Federal Over-reach Part 2: Bundy Ranch Commentary

19 04 2014

Quite a few friends and acquaintances have been asking for my take on the Bundy Ranch controversy in Nevada.  I have reserved much response until I felt I could express an honest and educated opinion.   I’ve read a lot of reports, watched a few video reports, and since I don’t get Fox News I haven’t seen much reporting on television that I can depend on to give any kind of honest critique that isn’t skewed by a pro-Obama, pro-Progressive ideology.  Today an article came across my screen that helped clarify the situation for me.  Even though I am “Johnny Come Lately” to the discussion, here goes!

As you know, the BLM backed down from a 2 week long standoff with the Bundy Family and a crowd of protesting supporters, some armed, some unarmed.  I was

Standoff in Nevada: Bundy supporters vs. BLM Rangers via Human Events

personally relieved to hear this news.  I really did not expect the Feds to de-escalate the situation.  Here we are burgeoning on the anniversary dates of Waco, Columbine, and the Oklahoma City bombing.  The recent KKK lunatic who attacked the Jewish Center’s in Kansas City, attempting to kill Jews and killing 3 Christians instead, has now added to the “weirdness” of April, not to mention Adolph Hitler’s birthday and Earth Day.  It would have been true to form had a backfiring truck engine, or an accidental weapon discharge initiated a massacre, similar to Wounded Knee.  Of course, as Senator Harry Reid cautioned, This ain’t over.  He is right about that.  But thankfully, a potential powder keg was diffused.

Speaking of Harry Reid, there are all kinds of strange ties and accusations flying about concerning his interests in the Bundy case.  Most of those ties lead to Chinese interests.  The Communist China energy giants China Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and Sinopec have already bought large interests in almost 28 million acres of US petroleum development, all since Obama took office, reversing a Bush administration policy blocking China based on national security concerns.  (For reference that is half the size of the state of Iowa!) Chinese corporation ENN Energy Group, an alternative energy giant, is connected to a solar panel farm in Clark County Nevada, the same county as the Bundy Ranch, but not the same property.  Harry Reid’s son happens to work for ENN Energy.  (More on the Reid/China connection here at WND and this YouTube video)

Then there’s Reid’s connection to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).  Former staffer for Harry Reid is Neil Kornze, now the head of BLM.  At the ripe age of 35, he has spent his career in government since college, probably never getting any dirt on his shoes.  None of this really bodes well for Harry.

My real concern is that the BLM, supposedly an environmental impact and administrative management office, is hiring contractors to confiscate private property (cattle) when they are not trained or equipped to manage or provide for the health and welfare of those cattle causing many of them to die (reportedly young calves were separated from their mothers during the gathering, mostly by helicopters), and shooting others outright.  Add to that the deployment of paramilitary spec-ops type “Rangers” who are directly employed by BLM, for the purpose of enforcement against private citizens.  (The Rangers were deployed before the militia or the crowd of protesting supporters arrived).

In a recent letter, dated April 15, and addressed to the President of the United States, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Director of the BLM, Texas Congressman Steve Stockman challenged the Administration, citing US Code that the BLM has no authority “to assume peremptory police powers, that role being reserved to the States” and that the federal government must “seek assistance from local law enforcement whenever the use of force may become necessary.”  Rep. Stockman goes further pointing out that it appears the the Secretary of the Interior has violated federal law by by-passing the local law enforcement offices.  Read Stockman’s letter here.

Whether Bundy is guilty of trespass, failure to pay fees, or whatever, this obvious over-reach by a federal administrative office seeking to enforce law by use of deadly force, or “peremptory police powers”, is very, very, dangerous.   The BLM spent over $3 million on the Bundy standoff.  According to documentary film-maker Dennis M. Lynch, he has not seen this much firepower deployed on the Southern border where drugs and people are routinely smuggled across.   “I never see the M-16’s down on the border stopping the drugs, and the terrorists, and the day laborers coming through on BLM property,” he says in this video.  Please watch it.  The BLM spent over $3 million on air and ground resources to lock down a piece of ground the size of Delaware.  This to confiscate 400 cattle with a current estimated value of about $350K which they then released.

