Promising Heaven and Delivering Hell

Promising A but delivering X.

Have you ever wondered why so many Americans joke about Politicians being nothing more than lying charlatans? What is a charlatan? Well, they were deceptive salesman who promised that their products, commonly medicines, would cure ailments or do something good for the body. You guessed it, they usually were lying. Not just usually, charlatans always lied. When you think of politics, think that politicians need to sell themselves to get elected and will promise many things. They will promise the voters that their ideas and policies will cure all the aliments of society. As Thomas Sowell so wittily put it in his article "Random Thoughts: On the passing scene", "How long do politicians have to keep on promising heaven and delivering hell before people catch on, and stop getting swept away by rhetoric?"

Well, I'll be plain with you. It's because they tend to lie. In fact, PolitiFact lists all the "promises broken" by Obama; which being interpreted from nice words, means lies. It's not one page, just keep clicking on each "next page" to see all 4 pages of lies...oops, I mean..."promises broken."

How about the two Bushes. Daddy Bush Sr. once said during the election of 1988, "Read my lips, NO NEW TAXES!" Well, he raised taxes. How about his son, Dubya Bush. He alarmingly said back during the 2000 election, "I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say, 'This is the way it's got to be.'" He went on to use Somalia as an example that turned into "Nation building." Ya I know, he actually spoke out against military intervention in other countries and nation building. The same guy who bombed Iraq and sent in troops back in 2003. Furthermore, the nation building has been going on since then. The nation building is occurring in Afghanistan. 

Former President Lyndon Johnson ran an ad invoking that if you voted for Barry Goldwater then little girls picking daises would get nuked. What is more, if you voted for Goldwater then America would be drawn into a war that would endanger American lives. However, history proved that Johnson was lying because he lead America into the devastating Vietnam War. 

There are so many examples of politicians in history promising things like not going to war, not raising taxes, not-this-or-that, but delivering the opposite and at times more harmful alternatives. Approval percentage for Congress is at 13%. Maybe that's because when they promise and then act more harm is done. Thomas Sowell elaborates in his article:

Have you noticed that what modest economic improvements we have seen occurred during the much-lamented "gridlock" in Washington? Nor is this unusual. If you check back through history, doing nothing has a far better track record than that of politicians intervening in the economy.

Yes, I love that idea, Mr. Sowell. Doing nothing is what should be done. Because either they lie and never do it or when they "accomplish" their policies the harm is too great. Entitlements and Welfare are perfect examples of doing more harm. You see the title of this article? It is promising heaven and delivering hell. Lies of politicians are not just harmful. What is even more harmful, is their policies that have hurt this economy, further impoverished the poor, reduced liberty; and have brought into question now more than ever with the Tea Parties and the Occupy movements, "What has the Government created?"

Thomas Sowell rightfully philosophizes, "People who believe in evolution in biology often believe in creationism in government. In other words, they believe that the universe and all the creatures in it could have evolved spontaneously, but that the economy is too complicated to operate without being directed by politicians." He continues, "With all the talk about people paying their "fair share" of income taxes, why do nearly half the people in this country pay no income taxes at all? Is that their "fair share"? Or is creating more recipients of government handouts, at no cost to themselves, simply a strategy to gain more votes?" They promise to "spread the wealth" to create more "freedom." However, Sowell explains the following:

When politicians say, "spread the wealth," translate that as "concentrate the power," because that is the only way they can spread the wealth. And once they get the power concentrated, they can do anything else they want to, as people have discovered -- often to their horror -- in countries around the world.

 " They create more dependents, they create more concentration of power to the government which further restricts liberty, they create more debt, they create more inflation, and they create more problems rather than solutions.    Not only do we keep getting hell when heaven was promised because of fallacious ideas of government, but also the "Appearances, rhetoric and emotions are what get them elected." Sowell then reminds us that "Reality is what the voters and taxpayers are left to deal with, as a result of electing them." 

The "Reality is what the voters and taxpayers are left to deal with, as a result of electing them" is the sad truth of it all. If politics keep producing failed policies and harm, then what does it "reward?" Sowell teaches us the following:

In politics, few talents are as richly rewarded as the ability to convince parasites that they are victims. Welfare states on both sides of the Atlantic have discovered that largesse to losers does not reduce their hostility to society, but only increases it. Far from producing gratitude, generosity is seen as an admission of guilt, and the reparations as inadequate compensations for injustices -- leading to worsening behavior by the recipients.

 This man that writes these words was at the forefront of when Welfare and the anti-Liberty "Entitlement Society" was at the beginning and being debated about. It is the supreme example of harm done by good intentions, promises, and lies. Watch this four minute video of clip of Thomas Sowell debating on the destructive affects of the program and also the fallacies of these promises based on false rationale.

