No one ever said it would be easy.
What is easy, is to get discouraged.
We know academically that we have faced obstacles before and we know that we got through them because our predecessors did not give up and did not get discouraged. Many risked and sacrificed and many gave the ultimate sacrifice.
It is hard to be a Republican and hard to be a conservative. And the opposite is true…it is easy to take the path of least resistance. The late great Fulton Sheen used to say, “even a dead body can float downstream.” Rick Warren gave up the fight. His predecessor Billy Graham (both great men) chose to not engage in the fight. The Pope is one of the few in the international stage that is taking the blows (for abortion, gay marriage, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning).
We have been handed the challenge of our generation. It is fighting back a popular president and his popular uprising. It is sticking up for LIFE, when the world seems to have thrown in the towel. It is fighting to maintain the laws, structure and the tenets that have made America the country that it is. It is defending the family.
We know we will be successful, although we can’t see that direct path just yet. But God doesn’t reward us for being successful, as a nun friend always reminds me, He rewards us for being faithful. God will take care of the success.
I spent last night at a tea party rally. It was much as I expected, a working class, polite, patriotic crowd. About 4000+ people of all ages. Republicans, Independents, Libertarians. I sensed some discouragement, but I sensed considerable energy. We are not focused yet. Our message is all over the board…from stimulus, to affirming our Christian heritage, to health care, to socialism, to fighting terror, to tax and spend liberalism and to immigration…it is hard to nail down exactly what we need to do.
In the end, it is politics that triumphs in a Republic. As long as Nancy Pelosi is writing legislation that will affect the next two generations, grass roots will end up solving nothing. We need to elect moral leaders that share our founding fathers vision of America (and the vision shared by every president since before LBJ and including Ronald Reagan, George(s) Bush).
I find it hard to believe that any of the 4000 in that stadium last night did not vote this past November, but statistically a good number - 10-20% - did not. We need to do better.
We need to motivate and recruit. We need to register new voters that share our principles and we need to 'GET OUT THE VOTE IN 2010.' All the letters, the talk, the tea parties will be of no use if we cannot win back the Congress.
It is also important that we nail down our arguments. We need to know EXACTLY why we are opposed to abortion or stem cell research or immigration amnesty or high taxes. We need to win over the next generation to an understanding of the risks to America that the current course and speed is imposing.
In the end, we know we will be successful. And we will soon see how that path evolves. It may not be easy or pleasant or fun…but it is hard work and it must be done. Keep the FAITH !!!
Submitted by D. B. Jackson
1 comment:
I agree with your assessment of Billy Graham as a "great man," in the context of his devotion to Christ. It is true that he did not take stands on some issues and compromised on others but his body of work must speak for itself. Generally, he was a solid, conservative, Christian.
I would not characterize Rick Warren as great in any sense of the word...except book sales. Warren as a talent for self-promotion, in my opinion. I'm not saying that he is totally without sincerity but that his waffly Christianity lends itself to not taking hard stands on anything.
I am speaking as an evangelical of Warren's own denomination.
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