JAMES MICHAEL PRATT Posts Also Found @
BUSY WRITING ON FIVE SITES…
Should have my head examined–
But there is no time…
I write until I drop.
So, when not posting here, you can also find me at these locations:
Under-reported headlines and links to all major news sources in Israel and Middle East. National Security and Intelligence Reports, along with Middles East & Jerusalem Studies.
FREE THRILLER — ‘A Time for Every Purpose’
“When the news and your life collide, you are a main character. What will you choose? Good or evil?”
Conservative commentary on culture and politics.
Conservative commentary on culture and politics.
STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART at Facebook
All inspiration all the time…
James Michael Pratt is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author. More about his novels and non-fiction may be found at the websites included in this post an his OFFICIAL AUTHOR WEBSITE. You can also find him on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.
‘I VILL TRANSMIT DIS TO VLADIMIR!
I was a normal child, filled with wonder, but a sick child at the same time–I liked the news.
I couldn’t have been more than five years old; a child sitting cross legged in front of the black and white television set in our South Gate, California bungalow; not watching Howdy Doodie but a session of the UN on the news with an angry old bald headed Russian pounding the pulpit.
In my little church going mind (the only way I related to pulpits) I thought this was a very upset minister, but clearly recalled the frightening words, “We will bury you!” This was a scary man.
I later learned he wanted to go to the new Disneyland theme park–the “Happiest Place on Earth”–which had just opened up, and was a mere 25 minutes from our home. I learned from the news he wasn’t allowed to go.
His anger got him instead a one way ticket back to Russia from a kinder looking old man named President Eisenhower.
My little heart was glad. Even then I could understand he wouldn’t get much out of the Tea Cups or Dumbo rides.
I understood my father had been in “the war.” Back then everyone talked about it and war movies, with the evil Nazi’s as the ever-present villains, embedding themselves deeply into our baby-boom psyches.
I translated this new grandpa-man yelling angry words about America to mean maybe we had a new villain, and maybe a new war, and it scared me.
I learned that if we hid under desks, that an atom bomb might not kill us. I recall we were to go somewhere when corner air-raid sirens shrieked, but there was nowhere to go but underneath those desks…
So, the message was, “Have a desk near.”
I remember someone sharing with me as a boy how you could boil a frog. You could put it in a pot and gradually turn the heat up a bit at a time. Before the frog new it the water would be boiling and it would be too late.
This caused me to stay away from Jacuzzis for the longest time…
Now 53 years later I understand what the angry words from the mean looking Russian, “We will bury you!” meant.
Soft socialism (without Stalin-esque gun to the head), was instituted by 4 term autocrat & elected-for-life President FDR during a “Great Depression” opportunity 70+ years ago to provide “…a chicken in every pot…” A democratic ploy it was easing the American citizen into the pot itself, and like the frog boiling him in degrees until he was insensible to danger.
Building a wedge among producers and takers, dependents on government and providers to government, the new socialists seek to break America by burying it in debt; we become not taken over by force of arms, but by force of central controls from a government eager to form the global alliance so sought after by the Soviets.
This new kind of evil is what Nikita Khrushchev, the angry old Russian man of my boyhood had in mind when he added, ‘We will bury the west without firing a single shot.”
Yet, all this conspiratorial noise would sound a bit paranoid if it were not for the facts before us after three years of an Obama nation and an “open mic” of March 26, 2012 in Seoul, Korea where a secretive US President was having a “private” chat with his pal President Dimitry Medvedev of Russia.
Here’s the elevator version of what transpired:
1. The Russians want the US to back off of implementing nuclear defense shields in Europe. Bush was not a match for them, but they rightly figured Barack H. Obama was.
2. Mr. Obama, being the sympathetic socialist leaning politico he implies through his actions, offered some conciliatory words to the outgoing Medvedev about why it is taking him so long to “get the deal done“–
Conversation:
President Obama: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.”
President Medvedev: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…”
President Obama: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”
President Medvedev: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.”
Were it not so dangerous it would be hilarious; the kind of skit material late night comedians beg for from politicians.
