Tyranny, Anarchy, History and the Supreme Court

Recently I had a writing friend comment on recent activity in the Supreme Court by referencing the historical foundations of this decision and others like it.

I have heard a few people bemoaning the trampling of state’s rights lately and it was good for me to learn more about the background of the discussion. Federalist vs. anti-federalists, Jefferson vs. Madison, and fear of tyranny vs. fear of anarchy; and it all led to the formation of our republic and our balance of powers.

But we don’t live in that world anymore. The public doesn’t know what is at stake, and generally doesn’t believe either tyranny or anarchy are possible in America today. So instead of walking the line between the two we are determined to fall off of it. Historically speaking we fell off in the direction of tyranny.

Funny thing is the tyrants in this case have used their autonomy to mandate anarchy, so we seem to have both instead of one or the other.

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Foreign Policy Relived

“The 1970’s called and they would like their foreign policy back.”

President Obama addressed this quip to Romney in a pre-election debate.

Now it’s a couple of years later and President Obama probably wishes he could get the 1970’s on the phone to learn how to shape an effective foreign policy against a hostile Russia.

During both of his campaigns Obama promised to get the United States out of Iraq. He has used his authority to accelerate our departure despite warnings of the dangers.

Circulating on Facebook right now is a news clip of Bush stating that if we leave Iraq too quickly, and against the advice of the military leadership, it will become the next terrorist stronghold. He was referring to the area which is now the stronghold of ISIS.

President Obama is in a pickle. The world he faces runs contrary to his political banter. This largely happened because he failed to see the world as it really was. Russia really is a tremendously powerful country, with aspirations to reclaim all its lost territories. Within the portion of the world dominated by Islam, terrorists will rise up.

I remember history teachers, from junior high up, telling us the reason we study history—to avoid repeating it.

 

Theology of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I might not know what the date is, but I know its Thanksgiving Day. So today for Theology Thursday, let me explore what I believe about gratitude.

I believe being thankful is realistic, beneficial, and spiritual.

Our lives are so full of blessings we cannot always see the next one coming. We are literally blessed to the point that we are drowning in our blessings. The main reason we don’t always feel like it is we try to measure our blessings compared to others. It would be wiser to compare them to what we deserve. This is a realistic look at our situation.

Gratitude is beneficial to us in that it keeps our attitude positive. Positive attitudes accomplish more, and better things. Gratitude’s benefits extend into our health, our relationships, and our potential. If you want to avoid the negatives of life, build your own positives by being thankful.

I believe thanksgiving is a spiritual activity as well. Rightly understood gratitude is an action of worship. It’s an acknowledgement that God is on the throne and the good things in life come from Him. If you cease to be grateful your worship will likely lose its depth and stop being as meaningful to you. One solution to this is to count your blessings.

Every generous act and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights; with Him there is no variation or shadow cast by turning. James 1:17 (HCSB)