War on Drugs, War on Poverty, War on …. Whatever

Photo credit Associated Press

Society often creates wars on things they don’t want, like the “War on Drugs,” the “War on Poverty,” the “Fight Against Illiteracy,” the “War on Teenage Pregnancy,” etc.  Politics are rank with fighting, infighting, figure pointing, and nonsense.

How can any organization or individual proclaiming the desire for change create change, when they are really only focusing on what they don’t want.

While studying Wallace Wattles, The Science of Abundance,  written long before “The Secret” came about, there is a very good explanation about how people create more of what they don’t want when they give it their attention.

Things are not brought into being by thinking about their opposites.  Health is never to be attained by studying disease and thinking about disease; righteousness in not to be promoted by studying sin and thinking about sin; and no one ever got rich by studying poverty and thinking about poverty.

I recently received an email from a fellow 9-12er in another state.  Her goal was to create a rally against Radical Islam.  I thought about what I had been learning.  Her next email was that she didn’t receive many responses.  I certainly hadn’t responded to her idea.  But then I wrote to her.  I explained that if she wanted to create a rally, maybe she could focus on what she actually wants.  Muslims, Christians, Jews, etc standing for Peace.  Uniting instead of dividing.

I recognize that sometimes we have to call things by what they are, but often still focus the wrong direction to eliminate it.  When people focus on the issue instead of the principle, they do not solve problems.  When we looked at the Tytler Cycle earlier in this blog, we recognize that when people focus on the issues it keeps society on the wrong side of the cycle.  When we focus on the principles, we create faith, liberty, and abundance.

The World’s Terminology                      Abundance Terminology

Fight Against Illiteracy                                  Advancement of Wide-Spread Education

Educating Children to Compete                  Inspiring Children to Create

War on Drugs                                                  Creating an Emotionally Healthy Society

War on Teenage Pregnancy                         Empowerment of Virtuous Youth

War on Poverty                                               Teaching Abundance

War on Terror                                                 Spreading Principles of Liberty

Can the world really drive out what they don’t want by focusing on the problem?

In another post, we looked at the schools in my area teaching a class on “White Privilege.”  Read more about that here.  But to sum it up, we cannot teach children they are racist to eliminate racism.  We must teach children how to recognize friendship and similarities. To become inclusive through finding common ground.  By recognizing difference and finding beauty in them.

Recently Mia Love, of Utah, joined the Republican Black Caucus.  I’m not sure what the point of that organization is except to say you are not allowed unless your skin color is black.  How dividing is that?  It isn’t based on anything except how you were born.  It is not on the content of your character but the color of your skin.  This is the polar opposite of what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for.  He didn’t stand “against” the white man.  He stood for ALL men to become better individuals, be judged for what they create and do, not their color of their skin.

Let’s look at what we know.  If you come into a dark room and switch on the light, the darkness is gone.  Can you bring darkness into a lit room?  Can you  extinguish light with darkness?  It only works ONE DIRECTION.  Light ALWAYS dispels the darkness.  Darkness is the absence of light.

As a proponent of liberty and abundance, my goal is to help those of us promoting liberty and abundance to focus on those things.  I have watched as many 9-12 groups, tea party groups, and political groups become negative.  They have stopped standing for principles of liberty, and they have begun fighting against this or that issue.  It will never have the result you want.

Liberty is spread by education.  Abundance is spread by the teaching of abundance principles. Wattles also stated,

The very best thing you can do for the whole world is to make the most of yourself.  You can serve God and man in no more effective way than by…the creative method and not by the competitive one.

Change will occur in America when Americans have more to protect, and are not just fed and entertained (bread and circuses).  It is time to raise our fellow-man by not giving them the fish, but teaching them how to make the net (or pole), find the best fishing hole, teach them to fish, and most importantly, teach them how to believe they deserve to catch as many fish as they desire.

If you would like to begin finding your abundance, please join me by being mentored by some of the best. Click here for the MENTOR WEBSITE!

BE THE CHANGE!

 

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I am Jacqueline Smith.  I am all about liberty, freedom and abundance.  I am the change I wish to see in the world.  JOIN ME!

 

 

Schooling Gets in the Way of Education

The country has sent their children back to school. But many have not. Things like Common Core are getting many people to re-think education. FINALLY!

Education happens every day, all day long. Schooling, as Mark Twain once said, can get in the way of education.

