Next Stop is Vietnam?

As some of you know, I went on my first and only mission’s trip last summer. With a team of 13, I went to a rural village in Cambodia and helped build a simple church. I never planned on being a missionary; in fact, I never wanted to do so. But one of my daughters, who had participated in long-term missions in Thailand and China, talked me into it.

I went, feeling totally incompetent, but willing to use whatever strength, knowledge, and skills to help build this village church. What a joy it was to participate, interact with the village people, and help them reach a goal. The icing on the cake was learning, that by providing the village people an additional $1200 per year, the building would serve double duty as a school for the village children, and that amount would pay for materials and a teacher.

And so that was Jimmy’s big adventure, and I felt, “There, I’ve done it.” Little did I know that I would be invited to participate yet again, on a trip to Vietnam. This time, I am not being asked to go as a builder, but to capitalize on 30 years of teaching experience, and work with eager locals who want to learn English.

So why send a group of twelve from the US all the way to Vietnam for this short-term mission effort? Can’t they just find people to teach English there? They can and do. Then what is the point?

As I learned in Cambodia, the value of the outreach has very little to do with the actual labor. After all, there’s nothing magic about US workers helping build the church the people there already know how to build. True, they needed financial support to make it happen, but the Khmer people could have completed all the labor, in time, by themselves. The power of the outreach was in building relationship and being encouraged by brothers and sisters in Christ coming from the other side of the world to help. The village people were overwhelmed by the generosity. And we, the helpers, were overwhelmed by the love of the village people.

Watching the news, we get inundated with the message that America is the object of hate and wrath from abroad. In Cambodia, I did not experience that at all. In fact, the opposite was true; the rural people adored Americans. Why? Because the Americans they had met or encountered had come to help them build a simple church – which served as a place of worship, a school, and a central meeting place. I couldn’t help but wonder of the benefits of this simple act, and relatively low cost, versus government entourages meeting in austere buildings and seeking diplomacy.

In Vietnam, the “building” to take place will be in relationship and education. There is an unnamed restaurant in an unnamed city that serves as an attraction to locals coming to learn English from Americans. They also come hungering for the gospel. Despite the dangers, there is no denying the Truth. People want to know more about it, talk about their life, and are refreshed by the prayer brought by American friends who traveled a great distance to encourage them.

As I learned in preparation for my only other mission’s trip, there are “goers” and “senders.” Not everyone can, wants, or is called to go. They may believe in the value of the outreach, and desire to support it; they are the senders. Goers can, want, and are called to go. Some can pay out of pocket, and others don’t have the means to do so. I am saving, but to participate, I will need help. It is a humbling thing to ask others for support, and I don’t do so lightly.

If you believe there is value in such an outreach and would like to be a sender, I would be honored to go. I do know how to teach English, and I do know how to share the love of Jesus. I am willing, desirous, and have been called.

There is a Donate button that is run through PayPal. If you decide to help, would you please leave me a message in the PayPal process? I’d love to thank you, AND… if I don’t obtain sufficient support, I need to return your money!

Thanks for reading. In God’s Grace, Jim

The Value of a Good Argument with a 17 year-old

My 17 year-old has not learned to simply let others spout off and let assertions come to rest where they may. No, at least in a family that watches the news, arguments occur.

Our 17 year-old son made the mistake of saying, “I wouldn’t marry a conservative or a liberal – because…”

As a verbal family, we were not quick to say, “Oh, that’s fine, honey. Whatever you’ve been indoctrinated with at the public school is perfectly fine.” No, we launched into explanations of how we arrived at our current opinions. While some people would say that we were trying to pass our prejudices onto our son, we would counter that we were trying to share our life-learnings – aka – wisdom.

Example: When the AIDS epidemic was spreading throughout the US, the CDC identified the primary target groups as being homosexuals, prostitutes, and IV drug users.  The logical question might be, “Shouldn’t those population groups show some restraint?” However, that was considered to be narrow-minded. So, that question was dismissed and considered homophobic and even hateful. The epidemic spread to the point of dictating educational policy, and inevitably silenced. By today’s standards, a person questioning the practice of the above mentioned social behaviors would be labeled as a hate monger and worthy of being silenced of, what, their 1^st Amendment rights?

