God Guns and Motherhood

Deborah Venable

10/22/04

Before we get into the crux of the matter – the issues that should be driving this election, allow me to ask a couple of questions. Are you in a quandary about how to vote this November? Who to believe? How can you judge the best chance that your vote will count to affect change or leave things the way they are? And, indeed, where do changes need to occur and what should be left as it is?

We Americans have allowed many negative changes over the years simply because we have shirked any responsibility to think these questions through and use the many resources we have to find the answers before we cast that all important vote – if, in fact, we don’t cop out entirely and bypass the polls altogether, or in frustration, cast away our vote on a wildcard that has no chance of winning. It’s just easier that way, isn’t it? That way, when things do go to hell in a hand basket, we can wash our hands of any blame can’t we? I don’t know where that mentality originated, but it certainly was not fertilized in the minds of freedom loving individuals who value their United States citizenship.

This November we will be asked to consider replacement of a very large chunk of our government – the executive branch, much of the legislative branch, and both of these have an effect on changes within the judicial branch of course. Each and every one of the members of the House of Representatives in our Congress could be replaced, one-third of the members of the United States Senate could be replaced and the president and his administration could be replaced. That is a heavy-duty responsibility, folks. How many of these representatives will retain their jobs simply because they are unopposed? Incredibly, this happens all the time, but it doesn’t seem to get much press, does it? Have they really done their job so well that the voters in these states are completely happy with them? I doubt it. It is much more likely that the voters just can’t be bothered, so they pass the buck and the “good old boy club” gets some new members and retains a few more.

Political parties are coming out of the woodwork these days – all pitiful excuses for why Americans are all over the map politically on the issues that divide us. For instance, why do we need a “Constitutional Party”, a “Libertarian Party”, or any other collection of splinters from the platforms of sound self-governing political philosophy? For that matter, why should anyone feel the need to designate themselves as “Independents”? Perhaps it is as simple as this – people have colored their world with gray and refuse to accept the reality of black and white. Most of the electorate in this country cannot even define their political beliefs well enough to know whether they hold liberal or conservative views. Likewise, the planks in both the Republican and Democrat Parties are so rotten that they will not hold up under the weight of either of these well-defined beliefs. So, the splinters gather and make up even less substantial platforms – gray area, political parties “coming out of the wood work.”

Moderate. Now there’s a word for you. It sounds dignified, doesn’t it? Tolerant, rational, intelligent – all the things those hotheaded “extremists” are not. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I would maintain that political moderation has gotten us into most of the hot water that we now have to deal with on a daily basis. How can one take a moderate stance on an important political issue and be viewed as anything but indecisive, uninformed, or uncommitted to their own opinion? Opinions, after all, are like that important part of the human anatomy, which shall go unnamed – everybody’s got them and they all stink.

Political campaigns bring out the worst in those running and those supporting the “runners” these days. So often we find ourselves with the choice of supporting the “lesser of the evils” just to maintain some semblance of status quo. Problem is that all too often the status quo stinks to the high heavens – just not as much as the only other perceivable alternative would. The campaigns are so costly in a monetary sense that it usually boils down to who is able to bilk the rich and the poor out of enough money to finance the whole process of “running for office.” (Why do you think they call it running? Perhaps because they take your money and run with it and you never get your money’s worth.) So, the bottom line is that politicians are bought and sold out according to how much they are willing to compromise their principles – if they even have any. That, anyway, could be the negative way to look at it. Instead of casting the stone, “lesser of the evils” wouldn’t it be a better approach to just make a choice to support the better “runner” – better meaning less evil AND more good. It would certainly be more optimistic and less negative. If one is thirsty isn’t it better to drink a half glass of water than turn away from a half empty one? Why must we see the water as poisoned with evil?

All that being said, we can begin to explore some of the issues that should be reflected in what these “runners” give you as reasons to vote for them. This brings us to the title of this piece. I shall attempt to simplify the decision process, at least as I see it, by illustrating the important issues. God, guns, and motherhood – those are the important issues – but to each there exists many facets.

At the top of the heap we find God. Since every religion contains its fair share of politics, we should at least be able to draw some correlation between the individual political “runners” and their personal relationship to their god or lack thereof. Some Americans have gone out of their way to remove God from the whole process of government. This is certainly laughable if not downright dangerous, for without a godly influence of some kind there would be no government or hope for any justice. Do any dangers exist in a religiously controlled government? Of course! That’s the stuff that tyrannies are made of. Down through the ages humans have invented “religions” for the sole purpose of controlling humans. Case in point, take a good look at Islamic extremism for one and Communism, (a religion by any other name would smell as foul), for another. However, since America was settled and established on the premise of religious freedom, inspired by Christian principles and promoting individual responsibility, God is not the enemy of this government. The Founders certainly understood that, even as they also understood that religion could be. They understood the difference between God and religion, even though many of today’s “runners” for governmental power most certainly do not.

