Why Should We Care?

Like I said in a previous post, politics is a racket. Our country is in pretty deep doodoo already. It can't be fixed in a day. Nor is one man going to change things in 4 years. Even if he could, there's no way my one vote will count. The system is rigged anyway. Even if it did count, I don't have time to spend researching the candidates or keeping informed with current events. I feel like I probably should pay attention, I just don't really care to spend the time I do have learning about this stuff. I'll just wait until right before the next election. Politics is boring, I'd rather focus on other stuff. I have enough troubles in my own life to think about the troubles in our country! The country is fine and free as ever, just let our elected officials handle it - they're the experts.

I think at one time or another we have all had at least one of these thoughts enter our head. I totally have. I've always felt that I probably should pay attention but I don't understand what's going on enough to really have an opinion. What finally kicked my butt into gear about all this? Let's start off with some quotes:

• "If a Nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.... If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed." - Thomas Jefferson
• "I don’t know how you feel, my brethren and sisters, but I’d rather be dead than to lose my liberty. I have no fear we’ll ever lose it because of invasion from the outside. But I do have fear that it may slip away from us because of our own indifference, our own negligence, as citizens of this land. And so I plead with you this morning that you take an active interest in matters pertaining to the future of this country." -President Ezra Taft Benson
• I started listing a bunch more President Benson quotes because they are all so awesome. I decided rather than flood you will all these, I'd invite you to go to http://www.latterdayconservative.com/quotes/ezra-taft-benson/ and read through them!
• "The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men." -Samuel Adams
• "[We have been given] a republic, if you can keep it." - Benjamin Franklin
• “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” -Dr. Seuss
• "Liberty must at all hazards be supported. We have a right to it, derived from our Maker. But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us, at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood." -John Adams

Are you fired up yet?

To lead into my next argument, I'll begin with this quote by George Washington.

A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing... than ... communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country?

We are the guardians of liberty in our country today. We have heard all of the catch phrases, "freedom is not free," we sing the songs, we have learned of the many who sacrificed to give us this great country and died for our liberty. Making America free is not something that can just be checked off the list. We can't just thank a veteran on Veteran's Day and watch fireworks on the 4th of July and call it good. We have been given an awesome country and an awesome responsibility to preserve the reasons this country is great! We can't be complacent. We were born here for a purpose. We each have an inherent duty as a citizen of a republic to participate in our government. If we truly believe in a government for the people, by the people, and of the people, why do we not pay attention?? I believe that is why our country is so screwed up now. People over time have just gradually forgotten their duty to keep the government in check, and certain institutions have slowly gained power.

We need to wake up! We can no longer forfeit our right and duty to be the watchdog of our freedom and liberty. We can't just leave the "fighting for freedom" to our soldiers! If you really think about it, how is bombing Iraq and Pakistan and Afghanistan and Libya and Yemen and all those other countries fighting for our freedom anyway?? (More on that to come in a later post). We are running out of time - and we aren't making things better by simply putting a flag in our yard on a designated holiday. I have to be diligent, you have to be diligent. "The science of government" has to be a part of our lives. It has to, or our freedoms and liberties will continue to erode. Adolf Hitler once said, "What luck for rulers that men do not think." If we don't stand up for our freedoms - write to our representatives, elect just men who uphold the Constitution and sincerely love liberty, talk to our friends and neighbors, teach our children, live righteously, we will lose (if we haven't already) what our forefathers have fought and died for.

If you think we are still free, if our rights are not corroding, read the Constitution and other founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, Washington's Farewell Address. Compare their thoughts and feelings to what's going on today. Read, read, read. It might be hard, but it's important! Wake up! Learn about what this precious thing called liberty is. Why so many men fought so hard for it. We all know that "history repeats itself," so learn the history! Start studying and then go act. I'm not saying I have all the right ideas, but once you start learning, you at least know what the wrong ideas are. So, instead of coming home and relaxing after a hard days work (if you're lucky enough to have a job) in front of the big game, check out what's going on in the world today. It won't change overnight, but the sooner people wake up, the sooner we can start taking steps in the right direction - toward the Constitution.  



Start Tonight! November 22nd-Presidential Debate at 5PM Arizona time on CNN or cnn.com for a possible livestream. If you miss it, you can usually find it up on youtube not long after.

One of My Biggest Regrets

So, here is my experience - maybe you can relate. I've always hated politics. It was (and is) just a bunch of bickering about stuff I know nothing about. However, I have always considered it my duty and privilege as an American citizen to participate and pay attention to what is going on in my country. Many men and women fought and died so that I could vote and take part in a government of the people, for the people, and by the people (not sure if I got that in the right order). I just never thought I knew enough or had the time to find out enough about what was going on to really have an opinion about anything. So a week or so before elections I'd read an article or two about a candidate or two and ask my parents who they were voting for and then pretty much just vote for whoever they said or whoever had an (R) next to their name (my parents are Republicans so that's what I registered as and who I voted for even though my conscience didn't always fully agree).

