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 a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.The above two quotes (original sources unknown) have been popular among conservatives since the 1950s. Obviously foreseeing a nation's decline and avoiding it are two different things.
Great nations rise and fall. The people go from bondage to spiritual truth, to great courage, from courage to liberty, from liberty to abundance, from abundance to selfishness, from selfishness to complacency, from complacency to apathy, from apathy to dependence, from dependence back again to bondage.
I think that the Democrats have overplayed their hand. The 2010 elections will probably be a repeat of the 1994 elections. But I doubt our president's health plan will be repealed. The Republicans have not repealed Social Security or Medicare, so why do they think they'll repeal "Obamacare"? In another 20 years the voters will be so hooked on government health care that any talk of privatizing it will be quickly quashed. President Obama may even win reelection in 2012 (as Clinton did in 1996) if he manages his political capital more wisely from now on.
We are quickly entering the "dependence" stage of decline. Ironically, our "dependence" is (ultimately) a result of our attempts to become independent from God. When we shake off the yoke of Jesus, we find ourselves in the yoke of sin. But the yoke of sin is not "easy" and "light" like Jesus' is. (Matthew 11:28-30). As we refuse to bow to Jesus as Lord, we may find that Caesar (our government) becomes increasingly intrusive.
Could not have been said better!
ReplyDeleteDaniel, I think your analysis has been spot on, but a huge segment of the population has sadly lived in the 'dependence' phase since Lyndon B. Johnson kick-started the 'War on Poverty' in the 1960s. Outstanding post.
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel! It's good to hear from you again. You are right, dependency is not a new problem in our country, just a worsening one. I probably should have said something like "we are quickly moving through the dependency stage" rather than "we are quickly entering the dependency stage".
ReplyDeleteThe real reason for repealing Obamacare and other entitlement programs is to paraphrase Jesus, "thoughts held in mind produce after their kind," thus government seeing people as lacking produces people lacking. See the article "The Real Argument for Repealing Obamacare:"
ReplyDeletehttp://constitutionparti.blogspot.com/
Hi "Christian Prophet", thanks for taking the time to write. Unfortunately I think I disagree with both your premise and your conclusion--if I am understanding you correctly.
ReplyDeleteFirst, when Jesus said that "the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart" (Matthew 12:34), he was not saying that we control or create reality with our thoughts. He was simply saying that if we have bad (or good) stuff in our heart, sooner or later it's going to come out our lips. Thoughts are the roots and words are fruits.
Second, to think that we "create" poverty by seeing people as poor is to say that we create reality by observing reality. You have extracted a few verses about poverty from the Bible on your blog and tweaked their meaning. The Bible taken as a whole clearly recognizes that physical poverty does exist and that we are called to give physical assistance to the poor. For example, Paul brought money to help Christians in Jerusalem during a famine. This does not detract from the fact that our primary poverty is (as you would agree) spiritual.
Third, it seems you have relied primarily on ACIM to shape your understanding of what the Bible means. ACIM was "revealed" through occult (demonic) powers, not the true Jesus of the Bible. Although using a lot of Biblical terminology, it changes the definitions of the terms. It presents a false Jesus and a false gospel. As Galatians 1:8 says, "But even though we, or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." I say this not to be harsh with you but because I'm concerned for you as a fellow human. ACIM leads to death. Don't be deceived!
If you'd like to talk with me "off-blog" about any of this stuff, feel free to contact me by email (danielbartsch[at]q[dot]com) or Skype (BartschFamily).
May the Lord Jesus bless and guide you!