Commentator Dana Loesch had this to say (via Human Events story “Cowmaggeddon“):

Dana Loesch also says mainstream media reporting about the immediate cause of the government’s futile cattle roundup is incorrect, as Cliven Bundy has not categorically refused to pay grazing fees:

“Those who say Bundy is a “deadbeat” are making inaccurate claims. Bundy has in fact paid fees to Clark County, Nevada in an arrangement pre-dating the BLM. The BLM arrived much later, changed the details of the setup without consulting with Bundy — or any other rancher — and then began systematically driving out cattle and ranchers. Bundy refused to pay BLM, especially after they demanded he reduce his [herd]’s head count down to a level that would not sustain his ranch.

Bundy OWNS the water and forage rights to this land. He paid for these rights. He built fences, established water ways, and constructed roads with his own money, with the approval of Nevada and BLM. When BLM started using his fees to run him off the land and harassing him, he ceased paying. So should BLM reimburse him for managing the land and for the confiscation of his water and forage rights?”

Then you can throw in a term called “prescriptive rights” and it is possible that Bundy may have a legal position that BLM is afraid of, according to this story on Benswaan.com.  According to Todd Devlin, a Montana rancher, and county commissioner with real working contacts in the Dept of Interior having taught workshops for the agency in the past, prescriptive right is similar to an easement across another property owner in order to access yours. I’ll let you read Ben Swaan’s story for yourself to understand it better.  Devlin also said the amount owed by Bundy is probably closer to $200K than the $1.1 million that BLM wants, which most likely is comprised of penalties and fines for trespass cattle.  Devlin went to BLM to find out why they weren’t using other channels to work with Bundy.  He said the logical and conventional means of collecting such debt is to place a lien on the cattle.  This will prohibit the sanctioned owner from selling the cattle. It’s kind of like the IRS garnishing your paycheck, or the bank imposing a lien on your car.  When asked why the BLM hadn’t placed a lien on the cattle in question, they responded, “We hadn’t thought of that…” But they are considering it now.

Wow…

I won’t even go into the “Free Speech Zones” that were cordoned off by BLM for the express purpose and intent of containing the citizens who were exercising their right of grievance against the government in a peaceful protest.  Silly me.  I thought America was a “free speech zone”…

 

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Navy SEAL Team 6 Families Need Answers

10 07 2013

This is old news, but people I bring it up to are short on information concerning this event.

Details are sorely lacking concerning call sign “Extortion 17”, the ill-fated mission where a Chinook helicopter was shot down with 38 personnel on  August 6, 2011, while coming into a “hot” landing zone where an Army Ranger unit had been engaged in a firefight for over 3 hours.  Extortion 17 was over a year prior to the scandalous cover-up of events surrounding Benghazi, Libya, where 4 more Americans were killed by a terrorist attack at the American Consulate.  Unlike Benghazi, there were no survivors of the shoot-down and subsequent crash.  However, the Benghazi witnesses have yet to be asked to provide any accounts for that attack, and there are so many holes in the “official” report from the US Military on Extortion 17, that the families are demanding a Congressional inquest.  The 1250 page report was published and then quickly pulled offline and Military personnel were requested to retrieve the CD version from the families, but “declined to avoid suspicion.”  These excerpts from Human Events gives a brief backdrop for the video.

‘ “On May 3, 2011 Vice President Joseph R. “Joe” Biden Jr., leaked confidential information to the media that jeopardized the lives of all Navy SEALs and their families,” said Karen L. Vaughn, mother of deceased U.S. Navy SEAL Aaron C. Vaughn…

“Aaron, who was a member of SEAL Team Six, was aboard the doomed CH47-D Chinook helicopter,” she said…

A former team leader at SEAL Team Six who spoke to Human Events under the condition of anonymity said, “There is no question that Biden’s outrageous bragging outed the operators of SEAL Team Six. By throwing the spotlight on the Team, he put lives in jeopardy. The SEALs on Extortion One-Seven paid the price.”

All passengers on board were killed which included 22 American special operations personnel, three members of the U.S. Air Force, five Army National Guardmen and Army Reserve crewmen, seven Afghan commandos and one Afghan interpreter.

Biden publicly confirmed that it was SEAL Team Six, who raided and killed Osama Bin Laden just two days prior, Vaughn said. “My son called to tell me there was chatter about revenge.”

The vice president’s outburst is unacceptable, she said. “Biden created a media circus surrounding a highly secretive team. He should be in prison for high crimes and treason.”

In this “short version” 13 minute video you will see some of the parents of our lost SEAL’s and the accompanying troops and helicopter crew at a press conference held on May 9, 2013.  You can watch the full 3 hour press conference here at Trentovision where you will see people like Col. Allen West, Rep. Louis Golmert, Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, along with many other retired military, US Representatives, and many of the parents of the men KIA in this mission.  The government response to their questions is an outrage.