This shameful way of exercising my precious right to vote prevailed during the presidential election of 2008. I'm LDS, so my first instinctive choice for President was naturally Mitt Romney. I didn't want to vote for him just because he was Mormon though. So, I read a couple articles about him, found out he was a good businessman and a good leader. I read minimal things about one or two other candidates, and called it good. Romney was my pick. The only thing I heard about Ron Paul is that some of my acquaintances supported him because he was big on the Constitution. I was like, "well duh - isn't everybody?" And then I saw the Revolution banners - those turned me off because I thought he must be some weirdo radical hippie guy. "Youtube Ron Paul", "Google Ron Paul"-saw the signs, never did. 

I had read a few articles on the candidate I was already leaning toward pretty much because of his religion and called it good. I had done my research right? Wrong! My wonderful husband and his crazy family opened my eyes up to Ron Paul after the 2008 election and it changed my life. All I can say is - Ron Paul is big on the Constitution - the ONLY one who is consistently and sincerely - and it is an issue! PLEASE "Google Ron Paul" and "Youtube Ron Paul!!!" One of my biggest regrets is not just my vote in 2008, but my failure to learn about all of the candidates. It's so important! And I'm not taliking about just reading a biased article or two about them, or listening to a segment on Fox News about them. Look up their voting record if they were previously holding public office, find out what they support - not just what they say they support. The thing is - do you know what you support?

Getting back to what politics is - just a bunch of bickering. This is true. I am convinced that politics as the mainstream media conveys, is just a stupid, annoying distraction - just like pro wrestling. They try to bait people by putting as much drama into it as possible - pitting Democrats and Republicans against each other at all costs, saying the key talking points, getting people to focus on irrelevant petty things while both parties sneak through huge important real things right in front of us! I am registered as a Republican (I consider myself a Constitutional Conservative though, I probably would register as an Independent or Libertarian if the system wasn't so biased toward anything that's not D and R). But I don't pay attention to politics, at least not the demagoguing, bickering, nonsense. I like to say that I try to pay attention to what's really going on in America. It's easy to tell the difference when you listen to Ron Paul. A few good videos to show the difference are clips from the 2008 debates here  and here. Notice how Ron Paul talks about real issues. He uses history and logic to defend his position, not just happy American phrases just to get applause. He challenges the status quo and reintroduces the true meaning of liberty and freedom. Don't know what you support? Read the Constitution. It's not that long. Start paying attention to things that go on in the news, not just to what Suzie posted on Facebook, who got kicked off American Idol, or what team beat who in football. Those things are fun, but like I said - we are a chosen generation - not just spiritually! Don't waste your potential! Do you know if the Patriot Act is a good thing? Are you really unpatriotic if you don't support it? 

Whether or not you decide to vote for Ron Paul in 2012, I hope you make your decision after finding out who he is and who the other candidates are. Don't make the same mistake I did. We have a chance to change the course of history here - it won't be easy and one man won't make everything all better in 4 or even 8 years, but at least we'll get a start.  

So I Finally Gave In...

I've been contemplating making a blog for a long time, and I finally gave in. I don't know if anyone will read it or if anyone will really even know I have one, but I decided that now is the time. I decided to entitle my blog: "Ruckers Keeping it Real," not just because I still use the nerdy phrases I used in Jr. High, but because I have learned the last few years that you can't just coast. Coasting, going with the flow, and being lulled away into "carnal security" in any aspect of life never turns out good. So, we are trying to always keep it real by staying on top of things, not taking things for granted, and recognizing what's real and truthful, not just what's easy or popular. Hopefully I can post and whoever wants to can comment and it'll open our eyes to a better way of living!

I don't really want this to be a blog about my life - if I did, I would just get a Facebook :) I kind of just want this to be an educational blog. Idk - I always worked hard and learned a lot in school - but I think once I graduated I've really been able to learn. Thanks to the wonders of the internet we can choose what we want to study and people like you and me can discuss important things that aren't even mentioned in schools or mainstream media. Anyway, hopefully my writing doesn't bore you to death or turn you off. We live in an important day and age - we can't be complacent and just fill our heads with reality TV and other dumbed-down, shallow entertainment. We were saved for this day for a purpose. I don't think it was to waste it on worthless pursuits or to go along living life without questioning anything or standing up for your beliefs. I'm so sick of small talk. Why don't we talk about real things??

Because it's scary. We don't wanna get too involved. We don't want to offend anyone. So I'm going to start small. With a blog that probably very few people will read. So, why did I decide to finally start one? Ron Paul.

If you are still reading this - thank you! Ever since I learned about Ron Paul I have felt a strong desire to share his message! It's like the gospel - we have something great and we need to share it! I'm not good at that either, but hopefully this blog will help serve that purpose as well. For some reason it's easier for me to talk about Ron Paul. And let me tell ya, I think it kinda has given me a slice of what it feels like to be a missionary - they share the message and get denied. Or want so badly for their friends to know what they know but their friends don't care or don't wanna get into it. So I will write it on a blog. No commitments necessary. I'll just present what I know and think, and you can do whatever you want with it.