FULFILLING RUSSIAN PROPHECY:
The multiple layers of danger and issues arising from the “open mic” exchange, where Obama clearly believes he will win the November election and just needs more time, was like a child begging his master to have patience with him.
Yet this is a President of the United States — the most powerful position of leadership in the “Free World” — a man who inherited a Presidential pedigree of tough negotiators like Ronald Reagan. He begs for time to dismantle strength and negotiating power from west to east!
Could you imagine if Ronald Reagan begged Gorbachev to “give me a little space” at Reykjavik where the world might be now?
“Back to the Future” – Here we are with the weakest President occupying the White House in 100 years, begging our nuclear nemesis and powerful enemy of freedom Russia for more time to do what; dismantle our defenses? Give in to Russian military power so that they might intimate former communist client states like Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia?
Strike us when we are at our weakest point yet?
The words “We will bury you!” are ringing in my ears.
Ah well — I still have a desk to hide under…
James Michael Pratt is a New York Times bestselling author of fiction and non fiction, has appeared on radio and television promoting traditional values, including Hannity’s Great American Panel. For more information on his work visit his website www.jmpratt.com or Facebook Page:
REAGAN SOLUTION to GOP PRIMARY DISSATISFACTION
No man walks on water. As James Madison observed in the Federalist Papers (No 51):
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”
Observing the angst on Facebook and op ed columns you would think the majority of the GOP faithful do expect their choices to walk on water, or at least become the mirror image of the greatest example of a conservative executive in the last 112 years, Ronald Reagan.
Some people fill the room; some are bigger than life; but few–very few. Ronald Reagan became an icon, not because he sought to be, but because of the nature of his personality. The life forces when he entered a room exuded confidence, cheerfulness, optimism, and simplicity with regards to solutions.
We conservatives had the bar raised and now we expect someone to ride in from the west as he did, and rescue us from the foibles of the back room cigar chomping political sharks in DC.
Reagan’s name is invoked on a regular basis by primary contenders as if the very mention will sway us in the voting booth. Not destined to happen…
I propose the anxiety among many of my friends not supporting the current delegate leader in the GOP primaries, Mr. Romney, find peace in this TRUTH offered by the “great communicator.” It’s all about the “people” being focused and remaining responsible to “lead” the “leaders.”
“’TRUST ME’ government asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams in one man; that we trust him to do what’s best for us. Well my view of government places trust not in one person or one party but in those values which transcend persons or parties. Trust is where it belongs; in the people. The responsibility to live up to that is where it belongs; with the leaders.”
James Michael Pratt is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of inspirational fiction and non-fiction. His columns have appeared in The Daily Caller, Breitbart’s “Big Peace” & Jerusalem Reports. He has appeared on television and radio including Hannity’s Great American Panel on Fox News.
THE GOAT and COW — A Parable of Political Truths
From a chapter in my upcoming RIGHT and WRONG, Not Left and Right!
The Goat and the Cow
“Myths which are believed in tend to become true.” –George Orwell
Right and wrong, good and evil, truth and lies, have been with mankind from the beginning of recorded history. It is these elements which occupy much of the storyteller’s time and creates the triumph necessary for good literature to succeed with the reader.
We know good and bad when we see it, and we can sense and feel it from childhood. Our history is wrapped around it, our fables and fantasy stories require it. We live by it in moral codes of conduct and by rule of law in every city, county, and state in our union.
Our faith requires understanding it and we even see the opposites of virtue and vice, corruption and incorruption in terms of heaven and hell.
God is with us or he is not. The devil rules us or he does not. Right and wrong have consequences as sure as night follows day. It does not matter much what we believe. It only matters what we believe is also true.
I was driving with my son, who then was in his early teens but totally connected to the world of instant gratification in terms of knowledge, accepting the quickest answer to things via the internet and was generally otherwise distracted by noises of the world. This is a “normal” for a teen now days.
I had, however, thought I had done a good job of parenting to this point, though forgetting what it was like to not be mature in judgment and knowledge, or in other words an average teenager.