Don’t forget why we are educating our children. It isn’t because we want them to grow up and be rocket scientists, it is because we want them to be happy productive adults.

I wanted to share a video from Ted Talks, that I think fits well into what more and more homeschooling is doing. It is creating passionate people, with a desire to be happy, and who then can go out into the world and create freedom.

There is a great “Not Back To School Summit” that is free for anyone to attend on-line during September 2014. I will be teaching 3 classes. Today, Sept 9 at 7:30 p.m. (Mountain Standard Time), Saturday Sept 20 at 10:00 a.m. and Thursday Sept 25th. Each class is different. There are many other people involved, including one of my mentors Oliver DeMille.

Come join us this month. HERE — http://www.hecoa.com

The 9.12 Project of New York Takes Education Head On

There is an amazing change happening all across America.  We are learning our real history.   I remember watching The Glenn Beck Program as he stumbled across a thing called “TJed.”  That is the short version of A Thomas Jefferson Education.  This type of education is becoming popular, even if it is not called by that name.  Some call in Student Directed Learning, others Agency Based Education, others Classical Education.

This type of education takes you away from rote work and gives history and literature life.  TJed is getting back to the classics.  It’s experiencing mentors, and real thinking begins to take place no matter how old or young you may be.

I saw a young lady mention this education on The Glenn Beck program a while back.  I could not remember her name, but I remembered she was from New York and was heading up the 9.12 movement in that state.

I have been using TJed in my own personal life, as well as in the lives of my children for the past ten years.  I love learning, and I love the idea of TJed.  I continue to educate myself on a regular basis, so I signed up for a course at a college over the summer, that would enhance and rejuvenate myself about that learning process.  This college is in Monticello, Utah, and is rightly named Monticello College.

 

If you have read my blog over the years, you know I love history, especially the cycles of history, and most importantly, how they affect us today.  This retreat was going to be a camping retreat all about the cycles of history, so I said to my husband, “We’re going.”  He was thrilled, because I’m not really much of a camper and he loves it, and he’s not into the education side as much as I am, so this was a complete win / win.

While I was on this summer retreat, I ran into two 9.12ers from New York, who flew all the way to Utah to go camping and learning in the mountains of Monticello.  And sure enough, the girl on Glenn

Cleve Smith, Jacqueline Smith, Megan Daniel, Eli Schultz, Jeremy Near (Utah and New York 9.12ers)

Beck, Eli Schultz, was one of them.

Many people in the 9.12 movement have made this movement just about politics, and that is a sad mistake.  This movement goes deep into the heart of why our country is in this situation in the first place.  We are here, because we have allowed ourselves to get here.  We have been too obsessed with attainment, and/or entertainment.  We have allowed ourselves to become “the stupid people” that need to be governed, rather than governing ourselves.  Many 9.12 movements (including mine) have weighed-in heavily in the political environment, and while I don’t think that is going to go away, I am seeing a shift into the education side of the movement.  It will not be enough to just read a few popular books, or even a few old ones.  It is time to dig deep.  It is time to become a new American founder.  After all, what comes after a Fourth Turning?  A founding.  We must change our thinking.

I will be spending the next 12 days in New York travelling with Dr. Shanon Brooks, and his daughter around the New York area.  The first two days will be spent on some intense training called The Foundations of Liberty series.  These classes require a deep commitment to education, and while the readings are tough, the results are spectacular. 

After these two classes we will be making a tour here in the New York area called RVA or Re-Value America.  We will also have a special Cycles of History class available for those that ready for a more in-depth study into the broader perspective of the events of our day.  We will be studying the Tytler Cycle, the Toffler Cycle, and of course The Fourth Turning also known as the Kondratiev Wave.  I

Cover of The Fourth Turning

was honored that Dr. Brooks asked me to join him on this tour and teach some wonderful leadership principles to the people of New York through the cycles.

To come to one or both of our events (that are all free by the way) please contact Eli Schultz. elilong141@gmail.com   Here is our schedule:  www.ReValueNY.com

Sept 28            NYC area

Sep 29             Saratoga

Sept 30            Albany

Oct 1               Rome & Watertown

Oct 2               Syracuse & Fulton

Oct 3               Buffalo

Oct 4               Rochester

This is a great opportunity to really heal your perspective and get ideas on how YOU can really make a difference not just in this country, but in your own community, in your own family, and in your own life.   

