True American Patriots (Part 2)

Earlier this week, I posted a story on a 69 year old veteran named Burt Brady. We have discussed many times in our AOL debate room "Conservs vs Liberals", especially prior to the 2006 election, the necessity and duty we each have as Conservative God Loving Patriotic Citizens. I know I have stressed, to sometimes no avail, the huge consequences we face as Americans if we allow liberals to win the election, control a majority in the House & Senate, hijack our Constituion, and then appease terrorists and our enemies. Well unfortunately, my election predictions came true. Now the evidence is clearer than ever as to what the liberal strategies are as they unfold within this recent majority party. After much frustration and anger dealing with the November elections, I now feel its more crucial than ever to pick up the fight and struggle for our freedom, our lives and even our nations future existance. You may ask yourself: What can I possibly do, I am just 1 of 300 million Americans? How can I possibly make any impact? How can I possibly stop the Democrats and this extreme liberal agenda? The answer is quite simple: WHATEVER YOU CAN. And to prove this point, I would like to point out a story I heard from an admirable conservative and one of our chat members strmclouds@aol.com. Once I heard this story of conservative patriotic courage and learned of its results, I had asked STRM if I could share this story to other conservatives so they could see just how simple it is to do our part. With that being said, I would love if each of you could take 5 minutes and read this great example:

By strmclouds@aol.com

Last week the US House passed a non-binding resolution against the introduction of additional US forces into Iraq. Along with the Democratic majority 17 Republicans crossed party lines to vote for the resolution. This week, Senate Democrats are proposing legislation that will handcuff the President and US Troops to only fight the war on terror against whom they see as the enemy, which is basically no one. These are yet other examples of the loss of Conservative values so prevalent in the Republican Party today. As Democrats increase their public and private rhetoric against the war, the GOP continues its retreat from conservative values and continues to recoil from any effort to stand up for what they supposedly believe in. This abandonment of conservative principles has shown itself many times over the past couple of years. From the White House, to the halls of Congress, to the conservative voters themselves, a retreat from the traditional conservative principles is well under way and gaining momentum.

Many times I hear the lament of friends and others asking: Why doesn’t the GOP stand up for the ideas they embrace? Why are they not willing to criticize their elected representatives? Why do they seem unwilling to take any responsibility for the issue themselves? Why are they content to merely point the finger at GOP politicians and complain about the Democrats? It is this lack of conviction and unwillingness to take an active role in their lives and government, that lies at the very heart of the matter. What has happened to the conservative value of self-reliance? We as conservatives expect our politicians to speak out on our behalf yet we shun opportunity to speak out for ourselves in our everyday lives. As the Democrats become more vociferous pounding their mantra with the help of the powerful and decidedly liberal media, conservative voters continue to rely on their power as “ the silent majority”. The November 2006 elections were an example of this, as many conservative voters either stayed home in protest of the politicians they were disappointed in or the misguided belief that the GOP would win simply by virtue of its superior message and ideals. And even more ironic, so many seemed shocked by the outcome. The Democrats were able to capitalize on this silence to paint conservatives in the light of their choosing with predictable results. Sadly these same conservatives still seem willing to sit idly by with only the slightest and most private complaints, as the Democrats joined by more and more Republicans continue to dismantle the idea of Conservatism.

I have watched this trend grow and take shape and as a conservative who strongly believes in the self-reliance that has served America so well throughout her history, I have resolved to personally take a stand. I concluded that to vote my convictions was not enough anymore. That to call myself a conservative was more than just a label but indeed a badge of honor. To stand for what is right in the world, to protect and preserve the values that I claimed for so long to hold dear, to call myself conservative but to remain part of “ the silent majority” was to guarantee the end of those values in America. So I began to take an active role in any way that I could. I joined political chat rooms, not merely to rant and argue with Liberals but to learn more about the values I purported to embrace. I wrote letters to editors of newspapers and to my representatives. I wrote blogs for conservative sites on the Internet attempting in some small way to contribute to the advancement of conservative ideas. I have struggled to become a better conservative and indeed a better American. From participating in Parent teacher association meetings at the local schools, to joining with my conservative friends online to engage and discuss the ideas we shared. Recently, an opportunity to take a personal stand and the chance to get on a personal level and show my commitment to my beliefs and my new resolve, presented itself.
My son attends the 4th grade at our local elementary school and as a parent I try to take an active an interested role in his schooling. One day recently, he returned home from school visibly upset and it was clear something was bothering him. I sat him down and asked him what the trouble was and was wholly unprepared for his response. My sons 4th grade science teacher had engaged the class in a discussion about Global warming. The teacher had apparently informed the class that global warming was the direct result of mans activities and that if people did not take immediate measures to improve the situation the outlook for humanity was very dark and grim. I was outraged that a teacher would use such scare tactics to promote their ideology with a room full of children who were without the benefit of alternative opinions and in effect a captive audience. The fact that my son’s teacher would even discuss something like Global warming was unimaginable to me. A quick check of my son’s science book revealed that this issue was not a part of the normal curriculum of the class. To see my 9 yr old son so frightened and feeling guilty over the incident gave me the courage to call the school immediately and request a conference with the teacher and the schools vice principal. I spent a couple of days collecting information to utilize in the conference and even took a day off of work in order to attend. The details of the meeting are unimportant but what matters most was that I was able to take a stance on the things I believe in. I engaged the teacher on many issues but to me the principle issue was one of keeping political ideology and Liberal mantra out of the classroom where it has no place. After an hour of back and forth, it was satisfying to hear the vice principal agree with the crux of my argument. He admitted that schooling should be about facts and not about ideology. I obtained a promise from the VP, that in the future, classroom discussion would be limited in scope and strive to present things in their true light and not as cold facts regardless of whether the issue being liberal or conservative.
Perhaps it was a small victory, but I believe it was an important one. The slow erosion of conservatism is due in large part to the fact that we are unable and/or unwilling to take these small stands for what we believe in. The question is how do we admonish our GOP leadership for their failure to fight back and stand up for us if we as individuals will not do the same? Do we not all share responsibility for the future of our movement and our country? The war for our principles is not won in one big fight but in the thousands of little ones fought and waged everyday in schools, offices and homes all across America. I am reminded of something a friend of mine once said to me and that I actually used as a title to a blog I wrote. “Evil prevails when good men do nothing”. The words have never ringed truer than they do today and I urge conservatives to take them to heart. Take a stand for what you believe in and remember that it is our voices and our values we want our leaders to promote. If we do not raise our voices everyday, the only thing our leadership will hear is the silence and their courage and convictions will waiver. One only needs to look at the Timeline and Democrats voting record such as:

1. Final Vote IRAQ Liberation Act 1998
2. Transcript: President Clinton explains Iraq strike - December 16, 1998
3. 2002 Senate Vote IRAQ Authorizing Military Force
4. Vote on John Murtha’s Immediate Withdrawal Proposal Nov. 18, 2005
5. Senate Immediate Withdrawal June 15, 2005 Roll Call Vote
6. House Vote on June 16, 2006 on Whether we will Win War on Terror
7. Vote on John Kerry’s June 21, 20056 Withdrawal Amendment
8. HOUSE Roll Call Vote on Bill Undermining Commander in Chief Feb. 16, 2007
9. Senate Proposals To Undermine Commander In Chief in IRAQ WAR Feb. 17, 2007
   
   God Bless America,
   strmclouds@aol.com