Have You Had Your “Pearl Harbor Moment” Yet? What Will You Do With It?

Written by: Scott Cooper

                 

                  

“December 7, 1941, a day which will live in infamy” are famous words delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a joint session of Congress the day following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, 71 years ago today.

Those who were 18 years old that day, if they are still alive, are 89 years old now.  The result being, very few Americans personally know or understand the sacrifice that generation of Americans made to stop tyranny.  Over 60 million individuals or 2.5 % of the world’s population died in that war.  Over 418,000 Americans died.  Great Britain lost over 450,000.  As a percentage of population, Great Britain lost twice as many citizens as The United States.

Until December 7^th, 1941 most American’s were oblivious to the world at war.  Many who understood did their best to ignore it and encouraged their neighbors to do the same.  The attitude in Great Britain was similar, until September 1939.  This was despite numerous warnings from statesman Winston Churchill, who lost his seat in Parliament almost a decade before being called back to lead the war effort, in part because his vision was ahead of the people he represented.  Please read a tribute I wrote to statesman Winston Churchill, on his birthday last week!

Today we face threats to our liberty and freedom which are more significant than tyrannical governments outside our borders, like those we fought after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Indeed our enemy is within our borders.  Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, known for his military efforts in the mid-19^th century, is noted for stating “We have seen the enemy and they are ours….”  Often paraphrased, “we have met the enemy, and it is US!”

                                                                      

This morning, as I reflected on what took place 71 years ago, two thoughts came to mind. 

1. First, most of our citizens, especially the youth have no grasp of our history, not only about this date but about the foundational principles and the price that was paid for these principles to become a reality in the republic of the United States.
2. We are being destroyed from within, in such a way that if we do not wake up soon, when our next Pearl Harbor takes place (and it will happen – think September 11, 2001), we will be unable to get back up.

I believe we each need to have our own “Pearl Harbor Moment,” but in our own lives.  The key is, once we have that moment, we need to get up from the dinner table, where we have been gorging on the bounty of past generations fight for liberty for far too long, and engage the culture and civic arena to take back what so many of our ancestors bled and died for. 

These “Pearl Harbor Moments” aren’t where planes blow up ships.  These “Pearl Harbor Moments” are more like epiphanies in our own minds where we realize: “Houston, we have a problem!” 

Then, like the scientists who gathered to fix an impossible problem during the Apollo 13 flight, we need to build our own networks where we will impact change to help steer the ship right. 

This repair job will not happen if “We the People” remain at the table eating the dwindling inheritance our forefathers gave to us. 

We need to begin building an inheritance for our kids and grandkids!  One they can be proud of.  The inheritance I refer to is the blessings of Liberty and Freedom.  These blessings were purchased at a great price.  What are you willing to personally do to ensure we bequeath the same inheritance to our children that previous generations bequeathed to us?  Or will you sit back and allow their inheritance to be used up in your lifetime?

I used Apollo 13 as an example, because it is a real story of hope and redemption.  All odds were against bringing our astronaut’s home, yet not once did Gene Krantz and the team he assembled give up hope.  Against all odds, they accomplished an impossible task.

I know many individuals have given up hope.  Folks who believe America’s best days are behind her.  There are individuals who are actually abandoning their businesses or reducing the sizes of their businesses, because our government has simply made it impossible to remain in business.  The reason may be due to religious conscious issues, or outrageous regulations.  Some individuals have left the country and every day more consider it.

What will be your “Pearl Harbor Moment?”  Let me share a few of mine:

• U.S. Debt Crisis:  In college, in the late 1980’s, I thought a lot about US deficit spending.  As a Political Science major, I remember giving a speech about it in Public Speaking Class, when our total debt was a mere $ 2.8 Trillion!  I was infuriated back then at the irresponsibility of our government.  I did think about how I could get engaged in the effort to restrain government spending.  From 1987 – 1991, the years I was in college total U.S. Debt grew by $ 1.3 Trillion.  After a brief internship on Capitol Hill in 1990, it was obvious to me that the majority of those in power at the time did not take this issue seriously, so I decided to pursue business opportunities, rather than seek employment in Washington.  From 2009 to today, the years my 21 year oldest son has been out of high school, total U.S. Debt grew by over $ 5 Trillion.  Many of those in Washington during my internship in 1990 are still there.  In fact, they are now in leadership.  Speaker John Boehner has been in Washington for 21 years.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been in office since 1985.  Pearl Harbor Moments!  First during my 1990 Internship.  Reinforced daily since 2008 when George Bush announced, “I have decided to abandon the free market system, in order to save the free market system!  Here we are a generation later, and our rate of debt growth is 400 % faster than when I graduated from college.

