CONSERVATIVE PRAGMATISM

No one in this world can live without having an opinion on something. The question becomes whether our opinion is correct or not. To have a correct opinion means having a standard that is correct. This means God’s law. It is the only standard that is straight and correct. By definition, everything else is crooked and incorrect. When man rejects God’s law, he becomes an idolater and his opinion becomes to what he believes is the best course of action.

Pragmatism recognizes no supreme law. The law is whatever someone wants it to be at the time or circumstances. The pragmatist does nothing based upon principle because principles are spiritual. To the pragmatist all truths are the same. Two conflicting opinions are both valid. Circumstances determine which opinion to follow, not unchanging principles. The pragmatist does not believe in absolutes but will use absolutes, if he can gain an advantage from it.

Such is the case with John McCain. He is the consummate pragmatist. McCain’s pragmatism is clear in his choice for Vice President, Sarah Palin. McCain does not appeal to the conservatives and Christian base of the Republican Party. This is because he is more of a Democrat than Republican policy wise. He knew that his running mate needed to be someone who had strong Christian and conservative values.

Sarah Palin’s values are anti-abortion and pro-gun. She believes that evolution should not be taught in the government schools. She believes in creation. While these beliefs are important, her beliefsare not why I am disappointed with McCain’s choice. When I heard who he had chose, I felt completely let down and was mildly disgusted. I know that McCain’s decision is totally pragmatic and this decision just confirms what should have been apparent from the beginning. A tiger cannot change its stripes.

McCain is trying to make himself something that he is not, palatable to the conservatives who are the most important members of the Republican Party. The headline from the POLITICO reads, "Palin electrifies conservative base." This is predictable because most people are not principle based in their thinking, but visibly motivated. She does not electrify me at all. I will vote and I vote according to principle, not based upon the person running for office.

The reason why I oppose McCain’s choice is that a woman is not to have authority over a man. Anyone who is familiar with the Bible knows that the man is head in the family and bishops are men who are assigned to rule in the Church. Since God created the world and He is sovereign and he assigned men the responsibility of being ruler under Him, then men should also be rulers in the civil government, not women. This is not a woman’s place.

The argument comes from exceptions in the Bible where women were given rulership in extraordinary situations, usually from a lack of male leadership. Exceptions are not the rule, they just prove the rule. We are to follow rules, not exceptions. Isaiah 3:12 sums up the fact that we are in a time devoid of true spiritual leadership, "As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths."

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?

The civil government in America has gained dictatorial power. There is almost nothing that the government has not legislated against. People in this country claim that we are free without understanding what true freedom is. You know that you are living in Orwellian doublespeak when people call slavery, freedom. The reason for this is simple because the idea of freedom is spiritually connoted and most people equate freedom with physical freedom. In other words, they are not in a gulag so they must be free.

Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines freedom as, "A state of exemption from the power or control of another; liberty; exemption from slavery, servitude or confinement." By this definition, it is clear that there is very little if any freedom in the United States. The government is involved in all facets of life and continues to seek to gain even more control of the citizenry. The only way that the government is able to do this is because the vast majority of the population do not think in spiritual terms. They do not realize how enslaved they are.

There are many ways the government controls us without putting us in a gulag. Just the threat of coercion is enough to cow most people into obedience. There are a few that will rebel against the system. In the United States, education is compulsory. It is a criminal offense not to send children to the government indoctrination centers. These schools are paid for by coercion. The taxpayers are forced to pay for these schools, whether they want to or not, even if they do not have or never have had children in this system. This is not freedom. Only recently has there been the availability of education choice but even if someone educates privately, their taxes still go to fund the government schools.

The state of Texas is reintroducing visible slavery. Courts in Texas have the power to put ankle bracelets with Global Positioning Systems that will monitor the whereabouts of truant students. Truant students obviously do not want to be in these schools and yet the government is going to force them to be there no matter what. In an Associated Press article, Linda Penn, a Bexar County justice of peace is quoted as saying, "Students and parents must understand that attending school is not optional. When they fail to attend school, they are breaking the law."

