What We Need...

( About one-third of the way through my next post on Thomas Jefferson....! Really, I am...!)

John Heilemann, columnist for New York Magazine, made an observation on 'The Chris Matthews Show' this morning along the lines of America being an instant gratification society in good times, and an instant anxiety society in bad times, i.e., times of economic crises. It is my humble opinion that truer words were never spoken.

As our economy has spiraled downwards, and that impact on our lives being felt in most pocketbooks and bank accounts, from corporate giants to Joe the Plumber (so to speak - I don't actually know Joe the Plumber - it's a metaphor...), government and financial experts and analysts have sought to pinpoint causes and produce solutions. Trying to be a better American, I've been reading, listening, and watching in an effort to better understand these things. Like most of the middle to lower-middle class people in my life, my interests were more mundane, more personal, and then suddenly prices doubled and I, more than a little concerned, lifted my head out of the sand and started looking around.

If I am following a trend at all accurately (?), what I'm understanding is that a major cause, if not THE major cause, of this financial disaster in our country was careless lending/borrowing.

I think it is a shame, and it even saddens me, that Americans...no, make that people...in today's world would even consider taking a financial risk, by signing mortgage papers, to get a loan for a home that is beyond their means, 'way outta their league', that they really can't afford. That we are so steeped in hi-tech that Americans...no, make that people ...at every age pretty much wouldn't even consider not having every electronic gadget and device that comes along.

We don't NEED the latest versions of just about everything, the newer and more modern automobiles and trucks and movie theatre effect televisions. The problem is, many of us think we do.

I have friends and acquaintances who, when faced with inabilities to make mortgage payments or even secure a dwelling in the first place! just had to have both fancy cell and land line phones, had to get cable right away! immediately upon moving in! God forbid we should have to wait awhile, do without, just until things settle a bit and some money can be saved. Many of us gotta have it, and gotta have it now.

Comments have been made during this economic crisis of ours, that there may not be a return to 'usual', that Americans may need to readjust their sights, their standards of daily living. Scale things down a bit more. A longer term life-style shift may be required. Because what people need is a place in which to live, and food for their table. Clothing. Money for the kids' college tuition. Money for medical and dental.

What people don't need is the latest version of X-Box, or whatever...

Tell Me This isn't Another Iraq...

President Obama has signed the order authorizing an additional 17,000 troops to be deployed to Afghanistan.

This deployment will begin in May, and will increase U.S. forces there by fifty percent, in addition to the 32,000 NATO troops already present. The White House has acknowledged that the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and American homeland security is threatened by al-Qaeda as a result of this. Taliban attacks, as well as U.S. and NATO casualties, in the Afghan/Pakistani area are higher than they have been since our war on terror began in earnest. A request for 30,000 more troops had been made previously, by the U.S commander in Afghanistan, and former President Bush had authorized them, but only 6,000 arrived this past month.

I personally am gratified to see President Obama taking this action, and I would say I'm greatly reassured as to his more aggressive approach towards combating terrorist activities, except that Obama has also stated that he wants to "limit U.S. objectives" in Afghanistan, according to the Washington Post. What does this mean? I would think, as per the title of this post, the president wants to do exactly that. Meaning, Afghanistan can't become another Iraq, and let's make sure it doesn't. Let's be careful how involved we get, and how we get involved.

Though Obama promised to withdraw our troops from Iraq in a clear, methodical manner, he has yet to begin that process, nor has he received any specific withdrawal plans from military planners. This signifies, to me, that perhaps a more cautious tone is prevailing here. Perhaps campaign promises were a bit too brash...? We are talking the security of not only the United States but the world, really; human lives, bloodshed and human suffering are the issues here. I would not want to be the leader with that responsibility on my shoulders. I cannot even imagine that kind of weight. Even so, I am glad to see that President Obama may be applying the brakes slightly, regarding U.S. troop evacuations, and yet I would also think it wisdom to consider our options in a regretfully necessary Afghan occupation.

Unbelievably, the response of the Afghan citizenry sounds just like the latter years attitude of the Iraqi public. They want us out. Or at least, less. A recent poll indicates only 18% are happy about an increase in U.S. troops there. Rising civilian casualties are, understandably, a source of resentment, and the coalition forces are gradually losing support for this reason, according to yesterday's U.N. report.

This sound familiar to anybody?

The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll indicates Americans are divided roughly 2 to 1 as regards increasing our military presence in Afghanistan, the scales tilting against it. About one-third of us support troops increase; the rest, either let it be, or send some home...

Again, familiar ring.....?

AND YET..."...most Americans consider winning in Afghanistan essential to victory in the broader fight against terrorism..." ( Washington Post )

?????





