TRADITION, AMERICA, VALUES

ELECTION EXPECTATIONS & TRADITIONAL VALUES

My Vote: It’s been one week. I voted against the man who won, and voted for the VP on the ticket of the man who lost. Outside of that I confess to nothing. Goes to show when you can’t be passionate for the leader of your side on fundamentals, how hard it will become for voters to push him to the finish line in to first place.

I wasn’t passionate because I feel the conservative movement is dead. I have a hard time mingling my vote with those who want to “reach out across the aisle” to people who want to cut your hand off. (Not cynicism, just reality) I don’t vote for “compromise.” I, like the liberals who won the election, want to vote for the “win" and the "winner” because we believe in the values he/she stands for. I voted against the other side because I don't believe in their track record or rhetoric. So much for that.

Liberals and Conservatives in America. We need each other. It clarifies things and gives feeling of empowerment when we can state our views. Opposition can be forceful but doesn't need to be nasty. We are empowered through the vote. Some of us believe in "change" because we want to get back to fundamentals that have proven reliable, and some want "change" because of a new vision for an old recipe...in spite of the fact those recipes have poor records on rising to their promises.

“Change” has always been the “raison de vivre” for the left and liberals, and often because it is more exciting (less boring) than substance. I believe in action. I love action, but "action for action sake" may take one down a road with a predictable dead end.

Liberals experiment, Conservatives stick with values and virtues that have a proven track record. Liberal ideology seeks to re-invent failed social experiments as if experimenting enough will finally “fix it”; whatever “it” is. A mature person does not believe in “change” for change’s sake; "change” without definition of what that means.

PRESERVING VALUES: I have liberal friends. I have liberal family members. We debate. I just disagree on the direction that will be best for America based upon the past evidence, present circumstances, and probable future if we choose to obey principles that work versus experimentation.

“Conservative” comes from the word “conservation,” which means to “preserve.” I prefer to “preserve” American values, not ‘re-create.’

Not guessing: It really isn’t a guess on my part when I make these statements. History is in on socialism, for example. It hasn’t worked well. It stifles creativity, kills dreams, not to mention people. Tyrants and autocrats have failed somewhere near 100% when they employed it, and democracies have fared no better. The reason is simple. Government becoming the “Super Nanny” dehumanizes the individual; taking over personal responsibility, the traditional role of religion, and even family, to create utopia. And the kicker? It actually takes money to do this. You really want to invest? The cultural elites who back this stuff never feel the pain of the people who suffer from the stuff. They look out for each other. So...

Where does the money come from? Not a money tree. It comes from taxes which, deducts, takes away, robs, incentives from private business--the engine builders of economy, killing job growth, which jobs pay our bills until killed by over-regulation and high taxation, which puts the citizenry in a position of asking the government for a pay-check, which gives the socialist government the power they seek, until there is no more money and the people revolt...etc., etc. Let's list all the great socialist governments whose citizens controlled by fear and guns finally gave up on the Marxist dream and bolted to capitalism:

Former Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany, Hungary, Chechslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania,...to name a few. Let's ask those who remember the post WWII 45 years of socialist repression, "IF" we should adopt even 1 percent what they went through... You know what the answer will be. The Berlin Wall fell and the truth of socialist glory was exposed. Present day socialists long for that kind of lost power, believing it just wasn't done right.

Successful Socialism? Socialism can’t be invented to work successfully unless success is defined by some low-level economic equalizing of all incomes and living standards.

>Think “gray apartment buildings.”
>Think “trash heaps.”
>Think no heating, poor sanitation.
>Think long lines for doctor's visits, dying from illness unnecessarily.
>Think food, gasoline, medicine, water, "rationing."
>Think third world countries...

I'm not kidding. I’ve seen it, and I’ve lived in it. I am NOT guessing about the results. Should we just keep trying until it does work?

So until something else becomes clearly preferable to that which really has worked, I feel strongly about “traditional values” being the ongoing answer for America. That means “equal rights” for all to succeed, fail, have a voice, vote as they please, and live the ideal life they choose. The evidence is clear that it has worked. It has built a beacon of hope and prosperity unlike any country or empire that ever existed in human history. And all this in 230 years.

Traditional Values and America: In 230 years versus the previous 5,000 years of recorded history, we have gone from handcarts to space travel, from letters to email, from speed of oil lamp to “speed of light” in all areas of endeavors. The founders of our country believed in economy, no debt, progress, individual improvement, freedom of speech, freedom from state religion, freedom to explore, grow, live and breathe the exhilarating air of progress where men and women choose their leaders; where we govern the governors.

I am a “traditional All-American” who believes in the values of the Founding Fathers, the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and especially appreciate that we can have opposing views. Opposing views, like market-place competition vs. regulated commerce, clarifies things, helps us formulate opinion and action. Finally...

HIGH EXPECTATIONS. There are high expectations, set by the Presidential election. The winner has promoted “change we need” and “hope,” and promised in his victory speech “We will get there…” Wherever “there” is. I have chills up and down my spine, but not for the reason the immature who buy empty rhetoric as facts may be feeling.

One thing is sure. The higher the bar is set, the higher the expectation and the harder to satisfy those who buy-in to the dream. We are already half-way to full socialism. Will the promoters of "change" be able to fulfill the promises of "hope?" New national leadership can’t fall far for those of us who don't understand the rhetoric of non-defined change, and yet do understand dead-end hope-filled infatuation with a promised and coming socialized culture.

We accept his win though. We do not expect him to change things for the better unless he can formulate and articulate an actual reason and plan with substance, that departs from the present and past policies of failure. We hope he will govern with wisdom and intelligence and not as his chief strategist Ms. Jarrett said he would on a weekend talk-show; that he would,"...be ready to rule from day one."

For a FREE COPY of the US Constitution for your computer, go to my website www.powerthink.com/store and choose the History and Freedom category. Select US Constitution, Democracy in America, or The Federalist Papers (all three are available for free) and go through "check out." You will supply a "Redemption Code" when prompted. The code is: Constitution. (Be sure to upper-case 'C' - it is case sensitive.) Please feel free to share with others.

More coming on AMERICAN VALUES...

James Pratt