• Work Ethic Crisis:  Working in Operations Management in the service or retail industry for the majority of my career, I have seen first hand the declining work ethic of our citizenry, especially the youth.  It breaks my heart to say that, in my opinion, the generation that responded to Pearl Harbor, the children from the depression era, would be ashamed to see many of their great grandchildren today.  I could speak about it from my experiences running car wash or mechanic shops during my time in the rental car industry.  I could share my experiences running logistics in the big box retail industry.  Simply put, the idea that we need immigrants to do work American’s won’t do, is in large part because we have bred a generation to believe there is a certain level of work which is beneath them.  This is perpetuated by an entitlement structure (government run) and parents who give their children so much that the concept of starting at the bottom and working your way up is no longer noble.  Pearl Harbor Moment! 

• Immigration Crisis:  I know this issue will come up politically in the near future.  Personally, I don’t believe we can have serious immigration reform without serious entitlement reform.  This is extremely complicated but PART of the problem is for the reasons listed above, businesses seek migrant labor.  It isn’t because they don’t want to hire Americans to do decent jobs.  It is because they can’t hire Americans, even those who have been unemployed for months.  I have two friends who run farms.  Both friends for over a decade had the same migrant workers come each year to help during the season.  In 2009 due to high unemployment, our government placed restrictions on their ability to have their migrant workers return.  They were required to attempt to hire American’s in multiple states prior to having their seasonal workers return from Latin America.  After investment of time and thousands of dollars, they were unable to hire Americans to do these tasks, all during a time period that government dependency has increased.  I am reminded of Ben Franklin’s comment, “I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”  Honestly, I don’t think that is a hateful comment, but it is an understanding that when you consistently provide basic needs for people, they become dependent upon it and unwilling to do for themselves what God gave them the capacity to do.  Pearl Harbor Moment!

• Muslim Brotherhood Crisis:  There is a “Silent Conquest” (please watch video for details) taking place in our republic, and just like our leaders have failed to deal with our debt crisis, our entitlement crisis, and our securing the border crisis, they are unwilling to deal with this crisis.  Pearl Harbor Moment!

• Energy Dependence Crisis:  The Department of Energy was created by Jimmy Carter in 1977 with the purpose of becoming Energy Independent.  We are 35 years removed, and we are still dependent on our energy supply from the very individuals mentioned in my bullet point above!  Pearl Harbor Moment!

• Growth of Government Crisis:  One of the tasks in Operations Management has been to complete annual competitive wage survey’s, to ensure our compensation packages were in line with the market.  This is not a poke at the thousands of outstanding government workers, but the reality is, the private sector funds the public sector.  The sector that receives its funding from the private sector has compensation packages that for the most part far exceeds the compensation packages of majority of the private sector.  So much so, thousands of citizens are more motivated to “Public Service” rather than building businesses.  Reflect on that some, as our private sector decreases and public sector increases!  Pearl Harbor Moment!

Have you had your “Pearl Harbor Moment” yet?  What are you going to do with it?  

Our children and our grandchildren will receive an inheritance.  The Bible states in Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (NASB).

Our fathers and grandfathers who fought in WWII, who we remember today on Pearl Harbor Day, were children during the depression era.  They came back from hard times and left us a tremendous inheritance.  We owe it to them to do the same for our children.

Have you had your “Pearl Harbor Moment” yet?  What are you going to do with it?

A Time For Compromise

A Time For Compromise

Written by: Scott Cooper

Last week after the election, I was engaged in a discussion on a blog with a good friend and mentor who has lived in Europe for the last 25 years.  He cautioned me and my friends within the Tea Party, stating now is the time for compromise, that the election was over.  Quoting Ecclesiastes 3:8 “There is a time for war, and a time for peace” Now is the time for The Tea Party to compromise and make peace, he cautioned.

To follow was my response:

First, since you quoted Ecclesiastes, allow me to share 1:9-11 “So, there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, “see this, it is new?” Already it has existed for ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur. There will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later still.”

Let me share my perspective. I am angry. I believe it is ok to be angry. Ephesians 4:6 says “Be angry and sin not.” I believe there is such a thing as righteous anger. Now is a time for righteous anger. Allow me to share someone else’s review of a book on this subject, which I find helpful.  Click here to read that review!

Two Thoughts on moving forward in a compromising way, following the election:

First, while President Obama did win re-election, he barely won the popular vote. He clearly does not have a mandate. His election was more about style and likability, and I dare say that since 93 % of blacks voted for him, race. He was also helped by the GOP, whose efforts to shut out Liberty and Tea Party Grassroots activists at State and National Conventions this year caused many conservative individuals to either not vote, or actually oppose Mitt Romney with their vote. The point is, Barack Obama’s ideology did not win – his personality and his political machine did. This was aided by GOP incompetence. The compromises you are asking us to make are based in ideology and worldview, and our republic is clearly divided on these ideologies and worldviews.

