Men of Honor

I must preface this essay with a brief background of its origin. This is a response I left to Ronald Reagan’s speech, ‘A Time for Choosing’, on Digg (as Sparta mind you). This speech is still by far one of the most moving, American political discourses I have ever heard. I wanted to post this, because we find ourselves in the midst of rebuilding our party, looking for people to lead our country back to its rightful glory. So I ask that you watch this speech, and realize what we need to rebuild this country- A man of honor- A man like the great Ronald Reagan….. I actually watched this video yesterday and also added it as a favorite. I thought about it all day long, I let Reagan’s words resonate in my mind, and then I watched it again this morning. So many things struck me about this speech. First the man himself, his overall cadence, and stature; Reagan was not a talking head in a suit, a puppet fed the same stale talking points- This was a real man, a man of character and conviction- The antithetical politician. My grandfather was a public speaker, his tone and cadence so much like that of Reagan’s. He too was a man of honor. After working his way through entirely himself and graduating from Northwestern Law School with top honors, he realized he could not bring himself to be an attorney. He could not forgo his integrity and essentially defend unscrupulous people, even if it meant he would make substantially more money. So my grandfather decided to become a public speaker. He spoke on the government, our national debt, philosophy, and religion (all under the guise of motivational speaker). One of his demonstrations was to bring out onto the stage the national debt receipt printed out on a roll of paper. He would carry it with him on the plane and the box was about as big as a 10 year old child. When he spoke, he would roll the paper out on stage, it made quite an impact then, even being trillions less than what our abysmal debt is today. My grandfather was an absolute genius, and rather than profit from his intelligence he used it to inform others of the pitfalls of government and the irrepressible need for self-reliance. I used the anecdotal story about my grandfather, because I look around and I don’t see men like him anymore, or Reagan for that matter…. A few statements that struck me in this speech (I’ll paraphrase): Liberalism- meeting the material needs of the people through centralized government, the government will solve society’s miseries, the 30 new government programs are merely duplicates of the programs we already have- if the programs didn’t solve poverty why will more of the same achieve the end goal?, no government voluntarily reduces in size- the closest thing to eternity we’ll see on this earth is a government bureau, what does it mean that you hold the deed to your property if the government holds its life- our inalienable rights are a dispensation of the government… Well we all know what we are faced with today, and how the spirits of my grandfather and Ronald Reagan must be aghast (with a little I told you so). Our once humble government is now a debt laden behemoth. Growing larger and larger by the day, and engulfing our once free market with ferocity even the soviets would be proud of. All the while the American people grow more entitlement hungry, more irresponsible by the day. Take care of me big brother, take care of the masses, even if it means indentured servitude for hard-working Americans- the last great front of responsible citizens. I look around and I am not surprised. I see the people who would rather live in squalor, live from welfare check to welfare check, as long as they can buy liquor and cigarettes, they’re perfectly content. I see men like my dad, tired and weary- tired from working his hands to the bone for the past 25 years to procure this American dream, and weary that Uncle Sam is going to take it all away for the ‘good of the people’. I will not lie; I have been in a funk, an interminable depression since Election Day. I was chastised during and after the election for merely expressing my first amendment rights and choosing to stand up against the liberal oligarchy. I see an endless wave of heartache coming my nation’s way, and a society ushering it in with eager enthusiasm. Something has to give doesn’t it? I know by the time I graduate, I will be the new indentured servant for Big Brother- for all those bleeding heart liberals- who will never understand what life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness REALLY mean. So I ask, where are the men of honor? Where are the men like my grandfather and Ronald Reagan? They’re there, but their numbers dwindle by the day. I pray that one day people wake up before it’s too late, if it isn’t already. Before this great nation goes down as yet another victim of apathetic citizens and a despotic government willing to take away our freedoms. God Bless Everybody