Antiestablishmentarian - One who adheres to the doctrine of opposition the the social and political establishment.  


"I don't feel like going into it, but at least I've never tried, consciously or otherwise, to turn Jesus into St. Francis of Assisi to make him more 'lovable' -- which is exactly what ninety-eight percent of the Christian world has always insisted on doing."  
Zooey Glass, Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger


I doubt I'll ever truly be comfortable in the city.  Too much of society is screwed up and corrupt to a point of being intolerable to me.  Any organization of people is only certain to retain its integrity as long as it stays small enough to be able to distinguish between the true opinions of people and their actions; it must be open and accepting to all skeptics, but not to the cynics; and the ideology of the group must be the same, for the group cannot otherwise strive to the same goal.  It must also balance this with the tensions of the upcoming generations, because all those who truly adhere to any idea must be willing to pass it on and believe it as truth, first and foremost to their children, secondly among those skeptics who would share a like mind, and thirdly to those who would still need to be convinced of the necessity - for indeed it must be necessary - of the work of said group.  


The necessary evils of society and its workings, continuing to the "higher evolution" of itself, will therefore only continue to destroy personal liberties in their pursuit to conform all to the will of the majority.  We as Christians and as Americans cannot simply sit back and unquestionably share the heteronomous moral agent which allows our leaders to further the path of the country in the same direction that led numerous other countries to their downfall.  

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government.  It can only exist until the voters discover they can vote themselves largess from the public treasury.

"From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising them the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship.

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years.  These nations have progressed through this sequence:

"From bondage to spiritual faith;
 from spiritual faith to great courage;
 from courage to liberty;
 from liberty to abundance;
 from abundance to selfishness;
 from selfishness to apathy;
 from apathy to dependence;
 from dependency back again into bondage."

Dr. Alexander Tyler

As stated above, once the people in any democracy realize that they can vote in a way that will get them more money, possessions, or anything else, the majority will.  This is Selfishness to Apathy to Dependence.  America is now in the state of Apathy, and after dependence comes bondage.  This may take years, but those years will see the decline of a Democracy into Socialism and then Communism, the eventual replacement for any socialistic government.

While I am completely of the attitude that would have Communism in an ideal world, we do not live in an ideal world.  To say that guns kill people is exactly the same attitude that would say that pens misspell words.  The same is true with government.  People kill people (Incidentally, people also misspell words).  People make the decisions in the government which affect all people in the country.  If we elect corrupt officials, then we will reap the rewards of the corruption we create.

On "The will of the People" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMvDhVfhga8&feature=related

To conclude, I would say that we cannot be apathetic; change is inevitable, but only we can choose what that change means - to us and to our country.  While we still have strength - a say in the way things are run - we must stand up for the issues of prevalence, and yes, even those which seem unimportant.  If we do not act now, we will not be able to act.

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.  Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.  Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.  For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.  But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.  For each will have to bear his own load."  Galatians 6:1-5

There's something about a sunset. I was driving home last night and I got to see the most beautiful sunset. The clouds spread out like a blanket over the sky. There was shadow over the earth, but suddenly, the sun peeked out from behind the clouds, shedding light on the underside of the clouds, at first shining through the clouds, the rays shining through the darkness. Then the sun itself fell through the barrier of the clouds, lightening up both the earth and the clouds above it in a wonderful light. I took a picture of it; this is not it.

Before returning home, I stopped at the grocery store, where I had to pick up milk for the next morning. As I was leaving, I saw a Starburst on the ground, still in its wrapper, crushed into the cement sidewalk. Both of these images I will remember for quite a while. I will also remember what they both meant to me: The sunset was one of the moments when I knew that God was there; “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26. There is something about nature that does and will always point to a creator; and the world, as we know, is always looking for happiness that can only come from the Lord. The Starburst I will remember as symbolic of that emptiness of humankind, and Americans in particular, that cannot be fulfilled by the earthly things; we will always be searching for happiness in any form, whether it be money, power, or earthly possessions. Until we can realize that it is not in the world that we find our true happiness, it will continue to allude us; we will be allowed to find our temporary happiness in those things in which we delight instead of in the love of the Lord.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”  Psalm 19:14

“O God, restore us And cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.”  Psalm 80.3

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