Article...CRITICAL DECISION...
THE MEASURING STICK FOR A FUTURE PRESIDENT
By: Somerled McNamar
etherzone.com
Soon a national election will be at hand. Currently we're being bombarded with biased news commentators who try by design or omission to influence our decisions of candidacies. The public is being blasted again with same political carnival sideshow barkers who came before the public at Impeachment. We are also lambasted with commercials designed to either enhance lies or truth. We must make a choice?
Who will represent and follow the ideals handed down by our founding fathers?
Who will step forward understanding that leadership encompasses more than the mere ability to bury problems under a mountain of tax dollars? Who will signify the finest hope for liberty, humanity, and the continuation of a strong vibrant America where Rights are no less than real property with mass, weight, and volume. If there’s a real issue, it's the tyranny of a few powerful people to impose twisted proscriptions on Liberty and the Constitution; proscriptions that would eliminate your liberties and the sovereignty of, We the people.
We know that the fight between tyranny and liberty is a never-ending battle. John Locke wrote of it in 1660 saying, “...and between these two it is, that human affairs are perpetually kept tumbling.” Our Founding fathers gently warn us repeatedly in their writings the fight must never stop. What then do we look for in a candidate that is the most helpful in rendering a just decision? Perhaps it's character and principles we should look at more than anything. Why character and principles? Because ignoble politicians may postulate a false public persona to lead the public astray. Character and principles inevitably give them away.
What is character? Character is the active and continuous use of principles. Character is the ability to apply moral & ethical concepts as you move through life which allows you to live with yourself and others. But character can be flawed or degraded because the individual must make a conscious decision which principle will be followed. If the set of principles put into play are flawed by base designs of corruption or personal aggrandizement, also will the character be flawed. It is by character that we stand to cry no compromise or conciliation with base corruption, abandonment of rule of law or constitutional liberties.
What are principles? Principles are the whole ball of moral and ethical standards so fundamental to the human spirit that they exist as basic truths. They’re of intrinsic nature to humanity and one's self. Moral ideas are the starting point of principles with which we shape our lives. Principles are the arrow of compass, our guiding star in the heavens.
General Douglas MacArthur once said of principles, “They build your basic character, they make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid. They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success; not to substitute words for actions, nor seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge; to learn to stand up in the storm but to have compassion on those who fall; to master yourself before you seek to master others; to have a heart that is clean, a goal that is high; to be modest so you will remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength. They give you a temper of will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, an appetite for adventure over love of ease. They create in your heart the sense of wonder, the unfailing hope of what next, and the joy and inspiration of life."
It is by principles we learn that without moral responsibility the self government of a Republic cannot bring itself to fruition. A clear sense of principles should shine a light through the veil of pretense used to hide ulterior designs. Principles also carry a marker allowing us to compare and judge the validity of values an individual places on principles, it's called Integrity.
What is Integrity? Integrity is the glue, the adherence to your principles, how well you follow or attempt to follow them in all aspects of your life. It comes with built-in scales that you may judge truth from lies. In one pan you place the principle, in the other, a persons words, deeds, and actions. If both pans balance a person is said to be true to their principles. If the words, deeds & actions keep changing, the weight of deceit crashes the pan causing principles to be spilled away.
Words themselves have steadfast meaning. Almost all bonds when stripped to essentials involve a person's word. A person intends and means the words selected and will believe and act on their proclamations under all circumstances, not just when it's favorable to them but in unfavorable times also. In the most solemn activities we enter into within our communities & lives it’s our adherence to the integrity of words that shows us a person's principles, and from those, the position of his character. A mans word was the bond of agreement before he could write and he understood the weight and substance carried within it.
So then the issue for us now becomes; what person seeking our representative power has the character to act (even when alone) on basic human truths, moral responsibility, and principles so natural to liberty that we can be assured we and America will not be harmed? Who has shown evidence of moral and ethical decay? Who has shown moral and strong ethical strengths? Who has the integrity, the steadfast adherence to a moral and ethical code? Should we not expect the politicians we elect to the highest offices of the land to be honest in word, deed, and action; to be principled men of character; to have integrity; to be statesmen standing before God & Country?
It is fallacious, no, it's an outright bald-faced lie for anyone to claim that because politicians have always lied we should expect no less today. Elected men haven't always lied. The American public has every right to expect our representatives before the World to be highly principled men & women of fine character with ethical strengths derived from sound principles of logic and culture. From these traits spring genuine honor. Corrupt politicians bankrupt of virtuous principles have always lied. When a politician stands before you and lies, it's his way of saying he has absolutely no respect for you, your judgment or your vote.
All these concepts must be carefully weighed in the days ahead. Perhaps never in the history of this country have decisions of such great importance been asked of a populace. On these decisions rest the future of untold coming generations as well as those of today. The promise of America is not a chicken in every pot, but a promise that the road to your dream of a finer future for you and your children will not be blocked. The promise of America is that, like the ship Constitution, America stands as she stood, oak bottomed and copper sheathed. |
