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REQUIEM

Below are the two final essays to be posted on Allegiance and Duty Betrayed. The first one is written by a friend -- screen name 'Euro-American Scum' -- who, over the past four years, has been the most faithful essayist here. He has written about everything from his pilgrimage to Normandy in 2004 to take part in the 60th–year commemoration of the invasion, to his memories of his tour in Vietnam. His dedication to America’s founding principles ... and those who have sacrificed to preserve them over the past 200+ years ... is unequaled. Thank you, E-A-S. It has been a privilege to include your writing here, and it is a privilege to call you my friend.

The second essay is my own farewell. And with it I thank all of the many regular visitors, and those who may have only dropped in occasionally, for coming here. I hope you learned something. I hope a seed or two was planted. But, even if not, I thank you for stopping by ... 25 March, 2010

8/10/2006

Vain and Aspiring Men

During these historically unprecedented perilous times, a leader’s worth can be measured by the degree to which he focuses on those forces that are seeking to destroy America, and the free world, versus the degree to which he seeks to divert our attention from those forces. I believe the two most dangerous powers at play that are working against our survival as a republic are the malevolent goals of Islamo-fascism and the invasion that is occurring across our open southern border – and that the two are dangerously inter-related.

Samuel Adams warned: ‘If ever a time should come when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.’

Mychal Massie (see link to his website in the list of links provided here), echoes Adams’ warning and alerts us to the horrifying fact that ‘vain and aspiring men’ now find themselves wielding the majority of power in Washington -- a toxic circumstance that doesn’t bode well for the health, or very survival, of this republic. In a recent article he writes:

American politics aren't about solving problems, nor are they any longer about addressing the concerns of the people … American politics are about joining a very small, very elite fraternity – which makes up its own rules, provides for its own best interest, and whose members are not subject to the laws and provisions that govern the proletariat … American politics have become, at best, a taxpayer-funded brothel and/or liars club comprised of hedonistic opportunists. Many claim the system is corrupt. I submit it isn't the system; rather, it is the ne'er-do-wells who have been permitted to conscript it.

One of the primary causal factors in the creation of our form of government was to eliminate kings and queens. Yet that is exactly the way those on Capitol Hill behave. There are only so many reasons a person is willing to spend tens of millions of their own money to get a job that pays $165,000 a year – and while certain of those reasons may be altruistic, it's a safe bet that the greater majority of same are totally self-serving.

Calibrating the worth of a leader today is very simple: An American leader who has not lost the vision of what it means to be an American leader will daily recognize, acknowledge, and seek to inform us all of the fact that we, and our republican form of government, are under relentless attack from an unprecedentedly evil enemy that will not rest until western civilization no longer exists. And, to the degree that he fails to do so, or attempts to divert our attention to other matters, he is, whether intentionally or not, empowering that enemy.

Today, the most important message a genuine leader can deliver to the American people is an awareness of the inherent difference between us and them -- because it is that inherent difference that must be recognized and addressed if we are to emerge victorious in this war of all wars.

As was evidenced five years ago next month, we are a people who are willing to venture into the remains of an imploded/exploded/collapsed 110-story skyscraper that is still a fiery, gaseous inferno ... walking on and amid shards of metal and concrete that are as fragile as a house of cards … in an effort to hear the voices of, and unearth, those who may still be alive under the creaking, hot rubble. We don’t think twice about the terrible risk involved, because our innocent countrymen have been harmed, and because it’s the right thing to do.

They are a people who, in prosecuting their wicked war of ultimate domination, use their own women and children as human shields.

We are not fighting this war on a level playing field. We are not fighting this war by the same rules of engagement. They are not even on intersecting planes. If we are going to be victorious, we must either discard the heart and conscience that are inherent to a civilized society in favor of a more eye-for-an-eye vision of victory … or continue to occupy the high ground and pray that divine intervention plays a hand in the outcome.

Modern ‘civilized’ societies have their share of deadly warts – generally convoluted definitions of tolerance, human rights, equality, and justice … which leaves barbaric societies an open door to take advantage of the self-imposed Achilles’ heel that results.

Self-defense is a basic right that must trump all of the above considerations. That doesn’t require that we discard our conscience, or our genuinely civilized sense of right and wrong. We need not stoop to their level (i.e., embrace blood-thirst for the sake of blood-thirst), but neither can we continue to worship phony moral fetishes that cause reason to evaporate, and that will inevitably lead to our suicide by sensitivity.

Dependence on divine intervention is never a rational reaction to evil. We have free will for a reason, and we are meant to exercise it for righteous reasons -- of which defending freedom to our last breath is certainly one. But, when the forces of evil seem to be gaining the upper hand, seeking divine intervention is simply evidence of personal faith.

