To Whom Do You Owe Your Life?

Today's post is another one penned by guest blogger John Galt. I hope this one makes you think and appreciate.

To whom do you owe your life?  I’m not talking about the couple that shared a private moment; I’m taking about the people that made the world that you live in.  Some escaped oppression to seek promise in the New World.  Everyone has a family story of how they got here.  What about the people that risked everything to start again and again when crops or businesses failed.  The inventors and the dreamers.  And remember the soldiers that marched off to war; mere boys to start the march and the men that came home.  And sadly, those that didn’t.  The world you enjoy was shaped by all the little pieces contributed by everyone that came before you.  In a time where so many live in the world of “I”, our world is so much bigger than just you.

When you find yourself frustrated when an old man or woman walks too slow, or repeats a story again and again, find patience in your heart and think about how they may have influenced this world you call home.  My pastor’s story in the Christmas Eve service was about the couple, Joseph and Mary, who were turned away from the inn the night Jesus was born.  Later, he mentioned Hall of Famer Hank Aaron’s story about a full hotel and how he was told that there were no rooms available until someone recognized him.  The clerk told Hank he would have given him a room initially if he had known that he was somebody.  Hank replied that everyone is somebody.  Everyone you meet is somebody.  Collectively, all of those somebodies have made the world that molds your life. 

My dad didn’t look like someone extraordinary, but he was.  Mom thought he hung the moon and since I look like him, I’ll admit he was a very good looking man.  He never put on airs.  He wasn’t one to tell stories about himself or boast of his accomplishments.  Actually, he hardly ever spoke of himself.  But, from very humble beginnings, he put himself through college, earned a Bronze Star in Korea while fighting on the 38^th parallel, educated farmers for 34 years on ways to improve their crops as a soil conservationist, and raised three kids to respect America, honor our word and strive to make this world a better place.

 

He’d give you the shirt off his back, pull you out of a ditch or give you his last dollar.  My dad really was a somebody.  And not just to me and my family.  He saved soldiers’ lives in Korea when he carried the wounded to safety.  As an expert marksman, he taught other soldiers how to shoot.  He saved farmers’ farms by making them productive.  More than once, he pulled a car out of the ditch on a snowy night.   The list is just too long, but you get the idea.  He made a difference in so many lives.  You wouldn’t know it to meet him and he wouldn’t take credit for any of it.  It was just the right thing to do.

My dad represents everything good about this country.  He quietly marched through his life, silently performing good deeds along his journey.  I see him every time I see the US flag fly.  He wasn’t just somebody, he was a hero; he made this world a better place.  So, if you find yourself in an “all about me” moment, ask yourself if your actions will make you anyone’s hero?  And before you push your way past the old man struggling with his burden, remember that he is somebody.  Maybe just the somebody that made the life you enjoy possible.

Debt Limit

The Secretary of the Treasury sent a letter to Congress the day after Christmas stating that the US government would reach its debt ceiling limit of $16.394 trillion on December 31^st.  If the debt limit is reached, the Treasury Department must, according to the letter, take extraordinary measures to avoid exceeding the limit.  An appendix to the letter outlines the four measures to be taken. 

So, what does that all mean?  If the debt limit is increased or Congress reduces the amount of debt held by the US Government before the measures expire (approximately two months according to the letter), nothing happens.  If neither of these happens and the measures expire, then the federal government would either have to drastically reduce spending or fail to pay interest and/or principle on US Treasury securities.  One choice creates severe economic impacts in the US, the other impacts world financial markets; neither are attractive consequences.

So why doesn’t Congress simply raise the debt ceiling or get rid of it altogether so this issue doesn’t reoccur?  The Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 established a limit on the amount of debt held by the US Government.  In the past, it’s been fairly routine for Congress to increase the debt limit.  It is a misconception to think the debt ceiling is an arbitrary limit without consequences. 

The letter from the Treasury Secretary states that the US public debt is increasing by $100 billion per month, on average and the Congressional Budget Office predicts that, if the government continues to maintain current spending policies,  within 20 years the debt could approach 200% of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) (http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/06-05-Long-Term_Budget_Outlook_2.pdf). Currently the debt is approaching 100% of the GDP and at least some in Congress have attempted to reign in the government’s spending before the US has a financial meltdown similar to what occurred in Greece this summer.  Simply, if the government spends as much or more than the country makes, every year brings a greater risk of financial collapse.  This collapse will have real consequences in the lives of every American.

