Forgive them for they know not what they do

With these few words, Jesus set a lasting example of acceptance, generosity and the meaning of forgiveness.

Can we do the same when all that is at risk is our pocketbooks, bank accounts and sense of right versus wrong? We are not being pilloried or crucified. We are only being forced to do things that we know are wrong; that we know lead to an unattractive outcome. Regardless, we will survive.

So, why don’t we let go and go along with the plan? Why are we so negative and down on the new regime? At TheFundamentals we have been accused of being racist for not promoting and supporting the new administration’s plans and legislative proposals. We are told to look for the positive; stop with all the negative essays. We are reminded that the previous administration made lots of mistakes and spent lots of money. Where were we when all that was going on? Why were we not yelping and complaining and criticizing and howling then?

Why not just follow Jesus’ example?

Well, for several reasons. We do not think we have been asked to save humanity. We are not engaged in this fight because we want to open the doors of heaven to mankind. We have only one real accomplishment in mind. Just one simple task that we think is important to the well being of a country that provided such wonderful opportunity for us. We think that each person who wants to work hard, get an education, obey the law and take care of their responsibilities should be able to live a life of their choosing without constant interference and rule/law imposition from detached but powerful government entities and representatives. It’s as simple as that. The idea of an ever changing and ever increasing set of taxes, rules, laws and encroachment on everyday living and everyday commerce must be reset to a much lower, more manageable level. We see it as lower taxes; fewer rules; many fewer government agencies and employees and much more reasonable costs for the levels of government and education and health care that we all need.

The 50 year build up of special interests, protected classes, public employee unions and very high wages, benefits and pensions; never ending litigation for anything from a medical mistake to a spilled cup of hot coffee to a too noisy neighbor has now burdened our very economic freedoms to a reduced performance level that leaves us falling drastically behind our more competitive foreign friends.

We prefer a competitive, innovative performance oriented society – in education, in commerce and in our basic values. We do not want a handout. We do not believe that we are entitled to endless health care; any form of education we desire; a government employee who really cares about anything we can think of or constant warnings about foods, cigarettes, car seats, vehicle emissions, global warming, terrorists and flu viruses. We don’t need a president who is on TV five times a day and cannot even answer a simple question about high taxes without reverting to 15 minutes of 15 month old campaign rhetoric. We can get along fine on our own. We will take care of making sure our children are safe; that our seat belts are secured; that we watch what we eat/smoke/drink and we will be real safe when using our lawn mowers or riding around on our motorcycles. We can handle it just fine, thank you. We might even put a helmet on once in a while when riding our bike but, and we know this is hard to believe, as kids not only did no one even have a helmet but we used to ride “no hands” all the time.

That’s all we want. We’ll make a deal. You cool it and we will forgive you. It is time for all the aforementioned folk to take one big, long timeout. Just like little kids. Heck we might even help some of you find a real job. One where you pay taxes.