Biblical Redistribution?

A couple of Sundays ago I was sitting in a lack luster Sunday School class when my mind began to wonder and I began to ponder what would the TRUE Messiah's stand be on politics and redistribution. So over the next couple days I read and researched and came to the conclusion that the savior is a tax paying capitalist. In response to a Pharisee's question regarding whether or not they should pay tribute (taxes) to Caesar, Christ responds with the instruction to "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's". So Christ believes in paying taxes. But what about redistribution? The best example of the Lord's fairness and equality position is the parable of the talents. In the parable a master gives three servants some money before he goes out of town. He gives one servant 5 talents, another servant 2, and the last 1. On his return the master calls his servants together and asks for an accounting of what they did with their talents. The first two servants, through their efforts, doubled their talents. The master in turn praises and rewards them for their efforts. The last servant had done nothing with his talent and so still had only one. Now if the master was a redistributing liberal/progressive socialist he would look at the situation and say that the first two servants had an unfair advantage because they were given more money to start with and more opportunities to increase their talents. So to make it fair the master would take 5 of the ten talents from the first servant who had ten, give one to the servant who had 4 so he would have 5, and 4 talents to the servant that had done nothing and still had one one so that everyone would be equal and have 5. But in the parable, as related by the savior, the master is a capitalist that believes that although everyone does not start out with the same amount of talents everyone is capable of applying themselves. And that taking from achievers and giving to those who are not is not fairness but a crime. In fact according to the parable it is not the servant with the ten talents that is punished for being successful but the servant with the one talent that is punished for being an unmotivated slacker. To show his disdain for the unprofitable servant the master takes away the one talent the servant was given and gives it to the servant that now has ten. So if we were to apply this parable literally everything should be taken from those who are living off society, complaining that life isn't fair, and they are entitled to more and give it to those who are contributing to society as a reward for hard work and self motivation. Obviously we need to read and apply the teachings of the TRUE MESSIAH.

High School Education Today

One of the many hats I wear is as a part time high school teacher. This blog is a portion of a letter I wrote to the faculty in response to a teacher asking me to postpone a test I was about to give because she had been told by some mutual students that my tests were too difficult and she wanted to modify it before I gave it to my students. The content of the letter is as follows:

For a while now I have been getting reports from both students and teachers that my history class is too hard. To be honest I'm tired of the whining. History is the easiest subject in student curriculum. There are no complex formulas, concepts or relationships like algebra, chemistry, grammar or computer science. It is a story (if you can remember Little Red Riding Hood you can learn history). It is the study of human events and human nature, so if you are a human you already have a step up in the class.

This is how my class runs. We cover a chapter a week. Each chapter has about 5 or 6sections each. The first 5-10 min. of class is spent reviewing what assignment/test/ projects are coming due and answering any questions, the next 15-20 min the students are given time to read the sections we are covering that day in class (because they sure aren't going to read at home), we spend the remainder of the class discussing and taking notes on what was just read. Usually toward the end of the week we watch a film, if I can find one, that touches on the material we have covered. We have a test every two weeks (covering the two chapters we just covered) on Monday so that the students have all weekend to study (because supposedly they are soooo busy). So how is my class so hard? Its only hard because my students don't want to apply themselves. (A hurdle race would be hard to run if you weren't willing to jump.) All I hear is "we don't want to take notes", "can we watch movies", "can we just hang-out", "lets take a day off today", "can you make us a study sheet that has all the answers to the test", "do we have to do this project", "can we take the test open book or use our notes". You know what is sad these students have had history two to three years before they take it in high school. High school history should be a review and yet they know nothing. I don't know if anyone else has the illustrious privilege of having the whole freshmen class in class together but I do and with a few exceptions they are the most disrespectful, lazy, insubordinate, undisciplined, entitled, pampered, unaccountable, group of individuals I have ever encountered.

Sadly, I think the freshmen class is a product of pampering and coddling. The principles of respect, discipline, accountability, work, diligence, are attributes that everyone needs to succeed in life whether they are going to college or going into the work force. I don't know of any college professor who decides to let his students watch movies because they need a break or an employer that makes a work assignment easier because the employee complains it is too hard. Either the employee learns how to complete the task or the employer finds a new employee who can. What made the US great was rising to and overcoming challenges. We didn't go to the moon by saying it was too hard, we didn't build the nuclear bomb by saying can we take a break and watch movies, we didn't win World War II by being lazy, insubordinate, or undisciplined. In the long run I don't care if my students know the basic principles of history but THEY WILL learn discipline, respect, accountability, hard work, and obedience.