If you do not live in the New York area, please feel free to contact Dr. Shanon Brooks at his college website www.monticellocollege.org to schedule an RVA tour for your area, and then get the FOL classes in your neck of the woods.

Until we are an educated electorate that understands not only the nuances of government, but also has a deep understanding of human nature and the principles of liberty, we will remain “ruled over.”

“Hope” and “change” don’t come from the top down, but from the bottom up.  We are the hope and the change that the world is waiting to see.  “Be the change.”

If you see a book in these blog posts, just click on it, and it will take you to our STAR store, and your purchase will help promote liberty.

Freedom vs. Compulsion in Education

It’s time to rethink education.  Here’s an entertaining video that discusses it well, and then you can read the post from Carrie Piper about one mom’s experience with education.  You can see her blog at http://learningandlivinginliberty.blogspot.com/ 

Reposted with permission from Carrie Piper

I have been evaluating how I REALLY feel about freedom & the use of compulsion in education & life in general. A few weeks ago I read “The Leadership Education Continuum” by Diann Jeppson & Jodie Palmer (in the appendix of Leadership Education:The Phases of Learning by Oliver & Rachel DeMille) and listened to the free workshop you can download at Leadership Education Family Builder.

This really got the thinking! This continuum is a cyclical diagram that shows how the stages, 7 keys & 5 environments of Leadership Education all work together.  I cannot reproduce it here, but it is on page 301 of Leadership Education. The diagram shows the Freedom Agreement running across the center. I interpret this placing as a hinge of sort. It is the unifying practice that holds everything together. The mortar of a brick building, the eggs in a cake. So I ask myself. Just how am I living this principle? Have I fully accepted it?

Well, let’s define it first. It is basically the idea that personal freedom to pursue one’s own education works. It produces an individual who knows freedom.

WARNING! Soapbox Rabbit Trail Below

 (I do not mean having a head knowledge of the definition of freedom. I mean knowing it deep down in your bones so that it becomes a part of who you are and it sickens you when you see freedom being violated for yourself and others. These types of people are far and few between these days! It’s obvious they are a minority in elected officials if they are there at all. We allow our freedom to be hampered everyday.  For example, you cannot build on your own property without permits and paying the permit fees. You cannot start a new business without some sort of licensing, fee and government oversight.  This is not freedom. I read recently that 1 in 5 jobs in the USA is involved with monitoring the behavior of other people in some way. That is just wrong! )

 It also produces a person who loves learning because all they have learned has been intrinsically motivated, not coerced. Compulsory education makes an assumption here. The assumption is that freedom does not work with education. Reading, math and the like must be learned using coercion, a closed environment from which there is no escape, rewards for compliance & punishments for non-compliance (aka independent thought). The Freedom Agreement assumes that freedom in education does work and with superior results!

 Now when I read this I thought I agreed totally! I am a TJEder! We’ve been home educating this way for almost 4 years now, and even before I found TJEd, I was very relaxed in our methods. But then I hit a bump in the road.

I wrote here about how La had said she wanted to work on her math facts in order to be able to do Life of Fred. I thought, “Great! This is working! I can stop worrying about whether or not she will ever learn her math facts and move on in math!”

 ~ Here comes the road bump ~

This lasted less than one day when she burst into tears saying she doesn’t want to do this anymore! So no more work on math facts!  I confess I was shocked and disappointed.  I tried to figure out what went wrong.  After some soul-searching and prayer this is what I discovered.

1. I was emotionally invested in her accomplishing this which made it my goal, not hers. 
2. When we went to practice the math facts, I used a method that I thought would produce the quickest results. I failed to take into account her learning style and temperament.

This was inspiration with string attached. You see, it became all about me. All about relieving my silent fear that, she will never learn _________, if I don’t require it. I had crossed the line of freedom in her own education. I was pushing and using compulsion techniques. This is when Inspire not Require becomes manipulation and I need watch this in myself.

So, I still need to work on accepting the Freedom Agreement. I need to daily remind myself that it is my job to expose, inspire and help our home to be a learning environment. It is her job to learn, grow, and move through the phases at her own pace.

So why do this? It’s much easier to buy a curriculum, make sure your child is “on track” with everyone else, or yield the freedom to an “authority” of an online school.  I struggle through this because I want something better for my daughter. I want her to know freedom in her bones, to function within freedom, to have a deep love of learning that will last a life time, and be practiced in the skills of a scholar.