I was sipping a soft drink as we drove up a canyon. He didn’t have any other distractions before him, just the scenery as it passed us by. I too was in deep reflection, most likely upon a chapter I was then engaged in editing for one of my novels.
Excitedly he said, “Look Dad. That sure is a funny looking cow!”
I looked everywhere for a cow. Finally I said, “Where?”
“Over there!” he pointed with the tone that implied my age created fewer brain cells each passing year.
I spewed the soft drink out and over the car’s console, my lap, and pulled over choking.
I looked over at him and asked sincerely, now believing my failures as a parent were complete, “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“That’s not a cow.”
“But it has black and white spots,” he replied with exasperation.
“Son, pigs have black and white spots. Just because it has black and white spots, does not mean it is a cow,” I answered.
“Then what is it?” he asked.
Tears were almost stinging my eyes as I looked out the car window, up into the sky and pled, “God, what have I done wrong?”
I sucked it up and kindly replied, “It’s a goat, Mike. Goats also have black and white spots.”
The remainder of the drive was fun for him as he learned a new truth. Just because the spots are apparently the same as worn by another animal does make the belief true. A cow is a cow, and now he knew what a goat looked like.
Cha ching! Another day done and another success in good parenting!
The parable of the goat and cow as applied to the question at hand is not if I am left or right politically, but if I am right or wrong. Being wrong and proclaiming it right does not make it so any more than calling a goat a cow makes the goat… a cow.
You can believe anything you want. Believing something doesn’t make it so. Truth is unyielding as it produces effects which can be examined under the light of careful scrutiny. Truth produces the fruit of its seed. It is consistent, does not vary, and yields results which any double-blind scientific test may validate over and over again.
Political fantasy, however, offered from the utopian mind of the social do-gooder is built upon sands called hope and a verbal vapor called change and disappears from view as rapidly as reality based upon ageless truths wash over them. They are rhetoric without substance, ends justifying the means to gain power.
Wrong often prevails in politics, regardless of the fantasy induced in slick marketing to present it as truth.
Lesson?
You can lap information up from one party or another but the spots don’t make the animal. Truth of nature makes the animal. Make sure you understand what you are seeing and get it right.
James Michael Pratt is a New York Times bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction. His most popular title, The Lost Valentine was recently made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame world premier event with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt and viewed by 14.5 million. He has appeared on national radio and television including Hannity’s Great American Panel. His books have been published in 6 languages. He is a frequent guest columnist for major online news sites. More about his writing and career may be found at www.jmpratt.com.
FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS Tribute to Andrew Breitbart
Appreciation for Life & Men Who Matter
The 1600′s English poet, priest, and essayist John Donne wrote lines which stir our hearts these many years later. In the essay, known as Meditation XVII from “Devotions upon Emergent Occasions” we hear the compelling words which Ernest Hemingway used for the famous novel titled, “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were: any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
From a fellow writer and conservative, the greatest tribute I could offer this younger man whose life ended far too soon is this: that he lived life “fully” with nothing hidden, nothing wasted, a family man who understood what he believed and believed what he understood.
The world is less, the conservative movement and our country too often held hostage by main stream media however, is stronger because of him.
If we could “knight” a fighter for values so inherently constitutional and quintessentially American we would say, “Well done. Come forth and rise, Sir Breitbart!”
James Michael Pratt is a New York Times bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction. His most popular title, The Lost Valentine was recently made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame world premier event with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt and viewed by 14.5 million. He has appeared on national radio and television including Hannity’s Great American Panel. His books have been published in 6 languages. He is a frequent guest columnist for major online news sites. More about his writing and career may be found at www.jmpratt.com.
CPAC 2012 Lessons
A conservative friend of mine from the local UPS store asked me, “What is CPAC?” and “Can anyone go?”
Anyone can attend the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, held each February at the Wardman Park Marriott in Washington DC. For a mere $195 you receive a three day pass to all education and speaker sessions.
