Posted on 02/24/2012 12:48:33 PM PST by joanie-f
Many Americans, conservatives among them, have been voicing the opinion that social issues have no part in campaign debates, are criticizing Rick Santorum for placing them in the forefront of his campaign, and are branding him as unelectable as a result.
I take issue with those points of view for two reasons: Firstly, social issues, when considered in their broadest sense, should play a major role in any campaign and none other than our Founders cautioned us to demand that they do. Secondly, it is not Rick Santorum who is declaring that social issues are the entire focus of his campaign; it is the left-leaning media.
John Adams, and most of the other Founders in their own way, cautioned, "Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."
A conservative candidate's focus on social issues, issues regarding abortion, contraception, sexual openness, the breakdown of the family, etc., generally has at its core a desire to do what is right. The definition of what is right differs from person to person, based on his religion, upbringing, etc., but when social issues are of genuine concern to a candidate the desire to define and do what is right is personal and passionate, and it takes second place to no other. That central desire is something that is lacking in much of modern American leadership today, especially at the highest levels. During the era of Clinton-Lewinsky, the American people were, for the most part, appalled at the personal morals of the man in the oval office. His character also came into play many other times during his two terms in the White House, but was most obvious during his impeachment for perjury and obstruction of justice. Nonetheless, the majority of the citizenry re-elected him because the state of the economy was more important to them than the character of the man serving as their president. We all took part in debates about character during the Clinton years. Fast forward more than a decade and the American people are once again declaring that the economy is the major issue in this election. And yet why is the American economy imploding? The crisis is largely the result of the fact that our leadership in D.C. is sorely lacking in character. Corruption and lying have become a way of life, and the goal of being a public servant has given way to the goal of promoting an leftist agenda and amassing as much power and wealth as possible, and the nation's security, prosperity and fiscal and monetary integrity be damned. The state of the economy is just one symptom of a pernicious disease. Lack of morals/character in leadership is the underlying disease. Seeking to do what is right for the country no longer plays a primary role in decision-making in Washington, D.C. If we simply vote for the candidate who stresses "fixing" the economy, without considering his character and his willingness to stand on firmly-held convictions no matter the political cost, we are declaring ourselves more interested in treating the symptoms rather than eradicating the disease.
Despite what the mainstream media would have us believe, the candidate with character, the candidate who has deeply-held beliefs regarding social issues, is not going to insist that his personal convictions be forced down the throats of the rest of the country. He will not rule by executive order. He will not appoint dozens of czars to usurp constitutionally-designated powers from the legislative branch. He will respect constitutional parameters and call upon his moral convictions to do what is right, rather than what is politically expedient or part of a political agenda.
(continued at link to article)
My goodness! I am just overwhelmed with the way you have encapsulated not only the problems that plague our beloved republic, but you so clearly identify their sources. Thank you!
I gather that you, too, believe that this election will determine the survival or demise of our beloved republic. Even if the Marxist is dethroned in November, I fear that there will be major upheavals. Once this entrenched, they will not surrender their power without serious repercussions, and the good of the nation be damned.
Thank you for your wonderful insights and very kind words.
I wish the very best to you and yours in these troubling times, dear FRiend ...
~ joanie
I believe Barack Obama will be re-elected in November and the destruction of America will continue, only significantly more feverishly. He has too much going for him between now and November: a billion dollars in campaign funds (many of which will be 'donated' by you and me in the form of bailout kickbacks), mainstream media that serve as an arm of the DNC, unprecedented voter fraud, and an electorate the majority of whom haven't a clue regarding the Cloward/Piven, Saul Alinsky, et al blueprints that have been, and are being, followed in order to 'transform America' into the hideous utopia of the ruling elite.
I actually can find nothing in your latest post with which I disagree. I am fully aware that the process of rot has been festering for many decades, that republicans have contributed nearly as much as democrats to the decay, but in a much different way -- apathy, stupidity and compromise as opposed to deceit, subversion and criminality.
The difference between the erosion of our liberties, safety and sovereignty pre-Obama, and over the last three years, is that much of it is no longer hidden in the shadows, simply because there are now a sufficient number of dumbed-down Americans that we no longer even comprehend that which we are losing, or the magnitude or significance of what those losses represent.
For that reason, we dare not speak the truth. Those who do are mocked and derided as radicals. And anyone who hopes to gain public office, including the four seeking the republican nomination, cannot unearth the most urgent truths -- i.e., the genuine nature and goals of those now in control, the real threat posed by radical Islam, etc. If they did, their chances at the ballot box would be dashed by a public used to being fed, and capable of digesting nothing but, pablum.
With that said, the modern American patriot cannot simply sit by and grumble -- or spew fatalist mantras while the Constitution burns and the people are enslaved. If we believe a candidate, or a politically activist group, presents a choice we can live with, we do what we can for him/her/them. I suspect that you are doing just that, as am I. And yet our means of getting to that end may be quite different. So I, for one, will agree to disagree.
~ joanie
~ joanie
[ I believe Barack Obama will be re-elected in November and the destruction of America will continue, only significantly more feverishly. ]
Me too sadly.. talk about chickens coming home to roost.. Hope I’m wrong..
