All posts by Dr. Charlie Self

Common Sense 2008

June 16th, 2008 |

“These are the times that try men’s souls…” Thomas Paine penned these words in his famous tract. Common Sense. This broadside was published in the bitter winter of 1776 as the American Revolution appeared to be over before it had really begun. Victories in battle were not forthcoming, and volunteer solders were nearing the end of their enlistments. 

Paine’s stirring words to the general populace and to the fighting units rallied enough folks to keep the Revolution alive and the cause of liberty moving forward. Paine excoriated the “sunshine soldier” and the civilians whose patriotism adjusted itself to the tides of battle. He called for commitment. He called for courage. He called Americans to realize the epoch-making moment they were creating. 
I do not have the eloquence of Thomas Paine, but I am just as passionate about the historical crossroads faced by our society. If the (apparently) moral majority of California do not rise up in November and pass the Marriage Amendment, we may find ourselves ruled by a small cabal of people who despise the values we stand for and who ultimately want to destroy the liberties our Founders and forefathers labored to endow to us. 
The Marriage Amendment is not about intolerance toward gays and lesbians – it is about defining the most important unit of social cohesion known to humankind. 
The Marriage Amendment is not about creating a theocracy – it is about democracy rooted in a virtuous citizenry committed to family.
The Marriage Amendment is not about Civil Rights – you can not give rights to a chosen lifestyle.
The Marriage Amendment IS about recovering personal responsibility – a commitment sorely lacking for past five decades.
The Marriage Amendment IS about our future. For the past 40 years we have been told that we must limit family size and that the world will not hold up under the strain of overpopulation. Our materialism, narcissism and misplaced idealism are bequeathing a tragic destiny – we are not replacing ourselves! As economic conditions have improved, populations stabilize. This is good. There are, however,  unforeseen consequences to the erosion of traditional values and the increases in abortion rates. Our current Boomer generation has not produced enough offspring to support them in their old age.
The Marriage Amendment is not a single-issue statement, but a doorway for us to reconsider what values will build our future. With much of the world in need of basic necessities, why are we consumed with consuming, with shopping as a recreational sport? We give our children iPods, but they do not know our Constitution. We drive $40K cars, but will not help our school teachers with supplies. We expect the government to bail out our poor financial decisions, but we are not giving our children a good breakfast so they go to class ready to learn.
It is time for some 2008 Common Sense.
Less self-regulation means more government regulation.
We may defend the concept of marriage, but if lust and pride divide husbands and wives, our efforts are only symbolic and self-defeating.
Conservatives are compassionate and generous with their own money, while liberal policies seek governmental redistribution. Why not transcend this difference with personal sacrifice and sound fiscal policy? 
We can not have all the “guns and butter” we want. Fighting terrorism requires lean, mobile forces ready to strike. We will not, however, win the hearts of non-Western nations if we are perceived as a colonizing force. This “off-book” war is a trillion-dollar bill for future generations. The answer is NOT “cut and run” but careful strategic steps to prepare us for the long-term.
Common sense. We can drill for oil selectively AND explore alternatives, with generous tax incentives. We can build a new nuclear plant while hastening the day when no uranium will be needed. We can balance a budget with caps on spending and eliminating waste – if we have the courage.
Common sense. We can defend traditional marriage without oppressing adults who choose different arrangements.
We can support Israel while searching for real leaders who want peace. As soon as a radical leader (like Sadat in 1978) will acknowledge Israel’s right to exist in peace, there will be hope.
We will not always be popular with the global elitists who want to put America in her place and force us to submit to “world opinion” (actually the opinion of a few arrogant, wealthy folks who think they know better than the rest of us). 
We can seal our borders and construct “Ellis Island”-style Welcome Centers in California, Arizona and Texas to welcome LEGAL immigrants.
We can improve our local public schools by holding BOTH parents and school administrators responsible for student improvement.
We can reduce teen drug use, pregnancy and other social challenges for young people by introducing a simple notion back into the public square: a moral conscience. We are so afraid of any shame we have forgotten that some sense of responsibility is a moral necessity. When an unmarried teen is pregnant, she and her companion must be called to account – AND helped with compassion and financial support. Young men in particular must be held accountable for their actions.
Common sense. Will we find it is time?
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Political Morality

May 26th, 2008 |

The recent California Supreme Court Decision to support gay marriage is an arrogant exercise in expedience that threatens the foundations of civilized society.

