Print 
PDFHe said, “I do think Putin’s playing chess, and we’re playing tic-tac-toe."
Rodgers said, "Think about where he is and what he wanted out of Syria. He got everything he wanted, including taking away the president's advantage of a guaranteed or at least a credible military strike.”
He says, “That happened, and it happened this week, and it happened with the framework, of which we don’t really know the conclusion of it.”
Rogers, who should know as chairman of the House Intelligent Committee says, "Putin has more intelligence officers inside the U.S. than at the height of the Cold War.”
“This is a guy that did a crippling cyber attack on the country of Estonia, invaded South Ossetia, the country of Georgia...and is not living up to its nuclear treaty obligations,” Rodgers said.
He said. “Many believe, according to public reports, he’s not living up to his chemical convention obligations, and this is the guy that we put in charge of helping us get out of a sticky wicket here at home, politically, to manage the fight in Syria. He wanted us out of there. He gets to keep his warm water port,” he added. “He gets to keep his military contracts, and he gives breathing space to both Hezbollah, which is fighting on behalf of Assad, and Assad, and he creates a problem for us with al Qaeda operating in the East."
But why are we playing "Tik-Tak-Toe" while the world plays chess? Are they simply smarter than we are? Or is our nation listing so far to the left, that we are abandoning the very principles upon which we were founded?
Not only is America playing "Tik-Tak-Toe" with our homeland security and national defense, but we are dissipating our national heritage of prosperity, faith and freedom. We are fiddling while "Rome burns."
Historically, 3 things happen when cultures collapse. The culture generally becomes "dependent," with a growing dependance on the government that advocates it. This, then sets the stage for the following:
- The culture abandons its fiscal moorings.
- The culture abandons its educational principles.
- The culture abandons its moral moorings.
Relativism prevails and political correctness controls both the thoughts and actions of those who buy in.
In the absence of absolute values and principles, "leadership becomes a mile wide and an inch deep" because it lacks true convictions.
It plays Tik-Tak-Toe with the most important issues.
America is not only listing to the left, but is taking on water---"debt," coupled with a growing dependence and entitlements that it will soon be unable to service.
Dependency.
We learned this week that there are now more households on Food Stamps than there are households in major sections of the country.
There are now 23,116,928 households on Food Stamps, or the government Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which is more households than exist in the North Eastern section of the country---which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
According to the June report, which is the latest available, 20.16% ---more than one-fifth of all 114,663,000 U.S. households are on Food Stamps or SNAP.
That is an increase of 45,908 from the previous month.
We are becoming a dependent nation.
During the past 4 years, the real median income of American households has dropped by $2,627, while the number of people in poverty has increased by about 6,667,000.
With the extreme growth of government has come increased dysfunction of the government.
The dysfunction has encouraged both dependency and fraud.
We learned this week that our government has sent out $1.29 billion in disability checks to people who are actually working on a job.
And America is drowning in debt.
Republican leader Senator Mitch McConnell said yesterday as Congress prepares to once again debate the U.S. budget crises, "I would be stunned if we raised the debt ceiling and don't do something about the debt."
Political posturing or genuine concern? We'll see.
This past Monday, President Obama demanded that House Republicans pass a continuing resolution (CR) that includes funding for Obamacare, legislation that raises the debt limit without conditions and replaces the current sequester cuts which includes a tax increase.
Experts on both sides politically say Obamacare may well be the proverbial "straw" that will break the fiscal back of America. And it will destroy the best healthcare system in the world.
President Obama, like the Pope of Martin Luther's day, is handing out indulgences or waivers to his friends and political allies because his healthcare plan is so bad.
We have lost our way. We have abandoned our fiscal moorings. We are reading tea leaves rather than balance sheets.
We have also abandoned our educational principles.
The public education curriculum in America in the past was different, yet in some ways better, compared to today. I have a set of the 1880s McGuffey Readers in my personal library.
You would be amazed at the complexity of the poetry, prose, stories, vocabulary, and great authors.
