Welcome

Welcome to my blog http://www.skegley.blogspot.com/ . CAVEAT LECTOR- Let the reader beware. This is a Christian Conservative blog. It is not meant to offend anyone. Please feel free to ignore this blog, but also feel free to browse and comment on my posts! You may also scroll down to respond to any post.

For Christian American readers of this blog:


I wish to incite all Christians to rise up and take back the United States of America with all of God's manifold blessings. We want the free allowance of the Bible and prayers allowed again in schools, halls of justice, and all governing bodies. We don't seek a theocracy until Jesus returns to earth because all men are weak and power corrupts the very best of them.
We want to be a kinder and gentler people without slavery or condescension to any.

The world seems to be in a time of discontent among the populace. Christians should not fear. God is Love, shown best through Jesus Christ. God is still in control. All Glory to our Creator and to our God!


A favorite quote from my good friend, Jack Plymale, which I appreciate:

"Wars are planned by old men,in council rooms apart. They plan for greater armament, they map the battle chart, but: where sightless eyes stare out, beyond life's vanished joys, I've noticed,somehow, all the dead and mamed are hardly more than boys(Grantland Rice per our mutual friend, Sarah Rapp)."

Thanks Jack!

I must admit that I do not check authenticity of my posts. If anyone can tell me of a non-biased arbitrator, I will attempt to do so more regularly. I know of no such arbitrator for the internet.











Friday, February 4, 2011

Reagan understood America- o has no clue! Sam

Reagan understood America's greatness resides in its people

Friday, February 4, 2011 02:51 AM

By Cal Thomas



On the centenary of Ronald Reagan's birth, I pause for another historic event: agreement with President Barack Obama, who says of his predecessor in USA Today: "Ronald Wilson Reagan was a believer ... he recognized that each of us has the power - as individuals and as a nation - to shape our own destiny.



He had faith in the American promise; in the importance of reaffirming values like hard work and personal responsibility; and in his own unique ability to inspire others to greatness."



Precisely!



I suspect Reagan would be embarrassed by the attempts to elevate him to political sainthood. Even conservatives who now long for another Reagan were sometimes critical of him during his presidency and of those around him they believed were holding him back. "Let Reagan be Reagan" they cried, as if he wasn't who he was.



What made Reagan a great president was that he understood America and his countrymen better than any politician of his time, or perhaps any time. He saw that the greatness of the country is not found in Washington, no matter which party or personality is in power. Rather, it is to be found in the people. Reagan awakened that dormant truth.



Reagan didn't need to be president to complete himself. He knew who he was before seeking the job. Self-awareness is an essential quality in a leader if he or she is to avoid the siren call of narcissism and the temptations that go with the preoccupation about "legacy."



Reagan awakened in many Americans the belief that no matter what the challenge, Americans can meet it. His opponents mocked him for what they regarded as an old-fashioned concept. In a time of growing dependency on government, based on the fallacy that we can't do much on our own (and if we do, we must be punished with higher taxes and more regulation), such a notion was offensive to the dominant political culture. Reagan tapped into a principle that is as much a part of our DNA as motherhood and the American flag.



Reagan's "vision for America" mirrored our vision of ourselves: strong internationally, economically sound at home. He restored our self-confidence at a time when his predecessor, Jimmy Carter, was suggesting America had seen its best days and we should trim our expectations and become "realists."



Reagan, the eternal optimist, even after discovering he had Alzheimer's disease, was always thinking about the future. Bill Clinton made the future his theme when he adopted Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow) as his 1992 campaign song. After reading a book about Reagan, Obama tried to channel him in his State of the Union address. It fell flat.



Trying to be Reagan without the substance didn't fully succeed with Clinton, either, because of his self-absorption, manifested in the sex scandals. It is even less likely to succeed with Obama because his big-government philosophy is the antithesis of Reaganism. A theme must have more than a melody. It must be in harmony with America. Reagan's was. Obama is off-key.



A Google search for Reaganisms finds scores of little phrases that touched principles handed down by previous generations of Americans. These aphorisms were born of Reagan's own experiences with FDR Democrats and the notion that the bigger government gets, the fewer liberties we enjoy.



Here are just three: "We have a deficit, not because the government taxes too little, but because it spends too much"; "Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have"; " ... there are great advantages to being elected president. The day after I was elected, I had my high-school grades classified Top Secret." Self-deprecation and humility rested comfortably on Reagan's broad shoulders.



Reagan didn't promise to do great things for us. He showed us that great things came from within us. Modern Republicans would do well to remind themselves that America's greatness doesn't lie within politicians, but within each of its citizens. That is Reagan's legacy.



Cal Thomas writes for Tribune Media Services.

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