(Source: Washington Post)

What Thomas Jefferson Thought...

"...be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Romans 12: 2, KJV)

What and how a person thinks is all-important. What an individual produces is a direct result of what is going on in his or her mind, whether the result is audible, tangible, or eventful. Even a habit is a product of what we have already done based on something we have already thought (decided).

So perhaps you can see why the Apostle Paul would've issued the above instruction.

And which is why I marvel at a Thomas Jefferson, a man who was primarily an ideologist (Max Lerner, Thomas Jefferson : America's Philosopher-King), being such a major player in our national beginnings. I marvel at a God who placed such a man in such a place at a time when ideas were THE most crucial element in the ongoing development and continued existence of this young nation. (You cannot tell me, not now, not ever, that God was not involved to the hilt in bringing forth this country, in sustaining it, and in being the Source of its liberty.)

Okay, before I launch into preaching mode, or get side-tracked again by current events.....back to Jefferson and his ideas. (And, uh...I probably will end up in preaching mode anyway...).

"It was not inevitable that upon liberation from English domination America should become a self-governing republic. (Edward Dumbauld, Introduction, Jefferson: His Political Writings). George Washington had similar concerns. In his 'Advice to the United States', written at the end of the Revolutionary War, then General Washington wrote, "...yet it appears to me there is an option still left to the United States of America...whether they will be respectable and prosperous, or contemptible and miserable as a nation; this is the time of their political probation...it is yet to be decided, whether the Revolution must ultimately be considered as a blessing or a curse." (Harrison & Gilbert, George Washington : In His Own Words ) Now, today, it's easy to automatically assume that, once the battles ended, once Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, the colonies were home free. Troubles over, right? But actually, a whole new series of potentially devastating troubles awaited, possible scenarios that needed to be skillfully avoided. An effective system of government needed to be developed.

While reading along these lines, I came across a list of types of government that have existed throughout the course of history. Thirty-eight, to be exact. (According to my list...) And some of 'em had sub-categories. Some I had never heard of, and a couple I wasn't even sure how to pronounce! Others intrigued me - for instance, when I have time, I'd like to learn a bit more about 'minarchism/night watchman'. How does a night watchman constitute a form of government? But I digress...

Americans were looking to establish the best and most perfect form of government possible. We still seek that today in that, though already established, the people and their government continue, daily, to operate within those forms and systems, yet adjusting, honing, and fine-tuning when so judged to be necessary. Far, far more than perhaps most Americans know, we owe these forms and systems to Thomas Jefferson and his ideas. The more I learn about him, the more I am stunned to my core as I see just how much we owe...

Though later in his life, Jefferson expressed in a letter his enduring belief that the equal rights and happiness of each individual are the only legitimate reasons for government. He believed that the main object of scientific study, as well, was the freedom and happiness of man. In contrast to these beliefs, while serving as the American ambassador to France earlier in his career, he saw in Europe a polar opposite, serving only to strengthen his convictions concerning rightful government. In a letter to George Washington, Jefferson wrote: "I was much an enemy to monarchies before I came to Europe. I am ten thousand times more so, since I have seen what they are." (Edward Dumbauld, Thomas Jefferson : American Tourist ). Embedded in Jefferson was his passion for freedom, and seeing European '' governments of force" , "...nations of eternal war...energies expended in the destruction of the...lives of their people" served to ensure that such passion was embedded forever. (Dumbauld)

It would have been within the realm of possibility that another monarchy might arise. It was not guaranteed that a democratic form of government would develop. And even though a single governing body, rather than many separate entities, may have been formed, the resulting structure may not necessarily have been based on the will of the people. According to Edward Dumbauld, editor of The Political Writings of Thomas Jefferson, it is because of Jefferson's influence that American today is not " an autocratic or tyrannical national government". It is because of Jefferson's influence, in large part, that today, over two hundred years later, Americans still reap the blessings and the fruit of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in a land where its government is, as the closing words of the Gettysburg Address resound, "of the people, by the people, for the people."

ooo

Thank you for stopping by, and please return for my next post, in which I'll hopefully continue to show how Thomas Jefferson's thinking helped shape our system of government. And, since I never entered 'preaching mode' after all, maybe a bit of that, too...

Christina

Just Comments...

Another Sunday morning's worth of political talk shows/forums, and I feel like I've been riddled with machine gun fire, coming at me from all directions and assaulting my brain. And no, it's not them, it's me...

Rather than try to gather more info on any one particular topic, I thought that, for today anyway, I'd post a few comments on the issues. Just comments. Just a few. Food for thought...