Simply extending the credit limit, or debt ceiling, isn’t the solution.  When an individual applies for a loan, the bank asks what you plan to do with the money and assesses your financial stability.  They determine if lending you money is a financial risk.  If your existing assets and liabilities are too great, you are a poor candidate to meet your obligation to pay them back. The same is true for businesses applying for a loan.  The lender will want to see a business plan, detailing financial plans plus existing assets and liabilities.  Without a viable business plan or if the liabilities are too great, the bank won’t extend the credit.

Some might say the bank is being unfair in denying a loan to any and all, but it’s simply good business practice on their part.  If I’ve already shown a penchant for running up debt, what assures them I’ll meet by obligations and repay my debt to them?

If the US Government were a business, I certainly would not loan it money.  It has no approved budget and no plan in place to reign in long term spending or address long term obligations such as Social Security or Medicare.  Frankly, due to a lack of leadership, it looks like a mismanaged company headed for bankruptcy.  Is that the business model we want for our country?  This is your tax dollars and federal fees they are mismanaging.  When programs that matter to you are cut because the government has decided there aren’t sufficient funds, it is due to the mismanagement of the money you send to the federal government.  What would happen to you if you didn’t pay your bills and kept spending money you don’t have?  You can be sure that at some point, you would be called on your debt with dire consequences, such as losing your home, seizing your possessions, or garnishing your wages.  Well, the time has come to call the government on its debt.  Like the rest of us, they need a financial plan that outlines a viable spending plan for our money and how they will meet their financial obligations.

Contact your Senator (www.senate.gov) or Congressman (www.house.gov) and tell them what you think about the debt ceiling.  Even better, call (202-456-1111) or email (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments) the President and let him know you want solutions and reductions, not more of the status quo.

No Win

The Republican Party seems to be in a no-win situation with this whole fiscal cliff fiasco.  A Quinnipiac poll taken two weeks ago indicated that voters would blame Republicans for failure to avert the fiscal cliff disaster by a margin of 54-27.  It’s no wonder, given the fact the media seems to focus primarily on Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on the “rich” but extend tax cuts, currently set to expire at the end of the year, for others versus the Republicans opposition to raising tax rates.  This focus seems to paint the Republicans as bad guys, willing to sacrifice the country in order to protect their rich friends. But is that really what’s going on?

I wondered about the differences between Obama’s proposal and the Republican proposal.  It appears the Republicans are proposing deeper spending cuts than the President and increasing tax revenue through an overhaul of the tax code; this overhaul includes lower tax rates plus an extension of the expiring tax cuts.  The President is proposing spending cuts, although less than the Republicans, but also proposing new spending of $200 billion in new economic "stimulus" initiatives, including payroll tax cuts, continued write-offs of business equipment purchases, extended unemployment benefits, help for borrowers "under water" on their mortgages, and new spending on infrastructure. In addition, the President wants the ability to increase the government’s debt limit without approval from Congress.

Although there are differences, it seems that both sides, if willing to compromise should be able to reach a solution. But the actions of some in Washington suggest scoring political points is more important to them than solving the country’s problems.  On December 5th, Mitch McConnell (R- Kentucky), took to the floor of the Senate and suggested an immediate vote on the plan that Obama offered up to Congress on November 29th.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada), immediately objected and shut down any chance to vote on the plan, calling it a Republican “stunt.” 

Both the President and the Majority Leader are from the same party, so why wouldn’t Senator Reid allow a vote?  Does Senator Reid not agree with the President’s plan?  Or is the Senator just playing politics?

I suspect the good Senator is playing politics.  Earlier this month, he stated "We are willing to compromise, but we also will not consign the middle class to higher tax bills while millionaires and billionaires avoid all the pain."  On December 20th, Senator Reid, explained the Senate’s inaction on Republican’s “Plan B” proposal by saying, "We are not going to do anything." He later added, "We are not taking up anything they are working on over there."  Considering that Plan B is similar to an earlier Democratic proposal, why wouldn't Reid want to take it under consideration, especially if it helps the country avoid the cliff.

In the last three years, the Senate, under Reid’s leadership, has not passed a federal budget, so I am not surprised at his “do-nothing” comments.  And, according to a Wall Street Journal article titled, “How ‘Cliff’ Talks Hit the Wall,” the President is prepared to use his upcoming inaugural speech and State of the Union address to blame Republicans if a deal isn’t reached. 

None of that sounds like people who are trying to avert an economic disaster.  It sounds like people who don’t care what happens to the American public so long as they can blame someone else. It’s time for members of Congress and the President to stop the games and do something to keep the country from going over the cliff. Not just short term solutions, but real, meaningful, long-term solutions that stabilize the economy and fully fund the government’s obligations. 