I need to trust freedom, trust my daughter & trust the guidance of my Lord God.

“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” 

2 Corinthians 3:17

Where are the Washingtons?

Many of my followers are not necessarily Glenn Beck fans, but recently Glenn Beck said something on his radio show that I would like to share with you.  His words represent the direction I have wanted this 9.12 project The STAR Forum to turn.  We must be educated to win.  We must change our very lives and decide we are willing to make sacrifices so that our children and grandchildren can live under freedom.  We must receive a liberal arts education.

Those that know me are aware that this has always been my goal.  While the politics of this movement can be exciting and interesting, and important, we must not forget the things that will change our society from the bottom up.  We must begin educating ourselves and our families, changing the way schools teach, and how they prepare our children for the world we live in.  Skills will never be enough.  We must have amazing young men and women of real character. We have been raised ourselves in a society that has not taught us to think sensus plenior, we have not learned to look to the great minds of the past that our founders studied.  We are in a 4^th Turning, and honestly time is running out.  What an exciting and important time to live in.  We will only make a difference if we are educated.  This education can come many ways, but I have one solution, that although costs money, will not break the bank.  I have invited Dr. Shanon Brooks, who holds a PhD in Constitutional Law to begin to mentor us through a series of lectures beginning on June 26, 2010.  We only have room for 50 students.  This first of 5 lectures will open our minds and begin the process of all of us thinking on a different level.

To find out more about the Foundations of Liberty Seminar #1 , click here.

Here is the message from Glenn Beck:

May 10, 2010 – 15:29 ET   

GLENN: I’m going to say some things here that are not going to be for everybody, and that’s fine. And if it means that I shake some listeners loose, that’s fine. I’m charting my own course and I am trying to, I’m trying my hardest to preserve the voice of — or a voice of man a’s freedom, individual freedom for as long as possible. And I’m also trying to create other voices that understand the difference between individual freedom, individual rights and human rights. There are two kinds of rights and they are both important. But I’m going to chart a different course than others. Others are going to say get involved in politics and everything else. And while I think that I don’t have any problem with that, not a lot of people have been doing as much research as I have for the last five years. And a lot of people, I mean, everybody has gotten this wrong every step of the way. They’ve had pieces of it here and there but I don’t know anybody that has had the majority of pieces. We have.

This, I don’t even know what you would call it. This plan, this hijacking of our country. It didn’t start with Obama. It’s not about Obama. It’s not. This started a long, long time ago. And you are much farther behind than you think you are. I know. The only thing that gives me peace and comfort is I know what this land is. I know whose rights these are. No sword formed against thee shall prosper. He will destroy the devourer, not you. Not me. For our sake those who want to devour man’s individual rights will be destroyed. My guess is they will destroy themselves. It’s the way it always happens. These people are radicals. They are not rulers. However, I will tell you this, Cass Sunstein is the man that is wildly important. Because I see his fingerprints on almost everything now. So here’s my recommendation. The 9/12 project started a year and a half ago. I haven’t talked much about it because I don’t do anything with it myself. I mean, I’m not — I’m a proud 9/12er but I’m not involved in running it or anything else. This was yours. I will advise the 9/12 group, double your efforts. Get more people into the 9/12 project. Tea parties, while you play a valuable role, be very careful because you are not rooted in values and principles. What are your charting values and principles? 9/12 members, if you are not studying the values and principles and the founding fathers, it was set up as something different. It wasn’t a tea party. It wasn’t a political action committee. It was a preservation committee. As I saw it, it was a way for people to get together and learn and teach each other what values and principles were important. This is important because just like any kind of rights movement, there will be others just like with Martin Luther King, there was Malcolm X, there was William Ayers. Only one succeeded. People are going to be going through — when Europe begins to fall and you are seeing the very beginnings of it now, when Europe falls, the thing will come down, crashing down quickly and people are going to be herded into one direction. And it’s going to be a global direction. You need to be values and principles. You need to teach your children. You must see yourself — how many years have I said this? Wives, mothers, you must see yourself as Sarah Connor. You must. As Ronald Reagan said, if this country falls, where does the rest of the world go for freedom? But he also said this: This is the last stand. On the globe this is the last stand. And if this generation loses man’s freedom, this generation will not see it again.

