Posts Tagged “founding fathers”
By Larry Oscar
My how time seems to fly by. This column (Zingers) has had a controversial life for over 13 years. The Wave (a newsletter of which my Zingers column appears), being a early adapter of fake news, has provided many articles for our readers to think and laugh about. Most filled with half truths that require some thought as to their accuracy and credible content. The Zingers section was originally written to make people think about how they think.
Many subjects of politics are shunned by newsletters, but Zingers fears no man and lays it out for all to consider. We have tried to present views that approach the subject of the day for all to contemplate and relate to the readers lives. We understand that many of our readers have diametrically opposed views about life, but that should not stop us from discourse on controversial subjects. Which leads us to the subject of this article.
For some time now we have all heard complaints about our nation being “divided.” For some reason this seems to be news to people. So here we go….NEWS FLASH!!!!…We have always been a divided nation. In fact the only times we have been united were in times of war with outside enemies. We are designed to be a divided nation.
Our nation is a collection of individual states that are to be the principal governance of the people that live within the state. The federal government was designed to provide only narrow areas of governance. Those areas are defense against external and internal threats, provide an administration of justice, and regulate fair commerce between the states and other nations.
Unfortunately we have strayed way beyond the original intent of our nation as designed by the founding fathers. This is the reason our federal government seems not to be working. We are trying to make the federal government do things it was never designed to do.
You wouldn’t use a screw driver to hammer in a nail would you? Then why would you expect the federal government to do what the state governments are designed to do? The answer to that question is that many of our people and leaders are confused about what the roll of each should be. We are a nation of extreme diversity. Our founding fathers understood this and that is why we have such a heavy emphasis on state governments. Each state has it’s own constitution that governs its people. Some vary greatly. Now why is that? The answer is to allow for the diversity of the culture of our many peoples.
With different cultures there is no “one size fits all” government solution. Some people have very emotional social needs and are fundamentally insecure. They need to have many aspects of their life controlled, and they are emotionally satisfied by being part of a collective. In fact, having to make life altering decisions is down right scary for these folks. Liberty for these people is not as important. They will sacrifice their liberty for security. Other people are independent and self-reliant. They must have the freedom to make their own decisions in life free from government control. These people will fight and die for individual freedom.
When you consider these two extremes we must also understand that most people lie between these points of view. And each of them has a desire to live according to their tolerance of control versus freedom. This diversity is what has made the United States a “melting pot” for the world. We must never let the tyranny of the majority take root in our country and use an overpowering federal government to impose their version of liberty on the rest of us. We must respect the rights of the people in each state to live differently. If we continue to try to impose our will on others by using a strong and over regulating federal government our nation will dissolve.
Each state must stand on its own two feet. States must not turn to the federal government for a solution to every problem they have. Solutions and governments work best when they are closest to the people. It is this fact that makes our current federal government bloated and inefficient. Adding more people to federal government bureaucracies and throwing more money at our problems is not the solution. The solution for government to work in a nation built on diversity rests in the principle government being the state governments.
Unfortunately, many states have done a poor job in governing themselves. They have turned to the federal government to do the jobs they should be responsible for. We must hold all states accountable to their people. And it’s OK to be divided on how we live our lives. After all, we are just a big “box of chocolates.”
(Larry Oscar is a graduate from the University of Tulsa and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He is retired and lives with his wife on a lake in Oklahoma where he brews his own beer, sails, and is a member of numerous clubs and organizations.)
By Larry Oscar
It is interesting to observe how many family traditions creep into our lives over the years. Just about everybody has some favorite tradition for the holidays. Traditions are a part of our life that get ingrained into our very being.
Some people just cannot get through the holiday season without traditions. I wonder why that is? We have some national traditions that go back to the founding of our country. Traditions that are ingrained into the very fabric of our national character. In fact, one of these traditions became so important to the founding fathers that they included it in the Constitution.
You know the Constitution don’t you? It’s the supreme law of the land. One such tradition of the colonialists was free speech. That was something they did not have while living under the king, but after moving to America they suddenly found themselves living where they could say what they thought without fear of retribution from the king’s men.
As the tradition of free speech caught on it became such an important part of liberty that they were willing to die to defend it. Today free speech is under assault.
Our schools and universities have moved from teaching you how to think to teaching you what to think. And when free speech is a threat to their “what to think” belief system they mistakenly want to shut it down. Somehow they think the diversity of thought needs to be suppressed.
I hate to be a bearer of bad news to these folks, but diversity of thought is and shall ever be a founding pillar of our nation. We do not, nor should we, all think alike. Diversity of thought is what drives our quest for scientific knowledge, new technology, and even the arts.
Can you imagine what sort of music we would have today if composers were forced to all compose the same type of music? It is human nature to be diverse. We are all different in many respects. The founding fathers were intelligent enough to know this. That is why we are not one monolithic nation, but rather a united collection of individual states. Each state has people who live their lives with a slightly different approach than other states.