And gee, when the heyday of unbridled drug use took place, those who questioned the impact of such were shouted down with statistics and headlines that the war on drugs was a stupid waste of money, incarceration, and litigation. While we tried to slow the onslaught with public education informing of the dangers of drugs, the public pressure was to acquiesce and allow. With the cost of the war on drugs and associated litigation, advocates of legalizing drugs argued that the US should “Let it Be.” (Courtesy of John Lennon.) Who picks up the tab for drug rehab, food stamps, unemployment, welfare, unpaid co-payments and emergency room treatment for drug-related maladies? Umm, that would appear to be the taxpayers who hold a job. And of the 50% divorce rate, did illegal drug use factor in as any part of the equation? Shhh! That’s none of your business!

We ended our verbal battle by discussing the schism that has developed in our American society between those who believe in God,( or at least intelligent design,) and those who do not. For the life of me, I don’t understand how those who don’t believe in a God can ascribe to any sense of “right.” Our Declaration of Independence states “…Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, …endowed by their Creator…” Okay, so if God is reduced from the equation, from where do rights come? Some would argue, natural law. What the hell is that?

If we evolved from slime mold, why should I give credence to any sense of public decency? In the animal world, might is right. One animal does not question morality in taking from another. That being the case, all sense of fairness evaporates. If not, what is the basis of morality? Evolution? If so, then should I claim to be less evolved than you, which inevitably explains why I murdered you on animalistic impulse and adrenaline? How then, shall we determine what is just in society?

The real reason for the right of free speech had nothing to do with pornography nor lyrics of rap music. It had everything to do with the free exchange of ideas which inevitably led to public policy vis-à-vis governmental legislation. At some point, freedom to exchange ideas and concerns was hijacked by those who would silence the opposition to controversial thought, and inevitably, public policy. Thank, GOD, that the “thought police” have not yet silenced the discussions within my own home.

I dread, not what faces me in my lifetime. But rather, what faces my children and grandchildren. On what foundation will the mores of my posterity be based?

Next November

I haven't blogged on this site for quite some time, but I see people are still reading it from time to time, so here I go...

My wife got an Obama countdown calendar that captures quotes Obama uttered that you never hear about on CNN, NPR, etc. During the 2008 campaigning, I remember people drooling over what a genius Obama was... No, I mean genius. And articulate. Why there had never been such an orator.

By now the jokes about being a teleprompter President is old news; if one shuts down, so does he. His handlers try hard to keep him on script. And of course, we've all heard about his claim of having been to the 57 states during his run.

This calendar offers some good ones. Example: "The Middle East is obviously an issue that has plagued the region for centuries." January 2010. Remember when people were upset because Dan Quayle couldn't spell potato? In May of 2008: "On this Memorial Day, as our nation honors its unbroken line of fallen heroes - and I see many of them in the audience here today..." I guess that is true genius - or does he really see the ghosts? How about "One of the things that's a huge advantage to America compared to countries like Europe..." April 2010. Or "The members of our highest court...are charged with the vital task of applying principles put to paper more than twenty centuries ago." You didn't realize the Constitution was written around the time of Christ? And my personal favorite: "A treatable illness like asthma...costs, when - if you - they just gave - you gave them treatment early, and they got some treatment, and ah, a Breathalyzer, or an inhalator..." Now that's eloquent.

Mainstream media does a great job of covering for President Obama. It will be interesting to see what happens in November. Between the war chest the President will have for campaigning and having the press in his back pocket, will the American people ignore what is right before them?

