Our Next President Won’t Change a Thing
They are all spouting off, liberals and conservatives alike. They want to bring change to our country. They may be well-intentioned, but they are delusional. The idea of change from the top down is questionable at best. At worst, historically, it has strayed into utopian ideas that ended up being destructive. Remember socialism, communism and the Nazi’s?
I don’t believe it for a moment when the candidates wax rhetorical about their ability to change anything. They will end up being victims of a self-perpetuating bureaucracy like all the rest. They have to operate within a system that largely stifles any large-scale change.
Change can happen, and it can happen in massive, compelling ways, through us. Do you want change? Do you want to stop relying on a government that propagates the idea that it can be the catalyst to human progress and betterment of society? Here’s where the change begins, and I believe it can send shockwaves through our society and the world:
- Marry your sweetheart and love him/her undyingly.
- Make a family and raise good kids. It’s fun and it’ll have a profound impact on future generations.
- Find faith in God, and act upon His amazing grace.
- Work your job with integrity and tenacity, regardless of how menial it is.
- Provide for your family with whatever it takes.
- Find your passion, and pursue it.
- Take risks with your creativity for the betterment of others.
- Save your money and risk it on building better things or helping the less fortunate.
- Serve everyone you can, even if they are completely different from you.
- Protect your income and livelihood as much as morally and legally possible from burdensome and wasteful government taxation.
- Live simply, with gusto.
- Firm up your convictions and stand up for them at all costs.
- Do not turn a blind eye to injustice. Stand up for the weak and abused, even if it’s at your peril.
- Give freely of your time and money.
- Follow Jesus.
- Stop consuming, and start building and preserving a legacy.
- Stop relying on your government for anything. If anything good comes from it, in spite of itself, it’s icing on the cake.
- If you’re a man, give the women you know the highest appropriate honor.
- If you’re a woman, give the men you know the highest appropriate encouragement.
- Raise good kids.
- Invest in the lives of others.
OK, I know the list is long, but we can likely accomplish each of these at least once in our lifetimes. Change starts with you and me, not the president or the government. Anyone who tells you otherwise is flat wrong.
John Swenson