"...this is... the most ambitious recovery package in the... history of this country." - David Axelrod, Senior Advisor to the President , speaking of the Stimulus Package

"...the measure [stimulus] will create only 2.2 million jobs by the end of 2010, leaving unemployment hovering around ten percent...forcing...another stimulus plan." - opinion of Mark Zandi, Chief Economist at moodyseconomy.com, as quoted in the Washington Post ( Well, we'll see, right? Personally, I'm going forward in faith, looking to God for a better day.)

"You've got to spend now to get out of this problem." - Roger Simon, Chief Political Columnist, Politico

"When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an al-Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are committed...to kill Americans, then I worry. [Protecting the United States from terrorist attack] sometimes...requires us to take actions that generate controversy. I'm not at all sure that's what the Obama administration believes." - former Vice President Dick Cheney, as quoted in Politico

ooo

" The Gamble"

( I really am in the middle of my next post on Thomas Jefferson and slavery....I got sidetracked again... )

As I've stated in a few forums, and possibly here and there on this site, I was a supporter of President George W. Bush, and of the Iraqi war. I was not, and am not, in favor of a 16 month troop withdrawal deadline. But we as a nation are moving on, there is a new captain at the helm, and I am trying to stay open (minded and -is hearted a word?) Anyway, until this morning I was...

Thomas E. Ricks, senior Pentagon correspondent for the Washington Post and author of The Gamble, was being interviewed by Dick Gregory on 'Meet the Press'. This is not a book review, and I may or may not get the book (only b/c I have a whole list of titles backed up & waiting for me! to read). But I felt an almost tingling, compelling sense of urgency to re-cap some of this interview here. Though I took notes, I was also trying to pay attention to the actual conversation, so I may be missing some names & exact dates, and I may end up crossing my i's and dotting my t's, but I'll try to be as accurate as I possibly can...

The book's full title is The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006 - 2008. The title would seem to be based on a summarizing remark made by a former infantry officer (who became a defense analyst for the Center for a New American Security.) Saying that the Iraqi war at best is likely to be 'inconclusive', the analyst called the war a 'huge gamble' for America, risking her future power and reputation on it. Ricks extrapolates from this statement his own conclusion that as a result of these risks, the Obama administration will need to be taking its own risks and gambles, in such a way as to make the first year of 'Obama's war' even tougher than the last year of 'Bush's war'. According to Ricks, (and I agree) "alot of people back here incorrectly think the war is over." His thinking on this is that we may only be halfway through the war in Iraq. Ricks cites U.S.ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker as saying that the events for which this war will be remembered haven't even happened yet.

Of great concern to Mr. Ricks are the simultaneous events of a series of Iraqi elections being held during U.S troop withdrawals. When forces are needed most, their numbers will be least. And not only least, but lesser numbers in the more dangerous areas, which we will vacate last, as elections near their culmination.

The author says that while the surge was successful militarily, it was not so politically. The U.S. commander in Iraq, General Odierno, says that the 'breathing space' that was created by this strategy, intended to provide opportunity for a national reconciliation, actually allowed for just the opposite. Greater sectarianism has resulted. More division. Odierno says the people have stepped backward.

This General wants to see 35.000 troops left in Iraq - by 2015.

(Ricks states during this interview that there will come a time, during an earlier withdrawal process, when the generals will say, we don't want to do this, it is too dangerous.)

Too dangerous....2015....issues for extremely serious consideration, as I see it.

***

Author's note: For more of this interview, see Transcript .

Returning to Thomas Jefferson...at Last!

Having made several unplanned detours, I am now returning to my original post topics, Thomas Jefferson and slavery. President Obama, Guantanamo, and Adam & Eve, having claimed my attention for a bit, are now being relegated to the background!

When last we met with Mr. Jefferson (link), the issue of slavery was being discussed.


It is not always an easy matter to extricate one's self from a situation in which one is involved, or perhaps entangled. It is easy to think that you can, or that others should....to think that life's predicaments exist in sharply-delineated colors and not mottled shades and blurred edges. The wheat and the tares grow up together, and you can't uproot one without pulling up some of the other (Matthew 13: 24-30). Which isn't usually what the plan was...

Hindsight is frequently 100% clear. If we had only been aware of what was being developed! But, at the risk of not making any sense, life is larger than itself and often we can't see the forest for the trees. Something seems convenient, maybe expedient at the time, so we undertake, venture, and/or commit. Unseen aspects are set in motion. Time goes by. One day you wake up with a monster from that forest in your bed. If only you had been aware...! you would not have taken that first step.