I just read a letter from Thomas Jefferson, between Thomas Jefferson and James — or John Adams, 1823. I read it this morning. In it Thomas Jefferson said, if they lose freedom — speaking of us, future generations, if they lose freedom, there will be rivers of blood back and forth, back and forth. There will be a first attempt and a second attempt and a third attempt. And maybe after the third attempt they will win it back again. You must see yourself as a guardian, as someone who will preserve what is true and pass it on and not be a guardian — not be a militant but a guardian. A leader. Where are the — there are plenty of minutemen. Where are the Washingtons? Where are the Franklins? Where is Sam Adams? Where is John Adams? That is what the 9/12 project is. Not to create a warrior but to create great minds that understand it. To be able to create the next George Washington. That is your role. It may not be you. Find them. Teach them. Guide them. Shape them. Live principles and values. Almost no one in this country is.

The next step, you must know ten people. You must know ten people out of your circle of friends in your area that think like you do. Know them. This Internet nonsense of a public utility and this speech that the president gave over the weekend is positively chilling, especially if you couple it with the knowledge that we have been trying to impart to you for the last year and a half about what they are doing with the Internet and control of language and control of — I’ll show you tonight at 5:00. It is positively horrifying. You say it can’t happen in America. I hope to God it can’t. But it might. It could. All they need is an emergency. Know ten people because those ten people know other ten people. There’s got to be lines of information. If they control everything, you must have lines of communication. But God, I can’t believe I’m saying this stuff. This is the territory of the insane. But you better prepare and then hope for the best. You must prepare a freedom library. You must have the books on paper, have them on paper. You must have the books that are essential. You must have the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, original intent. The 5,000 Year Leap, please, if you haven’t gotten that yet, please get that. You must know, if you are working on the Internet and you see something, don’t just e mail it. Screen shot it. Pull it off. Put it onto a DVD. Save it. I can’t tell you the number of things that we have gone back and they have scrubbed. Things are disappearing like you would not believe. Learn the truth. Live the life of our founders. Be a decent, righteous, forthright honest man or woman in all of your business dealings. Demand it of yourself. Demand a higher standard for your children and do it now. Your children need to know. Your children must be prepared. Your children need to know what is true, what is not, how to work, what merit is. And here’s the part that is going to seem so simple and everybody’s going to say no, it’s better to organize, it’s better to, you know, get behind a candidate. Look, you’ve got to do that, too. When Moses was out in the wilderness, my gosh did the Israelites just, they were constantly complaining, “It’s hot, I’m cold, are we there yet,” over and over and over again. And Moses got to the point to where he was like, okay, you know, God, just kill me, just kill me, I can’t do it anymore with these people. When are you going to do it? Because just kill me, I can’t take it anymore. God didn’t. At some point God was like, I’m sending snakes or scorpions, I’m sending fiery, fiery snakes, man, just kill you all; I can’t take it anymore. He told Moses, put one, put a symbol of one up on a stick and tell everybody to look at it. They will be fine if they just look at it. A lot of them died because they didn’t look at it. It’s too easy, doesn’t make sense. What is the message? The message is look to God and live. Look to God and live. Please, please. It’s not you and me. It’s our children. It’s man’s freedom. Look to God to live.

Do Schools Kill Creativity?

By Jacqueline Smith  

  

Our education system in America must change.  We continue to tax the people to school our children in a broken, progressive, socialistic system.  I love education, and I love all the children in this great country, but an unsustainable system that is not producing the results we need in our country must end, and a new system emerge, or more accurately re-emerge.  

Dr. Brooks

I recently attended a wonderful event called ReValue America.  This class was taught by Dr. Shanon Brooks of Face to Face with Greatness, and hosted by Chad & Christy Watterson.  Because I have known Dr. Brooks for some time, the information was not unfamiliar but reminded me of the path I must take in order to put the values, the culture, the Americanism back into the heart of our country.  And it begins with a different type of education for the whole family.   