Children are forced by law to go to school and parents can be held criminally liable for not sending their children there. Is this freedom? Parents and children are not free because they are not exempt from the control of others. The rebels against this coercive system will now be visibly enslaved. The truants will now be shackled and for what? What sin is it if someone does not know how to read or to do basic math? Is it evil not to be able to read and write?

The answer to these questions is that the mandatory attendance laws of the government school system are anti-laws. These laws define something as being evil that is not evil. Penn’s concern is "We are at a critical point in our time where we can either educate or incarcerate." The only way that these school systems can get anyone to obey them is through the use of physical force. They educate using the same system. Is it any wonder that there are those who cannot read their diploma when they graduate from this prison system.

Since government education is coercive it makes the schools, for all intents and purposes, prison systems and the students wards of the state. Is this freedom? This systems makes parents, non-parents. The government has all the parental authority and the real parents are there just to financially support their children for the government. This is a reversal of the roles and yet if you ask the parents are they free, they will answer with a resounding, "We are free."

Unfortunately, I have to explain my position about education because dolts will say that I am opposed to education and that I believe every one should be ignorant. All one has to do is look at the failure of the government school system to see where real ignorance comes from. Education is spiritual. Therefore, it can never be taught coercively. Education is and will always be a private matter. When education becomes totally private, then it can be said that there is educational freedom. Children should be educated and this is the responsibility of parents, not the government.

NO FREE LUNCHES

We live in a day and age where the main level of thinking is based upon the visible world. There are people out there who actually believe that there are free lunches. Because they do not see where the money comes from, they automatically assume that it cost nothing. It is beyond their mental capabilities to understand that there are no free lunches. If someone takes me to lunch and pays for it, it is free to me but the person who took me to lunch had to spend his money.

We are also living in a day and time when people want the unearned. Because of being indulged, we live in a time of laziness. People do not want to work for what they possess. They want the government to provide for their needs rather than working for it. So they vote to have the productive taxed and give to those who did not earn it. It used to be a shame to receive public assistance. Not anymore. It is now treated as one’s birthright.

Man can never successfully circumvent economic law because economic law has been predetermined. Man will forever beat his head against these predetermined laws in hope that he can make them go away and he will be free to do whatever he desires to do. It has been attempted many times and man has failed miserably every time and in every place. Yet, man continues on as if there is no economic law.

One thing about man’s law is that it shows a respect of persons. God’s law, on the other hand, is not a respecter of persons. An Associated Press article had the following headline, "Free cell phones offered to low-income Tenn. residents." To qualify for these free cell phones one has to meet certain income guidelines. In other words, an individual would have to be in government determined poverty or receive governmental assistance from Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income.

This program is called SafeLink Wireless. TracFone Wireless Inc. is providing this service. The recipients receive a cell phone with access to 911 emergency services and 68 minutes of free air time. The reason that TracFone is involved is because the government is subsidizing the program for $10 per recipient. The company will provide the other $3.50. The total estimated amount of those qualifying for this program is 800,000. This means that the taxpayers are saddled with a tax payment of $8,000,000. This service is free to those who did not earn it. The taxpayers pick up the tab. In other words, the government steals from the productive and gives it to the undeserving.

The reasoning behind this welfare program is so that these undeserving people can supposedly make a call in case of an emergency. This sounds good on the surface. However, those in favor of this program never stop to think that there are reasons that poor people do not have cell phones other than their cost. Some of these people would not know how to operate a cell phone even if you give them a free one and instructed them how to use it. How many of these people are going to carry their cell phones with them at all times? How often are these people going to have an emergency that warrants giving them a cell phone?

This is just another example of the government seeking to gain control over people’s lives by the way of man’s law. People do not deserve a cell phone. It is not an inherent right. If poor people need a cell phone, let them pay for it with their own funds and not with taxpayer money. Some of us are sick of these asinine government welfare programs. The world owes no one a living. We have to earn our way through life. Once again, there are no free lunches. Let them pay for their own cell phones.

VOTER INSANITY

Some things need to change. When you follow man’s law, you get man’s results which are always flawed. To say that man lacks omniscience is a huge understatement and yet man never considers the consequences of his actions long term. He is only concerned about the immediate moment. It is true that we are all going to die someday but that may not be for quite a few years from now. The future has to be considered when making our decisions.

