freedom

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Truth, Justice, Freedom, and The American Way

Most Americans have intellectually accepted as a fact that race isn’t a reason to forcefully divide, control, or subject a people.

It took time and required struggle to get to that precious understanding.

All Truth requires Time, because all Truth is learned in stages over time.

Truth can be blurred or advanced by emotion.

Both reason and emotion are God-given, and each should be used in their best ways, and at their proper times.

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Evolutionary Understanding of God

Darwin’s theory of evolution caused some to doubt the need for a Creator that most of humanity held in some form from the earliest known histories.

Some assert that Darwin himself, as his life neared its end, became a believer.  True or not, it opens many questions, such as, does reason and faith conflict with each other?

That God exists ought to be a simple matter of reasoning and observation.

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Man and woman “fit” together. How could that reality have possibly evolved by mere accident?

A building reflects design, and that reflects intelligence guiding and forging that design. Did a building make itself?  Clearly, not.

Similarly, how could humanity exist without a guiding hand of an all-powerful, eternal Creator that brought everything else into being?

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Greek and other ancient philosophers knew thousands of years ago truths about the origin of all things – through reason – that humanity must understand and embrace again today.

The human body is so complex, how could all those complex systems have evolved together by accident so wonderfully? “I am fearfully [read awesomely], and wonderfully made,” (Psalm 139:14) said David – the Jewish priest, prophet, and king.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

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Which came first, the acorn or the oak tree?

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All such paradoxes are easily explained in the light of a sound belief in a Creator.  Science and faith ought not be separated, they ought to work together. Just as a man deprived of oxygen will result in death over time.  Some things are just better united, than divided.

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By analogy, an explosion in a print shop doesn’t produce an unabridged dictionary.

Rather, explosions produce destruction and chaos. Yet the ‘big bang’ didn’t create disorder. That theoretical big bang produced a universe with unseen but powerful laws which govern it, such as gravity.

The planets revolve around the sun, in an orderly, not random or chaotic fashion.

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Reason and Faith, Together

Reason and faith should ennoble and enlighten each other. Faith doesn’t rely on some emotion alone.  It is faith, emotion, and reason working together that helps the mature believer advance towards the fullness of Truth.

American ‘Tolerance’

There is no state imposed religion in America, but that doesn’t make America a godless nation.

America’s founders, imperfect yet motivated believers in a Creator God, felt that faith was essential for the government of the Republic.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” – Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson.

America is a Republic, a nation of laws.

Those laws ideally make all people equal under the law.

But that’s not to say that all beliefs are equal. Just as there are truths in math, science, professional, economic, or philosophy, so too their are truths in matters of faith.

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Skimming or jumping to conclusions often lead someone to a false conclusion.

Until the time comes that more people embrace the obvious notion that there are ultimate truths – including religious truth about God – tolerance and mutual respect is prudent.

But there should be a thirst for all truth. That includes professional and religious truth.

After all, where does business ethics find its most powerful foundation, if not in eternal truths?

Unity vs. Division

Division is not the ideal that God wants for His people.

Jesus, a Jew, prayed for Unity among believers multiple times.  He thus emphasized unity.

Jesus also recognized the sad reality of divisions. Each of those divisions find at their core some sin.

Jesus came to cast a cleansing fire upon the earth, until the divisions between people would be clarified by the clash of truth over half-truths or falsehood.

Until 500 years ago, all Christians were largely united.

As a kid riding my bike to junior high school, I stopped one day at an intersection.  There were four churches, one on each side of the corner. How could that kind of division exist? I wondered, how could such disunity among believers be?

But division does exist, in all walks of life.

Varied factors caused Martin Luther to nail his 95 theses on the church at Wittenberg, which began the splintering of Christendom.  Is it time to revisit the origins of those, and other divisions?

Almost 20 years ago, when the internet was still young, yours truly penned this article that explored those divisions through the lens of a detective Seeking the Truth.

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Shouldn’t people of faith respectfully seek unity in truth?

Faith, reason, and just laws tell us to respect our fellows.

Our nation, and industry, are divided.

Truth must be our goal.  The thirst for truth requires mutual respect that seeks understanding.

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Truth is. Truth exists in all disciplines, including professional truths. The search for truth can be passionate, but it is ideally not taken in an offensive way.