• Will we overlook the fact that we are dependent on foreign oil and Mr. Obama gave away the opportunity for the Keystone Project which would have meant energy and jobs?
• Will we accept the reality that our current administration is more pro-Muslim than supportive of our long-time ally, Israel?
• Will we pretend that the housing industry is recovering?
• Will we accept the manipulation of numbers in the unemployment statistics, and shrug our shoulders about the new formula which does not include those people who lost hope and quit trying, as well as those who were previously full-time employees but can, now, only find part-time work?
• Will we actually remember that the national average price of a gallon of gas in December 2008 was $1.66? (Look it up if you don't believe me.)
• Will we continue to drive by car dealerships that have no one shopping and believe the auto industry is actually recovering? Can you say Volt?
• Will we continue to tolerate having police protection so stretched that they won't respond to accidents or 9-1-1 calls unless they can substantiate an imminent risk to human life?
• Will we continue to foster the myth of human caused global warming when we all learned as school children that there were at least two previous Ice Ages, and that dinosaurs once roamed the earth in a worldwide tropical climate? Why would we expect climate changes to suddenly cease to exist now that self-proclaimed environmental experts like Al Gore say they should?
• Will we continue to pretend we really care about a "global community" and insist on them screwing up their resources by meeting our needs rather than becoming independent and responsibly obtaining the resources we need to survive?
• Will we continue to overlook the obvious right to defend our borders? Could we maybe use the simple analogy of one's home - that being, that just because someone sneaks into my home doesn't mean they have de facto earned the right to my family's medical insurance, our food, our shelter, our retirement savings. I have the right to kick them out. And if the intruder claims that he took out the garbage when my own children did not, does that mean they are entitled to stay?
• How many more corporate bailouts will we watch with the cronies at the top walk away with tens of millions of dollars in their pockets while the investors and stock holders lose the entire value of their stock?
  
• Will we sit idly by while the government tells a privately funded medical facility that has religious convictions that it MUST provide contraceptive services?
• Will we continue to wag our heads at the President simply ignoring and dismantling the Constitution?
• Will we elect a man who is effectively sidestepping the branch of government which has the power to "check" his power (Congress)? President Obama does this by utilizing czars who are not elected who then make national policy that was never reviewed by representatives elected by the people.
• Will we ignore the fact that Obama has removed the right of habeas corpus - that is, the right to not be held as a prisoner indefinitely, and be able to stand before your accusers, and know when you will have your day in court? That right is firmly planted in the Constitution and has its roots in the Magna Carta - dating back to 1215.
• Will we pretend Obama isn't taking over private enterprises such as GM, making attempts at private insurance, and "clean" energy. Do yourself a favor: If you don't really know what fascism is, look it up, and you will see Obama.
• Will we be silent when the mantra is continued that the Democrats only want to tax the very rich? I'm lower middle class, and my taxes continue to go up, up, up. And why wouldn't they? I cannot stand in line at the grocery store without noticing that many, if not most, consumers in my community are using food stamps - and then using cash to buy cigarettes and booze.
• Will we ever allow taxpayers to receive a voucher for education so they can send their children to the school of their choice, or will we always be captive to the liberal dictates of the NEA - one of the largest unions which supports Mr. Obama?

The revolutionary movement between 1763 and 1781 was based on a principle: that if you allowed the government to remove the rights of the people, the natural outcome will be tyranny. Our government was to be limited, empowered by the People, and for a Republic to stand, the citizens must remain informed and willing to dismantle the government when it practices an abuse of its power. We now live under a government which is becoming more and more intrusive and controlling of our freedoms while systematically sidestepping the Constitution.

Obama promised the most transparent administration ever. It has been nothing of the kind. He promised to be out of Iraq in 7 months; even after more than 3 years, we are still there; we just stopped calling military, combat soldiers. His handling of Afghanistan has done nothing more than put our soldiers in a Viet Nam style war. And then there's Libya - there's no transparency there nor yielding to the powers of Congress. Obama ran on Hope and Change - and the slogan of "Yes, We Can." There has been lots of change; we've moved closer and closer to becoming like the socialist powers of eastern Europe. "Yes, We Can" has become Yes we can... apologize for having become a successful country that tends to help everybody and then get kicked in the teeth for trying to help; yes we can run our economy into the ground by borrowing more, taxing more, spending more, and sending the message to the poor that they can have a cradle to grave experience of government subsidy, yes we can take over private industry, yes we can ignore the Constitution, yes we can say that we understand the poor while being America's golfing president and have my family take lavish vacations that involve renting out the entire Taj Mahal in India, yes we can turn our backs on Israel, yes we can allow Iran to develop a nuclear arsenal when their leader publicly states his goal is to take out Israel and eventually the Great Satan (US); yes we can bail out our corporate buddies who padded our election funds; yes we can change public policy without using the framework of the Constitution which specifies the duties of three branches of government and never mentions having unelected czars who set mandated policy; yes we can keep America dependent of foreign oil; yes we can secretly sell thousands of weapons to the drug cartels of Mexico in the name of tracing their routes; yes we can thumb our nose at the Constitutional duty to protect the sovereign borders of the United States and then take legal action against the border states which try to protect themselves, ad nauseum.