As the father of a U. S. Marine who has served with honor in Afghanistan, I can assure you that if my son had died there I would not rest until I knew all the facts surrounding his loss.  These families deserve better than what this Government has provided them.  Watch this video and come to your own conclusion.  H/T Western Center for Journalism

SEAL Team Six Coverup

 





The Myth of “Self Radicalization” and the Fallacy of “Radical Islam” – Part 2 of “Jihad? No Jihad Here…”

10 05 2013

Media Trilobites continue to bump into and feed each other nonsensical buzz words that become trendy for a few weeks and are eventually absorbed into the pop culture lexicon.  These phrases or terms may lie dormant for ages until suddenly they’re on every television commentator’s lips.  If we can’t find a word in the English language to spin up to instant glory, we’ll borrow one from another language.  Al Gore did just that when he described himself as having “gravitas” during his run for the White House. Nearly instantaneously, every talking head in the country was using the heavy Latin word, until finally Chris Mathews commented that Barack Obama’s gravitas caused a tingle to run up his leg.  It kinda lost its punch after that.

But the real point here is the incessant blathering about “self radicalized” terrorists, specifically the brothers Tsarnaev, better known as the Boston Bombers, who are responsible for nearly 270 maimed, wounded, or dead.

Disregarding the obvious elephant in the room, both the government and the media, began hunting for fleas and swatting at gnats.  “Whatever could be the reason for this horrendous tragedy?”  The story line continued for hours into days that this had to be the work of some “right wing extremists”, and even the President floated a hint or two about April 15th being “tax day”, of course insinuating it was a right-wing tax protest, obviously connected to the Tea Party, just like so many other terrorist related events have been linked to them.  Like the first bombing of the World Trade Center back in ’93; no wait, that was Islamic jihad.  Oh, like the 911 attacks when Tea Party members flew passenger airliners into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, and were headed for the White House; oh…sorry, those were Islamic jihadist hijackers. Well, like the DC Snipers who terrorized the city for 3 weeks in 2002; no wait, they were Islamic also.  Well then there was the White Supremacist, Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad, who killed one soldier and wounded another in front of the recruiting office in Arkansas in 2009; sorry, again Islamic jihad.

Well…there are so many events that are known to have connections to “conservative right wing Christian radicals” such as: The Fort Hood Massacre when that Christian shooter yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ as he gunned down 40 people, killing 13.  The 2009 Riverdale New York bomb plot planned by 4 radical Tea Party grandma’s, the Times Square Bomber who had his SUV full of propane tanks and fireworks (surely some redneck like Larry the Cable Guy), the “Fort Dix Six”, the “Underwear Bomber”, the “Shoe Bomber”, etcetera ad nauseam.

My, my, what could it be? What ever could it be that is initiating all these attacks and plots?

[According to this Congressional report, there have been well over 60 successful, attempted, or plotted Islamic Jihad Terrorist attacks on US soil since 9-11-2001.]

Of course, most of these were played off as “Lone Wolf” scenarios where the terrorist was “self-radicalized”.

Listening to all the ‘crack investigative reporters and hard-hitting journalists’, one could come to the conclusion that these guys just must wake up one morning and “self-radicalize” deciding today is a good day to kill some people’.

This term is a copout for lazy journalists and downright deceiving when used by anyone.  A person cannot “self-radicalize” any more than “self-socialize”.  There must be a cause, a mentor, or an ideology that brings a person to the point that he is willing to, no, compelled to kill random people that he doesn’t even know.

That mentor, in many cases, is a spiritual leader.  That cause, or ideology, which is that rather enormous and obnoxious “elephant in the room” that none of the trilobites are willing to discuss?  Islam.

Forget Islam as a Religion

The sooner Americans refuse to continue accepting Islam as a viable and peaceful “religion” and begin to view it as the sociopolitical ideology that it truly is, the greater the possibility the America will survive its onslaught.

The root problem for America is not that Islam has come to colonize her, which it has, but the fact that we have allowed “multi-culturalism” (immigration without assimilation) and “pluralism” (all cultures, ideologies, realities are equal) to progress unchecked resulting in a “balkanized” or “tribal” society wherein competing ideologies are viewed as co-equal.  Not all ideologies are conducive to civilized society, nor are they consistent with the basic premise of freedom, as established in America’s founding documents.