Tell our Congressional leaders it’s time for solutions.  Contact your Senator (www.senate.gov) or Congressman (www.house.gov) and tell them what you think.  Better yet, call (202-456-1111) or email (http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/submit-questions-and-comments) the President and let him know you want solutions, not games.  Failing to avert the cliff will cost us all.

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas Eve, 1968, three men circled the Moon for the first time.  In 1968, the world seemed to be coming apart at the seams, so the crew wanted to send a message of hope and inspiration back to the people on Earth.  While a grainy image of the lunar landscape played on TVs around the world, Bill Anders, Jim Lovell, and Frank Borman read the first ten verses from the Book of Genesis.  The impact of the Christmas Eve message and the successful flight was summed up in telegram sent by a stranger to Frank Borman.  It said, “Thank you Apollo 8. You saved 1968.”

Borman felt that he needed to make some sort of statement in his TV broadcast as the Apollo 8 crew circled the Moon, the first humans to ever do so.  In the midst of all his training, he struggled with choosing the words he would say from lunar orbit.  A friend suggested that the words were already written; Borman, simply read from the Bible.

I’d hoped to write a really great post to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.  I wrestled with how best to express what I really wanted to say, but I could not find the right words.  Like Borman’s friend, I realized the words were already written. So today, I will rely on the words of a Greek physician who recorded the events of nearly 2,000 years ago. 

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

Merry Christmas and God Bless us all!

Good Grief!

Mr. Webster defines Christmas as “the annual festival of the Christian church commemorating the birth of Jesus: celebrated on December 25 and now generally observed as a legal holiday and an occasion for exchanging gifts.”  Evidently a number of people in the United States of the Offended (aka the United States of America) aren’t aware that Christmas is a Christian holiday and are offended that some would insert religion into Christmas.

The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers (ASF) fought against plans to send elementary school children to see a production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at a local church.  One of the school’s teachers is part of the production.  The school principle sent home a letter to parents giving them an opportunity to opt out of sending their child to the production.  ASF stated that their beef had nothing to do with the cartoon, but with the “violation” of church and state.  An ASF vice president stated, “We’re not saying anything bad about Charlie Brown. The problem is that it’s got religious content and it’s being performed in a religious venue and that doesn’t just blur the line between church and state, it over steps it entirely.”  Maybe the clear choices to attend or not to attend didn’t give the supporters of ASF the freedom of choice they desired.

A group of parents in Missoula, Montana, are upset that the song selection for their school’s holiday program is “unfair, unconstitutional, and is a form of bullying.” An anonymous letter sent to the Missoula County Public Schools district superintendent stated, “We have no problem with it being called a Christmas concert, it’s just the fact the material should be secular.”  The letter went on to state that, “several of the students were uncomfortable.”  It is always interesting to me how an anonymous collective can state factually how others felt in a situation without a tinge of hearsay.  To fit the description offered by the parents, I’d wonder if the students were restrained or forced to cower for their part in the program.    

Good grief! Are the opportunities to attend Christmas concerts or to participate in Christmas plays unconstitutional or a form of bullying?  Amendment One to the US Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”.  It says nothing about separation of church and state and it says nothing about freedom from religion.  As always, these individuals have the freedom not to participate.

In 1789, while debating the proposed Bill of Rights in the US House of Representatives, James Madison said, he “apprehended the meaning of the words to be, that Congress should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law, nor compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience.”  This is a notable interpretation, since Mr. Madison drafted the original Bill of Rights.

I’ll save the arguments about separation of church and state for another post. But, I believe that the framers of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights realized that, although religion plays a big role in the US both then and now, in order to be fair to all it was best to prevent government from establishing an national religion or force citizens to worship God in any way but one of their own choosing.  I also believe that, by choosing the language as it exists in the Bill of Rights, they were striving for religious tolerance.

I’ll offer up the argument that the people in Arkansas and Montana are intolerant of Christianity.  But that’s not the point I want to make.  My point is the US Constitution and its amendments were put into place, among other reasons, to protect our rights and freedoms as citizens; nowhere are we guaranteed the freedom from offense.   The birth of Jesus Christ is why the Christians celebrate Christmas.  For the rest, if you choose to celebrate December 25 like any other day of the year we won’t be offended.

Christians have been celebrating the birth of Christ on December 25^th since at least the 4^th century.  Whether people like it or not, it is a Christian holiday. If that offends you, suck it up, rub some dirt on it, and get over it. And, to everyone, have a Merry Christmas.

