Posted by
peripheral on Thursday, August 13, 2009 6:25:42 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Audacity means: “boldness or daring, with confident or arrogant
disregard for personal safety, conventional thought, or other
restrictions…effrontery or insolence; shameless boldness…” The concept
gained attention in a book authored by the current U.S. President
entitled, The Audacity of Hope. In an October 2006 Book Review by the NY Times, the following is observed: “The Audacity of Hope…is…a
political document…Mr. Obama…rejects what he sees as the either-or
formulations of his elders who came of age in the 60’s. The victories
that the 60’s generation brought about - the admission of minorities
and women into full citizenship, the strengthening of individual
liberties and the healthy willingness to question authority - have made
America a far better place for all its citizens. But what has been lost
in the process, and has yet to be replaced, are those shared
assumptions - that quality of trust and fellow feeling - that bring us
together as Americans…Mr. Obama writes that conservatives and Bill
Clinton were right about welfare as it was previously structured: By
detaching income from work and by making no demands on welfare
recipients other than a tolerance for intrusive bureaucracy and an
assurance that no man lived in the same house as the mother of his
children, the old A.F.D.C. (Aid To Families With Dependent Children)
program sapped people of their initiative and eroded their self
respect…Mr. Obama strives in these pages to ground his policy thinking
in simple common sense — be it growing the size of our armed forces to
maintain reasonable rotation schedules or reining in spending and
rethinking tax policy to bring down the nation’s huge deficit…”
In July 2009, a news item appeared - The Audacity Of Honduras
with a sub-title, As The OAS Stumbles, Give Diplomacy A Chance. The
subject is the ouster of the President Manuel Zelaya of Honduras. “On
Sunday, July 5, Honduran authorities rejected the ultimatum issued by
the Organization of American States (OAS) to reinstate ousted president
Manuel Zelaya…The international community is so fixated on the car
wreck that they have failed to notice that Hondurans have put their own
legal house in order. Although the duty fell to the military to enforce
a court order against Zelaya, no soldier ever held power. The duly
constituted Congress--about half of whose members are from Zelaya's own
Liberal Party--reviewed Zelaya's crimes and voted almost unanimously to
remove him from office…While Honduran authorities have opened an
inquiry into Zelaya's treatment, the Supreme Court has held its
position that the military acted properly. Zelaya has been indicted on
many crimes--including treason--and some of his associates with ties to
corruption and drug trafficking are finally facing justice.
This week, the idea of American Audacity appeared in a column: Liberals
urge Obama to do more on Honduras By Mike Soraghan. “A group of liberal
lawmakers urged President Obama to do more to reverse the coup in
Honduras, such as freezing the assets of those involved, and denying
them entry into the United States. We are … increasingly concerned by
the many reports of flagrant human rights violations that are being
committed under the current de facto regime," said a letter to the
president, which was signed by Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.),
co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and 16 fellow
members of the caucus…President Obama has repeatedly called for
Zelaya's return to power, but the President also said Latin American
critics calling on him to do more are hypocritical…those criticizing
the U.S. for not intervening enough are the same people who say,
‘Yankees, go home.’ You can't have it both ways…”
Psalm 2 asks a
question: “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?”
The reason given by this Psalm is that nations and rulers “…set
themselves and take counsel together against the Lord and His
Anointed…” In other words, all restraints and all sound values have
been diminished and jettisoned. The result is an increase of chaos in
the world of men and in individual lives. Will nations and lives
naturally become better? No! The Psalm states: “…He (The Lord) shall
speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure…”
It appears our nation has succumbed to ‘The Audacity of Hype’ and
forgotten the possibilities of Biblical Hope. The only remedy is
yielding to the Authority and Control of God. Consider these things
with me.