Jesus Would Vote 4 of 4

Noah Webster once wrote: “In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate--look to his character.”

In every election, the future of our nation hangs in the balance. Let’s let our faith in the Living God, who loves us without end and who leads us into all truth help shape that future. If we fail to act now, the tragic upheaval on moral issues may very well, result in America’s fall from grace.

We as Evangelical Christians must see the 2016 election as a disaster for crucial moral concerns. The election of one of the candidates (Hillary Clinton), would return a radically pro-abortion President to the White House. The next President is likely to have the opportunity to appoint one or more justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, and they are almost sure to agree with his/her constitutional philosophy.

Clearly, we face a new moral landscape in America, and huge challenge to those of us who care passionately about moral issues. We face a worldview challenge that is far greater than any political challenge, as we must learn how to winsomely convince Americans to share our moral convictions about marriage, sex, the sanctity of life, and ever expanding moral issues. This will not be easy. It is, however, an urgent call to action. Friends, more than the presidency is on the line. Scores of other offices are at risk in the 2016 election, and at every level. But one fact is known — the U.S. Congress may well experience a liberal shift in that body.


To the readers of this piece, it's not really about politics. Christians must never see political action as an end, but only as a means. We can never seek salvation through the voting booth, and we must never look for a political messiah. Nevertheless, Christians do bear a political responsibility, established in love of God and love of neighbor. We are rightly concerned about this world, but only to a limited extent. Our main concern is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Being in the world but not of the world has never been easy. The 2016 election underlines the challenges we now face and the responsibilities we dare not neglect.

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What would Jesus do about the approaching election? He’d vote…just like I’m convinced Jesus would pay his taxes…because that is part of the organizational system our Heavenly Father has created. Express your faith and your conviction and vote…and when you vote remember to vote values first…not economics.

Do you not understand, what God is really concerned about is the heart of the leader and not the promises candidates make to the people? Promises are made and broken all the time. We need to be concerned about the heart of candidates. Does not Proverbs 23:7 tells us to beware of he who is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you. In other words, if you want to know what people really are like, forget about what they say. Words and promises made when cameras are rolling, lights flashing and throngs of supporters cheering are parsimonious or cheap. Look at what a person’s heart is like. Look at their actions over the long haul.

Let us hear what Jesus says in Luke 6:45. “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

Every elected official should be scrutinized, because we are placing them in an office or position of trust…where the potential for helping or hurting people and our nation is great. It is your God given right and responsibility to vote. But when you vote, you make sure that values, not economics, shapes your vote.

Thomas Jefferson once said: “The reason that Christianity is the best friend of government is because Christianity is the only religion in the world that deals with the heart.”

To those reading this post; God is always concerned with the heart. And by the way, never forget, that our financial needs are already covered by God. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, that if we “but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (the shirt on your back, the shoes on your feet, the food you eat…) will be given to you as well.”

Parenthetically speaking, I do not need a candidate telling me he or she is going to take care of me…if I really believe what the Bible says. And if I have a choice between what a political candidate promises and what God promises, I’ll always choose God. We can trust God to take care of us…can we not?

Allow me to share a few final comments. When it comes to choosing a candidate, vote biblical principles not political party. You see, our ultimate allegiance should not be to any political party. It should belong to God. Let me ask you, “Do you think God is a Democrat or a Republican?” Is He not bigger than any political party? Do you believe that? If the answer is yes, do not let media commentators or movie producers or Hollywood personalities or friends or family members ultimately influence the way you vote. God and His word should have ultimate sway in that matter. You see, if He is Lord of all, doesn’t that mean God should be Lord when it comes to which button we push in a voting booth?

The problem we all face is trying to find out which candidate God would have us vote for. That’s why every believer ought to research the candidates. Watch the debates. Listen to what they say. Read and look on line for voter guides, which indicate what their past actions were concerning issues that are important to God. See where they stand.

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The very political document that constitutes our nation presupposes that religion would be part of political and public life. You see, a good reason our Pledge of Allegiance contains the phrase “One nation Under God.” There is a good reason that The Declaration of Independence speaks of the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God and the certain unalienable Rights endowed on them by their Creator. And do you know what that reason was? Our forefathers really believed that not only religion and politics were to work hand in hand, but they went so far as to declare that the Christian faith was indispensable in the political realm. Some, like Daniel Webster (known as the defender of the Constitution) believed that a “prerequisite for all judges be Christians of high esteem.”

