"...That, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
for kings, and for all that are in authority;
that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty... " (I Timothy 2:1-3).
HEAVENLY FATHER, I thank You for our country,
our Constitution, and our leaders.
I pray for our President and for every elected and
appointed official who serves with him.
I pray that You will build a wall of protection
around
the marriage and family of every
national, state, and local official.
I pray that You will give them the wisdom and
the courage
to uphold our Constitution which established
a republic based on Your absolute laws;
not a democracy based on the changing
whims of human reasoning.
I pray that You will rebuke Satan for the deception
of his
lie that we can be "as gods" in deciding for
ourselves what is right and what is wrong.
0 LORD, may our leaders cast down every law,
policy,
and personal example which weakens
marriages, families, or Your
moral standards.
I pray that our leaders will understand and
follow the
principles of Your Word. May
they realize that
all authority comes from You,
not the voters, and
that one day they will stand before You
to give an account of the power You
gave to them.
I base this prayer on the promise of Your Lord,
that if I will humble myself, pray, seek
Your face, and turn from my wicked ways,
then You will hear from heaven,
forgive my sin, and heal my land.
................in the name and
through the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
I pray,
AMEN.
September 26, 1996 Revised and rewritten: August 20, 1998
. . . Open Letter to the American People . . .
Recent high profile news stories and events prompted me to look at the think about the causes and effects of the condition of the American People and society as a whole.
Society as defined by Funk & Wagnall's Standard Desk Dictionary is "The system of community life in which individuals form a continuous and regulatory association for their mutual benefit and protection, or a portion of the whole that forms that community." When our forefathers wrote the Constitution of the United States and provided for the individual freedoms that make this country the absolute best place on earth to live. I believe they (our forefathers) were of the opinion that people and society as a whole would never become too immoral, indecent, unpatriotic or loose their integrity. Integrity as defined by the same source used previously is, "Uprightness of character; honesty". Being patriotic or patriotism is defined (same source) as, "One who loves his/her country and zealously guards its welfare; A defender of popular liberty; Devotion to one's country." With these things in mind, our country is dangerously teetering on the edge of disaster with respect to the ideas and plans that were set down in the Constitution of the United States, that we may never again reach the stature we once held in our own minds as well as the opinion of the world.
The forefathers intended, I believe, for this country to be the pinnacle of society in the world, and they therefore provided for personal freedoms and non-interference of government. Yet we have allowed our own system to entangle society into the most massive confused state with regard to personal freedoms and interference or non-interference that they (our forefathers) could never imagine. When societies, ours imparticular, allow themselves as a whole to stop caring about the country for which they represent and what it stands for, they then allow the country to begin to crumble in every way. People in our society today are so adamant about personal freedoms and issues of the self, that they have abandoned personal responsibility and completely missed the boat on issues of the country, ironically, without which we won't need to care about issues of the self. For without a country, this country, the personal freedoms they immerse themselves in will almost nearly cease to exist.
We (the American People) should care about the things going on in politics, with politicians, with public officials at all levels, in our schools, in our churches and with prominent citizens. Where along the way did we lose our "patriotism"? Personal obsession and lack of interest are killing this country, and I for one think that is ludicrous of our society to allow this to happen. People want to complain and gripe about the effects of the state and government, yet when asked, they think they cannot change the way things are being done. They don't take ownership of their country and it is related to lack of personal responsibility. What would that kind of attitude and thinking have done for the people of the original thirteen colonies? We would be worrying about the Royal Family and their problems rather than deciding to go vote or not, because it is so inconvenient. People as a society in whole have lost the patriotism and to some degree the integrity required to build and maintain this great country. You always hear politicians talk about their records and their integrity. If they had real integrity they must check it at the door of every house and congressional session, committee meeting and every other function of the office of which they hold. Notice I used the word "if" in the preceding sentence, with regard to a politician's integrity. Only a short time ago, people in this country had great patriotism and integrity. As recently as the early as the 1980's people exhibited patriotism and integrity, although not in great amounts. But those who had these qualities exhibited and expressed them without hesitation. Take for example those who would do what is right regardless of personal consequences rather than do what is popular. A particularly poignant example of this type of integrity is in displayed in the current society by those who do drugs because its popular, even though they probably realize it is wrong.
I believe that maybe one of the last truly patriotic politicians was the late John F. Kennedy, the late Lyndon B. Johnson or maybe even George W. Bush, although Mr. Bush had some questionable times in public life. In his inauguration speech the late President Kennedy spoke these immortal words, "Ask not what your Country can do for you, but what you can do for your Country". Try and think about what our Country's history would be like had our ancestors and forefathers been more concerned with personal agenda's rather than the course of the Nation. Would George Washington have endured the hardships and suffering of Valley Forge had he been concerned about his political career rather than the future of a fledgling Nation he had dreams and visions about. Try to imagine the results of World War II if General George Patton had been more concerned with his private agenda than with that of the outcome of the fight for freedom and the battle against oppression. Look back at all the monumental and decisive tales in American history that would have been drastically different if the people of "America" had not had been patriotic and displayed their patriotism.
