George W Bush justified the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan with a simple credo. We were going to combat the tyrannical ideas of jihad and Islamism with the noble concepts of freedom and liberty. It is in this vein that I wish to combat the oppressive notions of fairness and social justice with the ideas of individualism and sovereignty.
How many of us stood mute with clenched teeth last week while the president defied candor and committed blasphemy at the National Prayer Breakfast by insisting that Jesus would approve of him levying a tax on the wealthy? We couldn't even watch the bowl game without POTUS toting the old fashioned American values of fairness and contempt for Wall St in his pre-game propaganda.
Short of griping on the social networks and blog sites, we're mute because we have been forced into submissive silence over the past 2 decades. I first noticed the change when Clinton added the oxymoron 'Political Correctness' to the American lexicon. Thuggish tactics by the Reverends Sharpton and Jackson, smears by the ACLU, SPLC and dare I say the ADL left people fearful that any proclamation deemed insensitive or racially motivated could cost you your job, house, and even your freedom.
Fast forward 20 years and America is a shell of the dynamic culture she once was. The institutions of marriage and Christianity have been completely decimated by a handful of moguls that feed the masses a steady stream of promiscuity, immorality and a whole new batch of so called rights. In this I refer to the 24 hour news channels. Try watching a sporting event or prime time TV with your child and tell me revulsion and disgust don't wash over you like rain.
Even debate for the purpose of exchanging ideals has become a thing of the past. All but the most seasoned, professional individuals resort to argumentum ad hominem and vitriol by the second interaction. The political ruling class feeds on this gangrenous condition like so many parasites and as such flourishes in the cesspools of federal, state and local governance.
The current situation is hopeless, correct? Hardly. As I stated prior, good ideas can and will be the saving grace of America. Leading by example and verbalizing good intentions in a manner which is meant to inspire and not subjugate will lead to a rekindling of the belief that all things are possible with hard work, support from one's community and a bit of good fortune.
My wife works very diligently as a primary care physician to nurture the physical and spiritual health of her patients. In 2003, she left an owned practice and started her own office. In each our first 2 years solo, we identified a family that was falling on hard times and solicited the parents to be beneficiaries of our Christmas donations. We then placed a spreadsheet on the bulletin board in our waiting room indicating the age and gift requests for the family's children. We provided a few gifts ourselves and then left the rest to the benevolence of our patient base.
The response was overwhelming. We took in so many gifts that the tearful parents hid some away for the following Christmas and we even donated some to local charities. In subsequent years, we sponsored children at a local women's shelter for abused families. We currently deal with the Salvation Army who brings little gift tags that we hang on our office Christmas tree. They even pick up all donations and distribute them prior to Christmas. I believe in 2011 we helped more than 30 kids have a memorable Christmas while alleviating the pressure of spending rent money on presents from their parents.
In the summer of 2010 I received an email from the PTA of my children's school indicating that one of the families in our fold had suffered a tragedy. Their house had burnt down in the middle of the night and they had gotten out literally with the clothes on their backs. Within 24 hours, we had coordinated the rental of a beautiful farm house, replacement of the children's clothes, toys and video games and even arranged enough volunteers to bring dinner to them for an entire month. A small individual effort magnified by dozens of willing participants bought the parents crucial time to get their affairs in order to rebuild their lives. I scoff at the notion that any government program or entity could provide relief with the kind of speed and efficiency that we the people did.
My family resides in a rural Northeastern community. There is a curved intersection near our home that requires routine trimming of wild shrubs and mowing of weeds to provide a safe viewing distance. For years I called the state and township transportation departments only to have the buck passed back and forth. Neither side claimed responsibility for the hazardous condition that persisted where my wife and I needed to turn left across an oncoming lane on a daily basis.
I'd been told through the grapevine that some former neighbors had received permission by the landowner to trim back the foliage at the corner. That was all I needed to hear. For the past 5 years I have accepted the countless poison ivy lesions and near misses by vehicles to maintain this small piece of the motorist's landscape. Neighbors often stop and thank me for my efforts. My reply is always the same,"Someone's gotta do it."
The old timers speak of an era when the neighborhood cleaned out it's own ditches and kept the corners maintained. That time has since elapsed and people now lean over the fence and gripe about how unsafe our road conditions are in the township. At this point I am unaware of anyone besides myself that is willing to get off their duff and help the road crews so they may handle more pressing issues like filling in our ubiquitous potholes.
These are three of the many things that my wife and I do to help others in our community while teaching benevolence and a sense of responsibility to our children. The illustrations are not intended to bolster my sense of self worth but rather to ignite the spark of self reliance in a society which has been lulled into the mindset that ever increasing taxes and fees have bought us more and better services from our government. We have the sense to know that this is a complete fallacy of logic.
America is filled with millions of small businesses. Many of these offices, or shops that have high customer traffic would undoubtedly engage in the kind of non invasive solicitation that my wife and I have been blessed to participate in. People want to help others but may not have the knowledge in how to go about it. If you want to get involved, tell your doctor or merchant of another office that solicitsfromit's patients gifts to help kids. You could even offer to put a food collection bin in their waiting room and deliver the contents to a local food bank on a regular basis. You'll be amazed once the word gets out, how often you will need to empty the container. A few moments of your time and a couple gallons of gas are all that are required to make a real difference in the lives of many.
We owe it to our fellow citizens and their posterity to combat the ideas of government handouts and political correctness. Use your kind words and your charitable actions to set an example for others to follow. A tiny contribution by millions of people adds up to the kind of change we actually want to believe in. Leave the politicians to their frauds and felonies. Americans look out for their own.
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