The Conservative Edge

I used to get excited about the 4th of July. When I was a kid, July 4th was the summer’s equivalent of December 25th. I remember certain years in which we had so many fireworks to shoot off, that it took several hours to light them. We would start in late afternoon with the firecrackers, then move to the bottle rockets in early evening. When it became dark, we would light the fountains, spinners, and Roman candles. What a delight! When the explosions were all over, a fog of burned gunpowder hung in the air, resembling a battlefield. The day after, we tended to sore thumbs and ringing ears, but that was a small price to pay for the thrill of setting off those wonderful fireworks.

All these years later, I still enjoy watching a fireworks display at a city park, or some other venue. But I also treasure the sight of the American flag waving in the wind. And, I must confess that I get choked up when I hear “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It may be a challenging song to sing, but when someone gets it right, it’s beautiful to hear.

This year, I’ve been thinking about this holiday’s future. Independence Day has become increasingly more associated with fireworks and cookouts, and I fear that the true meaning has become obscured. I suppose that’s another way that July 4th resembles Christmas. Both holidays seem more oriented to consuming, rather than giving. I hope that Americans will take more time to reflect on the true meaning of the struggle for national independence that our forefathers undertook generations ago. And, with equal importance, we should think ahead to a new struggle that may necessarily arise as American citizens grapple with the growing centralzation of power assumed by our federal government.

I can certainly envision a time in which Americans, out of desperation, physically demonstrate displeasure with local, state, and federal governments. As innovation, industry, prosperity, and opportunity disappear from our land, people will be forced to realize that the government was responsible for the dismantling of the American dream. While that scenario may seem farfetched to some, we must realize that Independence Day commemorates the actions of American colonists against a tyrannical government. That potential for action is why the liberals work so hard to remove the right of the American people to keep and bear arms. An armed populace is the most serious of threats, and the surest of safeguards, against tyranny and control. But if our rights to obtain wealth, to dissent, and to bear arms are removed or negated, then the government will have means to control us at its will.

So I wonder if there will be a new Independence Day celebrated by Americans in another generation or so. We can’t go on much longer at the current rate at which we are losing our freedoms. Maybe there will be a time at which a new revolution of sorts spreads like wildfire across our nation. And perhaps the revolution will not bring a new form of government, but a restoration of what we once had. Then, we will be able to celebrate a different kind of 4th of July holiday.

The celebrations and festivities are kicking into high gear. Of course, I’m referring to the excitement of the impending inauguration of Barack Obama as the next President of the United States. There was somewhere around 40,000 people in Baltimore, Maryland to see Obama on one of his train stops, as he traveled on to Washington, D.C. I have seen photos of people crying, as they stood rapturously attending to Obama’s every word. Thousands of citizens are pouring into our nation’s Capitol, eager to celebrate this historic moment, and celebrate this great time of “change”.

Everyone except me—and others who know, deep down inside, that our country is set for a socialist takeover. I’m not sour about the election, as though John McCain got cheated by a fraudulent election, or some other shenanigans. In fact, the American people made it clear that they wanted someone quite different to perform some miraculous revival of our country’s “greatness”.

It’s just the definition of “greatness” that troubles me. It should trouble most white Americans in particular, but also anyone who values personal liberty above an omnipresent, omniscient government. Americans have come to see our current crises as a unique time for government, with a knight in shining armor leading the way, to magically solve all of our problems.

And government will intervene, too. Americans have lost confidence in themselves, partly because of inaction by conservative leadership, but mostly because of the messages we have been receiving. We have been told that America has spoiled its reputation abroad with its “cowboy” attitude. We have been scolded for burning too much fossil fuel, causing dramatic changes in global climates, and that we must bear the burden for cleanup. Too many of us are stubbornly “clinging to our guns and religion”. Therefore, we must purchase our ammunition coded with ID numbers, so our misuse of lawful arms can be tracked and verified. We must tolerate the establishment of Islamic temples and organizations, some of whom funnel money into terrorist networks all over the world. All Big Businesses (especially oil companies) are evil, so they must be taxed and regulated, to the point that they move their workforces overseas. Individuals who are “rich” must give their wealth to the government, to be given then to the “less fortunate”.

Does this sound like the prescription needed to cure our economic and social sicknesses? Is this the “change” we should celebrate? I read an observation made by an author of one of my favorite books, which states, “…unused power passes imperceptibly from idle hands into more active ones.” This is precisely what is happening in America today. The more active hands belong to the Democratic (I call it the National Socialist) Party. They exert their power more as the power of the individual weakens. So, this is a perfect time for them to ride in as “saviors”, when they are actually consolidating power among themselves.

I’m reminded of a story in Biblical history. When the young nation of Israel tired of being ruled by a prophet or judge, they demanded a king be anointed over them, just as all the other nations had done. Samuel the prophet, the last judge of Israel, tried to warn the people what they would endure under a monarchy. He told them that they would be heavily taxed; that the best of their sons would be conscripted for the king’s guard and the national army; other things they would sacrifice to keep the monarchy fed and supplied. But the people told Samuel that they didn’t care. They demanded a king! So, Samuel anointed a man named Saul as King of Israel. He eventually descended into madness, and nearly destroyed the nation of Israel.

America has demanded its “king”. I certainly hope we don’t get the same results.