“ONCE UPON A TIME”

Christian Times Magazine issue 63 | Monthly Magazine page 38

“ONCE UPON A TIME” .... By Mickey Nichols

These were magical words, weren’t they? I can still imagine myself at seven years of age, sitting on a creek bank in Alabama with my Aunt Nell, and listening to her tell tall tales about a fantasyland far, far away. She would let me lay my head on her lap and then she would spin a yarn about heroes and villains and she would always allow me to be the hero! With her limited vocabulary at the time (she was only four years older than I was, for goodness sake!) she would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I indicated the usual boyhood dreams of fireman, policeman, and baseball player but I didn’t ask her what she wanted to be when she was grown because I thought that she was already an adult, even though we still played “chase” and “jacks” in the yard. My fondest memory of that particular time was that she would end storytelling time by saying, “You can be ANYTHING you want to be. ”

And, you know what, that was the truth. As I grew and was educated for the most part by caring, God-fearing teachers, I learned that America was the most opportunistic country in the world. You could be or do exactly what you wanted just as long as it was legal and moral. You want to be a success? Study and work hard, obey the rules, and be thankful along the way and you would become successful. You want to be a bum? Do nothing. Be lazy. Don’t try. Blame others for your lot in life. And you would be a bum.

What changed in America? Nothing. But the desire and ambition to be and to do good things changed. Remember last month’s article? “Good times make weak people” . And that’s exactly what happened after the Fabulous Fifties. In 1964 our government , in order to pander to the laziest and least ambitious of us, foisted on our country one of the most hurtful types of programs by implementing welfare and giveaway programs and had the audacity to label it “The Great Society ” . Indeed.

Christian Times Magazine issue 63 | Monthly Magazine These programs were designed and intended to produce a nation of indulged and entitled whiners who looked to Washington, D.C. to coddle and support them. Self reliance became passe’ , industriousness and hard work were ridiculed, and the prevailing thought was that Uncle Sam will take care of you from cradle to grave, so why bother to work? Lou Holtz, the great college and pro football coach, was recently asked the difference between players of today and players of yesteryear. He replied, “Todays’ players are concerned about their rights and privileges while yesteryears’ players were concerned about their obligations and responsibilities. ”

This month (September) we remember 9/11 as the largest loss of American lives on American soil due to an enemy attack. Although it was devastating to watch the tumbling down of two of our tallest symbols of American ingenuity and the crash directly into our military power structure, the Pentagon, it was heartwarming to see politicians of both parties linked together a few days later on the Capitol steps in a show of solidarity against the invaders. For a period of time afterwards, flags flew and banners waved as everyone united in the American spirit. Speeches were given, pledges made, and each and every American seemed to turn into a red, white, and blue patriot. Oh, that that spirit would persist. Now, here we are twenty one years later. And the divide in belief systems is wider than it has ever been. The question today is whether the chasm can be bridged. Can the monumental gulf that exists between the two political parties be spanned and allow for a meeting in the middle?

Compromise has always been the unwritten rule of our Congress. Taxes, the military, foreign policy, the budget, and other lesser subjects allow room for compromise. BUT, some things have absolutely NO wiggle room and these are the moral issues. Back in 1776 the delegates of our fledgling nation came together, formed a Constitution, and proclaimed that the USA was founded upon principles garnered from the Holy Bible. To this writer, it is as simple as this: there can be NO compromise when it comes to the Word of God. There is right, and there is wrong. Those that recognize no difference between the two are today ’s problem. There is a Heaven and there is a Hell. My personal opinion is that God will be showing us very soon.

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