Okay, I'm tired of ranting. But, what will happen in November?

Glenn Beck Hatred

With Beck announcing his retreat from FOX News, the liberals seem apoplectic with glee, claiming his ratings are plummeting. What brings about a plummet, anyway.

When you’re near the top (number 3 in the nation), you can a) stay put, b) move upward, or c) go down. With the number of people rooting against Beck, any downward movement will indicate a plummet.

In the last year, Beck has moved from simply being a Right Wing Conservative, to driving home Conservatism roots based in a Christian foundation. This in itself is going to cause many viewers to jump ship. They may well have agreed with Beck’s political railings, but his “no holds barred” approach to espousing Christianity were sure to alienate many Conservatives who don’t profess convictions emanating from Christianity.

Glenn Beck has been widely labeled as a “conspiracy theorist.” Something I’d like to ask the haters of Beck is this: “What, specifically, has the man said that has been proven baseless?” For those who listened to him on radio, or watched his show, they know he goes to great lengths to build his case from one premise to the next. The vast majority of news commentators start with an assumed premise and move to a conclusion. Beck takes great care in educating his audience about his premises before moving to a conclusion. So again, what specifics can critics offer which point to Beck simply offering outlandish conspiracies without basing conclusions on evidence?

Propaganda has been utilized for eons to undermine people. The vast majority of people I’ve spoken with who hate Beck offer no specifics. In point of fact, they haven’t even listened to the man. No, most critics hate Beck because NPR, SNL, Rolling Stone, CNN, or some other source has told the audience that Beck is a wacko.

If someone out there has some specifics to offer concerning Beck’s content being baseless, I’m all ears.

What Senator Coburn said...

I yield the floor to the Honorable Senator Coburn. It's nice to know someone is hearing us...

Subject: Senator Coburn's remarks regarding spending cuts

Date: Thu,

17 Feb 2011 19:20:01 -0700

Sen. Tom Coburn is an MD (general practitioner) and Senator from

Oklahoma.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"We are going in exactly the wrong direction. We ought to be standing

on the principles that made this country great. There ought to be a

review of every program in the Federal Government that is not

effective, that is not efficient, that is wasteful or fraudulent, and

we ought to get rid of it right now. We ought to say, you're gone, to

be able to pay for a real stimulus plan that might, in fact, have some

impact.

I would be remiss if I didn't remind everybody that next week we are

going to hear from the Obama administration wanting another $500

billion. Outside of this, they are going to want another $500 billion

to handle the banking system. Still not fixing the real disease - the

pneumonia - we are going to treat the fever or treat the cough, but we

are not going to treat the real disease.

Until we treat the real disease, this is pure waste. It is worse than

pure waste.. It is morally reprehensible, because it steals the

future of the next two generations.

I am going to wind up here and finish, but I wanted to spend some time

to make sure the American people know what is in this bill. I think

once they know what is in this bill, they would reject it out of hand.

Let me read for my colleagues some of the things that are in this bill...

The biggest earmark in history is in this bill. There is $2 billion

in this bill to build a coal plant with zero emissions. That would be

great, maybe, if we had the technology, but the greatest brains in the

world sitting at MIT say we don't have the technology yet to do that.

Why would we build a $2 billion power plant we don't have the

technology for that we know will come back and ask for another $2

billion and another $2 billion and another $2 billion when we could

build a demonstration project that might cost $150 million or $200

million? There is nothing wrong with having coal-fired plants that

don't produce pollution; I am not against that. Even the Washington

Post said the technology isn't there. It is a boondoggle. Why would

we do that?

Tonight, we eliminated a $246 million payback for the large movie

studios in Hollywood .

We are going to spend $88 Million to study whether we ought to buy a

new ice breaker for the Coast Guard. You know what. The Coast Guard

needs a new ice breaker. Why do we need to spend $88 million? They

have two ice breakers now that they could retrofit and fix and come up

with equivalent to what they needed to and not spend the $1 billion

they are going to come back and ask for, for another ice breaker, so

why would we spend $88 million studying that?

