John

“What is this generation going to do?” asked John, as he stood in the doorway of my office, “How are they ever going to survive this economy?”  John is an older man who lives around the corner from the church.  He stops in my office about once a month for a short conversation.  That’s a joke, because, if you knew John, you’d know that there’s no such thing as a short conversation when he comes around.  He’s been retired for a lot of years and forgets that not everyone has as much free time as he does.  Sometimes I groan inwardly when I see him come in, because I know I have to stop what I’m doing for a half hour, but in the end, I generally enjoy our conversations.  He has seen a lot of things in 80 plus years of life and, I have learned that if you ask the right questions, he always has an interesting story.

I can’t call John an old man, because, though he is more than twice my age, he is still very spry.  He lives his life much more fully than many people that I’ve met who are a quarter of his age.  He rides around on his bicycle and tinkers around in his tool shed.  He works in his garden, and fixes stuff around the neighborhood.  And, he comes in and talks to the young pastor in his neighborhood on a regular basis.

Usually, when John comes in, it’s to talk about something specific.  He has something on his mind, be it a neighbor who isn’t taking care of their property, or to talk about some issue of the day. 

Today, he was wondering about the economy and the Occupy Wall Street protests in the streets.  He told me that this ‘recession’ seemed to be turning into a depression, and he was worried about his country.  “This generation thinks they should be given everything; they don’t want to work for it, they don’t want to earn their own way,” he told me, “How are they going to survive this.” 

I know John was a child during the Great Depression, as he has shared some of his stories about World War II.  So, I asked him, “How did your generation make it?”

He looked me in the eye and said, “Well, we buckled down and did what we had to do.  We worked hard.  We saved things and made due.  We worked together to help each other.  We didn’t run out to buy something new when it broke, we just fixed it.  But, it’s different today, we didn’t have computers and all this new stuff that everyone thinks they need.” 

“It’s no different today, John,” I replied, “The answer today is the same as it was back then.  People in the 1920s had luxuries, they were frivolous.  But, when the 1930s and 40s came, they learned.  They cut back and made better choices.  They worked harder.  They scrimped and saved.  They treated their possessions with more value.  Families and communities helped each other.  They grew gardens and canned food.  They quit being so wasteful.  It wasn't pretty, it wasn't easy, but you did what you had to do.  That’s what you grew up with, right?” 

“Yes, sir, that’s how we did it.”

“Then,” I went on, “That’s how this generation is going to do it.  We just have some hard lessons to learn first.  And, some of us are going to learn the hard lessons and some of us won’t.  The ones that don’t are going to struggle and blame others for their problems.  Those that learn those hard lessons will make it through together, and be better for it.” 

I don’t think he really needed me to tell him that, I think he was just looking for reassurance that someone else knew the answer too.

John smiled at me and headed back out the door to his truck.  He stopped and looked back at me.  His parting shot was, “I don’t think you’ll have to work too hard to learn those lessons.”

I hope not, John, I truly hope not.

#Occupy Yourselves

It just ain't that hard

This blog originally posted Tuesday, March 10, 2009 at 4:38pm

Everyone who can read this needs to sit down with their Grandparents (and if possible) great Grandparents to find out how they survived before we got the idea that the government was supposed to provide for us.

Our government actually has very limited powers and responsibilities laid out in the Constitution. Over the last fifty years, we have allowed our elected representatives to usurp more and more power. We have excepted these abuses because they have bribed us with our own money and money stolen from others. If the government would just pay for my college, help me buy a house, give me health insurance, etc, etc, etc; then I can truly be happy.

Yet, when the harsh reality looms that we just don’t have the money to pay for all of these things, along with all the other pork barrel spending that gets added in to every little bill that goes through, what do we do? We mortgage our children’s future by deficit spending and we raise taxes now. The simple truth is, no business or household in this country can run for long on deficit spending, but somehow we got the idea that the government can. If my family’s monthly bills don’t leave enough money for a luxury cruise, then we don’t go on one. If the luxury cruise is important to us, then we save and save and save, then maybe take it a few years from now. Or, we cut some other luxury so that the money can go towards the goal. Pretty simple.

Our government doesn’t even try to work this way anymore. Why? Because they can bribe us with money that isn’t theirs and isn’t ours.

I was having lunch with one of my students this week and he suggested that it was a good idea to tax ‘rich’ people so that we can have these things. Now, this is a normally intelligent kid and I love talking with him, but somewhere, somehow, he has been taught that it is ‘fair’ to steal from one person so that he can have what he wants. Somehow, that is fair?!?!?! Ask any preschool teacher, if it isn't your toy, you shouldn't take it from the other little kid just because you want it. Now, go stand in the corner.

Where did we lose the basic concepts that this nation was built upon – hard work, saving for what you want, living frugally, being generous with your own money, helping your neighbor, questioning our Government, and following God? Understand, this is not about our current president. He is just one more in a line of leaders who are moving farther from our founding fathers.

The truth is, the biggest danger is not democrats or republicans. Both are responsible for the mess we are in. The worst thing about the current situation is that, again we have the majority of congress and the president both from the same party. Anytime we have this situation (either democrat or republican), spending goes through the roof. Who is responsible for the biggest government debt in history? George Bush. Who is on track to blow this record away? Barack Obama.

Want to fix the country? Give me a very large box of red pens and the budget (along with any other spending bills). I'll make the hard decisions. I'll balance the budget very quickly. (and probably burn through a lot of red ink in the process.)

We need to reset. We need to go back to the beginning. I thank God for the grace to have been born in a nation like ours. The U.S.A. is a wonderful idea and it can work as long as we hold to the original ideas of limited government, individual responsibility, and patriotism based on what’s best for the nation and not what’s best for my party.

Stop voting for someone just because they are Republicans or Democrats. Stop voting for someone based on whether they bring money to your state or not. Stop expecting the government to pay your way. Work Hard. Spend Less. Live on less than what you earn. Cut up your credit cards. Give generously to Church and Charity. Think of others before yourself. Learn from your failures. Pick yourself up and try again. Take personal responsibility for your own mistakes and problems. Save for your future. Vote intelligently. Get Involved. Throw the bums out again and again until we get someone in there who does it right. Let's turn this country around.

It just ain't that hard.