My Political Beliefs & Perspectives

I have always leaned toward the conservative side of things politically. However, I have voted other ways during the course of my lifetime, and I really do make an effort to understand the major issues, watch political candidates to assess their credibility, and try to support those who most closely reflect my own views. I am quite patriotic, perhaps even somewhat nationalistic. I believe with that the United States of America is the greatest and most successful experiment in republic-oriented operations in history. It provides substantial representation and rights to all of its citizens, and on a percentage basis, is rarely abusive of those rights. I believe that the United States has done vastly more good than harm in the world, and that the lion’s share of the US’ international activities have benefited mankind. As a country, the United States has clearly made mistakes. Yet no country in the recorded history of the world has been more self-critical, or quicker to attempt to reconcile it’s own injustices.

I understand that, through no one’s fault, some of us earn more, have more, and live better than others live. In fact, the general population of the United States is generally regarded to be the most affluent on earth; certainly, it seems clear that other nations envy our lifestyle and the opportunities for self-improvement that the United States provides. People endeavor to enter our country illegally every day, and only imprisoned criminals are attempting to escape our borders. The United States remains the “Land of Opportunity”, and I consider it a great blessing to have been born here - especially in this century.

I do not believe that government should unevenly tax the incomes of people – I believe in a flat percentage-based income tax. I do not object to property taxes on luxury items that require the wealthy to pay more for more affluent living, and still fairly distribute the burden of income-based taxation among all of the US population. However, I believe that graduated taxes inhibit the natural industriousness of human beings, and that they encourage the wealthy to seek ways around their appropriate tax-related responsibilities. I am generally opposed to large, expensive government but in favor of a strong national defense. I believe that an ounce of preparedness is worth several pounds of reactive “cure”.

I value the principles of the US Constitution, and remain eternally grateful for the men who framed it – and most especially for the Divine guidance that inspired it. I believe that America is and should remain protective of the rights of all of its citizens to practice any religion that brings no harm to others. I believe that we should respect all people of all faiths. However, I do not believe that the Constitution provides authority to any entity to expunge religion or religious worship, and should never be used to do things like prohibit prayer in public schools. Our founding fathers proudly engraved their belief and trust in a single, Christian God on every public seal, currency, and piece of important architecture they constructed. It says, “In God We Trust”, and I believe that the success of this great nation is a result of that foundational position. I also believe that the further our nation drifts from that foundation, whether in the interests of diversity or fairness or just plain rebellion against the Creator, the more likely it is to experience the removal of God’s protection and God’s blessing.

I believe that women should and do have the right to decide whether to bear a child and that unless they are raped, women exercise that choice when they freely elect to have unprotected sex. When a child is conceived, no rational standard exists to distinguish the moment it becomes more of a “life” than the moment before. Therefore, it is my belief that it is human life immediately, and deserves the legal and moral protections of any other human life. I recognize that there are rare cases that demand a choice be made between the life of a mother and an unborn child, and I believe that in those rare cases, the life of the mother should be pre-eminent.

What I believe about homosexuality is immaterial, in my view, because the position of God on this matter is extremely clear. Every single time homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible, whether Old Testament or New Testament, God describes it as an abomination and warns of serious health-related risks from participating in that life style. I do not believe, however, that it is nor should be an excuse for discrimination, abuse or ridicule. I believe that homosexuality is an area that, like abortion, requires extraordinary compassion and extraordinary leadership on the part of both government and religion.

There is no biblical evidence that Jesus Christ ever ridiculed, mocked, or abused homosexuals or any other individuals that He knew to be committing sin in their lives. He spoke directly to them about their behavior, and attempted to help them understand that they needed to turn from that path and toward acceptance of the grace and leadership that is provided by God.

While human government officials lack the insight, power, and compassion of God, they often bear the responsibility of making and enforcing the laws of the the United States. Those laws were derived from the Bible, and designed to flow from a government founded on the principles of Christianity. The decisions made by human judges and juries will be imperfect because the judges and juries are human, but I believe that this extraordinary republic is the fairest and most benevolent country in the history of this planet BECAUSE its government was based on the guidance provided by God in the Bible. To the extent that we move away from that foundation, we must expect that God will reduce His blessing and protection upon the people of this country. I wonder about that, as I think back on September 11, 2001.

It is profoundly disappointing, I think, that a country whose constitutional laws were so carefully crafted around Christianity is so often and so openly criticized when it appears to be intolerant of other religions practiced inside its own borders. The very laws which established this country reflecting Christ are now used to prevent the prayers of children in public schools, remove the 10 Commandments from government buildings, and otherwise deny Christians the right to publicly acknowledge our heritage.

The Root of the Matter - March 29, 2004

At about the time our original 13 states adopted their new constitution, in the year 1787, Alexander Tyler (a Scottish historyprofessor at The University of Edinburgh) had this to say about "The Fall of The Athenian Republic" some 2,000 years prior. "A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship."

The average age of the worlds greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back into bondage."

Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the most recent Presidential election:
Population of counties won by:
Gore=127 million; Bush=143 million
Square miles of land won by:
Gore=580,000; Bush=22,427,000
States won by:
Gore=19; Bush=29
Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by :
Gore=13.2; Bush=2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the tax-paying citizens of this great country. Gore's territory encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off government welfare..." Olson believes the U.S. is now somewhere between the "apathy" and "complacency" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy; with some 40 percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

The Separation of Church and State

Some Facts About Social Security

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social Security (FICA) Program. He promised:
1.) That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary,
2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the Program,
3.) That the money the participants elected to put into the Program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year,
4.) That the money the participants put into the independent "Trust Fund" rather than into the General operating fund, and therefore, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,
5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month -- and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of the money we paid to the Federal government to "put away," you may be interested in the following:

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent "Trust" fund and put it into the General fund so that Congress could spend it?
A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the Democratically-controlled House and Senate.

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
A: The Democratic Party.

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social Security annuities?
A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the "tie-breaking" deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US.

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?
A: That's right! Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party. Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive SSI Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!