The most dangerous times in America are election times. This is when the have nots (the lazy and unproductive) get to stick it to their productive neighbors. Voters are about voting themselves a living. Elections are about the voters getting their share of the unearned. Elections are about the breaking of the Tenth Commandment which forbids the coveting our neighbor’s possessions. The electorate see what their neighbors have and then vote to get their neighbor’s property.

When God’s law is rejected, then man’s law fills the void and man’s law will vote in envy every time. The majority of voter’s in Elizabethton, Tennessee have voted a sales tax increase from 9.25% to 9.75%, with the increase going to fund the public school system. This means that anyone who purchases any goods will have to pay more money. This will leave the purchasers with less money to spend on other goods.

The reasoning behind this sales tax increase was that it was for the children. Whose children? What if the taxpayers of this municipality did not have any children? Why should they have to support other peoples children’s education? They have to because the insane voters decided to covet their neighbors possessions. Breaking God’s law is the consequence of voting for man’s law. Whose obligation is it to pay for your children’s education? It is the parents and the parents responsibility alone. This is how it is to be according to Biblical law.

Parents are solely responsible for the support and raising of their own children, not for their neighbor’s children. The voters have taken away the authority of the family to use the money they have earned for the support of their own children. Following God’s law leads to people minding their own business and taking care of their own responsibilities. Man’s law leads to the exact opposite result. Under man’s law you get your neighbor to take care of your responsibilities.

God’s law will result in a limited decentralized government. Man’s law results in a huge centralized government. In Elizabethon, the government has increased its control over the population and it is a result of the voters giving them that authority. In Washington County, the local government put a sales tax increase to a vote. It was defeated resoundingly. What we need is not more government and taxes, but less. This can only happen when the electorate is educated in God’s law. Following God’s law will mean the rejection of man’s law and it its resulting insanity.

NON-JUDGMENTAL REPORTING

It should be apparent to all that care to look below the surface of a matter that the media are apologists for evil. You will never find them condemning anyone for their evil acts no matter how heinous. They will, however, bash anyone that is doing anything that is positive and productive. They are forever bashing big oil for bringing their product to market. They never miss an opportunity to report that Exxon Mobil had another record amount of sales last quarter. This is true because of the present price of gasoline. The media reports this with the intent of saying that big oil is gouging the consumer because of record sales.

The media is concrete bound. They report only on what they see with their physical eyes. They do not understand concepts because of their arrested mental capabilities. When the media reports anything, it demonstrates their unconfessed bias. They will tell you that they only report the news without any agenda attached. Nothing can be further from the truth. The media is out to destroy anything good and holy and to lift up any despicable thing and any type of degradation as the norm. Their examples are almost always of those who are failures and they seek to make these failures as representatives of reality.

Knowing this up front makes the agenda of the media all the more transparent. It is easy to see through to their true intent. They may seek to disguise it but it is apparent to all who seek to use their mind. An Associated Press article regarding the Anthrax murderer Bruce Ivins is representative. The article reports, "The brilliant but troubled scientist committed suicide this week, knowing prosecutors were closing in." The reporter’s choice of words is what is disturbing. It is a poor choice that demonstrates that the reporter is seeking to evade making any judgment upon Ivins.

It is not as though the reporter was successful. He still made a judgement about Ivins by his wording. He was saying that Ivins was splendid and shining as a scientist but he was also disturbed. In reality, Ivins was a homicidal maniac. He was in no way brilliant. Brilliance belongs to achievers, not murderers. He achieved nothing but death for five individuals. Every good that he did is completely overshadowed by his murderous actions. Ivins deserves condemnation, not accolades. This is something the media refuses to do. By refusing to condemn Ivins’ actions, they are by default condoning them. There is no neutrality.

Further, Ivins is arrogant and a coward. He refused to be held accountable for his actions, so he took his own life. His choice of poisoning his victims demonstrates that he was an extremely detached and impersonal. He did not have the courage to face his victims directly. He chose to use an impersonal means of poison. He was a true terrorist. What is not good is that he worked for the government. Ivins has provided ammunition for the conspiratorial lunatics that the government is behind all disasters.