Read what they wrote and you’ll discover that most of our founding fathers would scoff at the very idea that politics and religion don’t mix? They believed that our nation was established with the help of God. And they expressed their conviction that as believers, they needed to be involved in the working of their nation.

Now, it’s time to ask ourselves, what would Jesus do in an election year? That really is an important question because months from now, the American people will elect its next president. The people of not only North Carolina, but other states as well will elect their representatives for public office. So this is an issue to be confronted soon. What would Jesus do in an election year? First of all, I believe Jesus would vote…and have us vote too.

Does not the Bible say obey the government, for God is the one who put it there? All governments have been placed in power by God. Does not Romans 13:1 indicate that God is the source of political governments? He not only establishes the rulers…but also the way the government rules and operates. That means that the democratic system of government God placed in America. And since our system allots individual citizens to participate in choosing their leaders, Christians not only have a national right to vote…they have a God given responsibility to be involved and vote in the system God ordained.

This day, I ask you, is America struggling with its own moral identity? Yes, we are. I think that is due, in part, because many Christians do not understand that voting is not just a political privilege and right. It is also an expression of our faith…because it is a stewardship issue. Remember the parable of the talents in Matt 25? It is my opinion, too many believers have chosen to bury their talents in the ground and do nothing with it, by not voting.

The philosopher Plato said: “The penalty that good men pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by men worse than themselves.”  We cannot continue to allow false ideologies to fill the vacuum created by our lack of voice and involvement.

The great evangelist of the 19th century, Charles Finney once wrote: The church must take right ground in regard to politics. Politics are a part of a religion in a country as this, and Christians must do their duty to the country as a part of their duty to God...He will bless or curse this nation according to the course Christians take in politics.”

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Romans 13:1 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” You ask, why submit ourselves to governing authorities? Because He put them in place and gave them power. Obeying them is not an option. Obeying them is God's will.

Titus 3:1 “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good.” Don’t let them forget this is what they are supposed to do…doing good is the idea. And not only were authorities to be obeyed, they were to be prayed for. 1 Timothy 2:1  “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people…”

As captivating as the scriptures are, I found something just as fascinating…that the organizers of our nation not only believed that religion had a place in politics…they put it at the very heart of the founding of our nation.  

Take a few moments to read what America’s Founders stated…Patrick Henry said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!” 

to Governing Authorities1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. read more »THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.In his own memoirs, John Jay, America’s first Supreme Court Justice wrote these words: “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”  Does it sound like John Jay believed that politics and religion were not to mix?

During the Presidency of James Madison, the House and Senate passed this resolution requesting that the he recommend a day of national public repentance and prayer, which President Madison passed on July 9, 1812. Here is part of that proclamation:  “Whereas the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution of the two Houses have signified a request, that a day may be recommended, to be observed by the people of the United States, with religious solemnity, as a day of public humiliation and prayer…”

Can you imagine this happening today? Can you imagine a Bipartisan Congress putting aside their political differences and calling on the president to proclaim a national day of repentance and prayer? Sounds like President James Madison and the Congress of his day believed that religion and politics should exist together.  

In the first farewell address of any president, George Washington wrote: “Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness—these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens. …forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle. It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government.” 

Friends, we have been deceived too long that faith and politics should not mix. And we have believed it… And we have heard it long enough that we believed it to be true, even though the Bible and our Founding Fathers said otherwise.  

Look at what President John Adams said: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people...it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. “

Afterthoughts and Hot Coals of Rage

I ask you, the reader, isn’t it about time we campaign for self-defense? Allow me to state it again: Political correctness is an obstacle to reality and a passageway to totalitarianism and it’s also lethal. Case in point is Nice, France.

As I wandered through my social media feeds almost two weeks ago, the horrific, blood-bathed images of 84-plus slaughtered innocents on the streets of Nice, France at the hands of yet another Muslim man named Mohamed made me wonder where are America's leaders. Are they anywhere to be found? This heinous act and others like it jog my memory of a quote by Winston Churchill: “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last.” I also read of a statement by Hillary Clinton: “Let’s be clear: Islam is not our adversary. Muslims are peaceful and tolerant people and have nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism.” At best, is this woman not an appeaser? Apart from Barack Obama, she has proven “chief chum-chucking chump to the crocodiles” of the caliphate. This level of errant self-delusion requires deferment of incredulity stimulated by potent linctus indeed. That linctus or medication is multiculturalism – the global “progressive” left’s pet project, save cultural Marxism, in a disastrously failed globalist public policy.

