Is Our Country in the Crapper?

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Is Our Country in the Crapper?

Published: Saturday, April 21st, 2012 @ 2:01 am
By: Diane Rufino ( More Entries )

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   The other day my husband was in the bathroom, clearing his mind and taking care of business, when he opened the door and shouted to my son: "Hunter, bring me some toilet paper... NOW!"

   Well, my poor son was in the middle of a challenging game of "Gears of War" on XBox and wasn't exactly at a convenient point to run and find some toilet paper for his father. About 30 seconds later, my impatient husband started screaming and yelling for the precious downy-soft wipes. He threatened my son that if he didn't immediately get the toilet paper, he would punish him for the rest of the day and take XBox away for a week.

   Needless to say, my son rushed to the hall closet, retrieved a roll of precious paper, and tended to his father who was red-faced and irate in the bathroom. Although he just wanted to rush back to his game, that wasn't in the stars. He faced the wrath of the enraged patriarch. He had to endure a lecture before he could once again go about and enjoy his afternoon and the freedom of being a 12-year-old boy. He had to be reminded that when he, the father, calls, he is supposed to drop what he is doing and find out what he needs. In my mind, images were conjured up of Ralph Kramden lecturing his faithful wife Alice. "Let's get one thing straight right now, right here and now: A man's home is just like his ship. And I am the captain of this ship, that's what I am, you understand. You're nothing but a lowly, third-class seaman. That's all you are. Your duties are to get the mess, swab the deck and see that the captain feels good. That's all you have to do. Remember, I'm the captain and you're just a third-class seaman."

   As the Tea Party leader that I am, I couldn't help but notice a striking similarity between the conduct of my husband and the federal government. Both are dominating and both have little respect for the freedom and concerns of the "little guy." Both are intimidating and intentionally so. Both show arrogance in demanding what they need and punishing when they don't get it.

   Just as my husband takes for granted the liberty interests my son has in playing his game and enjoying the time he has as he wishes, the government takes for granted our precious liberties as well. Our hard-earned money is something the government believes it has unlimited access to. Our time, our efforts, our interests, our property, our property interests, our dreams and aspirations, and even our plans for our children all become subject to the whims of the government, for it believes it knows best. It therefore assumes arrogant control over these very things - the things we hold most precious and dear; the things that make up a human life.

    Diane Rufino has her own blog For Love of God and Country. Come and visit her. She'd love your company.

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Comments

Stan Deatherage said:

( April 22nd, 2012 @ 9:04 pm )

Hey Mike,

How do you respond to all this? I mean, Diane really gets into all the "nuts and bolts" of it, as if she just might know what she is talking about.

Yep, Diane has always been a details girl.

What say you Mike?

Diane Rufino said:

( April 22nd, 2012 @ 1:34 pm )

I take it you think my article is crappy.

If our government (all 3 branches) had continued to provide the tools and the freedom parents need to raise their children properly and not done all it possibly could to frustrate their efforts, we wouldn't need to "evolve" as you suggest and government wouldn't need to continue its cycle of control and oppression. Schools should still be allowed to reflect on religious principles, schools should still emphasize morality and not the opposite, schools should not support homosexuality and other immortal lifestyles, schools should focus on education and not racial quotas, and government shouldn't promise free money as a reward for having and raising children out of wedlock. All these decisions (except the last) were not made by the will of the people but rather by progressive judges. But that last program, perhaps the most destructive of all on the upbringing of our children is the one most strongly protected by Democrats. There is simply no promotion of good and productive human values underlying their programs. They are all about the destruction of them.

I don't see a single bit of evidence to suggest that the Tea Party movement or its ideology is fading. Rather, I think the opposite. For example, do you know that the #1 question submitted in the GOP presidential debates this year was typified by the question posed by a couple from Spencer, Indiana: "There is a growing concern on the part of Americans as to the size and scope of the federal government and on teh infringement of state and individual rights. If you are elected President, what do you intend to do to restore the Tenth Amendment and hold the government only to those enumerated powers in the Constitution and allow the states to govern themselves?" This is not the type of question citizens have asked in the past. On the other hand, this question shows the impact of the Tea Party.

A similar question was asked of the candidates - "What is the President's responsibility in the face of a Congressional bill that exceeds the powers in Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution?" One candidate answered (and I can't remember which one): "The President's responsibility would be to veto every single bill that violates the Constitution and the Tenth Amendment." Again, that sounds like Tea Party influence.

We're suffering selective amnesia in this country. We've forgotten what we stand for and where we came from. The Tea Party is helping people to overcome that amnesia and make sense of why we have the freedoms that we do, how our Founders secured them, and what responsibilities are incumbent upon a people who wish to keep and protect them.

Stan Deatherage said:

( April 21st, 2012 @ 2:12 pm )

Mike,

Thanks for expressing yourself on BCN. You know I love you man.

Mike Hayes said:

( April 21st, 2012 @ 1:24 pm )

Ms. Rufino has given us a great analogy to frame the debate of the role of the federal government. She has also given us a great reason why the Tea Party movement is fading quickly as an ideology. The role of parenthood is clear: to raise our children to be independent, productive individuals in our society. Being a responsible parent requires that we instill in our children a sense of responsibility for themselves and those around them. Children cannot and do not learn these traits on their own. The reality is that we give them everything they need to develop. Inherent in that role is a balance to be played as the child grows older; the growing child must understand the boundaries that society and civility place on them. If there are no effective and defined boundaries, then unbridled freedom becomes anarchy very quickly. The government is not our parent. However, I would suggest that as our society continues to evolve in directions our founders could never have fathomed, effective governance becomes more and more critical to our ability to move forward as a nation.

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