Some of the lessons learned and reinforced from last week’s three day conference include:
- Conservatives go to learn how to save their country and re-charge their political batteries. Energizing…
- Liberals go to demonstrate against their country and get a payday. (“Occupy Movement 1% ers) Ignorant..
- Guns in relationship to attendees (1 to 50) made CPAC one of the safest places in DC. (Police, Security, Secret Service, etc.) Safe…
- Optimism and hope come from facts which don’t lie, supported by 10,000 attendees from all walks of life, representing 42% of America. Validating…
- Grass roots politics makes America freer than a top down plutocracy; big shots suck up to us little people, not the other way around. American…
- Suppliers of conservative news, education & media, and major political players are literally within “rubbing shoulder” distance for an attendee. Fun…
- Love for and understanding of the US Constitution is alive among the general populace. Patriotic…
- The single best word describing CPAC? “LIBERTY”
I recommend CPAC for anyone wishing to see and be with independent-minded Americans coming together to breathe the exhilarating air of freedom.
IRAN HEATS UP – So Does “2012 THE BOOK” & Jerusalem Reports.com
DANGER CLOSE
Things are getting testy — more nasty everyday. Today Iran’s Ayatollah called for complete “Annihilation of Israel” and the killing of all Jews worldwide. Last week it was blocking of the Straights of Hormuz and oil supplies to the west coupled with affirmation that it was accelerating its quest for a nuclear program.
In addition to that it was the Mossad warning the US that Iran was sending teams to attack soft targets inside the US and other “facilities.” We are at an explosive stage of world history with Iran the tinderbox and fuse. No one will escape the effects of a war, already at our doorstep.
We can try to ignore it, but to our own peril. I am learning to accept the facts as they come directly from the mouths of dangerous protagonists Iran and countries allied to her.
Looks like war is once again coming our way; the threat inside our borders is not even a question…
STAY UP TO DATE
It isn’t easy to keep up with the headlines and stories as they develop, so I want to to make it easier for you.
I spend full time scouring the media and intel sources to keep informed for my own purposes in writing columns, novels, and to be able to compete in the world of news and related media interview opportunities.
I have chosen to build three new sites to help me organize the knowledge I gain, but to also share it with you in a format that does everything from entertain to give you a one-stop-shop on critical headlines, analysis, and in-depth background stories.
THREE NEW SITES
2012 a Novel: You can learn about the headlines which involve the US, Israel, Iran and threats to our southern borders with “2012 THE BOOK” available with FREE CHAPTERS added each week based upon today’s news. Follow the characters and their lives — a place where thriller fiction is today’s news headlines @:
www.2012book.net.
ISRAEL & Middle East News: All you need to know about how to stay informed 24/7 with all the headlines, links, major stories and analysis gathered into one site @:
www.jerusalemreports.com.
INTELLIGENCE EVENTS: Closely linked to the novel “2012THE BOOK” delivered as “Thriller fiction at the speed of the news…” is “Intel Events” a new where former intelligence analysts and special operations officers offer reports linked to the events we describe in the “real time” news cycle novel –2012.
www.intelevents.us
SHARE — We do the gathering work for you! Together we can create a community of informed citizens, no matter our nationality, and with information perhaps find a sense of direction. Bookmark these sites and stay with us. We’ll be there when the news breaks, and sometimes before!
Wishing you the best in these trying times… James Michael Pratt
James Michael Pratt is New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of THE LOST VALENTINE, released nationally in paperback by St Martin’s Press and as a 2011 HALLMARK HALL OF FAME World Premier starring Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Author of 8 additional titles, he is a regular contributor to The DAILY CALLER , this page, and documentary film producer. More on his writing career may be found at www.jmpratt.com.
Elephants Don’t Walk on Water but Donkeys Always Bray – Part I
PART I
“The Diplomatic Creed”
The GOP faithful seek a savior. None yet have been seen to walk on water… But all contenders can point out the other’s sins–therein lies the conundrum.
“It’s unnecessary and painful,” national talk radio host Sean Hannity said today of the negative ads being run by political action committees (PACs) and GOP campaigns during this primary season. I couldn’t agree more.
