On April 19th, Oklahoma City honored the victims of the Murrah Bombing which occurred fifteen years ago. This tragedy rallied the people of America and brought forth a unifying affect across the country. Pearl Harbor and the World Trade Center disasters had the same effect. In those cases, the country went to war and brought forth a requirement of personal sacrifice. According to the Washington Post, 5,425 military personnel have died in the current wars in the Middle East. 37,467 soldiers have been wounded in action as of this week. After all of this along with $990,000,000,000 expended on the two war fronts, Osama Bin Laden is still out there. See: http://www.costofwar.com/
Another 7 banks were closed by the FDIC on Friday with an estimated cost of $7.33 Billion, an optimistic number (you better double it). 33 states are on the verge of bankruptcy and the largest U.S. investment bank is being investigated for criminal intent. Although the media is not acknowledging the ground swell of discontent, there are many voters who are staging demonstrations against the current direction of government.
What do the think tanks think? There is already talk of a valued-added tax (VAT). I was first exposed to VAT during my first trip to England in the 1980’s. I bought a souvenir and the tax added about 25% to the price. What??? I felt that I was bamboozled. How can you get Americans to agree to a VAT? It sounds like we need a “Black Swan” event to take our minds off the dismal economic picture. A catastrophic event would bring out our compassion for our fellow man and while we are focused on the human suffering and healing/recovery, a VAT could get passed at midnight on a Sunday night while we’re all in Church. Am I a conspiracy theorist? No, I just read and study history and understand man’s failed state when he operates in self-interest. Greed causes men to rationalize their actions for the “greater good” which always includes them at the top of the ‘greater good” recipient list. We have been consistently warned in the news media of the potential for another terrorist attack on U.S. soil. However, each of us must trust Our Heavenly Father to protect us from the ways of man.
The only solution to all of the muck and mire is Love. Hope by itself will not get us there. Faith without Love isn’t enough either. Love eliminates the self-interest motivation and moves the focus to helping others. It converts our enemies to friends, it reconciles separation! When Love is backed by the power of the Most Holy Spirit, nations change. This must be our prayer.
Below is an example of the discontent among the citizenry: