Want to know who I think runs this country?

The media! They are the ones that decide to make a big deal out of something or to hide it and cover it up. If the vast majority of the media and Hollywood are democrats, guess what they are going to do? They are going to hide what they don't want people to know about the Democrats and make it loud and clear what they don't like about Republicans. Below I've copied and pasted a speech that my JA has written, partly about how he feels about Obama being President and partly about the media. For what it's worth, Obama will be President whether I like it or not BUT that doesn't mean I have to stand by and allow him to turn this country into a communist country. Later, after I get permission from someone, I will post a speech on why I believe that Obama may do just that. On the other hand, he will be President and because of this he deserves my respect. I won't be standing out on the street corner when he visits protesting and booing him.

The letter he refers to can be found here- http://www.meridianmagazine.com/ideas/081017light.html

In light of the recent election of President Obama, I decided it was time to get off my butt and do some research on the guy. Aside from what I had read on Yahoo.com, I didn’t know a thing. I consequently came across a letter from Orson Scott Card, the author of the Ender’s Series, addressed to any and all local newspapers in the United States. In this letter, he accuses the press of hiding the faults of the Democratic Party while magnifying the faults of the Republicans. He accuses them of wrongly blaming President Bush for our nation’s financial crisis. This led me to a endlessly tiring question: Are the American people so addicted to having everything handed them on a silver platter that they will agree with every opinion that the press states? I have continually tried to defend President Bush’s position while debating with my friends. It is downright impossible! They are so prejudiced against any sentence with the words “President Bush” in it that they refuse to listen to me at all. Why is this? Mirabeau stated in one of his speeches “For when the whole world is wrong, the whole world makes wrong right."

Patrick Henry suggested while trying to convince his people to rebel against their king that maybe his fellow politicians were refusing to see what was plainly in front of their eyes, Or, quoting him directly, “Having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not.” Do we emulate this situation today? Do the American people refuse to see and hear what is plainly set before them? Or, could it be that they are unable to see?

Bugs Bunny is a long beloved cartoon character. In one of his cartoons he was traveling by donkey. He lounged on the donkeys back while holding a fishing pole. Curiously enough, attached to the hook was a carrot. The donkey, being famished, or wanting to indulge itself, followed the carrot in a vain attempt to grab it. But no matter how much he walked, the carrot was still several inches away from his mouth. Could we be in the same situation? Are our elected leaders leading us along the path to destruction with a beautiful picture of luxurious excess on the end of their fishing poles? My answer: YES!

So how did we get in this situation? How do we get out? Do we want to get out? Who is the person on our backs? I ask: How do I answer these questions without offending people? I answer: Wake up and smell the roses, Joshua! We will not, and probably cannot, get out of a situation this deep without offending half the world. So, excuse me for delivering a blunt statement: The American people are stupid. Yes, I just said that. The American people are stupid. We have become so deluded with the idea of luxurious excess that we do not stop to consider the sacrifice of freedom that we must make to have it. When I state that somebody is stupid, they reply “I know what two plus two is.” So what!? If you cannot look around what the newspaper is saying, if you are so ignorant to believe every negative comment, you are not truly free. In one of Plato’s books, Titled “The Republic”, Book seven has an interesting allegory. Socrates is speaking with Glaucon about some prisoners in a cave. Each prisoner is bound by chains, and cannot turn his head around to see what is behind him. His vision is limited to the fire that has been lit for his convenience. Meanwhile, the world parades past in the background, oblivious to the prisoner’s sad state. Socrates then rhetorically asks Glaucon what would happen if these prisoners got free. He answers his own question by saying that the prisoners would feel pain upon leaving the cave, as he would not be accustomed to the sunlight. The prisoner would run back, and might not ever return. But if he did so, and became used to the light, he would be so much happier. Socrates then asks the thought provoking question: Do you think that the prisoner would ever freely choose to return to the cave? Socrates compares this to the ancient concept of an education. Nobody who has learned in the right way would ever go back. I have never met any adult who regretted getting an education. I have met many who bitterly regret the choice of dropping out of school.