I do not need to resort to histrionics or homophobia – here are the clear issues.
One: No civilization or culture in the history of humankind has ever given equal status to homosexual unions.
Two: there is no incontrovertible proof of a genetic disposition to homosexuality.
Three: Civil Rights are a subset of natural rights – protecting the freedom of people who have no choice about their gender or race.
Four: The radical activists have a visceral hatred for what they see as “heterosexist oppression” and their strategy is to destroy the traditional family and substitute it with government control.
Five: If you are a traditional family man or woman and later “come out” as gay or lesbian, the world celebrates your “discovery.” But woe to the gay man or lesbian woman who wants to change – any therapist encouraging such change is subject to professional sanction!
Six: Gay/Lesbian radicals must actively recruit through schools and the media in order to swell their ranks of adherents. They often talk of the fluidity of gender and contrast the “gender assigned at birth” with the chosen lifestyle of later years. Granting Civil Rights to current chosen behavior flies in the face of the universal principles that secure real liberty!
Seven: We are creating generations of confused, narcissistic, and self-destructive people. It is one thing not to prosecute private adult behavior – it is quite another to promote identities and lifestyles that ultimately destroy our future.
Eight: We must decide what actions we are going to permit, prohibit and promote as a nation. Where do we draw the line? How young is too young for “marriage”? How many partners? The California “Supremes” have undermined the unique place of heterosexual monogamy – we now have no standard except the one we “feel” at the moment!
The current (justifiable) outrage at the polygamous cult in Texas reveals a core morality we share: 1) it is wrong to have more than one marriage partner; 2) It is wrong for adults to have sexual relations with minors; and 3) not any family setup is acceptable.
It is morally inconsistent to promote gay/lesbian unions as equal to traditional ones while condemning another group’s moral universe!
Here is Insight Nine: The deeper subversion behind the Supremes’ decision is the destruction of any religious foundations to morality and another blow to the Judeo-Christian consensus that is the bedrock of law for 400+ years in the West. 
If the Texas group has been a gay-lesbian-transgender new age/pagan/secular commune in the California mountains, outrage would last a day and be forgotten. Eventually the leaders would be the subject of term papers in “gay studies” courses at prestigious universities!
The Texas cult must be shut down and the children given all the help we can muster. The leaders should be prosecuted for statutory rape. 
Throughout history, consenting adults have privately chosen to depart from social norms. When the exceptions become the rules, the collapse of civilization is inevitable.
Please note that I have not quoted religious documents or party platforms. There is no need – thoughtful people will see through the agendas and vote to amend the California Constitution in November. 
Get involved in making sure that the California Constitution recognizes the inherent value of rightly-defined marriage – a monogamous, lifetime union between one man and one woman.
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Observations of the Obvious

April 6th, 2008 |

Are we in a recession or an adjustment?

Should we bail out folks with sub-prime mortgages or just Wall Street barons?

Israel has received over 500 missiles from territory she relinquished for peace – how many more concessions will it take?

China is buying billions of our Treasury Notes -is that good or bad?

Forty years ago the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was shot in Memphis – who can claim his legacy? (Hint: none of the current candidates for public attention.)

We elected “The Terminator” to get rid of debt – why do we have more today?

1975: Global cooling and a new Ice Age; 2005: Global Warming and  looming disaster – maybe.

There is a dirty little secret abut Western Europe and her environmental demands on the USA: Europeans already have – and keep on building – nuclear power plants!

OK – there are lots of problems and much controversy on how to interpret and solve them. What is the big deal? Why devote blog space to the obvious?

Here is why: In my more than four decades of observing and reflecting on our human condition, I have never seen such blatant refusals to deal with reality and apply commonsense to our issues. Consider the obvious with me:

Economic progress comes from courage, not contraction, from faith, not fear. Look for creative and innovative people and companies and you will see the future.

I am old enough to remember a balanced budget and a total national debt at less than a trillion dollars. (It is now $9,000,000,000 and counting). Here is a thought – why not spend less than we take in? The dollar will go up, gasoline prices will go down and resources will be generated through expansion instead of printing more money.