Yet, America is in dire trouble, perhaps as much in another way as it was for 1776 patriots where it took all the courage a few newly minted citizens could muster to stand up to an overwhelmingly powerful British army and a far distant out-of-touch central government.
Thomas Paine offered in his 1776 pamphlet titled “The Crisis,” a call to arms saying, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Those immortal words describing the inner struggle at the beginning of our Republic aptly describe our days of inner angst.
THE PRESENT CRISIS:
Americans hunger for leadership in a present environment which includes an executive branch rubber stamping checks for over 1000 days without a national budget, producing dead-end spending sprees built upon epidemic borrowing, where national debt now exceeds the wealth of all American annual household incomes combined. One half of Americans contribute no revenue to the national treasury. Forty percent receive some sort of ongoing assistance from the federal government.
The party of unemployment, class warfare, envy, and controlling everything from restaurant menus to prostate exams has finally stirred the common folk, and all they know is they want the fools gone. The people see an opportunity, are energized, and asking a GOP elephant to help carry the onerous load of debt, waste, and abuse the liberal knuckleheads have burdened America with.
Seeking everything from someone to wear Ronald Reagan’s suit to Jeffersonian logic dressed in Washington’s uniform, the major polling companies show an American public aching to rid themselves of a divisive teleprompting autocrat and coterie, an inept and braying leader of the Senate who blocks every call to fix the crisis, and this after successfully deposing via legal means the, “we won’t know what’s in the bill until we pass it,” Speaker of the House in November 2010 elections.
People are angry. No soothing words will do the trick. America is now in full political prep mode looking for “Mr. Right” to replace “Mr. Left” in November 2012. And that is where the fun or sadness begins… take your pick.
PRIMARY CONCERNS
America deserves another “call to arms” as Paine offered in “The Crisis.” It must come in the form of effective debate and words of searing truth from GOP party candidates. And one of them must rise to the top through the primary process.
Which presents us with the present vitriolic brouhaha of contention among the conservative base seeking a “right vs left” savior and solution for “the present crisis.”
Words are the tools of politics and love. Yet little love is going down at the GOP debates as smear tactics and innuendo are thrown back and forth like daggers by political operatives looking out for their candidate.
Although GOP fratricide, as the last months of primary contests may seem, Sean Hannity has repeatedly put it into a perspective I agree with: “It’s good to see the vetting getting done through these debates, and if a candidate can’t take it now, how can he when he is getting the same hard-hitting questions coming from the Democrats and Obama?”
He bemoans however, as I do, the belittling and almost childish tit for tat accusations which tend only to rally the emotions and not the reason of the listener in what has become a political season of ”he said this” and “I did not say that.”
Pitting conservative against conservative, grass roots activist against each other, even religious mockery finding ground in the debates over who is the “perfect” candidate to solve all our national ills, we are witnesses to a silly season of intellectually insulting ads and debates including such stimulating topics as:
- Why one candidate or the other cannot beat Obama’s teleprompter in a debate, “but I can.”
- Who lied about something in 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2008, and why they all should be forgiven of each lie (except their opponent).
- Why the only person who can win is the “DC outsider” who has spent three decades as a “DC insider” while the real “insider” who never spent a week in DC is “the establishment.”
- Why one candidate is too much a capitalist to be a good leader of the conservative values.
- Which candidate deserves the Reagan mantel.* And so on…
If anything really is getting in the way of the GOP nomination process to find “Mr. Perfect” it is the highly charged emotions of conservatives of all stripes — grass root Tea Party to traditional GOP faithful — all seeking what doesn’t exist – the perfect candidate.
(*Mr. Reagan was a ’100 year man’ and one of a kind. In the author’s opinion no one in the current GOP pool for Presidential nominee qualifies to inherit the mantel.)
THE SOLUTION:
So… What are we observers to do; we who pay the price of all the madness, bickering, and contempt for each other in search for “Mr. Right?”
I offer a humble solution. I am an adherent of “The Diplomatic Creed” which goes something like this:
“If you must tell people where to go, make sure you always tell them in such a way that they look forward to the trip.”