While Hillary is an appeaser, an apologist for Islam, President Obama, I fear, is something far worse. Anger and contempt swelled within my heart as I viewed the now viral of a child sprawled lifeless on the streets of Nice, covered by a body blanket and flanked by her doll. As I stared at this image, a grim allegory for modern multiculturalism, a hot coal of rage burst within me. I reflected upon how Obama once described the Muslim call to prayer as, “one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.” And I felt disgust for the man. What does the “Muslim call to prayer” assert?  I suggest one go no further than their internet browser to see for themselves what the “Muslim call to prayer” asserts.

Allow me to be blunt, America’s susceptible postwar global order may already seem to those abroad to be swollen carrion ready to be picked apart by opportunistic vultures. Many of these scavengers are of the Islamic faith who have been radicalized. They seek to satisfy their appetites with the blood of infidels. Guess who's on the menu?

 

America's Brewing War on Christianity

In an age when lunacy is the new norm – like when the president says global warming and not radical Islam is our true enemy, and when the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is a career criminal and everyone knows it but embraces her anyway, and when men who think they're women are now enthusiastically recruited into our military – one veiled factor hastens this ever-metastasizing insanity. And, what would that be, one may ask? How about the secular Left’s war on the Christian faith.

That's right, Christianity! You know, the religion of the Apostle Paul, Columbus, the Pilgrims, the American Colonists and Founding Fathers, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the religion of virtually every signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, of the abolitionists and of Martin Luther King Jr., Dwight L. Moody, Billy Graham and of the vast majority of soldiers, sailors, Marines and Airman who have ever fought and bled and died to preserve Americans' freedom. Yeah, that one. 

The reality is that in contemporary America, Christianity is progressively more regarded with absolute contempt by today's elite class, including, nigh on the entirety of academia, the news media, the entertainment/performing arts industry, our government and our courts of law. To these, Christianity – which for centuries served as the ethical or moral, cultural and legit foundation for the most successful nation in history – is a sort of antiquated, unenlightened, superstitious, ill-disposed towards the worldview of science at best. At worst, it is deemed a precariously deceived, prejudiced, vile, radical Islam-like authoritarian sect determined on enforcing an unconstitutional theocracy on America. 

Did I overstate the arguments? I think not. Consider that just a few years ago, overt attacks on the religious freedom of Christians in America – like prohibiting school students from singing "Silent Night" at Christmas or confining a county clerk for reasons of conscience refusing to sign off on a same-sex marriage license – seemed few and far between. However, disconcerting such incidents were sporadic enough that we self-confidently hoped they were aberrations, lamentable unwelcomed overreaches by some over-obsessive activist judge. Regrettably, today that chimera has been shattered by daily incidents of out-and-out persecution of Christians with the full vigor of law, all because they were sincerely living their faith in exactly the same way Washington, Lincoln, the founders, the soldiers, our parents and their direct descendant’s did. 

It's no exaggeration to say that, on close examination, just about every irrational, pertinacious, madcap drift you can identify in today's America – and for that matter, in Europe, currently reeling under the onslaught of a full-blown Islamic invasion – can be traced directly to the abandonment of the Western world's founding faith and moral values in response to the secular left's decades-long war on Christianity. 

So, now that we've acknowledged the problem – the real problem, underlying the vast majority of our other national problems – what can we do about it? We can pray. That’s always a good start. We can biblically scrutinize our perspective presidential candidates and choose to vote for the candidate most closely aligned with our Christian faith. We can share informed views with friends, neighbors and fellow Christians. Why not share this post after digesting its contents? As for me, I assume you know where I stand. What say you?

BLM, A Revolutionary Racist Organization

BLM's long hate campaign finally came to fruition two weeks ago when five police offers were murdered and six others injured in a bloodbath in Dallas. Yesterday, three Law Enforcement Officers were killed in an ambush in Baton Rouge and "Black Lives Matter" probably won't take credit for the murders, but it should. The killers were, in effect, acting as its military wing, fulfilling its rabid demands for vengeance against "killer cops." 

The time has come to call this revolutionary racist organization for what it is. Am I under some misguided perception or is it wrong to think of "Black Lives Matter" as merely a movement? Is it not more akin to a Marxist, anti-American, revolutionary cult whose members aim to unleash a reign of terror on American society? Well, it's now here. The reign of terror has begun. 

