THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING IN A SHINING CITY ON A
HILL
By Dr. Jimmie Applegate
Given the centrality of religion in Puritan life it is not surprising that John Winthrop paraphrased these words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” in a 1630 sermon aboard his flagship Arbella. Winthrop shared his hopes for the success of the Massachusetts Bay colonists when he said their new home would be “a city on a hill”. More recently both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan reinforced that exceptionalism in at least three major speeches to the nation.
Are we living up to the extraordinary demands of living in a shining city on a hill that is the envy of the free world, or are we peering down a dark alley toward a house of ill repute where goods and services are exchanged in illicit transactions? The effort required to remain exceptional is challenged each day by the enchanting promises of instant gratification echoing from that seedy darkness.
The social-political-economic ideologies of the current administration are liberal, progressive and, yes, Godless in their emphases on socialism. Some basic tenets of these ideologies listed in admittedly selected descriptive words and phrases to make a point include government activism AKA big government with centralized decision making, transformational reform and change, a professional political corps, progressive taxation to redistribute wealth, unconditional support for organized labor; i.e., unionized, acceptance of the equality of any and all religious experiences, equality at the expense of liberty and to enhance the status of lowest common denominator by ending, controlling and redistributing the development of exceptionalism.
These changes are not a new phenomenon. They have happened in fits and starts over more than 150 years; however, my interest here is not the historical development of American liberal, progressive socialism but rather the speed and reckless abandonment and destruction of traditional American values and principles that have been imposed.
President Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and in the brief span of two yearshe and the liberal progressive majority Democrats in Congress cajoled, manipulated and bribed while Speakers Reid and Pelosi proposed, fostered, directed and enacted legislation designed to transform America from a land of “makers” to a “gimme gimme” land of “takers”. The lyrics of the NewWorldSons “Gimme” are frightening in their plea, “I need you oh, I need you oh, Yes its true I really need you now gimme now”.
The recent changes began when Obama’s election was welcomed by some in America and many abroad with messianic fervor. He reacted in typical megalomaniacal fashion by perceiving himself as a human manifestation of the second coming. He travelled widely bowing, lowering his head and slightly kneeling to rulers, kings, monarchs and extending a hand of friendship, even heaven forbid touching the untouchable, all the while repeating one apology after another for American exceptionalism.
Events of the past two years put Obama’s subservient acquiescence in perspective. The President of the United States once respected as the leader of the free world is perceived by some as a soft touch who lacks the common sense to understand the “gimme now” world view. It’s the old, “give me an inch and I’ll take a mile” syndrome at work.
And here at home his flailing attempts to be all things to everyone (except those identified as “the haves”) resulted in one attempt after another to transform American social, political and economic ideals by raising federal income taxes on the “haves” to redistribute wealth to the “have nots”. In 2009 nearly 50% of US households paid no federal income taxes at all and the top 20% earners (households making more than $366,400) paid 73% of federal income taxes collected. And yes, the bottom 40% of earners made a profit by receiving more in tax credits than they earned. Now the liberal progressive ideologues want to tax the wealthiest 2% of the movers and holders of wealth to increase the tax credits, health coverage and government entitlements for a government owned and controlled plantation society. Adding the estate tax to these choreographed actions by a tyranny of the majority is the most blatant example of taxation without representation whereupon death your earned possessions are confiscated and redistributed. There can be no question but what the basic foundations of American exceptionalism are under full siege. The effectiveness of this siege is indisputable as numerous Americans appear willing to trade their birthright for unfulfilled promises of happiness. I invite you to join me in a brief journey through time down a dark and seedy alley.
As we stand at the entrance to the alley leading to a House of Ill Repute we find it littered with the abandoned principles of American exceptionalism much like the arid arroyos of Arizona are full of the discarded belongings of illegal aliens. On one side of the dimly lit alley lies a pile of principles related to the rule of law. Sections of the US Code regarding illegal aliens are ignored in the misguided fairy tale that “aliens” are “immigrants” and are entitled to have the “American Dream” fulfilled without regard to the “rule of Law” or the word “pursuit” in the phrase “pursuit of happiness”.