Until one of the candidates learns to walk on water perhaps they all could map a course of dignity with at minimum diplomatic speech and let the chips fall where they may.
The GOP need not switch party icons to get the job done. After all, elephants don’t walk on water but jack asses always bray…
James Michael Pratt is a New York Times bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction. His most popular title, The Lost Valentine was recently made into a Hallmark Hall of Fame world premier event with Betty White and Jennifer Love Hewitt and viewed by 14.5 million. He has appeared on national radio and television including Hannity’s Great American Panel. His books have been published in 6 languages. He is a frequent guest columnist for major online news sites. More about his writing and career may be found at www.jmpratt.com.
ARE WE A MORAL NATION? Survival May Depend Upon It
By
James M Pratt
“Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious they have more need of masters.” — Benjamin Franklin
Freedom is a precious thing and may be lost in degrees. American pilgrim and Pastor John Winthrop said of America in 1630:
“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall shame the faces of many of God’s worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses . . .”
Today a civil discourse and war of words is taking place regarding the simplest forms of virtues once thought of as quintessential American in spirit and practice. It is now called “hate speech” to speak of things once called sin. It is called “unconstitutional” to speak in public of God, pray, or show signs of reverence for sacred celebrations.
We are attacked from all sides with “alternative lifestyles” and same sex marriage until today in states like California it must be taught in public schools. That which was once wrong, by all societal standards, is to be encouraged now. Those of us who disagree are “bigots” and condemned.
We are witnessing a day Israel’s ancient prophet Isaiah spoke when he said: “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil; that put darkness for light and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20)
We are living in a time where Hollywood, media, and political kingmakers have conditioned us to believe that “one man” may be elected to take all our troubles away. We have become a society filled with images of “shining politicians upon the Hill” rather than Pastor Winthrop’s “shining city upon a hill.”
A strengthening of values will ensure the safety of our American Republic. The dedication to moral codes underpins and gives a bedrock foundation to building the safe America we all desire for ourselves, posterity and future generations.
A Society of Virtue
In Aristotle’s Politics, he speaks of the relationship between happiness and a citizenry involved in politics and how personal virtue was the surest way toward ethical conduct in public life. James Madison spoke similarly in the debates over the US Constitution saying:
“Is there no virtue among us? If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. No theoretical checks, no form of government, can render us secure… If there be sufficient virtue and intelligence in the community, it will be exercised in the selection of these men; so that we do not depend upon their virtue, or put our confidence in our rulers, but in the people who are to choose them.”
We have become conditioned to believe the next promise-making politician might be the answer to the plagues, economic and social, which have fallen upon us. Ronald Reagan saw this as a weakness saying:
“Trust me government asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams in one man; that we trust him to do what’s best for us. Well my view of government places trust not in one person or one party but in those values which transcend persons or parties. Trust is where it belongs; in the people. The responsibility to live up to it is where it belongs, in the leaders.”
What becomes of a messiah seeking electorate? I would ask anyone who has a positive spin to answer from a right or left persuasion: “How have the last three years worked out?”
The people of America are passionate about social and economic issues; all with moral consequences. They are examining the issues more than ever before and doing what the American founding fathers knew they could, once passion for their beliefs was informed by knowledge.
They are reading, seeking answers, looking for leadership in basics about our first principles. This is a good thing. But more opportunity to learn must be offered until each succeeding generation has a chance to learn that “right and wrong” trumps “left and right” and that light trumps darkness, and good and evil are polar opposites with consequences accordingly.
Knowledge will be a key to this kind of empowerment. James Madison, father of the Constitution said:
“A popular government, without popular information or means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or Tragedy; or perhaps, both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”
Big Picture Perspective
Ronald Reagan said in his farewell address to the nation:
“I’ve spoken of the Shining City all my political life. In my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That’s how I saw it, and see it still.’”