We are going to spend $448 million to build the Department of Homeland

Security a new building. We have $1.3 trillion worth of empty

buildings right now, and because it has been blocked in Congress we

can't sell them, we can't raze them, we can't do anything, but we are

going to spend money on a new building here in Washington .

We are going to spend another $248 million for new furniture for that

building; a quarter of a billion dollars for new furniture. What

about the furniture the Department of Homeland Security has now?

These are tough times. Should we be buying new furniture? How about

using what we have? That is what a family would do. They would use

what they have. They wouldn't go out and spend $248 million on

furniture.

How about buying $600 million worth of hybrid vehicles? Do you know

what I would say? Right now times are tough; I would rather Americans

have new cars than Federal employees have new cars. What is wrong

with the cars we have? Dumping $600 million worth of used vehicles on

the used vehicle market right now is one of the worst things we could

do. Instead, we are going to spend $600 million buying new cars for

Federal employees..

There is $400 million in here to prevent STDs .. I have a lot of

experience with that. I have delivered 4,000 babies.. We don't need

to spend $400 million on STDs. What we need to do is properly educate

about the infection rates and the effectiveness of methods of

prevention. That doesn't take a penny more. You can write that on

one piece of paper and teach every kid in this country, but we don't

need to spend $400 million on it. It is not a priority.

How about $1.4 billion for rural waste disposal programs? That might

even be somewhat stimulative. New sewers. That might create jobs.

How about $150 million for a Smithsonian museum? Tell me how that

helps get us out of a recession. Tell me how that is a priority.

Would the average American think that is a priority that we ought to

be mortgaging our kids' future to spend another $150 million at the

Smithsonian?

How about $1 billion for the 2010 census? So everybody knows, the

census is so poorly managed that the census this year is going to cost

twice what it cost 10 years ago, and we wasted $800 million on a

contract because it was no-bid that didn't perform. Nobody got fired,

no competitive bidding, and we blew $800 million.

We have $75 million for smoking cessation activities, which probably

is a great idea, but we just passed a bill-the SCHIP bill - that we

need to get 21 million more Americans smoking (and paying tobacco

taxes) to be able to pay for that bill. That doesn't make sense.

How about $200 million for public computer centers at community

colleges? Since when is a community college in my State a recipient

of Federal largesse? Is that our responsibility? I mean, did we talk

with Dell and Hewlett-Packard and say, How do we make you all do

better? Is there not a market force that could make that better?

Will we actually buy on a true competitive bid? No, because there is

nothing that requires competitive bidding in anything in this bill.

There is nothing that requires it. It is one of the things President

Obama said he was going to mandate the Federal Government, but there

is no competitive bidding in this bill at all.

We have $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas. Well, that will

put 10 or 15 people to work. Is that a priority for us right now?

There is $6 billion to turn Federal buildings into green buildings.

That is a priority, versus somebody getting a job outside of

Washington , a job that actually produces something, that actually

increases wealth?

How about $500 million for State and local fire stations? Where do

you find in the Constitution us paying for local fire stations within

our (the federal government) realm of prerogatives? None of it is

competitively bid - not a grant program.

Next is $1.2 billion for youth activities. Who does that employ?

What does that mean?

How about $88 million for renovating the public health service

building? You know, if we could sell half of the $1.3 trillion worth

of properties we have, we could take care of every Federal building

requirement and backlog we have..

Then there's $412 million for CDC buildings and property. We spent

billions on a new center and headquarters for CDC. Is that a

priority? Building another Government building instead of - if we are

going to spend $412 million on building buildings, let's build one

that will produce something, one that will give us something.

How about $850 million for that most "efficient'' Amtrak that hasn't

made any money since 1976 and continues to receive $2 billion or $3

billion a year in subsidies?

Here is one of my favorites: $75 million to construct a new "security

training'' facility for State Department security officers. We have

four other facilities already available to train them. But it is not

theirs. They want theirs. By the way, it is going to be in West

Virginia ... I wonder how that got there? So we are going to build a

new training facility that duplicates four others that we already have

that could easily do what we need to do. But because we have a

stimulus package, we are going to add in oink pork.