At times, truth will clash with half-truths, or falsehoods.

Failure to challenge what is false is to condone it. That doesn’t mean that we have to live every moment of every day fighting a particular error.

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But when the timing is right, we should stand up for what is true, beautiful and liberating.

Only the Truth will set us Free.  Which mean that what is less than true is what causes slavery in all its sad forms. ## (Inspiration, Thought Provoking, Principles.)

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L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach is one of the most popular speaker-presenters in MH. He routinely has standing -room-only crowds. 

L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach.
Co-Founder, Managing Member, LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC.
Parent to MHLivingNews.com, MHProNews.com, and
Industry Consultant, Expert, Service Provider.

 

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The Paradox of Freedom

A paradox is a seemingly contradictory statement that may reveal a truth. A paradox of freedom is that it is rarely, if ever, free.

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There are many forms of freedom that should be considered.

  • Freedom of thought;
  • Freedom of speech;
  • Freedom of religion and belief;
  • Freedom of movement;
  • Freedom from oppression;
  • Freedom from violence;
  • Freedom from deception;
  • Economic freedom and more.

Do you love freedom? Do you want to protect and expand that freedom?

Threats to freedom often come from an abuse of “power.”  So one way to maximize freedom is to keep power in check.

In the United States, our Declaration of Independence said that we our “endowed by our Creator” with certain “unalienable rights.” All of those rights – the freedoms noted or implied in the bullet points above – were designed to be enshrined and protected by our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

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Constitution Day is normally observed in the U.S. on Sept 17th. Image credit, The Political Student.

Knowing the Constitution was an imperfect creation of a compromise, the founders made it subject to legal amendment. That process was designed not to be easy, so that changes would come only from broad consensus.

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Bill of Rights cartoon, circa 1971 – credit – libguides-cu-portlan-edu.

Among the ways that power was to be checked by Constitutionally limited government was division or “separation of powers.”

  • The president (and executive branch) was limited and checked by;
  • the Congress (the legislative branch) – further divided in a House of Representative and the Senate; and
  • the Courts and Supreme Court were to decide cases and act as a check on legislative and/or executive overreach.

Inefficient? 

Dictatorships and kingdoms may in theory be more efficient than constitutionally limited government.  But that’s the point, to maximize freedom, the power of a rule needed to be checked.

Constitutionally limited federal power was meant to be a way to hobble the fast passage of actions, precisely to protect We the People, and the States, from the overreach of power by the federal branch of government.

All of this requires an informed and engaged electorate to work properly.  That electorate had to be grounded in an understanding of freedom and justice.

Constitutionally Protected Freedom Under Assault

It would be easy to point to the last 7 years and say that the executive branch has been exceeding its authority. But the truth is that constitutionally limited government has been under assault for well over a century. It’s been done by Democrats and Republicans. The constitution is being violated by all three branches of the federal government.

That said, one presidential candidate – an attorney – is promising to pack her lower and Supreme Court appointees with judges who will back her vision of government. By contrast, Donald Trump is promising to appoint justices is the mold of the late Antonin Scalia. Originalists who would apply the original meaning of the law, instead of imposing their political view on the law.

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If the law doesn’t apply to all equally, then one has injustice. Injustice leads to rebellion and anarchy.  To be free, your rights and your property have to be protected.

How is it fair if you earn and work for something, and then a power greater than your own simply takes it away?  Yet isn’t that what often happens through laws, as well as by criminal acts?  These are the notions that Constitutionally limited government were supposed to protect against.

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The struggles are routinely changing, but freedom is something that is worth the effort.

Freedom isn’t free. Each of us ought to work to understand freedom. To spread the understanding of freedom. To campaign, lobby, advocate and vote for freedom.  The paradox of freedom is that it isn’t free, but it is worth working and struggling for as necessary. ##

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L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach is a publisher, consultant and service provider to the manufactured housing industry.

By L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach.

A Politically Incorrect Fourth of July 2015

independenceday-freedom-dwight-eisenhower-credit-happy-daily-images-inspiration-blog-mhpronews-In the wake of tragic deaths in a South Carolina black church at the hands of a man who said he wanted to start a race war, there has been wide ranging comments from across the political spectrum. For the next few moments, we’ll focus only on one by Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam. Farrakhan has said that it’s not just the Confederate battle flag that is a symbol of racial oppression, but that the U.S. flag is also such a symbol. Considering the fact that Islam has centuries of history of slavery, forced conversions, 2nd class treatment of women under Sharia law, etc., who is the black Muslim leader presume to be to lecture America’s founding fathers and our republic’s banner?

