From My Perspective - - -

The Inscription on the Statue of Liberty is well-known by most people: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." We have a considerable number who would attest that they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. There are many who would attest they are falling through the cracks into the poor classification. The intrusion of government into the lives of the citizenry is considerable. Every man, woman and child now owns and owes $47,000.00 of the national debt, and that amount continues to increase as more and more stimulus plans are conceived and enacted.

Interestingly, The Drudge Report highlights two nations – England and France -  who are trying to deal with the Economic Realities of their respective nations. England is making drastic cuts in government employment, while France is attempting to adjust the retirement age and benefits amid Labor Union Strikes and shut-downs of important businesses and transportation. Two Headlines following these reports ask: “Will Americans Follow Mass Civil Unrest?” and “Will The Federal Reserve Cause A Civil War?” One can only hope and pray that these things will not become common-place or a reality in our nation. Even the suggestion of those possibilities should sound an alarm and bring about a different behavior. The Tea Party Movement is one area where orderly resistance is taking place. However, those who oppose civil discourse use slurs and name-calling by saying anyone associated with such a movement is either a “racist” or a “nut-job”! A demonstration of this is the Press Release from the NAACP regarding entitled: "Tea Party Nationalism: A Critical Examination of the Tea Party Movement and the Size, Scope, and Focus of its National Factions." The Press Release states: “The result of this study contravenes many of the Tea Parties' self-invented myths, particularly their supposed sole concentration on budget deficits, taxes, and the power of the federal government. Instead, this report found Tea Party ranks to be permeated with concerns about race and national identity and other so-called social issues. Tea Party organizations have given platforms to anti-Semites, racists, and bigots. Further, hard-core white nationalists have been attracted to these protests, looking for potential recruits and hoping to push these (white) protestors towards a more self-conscious and ideological white supremacy.”

Civil Discourse should have a basic courtesy and common ground. It has been said: “Civil discourse is engagement in discourse (conversation) intended to enhance understanding. It is the language of dispassionate objectivity, and suggests that it requires respect of the other participants, such as the reader. It neither diminishes the others moral worth, nor questions their good judgment; it avoids hostility, direct antagonism, or excessive persuasion; it requires modesty and an appreciation for the other participants experiences.” As citizens of this nation, we should demand nothing less than reasonable and courteous interaction by those who embrace differing views. We should demand that civil discourse be factual and presented respectfully.

Isaiah 1 records The Lord’s indignation toward His people because of their sinful and rebellious ways. In the midst of what he is saying, these words appear (1:16-20): “Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord…If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." It requires a clear evaluation of where one is at a given point. It is expected to be done with clarity, A calm and gentle spirit is to prevail. We need to be concerned for “the huddled masses yearning to breathe free” who many times are befuddled by the hollow and empty rhetoric of those who make bold and sweeping promises – but – who fail to follow-through and deliver. The hope and refuge is Jesus Christ, Who said to all huddled masses: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. It would be wise to come to The One Who has never reneged on any of His Promises.  Consider these things with me!