How about $200 million in funding for a lease - not buying, but a

lease of alternative energy vehicles on military installations?

We are going to bail out the States on Medicaid. Total all of the

health programs in this, and we are going to transfer $150 billion out

of the private sector and we are going to move it to the Federal

Government. You talk about back dooring national health care! Henry

Waxman has to be smiling big today. He wants a single-payer

Government-run health care system. We are going to move another $150

billion to the Federal Government from the private sector.

We are going to eliminate fees on loans from the Small Business

Administration. You know what that does? That pushes productive

capital to unproductive projects. It is exactly the wrong thing to

do.

Then there is $160 million to the Job Corps Program - But not for 20

jobs and not to put more people in the Job Corps but to construct or

repair buildings.

We are going to spend $524 million for information technology upgrades

that the Appropriations Committee claims will create 388 jobs. If you

do the math on that, that is $1.5 million a job. Don't you love the

efficiency of Washington thinking?

We are going to create $79 billion in additional money for the States,

a "slush fund,'' to bail out States and provide millions of dollars

for education costs. How many of you think that will ever go away?

Once the State education programs get $79 billion over 2 years, do you

think that will ever go away? They cry and hue of taking our money

away - even though it was a stimulus and supposed to be limited, it

will never go away. So we will continue putting that forward until

our kids have grandkids of their own.

There is about $47 billion for a variety of energy programs that are

primarily focused on renewable energy. I am fine with spending that.

But we ought to get something for it. There ought to be measurable

results. There are none. It is pie in the sky, saying we will throw

some money at it.

Let me conclude by saying we are at a seminal moment in our country.

We will either start living within the confines of realism and

responsibility or we will blow it and we will create the downfall of

the greatest Nation that ever lived. This bill is the start of that

downfall. To abandon a market-oriented society and transfer it to a

Soviet-style, government-centered, bureaucratic-run and mandated

program, that is the thing that will put the stake in the heart of

freedom in this country.

I hope the American people know what is in this bill. I am doing

everything I can to make sure they know. But more important, I hope

somebody is listening who will treat the pneumonia we are faced with

today, which is the housing and mortgage markets. It doesn't matter

how much money we spend in this bill. It is doomed to failure unless

we fix that problem first. Failing that, we will go down in history

as the Congress that undermined the future and vitality of this

country. Let it not be so."

PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW! THANKS!!!

http://coburn.senate.gov/public/http://coburn.senate.gov/public/ >

Wars and Rumors of More War

Does anyone besides me remember Obama’s campaign promise to be out of Iraq within 7 months of becoming President? It’s now been 27 months.

Does anyone else remember Obama saying we had to have a clear cut strategy in Afghanistan and an exit strategy? And that if Pakistan did not help in subduing terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda, we’d have to “take them out”? (That was in a Presidential debate with McCain.)

Now, Libya.

Where is the outrage among the people who condemned “Bush’s War”? Where are the accusations of Obama lied?

While President, Obama has played over 100 rounds of golf, vacationed in Montana, Hawaii, India, and now Rio.

War on 3 fronts, illegal immigrants by the thousands, drug cartels shooting American agents, an economy in crisis, a tsunami and nuclear state of emergency in Japan, crude oil over $100/barrel, national health care judged unconstitutional, Guantanamo is as open as ever, unemployment and underemployment are over 20%, 1 of 5 homes is in foreclosure, the Feds cannot agree upon an economic solution given the massive debt held and the imminent danger of hyper-inflation, and our President flies off to Rio...where ironically, he’s greeted by protestors who rightly identify the hypocrisy of the man who condemned interfering with the Middle East, and is now interfering with the Middle East.

What Would You Do?

Last night, I watched a movie entitled Defiance, produced in 2008. I had never heard of this movie, but was surfing through what was immediately available for streaming and wanted to see something with Daniel Craig (the most recent James Bond).

The story is based on the true story of the Bielski brothers who lived in Eastern Europe at the time of Nazi occupation. Jews were being rounded up and kept in the ghettoes until any usefulness had vanished, or as more availability of death camps made it possible to transport them to their maker. The Bielskis were Jewish, lived in a rural setting, and though many of their family were killed, they escaped and fled to the forest in hopes of survival. There, they encountered more Jews who had made it out, but had little hope of survival against their human adversaries, starvation, exposure and disease.

