Passing the Baton

Passing the Baton

A minister in a recent sermon told of an Olympic relay team with 3 of the fastest men on earth that failed to win their relay race because they dropped the baton. The minister went on to say that when one generation fails to pass on basic truths to the next generation, values far more important than winning a relay race are lost. Our way of life can be lost – our belief in God, in Jesus -- even the concept that basic truths exist--our freedoms--our entire western civilization is under heavy fire right now, both from within and without.

How do I help pass the baton on to next generations? How will YOU help pass it on?

What is the message we should pass on? God is real, God is good, Evil is also real and very active in this world. God gave us free choice. He gave us mind, heart and soul – a conscience. I’ve never forgotten a high school assembly speaker telling us, “Don’t do things that you will regret when you get old!” We don’t always have the insight to follow that advice, but listening to one’s conscience is usually a really good guide. Prayer helps us to listen. I believe God has guided me often when I didn’t know He was doing it; nor was I grateful enough at the time; but I am now.

We’re all going to make mistakes, but we must choose between good and evil – right and wrong - and be able to tell the difference. It’s harder for some than others, and not all distinctions between good and evil are easily discerned; but the decisions we make throughout our lives do matter and create a pattern, not just for ourselves but for those who are looking to us as role models, and someone is, whether we realize it or not.

I’m pretty sure anyone who might read this was born in a free country – the United States. As such, most cannot comprehend life in a country where all our thoughts and actions are dictated by a government. As we go busily about our everyday lives, we have become complacent, unmindful of any risk of losing our freedoms. But, as Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction.” If we don’t pass the baton – the value of our freedoms – to the next generation, it can be lost. Not teaching this to our children, and not paying attention to what is happening with our government (at all levels, local, state and federal) is like playing a game with a poisonous snake. “What you don’t know won’t hurt you,” is one of the most dangerous lies ever told.

Some ministers are so scared they will lose their congregation that they steer away from the Christian obligation of citizenship which traces back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the U S Constitution. I am happy to have left such ministers in favor of the ones who recognize the crisis of citizenry and pulpit involvement to save our form of government that is bound by our Constitution not to take our God-given freedoms away from us.

Don’t be fooled by names like Democratic Socialist! There is no such thing! Socialists do not believe in any form of democracy except the one when they are foolishly put in power by unsuspecting, uneducated and brainwashed persons. A socialist detests freedoms. Socialism pretends we are all equal and all will share equally; but it doesn’t have values, like telling the truth. It doesn’t even believe that truth exists beyond what they say it is. It will eventually take your freedoms, your property, your money, your businesses, your current level of prosperity and your right to publicly worship God. It will take your ability to become all that you can become and make you and your children and your children’s children subjects to their will – slaves of the state, just as it always has in the past. It doesn’t matter whether it’s called socialism, communism, dictatorship, a “king” or what—they are all forms of top-down control of all avenues of life by government. And it matters not whether these extremes come from the extreme left or the extreme right. They both beat to the drum of Karl Marx, and they intend to control the people and destroy our freedoms. Right now, the danger is coming from the left.

Our government is far from perfect, but it isn’t our FORM of government that is the problem– it’s the Deep State that has dug into power in government agencies, threatening the power of the people to maintain control. We’ve believed lies, paid little attention, and didn’t always vote. We don’t need a different ship of state: we just need to steer it better. Yes, we could use some amendments to the Constitution, but we could consider term limits to get rid of career politicians, to place limits on government spending commensurate to GNP, and to reduce the power of unelected officials in charge of executive agencies to rule us by “regulation.” More limits on government, never more restrictions on our freedoms, our control over our government.

Our Constitution is what gives us control over your government. It’s what saves our right to believe in God -- and your right NOT to if you so chose. I believe that God has a plan and His will will be done. Sodom and Gomorrah were not spared. We are the hands and feet of God and need to deserve being saved.

During the last election campaign, I wrote a lengthy paper called The Enemy and the Power Within, and I asked which is the “power within” that will prevail, the will of the people or those threatening them. In the last election, the will of the people proved to be more powerful than that which I called out as being socialism. Our “republic” (our form of democracy) prevailed then; but the threat of such extremism is still very strong. Now socialism is openly trying to take over with candidates openly calling themselves socialists on the Democrat Party ticket. If they get in power, we lose our freedoms, our property rights, we get slavery to an uncontrollable government that wants all we have, will take it from us and will give us poverty in return. They want to dismantle our Constitution and the form of our government. Now I have written a new paper, “Wake Up, Sleepy Giant.” Our government is only as good as we make it by paying attention, voting, teaching our kids! We musn’t drop the baton! The stakes are too high for us and especially for future generations.

Patriotism is important. There are many forked-tongue liars on television and the internet pretending they are saving America. Listener, beware; be INFORMED, recognize lies. Keep a copy of the Constitution in your heart and next to the Bible upon which it was created.

“America is great because it is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.” Alexis de Tocqueville, A Visitor to American Democracy – 1776 History. 1831.

There is no goodness in socialism.

“Either you will control the government, or the government will control you.”-- Ronald Reagan.

How will you pass the baton to the next generation? It’s not just how one dies. It’s how one lives. I used to have a poster on the wall in my classroom when I was teaching that said, “Be not simply good; Be good for something!” There are causes greater than oneself. God bless America! May we be worthy of His blessings!

----Beverly Wright, retired teacher of American history and the United States Constitution