"Does Being An American Mean Anything Anymore?"
from - The Parallax Prophecies -
Excerpts from a speech by Ron Ewart, President
National Association of Rural Landowners
and nationally recognized author on freedom and property rights issues.
We are helping to spread freedom and liberty around the globe.
© Copyright Sunday, March 10, 2013 - All Rights Reserved
This article is also available at http://www.narlo.org/articles/031013.html
"My God! How little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of, and which no other people on earth enjoy!" ~ Thomas Jefferson
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to be here tonight to share with you some of my thoughts on whether being an American has any meaning anymore. As I look out over this audience, what is visible to me are men, women and children with different faces, different body sizes, different genders and different clothes. What I cannot see are your strongly held beliefs, your daily habits, or how you get along with those around you, at home, at work, or at play. I have no idea how well you did in school in your early years, how your parents treated you, who your friends were, who you were attracted to, what you liked to do, or who you liked or didn't like. In fact, it is none of my business to know these things."
"However, human nature being what it is, I can make educated judgments about such things because I know a little bit about human nature, not as a psychologist or as a psychiatrist, but as an observant individual of average intellect, having lived for 75 years. I can say with certainty that there has been some strife and adversity in your life. You have had to meet challenges, either individually, or as a family, or as a group. Much of that adversity comes because of your strongly held beliefs that aren't necessarily compatible with those you deal with on a daily basis. We all know that siblings fight and we all know that parents get to be referees, or benevolent dictators, which ever works the best."
"We all know that husbands and wives fight over major things and more often, minor things. After being married for 50 years, my wife still gets after me because I won't put my dirty dishes in the dishwasher. I rinse them though."
"Human beings, like all creatures, are generally selfish. They want what they want and they want to get what they want, no matter whom or what is in the way, because that describes being a living creature. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, there are all kinds of things or people in your way. This isn't rocket science. It is generally known by just about everyone, either consciously, or intuitively. Which leads me to my little black box theory."
"Several years ago and based on knowledge, experience and observations, I developed a theory about mental processes, biases and deep-seated beliefs of the general population. I called this theory, the "Little Black Box" theory. Some of you may have heard me talk or write about it before. This theory applies across the board to almost everything we believe in and everything we do in our lives. It is inescapable and what is in the "Little Black Box" determines, to a large degree, how our lives will turn out. It determines our thoughts, religious beliefs, sexual proclivities, our fears, our strengths, our weaknesses, our successes or failures and even our political persuasions. The content of the "Little Black Box" and thus a person's point of reference, begins to fill up at a very early age and the person is not aware, nor do they have any control of what is going into it, because it is determined by their early environment, along with a dash of their biological parent's genetics and how they are treated by their parents and the siblings with which they live."
"People behave in direct proportion to the content of the "Little Black Box" and in most cases they are not aware that they are behaving in this manner. To them it is perfectly normal. In fact, what is in the "Little Black Box" defines who they are early on in their lives ..... that is, according to my "Little Black Box" theory. Changes to the content of the "Little Black Box" rarely occur throughout a person's lifetime. When they do occur, it is almost always the result of some revelation, a violent act or accident, overpowering new information, (true or false) or an epiphany."
"The theory is especially applicable to how people believe and act in the area of religious faith. The same is true for political leanings and biases. It is intuitive then to say that, if you are born into a Democrat family, you will most likely remain a Democrat for the rest of your life, without any regard to the substance of what is meant by being a Democrat. It is equally true for Republicans, or independents. I call it blind party affiliation by virtue of a person's early environment."
"If you are born into a poor family, you are likely to remain poor. If you are born into a wealthy and privileged family, you are quite likely to follow the path of wealth and privilege. There are many exceptions of course."
"For this reason, people are very selective about what they listen to, watch and read. They virtually always listen to, watch and read about issues that are compatible and aligned with what is in their "Little Black Box". They analyze everything they see, hear and read in the context of their "Little Black Box". It is not a choice they make consciously. It is pre-determined and pre-programmed for them long before the age of consent. No matter how convincing an argument you make to another person, they will almost always yield to what is in their "Little Black Box" before all else, even if it defies principle, logic, reason and/or even common sense."
"At his point you are asking yourself, OK, what has this got to do with whether being an American has any meaning? It has everything to do with it because it explains why we have differences. In general, it explains why we as a country are so divided and why being an American takes a back seat to what divides us. It is those very differences and divisions that are causing the problems we face in America today. But it is equally true that if we are divided, those that govern us will also be divided. A divided government is a recipe for disaster, as has been playing out before our very eyes over the last 50 years. However, it is equally true that a united government could also lead to disaster if those that are united in government stray away from the principles of what makes us Americans."
"However, ladies and gentlemen, as I look out over this audience tonight it may not be readily apparent to everyone, but we do have one very important thing in common. We are all Americans in spite of our divisions, at least I hope that everyone in this audience is an American. We were born on free soil. We are endowed with certain unalienable rights. Some call those rights our gift from God. Still others call them natural rights that inure to the benefit of all living creatures that government cannot take away. We are all Americans and that does mean something. Let that sink in for a minute."