While playing a video game the other day, I surprisingly came across a really good quote. It reads: “Remember, you are the only one who can open the door to your heart. But will you open it? Open it and your sleep ends. Open it, and take the first step toward the truth. But know this: The truth will bring you pain. Will you still go? There can be no returning to the sweet security of sleep.” A bit cheesy, but it still gets my point across. Reiterating a statement: Remember, you are the only one who can open the door to your heart. This essentially means that the only person who can give you an education is you. Don’t get all offended. Is it my fault that people are stupid? No! They must open the door to truth. I cannot, your mother cannot, and the politicians and newspapers cannot, unless you are willing to absorb and pursue the knowledge presented. Not only must you be willing, but you must pursue it! Why does the donkey continue to follow the carrot he sees mile after mile? Because he is too ignorant to see any other choice. Thus: How did we come to let someone drape a blindfold over our eyes? I will answer: We either cannot, or will not see the blindfold over our eyes. We cannot, or will not bring ourselves to face the pain and effort it will take to dodge around the traps ahead of us. Why? Because we don’t know how, or are not willing to act! How do we find out? Pursue the truth as it is, and not how it is given to us!

“How do we get out?” you might ask. I ask: How do we get out of anything? I was watching the Fox and the Hound the other day, and one part stuck out to me. The hunter, while trying to shoot a bear, gets stuck in a foothold trap that he himself he set. Footholds are similar to a mousetrap, where it is triggered by an animal stepping on a lever or switch, which releases some spring loaded jaws, trapping the animal’s leg while the hunter approaches. To set the trap, the hunter simply forces the jaws back into position. He observes which way he must put pressure on the jaws, and then acts on his observation. We can get out of this trap, or avoid it altogether, by observing how the trap is sprung, and either avoiding it or reversing it. Therefore, the first thing we must do is identify the trap.

As this essay is full of questions, I don’t see that one more will harm it. How do we identify the trap? While I was taking the course for the First Aid Scouting merit badge, the section on poison councils you to capture or at least identify the animal or plant that did the poisoning. They then compare the situation to past experience, and give the victim an antidote that best worked in previous cases dealing with the same type of poison. Thus: To identify the trap, we must study previous traps that have been set. Every governmental body in the past probably had a ruler. Rulers can conceivably lead to politics, Politics mean corruption, and corruption leads to traps. Therefore, conceivably every government in the history of men had somebody trying to set traps for the people. The Pharisees in the Bible were constantly trying to outwit Jesus and catch him in ignorance. What did Jesus do in return? He nearly always answered with some parable or scripture. How did Jesus know how to create parables and quote scriptures right off the tip of his tongue? He was educated. Rome had Brutus and Caesar. Why did Caesar die? Because he didn’t know that so much power would create enemies. He was not educated. I hope you are starting to see a pattern.

My point is that it’s not that hard to find traps set in the past. But, in order to find those, we must study. Studying will bring pain and frustration, but tell me: Hours of sitting in front of a desk, studying and taking notes, or years and lives taken in the war that it would take to reverse a corrupt politician’s past actions. Which would you choose? It’s pretty easy for me. Once again I quote Mirabeau, who said while trying to convince his fellow legislators to pass a bill during a dire situation, stated: “Without the assent of public opinion the greatest minds could not triumph over such circumstances.” Guess what? The press knows this. Nobody can triumph without the assent of public opinion. So how do they gain public opinion? They inflate the faults of the good, and minimize the faults of the bad. They know that if they can catch the majority in ignorance, they can easily sway their opinion, and gain prophet from it. How do we avoid this trap? By gaining an education, gosh dang it! There are no excuses. People have provided many resources for their own and your convenience. The internet, the library, and our eyes are among them. Patrick Henry didn’t have the internet; He didn’t have a public Library to check books out of! And he still managed to escape the chains of slavery that were being forged around him and his country.

I challenge you to no longer be caught in ignorance! Many have said “Ignorance is Bliss.” Many others have stated “Knowledge is power.” Do you choose Power over your situation, or do you choose bliss until the knowledgeable people lead you off a cliff? I quote Mirabeau once again: “In refusing to pay, do you think you will cease to owe?” The price is the pain of learning. You will learn, in this life or the next. So, my final question is: Willingly now, or grudgingly later?