Un-American?

From a good friend of mine and a good man. He said:

"I just read an article wherein Nancy Pelosi said that people who were crying out about the health care package were 'extremist' and 'mob-like'. She actually described them as 'Un-American'."

A few other thoughts in the form of questions:

*Isn’t the way we are rising up against a political agenda actually the way that we became AMERICA??

*Is Nancy Pelosi so far out of touch with reality that she doesn’t know about the Boston Tea Party?

*To compound matters, the MSM (Main stream Media) is reporting her comment without a proper rebuttal. If a republican had made a statement like that, wouldn’t the press feel obligated to put a negative spin on it?

*Why are regular people, who are speaking highly articulated concerns at town halls, being referred to as 'astroturf' by Ms. Pelosi?

*How is it that a mere concerned citizenry is being labeled as 'radical' and accused of practicing 'mob tactics'? Are they suggesting that any dissent, even if it is a well-spoken logical question, is a 'mob tactic'?

*If you get a little frustrated and visibly perturbed when someone with a microphone at a town hall meeting is repeating things that logically do not make sense, over and over, does that justify your comparison to a 'mob'?

*Have we forgotten the silence of Ms. Pelosi in years past when her anti-war activists were performing mash-pit-rave-concert-style rushing of political stages, meetings, and conventions? Did she ever comment on the blood pouring on war memorials? Where was her press release when 'progressives' burst into sessions of congress to throw blood on anyone who didn't move out of their way? How about the disrespect shown at military funerals by anti-war protesters? Where was her 'leadership' then?

*Where was Ms. Pelosi when a plot was uncovered (people were actually arrested in a raid before they could carry out the attack) to throw acid on members of the 2008 Republican National Convention as they made their way into the convention center in Minneapolis? Was that un-American Ms. Pelosi?

So let's get this straight: if we get mad - at all - about the current health care debate (or the fact that the Obama administration essentially wishes not to have one), we are un-American?

This reform was pushed on us so fast, we hardly had a chance to say "what?" Why does it take years to prosecute known felons or months to overturn a speeding ticket, but a trillion dollar plus health care bill must be passed in a few weeks? Why the rush?

Also....uh...where is the logic here? That's right: there isn't any.

"It is error alone that needs the support of government. The truth can stand by itself."

~Thomas Jefferson

Speaking of quotes, my #1 quote of all time is this:

"The true task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there."

~John Buchan

As a young Marine, I read this quote in a classy pamphlet about becoming a Marine Officer. I remember the day precisely. My first thought, after a brief reflection, was that it represented an approach to leadership drastically different from a ram-it-down-the-throat style.

In my youth, at times I felt fairly unproductive and that my life was just a repeating cycle of frustration. I wasn't directing my energies (and maybe a little aggression) at the right things, or at least in the right way.

Knowing the context of leadership, the real stuff in how to define it, would have allowed me better focus. My problem was that I didn't know that I was broken. Not only was I not a leader, I didn't even have some of the basic principles down pat - some of them I had never even discovered.

But I will say this, when I saw others practicing good leadership, I seemed to gravitate toward them. It felt right. Wherever they were going seemed to make sense, and being associated with them not only felt good - it was good. They were always sucessful.

On the flip side of that, many times though as a youth I was just mad at people or things that were attempting to control me. I couldn't stand being controlled by people who didn't seem to stand for anything that seemed to be meaningful. In high school I hated the 'everyone wins-don't-ever-get-mad' ideology, where essentially nothing was worth fighting for - the only great idea was always to just do as you were told.

The Marines changed that in me (except I did as I was told, at least most of the time). From day one I saw that when Marines said something, they backed it up. Outside of my parents and a handful of inspiring adults who influenced me for the better, it was hands down 100% different leadership than anything I had ever seen. It meant something to me, and it was quite a profound thing when I stepped into their recruiting office. Now, that lesson means the world to me. It always will.

I think most people have the instincts for sensing when there is an injustice taking place. The Constitution and the Bill of Rights just defines what the standard is. And now, through this health care debate, Citizens are re-discovering what that standard is. I think many people are shocked at the disparity between what the Founding Fathers intended and what we now see on TV.

Most importantly, what we do based on our discoveries and how we continue our efforts to define the problem through research, and how we continue our research in order to figure out how to fix the problem - that is what defines us! We are defined by independently applying our principles!!! Peaceful action!!!

The recurring thing I find in life is that people will always surprise you. Old ladies you might meet on a plane actually have a great head for leadership. Old men, who are humble as can be, can tell you at story - and they will let you learn the lesson from it.

The point is, listen to the wisdom of our Fathers and stay involved. It must be a constant thing! If recent times seem like a painful and scary awakening, it could have been avoided if we had just kept a rotating 'fire-watch' schedule that kept us all alert 24/7 since 1776. We must all realize that we are our own protectors - always!

As these recent times have taught us, if you belong to any sort of defined group - a workplace, a neighborhood, whatever - stay connected to people who seek the truth in life and who have shown you the ability to think for themselves. Learn from those who stand in front of you, beside you, but also from those behind you who will follow your lead!

It must a remain constant that we revisit what has been learned from history. New complexities are making the situation today seem murky when it otherwise should be simple. Principle can connect the dots for us in that way; principle can make clarity of a mess. Complex things can become simplified. The point is, through the use of principle is what America was designed to be! Use it, fix our Nations problems by applying it, and never let things go unchecked again for so long!

FYI Barak, Nancy, et al. - if you are teaching, never act aloof to your students. You can stop trying to "put greatness into humanity" as though you are better than us. Apparently you don't understand that "the GREATNESS is already there" in the humanity of America. If you are to be successful you may try altering your approach, that is, if you think you have it in you.

In the 2010 mid-term elections we need to use our voting power to rid ourselves of any politician who has skylined themselves as simply inept in understanding the Consitution, history, or what their role is in serving the People. We must realize that it is our Nation's identity and moral fiber to handle our OWN business! Prosperity lies with the individual! Prosperity lies with those who will stand for what is right with others who share similar values and principles!

"It behooves every man who values liberty of conscience for himself, to resist invasions of it in the case of others: or their case may, by change of circumstances, become his own."

~Thomas Jefferson

The shockwave that such clueless people have been legally allowed to represent us has finally been felt; the degradation of the quality of our leaders over time is astounding - from Jefferson to Pelosi; Washington to Harry Reid? The realization of this disparity should motivate a revolution of new public servants! Do you have it in you to step up to the plate to serve the interests of your friend and humble neighbor? Maybe even your whole neighborhood, for the sake of truth and prosperity?

If the Constitution were a full glass of nourishing milk, this socialistic agenda is an empty glass with sour milk residue just sitting in the sink. The person who put it in the sink doesn't have the common courtesy of loading it into the dishwasher, and doesn't care or understand why that is wrong. In recent weeks, the common small town man or woman has emerged as having 10 times the character and principle than the Speaker of the House of Representatives! The Greatness is already there!

God Bless America - the place where the People cannot be silenced!