Fred Hutchison (an analyst at renewamerica.us) has beautifully observed:

The arm of flesh and the wit of man cannot prevail against demonic enemies. Our participation in the Lord's battle is fought on our knees. General Washington was driven to his knees in the snow of Valley Forge, when the cause of the new Republic seemed hopeless. Every victory that has brought lasting good to the world was ultimately won in secret by God's people on their knees. When we pray, Almighty God, who raises up one kingdom and casts down another, sometimes allows us to miraculously participate in His battle against evil and in the building of His kingdom.


Nothing less than the future of humanity hangs in the balance.

~ joanie

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

A perceptive and articlate contrast between "us" and "them".

Anonymous said...

As was evidenced five years ago next month, we are a people who are willing to venture into the remains of an imploded/exploded/collapsed 110-story skyscraper that is still a fiery, gaseous inferno ... walking on and amid shards of metal and concrete that are as fragile as a house of cards … in an effort to hear the voices of, and unearth, those who may still be alive under the creaking, hot rubble. We don’t think twice about the terrible risk involved, because our innocent countrymen have been harmed, and because it’s the right thing to do.

They are a people who, in prosecuting their wicked war of ultimate domination, use their own women and children as human shields.

What a stark picture!

Anonymous said...

John Armor, my neighbor up the road about 30 miles, is a lawyer specializing in constitutional law, and was a candidate for Congress in the 11th District of North Carolina (he lost in the primary). Mr. Armor also attended Yale with Joe Lieberman and worked with him on The Yale Daily News. He posted this on the North Carolina Conservative:

The Democrat Party -- 1828* - 2006 -- R.I.P.

"The Democrat Party died yesterday in Hartford, Connecticut. Present when this venerable institution breathed its last were a minority of the Democrats in the Nutmeg State. The Party was the child of the Republican-Democrat Party, and the Anti-Federalist Party. It leaves no known descendants. However, political parties sometimes spawn children many years after their deaths.

"...Ned Lamont was the choice of the Connecticut Democrats. He’s a wealthy man who bought his nomination. This is a sad but spreading phenomenon in both parties...

...On foreign policy, Lamont follows former Secretary of State Madeline Albright, who in turn is Neville Chamberlain in drag. We are in a war. The war will to continue – and perhaps get worse – until America takes the lead worldwide, and does what is necessary to win that war. We can only hope the price for Lamont’s politics will be lower than the 50 million who died for Neville Chamberlain’s politics.

Does this assessment change, if Joe Lieberman gets elected as an "independent" come November? Not in the least. The mere nomination of Lamont shows the cut-and-run Murtha disease has now infected more than half of the Democrat Party. The only remaining questions are, how much time will it take, and how many tens of thousands, or millions of Americans, most of them civilians, will have to die before the Democrat Party as it now exists is actually buried in the history books. Only then can a more honest and competent party take its place – as has happened so often before in American history."

Anonymous said...

John Armor, my neighbor up the road about 30 miles …

For some reason, your comment above put me in mind of a vacation my family took, back in the early sixties, to Stumptown, West Virginia. We spent a week in a ‘bunglow’ on a dilapidated old farm that was owned by an elderly (he had to be in his eighties) old farmer, names Mr. Hersman, and his wife. Even though the ‘accommodations’ were much less luxurious than most people would find acceptable, that vacation was among the most memorable of my life – swimming in the pond (and vying with the water snakes for elbow room), taking hikes in the nearby woods, showering with cistern water, listening to stories of farm life in the early part of the century, etc.

Mr. Hersman took great delight in showing us around. He would load us into his pickup and take us ‘down the road apiece’. His ‘apiece’ often amounted to an hour or two worth of driving, along bumpy dirt or gravel roads. I distinctly remember the sore behind that resulted from bouncing up and down on the metal truck bed. :)

But your ‘up the road’ (about thirty miles) brought back fond memories of Mr. Hersman’s ‘down the road apiece’ (probably well more than thirty :).

Why am I not surprised that your neighbor was not successful in his primary bid? After all, Constitutional law scholars no longer posses what it takes to be a ‘public servant’ (*cough*). As a matter of fact, thorough knowledge of the Constitution is considered a definite handicap (doesn’t allow for the sanctioning or authoring of extra- or unconstitutional legislation, don’tcha know?)

Love this: The [Connecticut Democrat] Party was the child of the Republican-Democrat Party, and the Anti-Federalist Party. It leaves no known descendants.

Extrapolating to the federal legislature, it would also appear that the descendents of Washington, Paine and (Samuel, especially) Adams have died out as well.

Despite his party affiliation, I, too, had great respect for Lieberman until his betrayal of principles during the Clinton impeachment hearings. For Mr. Armor, having known him (and personally) long before that unfortunate time, the disappointment of betrayal must have been doubly painful.

Thanks for sharing this essay. It’s nothing short of brilliant. I’m sure you’ve already told him so, but please add my kudos to the list. :)

~ joanie

Anonymous said...