It is now up to Congress to acknowledge what this malicious and threatening organization really stands for by officially recognizing "Black Lives Matter" as a domestic terrorist organization. Public officials have accommodated this hate group for too long. Indeed, Barack Obama has not only often praised "Black Lives Matter," but invited its representatives to the White House and more than once echoed, in modulated tones, its violent invective against American law enforcement officials. 

Has not President Obama become the Neville Chamberlain in the race war "Black Lives Matter" is fomenting? We can no longer sit by as irresponsible public officials allow this organization to sink America into ethnic/racial anarchy. You and I must put the pressure on Congress to acknowledge BLM's racist geneses and its insurrectionary dogmata/politics and agenda.

Islam, The Truth of the Matter

Only the most delusional would fail to recognize the truth of the matter. For all intents and purposes,  Islamic terrorism is behind yet another massacre. This time the slaughter took place in Nice, France. Is this more evidence of a peaceful religion? President Obama needs to call this what it is and not what he wishes it would be. Both President Obama and Hillary Clinton have denied the truth about Islam far too long. In its purest form Islam is not a peaceful religion. It is based on a dogma that is part and parcel to its belief system. Although these people sometimes talk of fear of Allah or read the Quran regularly, they do so merely as part of this dogma. Their recitation of the Quran is purely some foreign words they utter in their deception.

Is this commentary critical of Islam, the religion? I believe the Islamic faith and its belief system has warranted worldwide criticism and denunciation for the actions of many of its proponent’s past and present barbaric behavior/conducts. Objects of criticism include the morality of the life of Muhammad, the last law bearing prophet of Islam, both in his public and personal life. Issues relating to the authenticity and morality of the Qur'an, the Islamic holy book. Other criticisms focus on the question of  human rights in modern Islamic nations, and the treatment of women in Islamic law and practice. In wake of the recent multiculturalism trend, Islam's influence on the ability of Muslim immigrants in the West to assimilate has been and should be criticized. Is classical Islamic law not to be disparaged when the penalty for apostasy is death? Death for leaving a religion seems to this writer somewhat cruel and archaic.

Rise of Ethno Nationalism and Militarism

Obama believes that resistance to transformational change in the character and identity of countries of the West, from immigration, can only be the product of unbalanced minds or sick hearts. Obama intends on spending the last months of his presidency battling the nativism and nationalism of Trump and Britain's exit from the EU.

Prognostication: Obama will fail. For rising ethno nationalism and militarization of borders is almost as certain as the sun rising in the east and setting in the west. That is, if the West wishes to remain the West. One has only to research the data found in the United Nation’s "World Population 2015" chart to realize why the West will eventually choose nationalism and militarism over Obama belief in transformational change in the character and identity of countries of the West.

And the United States? America is already evolving into another country. Can Obama and the likes of him believe that the right-wing parties proliferating across Europe, which see their nations imperiled by a rising tide of Muslim immigrants and refugees, will pack it in and support the EU's march to a transnational super state that controls immigration and borders? I think not. So goes Europe, so goes America. What has been tabled for discussion this year, in Europe and America, is the future of the West as an identifiable civilization to be cherished and defended by the peoples whose ancestors created it.

And Obama's reverence for Islam notwithstanding, the West remains the greatest civilization of them all. Belatedly, Western Man appears to have decided to “defend the shire, pull up the drawbridge, and man the parapets on the castle walls.”

Geniuses and Idiots

“If plastic water bottles are okay, but plastic bags are banned, — you might live in a nation (state) that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.” Now I ask you, do we not live in such a dumb country?

“If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for entering and remaining in the country illegally — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you have to get your parents' permission to go on a field trip or to take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you MUST show your identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor, or check out a library book and rent a video, but not to vote for who runs the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If the government wants to prevent stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds, but gives twenty F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If, in the nation's largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not one 24-ounce soda, because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If an 80-year-old woman who is confined to a wheelchair or a three-year-old girl can be strip-searched by the TSA at the airport, but a woman in a burka or a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If a seven-year-old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher is "cute" but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government regulation and intrusion while not working is rewarded with Food Stamps, WIC checks, Medicaid benefits, subsidized housing, and free cell phones — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you pay your mortgage faithfully, denying yourself the newest big-screen TV, while your neighbor buys iPhones, time shares, a wall-sized do-it-all plasma screen TV and new cars, and the government forgives his debt when he defaults on his mortgage — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If being stripped of your Constitutional right to defend yourself makes you more "safe" according to the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.”

