Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square. She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate: “How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge? Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.”
– Proverbs 1:20-23
The above reads as if wise old Solomon, the writer of the Proverbs, was gazing at the wild, raucous, senseless “Occupy” demonstrations recently in the streets and public places across our country. And while the protests accomplish nothing, the anxiety is real.
It’s time, not for shouting and disruption, but for serious resolutions.
I’m a deeply committed conservative. And not just politically; I’m just as conservative in my moral, spiritual and cultural convictions. Always have been, going back to my earliest memories, coming of age in Tennessee.
So, as I gaze into the coming year, convinced we as a people are poised at a literal do-or-die crossroads in our destiny, I feel the need to make some serious personal resolutions. And I hope that every real American conservative, whether Democrat, Republican or independent, will join me in these demands of ourselves as citizens.
1. As I heard a wise man say just recently, “We can’t fix America … unless we’re first willing to fix ourselves.” Our country is made up of an incredibly diverse bunch of people, but for most our first 200 years, the majority of us subscribed to a common moral and spiritual view of ourselves. We expected goodness and charitable behavior because that’s who we were; we were “One nation under God” – and though we didn’t always measure up to our own aspirations, we continued to aim high and to teach our kids that moral behavior was the best, if not the only, way to happiness in life.
Across the board, that has changed … drastically. Now, on virtually every hand, our society is riddled and permeated with every kind of vicious, profane, filthy and sacrilegious influence imaginable. We Americans have let it happen.
And so I personally resolve to inspect my own character, to see where I have failed to uphold my own convictions, and to demand of myself a more righteous and morally committed life.
2. I resolve to be a more involved and dedicated citizen of this beloved land. I will strive to cherish and perform the duties purchased for us by the blood and sacrifice of countless young men and women , all the way back to the American Revolution. I will not just vote in every election; I commit to digging for information on every serious candidate for each office, to studying all the issues and making my precious vote count at the ballot box – count for right, not just for a victory.
“The mind of the wise inclines to the right; the mind of the fool to the left.” (Ecclesiastes 10:2)
Solomon again, not speaking about political divisions, of course, but about wisdom seeking righteousness – as did our Founding Fathers.
I will support with my whole being candidates who are dedicated to what is righteous … and none who aren’t.
3. I therefore will cry out for conservatives to revere our Constitution, that God inspired document that created our republic. It is our DNA, the very definition of liberty, and the guardian of it. It brought us this far – and only fools disregard it. We dare not elect any more representatives who don’t understand that.
4. I resolve to oppose every teacher, every union, every administrator who will not teach our young what is historically factual and morally true. Several decades of deficient history, shifting philosophy, lower standards and lazy discipline have diluted education and robbed our kids.
I say, “Let God back into our schools … and drugs, guns and free condoms out. Let the young who want to, pray!”
5. I resolve to defend life, from conception to the grave, in every way I can. I have for 40 years and sense that the majority is coming our way. Planned Parenthood now receives, through this administration, half a billion dollars of our money annually, the latest figures reporting 340,000 abortions last year! I’m concerned for the life of each child … and the very life of our nation.
6. I resolve to seek out and support the candidate who will try to save our economy, not just his office. Two and two is still four, and nobody should spend money they don’t have, nor borrow money they can never repay. Sixteen trillion in unpayable debt is insane, and this president wants to add more than a trillion a year to it!
7. I further resolve to urge every candidate to press for our return to a gold standard. Precisely because the price of gold is so high – if we peg our dollar to a certain amount of that precious metal, it will raise the value of our currency with it! Some European leaders are already promoting this plan. We’ve got to beat them to it.
8. I resolve to carry and produce my American ID whenever I’m asked. I expect every other citizen to do the same. It’s not too much to ask of anybody. I’m proud to do it.
9. In that regard, I resolve to press every conservative, candidate or not, to demand that the president produce his ID, too. Though every other candidate will be vetted and investigated to the nth degree, the New Hampshire Election Board just refused to demand proof of citizenship of candidate Obama in the upcoming primary – as they are constitutionally required to do. And as they failed to do in 2007. Why? WHY?
And why is the president who promised the “most transparent” administration still paying huge sums to lawyers to keep us citizens from ever seeing his school, early travel records and passport information? Why are there unanswered questions about his Social Security and Selective Service numbers and whether they belonged to others first? Are there reasonable answers? If so, why hide them?
I believe every conservative, every American citizen, deserves the answers. And before the next election. Wisdom demands it.