So while it is easy for us today to expect that the Founders of America should have freed all their slaves, just like that, overnight! I imagine for our revolutionary predecessors it was not so simple. Their ENTIRE way of life was dependent upon the labor power provided by their slaves. Harsh reality. And no one likes unsettling change, for the most part. It needs to be effected gradually. Wisdom dictates forethought and planning to provide for eventualities. Time was needed. The passage of time allowed for the institution of slavery to develop and grow, so time's passage also was required for its demise.

Jefferson and many of his contemporaries viewed the African slaves as child-like and inferior beings, unable to be integrated into the society of the time (link). In fact, Jefferson believed that freed slaves should be exiled from American soil. Failing that, bitterness and animosity between former slaves and their masters loomed large as a troubling thorn-in-the-side. Prudence mandated some form of education be provided to the slaves, to prepare them for free society, just as today's welfare recipients need job training. Loosing masses of previously dependent and oft-abused persons, ill-equipped to fend for themselves, into an already established system, a socially aristocratic environment seemed to Jefferson highly inadvisable. Indeed, in a letter to a former senator from Maine, in 1820, Jefferson wrote, "We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. Justice is in one scale, and self-preservation in the other." (Miller, John Chester, The Wolf by the Ears: Thomas Jefferson and Slavery)

So, while it would seem an easy matter for us to judge our forefathers harshly for allowing the shameful injustice of slavery to yet remain in a new America, perhaps upon reflection, as we learn more, we will not do so.

ooo

Throughout his adult life, however, Jefferson attempted to abolish or at least limit slavery. In his pre-Revolutionary days, as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in 1769, Jefferson proposed that all Virginian slaves be emancipated. The House did not see it that way. As the colonies grew nearer to the time of their own emancipation, and prepared to declare such an event, in his first draft of our immortal Declaration of Independence, Jefferson condemned Britain for its practice of importing slaves to American soil. He charged the crown with "wag[ing] cruel war...violating... sacred rights of life and liberty" for their involvements in the slave trade. (Wikipedia, Jefferson and Slavery) . However, that language was eliminated from the final version. (Not by Jefferson, rather southern state delegates.) However, the year 1778 finally saw the importation of new slaves to Virginia banned, a result of Jefferson's efforts in the legislature.

The lands west of the Alleghenies and northwest of the Ohio River were known as the Northwest Territory. "Largely through the efforts of Thomas Jefferson, the States from Massachusetts to Virginia had agreed to relinquish their claims to this land." (The Book of Great American Documents, ed. Vincent Wilson, Jr.) The Continental Congress, now responsible for this area of the country, passed the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, which, again thanks to Thomas Jefferson, stated, "There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude..." in that territory. (Actually, an earlier version of the Ordinance had been drafted, in 1784, and the prohibition of slavery article lost by one vote. That version was never put into effect, and was officially repealed in 1787.)

So we see a vast wilderness area, lands pristine and virgin, untainted with the stain of slavery. We see new beginnings. And in 1807, as President, Thomas Jefferson signed the bill abolishing the slave trade.

Lest Adam Live Forever...

(see Part One, "...Lest Ye Die")

"...law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression." (Romans 4:15, KJV )

If no laws existed, either external or internal, to tell us that it's wrong for a person to, say, steal your newspaper from the front step, then what would your reaction be if that happened ? If you didn't 'know' that such an act was wrong, why would you become angry? You wouldn't. There would be no wrath present. It is the knowledge of the law that produces the wrath.

Wrath, or anger, when strong enough, or bottled up long enough, can kill you. High blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks can be, and are caused by excessive anger. Anger can also kill by degrees, in that the stress of it on your system damages its well-being, depleting your health, thus, your life. Or, it can kill someone else. You've heard of crimes of passion. Road rage. Persons furiously blurting out, when tempers are flaring, "I could kill you!" So the knowledge of the law produces the wrath that, one way or another, can produce death.

In some ways, ignorance IS bliss!

So, there needs to be a way out. (I"m sorry, did someone say 'Way'? Hmmm...I've heard it said that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life) (John 14:6). Wait! Did I say 'life'? In the garden, (see previous post) besides the tree of knowledge of good and evil there also was present the tree of Life. The LORD God did not originally warn the First Couple against partaking of that fruit. Scripture tells us that there were also many other 'trees', all pleasant to look at and good for food, none of which were off-limits. Only the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

There was a choice, there were options.


I've heard it taught that neither Eden, nor Adam and Eve, ever actually existed, and that this account of the downfall in the garden was intended to embody truth, principles, etc. I've heard this taught by a preacher whom I respected, and still do. I personally take the Genesis account of creation literally. I acknowledge symbolism may be present, as well. (It is true, however, that with the Lord, anything is possible.) So, going forward in a literal garden...