The high profile news story I referred to at the beginning of this letter was the "Whitewater" investigation. Susan McDougal, who now sits in jail, would rather endure personal loss and degradation rather than perform her personal responsibility to herself and society as well as her patriotic duty to her country. While principles and convictions to a cause or belief are admirable traits and ones found in our forefathers, they pale in comparison to the admiration and value that are gained from having the integrity to be patriotic and being moral. Politicians use creative advertising, sound bites and the media to mold our thinking and opinions. We, the "American People" allow them to skim over decisions and issues by making promises that they will not, and have no intention of keeping once they are in office. We know this from past experience, yet we once again follow the path like blind animals being led to slaughter. We must learn to think for ourselves and force the leaders of this country, our country to be accountable and responsible with our future. We must require those politicians, public officials and prominent citizens to be honest, moral and have integrity.
I myself, would much rather hear that a candidate vows to do something or evaluate a situation based upon believable facts and truthful commentary rather than being promised something that sounds good and makes me comfortable. The truth is not always comforting, but it is honest and always makes a believer of the recipient. If we, the "American People", wish to continue with our society and this country being free, forthright and everlasting, then we must look hard at ourselves and admit the mistakes we have made and those we will make in the future. Then we must take personal responsibility for our State our Country and ourselves and vow to correct the over indulgence and self-absorption that plagues our society. We must demand that our elected officials be accountable, responsible and that they do what is right for the country and not what is popular or profitable for themselves. We as a society must back the decisions we demand event though they are not popular and realize that they are the right decisions and the right thing for a responsible government. To long ago we deviated from the right and true path of elected officials being servants of the people.
In today's society they, politicians, and people in general are more concerned with what personal gains will be obtained from an action rather than how it will affect society or the country as a whole. Can you imagine if for one day, just one day, the entire Congress of the United States, the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the President put aside those petty personal goals and wishes and accomplished together what the country needed to be done. More would be done on that one day than in the last one hundred years of government. It would qualify by all standards as a miracle. Yet we as owners and caretakers of this country, our country, step aside time and time again and allow them to do what makes the most sense for them!!! I can not for any reason understand why people are not more concerned or more responsive to the problem. I also can't believe that either; 1) they don't know about the problem or 2) don't believe they can correct the problem. The attitudes that we harbor about fixing problems that exist within our government are in direct corelation to the changes we have experienced within our society. The ". . . its not our problem. . ." syndrome is a often quoted excuse or explanation. It's time we woke up and realized it is ". . . Now our problem. . .", because we will surely not like the result should we continue on our current path. I shudder to think of our society in as few as fifty (50) years, if we continue to travel down the road we are currently heading down.
History has shown us countless times the results of a society based upon personal greed, power or immoral principles. And we, the "American People", are more foolish than I imagine if we think we are above the lessons of history. We as a society need to have more people stand up and lead this country back to the level we once enjoyed, rather than stand up and acquire as much as they can before retiring at our expense. Join me in pledging to think more about the decisions we make everyday and try to do the right thing for the country. I know from personal experience that when I have followed this formula in the past it turns out that the right thing for the country usually ends up being the right thing for me as well. Take charge of the country, if not for yourself, then at least for your children or your grandchildren. That reasoning should appeal to everyone, personal or selfish thinkers and societal thinkers alike. If there are those who are wavering think about your grandparents or great-grandparents and what they did to have the country continue for you to enjoy. We have been entrusted with a precious and rare commodity, as well as the job of preserving the country for the future. We must take this task seriously. Sure I will agree that men and leaders like Mr. Ross Perot, for example, are radical in nature. But at least he (Mr. Perot) has the zeal to try and he also seems genuinely concerned about the future of the country over his own personal agenda. Every other politician I have heard, seen or been in contact with since I have been able to vote have had a personal agenda that they place ahead of the country's welfare without hesitation. Today special interest groups and lobbyists set the tone and actually make the decisions that run the government, like it or not!! I personally do not like it and we all have the means to do something about it within the freedoms and rights given to us by the founding forefathers of this country. We all have the right to vote. And by my bringing this to the attention of all those I come in contact with in my lifetime. I challenge all that read this and pretend to be patriotic to begin the fight to reclaim our country by battling the issue of complacency. Turn the society we have into the society we wish to continue into the future. I believe that this country is and can continue to be a world leader if we, the "American People", wake up and decide to accept the responsibility we have been entrusted with by the wisdom and insight of the founding fathers of our country. If we ever want to be regarded as the greatest country and society on earth, then we must re-teach ourselves and our children to be moral, decent and most of all to have integrity or one's self and of one's country.
I am thankful my family raised me with what I believe to be good morals and instilled in me the need for integrity. I am in no way perfect nor do I always do the right thing, and I don't intend this to be taken as judgmental. Although I try extremely hard to do the right things, be God fearing and obedient and make decisions based on the things that are good for my God, Country, Family and Myself and I try to always keep them in that order.
Sincerely,
Mark A. Hunsaker Mesquite, Texas