We school our children in literacy and skills.  We want them to have good jobs.  But we have killed their creativity.  We have thwarted the genius that all children have within, by saying they must have these skills, or those skills, without any core values, without a sense of the virtues that keep our country headed the right direction.  Throwing good money after a bad system will not fix our problems.  (School Equalization is just a bad bandage to a bleeding artery, that pulls at the heart-strings, but is not the solution.)  Money does not make children’s test scores increase.  It has been proven that our rate of return for our dollar is not very high, especially in areas like Detroit, but even in Utah we are only seeing about a 67% ROI.  (67 out of 100 children graduate)  So what happened?  Are the teachers that horrible, are the classes that under-funded?  No.  We have lost our culture over the last 80 years in America, and we must get our culture back.  Attending this class and implementing a new way of thinking and a new lifestyle of education will be the greatest impact on liberty.  I call upon 9.12 groups, tea party groups, and all other liberty-loving groups to schedule this event.  If we are going to be the ones that bring liberty back to our country, we better understand more than just the founders writings, but what the founders were reading for a decade before they became founders.  We will need an understanding much richer than anything we have received to date.  

The Fourth Turning is upon us, and our time is limited.  In order to have the type of impact on our society that great leaders of the past have had on their time, we must be educated in human nature, forms of government, family and society.  We must have public virtue being exemplified in our society again, and being taught to our children.  We must understand what it takes and begin getting a liberal arts education.  (Don’t worry, that will not make you a liberal in political terms.)  I discussed this on capitol hill at the Tax Day Tea Party Rally.  

I don’t have the answers, but I know that together we can find the answers, if we are educated.  We have an amazing group of people who have created a strong coalition with Utah Rising, but our efforts must not be lost by focusing only in the political arena.  Glenn Beck has it right when he discusses the 9 Principles and 12 Values.  We must focus on bringing that type of thinking back into the forefront of our country.  

If you live in the Utah area, and you are interested in attending one of these classes, I ask that you send us an email, so we can keep you on a list until our class is put on the schedule.   

I have had this video for a while, but I thought it appropriate with this article.  Enjoy.  

This is the obamacare that tries men’s souls…

The following is a condensed version of the message I shared at our STAR Forum of Phoenix meeting March 26th:

I’ve had a fairly emotional week.  Hearing on Sunday night that Obamacare passed in the house in spite of a complete lack of bipartisan participation and a strong vocal resistance from the people made me lose faith in the legislative process.  It further tarnished my opinion of our president and other federal leaders who seem to have forgotten or just refuse to accept that they are our representatives and our servants.  It sickens me.

As I was looking more into this I found out that the bill actually includes articles providing for the formation of Obama’s “civil army” that will be appointed by him, take their orders from him, report to him, operate on their own ranking and pay scale independent from the one established by congress for our current military.  I wonder just how devious and dark President Obama’s true designs are.

I also know that to get too caught up in the negative points will become destructive to me and my goals.  I have been critical of Glenn Beck at times because I felt that he got too angry and didn’t offer a plan of action to deal with all of the problems he was identifying.  I don’t know how correct this assessment of mine was.  Lately I have appreciated his efforts to educate people.  I also appreciate something I heard him say this week.

He explained that a lot of people were surprised that he wasn’t crying and frothing at the mouth about the Obamacare vote.  He said that the reason why is that he appreciated that those in our government who hate freedom and have a complete disregard for the constitution and for the people they were elected to serve have clearly identified themselves.  Then he reminded us of a powerful lesson from our history.

December of 1776 was a bleak time in the colonies.  General Washington and his armies had lost every battle so far in the war.  They were starving and freezing.  I believe that the states were not sending supplies, reinforcements, or the pay that the army needed.  They were disheartened.  Many soldiers were leaving and choosing to not continue on with the army.  It was a dangerous time during which we could have easily lost our ability to continue fighting for our independence.  It was at this time that Thomas Paine penned his famous words, “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”

His words inspired the troops.  They inspired the people.  The colonies continued their fight, and eventually we were victorious over the oppressive English.

This story reminds me to never give up.  We have lost battles.  We have lost freedoms.  We have strayed too far from the government designed by our founding fathers to protect our liberties and freedom to prosper.  But the war is not yet over.

I don’t know what will happen from here.  I have an idea how it ends, but I’m not certain what route will carry us from point a to point b.  All I know is that I do not want to be counted among the summer soldiers.  I am not a sunshine patriot!  I will continue to educate myself and act on opportunities that present themselves to help others learn and act as well.  I will share the message of liberty.  I will support others who will stand with integrity for the constitution and the principles on which it was designed.

“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered…” but it will be conquered.  Tyrants will fall, and Freedom will ring, and I choose to fight on her side so that I can stand tall and proud when that day comes!