"Was an 1880's fourth grade public education superior to today's?" Reading the McGuffey readers, practicing Ray's Arithmetic series, and mastering spelling and writing, (Spencerian) cursive is probably above the ability of many high-school graduates, yet most 4th graders could do it with ease in the 1880's.
School in the 1880's had a very narrow focus and they would teach it to mastery. Today we are the opposite with a very wide focus and almost no mastery. So much for the proverbial "three Rs".
Teaching every child to read and write well, as the top priority, is lost in today's classrooms. We now have a million educational objectives and never ending additions/changes to curriculum due to the ever increasing influence of activists.
Some, in education, say the decline in American education reflects the decline in our culture. I personally believe public education is leading in the cultural decline.
One of the Pilgrim's greatest passions, next to religious freedom, was the education of their young so they could read the Bible for themselves.
Most of America's early schools were founded in churches or in association with churches. Harvard, our first college, was founded in 1636 by Reverend John Harvard. Its mission was "to train a literate clergy." Other colleges followed--Princeton in 1748, (originally named College of New Jersey) and Yale in 1701. In fact, the first 120 colleges founded in America were founded specifically to educate with a Christian and biblical emphasis.
While American education was rooted in learning the basics, and an embrace of biblical principles upon which morality and character was built, it began to change as educators were influenced by the "enlightenment movement" from Europe. It happened slowly---not overnight.
Although atheism, secular progressivism and relativism were philosophies imported from France, Germany and England they really had little effect on American culture until the latter part of the nineteenth century---after most of our Founding Fathers were dead.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was the first college chartered by atheists. It opened in 1861, or 72 years after the founding of America.
Following the charter of MIT, other colleges began to integrate secular progressivism and relativism, but it was Columbia University that became the headwaters for the movement that would ultimately destroy the effectiveness of public education and change our culture.
It was at Columbia University that John Dewey and his disciples produced "progressive education." And this movement forsook the founding principles of public education and set us on a path that would change both education and the culture.
A secular progressive Supreme Court enabled this cultural shift by removing the Bible and prayer from public education in 1962, thus creating the "secular utopia".
America has now moved away from its founding principles of public education. The results are catastrophic. American public education is decline. In the 1800's, America's education was number one in the world. Now, it isn't even in the top ten on most lists.
Morality.
Unfortunately, as religious teaching was stripped from public education, morality also began to decline in America. Character building evaporated from the classroom---a place children spend at least 5 hours per day, 9 months each year.
The success of America is directly related to our Founder's understanding of human nature and their biblical view of government. The checks and balances established in our government were established because our Founders understood that man is fallen and a sinner and must have accountability.
Our decline is directly related to our abandonment of these founding principles and Truth.
What can we do now?
Some say its too late. It's never too late when you are dealing with eternal values and God's principles.
The solution to the relentless secularization of our "one nation under God" is not complicated. It takes work, resolve and faith, but it isn't rocket science.
Here's what you can do:
1. Like our Founding Fathers and many who followed them, pray each day for America. Pray for local and national leaders. Pray that we will elect godly leaders and representatives in 2014 and 2016.
2. Register all evangelical Christians, people of faith and conservatives. Help educate them to where we are in our nation's history and the results of continuing on our present course. Help inform them as to the critical moral and political issues of our day. Encourage your friends and family to vote for candidates of biblical values and principles, not personality and party.
3. Help recruit Christians to run for political office. Consider doing so yourself. Volunteer to help those who do.
4. Help get all Christians motivated to vote. Support those who lead in doing these four things.
And finally.
Take every opportunity to help restore the traditional values upon which this great nation was founded. Support those who lead in this effort.
Encourage your pastor to boldly speak biblical truth to the moral issues and the culture.
And, "Stand in the ways and see, Ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; Then you will find rest for your souls..." (Jeremiah 6:16).
Remember: "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you will revive me; You will stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand will save me. The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever" (Psalms 138: 7,8).
Be Vigilant. Be Discerning. Be Informed. Be Prayerful. Be Active. Be Blessed.