By Nancy Thorner & Bonnie O'Neil -
It has been said that ultimately history has proven to be the greatest teacher.
That seems a worthy claim, because it allows us to examine the strengths and weaknesses of former generations, as well as current ones, to determine what has proved to be the more effective laws, who have been the more admired officials, and which world leaders proved to be successful and those who did not.
History deals with facts; it reveals reasons for successes and the causes of failures. While it is not a perfect way to determine the best path for our future, it is undeniable that history does provide important facts to help our present generation avoid mistakes made by past generations to set the best course for America’s future.
This popular quote has been attributed to writer and philosopher George Santayana: “Those who fail to remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Although each generation has the advantage of having history to provide facts and evidence of what has proved successful or problematic, too often the same mistakes are repeated. The definition of insanity is often described as "to do the same thing again and again, believing there will be a different outcome.”
When man goes his own way
People not only engage in confrontations with their neighbors, but so do nations throughout the world with even greater consequences. Rather than find ways to mitigate differences for the sake of all who may be impacted, bravado, arrogance, pride and feelings often take the place of caution and common sense.
There are many examples in history showing how mankind is prone to make the same mistakes over and over again, such as former world leaders Bloody Queen Mary, Vladimir Lenin, and Adolf Hitler, who became tyrants and mass murderers of their own people.
It is only through the presentation of honest and unbiased facts that the American people will be equipped to elect officials who believe in what our Founding Fathers set forth, a Constitutional Republic, and who likewise ascribe to the principle of equal justice under the law.
We are fortunate to live in the United States where even our worst leaders are considerably more altruistic than in some countries, yet here in the United States we do have leaders who dislike our system of government and who are advancing a soft coup because of their hatred of everything this nation and President Trump stands for.
As to the importance of honest and unbiased facts, consider these words President Ronald Reagan used on several occasions, “Trust but verify.” History proves every generation has produced a rogue leader such as Adolf Hitler, often men with powerful personalities who began with good intentions, but once given power over their people began to become self-absorbed. Some even became paranoid about hanging on to their power.
When man provides positive achievements
Despite this dark side of mankind that has existed throughout history, there have always been men whose ideas spurred positive achievement that advanced and benefited humanity. An important example was the invention of the automobile that was scorned and had many who opposed it. It provided us with the ability to travel long distances and eventually led to the amazing vehicle by which we could explore the moon. Other important advancements, among many, were the invention of the printing press that was developed in hiding to print the Bible when certain religious leaders objected to lay people having their own Bibles, the compass for navigation, and the electric light bulb.
These inventions might be compared to established ideals in that they are the result of passing on knowledge and essential information from one generation to the another, a process both admirable and helpful to mankind. Unfortunately, the same rationality has not been applied to solving our political problems. In a nation with so many positive accomplishments, both past and present, it is regretful that a degree of compatibility or civility is not possible among elected government officials or in our own private lives.
The United States is not perfect, neither are its citizens or our elected officials, but it would be unreasonable to deny the amazing form of government our forefathers managed to set forth as represented by our Constitution and Bill of Rights. At the time, Benjamin Franklin issued this challenge to future generations about their responsibility to keep and guard the principles under which this nation was founded: “A republic . . . if you can keep it.”
The crisis of today
Those of us who were born in the United States should be thankful that our early leaders were wise men with the foresight to create this nation's form of government which remains as modern and up-to-date — as avant-garde, even — as it was in 1787. Yet of grave concern today is a crisis which questions legitimacy of our Constitution. Half of Americans believe we live under the old Constitution, with its guarantee of liberty and its expectation of self-reliance. The other half believe in a “living constitution” — a regime that empowers the Supreme Court to sit as a permanent constitutional convention, issuing decrees that keep our government evolving with modernity’s changing conditions.
There are nations who do not allow their citizens to participate in fair elections. Even though our Constitution grants citizens the right to vote to elect their officials, too many citizens do not take advantage of this benefit. Worse yet, upwards to a few million individuals who are not citizens violate our laws by voting illegally. Then too, deceased people remain listed on voter rolls to precipitate voter fraud.
Mr. Franklin's warning must be taken seriously. It is the responsibility of every citizen to take voting seriously by keeping informed, studying history, and responding to our elected officials when we have concerns or questions about specific laws, statements, and/or concerns. Closed minds are dangerous, so it is wise to listen to the arguments on both sides of important issues to be able to make wise and informed decisions.
When being grateful is replaced by anger
We should be grateful for our wise forefathers who realized the importance of differing opinions, yet at the present time there is a push by the Left to replace the Electoral College with the National Popular Vote to elect this nation's president, which ignores the Constitution and would shift electoral power to only big-city voters. Small states and rural communities, what many call the "fly over states", would have no voice.
The fact remains that our system of government is designed to be fair and for the most part it is exceedingly effective. Even so, instead of being grateful to call America their home, half the people in this nation — who are the luckiest people in the world — believe this country needs to be radically transformed, both politically and economically. Many Americans actually yearn for Socialism without an understanding of what Socialism really is, nor do they realize that Socialism has never succeeded anywhere in the world wherever is has been tried.
Fate of nation is in our hands
This democratic republic has been able to deal with the peaceful transference of power for 200+ years and with it came prosperity for its citizens. Even those living in what we refer to as poverty have luxuries that those in most other countries would regard as wish list items. How then could discontented and angry Americans believe they are living in a racist cesspool where everyone who isn’t a white heterosexual male is being oppressed?
It was no accident. It took a concerted effort by educators, members of the media and liberal leftist politicians, over the course of many years to subvert truth and to bamboozle people from an early age to believe, as in Orwell’s prophetic “1984,” that black is white, weakness is strength, up is down, emotions trump facts, that there are more than two genders and that slavery was not only invented in America but existed nowhere else on earth. The Bible predicted this would happen when good is evil and evil is good in Isaiah 5:20.
It is up to all who believe in our Constitutional Republic to do their part to discredit the naysayers. It is essential that you vote and do bring others to the polls to do likewise.
