In my time spent blogging some of the opinions I have learned to respect the most belong to some of America’s Homeschool Moms. I believe that Christian parents taking responsibility for the education and development of their children is one of the most essential ingredients to preserving freedom. Free individuals will lead to a free society.
So I have to call attention to the following post by Dana Hanley of principleddiscovery.com:
“Rather than confronting the issue head on, I fear that HSLDA is actually further contributing to the problem by respecting standardized test scores as a valid measure of the education of a child. I realize these types of tests are enmeshed in our culture. But until we begin to sway public opinion in favor of a little balance, there will be increased calls to require all homeschooling families to submit to this kind of testing. Because for most Americans,
test scores = ability.
No one stops to wonder why it is we put more emphasis on a test score than on actual performance in the ‘real world.’ That one that we as homeschoolers are supposedly hiding from.” [Read More]
Here is a great quote from James Madison about the Unalienable Right to Property:
PROPERTY . . . In the former sense, a man’s land, or merchandise, or money is called his property. In the latter sense, a man has a property in his opinions and the free communication of them. He has a property of peculiar value in his religious opinions, and in the profession and practice dictated by them . . . He has an equal property in the free use of his faculties, and free choice of the objects on which to employ them. In a word, as a man is said to have a right to his property, he may be equally said to have a property in his rights. Where an excess of power prevails, property of no sort is duly respected. No man is safe in excess of liberty, the effect is the same . . . Government is instituted to protect property of every sort . . . This being the end of government . . . Conscience is the most sacred of all property; other property depending in part on positive law, the exercise of that being a natural and unalienable right . . . A just security to property is not afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species of property and reward another species . . .
There are two things that occur to me as I read this:
It is urgent in the preservation of Human Freedom that we honor the right to Property of Conscience. Individuals have a right to speak and live according to the dictates of their own conscience. You cannot make a pharmacist supply an “abortion” drug. You cannot force a hospital or doctor to provide abortions. You cannot force a business man to hire someone who practices homosexuality and force him to provide benefits for a homosexual “marriage.”
Taxes need to be spent for the benefit of all. Taxing one’s property with the intent of benefiting another is stealing. That is right Communism and Socialism are stealing! The “Welfare State” involves theft on a grand level. Building a road that everyone can use promotes the “general” welfare – this is acceptable. Providing food for an individual is “individual” welfare – this is unacceptable. Neither government nor the individual has the right to steal from one individual to provide for another.
Possible Objections:
What if one man’s conscience is in conflict with another’s? Then what? This is why we need God’s Law in the Bible – so that we can study and discern His Heart and His Ways and get His Wisdom about these things! God has also written His laws on the hearts of all men. (Romans 2:14-15) We can study this and see where mankind has created law consistent with God’s law! For example, there is no right in the Scriptures for same gender “marriage.” Additionally, human law and history show clearly that the ancient concept of marriage involves a man and a woman. We can recognize that this “law” is written on the hearts of men.
But wasn’t Jesus into helping the poor? There is no doubt in my mind that God requires us to love our neighbor. It is a duty of all men to aid one another in times of distress or need. The error comes when we put our focus on forcing one neighbor to aid another by stealing the one’s property and re-distributing it to another according to our own agenda. We will get much further in helping the poor when individuals are encouraged in this responsibility. We are each responsible, but we don’t have the right to steal property to get the job done. Those of us who follow Christ need to find and promote solutions that do not promote stealing or any other kind of violation of property. In other words, we each need to help the poor out of our own property!
I am convinced that the threats to Property of Conscience and Property in general are amongst the greatest threats to preserving Freedom for our children and our children’s children. The ideas of Socialism and the New Morality pose a significant threat to the human race! Am I saying everyone who espouses these ideas is evil? No, I will leave that approach to others. If all we do is offend our fellow human beings who have mistakenly embraced significant errors by labeling them we will get nowhere fast. Offense hardens a heart into it’s current position.