"You did not create you. In the beginning you had no control over the mechanisms that formed the shape of your body, the characteristics of your personality or your mind, or the capabilities that were granted to your body and mind by virtue of genetics and life with or without your parents. But no matter what anyone tells you, you were not created to serve others, unless it is your choice to do so. In fact, you were created to express who you are as an individual. You were created to serve yourself and those you love, or care about, not by force but by free choice. Anything else is tyranny."
"You are unique, a snowflake, one of a kind and no other person can be like you now, in the past, or in the future. It is your individual uniqueness that is your value. It is what you express or achieve as a person, that is your mark, your legacy and your reason for being here. No other person, group of persons, or a government has the right to take that from you. You are not a pawn you are sovereign under the supreme law of nature. You are free to choose good or evil. If you choose good over evil there will be rewards. If however, you choose evil, there will be a price to pay."
"This great land called America is as unique as you are. It is one of a kind, exceptional, a snowflake, when America is compared to other cultures or nations. Its unique form of government allows individuals to fully express who they are. Under our Constitutional Republic an individual can be just about anything they want to be, provided they have the necessary drive, the ambition and the work ethic. A free America provides opportunities that can't be found in hardly any other country, even today."
"But because of our divisions we have taken our eyes off of the ball. Instead of keeping our eyes on the lookout for our ever-present enemies, foreign or domestic, we fight amongst each other over the "spoils" of government and ignore the axiom that says a government left unto itself will morph into a dictatorship. We are being conned and lied to by the current government for evil purposes, on a whole range of issues that have a direct affect on our freedom."
"There is a story that is told often to prove some kind of a point that tells of a neighbor who has heard sounds of a heated argument in the house next door. Afraid that bodily harm might come to one of the occupants, the neighbor calls the police. Two squad cars pull up to the house of the warring spouses and four officers approach the front door. All of a sudden two windows open up on the house and two guns are pointed at the officers. One of the officers asks, 'Hey what's going on in there?' One of the spouses responds with, 'Can't a husband and wife have a little fight now and then without the police poking their nose into our business?'"
"On September 11, 2001 a radical, foreign ideology violently poked its nose into America's business and 3,000 Americans died in the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon in Washington DC. Suddenly, united Americans were the ones poking the guns out the window at the enemy and we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan. For a few months after 9/11 we were Americans again, but alas, it didn't last."
"Today our real enemy does not confront us from foreign shores, although the threat lingers on the horizon. Our real enemy is that which divides us and makes us cast aside the political foundation that preserves our liberty and protects our freedom. "The Parallax Prophecies" predicts that if Americans do not set aside their differences and come together, America has no chance to continue as a free nation. We will become like so many other third-world countries where the people are more interested in getting something for free from government, no matter who has to pay for it. We will have let our government convince us that we are but helpless victims and need mother government to take care of us, instead of being proud, self-reliant, responsible, free and sovereign Americans. And one thing is for sure. If we are divided as a nation, we will not be able to effectively confront the determined foreign enemies that are approaching our shores from the East and from the West."
"It does mean something to be an American because in America, it is the natural, unalienable, God-given rights of the individual that sets us apart from all other nations on earth. It is the combined power of individual Americans that have freed over a billion people from brutal dictators and despots. It is the combined power of individual Americans that have created America's unprecedented military might. It is the combined power of individual Americans that grow the food that feeds our nation and a good portion of the people in other countries. It is the combined power of free and generous individual Americans that have opened their wallets and their hearts to the people of other nations who have suffered the indignities, the injuries, the disease and death from natural disasters around the world. It is the combined power of individual Americans working alone or with others, that have created the highest standard of living anywhere on the planet. It is the combined power of individual Americans that have developed the technologies and medical break throughs that have not only made our own lives healthier and easier, but have saved countless millions in developing countries. It is the combined power of individual Americans that have created the greatest wealth the world has ever known and from that wealth we have been able to fund all of the great things that we do as free Americans and as a nation."
"America has nothing to apologize for and every American has every reason to be proud for being part of and contributing to the land of free individuals with unalienable rights and the home of the brave who put their lives on the line to preserve that freedom and those unalienable rights."
There are two kinds of people in America, those that want something from government and those that want to be left alone by government to live out their lives in freedom. It is this difference that divides us. Those with the most votes determine the direction of America, either for the benefit of a free America, or the establishment of an enslaved America. If we are divided as a people and as a nation and will not unite on the principles that made us free, enslavement can be our only future."
"Yes, it does mean something to be an American, but it won't mean anything if we remain divided.
If we want to save America from destroying itself from within, we had better start thinking AS Americans and acting LIKE Americans. Only then can we be victorious over the twin, corrupt evils of power and money, in the hands of men and women who have no honor, either foreign or domestic."
NOTE 1: If you want the author to give an inspirational speech to your group on healing the divisions between us, click HERE.
NOTE 2: We will soon be launching the Parallax Prophecies website at www.theparallaxprophecies.com, home of the Parallax Prophecies Institute. The Institute's mission is to start the process of healing those issues that divide us so that we can become united Americans again and regain our pride, our power, our creativity, our unmatched productivity, our exceptional generosity and restore our freedom. Our anticipated launch date is March 17, 2013.
Ron Ewart, President
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF RURAL LANDOWNERS
P. O. Box 1031, Issaquah, WA 98027
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