The Choice Has Already Been Made
April 11, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · 1 Comment
“I did it again!” I muttered quietly to myself, frustrated as I realized I had slept through my alarm.
The clock read 6:10 a.m., a full forty minutes after the set alarm time. I play basketball three days a week at 6 a.m., and since the gym I play in is fifteen minutes from my home, I set my alarm for 5:30.
I lay for a few minutes, feeling the frustration. As a freelance writer, I spend the bulk of my time in front of a computer screen, so it’s imperative that I meet my exercise schedule if I don’t want my body to fall apart.
Then, in those quiet moments thinking to myself in the dark, it dawned on me what had occurred, and that it was a parallel to so many other things in life.
“My choice to sleep in this morning was made last night!” I realized. I had chosen to stay up until 11:00 the night before working on a project. Then, oddly enough, I was mad at my body for not waking up to my alarm. But by then it was too late; I was beyond the free realm of choice and had entered the inexorable realm of consequence.
How many choices do we make on a daily basis, for which we do not see the consequences until later in life? Then, when we experience the consequences, how often do we get angry and frustrated because we’re not getting what we want?
In a broader sense, this is what is happening to America at large. We’re frustrated with the size of our national deficit and the impending Social Security crisis, yet this was a choice we made over 70 years ago with the New Deal. New Deal for citizens in the 1930’s; very Bad Deal for us today.
We hold peace rallies after spending precious time from our lives watching movies saturated with violence. We spend millions on ads and programs to reduce teenage pregnancy after infiltrating the media and our homes with inappropriate movies, magazines, and other media that encourage such behavior (then, of course, we think the answer is abortion).
Every choice carries a consequence. When America accepts this, she will be resurrected from her current travails. And it starts with you and I, as individual citizens.
What will you choose today, and how will the consequences of that choice manifest later in your life?
Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.
Email This Post
Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.
The Inside-Out Reformation
January 25, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
I try to be an informed and responsible citizen by keeping abreast of all the news from as many sources as possible. But as I hear about major crises and problems such as the genocide in Sudan, our ever-increasing national budget deficit, the insurgency in Iraq, the bankruptcy rate in America, the state of public education and health care, poverty, environmental degradation, etc., I often find myself intensely frustrated and angry at my seeming inability to contribute to the solution of these problems. In a world of six billion people, it’s hard not to feel insignificant and simply give in to cynicism.
In my frustration I turn to our leaders, hoping that they will have the answers and the influence to solve problems that are beyond the control of the individual citizen. However, our elections are vivid illustrations that there is a dearth of solid, principle-based leadership in this country. Our political contests have been reduced to forcing us to choose not the best candidate, but the lesser of two evils. Are we to simply vote along party lines? Wait a minute–where are those lines drawn anyway?
The more I look outward, the more I am convinced that the answers do not lie outside of myself. John Adams wrote that “If worthless men are sometimes at the head of affairs, it is because worthless men are at the tail, and the middle.” In other words, our political leaders are mere reflections of our citizens. If we want our leaders to change, we have to change. Meaningful and lasting national and global change must be enacted from the inside out, not the outside in, and it starts not with the community or even the family; it starts with the individual.
Gandhi taught, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” If I want to see a peaceful world, then I must pursue peace within myself, with my spouse, my children, and my extended family. If I want to see a better system of education in America, then I must take initiative and responsibility to educate myself and my children.
Instead of focusing on what I can’t do, I’m learning to focus instead on what I can do. I can’t pay off the national debt, but I can pay off my debt and balance my home budget. I can’t solve America’s health care problems, but I can live a healthy lifestyle. I can’t stop corporations from dumping environmental waste in our rivers, but I can maintain a clean home environment.
The reformation begins with me. As I change myself, it inspires others around me to change, spreading from my family, to my community, to my state, to my nation, and ultimately to the entire globe. Call me naive and idealistic if you must, but I won’t pay attention; I’m busy changing the world.
Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.
Email This Post
Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.
What was the REAL American revolution and what can we learn from it?
January 25, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
Without a revolution in the minds and hearts of individuals within a society, revolutions actually do more harm than good (i.e. the French Revolution). The real American Revolution happened long before the Revolutionary War; the war was an effect, not a cause.
As John Adams wrote, “What do we mean by the American Revolution? Do we mean the American war? The Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people; a change in their religious sentiments, of their duties and obligations…This radical change in the principles, opinions, sentiments, and affections of the people was the real American Revolution.”
America needs another revolution, not a bloody revolution of anger, hatred, and conflict, but a quiet, peaceful, and bloodless revolution enacted by honest individuals who turn inward and humbly revolutionize themselves. What are you willing to do to effect a revolution in your own life?
Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.
Email This Post
Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.
Are we products of circumstances, or choice?
January 25, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
In his book Freakonomics, economist Steven Levitt compares two boys. One boy was white, from a Chicago suburb, and had “smart, solid, encouraging, loving parents who stressed education and family.” The second boy was black, from Daytona Beach, and was abandoned by his mother, beaten by his father, and had become a full-fledged gangster by his teens.
The second child, now 27 years old, is Roland G. Fryer, Jr., a Harvard economist. The white child also made it to Harvard. But soon after, things went badly for him. His name is Ted Kaczynski — the man we know as the Unabomber.
Although our circumstances definitely influence who we become, it is our choice that is the ultimate determinant. Everyone can find reasons to not live up to their divine destiny, if that’s what they want to focus on. But we only hold on to our pain because it gives us an excuse to not take responsibility; as long as I have someone or something to blame for my pain, I don’t have to look myself in the mirror. Take responsibility for choosing your responses to circumstances, however painful they may be.
Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.
Email This Post
Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.
Cutting Off Your Options
January 25, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment
What does it mean to make a decision and why does decision making seem difficult?
The Latin word incido means to cut, and is the base of the words incision, excision, and decision. Therefore, incision means to cut into something, excision means to cut out something, and decision means to cut off something. Every time you make a decision you are cutting off possible options, which is why most people are afraid to make them.
Overcome the fear of decision-making by managing your attitude toward your choices. Eliminate regret from your life, and stop labeling your choices with moral judgments that limit your productivity. For example, many people who have experienced bankruptcy live their lives full of regret for the “bad” choices they made. But their bankruptcy could be the best thing that ever happened to them if they simply changed their attitude. Any choice, however negative, can be turned to productive use according to our attitude.
*Special thanks to Dr. Paul Jenkins, founder of Creation Tree Coaching, for this topic.
Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.
Email This Post
Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.
-
Free Newsletter Subscription
Subscribe to The Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and receive two free gifts. Your personal information will never be shared.
Subscribe To The Cause Of LibertyPolls
Loading ... Loading ... Loading ...