As the world turns toward crazy, it is for the wise to keep their heads on straight and their hearts in the right place to pass through this "valley of the shadow of death." In a horrendous couple of years, the world has gone from a relative state of calm to an unimagined upheaval in nearly all of the regions of the world. This is normally not witnessed by people, but it represents the end of an age and the beginning of a new age. But, although anyone paying attention might grasp this fundamental perception, the question is whether humanity is spinning out of control into some sort of death spiral of self-destruction, or there is a deeper occurrence involving a brief period of the pain of birthing a new era of human existence.
Certainly to many, the signs of the times are quite foreboding. Wars and rumors of wars abound in such a time as this. It is extremely unsettling, and it seems as if all the old institutions that the great civilizations have been built upon have been shaken to their very foundations. Humanity is witnessing the crumbling of age old institutions such as the church, the financial systems, and the governmental structures. Even the stability of the family and its centrality to the stability of any society is being threatened. It is a time of tremendous turbulence within all the spheres of civilized societies. It is not hyperbole or an overinflated, fear-riddled, interpretation of current events on planet earth.
Lost in their own self-centered oblivion
Yet, there are others who are lost in their own self-centered oblivion in which nothing seems out of the ordinary, and the world is going to spin on its axis and life will continue uninterrupted. Yes, it is possible to walk through life in such a time as this and not pay attention much at all. There is a certain perception of reality that is either dulled or denied in what seems to be an attempt to hold on to what can be held on to maintain a sense of normalcy. Yet, it involves living in a realm of pretend or in a state of willful ignorance of current events. The fruits of freedom have allowed for such oblivion to exist. The harsh realities of other times or of other places do not impinge on the world of pretend, until it does.
Both of these two perspectives are diverse, yet extreme ways of processing the existing crises and turbulence in the time in which we are living. One is rooted in fear, and the other is rooted in denial of reality or outright ignorance. Unfortunately, the two handmaidens of tyranny throughout the course of human history have been fear and ignorance. The two conditions exist within the human family - the entire human family. It matters not whether a society or a broader civilization is advanced or just developing. Populations are more vulnerable to fear or comfortable with their ignorance depending upon the intensity of activities of domestic or foreign enemies of a specific or particular population. Tyrants, or would-be tyrants, are the enemies of the freedom of people wherever they may be.
Tyrannical-minded people can become, or can employ, foreign or domestic actors to utilize fear and ignorance for the nefarious efforts to divide and conquer the fearful and the ignorant. There are a multitude of examples of such domination over people within the annals of human history.
Yet, humanity seems to easily forget, or to diminish the value of the historical records of man's inhumanity to man. There is great enduring truth to the old expression that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Humanity is precisely in this state at present because the "good" people have decided to let others handle the details of governance, and those people who had been trusted with the reins of power have turned out to be not-so-good people.
Foundation of sacrifice was planted in the soil of this nation
In what was supposedly the genuine cradle of contemporary freedom, within the United States of America, there has been an erosion of the freedoms that were once believed to be received from Almighty God. The basis of the freedoms so long enjoyed by citizens of the United States had been woven into the fabric of the Declaration of Independence. It is in the Declaration that Thomas Jefferson enshrined the concept of God-given rights. These rights were not to be only for the citizens of America, but those rights had to be secured through the spilling of Americans blood. The concept of willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others is a Christian concept, and it was secured in the annals of human history by Jesus of Nazareth. He explained that there was no greater gift that anyone could give but that which one could offer through laying down one's life for their friends. He did not just speak about such a concept. He demonstrated it by giving his life for the future of humanity.
That foundation of sacrifice was planted in the soil of this nation. The extension of that foundation, in which brave souls laid down their lives for others in faraway places, that could allow for the spread and the growth of freedom to many places in the world where tyranny had traditionally reigned. However, there has been an erosion of such a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of others within America for some time. The concept of sacrifice to those self-oriented Libertarians is repulsive. The idea of self-sacrifice to Leftists and Social Democrats, though being 'self-identified' or disguised as protectors of the downtrodden, they prefer to use other people's money to do the work of an appearance of social welfare. They are quite adept at pointing out the problems within society, but if they ever solved them, they'd be unemployed.
In truth, many Americans have abandoned the notion of sacrificing for the sake of others since the terribly turbulent times of the 'greatest generation.' Our comfort zones had become inflated beyond recognition, and we as a people have become more like a hotel-society in which we are expecting problems to be taken care of by the elected officials that we chose simply by name - recognition, or the 'D' or the 'R' behind their names on a ballot. This is a nation in which we used to be able to elect our 'public servants' in fair and honest elections. But, that whole process has been corrupted by people who did not have the common citizen's best interests in mind.
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Nation is currently run by egoistic, self-aggrandizing criminals
The nation is currently run by egoistic, self-aggrandizing criminals who would never think of sacrificing themselves for the sake of the public if they were forced to do so. Yet, they are just a reflection of what the society is willing to tolerate. And, as a society, we permit the killing of our babies within the womb of the potential mothers, and it is considered 'normal.' As a society, we permit the indoctrination of our children in public schools to sexual perversion, racist, divisive, propaganda, and hate-laden, twisted narratives about our nations' history. As a society, we've perfected the technique of blaming the easiest or weakest target, instead of looking within the mirror and taking responsibility for our own irresponsibility and unwillingness to make sacrifices for the sake of others – for the sake of the future generations.
While it is easy to write words on a news site such as this, or inscribe witticisms on social media sites, it is much harder to get up and move beyond our self-indulgent zones of comfort. America was created upon the foundation of our receiving God-given rights, and brave and brilliant folks were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of a future free land that they would likely never be able to enjoy. Such a spirit or willingness to sacrifice oneself in a genuine and serious way is what is really missing in America today. There is no easy way to move beyond such a time of turbulence. If we are to truly keep the Republic, the willingness to offer oneself for the sake of others, for the sake of our children, for the sake of future generations may be the only way we would be able to ensure it. Such a movement of intentional people forming a critical mass can create positive change and perhaps a new birth of freedom throughout the world.
Dennis Jamison reinvented his life after working for a multi-billion dollar division of Johnson & Johnson for several years. Currently retired from West Valley College in California, where he taught for nearly 10 years, he now writes articles on history and American freedom for various online publications.
Formerly a contributor to the Communities at the Washington Times and Fairfax Free Citizen, his more current articles appear in Canada Free Press and Communities Digital News. During the 2016 presidential primaries, he was the leader of a network of writers, bloggers, and editors who promoted the candidacy of Dr. Ben Carson. Jamison founded “We the People” - Patriots, Pilgrims, Prophets Writers’ Network and the Citizen Sentinels Network. Both are volunteer groups for grassroots citizen-journalists and activists intent on promoting and preserving the inviolable God-given freedoms rooted in the founding documents.
Jamison also co-founded RedAmericaConsulting to identify, counsel, and support citizen-candidates, who may not have much campaign money, but whose beliefs and deeds reflect the role of public servants rather than power-hungry politicians.