If I were to try to convince you that Germany’s National Socialism (Nazism) is a peaceful ideology that was hijacked by a few “self radicalized” individuals, resulting in the holocaust, you’d laugh in my face.  Well, that’s a pretty good comparison: You have a ‘prophet’ by the name of Hitler who sought to consolidate power under a banner of a unified ideology by clearing the field of competing ideologies, and went to war in order to stoke the economy and gain control of more land area.  Had Muhammad access to German weapons of mass destruction he would certainly not have hesitated to use them.   Hitler’s Holocaust resulted in an estimated 11 Million deaths, many of which were communist (because Karl Marx was Jewish), mentally or physically handicapped, Jehovah’s Witness, homosexual, or Christian leaders such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer who refused to place their names upon the “Aryan Clause” and become “Reich Churches” to do the bidding of the “almighty Fuhrer”.   But his “Final Solution” for 6 million Jews had already been proven and prescribed by Islam’s prophet Muhammad in the Arabian Peninsula 1400 years prior in places with such names as Banu Quaraysa and Khaybar, where Muhammad slaughtered unarmed male prisoners and enslaved the girls, and women, finally appropriating all Jewish property to Muslims.

Both economies required perpetual war.  (The fundamental Islamic world view is “Dar al-Islam” or Dar al-Harb: The world is divided and you either dwell in the “House of Islam”, where Islam rules, or you dwell in the “House of War” and are subject to Jihad.)

Both ideologies have religious overtones (Hitler was worshipped and given a godlike status).  Both ‘prophets’ were consumed with power.  Both cultures fostered distrust and suspicion (Gestapo was everywhere and anyone who challenged the Prophet was dealt with harshly.)  Both Nazism and Islam are fundamentally racist.   Neither can compete philosophically with opposing values, absent of an oppressive legal system or war.

Consider the following argument:

“Well, you know those “Brown Shirts” are really not as bad as the SS or Gestapo.  Now those SS are some evil dudes.  SS are the real “radical” Nazi’s.  The Brownshirts might beat you up but those SS will kill you!  We really need to reach out to those individuals and find out why they hate us so much.  But most of the Nazi’s are moderate.  They aren’t violent at all.  Sure, they go to the rallies where Hitler is speaking, but they’re just normal folks like you and me!  They want the same for their families as we all want.  Yeah, Nazism is actually a very patriotic and peaceful ideology, it’s just been hijacked by some radicals who seek to politicize it, and destroy property and kill people and take their property in the name of this peaceful movement.” 

Well, as you can see this defense of Nazism just doesn’t fly!  Ironically, this is the exact apologetic defense that Islam gets from not only the American mainstream media, but from our government as well!

“Self Radicalization”

This term makes about as much sense as “Obamacare”.  An individual who is willing to commit a violent act of mass murder and mayhem in the name of his god, or any other cause, is soaked in an ideology which is taught or programmed into a person’s psyche.  That ideology doesn’t simply spawn in the mind of the perpetrator.  It comes from someone else, whether through print or other media; from a teacher, guide or mentor.  But the term “self radicalize” is specifically designed to deflect attention from that aforementioned ‘elephant’ sitting in the middle of the room.

Islam is that ideology and it can be taught by other people or the documents themselves, the Koran, Hadith, and countless commentaries and books of Islamic scholars (such as Seyyid Qutb) may be read and studied by the individual, even to the point of the student acting upon those teachings.  Tamerlan Tsarnaev did not “self-radicalize” anymore than Nidal Hasan or Osama bin Ladin.  He was taught.  He was taught the purest form of Islam, the Fundamentals of Islam. He believed it, he consumed it, and finally it consumed him.  His actions were based on his faith in his Scriptures (Koran), his prophet (Muhammad), and his god (Allah).

“We Love Death more than You Love Life”

The first victim of Islam is the Muslim.  Islam is, as I have pointed out before, a Great Black Beast.  It will consume everyone in its path if left unchecked, until finally there is no competing religion or ideology permitted.  There is a creed that surfaces occasionally when studying the Islamic culture which is so shaped by the obligatory act of jihad: “We love death more than you love life.” It has been a part of Islam since its earliest doctrines were formulated during that period immediately following Muhammad’s death in 632 (AD). This is that age of Islamic conquest the four “Rightly Guided Caliphs”, It is used by Hamas in their propaganda media.  It was recently used in a letter to the British government by six terrorists who pleaded guilty of planning an attack on the EDL last year.   It was repeated by the Madrid terrorists and actually earned a slide in a power point presentation by Nidal Hassan prior to his jihad attack which resulted in 13 dead and 32 wounded at Fort Hood, Texas. Islam is the largest death cult in the world. Those countries and regions where Islam rules unchecked are anything but bastions of freedom.

CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) came up with a new word in order to try to embarrass and defeat anyone who opposes Islam.  They have been quite successful in defining the Islamic narrative in the United States.  That word is “Islamophobia”. The goal is to paint opposition to Islam as bigoted, racist, and xenophobic.  It doesn’t stick.  Sorry CAIR, I am not afraid of Islam, I am not a racist, nor am I a bigot.   But I will tell you what true “Islamophobia” is.  Just as the word says, “Fear of Islam”.  But CAIR has misplaced the word.

Islamophobia is when a free press self-censors for fear of offending Muslims and consequential retribution from Islam.

Islamophobic is a government which refuses to name the enemy in a war which has been declared on the United States of America by the collective ideology called Islam, for fear of political influence of CAIR, ISNA, ICNA among Islamic organizations, and fear the Saudi’s will pull out of Wall Street and crash our economy.

Islamophobic is a White House which is more interested in “winning the hearts and minds” of a sworn enemy than defeating him, while Islamic groups like CAIR and the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference) filter every training manual and terrorism report issued by the Pentagon.

Islamophobia is when a military acquiesces to the demands of that same sworn enemy to deny Christian or Jewish religious ministry to its own soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen on sovereign soil of our military bases in Afghanistan, but allows an Imam to pray over our dead SEAL’s at Baghram AFB, damning their souls in the name of Allah.

Islamophobic is a President who is more interested in punishing the producer of a two-bit video “slandering the prophet” than he is about punishing those who murdered 4 Americans in Benghazi, Libya in a jihad attack, for fear that he will lose the upcoming election if he offends Muslims.  THAT, my friends is “Islamophobia”.

In the words of Billy Vaughn, father of Aaron Vaughn, one of 26 Navy Seals killed in the “Extorsion 17” helo crash in Wardok Province in 2012, “When you hide the truth, you become part of the lie.”

Americans must face the truth.  We have allowed our government and our media to hide the truth. We have hidden our own faces from the truth.  The ideology that is Islam is fundamentally, and diametrically opposed to America and all that she stands for.





What Does Marxism Look Like? Retired Green Beret Lt. General knows

23 03 2012

In this video entitled “Marxism in America” General Jerry Boykin discusses his background and training in understanding Marxist insurgencies and how current government actions parallel Marxist tactics.





Who’s Defining the Islamic Narrative in the USA?

26 10 2011

Terrorist affiliates such as CAIR and MPAC, that’s who.  

And you’ll not hear about it on domestic media outlets.  Deputy U. S. Attorney General James Cole announced yesterday that he has ordered all law enforcement and security training manuals recalled in order to eliminate all references to Islam.

Why?  CAIR and MPAC doesn’t like it! 

Sounds harmless enough…until you realize CAIR was listed as an “Un-indicted Co-conspirator” in the largest single terrorism trial in United States history.  CAIR is a known Muslim Brotherhood front group and was named in the “Holy Land Foundation“(headquartered in Richardson, TX) trial in 2008, as funneling American money to HAMAS. Who is CAIR?  Council on American Islamic Relations.

CAIR was the Islamist group which filed a lawsuit against Oklahoma after that state’s residence voted overwhelmingly in favor of a Constitutional Amendment that would block usage of Sharia Law in the state of Oklahoma.

CAIR is at the forefront in the Islamic colonization of America, and has filed numerous lawsuits against a plethora of businesses, governments, and media figures who oppose their agenda and speak out against them.  Pam Geller is one such target. Her blog “Atlas Shrugs” (on my blogroll) has been on the cutting edge of educating America on the dangers of Sharia.  She, along with the attorney for Rifqa Bary, (a Muslim girl in Ohio who converted to Christianity and feared her life was in danger from her family) was sued by a CAIR attorney for $10 million damages for defamation.  

CAIR is also pursuing the U. S. Military for tolerating intolerance of American Muslim soldiers by fellow soldiers, in the shadow of the Ft. Hood shooting by Nidal Hasan in 2009 and the more recent threat at Ft. Hood by the AWOL Nasser Jason Abdo.  