You may be thinking, "Well, there is no difference between the Parties and each politician will do more harm than good, so why even vote or do anything?" I would counter with the mere fact that we must stand up and fight for Liberty, limited government, fiscal responsibility, and a more reasonable foreign policy. One way to fight is to vote. Furthermore, write, speak, debate, and continue to read to educate yourself to fight the good fight. We can change things. We are the government, well, we are supposed to be. Let's start showing that we are. I encourage you to read Sowell's articles, check out his videos on Youtube, and check out his website and affiliated websites.

I wonder what Lucifer promised the other angels to support him to challenge the omniscient, omnipotent incumbent, God. Well, whatever he promised, he most certainly delivered hell, literally. We may never get "heaven" on earth but we sure as hell can resist "hell," no pun intended...well, it was intended. 

The Apology Heard Round the World

Remember when your mother taught you to apologize? Maybe you pulled your sister's hair or pushed your brother for a cookie. Maybe you called your sister fat or your brother retarded.

Whether physical or verbal, we tend to harm others through our lives. Sometimes inadvertently, we can say something with no malicious intention that harms someone. We also can be responsible for other people's actions who are under our authority that can harm others.

Apologies are needed and are a moral by-product of Judeo-Christian teachings. The book of Matthew tells us to "reconcile with your brother" and the book of James tells us to "confess sins to one another."

We are a country founded upon the precepts of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Furthermore, we have made great strides in our young history to make amends for wrongdoing. We have apologized in the past and gave gifts as Matthew 5:24 tells us to do.



Recent violence in Afghanistan because of the burning of some Qurans by US troops has been a point of controversy. Oh, it's not the burning of the religious books. Hell, it's not even the despicable acts of the Afghans themselves, more specifically the soldiers that the Americans have trained, who are shooting our soldiers in the back of the head.

It's the apology heard round the world uttered by the feckless lips of our president that is the true controversy. Even now, there are reports that our military actually had pragmatic reasons to destroy those Qurans. The Qurans may have already been desecrated at the hands of their owners, the Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners. There are reports that the Qurans were used to pass messages.

Even if the report about the messages are false, there is the possibility that it was inadvertent.

Inadvertent or purposeful destruction of the Islamic holy book is not the "great sin" that we need to be apologizing for. Mr. President, you need to be demanding an apology from Karzai and his people for the killing of US soldiers. Mr. President, the world may have heard your apology but the world also heard a concession to the egregious and ungrateful acts of bloody, barbarous violence by the Afghan people.

Afghan soldiers that our military have trained have been killing our troops before the book burning. The people have rioted and committed violence.

Let me remind you the reader, you the American, you the foreigner, whoever you are. Whether you support our presence in Afghanistan (I do not), our military have sacrificed greatly and spilled blood for these Afghans. What is more, we have spent over a half a trillion dollars in helping these people and protecting them.

Muslim clerics call for punishment and even death to American military. The same people we died for and are hemorrhaging money for are violently rioting, burning American flags, and pictures of Obama. More devastating, they have killed the soldiers who are there to help and protect them. They have said they would not accept an apology and demand punishment.

They don't want an apology and they don't deserve an apology. Do these same Muslims apologize for Christian churches and other objects of the Christian faith being destroyed? Do they apologize for the murders of countless Christians throughout the Muslim world?

Let's be more specific. Does Karzai apologize for the killing of Americans by his own soldiers?

Where was Obama's apology when the government under his administration gave guns to the Mexican drug cartels that have killed border agent Brian Terry? An apology that is rightfully owed needs to be given.

I am so furious over this whole Afghanistan quagmire. It needs to end. We need to pull out. We can't "democratize" them. We can't police and nation build. It has become a failure. The people don't want us there and are willing to kill our troops. They so easily commit violence and murder over a few Qurans being either inadvertently burnt or burnt to keep secret messages from reaching the enemy.

It is apparent that our President is weak but this shows him to be cowardly. Furthermore, it shows he favors one religion over all others. He can't even issue a stern condemnation and earnest plea to the Iranians to release the Christian pastor. He refuses to respect the Catholic faith with contraceptives. Only the Muslim faith gets a pass. Obama wouldn't say it was a Muslim extremist who shot those people at Fort Hood back in 2009.

The violence against our troops accompanied with that Muslim faith gets a pass by capitulation and cowardice voiced with an apology from our supposed leader.

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Please read the below article that I found informing and which inspired me to write on the same issue.
Despicable actions in Iran and Afghanistan: A double feature