in her rich mines and her vast world commerce - and it was not there . . . in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution - and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great." – Unknown (formerly attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville).

I fear America has ceased to be good.