We are individuals who come together and unite for common causes. Diversity of thought and abilities is a natural state of mankind. ( I Corinthians 12). If the Marxist-Socialist beliefs that our universities preach is so superior then they should not be afraid of debate. Today it is said that we have a divided nation. Guess what? We have always had a divided nation. Factions exist in a free society. However, our differences have never been subjected to the scrutiny of social media as they are today.
Today you can exercise your right to free speech in just about 10 seconds and broadcast it to millions over social media. And your thoughts and ideas may just bruise the fragile emotions of many a thin skinned liberal. For they have never learned the value of free speech and how it adds to the advancement of our society.
Without free speech we would have never had the fugues of Bach. We would never have discovered the world was round. Copernicus would have been silenced and we would still think the sun revolves around the earth. We would still be having witch trials. We would never have made it to the moon. And we would never have become a free nation in the first place.
All of these things were the result of free speech. Just imagine what type of world we would all live in today if the United States had never been born. The world owes a great debt of gratitude to this nation. We have not always made the right decisions. And why would we? After all, we are just fallible humans. But the good this nation has done far exceeds the bad.
Our generosity and aid to the other nations of this world in times of crisis has never been equaled. We are the bellwether of liberty and freedom for the entire world. We have laid down our lives so that other peoples in other lands can have the freedoms we enjoy. We are indeed an exceptional nation with an exceptionally diversity of people. May we never be of monolithic thought.
We, the people, must stand up and demand that our institutions of higher learning do not become institutions of lower learning. This can only be accomplished within a climate of free speech. “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” – Ronald Reagan.
(Larry Oscar is a graduate from the University of Tulsa and holds a degree in electrical engineering. He is retired and lives with his wife on a lake in Oklahoma where he brews his own beer, sails, and is a member of numerous clubs and organizations.)
By Larry Oscar
With all the wild news today one can’t help but question the truth of the information we are getting. Living in the United States we assume that our “government” is telling us is accurate.
However, it has long been suspected by those of us, who know human nature quite well, that it is always wise not to jump to any conclusions based on what someone says who has a vested interest in telling us “some version” of the truth. Our government’s self interest always seems to lean towards prevaricators of the highest magnitude who are first on the scene to do damage control.
The recent Islamic terror attack in Orlando, Fl is a prime example. The quick pivot of the White House towards deranged individuals and gun control rather than the simple fact that the killer was taking action on behalf of ISIS and in the name of Islam should disturb you down to the core. And to make matters worse, the White House had their justice department scrub the transcript of the released 911 calls this Islamic murderer made to delete all references to Islam. This should make every American stand up and take notice.
We all know our founding principles have been under attack by the left wing mooching class for decades. It is without a doubt their next attack will upon truth. Truth is just about all that is left of the unique values that this country was built upon. It is not by accident the first document of our national foundation, The Declaration of Independence, starts out by referring to the concept of truth. “We hold these truths to be self-evident….”
Our founding fathers knew that any relationship, whether it be between individuals, institutions, or governments must first be based on truth if it is to be a lasting one. Now anybody with any amount of life’s experiences knows often the truth hurts. Truth calls out our human weaknesses and personal failures and more times than not it does not make us feel very good. In fact it and is a source for depression in some individuals who look upon their lives as a hopeless succession of failures.
However, the plain simple truth is that you cannot build a solid foundation for a house on weak and shifting sand. And twisting and contorting the truth is the shifting sand that causes a house to fall ( Matthew 7:24-27).
If our leaders in the private sector, public sector, religious, academic, or family institutions distort the truth they do so at their own peril and the peril of others. Regardless of how painful or degrading the truth is history has taught us that we are far better off if we face it head on and act accordingly. We fought World War II against a socialist nation led by people who actually had a Reich Minister of Propaganda, Joesph Goebbles. He served in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.
History has taught us that socialism cannot survive if it is under the microscope of truth. This may be the greatest inherent danger of socialism. We may very well be able to measure just how far our country has degraded by counting the lies and deceit that comes from the White House these days. Note how our illustrious President recently gave a glorious speech about our success against ISIS. And the very next day the head of the CIA, John Brennan, told our Congress that we have not slowed ISIS or their ability to carry out global attacks in this country or any other country.
Now who do you think is telling the truth here. You must remember every day the President gets a CIA briefing on world affairs and global threats. Who knows best, the one that is doing the briefing or the one being briefed? Words matter.
The left wing press is all over Donald Trump for his use of words, but when our own President says, “What does it matter what we call them?” the press manifests their true hypocrisy. If words don’t matter, than who cares what Donald Trump says. After all, they are “just words” aren’t they?
The truth is words do matter. And just because the truth does not support what you want to think, or what you believe does not mean it should not be said. You can choose not to listen to the truth and you can choose to ignore the truth, but you must never twist, distort, or just plain lie about the truth.
The right to know the truth is a basic natural human right we all have that was endowed upon us by the Creator. And there is one truth that should never be in question above all others……………Cold beer is always better in the summertime!