So you want freedom and liberty?…it’s gonna cost you!

So you want freedom and liberty?…it’s gonna cost you!

I want to remind you and encourage you to think about this, we in this country have traded having constant wars and battles with arms for constant battles of thinking and politics. We have revolutionary wars at the ballot box and in the public exchange and critiques of ideas. Just as going off to a war fought with guns is costly for the participants, in lives, money and time sacrificed. So it is the same when the fighting happens in the Ohio State House the Nation’s Capital, or anywhere in the “public square”. That is the price required to fight for your cause. I have never had a desire to get involved in politics for that very reason. The cost for involvement was too high for me. I was content to let the “politicians” and “activists” duke it out. I would just support the person/party who most closely resembled my way of thinking. Frankly that is one reason we are where we are now politically.
I want to address this issue of counting the cost. Don’t fool yourself; to make a difference will cost you something. The opposition knows this and that is why they are winning right now. They understood it and were willing to pay the price. They give time and money to support their issues. They are more organized, which requires organizers, they volunteer to support their cause. Most importantly ,they never give up. All these things cost the individual something, time, money, and frustration among other things. The country’s founders were willing to pledge their “Lives, fortunes and sacred honor.” In other words they were willing to give everything, for the cause of liberty. The evidence of this was the signing of the Declaration of independence. For all intent and purposes they were signing their own death warrant when they signed that declaration. If the British got hold of them after that, they would have been hanged for treason. So I ask you, do you want your voice heard bad enough? What is freedom worth? What are you willing to sacrifice? What will you give up? Both in tangible and in-tangible ways. I encourage us all to stop and take stock of our situation. Count the cost. Then make up your mind, commit yourself to the cause, know what you are fighting for, and what you are willing to pay. Get involved, learn about government and governing, learn our history. Go to Tea party rallies, town hall meetings, and other protests. Give money to support causes, candidates and groups that you deem worthy. Call your representatives in Local, State, and National realms. Let them know you are awake now and watching them, and are prepared to defend them for doing right, and hold them accountable for doing wrong. However you see fit, get involved. You can make a difference right where you are.

Who will be left to hold the bag?

While I don't necessarily agree with Rep. Paul on some things, I do agree with him on this one. I am still learning about the Federal Reserve. I do know that the Federal Reserve is no more "Federal" than Federal Express. It is a private group of banks. When I say private I do mean private. The folks in Congress don't even know what banks are involved. I won't go further right now as I don't want to give any bad information out of ignorance.
Here is a principle of Liberty and Responsibility that is important in this discussion. Honesty. One of the reasons people give for not auditing the Fed is that there may be some information on how they operate or what they have done recently or are doing that could cause real problems in the markets if it were known. What we have to ask ourselves is this. Do we ever plan on stopping all the corruption and taking the consequences that come with the cleanup? Shall we continue on with it because the cost for Truth is too high? I for one am tired of the corruption. I am tired of the shell games that our "leaders" play. I know I am not alone in this. I have never in my 37 years heard so many people have absolutely no trust in our government. They don't believe a word they say, on either side of the aisle. In fact I am looking at the approval rating for Congress as a whole right now. This poll is from NBC and the Wall Street Journal. They posted as of 9/17-20/09 22% approve and 66% disapprove. Now it is true they are higher right now then they have been in the recent past. But if this trend continues, we will wind up with the very stability of our Country at stake. When you create distrust of the governing in the governed, you are creating the foundations of revolution. We must do the hard things now, if we are to begin to heal from the sickness of corruption and irresponsibility. Let us turn the light of Truth on ourselves, and deal with what we find uprightly now. Before it's too late.

Honesty, Integrity, Honor

I am going to "transplant" some posts I have made in a meetup.com group I am part of
,just to get things rolling. Here is the site they are at.

www.meetup.com/Cleveland-Downtown-912-Project/messages/boards/thread/6696679

I wrote this right before the April 15th 2009 Tea Party in Cleveland OH.

" Just a note to remind us all. There are going to be many people looking for us to do or say things they can use against us. We must be measured and precise in our speech and deed. Give them no ammunition. They will no doubt manufacture their own. The last thing we need is to give them any reason to portray us as nut jobs. I have no doubt it will happen anyway. Say what we mean and mean what we say. Don't make this about Republican or Democrat. It is about America leaving all our founding principles and our Constitution behind. The American dream is that anyone could come to this country and have the Freedom to succeed or fail. That they could work as hard or as little as they wanted and reap the reward they sowed. They also could have a part in their government and speak their minds without fear of reprisal by the government. They had the right to self determination. Which is why when people come here from a foreign land where this was not the case, they may show up with $0.50 cents, but these freedoms and their hearts desire to take advantage of all these causes them to prosper even greater than those who were born into it. May we show all who watch these protests that all we are looking for is to return to the very values that allowed so many to come here with nothing, and prosper beyond their wildest dreams, and live lifes of peace. Also that we are not against charity, or caring for others. But that we don't define charity as government forcing us to give what they want us to when and where they want us to. We believe the most expensive and inefficient way to do anything is government.

See you there,
Rob Short"