I do propose that we as Christians live out Freedom and act in Compassion to display real solutions to the world. Unfortunately, many of the ideas of Socialism have become common place, even among those who have no concept of where their ideas have come from. If all we do is tear down those ideas, the myth that “conservatives” don’t care about the poor and needy will continue. We do need to dispute socialist ideas, but we cannot do that only.
Our Solution?
Defend Property. Act in Compassion. Preserve Liberty.
Well, I’ve been blogging for almost a year now. I’ve learned a lot!
About me:
I don’t know as much as I thought I did.
I knew I didn’t know as much as I thought I knew, but now I know I knew even less than that! (Say that ten times while drunk).
I’m a bit of a lazy writer. I am embarrassed to admit it, but it is true. I wrote a few good posts, but too many are just paragraphs with links.
I don’t say everything I want to because I am afraid someone will use my commentary out of context. For example, I have many questions about our President that are unanswered but I tend to stick to the positive because the attitude “out there” is so negative and I don’t want to fuel the “Anti-Bush” movement with my doubts and questions.
My command of grammar, spelling, logic and writing has declined significantly since high school. This is embarrassing and discouraging.
About Blogging:
Writing good posts takes a lot of time and work.
Writing poor posts or “lame” ones is really easy.
The discussion with those who disagree is more interesting than with those who agree. Maybe that is why political “cross-fire” type shows are so popular. If we agree, what more is there to say than “thanks?” Yet I find myself afraid of inviting a lop-sided crowd that opposes my ideas to the discussion as well.
It is really tempting to start gearing oneself to get readers, rather than to write good posts.
It is hard to stick to the original vision and purpose of this blog!
It is hard to stay civil and stick to the type of discussion I value. The temptation and tendency to join the”dark side” which is more interested in labeling and putting down opponents than content is stronger than I thought. For the record, the “dark side” does not refer to a political persuasion but to the generally divisive nature of political discussion. The world views out there are so different and in some cases incompatible that it is difficult to have relevant discussion! It is easy to mock and insult.
The world of political discussion on the internet is more brutal and antagonistic even than a family gathering! (Is such a thing possible?) Sometimes it seems that the goal is to “defeat” ones opponent instead of to have challenging and useful discussion. I hope I haven’t gotten sucked into this. God help me! (I know He will) I have learned this via Digg.com and other blogs more than at my own. Most people here (even those who disagree with me) have kept things civil for the most part.)
I am not sure what to do about ads on my blog. I have experimented with Google Adsense, etc. but haven’t made hardly anything with it. I was hoping to just recover the costs of my webhost and domain names but have not come even close. Perhaps I’ll just delete them all. I don’t know.
Future goals (I don’t know when I will be able to attain them):
Write fewer yet higher quality posts.
Write more posts with content relevant to the main purpose of the blog – “freedom ideas.”
Learn how to do more quality research.
You know, I’d almost like to take a Journalism class at a Community College to see what I could learn.
Come up with a decent comment policy and learn what to allow and what not to. So far I pretty much allow everything and almost no-one has written anything too nasty anyways.
Thank you to all who visit here and have joined me on my Freedom Journey! I genuinely thank those who have consistently read and commented and I truly include those who do not agree with my perspective. The Bible talks about “Iron sharpening Iron” and I need sharpening! The vast majority of my discussions before blogging involved people who were significantly less informed than myself. I am enjoying and growing from the challenge of the blogosphere! I believe it will make me a better man with a clearer mind in the long run.
For now I am in Australia and the network I am using is a dial-up network shared by dozens of people. I can no longer download and use quality pictures in my posts! Yikes! So I am not sure how the next three months will look. I may or may not be able to do much.
If you visit this site I would strongly urge you to also check out the categories that are not necessarily political commentary. Some of the ideas stuff is better.
I remain dedicated to the basic idea that God desires humans to be free in their hearts, and also desires that they live in a free society. Internal Freedom and External Freedom. I know that if we can make people who are free on the inside (starting with myself!) we can produce a society with more freedom externally as well. Freedom can filter into business, education, arts, family, government, and all areas!
I am still Thirsty to be Truly Free! I want the same for my children and their children.
I am beginning to understand what it means to Thirst for Liberty! Freedomthirst!
, pp. 248A
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