It Is As You Will (standard:other, 1922 words)
Author: J. P. St. Julian	Added: Nov 03 2024	Views/Reads: 51/10	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Sometimes we are manipulated by others because we don't take the time to look beneath the surface of what is presented to us.

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it little by little. . . and it will surely die. Or we can love it, 
feed it, and watch it fly! It is as we will! 

At the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, Dr. James McHenry
(a Maryland delegate) and Benjamin Franklin were leaving Independence 
Hall together on the final day of deliberation. Dr. McHenry turned to 
Benjamin Franklin and asked, “Well, doctor, what have we got—a Republic 
or a Monarchy?”  Dr. McHenry's notes state that Benjamin Franklin 
replied, “A Republic if you can keep it.” 

It is still as we will. 

Another good example is fertilizer. It can be used to enrich the soil
and grow good food crops, or it can be used to make deadly explosives 
to destroy living things and property . . . it can all come from the 
same chemical. It is as we will. 

A well-known journalist of the 20th century, Fulton Oursler, once said,
“It is not easy to be a good citizen in a free country.” But then, we 
should all know that, shouldn't we? Nothing worthwhile is 
straightforward, and nothing worthwhile comes without some personal 
cost. 

We find that we are losing our freedoms little by little. It came to
light by accident that the government is secretly invading our privacy. 
What other freedoms are they usurping without our knowledge? 

It is said that a long, long time ago, one of the presidents of France
said, “Freedom is like bread . . . it is something you go on earning, 
day by day.” But to earn freedom or bread, one must exercise a great 
degree of self-discipline, and that discipline must be self-imposed. It 
seems that instead of disciplining ourselves to do that, we have 
learned to obey orders, passively learn doctrines, and conform without 
protest to the outside dictates of our government rather than accept 
the responsibility for self-imposed discipline. Some see this as 
servitude, which they oppose, so they desert by not voting or using 
civil disobedience as a means of protest. But is it true that servitude 
or desertion constitutes an abdication of the intellect and the will? 

We have lots of industrious but disloyal citizens in our midst. One
example is the corporate propensity for outsourcing all our jobs to 
China, Malaysia, Mexico, and other countries. In many ways, such people 
are dangerous to our way of life, but they are only dangerous because 
of the thousands of other loyal but lazy citizens. The good citizens in 
this country have the bad citizens outnumbered, but the bad ones are 
busier and more ambitious and industrious.  So, I dare to suggest here 
that if the United States ever is destroyed, the cause will be similar 
to that of ancient Rome; it will not be due to someone else's bombs but 
because of our apathetic indifference. 

Everyone in the USA feels entitled. Everyone here is always quick to
remind you that they have rights. No one here ever steps up and takes 
responsibility for the rights and freedoms they love so dearly. They 
simply assume the position that no one can tread on their God-given, 
constitutionally amended rights as Americans. They never consider all 
the men and women who have died in military service protecting those 
rights for them. They never believe that they even need to do anything 
to earn those rights, but they are assured, beyond a doubt, that they 
have those rights, never realizing that “freedom isn't free.” 

Despite the apathetic nature of most citizens in this country, the
spirit of freedom is not dead. Sure, it has been subverted, its 
parameters twisted out of shape, and its true meaning distorted by the 
spin doctors of the political arena, and perhaps it has gone into 
hiding, but it is not dead. It is a commodity that has not been openly 
sold to our children in our schools, to workers in what few factories 
we haven't sent to China, or to the workers in the nation's farm 
fields. No, it isn't dead. Since there is a spark of true freedom left, 
let's find it, breathe new life into it, and spread it while there is 
time for it to germinate and grow. 

I KNOW . . . 

Most will neither hear nor heed the warning I am trying to give. It is
not a new warning; it was provided by the founding fathers even as this 
nation was being formed. If they were ignored, then who am I? But I 
have to ask: If an ordinary citizen like me with no political or 
diplomatic training can see these red flags and figure out how to 
prevent or fix them, why are our elected officials so blind to them? 
The only answer that makes sense to me is that they DO SEE THEM but, 
for whatever reason, DON'T WANT TO FIX THEM! 

The government gravy train is running; no one wants to miss it. The few
remaining factory whistles are loudly calling to those desperate for 
work, and the noise of those whistles and the distractions in the media 
are drowning out this warning. 

On a more personal note, we have not taken the time to do as God
commanded and love our fellow human beings as we love ourselves 
(Matthew 22:39). The strong oppress and exploit the weak. Our 
government has allowed it to happen and is sometimes even aiding in the 
process. Most of the citizens of this nation believe it is still and 
always has been the greatest nation on the face of the planet. They 
figure God will save the United States of America without giving Him 
any good reason why He should! America's spiritual slide is epic. Look 
at how we have turned away from Him! Here are but a few of our 
spiritual travesties: 

1.  We allowed prayer to be taken from our public school system 

2.  We have allowed the Ten Commandments to be removed from public view.


3.   We have allowed the legal marriage of same-sex couples. 

4.   We have not lifted much of a finger to stamp out systemic racism. 

These are just a tiny sampling of this country's iniquities. By these
actions alone, we are telling God that we don't want Him in our lives 
unless we call Him in times of trouble. We seem to be saying, “Leave us 
alone! If we need you, we will pray to you then!” Yet, we dare to stamp 
IN GOD WE TRUST on our money! 

In conclusion, America is long overdue for judgment. Many today complain
that God is not answering their prayers. Why should He, after we've 
made it so clear to Him that we don't want to adhere to His commands? 
We have become modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah, so the question remains: 
Are there any green years left for Americans? 

I certainly hope so. 

If we can only revive that wonderful land which was. .  . which used to
be . . . where any man or woman willing to stand on his or her toes.  . 
. could reach for the stars! 

It is as we will.


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