Demand that Arab leaders accept Israel as a sovereign state with full recognition – or there will be no peace.

Martin Luther King appealed to real faith and universal principles, not Afrocentric hatred.

Let’s take care of God’s world – regardless of popular speculations.

Let’s also avoid UN control of anything. At best it is a forum for compassion and negotiation – anything more inhibits real freedom and progress.

Above all, we must not expect Washington to solve every problem!

Earlier I spoke of self-deception. We need to get up from the couch, put down the remotes, the computer mouse, the games cubes, the iPods, the cell phones – and talk to each other, care for each other and stop pretending that “someone else” has to take care of things.

Politicians serve at OUR behest – we can demand change. Incumbents count on our dependence, fear, guilt and ignorance. If we take care of each other, have faith in God and the possibilities ahead, care for the poor and rigorously demand an accounting of OUR money “they” spend – the way forward is much brighter.

The choice is ours – dependency and ultimate subservience to a state and world government interested in control or a country and world enjoying the fruits of freedom.

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Green Cool-Aid

February 24th, 2008 |

Soft-drink companies spend millions in R&D and market research to find the perfect color, taste and image for their beverages. When I was a child, you could choose Coke or Pepsi and maybe “Tab” diet soda if you wanted cola. There was “Tang” (the astronauts drink it!) for the orange-color set and, for every class party and scouting troop, the ubiquitous “Kool-Aid.” (OK, remember “Fizzie” tablets?). 

Today, we are overwhelmed with choices in every drink category. Even Coke has multiple formulas for every palate and nutritional fad.
In 1979, however, a tragic identification with propaganda and a soft-drink entered our vocabulary. The horrific mass suicide of the Jonestown followers of Jim Jones involved drinking poisoned Kool-Aid. Every since that moment, pundits have used the soft-drink as a euphemism for blind followers swayed by empty promises and deceived by a dynamic leader. “Drinking the kool-aid” has become a metaphor for blindly following the manipulations of of deceitful leaders.
We are watching a large part of the American electorate drink political poison as Senator Obama wows the crowds on the campaign trail. While Obama has recently distanced himself from some of the unsavory comments of his friends and mentors (former Weathermen Underground terrorists and Afrocentric racist religious leaders), he remains the darling of the Left and the hope of America’s enemies abroad.
Let’s assume that Obama is sincere in his profession of Christianity, his denunciation of Rev. Wright’s anti-patriotic and racist rhetoric and that his patriotism that is so deep he does not need to wear a flag on his lapel. Let’s also assume that his wife’s incendiary comments about America were overly-enthusiastic campaigning. The “green kool-aid” is still being dispensed. Consider the following facts about Obama:
Fact: He has never been poor and has lived a life of relative privilege. Any racism has been minimal and his rise to prominence rivals any white candidate. Yes, he experienced a broken home – just like nearly half of American children. 
Fact: he has almost no real world experience in business or even in law. “Community Activism” is hardly reality when it comes to understanding the needs of most Americans.
Fact: He cannot bring himself to give unequivocal support for Israel or place an necessary preconditions on negotiations with nations and organizations dedicated to the destruction of Israel, and, in the long run, the USA as well.
Fact: He knows nothing about economics, limited government or the real dynamics of delivering goods and services. 
Fact: He is no better or worse that other politicians who have unsavory friends and supporters. What makes Obama distinct is his refusal to engage in any real discussion of his associations or issues that he cannot control.
Fact: Obama has no immigration or NAFTA policies. He is proclaiming the current situation broken while winking at leaders on our northern and southern borders.
Fact: Obama is a brilliant orator in the tradition of JFK and RFK. Contrary to recent comments by Geraldine Ferraro, I think Obama would be successful regardless of his color – the populace is eager for something fresh.
If Obama actually believes all of his rhetoric, he is naively being manipulated by a variety of global forces: EU leaders, global capitalists, leftists who want to see the America humbled and even dismembered and Arabs who believe he is still secretly a Muslim. Obama’s comments one year ago that his middle name helps him understand Muslims cannot be squared with the current campaign kool-aid that any mention of Hussein is inflammatory. 
Senator, change your name and change your tune and we might believe you.
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