Some intemperate Thanksgiving thoughts

Some intemperate thoughts for Thanksgiving

Many people consider Thanksgiving as a time to be thankful for what we have. Others consider Thanksgiving as a time to eat and make merry, watch football or basketball, and to prepare for the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

I would suggest that this thanksgiving we take the time to reflect on where we are as a people. We have been fortunate to live in a nation that has to this point offered wondrous bounty. Success in life being limited only by one’s willingness to succeed and the amount of work one was willing to put forth.

Alexander Frazier Tyler, published in 1776.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: "from bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage."

We are living in a time to be able to see Alexander Frazier Tyler’s words coming true right here in the United States. Generally speaking we have become a people who are more like over indulged children. So many have become selfish and demanding. Others have become apathetic to the situation around them. The result of this is that we have done just of Mr. Tyler stated. We have practiced loose fiscal policy resulting in 12 trillion dollars worth of debt and that figure is climbing. Additionally, the liberties our forefathers fought so hard for and risk so much to obtain are being eroded simply because most just plain don’t care. We have even turned our backs on God out of nothing more than plain apathy. We longer seem willing to take a stand, no matter who we offend. Instead we shirk our founding principles in the name of tolerance.

This Thanksgiving take some time to examine yourself. Ask yourself if you are truly thankful for the sacrifices that those before us made so we might enjoy the blessings of liberty. Ask yourself, if there are principles worth defending. Then ask yourself if you would be where you are today if you had the misfortune to have been born elsewhere. Ask yourself, whatever happened to ideals like liberty, courage, self sacrifice, self reliance, and living to a moral standard.

We are living in dark time. It is a time that has been creeping up on us starting in the 1930s. Today, the vast majority of our elected leaders are corrupt and unprincipled. They use the power of their office only to maintain their hold on power and control. They have spent this nation nearly to bankruptcy. They have done so solely for the sake of buying votes. They have eroded our freedoms. We are nowhere near as free as we were just 30 years ago. They have used their office to for personal gain. They have taken this nation to war and then used the lives of our military men and women for political gain. They have surrounded themselves with people who despise this nation and all that it stands for. Our president is a prime example.

The sad part is WE have allowed it to happen. We treat these people like they are Gods or Royalty when they are neither. We look to them to meet our every whim, when in reality all they can do is extort from one to give to another. We seem afraid to hold them to any standard of moral behavior. We allow them to flaunt their perverted lifestyles around like badges of honor. In reality, We should be ashamed.

All that we have achieved as a people is for naught if we don’t start relying on ourselves and quit depending buffoons we so laughingly call political leaders. We need to quit looking at them as royalty. Instead we need to hold them accountable for the messes they created and accountable to a standard of behavior.

This Thanksgiving take time to give thanks for all the blessings you have and remember where they came from. Remember those who sacrificed to offer you the opportunity to achieve. Don’t throw that opportunity away for the appearance of safety.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,

Cato