I want to thank Jeffrey, Ed, Jason, Jim, and the wonderfully beautiful Ashlee for your attendance and participation.  I’m especially glad for the example of Ed becoming a GOP Precinct Committeeman and for Jeffrey pointing out that more of us should follow suit.  My email has been sent to our district chair to inform of my intent to become a committeeman myself.

I invite all within my “voice” to educate yourselves.  Read a book about history or government.  Get involved.  Come to a meeting or start your own.

If you live in the Phoenix area you can find our contact information on the tab above or visit www.thestarforumphoenix.wordpress.com.  We have monthly meetings scheduled for the last Friday of each month.

Finally, good job to my fellow liberty lovers in Utah for your participation in the Caucus.  I’ve heard great things about your efforts and results!

Thomas Jefferson Education on Glenn Beck

By Jacqueline Smith

As many of you know, I have been homeschooling my children, and educating myself using The Thomas Jefferson Education, sometimes known as TJed.   The class being referred to in this clip is being taught here in Utah (Wanship) by the founders of  The Thomas Jefferson Education system.  This will be a wonderful free event.  Please make plans to attend.  It is on Friday afternoon April 30, 2010.  Do your best to take some time off work and attend this special event, you won’t regret it.  You must RSVP for this event, at our meet up site by clicking here.

We are in a leadership crisis in our country, and the only way to change direction is to become liber.  Liber is the latin word for tree bark.  You see, tree bark was used to write on.  It is also the root word of library, and liberty.  In order to be a free people, we must be educated, and we must educate ourselves in the classics.

It will take leadership to move not just our political arena forward in America, but our enrapreneurs, our educational arena, our media, our communities.  To understand the leadership model of education, I highly recommend attending our TJed for families event.  Dads …. you need to come, too.  A family that learns together has much more impact on the world.

For more information, please visit our Education Resources here.

Seven Keys to Freedom

Based on a talk by Oliver DeMille

To read  articles by Oliver DeMille, please vist www.thesocialleader.com.  You can also find a link under our GREAT LINKS section on the right hand side of this site.  There are also articles in the box.net site that you will be interested in.

 by Jacqueline Smith

We have come to a point in time where certain areas of society are told to be silent regarding public policy.  Recently Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid (D), commented that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the Mormon Church) should not have been involved with the debate on Proposition 8 in California.  We have also had a leader of  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Elder Dallin H. Oaks, come out and say we cannot leave our religion at the door of the voting booth, or at home when we step into public office.  Which view is correct?  I believe if we follow the advice of Harry Reid he can only lead us further down the path toward the end of our Republic as we know it.

According to Dr. Oliver DeMille, of George Wythe University, there are seven places in our society that must maintain an equal voice for freedom and liberty to abound.  When one or more takes precedence over the society we begin to see our liberties deteriorate.

What are those seven (7) parts?  Government is one of them.  However, if government is the only voice, then we have a totalitarian, fascistic style of government.  Government has begun to create an aristocracy, as the example of Harry Reid shows us, because it appears to be his belief that government always knows best, and all other voices should stay out of it.

 

Media also has a vital role.  But if media is left unchecked by the other parts of society, propaganda and the media’s agenda will reign.  We are seeing our media play into this propaganda media, and real journalism doesn’t seem to be as prevalent.

The other strong voice that is currently heard in our society is Business.  If business is the only voice, we have an oligarchy, where a few are making the decisions for many, and money creates a kind of aristocracy within our country.  The Republicans have long been a strong voice for business, but that isn’t the only voice that needs to be strong in the Republican party or their party will eliminate itself because most of the people will no longer tolerate the aristocracy.

These first three voices have been the main voices in deciding our public policy.  But should they be the only voices?  No.  But again, lets look at the other options as if they were the only voice as well. 

 

Family is one of them.  But if one family is the only voice, you will end up with a Monarchy, or the Mafia.  Not a good form of government.

Education has a role in creating our free society.  If they were the only voice heard we would have a very strong secular society.  Something I would argue we do indeed have.  People must be educated in freedom principles to maintain their freedom.  However, the government has been the overriding influence on our education system, and that is part of the reason many of our liberties have been lost.  The truth about our country is not as available to our young children, and they have, as of late, been spoon-fed the ideas of socialism from the time they are in elementary school, and then on a grand scale at the college and university level.