If America is the new Sodom... getting salted down is what SHOULD happen..
Washington D.C. and many State Capitals as well are fully corrupt.. if not all of them..
Look at the fiasco in Wisconsin.. the Unions OWN that place.. and other places..
I want to wish for Obama to get re-elected, america is just not ready for the cleanup yet..
BUT I cannot do it.. something in me pukes that concept out..
Even if it would be good for the country I cannot handle thinking it..
The inauguration of Zero for a second term would be extremely painful to me.. maybe even physical..
From what I see america must be hurt badly before change will occur..
America is just not ready for revolt yet.. but only THAT will effect the change thats needed..
A sad ‘Amen’ to every word you wrote.
Thank you.
Thank you, PDG.
Your words are sadly true. Trouble is, 80+% of your countrymen wouldn’t even comprehend what you are saying.
That particularly offensive piece of hypocrisy amounted to defining government rather than God as the giver of gifts, and government rather then God as having the right to demand something from us in return.
Thanks for the insightful response.
~ joanie
There was a time, even 20 years ago, I naively believed our inspired Constitution would protect us. HAR! It's just a piece of paper that can do NOTHING on its own. Without caretakers and defenders it's intricate and, dare I say, fragile foundation can and will be crushed by the incessant, perennial evil that resides in our midst. Problem is, evil doesn't stroll the Amecican landscape with a big sign announcing itself. As always, the work of satan and his minions is cloaked in insidiously titillating language and seemingly altruistic deeds.
Oh well, I believe there is little to gain by preaching to the choir. For America to rise from the abyss, freedom loving Americans will have to actually DO something. I submit TEA Partiers made a huge difference in our last election cycle but can we maintain the foucs and sustain the energy necessary to make a difference over the long haul? Is the sentiment still alive and quietly growing? AND, will it be enough? We'll see. I pray that still waters run deep.
God's best to all...
[ A sad ‘Amen’ to every word you wrote. ]
Damn I was hoping you would take me to the woodshed and beat some sense into me..
Your exquisite use of language skills could do that..
I so want to be wrong..
I fear a “hard rain” will fall...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uam8Wcqxkks
The young people who used that song, and so many others, back in the 60s to form a movement that today is a large part of the reason America is in irreversible decline, hadn't a clue then, and either haven't a clue, or are premeditatedly seeking America's destruction, now.
I wish every American, before being allowed to register to vote, would have to read the chapters on the 60s from Bork's 'Slouching Towards Gomorrah' (The Vertical Invasion of the Barbarians, What They Did and Where They Went). They'd recognize that 'hard rain' for what it's going to be. And maybe they'd stop electing 'leaders' on the basis of glibness and promises of handouts.
Or maybe not.
I'm betting on the latter.
Best to you and yours in these troubling times, dear patriot ...
~ joanie
Your (insightful, as always) comments -- especially the sentence above -- really hit hard.
Rick Santorum's recently resurrected comments regarding satan's role in what is happening in America, and, even moreso the media's reaction to them, exhibits in microcosm what is at the core of America's demise.
Rick's comment, 'Satan has set his sights on the United States of America' was made four years ago, to a Catholic audience.
That he has been excoriated for that comment to me is evidence that the media in particular, and a huge portion of the American people in general, are no longer willing to acknowledge the existence of evil. At the same time that the large majority of Americans identify themselves as 'Christian', how can that be?
We finally have a man of character, not willing to dilute his faith depending on the way the political winds are blowing, running for the presidency. And the all-powerful, unaccountable media regularly use his expressions of that faith as a weapon to portray him as somehow out of touch with reality, reactionary and radical.
In an era in which radical Islam is seeking to control the world through indimidation and violence, and will soon have within their power the physical means to do so, the American media are are serving as their psychological propaganda arm, intent on indoctrinating the citizenry to believe that references to evil have no place in the American election process. And they are succeeding. We are going to succumb to the forces of evil while still allowing ourselves to be mesmerized by media lullabies.
I share your realistic pessimism, as well as your wish to be wrong.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful insights.
~ joanie
[ Or maybe not. / I’m betting on the latter. / Best to you and yours in these troubling times, dear patriot ... ]
Who knows what to actually believe these days?..
Occams Razor demands that America has Now the government it deserves..
AND will continue to,..... ELSE “we” would change it..
I’m going with the Sodom and Salt dichotomy..
Maybe we have found the evil and the evil “is US”..
God help us..
Great points as always joanie and thank you.
I agree with you that the evil is us, and, employing Occam's Razor (which I agree we should), why would God help us (although far be it from me, or you, to know His will)?
We've turned away from Him. We've allowed Him to be banished from the public square. We've allowed our elitist decision-makers to define references to Him and His Word as curious, simple-minded and inappropriate for public discussion. We've declared that truth-telling, and holding liars accountable for their lies, are passé and unrealistic. We've defined goodness as situational. And we've decided that human mini-gods have the ability to remove from us rights and freedoms that were bestowed by Him.
We are so deeply blessed and so wickedly ungrateful.
~ joanie
(what you said)........
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