These are the events that took place in Westerville, Ohio, when a man witness some young people praising the new deity of the United States. Mr. Wright is a member of the 912 project, which plans to instill the values this country had after 9/11 back into our society today. Please enjoy and realize that most people in my generation actually feel this way and I am ashamed that this is what people think of the youth of this great nation.

I was in my neighborhood restaurant this morning and was seated behind a group of jubilant individuals celebrating the successful passing of the recent health care bill. I could not finish my breakfast. This is what ensued:

They were a diverse group of several races and both sexes. I heard the young man exclaim, "Isn't Obama like Jesus Christ? I mean, after all, he is healing the sick." The young woman enthusiastically proclaimed, "Yeah, and he does it for free. I cannot believe anyone would think that a free market would work for health care. They are all crooks and thieves and don?t deserve all of that money." Another said, "The stupid Republicans want us all to starve to death so they can inherit all of the power. Obama should be made a Saint for what he did for those of us less fortunate." At this, I had had enough.

I arose from my seat, mustering all the restraint I could find, and approached their table. "Please excuse me; may I impose upon you for one moment?" They smiled and welcomed me to the conversation. I stood at the end of their table, smiled as best I could and began an experiment.

?I would like to give one of you my house. It will cost you no money and I will pay all of the expenses and taxes for as long as you live there. Anyone interested?? They looked at each other in astonishment. "Why would you do something like that?" asked a young man, "There isn't anything for free in this world." They began to laugh at me, as they did not realize this man had just made my point. "I am serious, I will give you my house for free, no money what so ever. Anyone interested?" In unison, a resounding "Hell Yeah" fills the room.

"Since there are too many of you, I will have to make a choice as to who receives this money free bargain." I noticed an elderly couple was paying attention to the spectacle unfolding before their eyes, the old man shaking his head in apparent disgust. "I tell you what, I will give it to the one of you most willing to obey my rules." Again, they looked at one another, an expression of bewilderment on their faces. The perky young woman asked, "What are the rules?" I smiled and said, "I don't know. I have not yet defined them. However, it is a free home that I offer you." They giggled amongst themselves, the youngest of which said, "What an old coot. He must be crazy to give away his home. Go take your meds, old man." I smiled and leaned into the table a bit further. "I am serious, this is a legitimate offer." They gaped at me for a moment.

"Hell, I'll take it you old fool. Where are the keys?" boasted the youngest among them. "Then I presume you accept ALL of my terms then?" I asked. The elderly couple seemed amused and entertained as they watched from the privacy of their table. "Oh hell yeah! Where do I sign up?" I took a napkin and wrote, "I give this man my home, without the burden of financial obligation, so long as he accepts and abides by the terms that I shall set forth upon consummation of this transaction." I signed it and handed it to the young man who eagerly scratched out his signature. "Where are the keys to my new house?" he asked in a mocking tone of voice. All eyes were upon us as I stepped back from the table, pulling the keys from pocket and dangling them before the excited new homeowner.

"Now that we have entered into this binding contract, witnessed by all of your friends, I have decided upon the conditions you are obligated to adhere from this point forward. You may only live in the house for one hour a day. You will not use anything inside of the home. You will obey me without question or resistance. I expect complete loyalty and admiration for this gift I bestow upon you. You will accept my commands and wishes with enthusiasm, no matter the nature. Your morals and principles shall be as mine. You will vote as I do, think as I do and do it with blind faith. These are my terms. Here are your keys." I reached the keys forward and the young man looked at me dumb founded.

"Are you out of your freaking mind? Who would ever agree to those ridiculous terms?" the young man appeared irritated. "You did when you signed this contract before reading it, understanding it and with the full knowledge that I would provide my conditions only after you committed to the agreement." Was all I said. The elderly man chuckled as his wife tried to restrain him. I was looking at a now silenced and bewildered group of people. "You can shove that stupid deal up you're a** old man, I want no part of it!" exclaimed the now infuriated young man. "You have committed to the contract, as witnessed by all of your friends; you cannot get out of the deal unless I agree to it. I do not intend to let you free now that I have you ensnared. I am the power you agreed to. I am the one you blindly and without thought chose to enslave yourself to. In short, I am your Master." At this, the table of celebrating individuals became a unified group against the unfairness of the deal.

After a few moments of unrepeatable comments and slurs, I revealed my true intent. "What I did to you is what this administration and congress did to you with the health care legislation. I easily suckered you in and then revealed the real cost of the bargain. Your folly was in the belief that you can have something you did not earn; that you are entitled to that which you did not earn, that you willingly allowed someone else to think for you. Your failure to research, study and inform yourself permitted reason to escape you. You have entered into a trap from which you cannot flee. Your only chance of freedom is if your new Master gives it unto you. A freedom that is given can also be taken away; therefore, it is not freedom." With that, I tore up the napkin and placed it before the astonished young man. "This is the nature of your new health care legislation."

I turned away to leave these few in thought and contemplation and was surprised by applause. The elderly gentleman, who was clearly entertained, shook my hand enthusiastically and said, "Thank you Sir, these kids don't understand Liberty these days." He refused to allow me to pay my bill as he said, "You earned this one, it is an honor to pickup the tab." I shook his hand in thanks, leaving the restaurant somewhat humbled, and sensing a glimmer of hope for my beloved country.

Use reason, it is the closest you are going to get to Godly conduct
Clifford A. Wright

What Happened to Freedom?

I have been reading a lot lately about the Constitution and the founding of this great nation that we live in. I keep hearing the word "freedom" over and over again. No matter how hard I look into the subject of freedom, I never see a section that says the government gives us freedom. For some reason politicians and citizens alike believe that Big Brother needs to tell us how to run our lives, from what foods to eat with the new sugar tax New York State is pushing for, to taking away Second Amendment rights from law abiding citizens, to even how you raise your children. When will government intervention stop and when will the U.S.A. become truly "the land of the free?"

While reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine, I saw the concerns of citizens hundreds of years ago. They were worried that stronger government would strip us of our liberty and allow those in power to oppress those who aren't. For many of us, these are still major concerns. I have seen (in the short time I have lived on this planet) that those in power will do anything to stay in power. They play off of our fears and make citizens believe if the government does not get involved, our lives will be terrible.

When this country first began, there were no government programs to give welfare to those without work, or programs to make sure the old were taken care of. People relied on themselves to make sure their family was safe and they did the best they could with what they had. Communities and friends were the only safety net needed, not the government. Every time I learn about American history, teachers and professors (other than a few who weren't raging liberals) tried to show us how the government has made programs to help those who were not living at a high enough standard. These programs all sound very nice until we look at what really happens. Social Security funds have been depleted through irresponsible government. The nationalized transportation and mail services went from profitable organizations to ones that are always in the red. Why do people believe the government knows what is best for your own life, when they don't even know how to control themselves?

I have no problem with programs to help those who can't help themselves, like the handicapped or the elderly, but I do have a problem when the government tells taxpayers that they know a better way to spend their money. This is taking away the citizens' First Amendment rights. We see time and time again that government thinks it knows how to micromanage individuals' lives better than they do. This is despicable! It's about time the people of this country stand up and tell their elected officials that we know how to run our own lives. If we feel a firearm will keep our household safe, we should be allowed to have one. If we want to donate our money to help the poor, we should do it on our own free will, not because some official who has been in office for 30 years tells us to.

We need to go back to the way this country used to be. Where the government knew the difference between what was a private matter and what was meant for the government. I agree with Thomas Paine that government is a necessary evil. That there is a big difference between society and government. That society enables people to live freely and protect each other and help in times of need, and that government takes liberty away rather than granting it. We were endowed by our Creator with rights, no government can give us rights, they can only take them away. Not only can they take them away, but they have whenever given the opportunity. We need to take our freedom back! Officials who have made their career off taking rights away need to be kicked out and we need people who truly represent what America is all about.

2010: A New Year With A Not So New Beginning

So, it's been a while since I posted a blog about the pathetic state of our nation, but the president's speech tonight made me realize that nothing is going to improve anytime soon, especially for my generation. Although there were points in which President Obama gave promises and plans for solving problems, such as earmark reform, the speech left me very unsatisfied. I think he made excuses for his mistakes and tried at every opportunity to blame either former president George W. Bush or the Republicans in Congress for our government's problems. It is about time Mr. Obama stands up and take some responsibility for his past year in office.

Over the past year, we have seen a loss in millions of jobs. Although our president promised unemployment would not go above 8%, he once again failed in carrying out a promise to the American people. This scares me, as it should scare everyone in my generation who are looking for careers in the near future. According to the "dials," which show approval from both Democrats and Republicans throughout the State of the Union, both sides were unhappy when Obama said we had turned the corner on the recession. It is still not clear whether we have, with many Americans still experiencing economic difficulties. We not only see a very high unemployment rate, but almost no efforts to lower it. Businesses and employers who are taxed more and more to pay for government programs are not as likely to hire new employees. This is simple economics. Young people, such as myself, should be nervous and angry at this administrations approach to the economy. Obama asked in his speech for a second stimulus. If the first one "fixed" the economy, why would we need a second? Maybe we should stop spending money to solve a spending problem. More debt will not get us out of the hole we are already in. And this is a hole which myself and the rest of Americans my age will have to dig us out of.

Something that surprised me about the speech was not something that was said, but rather something that wasn't really talked about. National Security. About a month ago, on Christmas hundreds of Americans' lives were nearly lost because a fanatic wanted to blow up an airplane. This man was caught and is being treated like a typical criminal. The Obama administration says "the system worked," but really, the system got lucky his bombs didn't go off. The newly elected Senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, said " In dealing with terrorists, our tax dollars should pay for weapons to stop them, not lawyers to defend them." I could not agree more. In order for our nation to remain safe, we have to use all means necessary in order to defeat our enemies. If we allow terrorists to harm Americans now, giving them the promise that they will be treated like an average American citizen, we open ourselves up to more threats and potential attacks from our enemies. Those in Congress say they want to keep America safe, well start acting rather than just talking. I look to my future and see America safe from foreign enemies where my children (when I have them a long time from now) will not be afraid to go outside.

There was a point in the speech which actually infuriated me. While President Obama was discussing campaign finance, he made a point to call out the Supreme Court on their ruling, which allows business to donate as much money as they want to candidates. He basically said that the Supreme Court had ruled incorrectly. Since when is it the president's job to control the Supreme Court's decisions? This is the same president who "didn't want to be the CEO of an auto company or bank." I'm waiting for his next speech saying he doesn't want to be in charge of the Supreme Court. Our founders should be rolling over in their graves because this man is taking his power too far. We don't want a supreme ruler, if we did, we wouldn't have rebelled against Great Britain.

Overall, this speech to me was terrible. I felt like we rewound the clocks to 2008 and Obama was running again. I expected him to be more moderate in his approach, but he stayed with the policies which have been enraging citizens across the country. He said he blames himself for not thoroughly explaining what his plans were. That's not true. He spent so much time on television and the radio that we know exactly what he wants. Our problem isn't that we are too stupid or ignorant to understand his policies, our problems are with the policies themselves. President Obama needs to stop explaining himself and revise his strategy into something the American people actually want, not just what he wants.