So who is MPAC?  Muslim Political Affairs Council.

This is the group who trains Transportation and Safety Officers (TSO’s) how to give halal pat downs to Muslim travelers.  According to this article by Arutz 7, the MPAC President threatened the FBI with cutting off cooperation between the American Muslim community and Law Enforcement if the manuals were not revised.

The article goes on to say,

“Ties between CAIR and MPAC, both of whom have been guests of honor at numerous Federal events and symposiums, and Obama administration dinners, are well documented. Both organizations are members of the American Muslim Political Coordination Council, which seek to coordinate political advocacy efforts.”

Can it be any more clear where the Islamic narrative in America is coming from?

 

 

 





911 Memorial Video

11 09 2011

John Guandolo enters the musical world with this song that he wrote a few years ago and just released for 9/11/11.  I have included a few photos for a memorial experience. If you would like to download John’s song visit this link. I think you will be moved by it.





Dedicated to Those Who Gave All

30 05 2011

I wrote this poem many years ago after taking my family to visit the portable version of the Vietnam Memorial Wall which was visiting our town. It is called the “Moving Wall” because it is portable. However, it was emotionally one of the most ‘moving’ experiences of my life. Even though these verses were inspired by those valiant Americans whose names are engraved on that black wall, it is nonetheless a tribute to each and every person who has ever died in the service of our country. When this was written, my son whom I mentioned was about 6. He is now a 25 year old United States Marine Corps Reserve, and an Afghan vet.   He is my hero.

The Wall

I saw your name the other day
While reading the local news.
It said you played a good ball game,
Your last year, and you’ve paid your dues.

I saw your name then sometime later,
Graduation day had come.
You walked up proud and took the scroll
That your hard work had won.

I saw your name in another season
And smiled to myself as I read
Of a young married couple just starting out
With a promise and dreams ahead.

I saw your name a few months later
But this time it worried me.
Your name, and others, on a long list
Training for war overseas.

I saw your name and uttered a prayer
For you and your young family.
I knew of your character and duty-bound love
For country, for God, and for me.

I saw your name and thought of your father
Who fought in another time.
And he, just like you, hated to leave
His wife, and new son behind.

I saw your name just yesterday
And my heart broke as mist filled my eyes.
You were killed with some buddies while out on patrol
Where many a good young man dies.


I saw your name again just today
And all of your comrades’ as well,
Where flags fly high and monuments stand
With more stories than words can tell.

I saw your name on a glossy black wall
And as my throat became tight,
My chest swelled slightly with pride for a man
Who thought freedom was well worth the fight.

I saw your name in the deep black reflection
of the face of my dearest young son,
And prayed he would never be called on to go,
But would cherish the liberty won.

I saw your name and wondered just how
I might thank your family,
For sacrifice made for people unknown,
As well as my family, and me.

I saw your name and thought that perhaps
Despite lack of glory and fame,
It may be enough to think of you now,
And tell them that I saw your name.

Copyright (All rights Reserved)





Euramerika: Part ll; The Matrix

14 03 2010

There have been, in the course of American History, different periods of development; an “evolution” or “progression” if you will, of our society. Today’s American citizenry would not recognize the Founders’ America any clearer than those American Founders would recognize today’s society. We exist on the same Continental soil, but beyond that, pitiful little have we in common.

Those periods of societal evolution can be traced, in large part, to a few historical events that had prodigious effects on American society, both politically and culturally. We shall explore only the most obvious of those in the next two installments for the sake of brevity.

Of course, to begin at the beginning, we must precede the beginning.

The Colonial Period:  The Mayflower Compact was the first document in the New World which set forth and outlined the commitment to rule of law and self governance for the good of society, in the absence of a ruling power. (While they agreed to status of “loyal subjects of the King” of Britain, the Pilgrims were on their own, as there was no pre-existing structure of government and law enforcement.) Only the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God” would be enforceable in this wilderness settlement for several years, until the Colony became established. Survival was the immediate goal; all else would become secondary. Self governance of the individual would become the key to the survival of the community.

This principle carried through the entire colonial period and served to galvanize the American culture as the frontier was settled. As the Colonies became more prosperous, the British Crown exacted more governance, the end of which was the eight year long American Revolutionary War and subsequent independence.