Over here in the corner lies the wadded up principles of a “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. The ever growing cadre of professional politicians who purchase votes from an ever more dependent citizenry via tax credits, deductibles, bailouts, grants, entitlements and just plain “taking care of the folks back home” by slipping unreviewed earmarks into unread budget documents is responsible for the loss of this principle. Not to be outdone the administration, congressional leaders and committee chairmen resort to outright bribery to get what they want. Add the 40 plus administration appointed “czars”; most of whom are not vetted or subject to congressional oversight and the witches brew thickens. This cadre of professional politicians has forgotten they were elected to represent the people who elected them and not their fellow professional politicians in state capitols or Washington, D.C.
And this pile of discarded principles contains the right to assemble in peaceful protest without being labeled “right wing terrorists”, “brown shirts” and other egregious names by high level administration appointees and elected officials. Citizen’s acceptance of, and acquiescence to political correctness has pervaded everyday life to the point it controls behavior—think teen age peer pressure.
Maddened by what we were seeing, we reeled against the smutty wall, turned back toward the City on the Hill andas we struggled to wade through the flotsam and jetsam discarded the length of the alley we stumbled into a pile of principles labeled “Trust”. At the top of the pile was a plaintive plea for trust from a legislator, “Trust us, you’ll love this bill when you know what is in it.”. The foolishness of such a statement was obvious when citizens learned the legislation that had been passed was neither drafted in its entirety nor read by legislators who caved in to bribery and voted for it.
Finally stepping back into the light, we realized Americans are selling their birthright of exceptionalism. We are trading our self-sufficiency, independence, individualism, working for what you get, keeping what you earn, our Christian heritage, our federal form of government and being held responsible for our decisions and actions. We are trading these cherished principles in exchange for the anticipated pleasant satisfaction of climax once we rid ourselves of the demanding expectations required of an exceptional people.
As Walt Kelly wrote in 1953, “There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tinny blast on tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us.”
May this be the clanging of the alarm Americans needs to wake up to the fact that we are selling our birthright for promises of future happiness.We are Americans. We are exceptional. We will prevail. We will reclaim our birthright, and we will live in the Shining City on a Hill. But first, we must recognize that we are part of the problem!
By Dr. Jimmie Applegate
Given the centrality of religion in Puritan life it is not surprising that John Winthrop paraphrased these words from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” in a 1630 sermon aboard his flagship Arbella. Winthrop shared his hopes for the success of the Massachusetts Bay colonists when he said their new home would be “a city on a hill”. More recently both Presidents Kennedy and Reagan reinforced that exceptionalism in at least three major speeches to the nation.
Are we living up to the extraordinary demands of living in a shining city on a hill that is the envy of the free world, or are we peering down a dark alley toward a house of ill repute where goods and services are exchanged in illicit transactions? The effort required to remain exceptional is challenged each day by the enchanting promises of instant gratification echoing from that seedy darkness.
The social-political-economic ideologies of the current administration are liberal, progressive and, yes, Godless in their emphases on socialism. Some basic tenets of these ideologies listed in admittedly selected descriptive words and phrases to make a point include government activism AKA big government with centralized decision making, transformational reform and change, a professional political corps, progressive taxation to redistribute wealth, unconditional support for organized labor; i.e., unionized, acceptance of the equality of any and all religious experiences, equality at the expense of liberty and to enhance the status of lowest common denominator by ending, controlling and redistributing the development of exceptionalism.
These changes are not a new phenomenon. They have happened in fits and starts over more than 150 years; however, my interest here is not the historical development of American liberal, progressive socialism but rather the speed and reckless abandonment and destruction of traditional American values and principles that have been imposed.
President Barack Obama was elected in 2008 and in the brief span of two yearshe and the liberal progressive majority Democrats in Congress cajoled, manipulated and bribed while Speakers Reid and Pelosi proposed, fostered, directed and enacted legislation designed to transform America from a land of “makers” to a “gimme gimme” land of “takers”. The lyrics of the NewWorldSons “Gimme” are frightening in their plea, “I need you oh, I need you oh, Yes its true I really need you now gimme now”.
The recent changes began when Obama’s election was welcomed by some in America and many abroad with messianic fervor. He reacted in typical megalomaniacal fashion by perceiving himself as a human manifestation of the second coming. He travelled widely bowing, lowering his head and slightly kneeling to rulers, kings, monarchs and extending a hand of friendship, even heaven forbid touching the untouchable, all the while repeating one apology after another for American exceptionalism.
