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PROTESTORS
Somewhere around November 16, 1987, I saw the last part of an HBO
special re-enacting the trial of the Chicago Seven. They were accused
of trying to disrupt the Democratic Convention of 1976. The ironic
part about the whole thing was that the seven and their council spent
time in jail as a result of their contempt for the court. If I got
it right, their guilty verdicts pertaining to the original charges
were overturned by the Supreme Court. If they would have sat down
and taken the injustice that they were screaming about when I tuned
in, they could have avoided the time they spent in jail for the contempt
charge.
I think it should be pointed out that protection under the Constitution
can only be expected if the protesters comply with the Constitution
themselves. In this case the first amendment was breached not only
by the seven accused, but all that were there and involved in the
rioting. They were not "peaceably assembled".
They and their cohorts protesting the Vietnam War had the same effect
on the American people as they no doubt had on the jury. The Vietnam
War protesters were telling us that the war was wrong at a very early
date. The way they chose to tell us was guaranteed to make sure we
wouldn't hear and their counter culture look didn't help either.
The total disrespect that the seven showed to the Court was inexcusable,
even if the judge and the attorneys for the State didn't deserve respect.
The Bible says to honor God and the king. We have examples in the
Bible, one of which was where Paul reviled the high priest, and when
he found out that the man was the high priest, tripped all over himself
apologizing and quoted scripture to show how he shouldn't have talked
like that to him. The high priest did him wrong according to the law,
but Paul still showed him respect. That story can be found in Acts
23:1-5. There are many other scriptures in the Old and New Testaments
that talk about having respect for authorities. (See: God and State).
The bottom line is, we get the government we deserve. How can we in
this country believe anything else? The people from the office of
President of the United States right down through the local city councils
and even the school boards all come from the people and are elected
by the people for serving the people. If we don't like the government,
don't blame the government, blame the people that voted them in office.
You say, don't blame me because I don't vote. Well, because of your
failure to vote and the people's bad vote, who else do we blame? Why
is it that we seem to only have "shallow" candidates? Why
do we always seem to be voting for the best of the worst?
I don't think it's any big secret that the anti-war group was a pretty
ungodly bunch. Their use of drugs, sex and excessive alcohol and even
that of their parents is part of the reason we have the government
we have over us today; God is making sure of it. In other words we
are TRULY represented by our government. If we don't like what we
see going on in government, then you can be sure it's time to clean
up our act.
Do you steal, even small things, from work? Do you ever tell lies?
Do you ever cheat on your taxes, or not claim money you receive either
by a gift or extra work? Have you ever gotten back too much change
and kept it, counting it as a blessing? Do you ever use God's name
in vain. Do you ever roll through stop signs very slowly and count
it a stop? Do you ever speed when there is no one around? Do you tell
dirty jokes? Do you ever gossip? Do you use illegal drugs and/or excessively
use alcohol? Do you overeat? Have you ever killed an innocent person?
Have you ever had sex with someone other than your own spouse? The
list goes on and on. Not too many of us could answer no to all these
things. Have you ever done any of these things and not repented? If
so, you are still guilty of them. If you are still guilty of them,
you deserve judgment, and judgment can come in many forms. Depression
and oppression (by people or forces), sickness, death, etc. When problems
come, don't sit around and say "why me Lord". POGO said
it many years ago: "We have met the enemy and the enemy is us."
The young and old "idealistic" protesters in this country
wouldn't be happy even if they had it their way. The problem isn't
right and wrong, good and bad, black and white, rich and poor, capital
and labor, or anything of the kind. The problem is SIN. In this nation's
case, sin is causing rebellion. Rebellion against God and His rules.
We are casting stones and not stopping to look at the hypocrisy in
our own lives. It's a classic case of the spoiled, self-centered child.
This next theme is something I refer to many times. It proves what
I am saying about rebellion and getting the government we deserve.
Please bear with me in the way that I start this next paragraph.
We only lost 58,000+ men and women in Vietnam. Admittedly it was a
bad war. If we were going to help those people at all, it should have
been swift and sure. The slow inept police action is what finally
got the populace up in arms. Mostly young men were dying a needless
death. Another needless war that is being waged is costing this country
about 97,000 lives a year, not just a mere 58,000 in ten years, like
the Vietnam conflict. Where are the protests? Where are the young
idealistic flag burning radicals? Where is the liberal, "the
public needs to know," press? Where are the Jane Fondas standing
on the dike, pleading for the American participants to lay down their
"weapons" of this war and give up the senseless slaughter,
and demanding that the lawmakers force an end to the bloodshed? Did
I forget the wounded? There are around 300,000 serious injuries per
year. Did I fail to mention the cost? The costs for all related deaths
and accidents are close to the 100 billion dollar mark. This war of
which I speak is the war being waged by alcohol abuse. We hear a lot
about housing and feeding the poor. How many people would that kind
of money take care of?
The big mistake Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon made was by not sending
millions of drunk drivers over to Southeast Asia. Had they sent drunk
drivers to slaughter themselves and the Viet Kong, the news media,
(partially supported by many dollars from the producers of alcoholic
beverages), would have put that war coverage on the back burner. In
turn, Jane, "I'm a good American" Fonda, wouldn't have been
standing on the dikes with a bunch of despisers of capitalistic imperialism,
to include her movies, especially her early ones.
On 12-30-87 Nebraska was coming down hard on three wheelers, as well
as the rest of the nation. Their popularity is down because of all
the bad press, and the fact that they are dangerous. When you look
at the number of people killed and injured on those machines, it is
only a fraction of those killed in alcohol related crashes each year.
Why can't the lawmakers come down on the drunk drivers as hard as
they are on three wheelers? The drunk driving laws are pretty tough,
but the courts have the option of probation, which really takes the
sting out of the toughness. The judge can really do anything he wants
to; from severe judgment, to slapping the offender on the wrist. This
is just another element that only goes to prove - we get the government
we deserve. (See: God and State). I knew of a Nebraska offender that
had 5 - first drunk driving convictions. That's not compassion, that's
stupidity.
Like I said before, our problem is rebellion. The protesters are biting
the hand that feeds them. Put Jane Fonda in Mao's China and she would
be planting rice, and having lots of babies. Tom Haden might be hand-pumping
water into the rice paddy. Sam Donaldson should be feeding pigs. He
might learn that something yells louder than he does, and has almost
as few manners. They would all perish if they had to live in that
kind of system. It is pretty easy for them to stand back and cast
stones, but we and they, not government, are the problem. (See: The
College Trained Mind).
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