Connecticut Tragedy

I am still in disbelief over the tragedy in the Connecticut elementary school last week.  I can’t fathom the terror the children and adults must have felt while the gunman prowled the halls.  I don’t know how a parent can survive the heartache and grief of losing a child, especially one as young as those killed at the school.  I do know that this is nothing short of a tragedy, but at the same time I am tremendously thankful for those adults who put themselves in harm’s way to protect the children.  Like all who go in harm’s way to protect human life, they are true heroes and I thank God for them.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, there is a lot of discussion in the media about why it occurred and how it could have been avoided.  As expected, many are focusing on banning guns and gun control.

There are lots of opinions and discussions posted on the web about tighter gun control laws.  Some have blamed the National Rifle Association (NRA) for the tragedy because of the NRA’s advocacy for gun ownership.   A few blogs have even advocated killing NRA members because of the organization’s position on gun control laws.   Do they hear themselves?  They are making threats and advocating violence in these outbursts against a group of people that were not involved. 

A natural response for us is to look at our own lives and wonder if this violence could have happened to us.  Many people want some action taken so they will feel better about their safety.  But that safety is merely an illusion.  When evil people, such as the shooter in Connecticut or the shooter at the mall outside Portland, are determined to cause harm, laws will do little to stop them.  According to an article in the Denver Post, Connecticut has some of the most stringent laws in the US.  The Connecticut shooter stole legally-purchased guns, transported them, and took them into a school, all violations of current Connecticut gun laws.  But do we really think more laws would have stopped him?

Drunk driving is unlawful in every state, yet many still die in drunken driving accidents.  Murder is illegal yet the FBI reported almost 14,000 murders in 2009.  Many drugs are illegal, yet the US Department of Justice’s National Drug Intelligence Center estimates the cost of drug use at $174 billion annually.  Furthermore, the US Drug Enforcement Agency estimates that each year 7 million pounds of marijuana enters the US across the Arizona/Mexico border alone.

Not only do laws not stop people from doing bad things, a total gun ban will not stop bad people from having guns.  If we can’t stop 7 million or more pounds of marijuana from crossing the border, how do we stop the smuggling of weapons, especially if people are willing to pay for them?

Even if guns are not available, a person determined to do harm will find some way to inflict harm.  The same Denver Post issue previously mentioned, also ran a news story concerning four people burned in an attack when the culprits sprayed the victims with a flammable liquid and then set them on fire. 

The solution to ending these tragedies is not more laws, but to educate the population to read the warning signals, to create ways to prevent and treat mental illness, and establish a way to communicate the threat and stop these people before they kill.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those affected by the shooting tragedies.

Earn It

My little brother is a non-commissioned officer in the US Army.  I am very proud of him and his service to our country.  While he was deployed to Iraq, I searched on the internet to find a gift, a hat, a cool t-shirt, something that I could send to him to let him know his service is appreciated.  During my search, I stumbled across Rangerup.com, a small company that makes “shirts for the military and the patriotic Americans who love the men and women of the Armed Forces. The guys that own this company either were or are still in the military.”

I went to their website recently and found a t-shirt (http://www.rangerup.com/earnit.html) with, “Contrary to popular opinion, no one owes you anything” printed on the front. On the back is printed, ‘Earn it.”  There is a commentary on the same webpage about entitlement and the spread of “entitlement disease”.

The commentary states:

“The occupy movement is a group of people who believe they deserve more - more opportunity, more money, more benefits, more whatever. They believe that life isn't fair.

They are right. It never will be and it never has been.”

The writer goes on to state several methods to achieve what you want out of life. One is, obviously, to work hard. Another is to start a business.  He further writes, “Some people who work harder than you do will never achieve your level of success and some people that work markedly less hard will blow you out of the water. And that will always be true because life isn't fair, people have different skill-sets, and luck plays a huge role in life.” 

He’s absolutely right.  Eddie Van Halen has probably made a bazillion dollars playing guitar.  I’ve never made a cent and probably never will.  Is that fair?  It would be nice to get paid that kind of money, but the fact of the matter is I do not have the same talent nor have I practiced as much as he has.  So to think it’s unfair is an exercise in lunacy.

The writer begins his final paragraph by saying, “But what I can tell you is that you have to take responsibility for your life or you will become, and remain, a loser. Every success and every failure has to be yours.”

We hear a lot about fairness and what is or is not fair. There are a lot of people demanding unwarranted or unearned advantages or benefits.  And it’s a lot easier to blame someone or something instead of accepting responsibility.    You have talents. How you apply your talents and how much effort you put into them are your choice.  Maybe they aren't in the areas that bring wealth and fame, but they lay a foundation for success.  Life is and never will be fair.  But, it is your life and how you spend it is your choice.