Post Revolution: The ratification of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights emphasized those same principles of self governance, delineating the limitations of Federal government, and charging the Federal and State governments with protecting and preserving the rights of the individual. Continuing the American tradition of “Rule of Law”, the individual citizen continues to recognize the importance of self control and the intrinsic value of citizenship. Not “citizenship” as in simply “born in America” therefore due an equal portion, but citizenship as in exercising ones God given rights,  not to mention ones duty, in civil matters as well as socially. The cooperation of responsible individuals makes for responsible communities.  Likewise, the responsible community holds the individual accountable, and the personal accountability is rooted in belief and faith in a Supreme Deity which is the ultimate Judge and Lawgiver. In Western civilization, that faith foundation is and has been for Millennia, Judeo-Christian.

James Madison, Member of the 1st Congress and 4th President of the United States said this concerning self governance: “The future of America lies not in the Constitution, or anything but our ability to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.”  That sentiment is echoed in the words of former Speaker of the House (1847-1849) Robert Winthrop: “Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.

John Adams, the 2nd President had this to say, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people; it is wholly inadequate to the governance of any other.” This was not an uncommon sentiment in early America. In fact, it had so saturated American culture that in 1838 the New York State Legislature issued this statement:

With us it is wisely ordered that no one religion shall be established by law, but that all persons shall be left free in their choice and in their mode of worship. Still, this is a Christian nation. Ninety-nine hundredths, if not a larger proportion, of our whole population, believe in the general doctrines of the Christian religion. Our Government depends for its being on the virtue of the people, — on that virtue that has its foundation in the morality of the Christian religion; and that religion is the common and prevailing faith of the people. “[Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States, Developed in the Official and Historical Annals of the Republic, 1864, B.F. Morris]

Can you imagine any governing body today, let alone a state legislature, issuing such a statement?!

This was the period (early to mid-1800’s) known as the “Second Great Awakening”; when Christian Revival swept across the land. It lasted up into the Civil War years. (“The Great Awakening” was 100 years earlier, fostered by missionaries and itinerate preachers like Charles Finney and David Brainerd.)

The Civil War/War Between the States: The war that divided America was a particularly horrendous event, which if Europe had not been previously devastated by war itself, could very well have been used by European nations to regain the entire North American Continent.  This time in American history has always been a point of fascination for me personally.

The technological advances of weaponry during the Civil War were so rapid that the antiquated tactics of massing forces to take a battlefield resulted in massive bloodshed. Casualties would mount into the tens of thousands during a single battle. Three days of fighting at Gettysburg in 100 degree July heat would result in 51,000 casualties; dead, wounded, or missing from both sides. “The Bloodiest Day” at Antietam Creek saw 26,000 Americans dead or wounded. Sometimes it took weeks to bury the dead.

This was the most horrendous 4 years in American history. Over 600,000 American soldiers, North and South, died during this time. That is more than all the subsequent wars fought since, combined.

The newest journalistic tool in 1862 was the camera. Matthew Brady exposed hundreds of plates burnishing the images of bloated dead American men, many where he found them on the field, into the minds of civilians who never heard a shot fired. These images haunt us yet today.  Find them. Study them.

I once heard a historian say that the Civil War defined us as a people. I disagree. I believe this was a tragedy of such magnitude that America became shell shocked and never fully understood who she was afterward. This war was not fought on some remote field in another land; it happened on our front lawns, our corn fields, and in our living rooms. We witnessed it first hand; saw our sons butchered in muddy ditches that drained into creeks thickened with their blood. We picked up their severed body parts from among our dead livestock. Our brothers returned maimed for life, and many of our fathers and husbands simply never came home.  Hunger and disease took its toll on civilians across the land. America never recovered from this emotional trauma. [Note: The Civil War was a politically complicated affair and had the Confederacy gained its independence as a sovereign nation, there would certainly have been another war (over western expansion) that could very well have been much worse than what was.]

The economic destruction from the war was no less debilitating if not crippling. Politically, a sea change had occurred as a result of the Civil War. A stronger and much more centralized Federal government sprang forth from the ashes and was fertilized by the stench of death. Perhaps most importantly, the spiritual breath had been knocked out of American society.  The faith of the American people had been shaken; their resolve and purpose brought into question, and answers were in short supply.

As a result, for the next 3 decades, many Americans trying to put the war years behind them, turned westward.  Whatever happened in Washington or the East was of little or no concern to a war weary population.  Homestead land allotments offered many Americans their first taste of government subsidization. The taste was sweet. The promise of a new start was even sweeter in “your America”.








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