Recent crime statistics show that some 90% of crimes in the U.S. are black on black, or that 83% of crimes against whites are white on white. The uniting of South Carolina’s Indian-American Governor – Nikki Haley, their black Senator – Tim Scott and white senator Lindsey Graham, along with thousands of citizens from all walks of life on a Unity Bridge was compelling. All were praying and working for peace in the wake of the racist crime. Such examples proves that the South – and the nation at large – have moved ahead.

Including and beyond the issue above, as the Masthead blog post linked here quickly reviews, there is an attempt by some to re-write American history. The facts reviewed strong suggest that we have much to be proud of in America on this 4th of July.

There is also much work to do if we are to protect and build upon the heritage of the Founding Fathers. Together with others of good will, let’s get to work. Let’s not let race baiters, socialists, radical jihadists, atheists or others cloud our clear beliefs. Let’s get clarity on the proud history of American Exceptionalism. Let the silent majority come together to just say “no” to the politically correct view of our past, and to advance anew with the principles that made our nation great.

Because it turns out that those PC naysayers appear to be politically motivated and are also factually incorrect. ##

By L. A. ‘Tony’ Kovach.

No Surrender! The Burning Heart, Survivor

You couldn't tell from my love of the Rocky movie series that my interest in boxing is near zero. Rocky is not so much about boxing, as it is about what it takes to overcome; what it takes to achieve success and victory even against long odds.

Consider the lyrics to this song, supplied by the same person who did the montage for the video above.

While all of it is powerful, Survivor's lyrics in the third paragraph below are particularly packed with meaning. Ponder, enjoy, then just do it.

Burning heart 

Two worlds collide, rival nations
It's a primitive clash, venting years of frustrations
Bravely we hope against all hope, there is so much at stake
Seems our freedom's up against the ropes
Does the crowd understand?
Is it a East vs. West, or man against man
Can any nation stand alone?

In the burning heart, just about to burst
There's a quest for answers, an unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night, rising like a spire
In the burning heart, the unmistakable fire, in the burning heart

In the warrior's code, there's no surrender
Though his body says stop, his spirit cries never
Deep in our soul a quiet ember
Knows it's you against you
the paradox that drives us on
It's a battle of wills, in the heat of attack
It's the passion that kills
The victory is yours alone

In the burning heart, just about to burst
There's a quest for answers, an unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night, rising like a spire
In the burning heart, the unmistakable fire

In the burning heart, just about to burst
There's a quest for answers, an unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night, rising like a spire
In the burning heart, the unmistakable fire

In the burning heart, just about to burst
There's a quest for answers, an unquenchable thirst
In the darkest night, rising like a spire
In the burning heart, the unmistakable fire
In the burning heart.

Post submitted by
L. A. “Tony” Kovach

Remembering Zig Ziglar

We will honor Zig's memory with fondness and with a periodic series or articles, quotes and posters. Please look in the December Featured Articles issue for a select quotes from America's Motivator.

 

The poster photo credit: Tony Donnelly/Flickr Creative Commons. The poster and the contents of this page are copyrighted (c) 2012, by LifeStyle Factory Homes, LLC. All rights reserved

The Better Way

" It is always safe to assume, not that the old way is wrong, but that there may be a better way."

Henry F. Harrower

 

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else."

Sam Walton
Founder of Walmart and Sam's Club

 

" All great things are simple and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."

Winston Churchill

Submitted by
Robin Crow

Thoughts for Memorial Day

MEMORIAL DAY

It is the VETERAN,
not the preacher,
who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,
not the reporter,
who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,
not the poet,
who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN,
not the campus organizer,
who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,
not the lawyer,
who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,
not the politician,
who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN
who salutes the Flag,

It is the VETERAN
who serves under the Flag,

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD,
AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where or when they serve.

God Bless them all!!!

Makes you proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!!

Submitted by Ryan Mantey at Asset Development Group and John Scharlau at Pleasant Valley Properties.

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