Thank you!

Anonymous said...

So many of us have these thoughts running around in our head but we can't or don't take the time to write them down.

I agree with everything you said.

Anonymous said...

See this Krauthammer column: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/03/AR2006080301258.html?sub=new.

Great minds think alike. ;)

Anonymous said...

With what's going on in the UN now it looks like the administration and the State Dept. don't pass muster with you test of great leaders.

They're selling Israel out. The whole bunch of them aren't worth a plug nickle.

Anonymous said...

Take a look at these quotes from Algernon Sidney, "The Forgotten Founder": http://www.liberty1.org/sidney.htm

Especially, "Who will wear a shoe that hurts him, because the shoemaker tells him it is well made? or who will live in a house that yields no defense against the extremities of weather, because the mason or carpenter assures him it is a very good house? Such as have reason, understanding, or common sense, will, and ought to make use of it in those things that concern themselves, and their prosperity, and suspect the words of such as are interested in deceiving or persuading them not to see with their own eyes, that they may be more easily deceived. This rule obliges us so far to search into matters of state, as to examine the original principles of government in general, and of our own in particular. We cannot distinguish truth from falsehood, right from wrong, or know what obedience we owe to the magistrate, or what we may justly expect from him, unless we know what he is, why he is, and by whom he is made to be what he is. These perhaps may be called 'mysteries of state,' and some would persuade us they are to be esteemed 'arcana;' but whosoever confesses himself to be ignorant of them, must acknowledge that he is uncapable of giving any judgement upon things relating to the superstructure; and in so doing evidently shows to others, that they ought not at all hearken to what he says."

Anonymous said...

Yeah, it’s the difference between mutilating and beheading or putting underwear on someone’s head. It’s too bad the media doesn’t know the difference between the two kinds of people.

It’s also too bad that the news doesn’t think we should see images that are “too graphic.” How else are we going to remember what we’re up against?

Anonymous said...

"we are a people who are willing to venture into the remains of an imploded/exploded/collapsed 110-story skyscraper that is still a fiery, gaseous inferno ... walking on and amid shards of metal and concrete that are as fragile as a house of cards … in an effort to hear the voices of, and unearth, those who may still be alive under the creaking, hot rubble. We don’t think twice about the terrible risk involved, because our innocent countrymen have been harmed, and because it’s the right thing to do.

They are a people who, in prosecuting their wicked war of ultimate domination, use their own women and children as human shields."

When the media tells us over and over again about prisoner "abuse" at Gitmo or Abu Ghraib they don't also show us the beheadings, burnings and mutilations that happened a thousand time more. Hell, Saddam and his henchmen filled mass graves with tens of thousands of their own people. Their way of life and their idea of war is foreign to us.

BTW if Israel's cabinet o.k.'s the ceasefire, they're doomed, the whole war against Hisbollah was a farce, and we helped them get there.

Anonymous said...

Very well said, as always!

Anonymous said...

Self-defense is a basic right that must trump all of the above considerations. That doesn’t require that we discard our conscience, or our genuinely civilized sense of right and wrong. We need not stoop to their level (i.e., embrace blood-thirst for the sake of blood-thirst), but neither can we continue to worship phony moral fetishes that cause reason to evaporate, and that will inevitably lead to our suicide by sensitivity.

"phony moral fetishes that cause reason to evaporate" ---beautiful poetic words to describe these evil times.

Anonymous said...

During these historically unprecedented perilous times, a leader’s worth can be measured by the degree to which he focuses on those forces that are seeking to destroy America, and the free world, versus the degree to which he seeks to divert our attention from those forces.

And, to the degree that he fails to do so, or attempts to divert our attention to other matters, he is, whether intentionally or not, empowering that enemy.

Today, the most important message a genuine leader can deliver to the American people is an awareness of the inherent difference between us and them -- because it is that inherent difference that must be recognized and addressed if we are to emerge victorious in this war of all wars.

Modern ‘civilized’ societies have their share of deadly warts – generally convoluted definitions of tolerance, human rights, equality, and justice … which leaves barbaric societies an open door to take advantage of the self-imposed Achilles’ heel that results.

These are the very best parts of a great column. Thank you!

Anonymous said...

Bush and the leader of Israel-I know his name but it's not on the tip of my tongue and I'm too lazy to look it up-have both let their countries down. Neither one of them is the kind of leader that built their countries into strong nations. We need another Reagan and they need someone more ruthless and who understands the position Israel now finds itself in. This guy won't be around long, but he's done enough damage to set Israel's peaceful existence back a decade.

Anonymous said...

Here is a winner from the New York TIMES, the betrayer of America.

(This time they are presenting something they approve of).

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/fashion/weddings/17vows.html?_r=1&oref=slogin