The Patriotic Compass, Part I

Patriotism: devoted love, support, and defense of one's country; national loyalty.

Patriotic: expressing or inspired by patriotism.

Compass: an instrument for determining directions.

Consider for a moment the concept of a moral compass. We've all probably heard of that, right. Anything that might serve to guide someone based on morals, virtues, and values. Often, this term is used with lawyers, judges and decision-makers. Today, I present to you the Patriotic Compass. A concept in loyalty whereby one is guided by love and inspiration for his country.

This compass is often a driving force for those who enlist or commission in the United States Armed Services. There the compass finds its ultimate calling as these men and women voluntarily put their lives in harms way to protect our freedom. In other forms, the compass guides our decision-makers, our police, our firefighters, and other civil servants. However, each and every citizen also has a Patriotic Compass.

Sometimes that compass points to true north and guides the American Citizen toward a better, wholesome, and just nation. These days, however, many, too many, have had their compass damaged and it now points in a misguided direction. This is the first in a series of thoughts and discussion on the direction of our nation and where Barack Obama would like to see it head versus where the true Patriots want it to head back toward.

Iraq - Should have seen this coming

If anyone is surprised that there are terrible attacks and battles being waged between the Muslim sects in Iraq, you should have your head examined, and rethink your political and religious mirror imaging. Fact is, within Islam there is no peace so long as any other belief or system of thought exists. So called Moderate Muslims are even included in that frame of text, especially when you ask a Sunni Muslim about this concept.

The recent bombings in Baghdad do not surprise me. Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims have been at it for a very long time, killing each other, and trying to one-up the other with every new attack. So long as the Americans were present they weren't going to be able to be as overt or successfully achieve large-scale attacks. This includes the Sunni Al-Qa'ida in Iraq. Now that the US has pulled out, based on a flawed timeline not endorsed my military commanders (or at least not for the right reasons). The Iraqis have been capable of defending their country for some time now, but they are not willing to put forth a national loyalty over their religious loyalties. Don't get me wrong here, I too would not forgo my Christian faith over the loyalty of my country, but them I'm not part of an extreme belief system who's holy book pushes, neigh requires, the killing of all those who do not believe as I do.

No, the Iraqis could defend their country, but they have no country unless it falls strictly within the laws of their religion, which Iraq does not do for any of the Muslim sects in existence. What's most saddening, is that Iraq isn't the only place where this happens. Look through history and you will find that the entirety of the Middle East and most of the African continent fall prey to the same dogmatic religious conflict. They cannot be happy until everyone believes as they do. That is a big difference between Islam and Christianity. One most are to PC to call out. Islam cannot live peacefully with other beliefs, even the more loosely held Moderate Muslims. Whereas, Christianity, while having had its issues, battles and wars at times, has largely been able to do so among it's various denominations. I don't mean to make this about religion alone, but I thought this was important to point out.

Many died, and that is very sad. I pray for their families left behind to deal with that loss as well as the many more to come, and for the turmoil they are going to see and experience their country go through. And after all that being said, I close with this...now that we are out of Iraq, let's just stay out. It's a losing battle.

Death of a Dictator

Let me start out that I do not relish in the death of anyone, especially those who pass without Christ as their Savior! We all have probably heard that Kim Jong-Il (KJI), long-time dictator of North Korea, died recently, but many in America have no idea of the implications. They only see the funny little character from the movie Team America.

In fact, KJI was a master manipulator, button-pusher for world angst and anger, and just a plain low down antagonist. With him gone, we don't know what his successor will do. His 20-something son, Kim Jong-Un (KJU) is an unknown to all. He lived a very sheltered life, schooled in Switzerland. There are some indications that he is at best as unstable as his father, and at worst more unstable, especially given his youth. It is unlikely that his reign will lead to a reunification of the peninsula, but rather will lead to a larger black hole that is the Democratic (hear sarcasm) People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

China has been the only real, close ally of the upper peninsula and with KJU taking over, even they don't know if he'll maintain those ties. Worse yet, the military might not accept his succession given his age and inexperience. Imagine and already fragile and unstable nation being run by a military dictatorship. So what does that mean for America.

Well, if the Leftists like pathetic and forgotten president Jimmy Carter have their way, we'll continue to give food and more supplies to the nation. Problem is, that food doesn't reach the people, and what little might is a very mere fraction of what was intended. No, just like KJI hoarded it all for himself and his cronies, KJU and/or the military will do the same, rest assured. This puts stress on the regions, further stress on our relations with China (not that I'm a fan or support much in foreign relations with China), and it disrupts the economy in the Pacific as it pertains to our export/import trade there.