Paineful Truth

Governments cannot be compassionate. And neither should they attempt to be. The federal government of a nation has one purpose and one purpose alone - to protect the God-given rights of its citizens. That is the reason good governments exist. National governments must act out of interest for their own citizens. In the past, when the US government attempted to act out of interest for another nation’s citizens, it has resulted in protracted wars, loss of blood and treasure, and at times the loss of individual rights. Notice here, that I said the government cannot be compassionate . This is a very specific use of terms. Because the government is not the individual citizens. Individual citizens (that is you and me) are responsible for demonstrating compassion to our fellow human beings. This is a big responsibility. And if you learn one thing from observing human nature, it is that generally speaking we hate responsibility . We will do almost anything to get away from responsibilit...

Imagine, the election is over. The ballots have been cast. Your candidate has lost. You did everything you could to prevent it from happening, but the opposition has won. Disappointment, disbelief, fear. Now, two months later, you watch in horror as the oath is administered. A man you believe wholly unqualified for the job of President, is sworn into office for the next 4 years. While you try and remain hopeful, something inside of you is saying “Will I have a country after this is over?” Something else inside of you says, “How did this happen? What can I do now?” You feel like it’s over. Do these emotions sound familiar? If you’re a conservative, you probably were reminiscing to the 2008 election when Barack Obama became President. However, if you identify as a liberal, those emotions are far more fresh. You’re probably thinking back to last week when Donald Trump became President. If you’re experiencing these emotions right now, I know how you feel. I felt the exact same w...

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. The website of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum states “On this annual day of commemoration, the UN urges every member state to honor the victims of the Nazi era and to develop educational programs to help prevent future genocides.” Genocide is defined as “the deliberate killing of a large group of people.” Today, as we honor and remember the victims that endured the horrors of Nazi oppression, it is fitting that we take action to prevent future genocides. It is fitting that we take action with the aim of ending a genocide that has been taking place in the United States since 1973.  In 1973 a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States labeled the abortion procedure a 'right'. Roe vs. Wade was a dark turning point in our nation's history that has resulted in the death of nearly 60,000,000 innocent children. Imagine the entire population of California and New York combined. Now imagine that every one of t...

Obama is officially gone. However, his term ended with a farewell address that espoused a rosy (and rather factless) view of his “accomplishments” over the last 8 years. Life is about perspective. So allow me to take each “accomplishment” and provide an alternate perspective. It will quickly become apparent that there are two very different versions of the last 8 years of history. Reversing the Great Recession, Rebooting the Auto Industry, Longest Stretch of Job Creation The reasons behind the Great Recession and any recovery that has taken place are far too complicated to get into in a short article like this. But even with the conflicting explanations, one thing we do know is that the stimulus bill that was designed to fix everything gave over $200 billion in tax credits to individuals, however since this money was so spread out, few people even realized anything had happened. Billions went to “infrastructure”, however high speed rail projects and many other infrastructur...

Donald J. Trump is now officially the President of the United States of America. Very few ever honestly thought this day would come. But here we are. Through the last 8 years, America once again demonstrated its indomitable spirit in the face of overwhelming odds. And we cautiously, yet optimistically look forward to (at least) the next 4 years as a time of action. A time where things that have been spoken of are finally put into motion. A time where empty words are given power through courageous action. I joined many Americans in shedding a happy tear on Inauguration Day, my heart swelling with pride in this God-blessed nation. One of the greatest things to see was a new President who, I believe, truly wants what is best for America. However, Trump’s dedication to the Constitution and our founding principles remains to be seen. It most certainly has been spoken, and quite eloquently, in the President’s inaugural acceptance speech, from the steps of the Capitol building, . T...

To be honest, I haven’t really kept up with the whole Golden Globe, Meryl Streep speech controversy. Not because I thought it was unimportant, but because I just really didn’t care. It was just another instance of liberal hypocrisy. Add it to the list and move on. However, I saw a headline a day or two later that stopped me in my tracks. It made me realize once again just how divided we are as a country. The headline read “Handful of Hollywood stars will be in DC for inauguration weekend”. The article listed the small number of small-time Hollywood personalities that would be around during Trump’s inauguration, making sure to note that while they’ll be in town, few will actually be performing at the inauguration. The article made sure to point out with a condescending smirk that headlines are noting the “lack of starpower” at Trump’s swearing-in. The article made it clear that it didn’t matter that Trump won the election. It didn’t matter that America had ...

This week, a new Congress was gaveled into session within the halls of the United States Capitol. Senator Ted Cruz introduced a bill to impose term limits on members of congress. There are a lot of strong opinions on both sides of this issue. In this article, I will add one more opinion to the din. We have always had term limits in America. They were composed of three things - virtuous candidates, principled voting citizens, and elections. Virtuous Candidates Very few would argue that the caliber of candidates that we have to choose from in a given election has greatly deteriorated. This is, in fact, often a reason given by citizens who refuse to vote: “there just aren’t any good candidates”. Nothing demonstrated this difficulty more than the last presidential election . We have seen a precipitous slide in the morals demanded and expected from our leaders. Bill Clinton comes to mind, and his oft discussed wife . The list of corrupt politicians is endless. However, while th...