Once the first man and woman had partaken of forbidden knowledge, God had a problem. The humans weren't equipped to handle such awareness. It appears to me to have been an act of mercy that Adam and Eve were removed from Eden, and the Cherubims and a flaming sword 'which turned every way' were placed 'to keep the way of the tree of life' (Genesis 3: 24), "...lest he (Adam)...take...and eat, and live for ever" (v.23). My conjecture here is that living forever with such tortuous knowledge would have been a form of hell for the couple, and all who came thereafter. God mercifully blocked their way. But in driving them out of Eden, He also set in motion His plan of the ages, to help all of us make our way back. Back to 'Eden', back to liberty, back to God.

Now, if any of you are still with me! here is where I need to ask you to take a leap of faith...hold on, here we go....!

In the New Testament book of Hebrews,the image of a two-edged sword is used to describe the word of God. In my mind, then, I see this flaming sword turning every which way as possibly a form of truth, powerful and contained in words spoken deftly, guarding and preserving that which is the most cherished, that which is most to be desired - life and liberty as God intended it
to be. I have watched some pastors preaching, and thought, they are that flaming sword, guarding the truth from the lies and attacks of enemies.

When I first started reading about Thomas Jefferson, about his multi-faceted, swiftly changing persona, "the elements of his thought and character assum[ing] different patterns and shadows from encounter to encounter, crisis to crisis, moment to moment" (R.B. Bernstein, Introduction, Thomas Jefferson), I kept getting this overlaid impression of a flaming sword turning every way, placed east of Eden.

ooo






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...Lest Ye Die

“And the LORD God commanded...Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2: 16, 17, KJV)

I don’t remember ever hearing any teaching on these two Old Testament verses. If I did, it wasn’t much, nor did it sink in. And it doesn’t seem that any of my friends, family or acquaintances ever got the gist of what’s goin’ on here, in this very succinct instruction to the ‘man’ (Adam) in the ‘garden’ (Eden). At least as I’ve come to understand it.

Boiling it down, knowledge kills. Ouch.



“The words of the wise...are given from one shepherd (I think we’re talking about the Good Shepherd here, that is, Jesus). And by these, be admonished: of making many books, there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” (Ecclesiastes 12: 11, 12, KJV))
Though a softer version of ‘knowledge kills’, still, a li’l bit of ouch! nonetheless.... According to these words of Old Testament Scripture, learning can become overkill. Seeking knowledge can become a drain on the system, fatiguing. I know I have at times found this to be true, as regards the reading & studying I do to prepare my articles for God, History and You. I imagine that most college and grad students would agree. So what am I saying here? Obviously learning cannot and should not be eliminated from society. There’s that whole ‘stay-in-school thing’, of which I am an adamant supporter. Pursue a career goal, get that college degree. Education is paramount; people need to be able to read. Illiteracy breeds criminal behavior. We can’t dispense with learning.

Let’s go back to the garden....
God is speaking with Adam in what must have been an astonishingly abundant, lush garden, newly created. According to the Bible, humankind began here. Besides being struck with wonder at this prospect, what blows me away about this section of Scripture is that some of the first recorded words that God spoke to man concern this issue of knowledge and death.

The LORD is warning his new creation not to partake of the fruit of knowledge...not just any ol’ knowledge, but the knowledge of good and evil. (And for the record, as per popular childhood myth, God did not tell Adam and/or Eve not to eat an apple. A person could go through their whole life believing God has something against apples. Really.) He was very clear on the consequences. of having learned about good and evil: “...thou shalt surely die.”
So, now what? Throw caution to the winds and abolish laws? Maintaining order in civilized society requires some kind of control, and differentiating between the right way and the wrong way goes a long way in establishing and preserving that order. Still, “...God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.” (Genesis 3: 3, KJV) So, I’m goin’ with God. If He said such knowledge kills, then it kills.


Actually, I’m making this point to re-introduce the issue of slavery. Man was created free. Knowledge enslaved him. The human race became enslaved, brought into bondage to death in all its forms, through Adam and his wife gaining a certain type of knowledge, and spreading from there. It may seem oversimplified, but it isn’t. This is where it started.

And make no mistake, we all every one of us would’ve been just as tempted, and just as deceived. We would've taken that ‘bite’, too, lest you think that God is unfair. He is dealing with it now, getting it out of the way once and for all, in His way, in His time. Yes, it’s taking centuries, millennia...sorry about that. But when His plan of the ages is finally, ultimately and fully unveiled, we will see Jesus and you will know, that He has done it right.



Please join me when, in the near future, I elaborate on these thoughts, and tie in Thomas Jefferson as well.

Thank you for stopping by.
Christina