Let Me Clarify

I discussed in my previous post the cost of Liberty. I wish to clarify. In previous generations countless men have laid down their lives to purchase Liberty for their country and their families. This is, perhaps obviously, the ultimate sacrifice. But what will be required of us? It is possible that my life, and the lives of others may be required, but I think there is a sacrifice which, in this day and age is almost as difficult for us, that I think is likely to be required of all of us. That is the sacrifice of our time and money, most importantly time. We are so busy in our day and age. So busy, and yet we hardly do anything. We spend all our time trying to make a living, spending the money we have on cars which don't last, clothes that are out of fashion before we pull them off the shelf, entertainment that is passing, and houses that many of us will never own, and most of us will not leave to our children. Those of us who are Christians spend time worshiping on Sunday, and perhaps some time during the week doing devotions and reading an occasional book. These pursuits are more lasting, but how much of our time do we actually spend on that as compared to our transitory obsessions? And indeed, I don't intend to say that only that which is eternal is relevant. Far from it. One of the chief things which I think we all should be doing is improving our minds and ourselves by extensive study and reading. Why?

I strongly believe that knowledge is power. If we are to win the battle before us, we must be well armed. Our chief weapons are our minds. These we must sharpen by study and application. This preparation requires sacrificing time and energy which could be used to improve our financial status, enjoy a movie, or drink a beer. (Though personally I think beer is a great companion to a good book) How many of us really understand the workings of our government, its history how it has developed, and the governmental theory and philosophy from which it has been devised? How many of us really understand free market capitalism, both in its strengths and its weaknesses, and understand the alternatives as well, how they have developed, the worldviews which they are based on, and why the do not work? How many of us understand the structure of our judicial system, how it has developed, and how it was originally intended to function?

We can not all be experts in everything. But we if we as a people are to remain free, we must understand what our government is doing, and the long term import of policies and worldviews. I will go into this in more depth in my next post.

My disorganization in this post is profound.

The next area which we must sacrifice is in the training of our children. They are the next generation of leaders, and we handicap them if, after spending all this time and energy educating ourselves, we force them to do the same thing by not passing on that which we have learned. I will expand on this more another time.

The last way I will address right now which we must sacrifice, is by participating in the function of our society and government. We must actively support good candidates, even if it is only in our discussions. We must educate ourselves on the various candidates and their views on the issues at stake. We must run for office ourselves. Political offices should not be filled by lifetime politicians, they ought to be filled by true civil servants. Our governmental system was never intended to provide political careers. I strongly feel that one of the greatest plagues on our government is the career politician. It is a pest which must be eradicated. Again, I have taken on so much in this post that there is no way I can discuss all of it in any detail whatsoever, but term limits on EVERY politician must be put into place. We must be willing to step up, even if it's not what we would prefer to be doing, and run for office at the local and state level. Societies are changed from the bottom up and so are governments.

Once again my thoughts have simply flowed freely onto the keyboard rather than being organized in any cohesive form. But perhaps I paint a picture for you of the sacrifices which Liberty requires of us. We must be willing from time to time to lay down our ambitions, our energies, and our time, in order to fight for the precious Liberty which our fathers gave to us. And we must do so because if we do not, all our time, our energies, and our ambitions will ultimately be spent in vain.