Small Victory

God is good, all the time.

Today I had a scheduled meeting w/the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). I was accompanied by two good friends and brothers in Christ. They were there primarily to help me maintain my temper and ensure that, should I misunderstand something, they could set me straight.

The meeting lasted less than 20 minutes. That's right. When I asked if I could record the meeting, the DEP supervisor questioned why I'd want to do this. Then he asked who these people were that I brought with me. Keep in mind that the letter of invitation I received to attend this meeting contained the statement that I could bring with me anyone I wish "that may be able to help resolve the matter." Upon learning that one of my friends is an attorney, the supervisor lost it...okay, he didn't throw up, but it was clear he was uncomfortable and stated that if I was going to have an attorney at the meeting, he was going to have one also and therefore, the meeting would need to be rescheduled.

Now, rescheduling may not sound like a victory to you, but if you could've seen this play out, it looked like a scene from a sitcom. I've never seen someone escape so quickly, I mean shazzam! He was gone.

I'm no Hank Reardon (Atlas Shrugged), but I sure felt like it.

All the time, God is good.

United STATE of America?

I cannot help but wonder what happened to the United States of America I grew up in and learned about in school. The United States of America I served to protect and defend, was built on the perseverance of people who relied on their skills and abilities to carve out a life in an otherwise brutal existence. The one underlying value was self-reliance. People made mistakes and took responsibility for their actions. Your word meant something and there was shame in building your family before you had the means to provide for them. Friends banded together to help each other when necessary. Sounds like some far-removed religious group, right? Essentially the idea was that you were free to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The least amount of government intervention the better.

Fast forward; you are not responsible for your actions if it is because you drink too much, life dealt you a difficult hand or your parents were tough on you during your childhood. Financially, if you don't have the means or discipline to save a down payment for a house, the government considers that unfair and puts into place regulations requiring lenders to make concessions in order to spur home ownership, "the American Dream."

Fast forward again; the federal government sues banks for questionable mortgage decisions after the government put the rules in place ordering the banks to make the very mortgage loans the federal government now condemns. The federal government sues an employer for removing an employee from a position requiring the utmost safety, because the employee admits to being an alcoholic, public safety be damned. A federal government organization (the National Labor Relations Board or NLRB) files suit to stop an aircraft manufacturer from locating a new plant, which will provide jobs, in a state that is less favorable to unions. So now states can't even compete with each other for job creation, lest the federal government block the move.

Have we not turned over so much control to the federal government that we're teetering on the verge of becoming one state? States used to maintain departments for education, health and human services and employment services. Now many of these same departments rely on the federal departments for funding and must comply with federal regulations. As an example of how profound this move to federal statism is; the United States existed for nearly 200 years before having a federal department of education. Since the creation of that organization 40 years ago, the nation's education system has gone through many changes, but arguably student performance has not improved, yet the federal Department of Education continues to cost many millions of dollars to operate.

I submit that if all states must comply with never-ending federal regulations and rely on federal funding, this may be the end of a nation of "united states?"

Furthermore, I ask why so many people think a "federal government" really cares about individuals? You take any organization, make it big enough and it starts to feed its own purposes, based on the people running the organization. Don't believe me? Attend any organized sports organization for kids, neighborhood association meeting or "town hall" put on by an elected official. People care about themselves first and politicians are no different.

There was a time when the elected officials understood their primary purpose in office was to better the nation and put the best interests of the nation ahead of their own political careers. I believe that no longer exists as a primary conviction.

Show me where I'm wrong.