I also think we need to be careful how we use the terms "level the playing field" or "make accommodations". To me those phrases are very dangerous. I agree that every one should have equal opportunities to get an education in a way they understand but in my opinion this mentality can lead to injustice and fraud. The great thing about this country is the opportunity to fail. You can not make a person succeed. The fear of failure is one element that motivates people to achieve and not allowing people to fail is dishonest to them and to the people who have done what is necessary to succeed. I was told that a parent said that her child was not allowed to fail because her daughter had special needs. That is the exact mentality I am speaking of. ANYONE can fail just as ANYONE can succeed.

So rather than supporting the students in telling them that my class is to hard (notice it is only my history class that is supposedly too hard. I teach three other classes), please encourage them to embrace the principles that are going to make them successful in school and life.

The Constitution: A Document of Negative Rights?

What a month. Our President out making a fool of himself and our country at the UN and on the world stage, President Obama lobbying before the NOC in Copenhagen and getting rejected, school children being indoctrinated by singing chants about the President, Iran thumbing its finger at us and the world by ramping up its nuclear program, the war in Afghanistan going to pot because Pres. Obama is still voting present on critical decisions, and unemployment at 9.8%.

I, for one, am hoping for some "change".

But let's turn the discussion toward the Constitution for a moment... Pres. Obama is quoted as having said that the Constitution is a document of negative rights by telling the government what it can't do to you and not what it can do for you. To hold that understanding of the constitution is to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of government in a constitutional republic. The role of government is to protect the rights and freedoms of the people. Evidently Pres. Obama believes that rather than the constitution being a job description of what freedoms to protect and how, he views the constitution as a restraining order that restricts his power and what he can do to the people. As a citizen the right to free speech, free religion, trial by jury, free press, the right to bare arms, etc. are all positive rights. Only a person whose power is restrained by these rights would consider them negative. It is frustrating to Pres. Obama that the people hold the power and he is only their servant. It is his desire to hold all the power and have the people of the United States be his servants. We must be on our guard. This mentality is the seed of despotism, tyranny, and slavery.

Let me tell you a story. There once was man named Tom who had a friend named Sam. Sam was Tom's best friend and had known Tom all his life. Tom and Sam would go on regular walks together. Sam would watch Tom's house when Tom was gone, and sometimes Sam would bring Tom his paper. Unfortunately for Sam he aged faster than Tom. With age came medical treatments and Tom would take Sam to his doctor's appointments. The doctors were always helpful, but as Sam grew older they became less willing to provide the care that Sam needed and Tom felt he deserved. Toward the end of Sam's life the doctors refused to care for Sam and told Tom that Sam had lived a long, full life and should be allowed to pass away so that they could focus their efforts on those who could still contribute to society.

Now in this story Sam is a dog, and Tom is his owner. However, under the public option (Obama health care) plan (with the doctors as the government) Sam could be someone's child, father, grandfather, other relative, or life-long friend. Who would want to be told by the government that someone close to them had served their purpose and should be refused life-saving treatment and counseled to passed away? Yet this treatment is a considerable part of the foundation of the Obama health care plan--rationed health care, death panels, waiting periods etc. The current health care system may not be perfect, but it is leaps and bounds better than any public option that has been or is currently being created.

No time to relax

Now that government health care has been derailed in its current form, at least temporarily, there is a feeling among some that we can step back and take a breather. Unfortunately, that is not the case. This is the most power hungry, government expanding administration perhaps in the history of our country. They have already managed to take over the financial sector. They own the automotive industry. The government take over of health care would have been the coupe de grace allowing them to take control of every aspect of our lives.

Even with this hiccup the government power grab rolls on. Every day a new unconstitutional czar is appointed. Everyday the frame work of socialism or be it fascism (sometimes it is hard to tell) is slowly erected.

It is the responsibility of every true blue American who loves life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to continue the ongoing battle of ensuring freedom and democracy for ourselves and our posterity. This out cry against health reform still shows that at least for now "we the people" are still in the driver's seat of this great country. Let's make sure they don't forget it.

The New America?

I don't really know where to start. Since the primaries and especially after the election it seems that there has been an endless supply of material that needs to be addressed. From bail-outs to bonuses and tea parties to supposed tax cuts, every day there is some issue that arises that either directly or indirectly affects America and her future. It is my hope that through this website the few lone voices crying in the wilderness for sense, reason, and traditional values will not only be heard, but that others will have the desire to join the cry and turn those lone voices into a chorus proclaiming the principles and values that made America the greatest nation on earth.