So, this is a key issue. We must be able to judge whether or not those who would take the reins of governmental power truly believe in the founding principles of this government, or if they have succumbed to a controlling religion that attempts to remove God at all costs. You can more easily recognize those in the latter group by studying their support groups. What candidates for office receive support from: the Communist Party, for instance; from foreign organizations that are based in tyrannical or religiously controlled governments; from so-called world organizations that undermine America’s unique independence?

Disarming America has become a goal of many within our borders as well as many real enemies of our country and her citizens. One cannot believe in the founding principles of freedom and individual responsibility while believing that individuals should not retain the right to keep and bear arms. Disarming a country and/or its citizens must come before a successful conquest and victory over that country and/or its citizens. Not only is this simple logic, it is reinforced by historical fact. Far too many of those currently in political power in America, and those who seek to be, fail (or refuse) to grasp this fact. This is a direct result of ill informed or even the deliberately deceptive motivation of much of the American electorate. Freedom has never been purchased or held by peace loving individuals unwilling to defend themselves and their country against the enemies of freedom. Sad but none-the-less true. No avenues of partial disarmament, (gun control), exist that will ensure America’s individual freedoms.

This issue has been so completely ignored or convoluted, watered down, and cast aside by an alarming percentage of the electorate that the “runners” need only give it a smattering of lip service. It would be extremely hard to find a handful of political representatives who would be willing to state openly the things I have stated here. Why? Because they are all part of the problem and are unwilling to offer the only solution that makes logical, (and historical), sense. Choosing the “lesser of the evils” becomes our only choice with this issue until such time that the electorate becomes educated and forces this issue on the government. Do we still believe in our own Constitution or don’t we? That is the question. Examine the record of the “runners” carefully in choosing that “lesser” wielder of political power. Refer back to the first issue discussed here for correlation between these two issues. You may find a recurring theme in the politics of some who advocate removing God, installing religious persecution and disarming the citizens

At the heart of American tradition stands the pivotal issue on which our liberty and success, past and future, depends. That issue has been polluted on the tongues of many “runners” who are only willing to give it lip service while paradoxically doing everything in their power to destroy it. That issue is family values – motherhood if you will. Any human society is only as strong as the basic building block of that society, and the family unit is that basic building block. Protecting the integrity of the family unit should be of utmost importance to anyone given the reins of political power in our government. So what constitutes “protecting the integrity of the family unit”? Protecting children might spring instantly to your mind - as well it does to most slick tongued politicians’ minds. However, too many of them have a problem with defining “child” to the exclusion of unborn children. They are all too willing to say that a mother has the right to end the life of her unborn child, yet any mother or father does not have the right to make decisions on how their already born children will be raised and educated. This does not meet either goal of protecting children or family integrity.

This is a huge, multifaceted issue, which too many “runners” will bury in a mound of meaningless promises of government “help” to strengthen the family. The government – any government – does not have the power to “strengthen” this basic societal building block. Governments only have the power, if we give it to them, to weaken and destroy the family. Anything or anyone that undermines the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for individuals – all individuals – is at odds with American tradition. Families should control how their own money is spent, yet with our traditions hanging in the balance, much of our wealth seized in the name of government control, and an irresponsible electorate expecting to be cared for, family values, motherhood, childhood, patriarchal laws of protection and American liberties are traded for a government voucher promised by our so-called, would be servants to protect us and provide for our needs.

There you have it - a brief review of what we should all be scrutinizing before we throw support behind any of the runners. Mistakes of the past have come back to haunt us, have robbed us of much of our liberty, and installed apathy instead of responsibility as the foundation of American self-governance. We have two choices to put America back on track where she belongs: work within the electorate system in place or violently revolt to bring about change. I cannot understand why anyone would believe that there is a third choice. Approximately five hundred of the top jobs in our government are on the line in November. How will you choose?

If you are saying to yourself that I did not cover some very important issues here, I would simply reply that any other issue you can name can be considered a subset of these I have outlined. God, guns, and motherhood – the power of government to control personal beliefs, our ability to protect our country and ourselves from attack of any kind, and our basic American traditions concerning the welfare of families and future generations encompass everything that government is and should be all about. We have a direct responsibility to affect needed changes and restore previous successful policies by exercising our right to perform as an informed electorate. Anything else is unconscionable.

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