What is striking in this movie is the decision of many Jews to face their ultimate plight and remain in the ghetto. Although the rumors run thick of their ultimate fate, there is no hard proof, and thus, many choose to stick it out and hope for the best. Those who decide to escape then faced the decision of whether they were really up to the task of actually taking the life of another human. The vast majority were city people, devout in their faith, peaceful, people who avoided confrontation, and relied on God to protect them. For me, it was an excellent movie, and I’d highly recommend it.

Back in the day when I taught American History, when considering WWII, students would inevitably ask why the Jews didn’t rise us against their captors when it became obvious that terror faced them at the concentration camps. “Why didn’t they rush the guards as a group? If I had been there,” students would say, “I wouldn’t have gone along like a bunch of sheep to the slaughter!” (Or something to that effect.)

I couldn’t help think about what Conservatives in America would do today. Most Conservatives are law-abiding citizens who obey the letter and spirit of the law...even when we think it unfair. We don’t bring attention to ourselves. Getting to any type of protest rally is difficult because we are involved in the industriousness of a career, on tending to the needs of our children, or often ministering to the needs of others. We have great faith in the American system and really have a hard time believing that the growth of socialism we are witnessing right now won’t vanish as a temporary flash-in-the-pan, and matters will correct themselves. They always do, right?

If we’ve attended a protest, such as a Tea Party Rally, we note that they are peaceful, polite, and attended by people that we’d like to have as neighbors. When liberals come and attempt to agitate, we respectfully allow them to intermingle and state their opposition. If the police ask us to move off the street for the sake of traffic, we do so. If shop owners insist on not parking in their private parking lot, we move our cars. We tend to stand along the street, holding up signs which state our sentiments, smile and wave at passing cars - some of which carry occupants spitting, cursing, giving us the one-finger salute, and telling us that we’re a bunch of wackos. At the conclusion, we clean up, and no trash is left.

Have you seen any footage of the demonstrations in Wisconsin? Probably not if you don’t watch FOX. There, protestors have stormed the Capitol, threatened the lives of conservative legislators and prevented them from getting in the building - using intimidation as a means to get their way. The place is strewn with litter. The protestors verbally abuse and suggest that the Governor should be killed. One gets the sense that should anyone voice opposition, they would be summarily beaten by the mob.

Interestingly, it is the members of the Tea Party Movement who Janet Napolitano suggested needed to be on the terrorist watch list as a threat to Homeland Security.

Back to the Jews. Hitler blamed the Jews as being the root of Germany’s economic problems. He led a country trying to emerge out of their Depression into believing that Jews were prosperous due to their parasitic practices against the German people. By eradicating the Jews, Germany would be able to return to prosperity.

President Obama has openly ridiculed the Tea Party Movement. In one speech, he assumed the posture of a conniving, Scrooge-like person and talked about how the members of this movement “wave their little tea bags around.” He never once supported the right to express views based on the First Amendment, nor commended the group for their control and positive role-modeling for others - especially the youth - on how to conduct a peaceful protest. No, he belittled the movement. On the other hand, I haven’t heard him criticize the Wisconsin protests, just as he never spoke out against the thuggery of the SEIU’s actions of intimidating voters to stay away from the polls, and actually assaulting dissenters in the crowds.

So, have you ever projected what you would do, if suddenly, you were singled out as the enemy? The mainstream media is in the liberal camp. Those who are “neutral” are inundated with the message of how negative, divisive, selfish, self-righteous you are (if you are a real Conservative), and the source of the country’s problems. If there is an economic collapse in this country, and I truly believe President Obama wants to collapse capitalism, people will eagerly look to blame a group. If the Liberals get their way and a version of “Fairness in Broadcasting” becomes law, FOX news will disappear in a heartbeat, and we’ll be left with networks who do not question the President.

The Jews had to decide whether they would go down fighting, or continue to act as law-abiding citizens, trusting the government despite the signs of the times, and exercise their faith that God would not allow this to happen to His chosen people. The non-Jews had to choose between actively turning in their Jewish neighbors, pretending they didn’t know what was going on, or hiding and assisting the fugitives. In playing “what if” where would you fit in?