4th Of July and America's Exceptional Nature

July Fourth is traditionally a day to celebrate not only America's founding but also the exceptional nature of our great country. Coming this year in the middle of one of the nastiest presidential campaigns in recent memory, it would certainly be refreshing to hear from candidates on American exceptionalism, but somehow I doubt that Hillary Clinton or her minions are up to the task. This being the case, they should take a lesson from, Abraham Lincoln, who, even before he became president, understood that we are a nation of people unlike all others before us. Lincoln returned to what he saw as America's founding.

In Lincoln's opinion, what made Americans was that they could find these words written in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal." Americans read that, "and then they feel that moral sentiment taught in that day evidences their relation to (the Founding Fathers), that it is the father of all moral principle in them and that they have a right to claim it as though they were blood of the blood and flesh of the flesh of the men who wrote that declaration, and so they are."

Unfortunately, we are in danger of losing that principled definition of what it means to be American. The left encourages immigrants to hold on to their past, not adopting a new American identity but retaining their native language and allegiances. The right frets that today's immigrants cannot or will not become Americans as previous waves did. Neither is right.

A much smaller portion of America's population now than in Lincoln's day can claim to be descended from that first group of Americans who broke with England. Nor do most immigrants come from Europe now. But all of us, no matter where our ancestors came from or how recently they came, are still bound by the principles of our founding. It is adherence to that American creed that we should celebrate this July Fourth -- and we should insist that those who want to lead us pledge allegiance to it.

 

Lost Greatness, Today's Leadership and Tragedy

I am one who has long contended that we must see Islamic terror for what it is, and treat all those who participate in, albeit it as our foes. But this is not because we fear them, even in our midst. The right response to archenemies mercilessly bent on evil is not to fear them, but courageously to confront and defeat them – preferably where they live and conspire their havoc, but here at home, too, if need be, with all the confidence the American military have ever demonstrated against the armies of past totalitarian regimes, and every other merciless adversarial enemy.

We should not fight terrorists by suspending the Second Amendment. Instead we should understand, respect and implement its stated purpose, while by all means sustaining the good character required to do so. Instead, the elitist parties presently in control of our politics foment our fears and systematically degrade our character. They then take fear and the lack of character as excuses for curtailing, discarding or suppressing our God-endowed unalienable rights. This is the agenda of tyranny, true to no principle but that of despotism.

Dominated by themes that evoke the nation’s fears and play on nostalgia for lost “greatness,” this election cycle has an air of a Shakespearian tragedy about it. The presentation of tragedy is always punctuated with death, and what may prove to be the tragedy of the American people is no exception. It began with the smoldering Twin Towers in New York City, claiming the lives of thousands as they collapsed. It now includes the deaths in attacks at Fort Hood, Boston, San Bernardino and Orlando. But the most ominous shadow of death is the one that extends across the future of the Republic itself, its Constitution and the premises of God-endowed right, including liberty, on which it stands.

Recently, as I was thinking about the aforementioned themes of this election cycle, FDR’s famous assertion about fear came to my mind, from the opening of his First Inaugural Address. Reading it again, I was struck by its juxtaposition of fear and greatness. But unlike the small-minded, ambition-obsessed politicians of our day, FDR did not play on our nation’s fears, or exploit nostalgia about its supposedly lost greatness. He challenged our fear, and spoke to the greatness ever present within us. Roosevelt’s thinking was not unlike that of Washington and Lincoln who preceded him, and as Reagan would thereafter, appealing to the things we love, not to our fear of our enemies. In facing the challenges of war and peace, they knew that, to be true to itself, our nation must always act with the same heart by remembering the ties that compel us to act for our loved ones, for our nation, and for the God whose rule of right is what makes just people free. no matter how the world derides.

This appeal was based on the fact that, for all their faults, many of the people Americans chose in the past to represent them in government shared their commitment to preserve the republican form of government, which relies on the decent character of the people. In light of this reminder of American statesmanship at its best, consider the corrupt political appeals of our times. In response to such assaults as the Orlando massacre, Obama, Hillary Clinton and their ilk urge us to be overcome by fear. They focus on guns as a totem of the forbidden fruit we must surrender to avoid destruction. Because guns may be used for evil, we must act as if we have suddenly become no good – a people so helpless against our own unruly passions that the very presence of things that require character and responsibility will destroy us.