Mr. Reagan, the 20th century’s greatest advocate of America’s inspired original leaders and founding documents, often spoke how they were forged through great sacrifice and much deliberation and prayer. He often invoked, with a sentimental reverence, the stirring words as found in the summation of the Declaration of Independence.
“With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
At a Crossroads
Never before has “sacred honor” been more needed by individual Americans willing to step forward. Now we come to a crossroads in history where the fabric of constitutionally intended guarantees, offering opportunities for personal growth and success, are being ripped to shreds and the thread of humanity once offered as protection to American citizens is broken.
“The Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” – John Adams
The path we choose will determine America’s survival. Moral decay, incessant attacks on family life, and now the traditionally recognized institution of marriage between a man and a woman, coincide with the plague of pornography in the guise of “freedom of speech.”
All choices carry a “cause and effect” result with them. Consequences for slipping from a “shining city upon a hill” may be that we become a nation under water.
We are a moral nation if we so choose. The challenge is before us to influence our freedoms and very national survival in the simple formula as put forward in George Washington’s farewell address:
“The foundations of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens, and command the respect of the world.”
By JAMES MICHAEL PRATT
Questions of Respect & Patriotism
Are residents of Susquehanna County, PA showing a dying respect for America?
More and more so called “American Patriots” are voicing their beliefs. Unfortunately, many of these people’s bark are much worse than their bite. Actions speak louder than words and this past week, a handful of Susquehanna residents proved this.
Make no mistake, this is not about “right versus left” rather “right versus wrong.” No matter one’s political beliefs, their political party, or their views towards any politician, we are all Americans and its critical we don’t just voice our patriotism rather we actually act like patriots. Needless to say, our patriotic actions are swiftly diminishing.
While attending a local high school basketball game, the unthinkable was observed. During the playing of the National Anthem, members of the crowd had their hands in their pockets. Some continued to wear their hats. And many went on with conversations while our National Anthem was being played.
Of course, readers may agree that such inappropriate and disrespectful behavior is nothing new. Go to any professional sporting event and you will find such disrespect–this doesnt mean its right. Most of these derogatory activities would be expected from American youth, but not adults. This past week, such actions were demonstrated by youth and adults alike.
I have always sought the residents of Susquehanna County to be some of America’s more patriotic. Unfortunately, we are obviously not vaccinated from the anti-patriotic venom which is saturating the rest of this great nation. Sadly, we are becoming infested with this anti-patriotic endemic today.
Today, America continues its longest war in our history. Whether we like it or not, our best and brightest this nation has to offer continue to make sacrifices very few could ever fathom. Many of these service heroes’ are returning from the battlefield.
When our veterans come home, many enjoy going back to their roots founded in places like the educational institutions which assisted in making them the persons they are today. How does one believe they must feel seeing such disrespect towards not only our National Anthem but the American flag as well? How would you feel if you were in their shoes? I am one of them and appalled does not describe my feelings towards what I had witnessed.
US Code 36 Subtitle 1 Part A Section 301 specifically outlines the following for respect towards the American flag during the playing of the National Anthem:
(a) Designation.— The composition consisting of the words and music known as the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.
(b) Conduct During Playing.— During a rendition of the national anthem—
(1) when the flag is displayed—
(A) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the anthem and maintain that position until the last note;
(B) members of the Armed Forces and veterans who are present but not in uniform may render the military salute in the manner provided for individuals in uniform; and
(C) all other persons present should face the flag and stand at attention with their right hand over the heart, and men not in uniform, if applicable, should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and
(2) when the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed
As a society, we all have an obligation to those who previously and currently serve. As you can see, it’s not a lot and it doesn’t take much energy to fulfill. It’s an obligation of respect. The next time you’re at a sporting event, be it professional or amateur, take the lead in respecting America appropriately. It’s the least we can do.
Kerry Patton, a combat service disabled veteran, is a senior analyst for WIKISTRAT and owner of IranWarMonitor.com. He has worked in South America, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, focusing on intelligence and security and interviewing current and former terrorists, including members of the Taliban. He is the author of Sociocultural Intelligence: The New Discipline of Intelligence Studies and the children’s book American Patriotism.
