I recently saw a bumper sticker that said something like  “If you are not mad as “heck”…..it’s because you are not paying attention.”

In my past posts,  I’ve acknowledged and declared my very average American status.  I’m a regular homeschool mom with some college education, but not quite enough to have been  indoctrinated.  I was still in college when my husband and I married,  and I joke now that my dear husband would de-program me after school.  Fortunately, one of the perks of homeschooling is that you will most likely get a second chance at an education.  When a family adopts a “learning lifestyle” , the whole family continues to grow and learn so much more than the public schools or colleges ever provided.

My dear mom only had a 7th grade education and my Dad was blessed to be able to take chemistry classes at MIT for a while.   Of the two, I would say my Mom had the wisdom….my Dad had the smarts,  and they both had a good dose of old fashioned common sense ; with a healthy measure of morality and devotion to the “golden rule.”   I know I did not inherit my Daddy’s smarts,  but I think each passed down   good ol’ common sense to all of us children.  If they were alive today,  I think they would be  in agreement with the bumper sticker slogan as well…and they would be mad as “heck.”  My mom would be praying and my Dad would be yelling at the television or shaking his head in disgust;  both admitting that nothing makes sense these days.

Our homeschool journey has allowed our family to discover and enjoy American History like we never have before.  Although we acknowledge that our founding fathers were regular imperfect sinners like the rest of us, we have learned that they valued freedom so much that they put their own lives and the lives of their families in jeopardy in order to secure liberties for us all. We are indebted to them, and must not take lightly the loss of our freedoms and our ability to self rule today. Can’t you tell that something is wrong in our America right now? Can you tell that our republic is changing in a profound way and at a very disturbing rate?

It’s very peculiar but in some ways we are actually more free today. We have less restrictions on our moral conduct, manners and etiquette. We can divorce more easily, commit adultery, and abort our babies even when they are fully developed little persons. Women are free to leave their homes and compete in the workplace; they can pastor churches and participate in activities that were once dominated by males. Women are free to act like men and men can be be very in touch with their feminine side. We can burn our flag, criticize America, belittle Christians, and discount the role of stay at home moms.  Sadly, we can even call folks “racists” just because we disagree with their ideas. Conservatives, fundamentalists and Sarah Palin types are all fair game these days. Soon, in my state we will be able to smoke marijuana legally.  So, I guess we are more free in some ways.

The thing is,  I don’t believe the average American family wants to do many of these things.  We want to be free to teach our children without government interference, and practice our religion anywhere we go.  We want to be able to live our lives peacefully and plant our gardens and be safe in our neighborhoods.  We want to be able to protect our families and be good citizens of principle  who vote according to our conscience.  We want to be able to give charitably out of the goodness of our own hearts,  not because the government tells us to or taxes us so much that we have little left to give.  We don’t want hand-outs, entitlements or more government programs. We want less governmental interference in our lives because we know that a smaller government is a better one.  We are basically a generous hard working lot, and we want to pay our fair share and are not opposed to paying our taxes and giving “Ceasar” what belongs to him. The Tea Party folks are not opposed to paying taxes within reason, but are against the waste and overspending in government.  We want to live lives of integrity and be good stewards of all we have been blessed with and we will  hold our government to the same standards of good stewardship and integrity.

Unfortunately,  I’m afraid our government has no clue who we are……oh that’s right they think we are Homer Simpsons and we need to be given fewer choices because we will not make the right ones. They believe that they know what is best for us and plan on taking our money, our food, our light-bulbs, our appliances, our cars, our air conditioners and even our water from us and control our use of these items and resources.

In the event that you have not been watching the news or checking out the internet,  I thought you might be interested in some of the freedom stealing that’s been taking place in our America. Perhaps you are keeping a list, at least in your head,  and are realizing what you cannot do that you could do in the past.  If you take the time to pay attention,  you will realize what is happening and you too can join the mad as “heck” bumper sticker club.  Perhaps if we talk about it more around our kitchen tables and our neighborhood fences,  folks will wake up, lose the apathy,  and be a part of the change to restore our America.

May the Lord have mercy upon us and forgive our sins…may our leaders fail in their attempts to change our country from the land of the free to the Land of the enslaved. The following are an example of some of the state and federal regulations that have recently been placed upon the American people.

• A Georgia resident has been an organic farmer for years, but now faces $5000 dollars in fines for growing too many vegetables on his land.
  
• Many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.
• In Boston, Mass., they are contemplating a ban on “sugary” beverages from the vending machines of all city municipal buildings in an attempt to whittle down public employees’ waistlines.
  
• San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom used his executive order power to ban sodas and other sugary beverages from public building vending machines, replacing them with diet drinks and soy milk products. (guess they don’t know that soy increases estrogen levels)
  
• In a separate executive order, the San Francisco Mayor banned the use of city funds to purchase bottled water. “[Bottled water manufacturers] are making huge amounts of money selling God’s natural resources.
  
• In New York, a Brooklyn Democrat introduced a bill in the state legislature earlier this year to ban the use of salt in restaurant cooking.
  
• The New York Times dubbed the state of California a “national trendsetter in all matters edible” when Gov.Schwarzenegger signed a bill in July to ban trans fats from the state’s 88,000 restaurants. “Under the new law, trans fats, long linked to health problems, must be excised from restaurant products beginning in 2010, and from all retail baked goods by 2011.” Other places that have banned trans fats include New York City, Philadelphia, Stamford, Conn., and Montgomery County, Md. — a suburb of Washington, D.C.
  
• Health officials in Oregon shut down 7-year-old Julie Murphy’s roadside lemonade stand in August for failing to secure a $120 “temporary restaurant” license.
• Kids may also be also be getting cheated in San Francisco where officials are launching a campaign to ban “Happy Meals” or any other meals that come with a toy. The so-called “Healthy Meals Incentive” would ban toys if the food contains too much fat, sugar or salt.
• New York City has banned school bake sale as part of a new wellness policy that also limits options in vending machines and student-run stores. Proceeds from the ventures generally used to help help finance school-related activities like pep rallies and proms.
• Over zealous school officials in Texas, landed a 10-year-old Brazos Elementary School student in detention for a week in May for having a single unopened piece of Jolly Rancher candy in her possession.
  
• Cass Sunstein, Obama’s regulatory czar, has already called for strict restrictions on gun ownership, an internet “Fairness Doctrine”, and an effective ban on free speech where dissenting opinions to those of the government are expressed.
• Ordinary incandescent light bulbs will be banned by 2014, and the last GE factory closed this month…many jobs were lost but new jobs overseas will be gained!
• The California Energy Commission is considering a proposal that would ban California retailers from selling all but the most energy-efficient televisions. Critics say the new standards could take 25 percent of televisions off the market — most of them 40 inches or larger.
• Locations of cell phones can now be tracked without a warrant
  
• Government can now put GPS systems on the cars of private citizens without any search warrant or notification.
  
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To Be Continued…..Anne