Events of the past two years put Obama’s subservient acquiescence in perspective. The President of the United States once respected as the leader of the free world is perceived by some as a soft touch who lacks the common sense to understand the “gimme now” world view. It’s the old, “give me an inch and I’ll take a mile” syndrome at work.
And here at home his flailing attempts to be all things to everyone (except those identified as “the haves”) resulted in one attempt after another to transform American social, political and economic ideals by raising federal income taxes on the “haves” to redistribute wealth to the “have nots”. In 2009 nearly 50% of US households paid no federal income taxes at all and the top 20% earners (households making more than $366,400) paid 73% of federal income taxes collected. And yes, the bottom 40% of earners made a profit by receiving more in tax credits than they earned. Now the liberal progressive ideologues want to tax the wealthiest 2% of the movers and holders of wealth to increase the tax credits, health coverage and government entitlements for a government owned and controlled plantation society. Adding the estate tax to these choreographed actions by a tyranny of the majority is the most blatant example of taxation without representation whereupon death your earned possessions are confiscated and redistributed. There can be no question but what the basic foundations of American exceptionalism are under full siege. The effectiveness of this siege is indisputable as numerous Americans appear willing to trade their birthright for unfulfilled promises of happiness. I invite you to join me in a brief journey through time down a dark and seedy alley.
As we stand at the entrance to the alley leading to a House of Ill Repute we find it littered with the abandoned principles of American exceptionalism much like the arid arroyos of Arizona are full of the discarded belongings of illegal aliens. On one side of the dimly lit alley lies a pile of principles related to the rule of law. Sections of the US Code regarding illegal aliens are ignored in the misguided fairy tale that “aliens” are “immigrants” and are entitled to have the “American Dream” fulfilled without regard to the “rule of Law” or the word “pursuit” in the phrase “pursuit of happiness”.
Over here in the corner lies the wadded up principles of a “government of the people, by the people and for the people”. The ever growing cadre of professional politicians who purchase votes from an ever more dependent citizenry via tax credits, deductibles, bailouts, grants, entitlements and just plain “taking care of the folks back home” by slipping unreviewed earmarks into unread budget documents is responsible for the loss of this principle. Not to be outdone the administration, congressional leaders and committee chairmen resort to outright bribery to get what they want. Add the 40 plus administration appointed “czars”; most of whom are not vetted or subject to congressional oversight and the witches brew thickens. This cadre of professional politicians has forgotten they were elected to represent the people who elected them and not their fellow professional politicians in state capitols or Washington, D.C.
And this pile of discarded principles contains the right to assemble in peaceful protest without being labeled “right wing terrorists”, “brown shirts” and other egregious names by high level administration appointees and elected officials. Citizen’s acceptance of, and acquiescence to political correctness has pervaded everyday life to the point it controls behavior—think teen age peer pressure.
Maddened by what we were seeing, we reeled against the smutty wall, turned back toward the City on the Hill andas we struggled to wade through the flotsam and jetsam discarded the length of the alley we stumbled into a pile of principles labeled “Trust”. At the top of the pile was a plaintive plea for trust from a legislator, “Trust us, you’ll love this bill when you know what is in it.”. The foolishness of such a statement was obvious when citizens learned the legislation that had been passed was neither drafted in its entirety nor read by legislators who caved in to bribery and voted for it.
Finally stepping back into the light, we realized Americans are selling their birthright of exceptionalism. We are trading our self-sufficiency, independence, individualism, working for what you get, keeping what you earn, our Christian heritage, our federal form of government and being held responsible for our decisions and actions. We are trading these cherished principles in exchange for the anticipated pleasant satisfaction of climax once we rid ourselves of the demanding expectations required of an exceptional people.
As Walt Kelly wrote in 1953, “There is no need to sally forth, for it remains true that those things which make us human are, curiously enough, always close at hand. Resolve then, that on this very ground, with small flags waving and tinny blast on tiny trumpets, we shall meet the enemy, and not only may he be ours, he may be us.”
May this be the clanging of the alarm Americans needs to wake up to the fact that we are selling our birthright for promises of future happiness.We are Americans. We are exceptional. We will prevail. We will reclaim our birthright, and we will live in the Shining City on a Hill. But first, we must recognize that we are part of the problem!
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