I started my morning as I always do, pouring over emails, comments and looking at various news outlets. A few headlines caught my eye and I was soon shaking my head. You see, I got this mental picture of a pressure cooker on high heat but the steam vent was plugged. From my understanding, if the steam doesn’t vent, the pressure will continue to build until the cooker explodes. Whether or not that is true is beside the point. You get the idea of my mental image…something has to give and release all the built up pressure.
Before I go on, let me first say that I do not blame only this administration for the pressure. The Bush administration as well as administrations before it has a fair amount of blame to own. I have said before that the Bush administration used a hammer and nails to seal America’s fate. President Obama is using a nail gun and just doing the job faster.
Let me explain what I mean by “something has to give”. Going back to my defective pressure canner reference, if the steam vent is plugged and the only ways to release pressure were to either: a.) notice it was plugged and try to safely remove the debris that clogged it or, b.) turn the heat down, if neither were done, the pressure cooker would either break or explode. In my mental picture, the item being cooked is American society. The heat source is made up of all of the things that are “wrong” with society these days. The more there is wrong, the hotter the flame and the higher the pressure goes.
Here are some of the news items I have covered just this year. I don’t write about most of the items that catch my attention. I do mention them on facebook and in the forum more often.
The War on Guns; Part One and Part Two which I wrote about in answer to this administration’s actions and statements after the Sandy Hook shooting.
Government; the Good the Bad and the…What are They Planning
There is no Such Thing as Privacy and yes Big Brother is Watching
Nine Meals from Anarchy; a Food Stamp Melt Down
Food Stamp Cuts Starting November 1st
Police Over Reaching on Gun Rights
Increasing Random Acts of Violence
In just the last week or two, we have seen, as the FOX News article calls it “A conspiracy so vast — it’s not just the NSA, now the FBI, your local police are also spying on US citizens”. A quick summary of that story from Judge Napolitano is that not only is the NSA still doing whatever it wants with ALL of your electronic data, but the only person who they’ve fired is Snowden, the man who brought their treachery to light.
The Judge goes on to inform us that the FBI:
“has acquired software that permits it to utilize the tiny cameras in many home computers to observe whoever or whatever may be in front of the computer screen.
The FBI doesn’t only look at whoever is using the computer screen; it also captures the words and images on the screen. It seems to have an affinity for monitoring online gaming, even the lawful variety.”
He also goes on to tell us that several local police departments have asked cell phone companies for tower dumps; a tower dump copy of all digitally recorded calls that went through the cell tower. Some companies said “no”, so the police went to court, and some courts said “no”. Some police departments have purchased a $400,000 piece of equipment that spoofs a cell tower and will record the cell conversations, bypassing the need to ask the phone company to honor our Fourth Amendment rights.
In the last weeks, we’ve also seen more pressure build from the mess that is obummercare. Hundreds of thousands of people have received letters telling them they are being dropped from their current healthcare and must find new plans; Trudee and I each got a letter. I am unemployed, was unemployed when we got approved for the plan through our county and we were paying $160 a month for the two of us. When obummercare went into effect, we got a letter stating that I make too much money to qualify for the current plan. In searching for a new plan, it will cost us from $140-$220 for ONE OF US! Yeah, I’m angry, more than angry actually, but done venting. Sorry.
I have read several reports that hackers have broken into the federal website and that security experts have said no one should enter their personal data on it. I have also read reports stating that, due to faulty code, some people could receive a penalty for not having insurance, even though they have purchased a plan and are currently enrolled in it. I’m sure we can all list a number of stories we’ve heard, but here is a story I think is very important that you be made aware of.
Michael Cannon, the Director of Health Policy Studies for the Cato Institute, testified before a congressional committee about Presidential powers and the Constitution, as well as the possible consequences of the implementation of the affordable care act. Here is a recording of the portion I think is important. It is only one minute long. Please watch and listen.
“There is one last thing to which the people can resort if the government does not respect the restrains that the constitution places on the government, Abraham Lincoln talked about our right to alter our government or our revolutionary right to overthrow it. That is certainly something that no one wants to contemplate, but as I mentioned in my written delivered testimony
If the people come to believe that the government is no longer constrained by the laws then they will conclude neither are they. That is why this is a very dangerous thing for the President to do, to wantonly ignore the laws, to try to impose obligations on people that the legislature did not approve.”
A director of one of America’s biggest think tanks told a congressional panel that if the President continues to ignore the law, the American people might revolt and ignore it as well. A small kicker is that an unnamed congressmen said that it “was an excellent conclusion”.
Please, no one respond with how we need a violent revolution. Neither you nor I need any attention from Big Brother. That being said, I have read one commentary on this story that basically said that even though Mr. Cannon used the word revolution, he didn’t really mean it. I disagree. I think he did mean it, and the fact that someone is in front of congress, warning them that the President’s actions may lead to this is a very scary thing.
This leads me back to my description of the broken pressure cooker; sure there are things that can temporarily reduce the heat, releasing some of the pressure. These things can be news stories that draw national attention for a time, such as the new Pope being selected or Nelson Mandela’s death, or even a story from inside the nation like the Oscar’s, or the Black Friday incidents. The problem is, as I mentioned, these are temporary fixes that temporarily remove the heat source, allowing the pressure to calm, if even a little.
If individual people and groups of people would stop throwing another log on the fire, maybe enough time could go by for the pressure to get down to safe levels. The problem is that they (politicians, alphabet agencies) keep looking for bigger logs and are more than happy to throw them on the fire. The people we have elected to lead us do not have our best interests in mind. The agencies and technologies that are supposed to keep us safe from foreign harm are being used against us.
As I mentioned, there are only two other ways to remove the pressure. A violent revolution would be the equivalent to the pressure cooker exploding.
I have read stories over the last two years that say we’re inching closer to another American revolution. I simply can’t wrap my mind around what a violent revolution might look like. There were fairly clear dividing lines between the north and south. The opposing sides in the conflicts now have more to do with way of life; morals and ideals. The battle lines could literally end up being neighbor against neighbor.
This leaves one other option; people realizing the pressure is at dangerous levels and taking steps to correct the situation. This is much harder than it might sound. You see, we evidently don’t trust each other, according to this article from the Associated Press. As one person in their article commented:
“It’s like the rules of the game,” Clark said. “When trust is low, the way we react and behave with each other becomes less civil.”
I have some theories on why people don’t trust each other and treat each other poorly. One problem I think comes as a byproduct from the Internet. When I was a kid, if I wanted to talk to someone, I had to either see them in person or talk to them on the phone. We exercised our people skills frequently throughout our day. [Side note: It’s funny to me that I am writing about a lack people skills in society. I have Asperger Syndrome and mine are far from perfect.] I digress. I think the amount of time we deal with each other face-to-face is a fraction of the time it used to be. I think there are consequences for that.
I also think this is part of what Jesus meant about the “Love of many waxing cold”.
[On another side note, since this article mentions the word “revolution” and the words “pressure” and “cooker,” if you never hear from me again, just know that the NSA grabbed me and I say “hello” from Gitmo.]
Final Thoughts
I have some ideas about what will happen when the pressure gets too high. I don’t think it will be an all-out civil war. Many of the countries involved in the Arab Spring had civil unrest that led to revolution and civil war and saw multiple governments topple. This will not be allowed to happen by the federal Government. However, if tensions continue to build, I do expect to see riots bigger than any in our history. Many would say this is the response our Government is expecting and is part of why they have spent so much money beefing up Homeland Security.
Maybe things will calm down enough to let this current level of pressure lower. Ideally we would see revival and many come to know the Lord.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
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