Second, our extremely wise founding founders established a divided government because they wanted to limit extreme changes from taking place. They understood the tyranny of a centralized government, and they knew that someday we would be fighting the battles we are fighting. We must utilize the systems in place, which they wisely set up for us, to do everything we can to limit the further expansion of Government, which inevitably reduces individual liberty and personal responsibility. Remember, our republic was founded on the principles of individual liberty, not centralized government or collective results.

I am not willing to compromise on giving our Federal Government one more cent of revenue, whether the measurement is a percentage of GDP or as a dollar per citizen – you choose the matrix. I have yet to see them be wise stewards of my financial contributions, and I am angered by their waste. We have seen the GOP consistently compromise on our principles of fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, constitutional limited government and personal charity for the last 100 years, and it has led us to the brink of our republic’s impending financial demise.

We could confiscate 100 % of all the millionaires and billionaires wealth and we would still be in an unmanageable financial hole due to previous compromises.  Therefore, taxing the rich is not a solution. We must learn to live within our means. The riots and demonstrations which are taking place throughout Europe this week due to their required austerity measures should be all we need to see we must wake up and grow up.

While the current administration, which was just re-elected, is what helped to wake up the individuals that comprise The Tea Party, the one’s you say that must compromise now, our anger is not directed at this Administration, but at the GOP, which has peacefully compromised our liberties for decades.  It was George W. Bush who “Abandoned the free market in order to save the free market.”  We will retreat on our liberties no further – in order to attain immediate security. I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin who stated: “they who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

While we diligently work to restrain the growth of government, our struggle going forward is to educate our citizenry on the worldviews at stake. This election shows that the majority of youth 18 – 29 are ok with Socialism, which is in opposition to our form of government. The Pollsters are consistently speaking out about different races and classes. We need to educate that our ideas of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility and private charity are not respecters of persons – they work for all races and creeds. I am so sick of our leaders dividing us up to win elections – our ideas win across all the lines, if we can articulate them well enough – which obviously, we need to improve on.

Some specific worldview items I will not compromise on, which we must do a better job in educating on are:

1.  Fiscal Responsibility. We need to have a budget. It needs to be tied to something measurable, like GDP. It needs to be balanced. This democratically controlled Administration and Senate has not passed a budget in 3 years. Why should we compromise on anything before this is accomplished – seriously – why?

2. Our President breeds Covetousness – and I am sick of it.  Please click here to read my writting on this subject.

3. Our President stands against life – As a State Senator he supported 3rd trimester abortions, right down to the last minute – and now wants enforce mandated healthcare that requires birth control, up to and including abortions. This is against our First Amendment Religious rights.

4. Our President stands against free speech – We are in a clash of worldviews with Radical Islam, and when our Ambassador is assassinated, President Obama attacked the First Amendment free speech rights of a film maker instead of addressing those who attacked our consulate – or better yet – did his job and ensured that attack didn’t take place!

I could write more, but I am done for now. I am going to go back to the question I started with: Where specifically do you want to see compromise, and what principles dictate that compromise or retreat?

 Here are some additional thoughts I have had since writing those words on November 15^th:

Those who seek Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets – as laid out in our Constitution are hated not only by the Democrats, but by the establishment GOP as well.  Indeed if you listen carefully to many GOP leaders, they are posturing themselves so as to blame the Tea Party for any inability to reach a compromise. 

The reality is the party, which in writing states they hold to the values of the Tea Party, has compromised repeatedly on their written values for decades, and that is why the United States is facing the fiscal demise we face.  Now that there is growing momentum to hold the GOP party accountable, they are doing what every party with power does – clinging to their dwindling power, making every attempt distance themselves from those who are holding them accountable, which are actually the silent majority.  Rather than seeing the Tea Party as the reinforcements they need to hold to their principles, they will make every effort to blame the Tea Party, a movement which began only four years ago, for their long history of principled failings.  Just like they did in state wide and the national convention this summer, they will continue striving to shut and marginalize the Tea Party.

For many idealistic Tea Party members, it has been painful learning to be hated by those we want to help reinforce their principles.  The Tea Party movement however has learned, it is not here to be loved by the GOP.  We The People are here to restore our republic to the principles we hold so dear.  At a recent national conference of Tea Party leaders, we reflected multiple times on Winston Churchill, who left London in defeat in the early 1930’s; only to be called back to lead his country through the chaos of WWII. 

Financial Chaos is coming.  Its seeds were sowed a long time ago, prior to the inception of the Tea Party in 2008.  The Tea Party is not going away.  It is girding its loins, getting thick skinned and focusing locally where it has a greater impact. It will be ready when wisdom and common sense prevails at the Federal Level – which clearly is not yet!