 

Religion is  a powerful example in history of both good and bad.  When religion is the only voice of public policy we end up with a theocracy.  The beauty of our great country is that it is founded upon religious freedom, so one religion cannot be held over us and put in place as a state religion.

 

Community must maintain its voice in public policy as well.  If only one community were to lead with it’s policy it may be oppressive to others or not strict enough, depending on the needs of that community.  It is imperative that each community (town, county, state) create laws that fit their own communities so that they are sovereigns within the sovereignty.

You can see how many of these voices are silenced by claims of “intolerance” or “lack of knowledge” to the specific policy.  All of these voices must equalize each other.  It is the voice of the family that must put education in it’s proper place, while the community as whole can influence the schools.  It is the schools place to help support the family in their roles, not to replace them.  It is up to the religions to help keep morals alive and well in our communities, and help man reach for the higher good.  It is the role of all of these to help keep media, and government in check.  it is the role of business to help our communities thrive, help our families maintain or grow their lifestyle, and help fund educational influence in our communities.  It is the role of religion to help our businesses maintain ethics, and the role of government to enforce good ethics practices with our businesses.

These seven places of society must have their voice heard by all other places in society.  One cannot be the ruler over the others, but must maintain equal ground in order for freedom to thrive and be passed on to our children and our grandchildren. 

I think the most silenced groups are the family and religion.  But according to our founders, they knew that if the people did not remain virtuous they would not be able to maintain their freedoms.  They knew that parents had the greatest influence on their children, and that religion held the greatest influence on communities.  As we have strayed from our Judeo / Christian beliefs in this country, and made God a word that is considered offensive, we see that freedom cannot be maintained.  We are watching as the idea of “tolerance” has become a mask for Judeo / Christian intolerance.

It is time for each of us to take a look at the 7 places in society that must share a  voice to maintain liberty.  If you have any influence in any of these areas, let your voice be heard.  Create a platform to make that voice heard a bit louder, and a bit truer in the public square.  Bring principles and God back into the center of our culture, and Save The American Republic. 

If you would like to be a leader in your community, and don’t know where to start, contact us for information on starting a STAR Forum group near you.

FREEDOM CAN WIN!

Jeff Sandefer’s State Policy Network Speech

The following speech is available to read in it’s entirety by clicking here

SPN Speech

Thank you, Rich.  It is an honor to be introduced by such a good friend, a man who not only is my favorite education reformer, but brings incredible energy and good humor to such a difficult quest.

It is an honor too to be with so many freedom fighters. From my years on the board of the Texas Public Policy Foundation, I have seen how a state think tank can do so much for the cause of liberty. My thanks to all of you, for all that you do.

As I was preparing this talk, I was wondering what it might feel like to be on the front lines, defending freedom, in times like this.

Do you feel as I do?

Are you still wondering how a President from Texas, a self-proclaimed “compassionate conservative,” could have understood so little about freedom and free markets?

Are you angry with men like Mark Sanford, who with so much promise and so much to give, let personal appetites destroy their ability to serve?

Are you holding the Republican Party banner at arm’s length, like a soiled piece of cloth, wondering if we can ever wash off the stench from politicians who promised one thing to get elected, but spent money like drunken sailors once they were in office?

Does your heart, like mine, cry out for a Buckley or a Reagan or a Thatcher?

I am nothing more than an entrepreneur, a teacher and a father of three.  But I have had the honor of teaching with some of the finest entrepreneurs in this country.  And I have sat at Bill Buckley’s feet, and watched Margaret Thatcher from up close and studied Ronald Reagan from afar.

If you feel as I do today, please listen closely to what I say next, for it embodies all that I have learned as an entrepreneur and a teacher:

Do not give up hope.  For we freedom fighters have three simple truths, ancient truths, entrepreneurial truths, that are the secret to the American dream. Embrace them, master them, and you not only change the world – but you will change yourself as well.

Let me say that again:

Do not give up hope.  For we freedom fighters have three simple truths, that are the secret to the American dream. Embrace them and you not only change the world – but you change yourself as well.

I came here today because I believe that some of you in this room will change the world.  Not in a small way, but in a profound one. Because I have witnessed how the courage of ordinary people, armed with these three truths, can change the world.

Can the truths change your life as well? Stay with me for these next few minutes and I promise you’ll have your answer. …(Read the rest of the speech here)