American Recovery Plan

Trust American Ideals…Trust Freedom…Do Not Believe or be Bullied by Lies

Wisdom from the past has often counseled that in the face of gargantuan problems, there may not be easy answers, but there are simple answers. America in April 2009 faces what seem to be gargantuan problems. Most would categorize the majority of the problems under the all-purpose label of ‘the economy’; Brushfires believes it is more a crisis of the Christian faith, as we suggested here. Either way, there are simple answers, though they are not easy answers.

Step 1: Trust American Ideals

No matter what Obama or anyone else says, America is a Christian nation—though not in any way that warrants the hysteria of the godless left. America is in no formal or legal or constitutional sense a Christian nation, but its founding fathers and founding principles were unquestionably grounded in the Judeo-Christian worldview, and thankfully so for all mankind. It is those very principles that do not coerce worship by anyone, yet bless everyone by starting with the immortal right idea that all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. With this starting point, and the corresponding constitutional design of a ‘limited government’, American ideals coalesce around the single principle that Brushfires formulates as ‘individual freedom and responsibility under God’.

This single principle is in fact God inspired; that is why it resonates with and has stirred human hearts everywhere. Humans thrive under it, because it is right and true, and the visible manifestation of this fact has been and is the magnificent achievements of America as measured against every other human civilization.

A divinely inspired, right and true principle does not change with time; it is not swept away by the latest fad of human wisdom; it is not overruled by any human agency; it will not be defeated or destroyed by rhetoric or ammunition. It can be eternally trusted and acted upon, and when it is trusted and acted upon, the result will be an increasing sense of good for everyone. When it is ignored or abandoned, human hearts become confused, lost, and angry—conditions which undermine trust in good and confidence in the future. The light of progress goes dark.

Step 2: Trust Freedom

Whenever you hear any politician speak of ‘the masses’ and what policies will best serve the masses (and it is critical to recognize that one common synonym of the masses is ‘the middle class’), that is your cue to reject that politician and everything he or she stands for. We are not masses; we are individuals. (We’ve written of the need for rebellion by the individual, here; and the need to reject ‘mass man’ thinking, here). Our vitality and creativity and productivity are suffocated right out of us when we consent to the labels and limitations of group identity—whether group identity is defined in terms of race, gender, native language, birthplace, parents’ religion, net worth, etc., etc. While few recognize them as such, these labels and limitations are restrictions on our God-given freedom. They define what we can and can’t do, what we think and don’t think, what our aspirations, dreams and goals should be or shouldn’t be. They substitute human opinions of group identities and their capabilities for God’s unlimited creation. Whatever the good intentions behind these human opinions, their effect is negative and damaging because they deny and delimit our freedom.

Demagogues and other authoritarian types do not think of humanity in individual terms, and they do not trust free men and women. Pardon the expression, but they must control, direct and decide the fate of all, God be damned.

So what does any of this have to do with addressing America’s gargantuan problems in 2009?

The foremost reason America is in turmoil today (we’ll call it Reason #1) is that the people sense from the Obama administration a near total abandonment of the principle of ‘individual freedom and responsibility under God’ and an utter lack of trust in free men and women to do the right thing without the coercive arm of human government. In their place, they see an artifice of confidence in almighty government led by all-wise humans to control and solve every human problem—in starkest terms, they sense a human government determined to make itself into the agency of human salvation. And they know, through and through, that this is a lie. This lie has emerged many times in many forms in human history and has not panned out; it will not work in America today; it cannot work, ever. And every policy that emerges from this lie is a lie. A few examples?

• Only government can solve this economic crisis? No. Government can only make it worse. No free, responsible individual on earth believes he can borrow money he doesn’t have and can never repay, and improve his substance and stability as a result. Why does anyone think the government can?

• Health care can be effectively managed and controlled by government? Hard to imagine anything more preposterous. Where is the idea of individual freedom in any of these grand government designs? Where is the idea of personal responsibility?

• How about the whopper of the modern era—government in charge of climate control? As legendary basketball coach John Wooden would say, “goodness gracious sakes alive!” The arrogance, the presumptuousness, the pomposity of the very concept that humans can control the earth’s climate would be hilarious if it weren’t so serious. (Take another look at the Sombrero galaxy, if you need reminding on this point, here).

Which leads to step 3 of Brushfires’ American recovery plan.

Step 3: Don’t Believe or be Bullied by Lies

The Pravda media in America today is staggered by the problems they see and hear with their eyes and ears, and any suggestion that answers to those problems can flow from faith in the unseen and adherence to, gasp ‘divine’ right ideas of individual freedom and responsibility under God causes them to go berserk. The God-fearing, humble Christian faith of George W. Bush (and Sarah Palin) sent them into hysterical attack mode; the godless associates and anti-Christian attitudes of Obama were of no consequence and in fact were a relief. So they invested heavily in electing Obama, and now they are invested heavily in preserving Obama.

But here’s the problem for Pravda and Obama: the hard left, godless governing philosophy of Obama is a lie. It has no ring of truth. It does not resonate with human hearts; it never will. And so the only way it can be propped up is through more lies. But it can stay propped up only so long as enough people believe the lies, or are intimidated by lies into silence.

For example, Pravda is hell bent to prove the American people prefer socialism. This is a lie and it will always be a lie. The only way a poll answer can come back in favor of socialism is if the truth of socialism is obscured. The question comes down to a preference for freedom or slavery. This is not a close question.

Pravda is hell bent to spin any possible economic good news into a gloss of imminent nationwide recovery. This is a lie. The economy has never been so flat on its back, and it is not coming back at all because of Reason #1. Until the people sense that Reason #1 is being addressed—and there’s nothing on the horizon to suggest that it will be—the economy will flounder at best, and decline even more severely at worst.

Pravda is madly shoving Obama popularity polls at the American people as one more lie trying to hide the other lies. To the extent popularity polls are not totally fabricated, as they are with the New York Times, here, they are at most reflections of the lingering influence of the Pravda lies about the recovering economy. The 90% who are still employed and generally detached from the political scene read a few Pravda spin stories about the economy getting better, and that’s enough to offer a general thumbs up to Obama’s performance. But the true facts of the economy cannot be forever hidden by Pravda.

The Obama house of cards is going to collapse. The lies are already apparent to a huge segment of the population, and the tea parties have shown that the intimidation factor associated with lies and liars is being overcome. The only thing missing to the start of a real American recovery are the new faces of articulate, traditional American leadership, ready and willing to take on the lies, with the full confidence that a return to American ideals and a trust in free men and women will lead to the answers. We hope Brushfires will help bring those leaders out in the open. The American people are ready; they will be galvanized as never before.

Paul Gable

Posted April 24, 2009