Great America Series: Rugged Indvidualism

Rugged individualism and it's twin giant, self-reliance make up a great part of the fabric that is America.
Though today it is "poo-pooed" as cowboy mentality, rugged individualism was much of the fuel that propelled this country to greatness. It is sad to see it demeaned, ignored and generally looked down upon as mere machismo.

Rugged individualism is the realization that God endows all of His creatures with unique and wonderful gifts and talents; and they are compelled then to squeeze every drop of usefulness from those gifts for the benefit of others, for the enrichment of themselves and for the glory of God.

It's seed was likely present at Jamestown as men set out on the adventure of establishing a settlement.

It was definitely alive at Plymouth. The people worked a common field: planting, reaping - everyone was to do his part for the good of all.
Yet many called in sick - regularly - some from the gentry class hired other people to do their work for them. Some worked hard while others were sparse in their efforts. Governor William Bradford hit upon the idea of allowing households to farm their own ground and raise food for themselves along with the community fields. Capitalism was born as rugged individuals waxed valiant in their industry!

Later, rugged individualism would cause colonist to shirk off the bondage of Britain as they stopped using products from the mother country; it's one of the reasons Americans today still predominately prefer coffee over the tea of England.

It drove the westward expansion as people sought out a "little place of their own". Homesteaders braved the elements, cleared the land, built homes and farms and villages and cities and tamed the western U.S.

In the industrial revolution, the spirit of rugged individualism possessed the likes of Thomas Edison. When he was turned away from school because he "couldn't learn", he went to work on a train. This involved long hours of riding back and forth. Soon he had developed several occupations to bide his time on the train... he sold snacks and printed his own newspaper, eventually he turned one of the rail cars into a laboratory.

There was something inside each man and woman - a calling, a special purpose - and this nation was the first to give them freedom to answer that call! Rugged individualism didn't originate in this country but this was where it was allowed to live and grow.

Capitalism fueled the fires of individualism and self-reliance - anyone could succeed if he just worked hard enough and didn't quit. Our newspapers, our books our songs all hailed the heroes who endured sacrifice, got up when they were knocked down, and through every hardship pressed on.

America has always loved the stories of regular guys who keep getting up when they are knocked down and who eventually rise to the top. I have a suspicion that we still love those stories, we just don't have enough folks telling them.

This concept is not arrogance, as some might think these days - it's far from it.

Self-reliance simply meant that people were responsible for themselves and their families. There were few "safety nets", few government bail out programs. That meant that when all hope was gone and one had truly reached the end of his or her rope, he looked - not to Washington - but higher; he looked to God for help. And God, in turn, often helped through other people in the community.

So the "cowboy" who was all full of pride and puffed up - when he suffered a setback - found himself cleansed by a fresh dousing of humility and he was also reminded that his true source was God. Then when he looked across the way, he remembered that his neighbors were the Lord's instruments of help - and he felt grateful.

Now compare that to today.

Much of society gives up way before they ever reach the end of their rope - fuel prices go up, housing prices go down, rice costs more and it is deemed a CRISIS! People cry out "We're at the end of our rope!" and look - not to God - but to Washington; so legislators hold hearings and look all concerned for cameras.

Help is slow about coming or it comes in some perverted form that causes more harm than good or perhaps it never comes at all.

Now I ask you: this great move away from rugged individualism and into collectivism or pluralism - has it worked?

Has our ever increasing dependence on Washington and independence from Heaven - has that gotten us anywhere?

Are we all one big collective community now?

To answer that question you need but go to the nearest outlet of Americana on Parade: Walmart. Everyone from every walk of life, in every type of circumstances can be found at Walmart.

We enjoy the highest level of technology and communication that the world has ever none. Never have there been so many options for communicating at one time... and its all going on there at Walmart: people texting, talking on cell phones, listening to their ipods, retrieving emails over their palm device... so many opportunities for people to share in community but we're not closer. We are all together, near one another, yet separated by our devices. We can go through a cashier line and if a human actually serves us, it is doubtful we'll ever make eye contact with that person.

How ironic that the traits that we have tried to hide in the cellar and forget about -like self reliance . . .
. . . the things that other nations complain about we Americans, things like rugged individualism that harm the self esteem of under-achievers . . .

this is actually the stuff that was holding us together. The glue that adhered us into a vast community . . . .

A nation - under God. Indivisible.

Let's bring it back.

80 is the New 40?!

Here's a little presentation of our Independence Day activities. It begins with a short video of my Mom on a Sea-Doo. It didn't occur to me until later that it's quite a feat for a woman of 80 to pull this off!!

When she hopped on, it didn't strike me as so unusual... my mother has always had something of a sense of fun and adventure, it just seemed natural for her.

I was the "late" baby in our family (eleven years between myself and my brother, the oldest) - Mom has always stopped short of calling me an "accident" ( for fear of wounding my still-sensitive Psyche) but she does go as far as to say I was a "surprise". Anyway, she and my Dad have already overseen one flock of grandchildren from my brother and sister - that group is now grown and there are some great-grandchildren along with my late arriving children. As we all sat around on the fourth, those grandchildren - now grown- recounted the times that "Grandmama" played softball with them and took them on picnics and such.

Now she has a cautious side, reared in a very strict and almost oppressive atmosphere, she too was a little over protective at times. But in many instances, she is first up for fun.

I'm proud of my Mom and proud that my children are getting the chance to experience Grandmama.


The other slides in the show are a little out of order - we actually visited a fireworks show in Cave Spring, Georgia on the 3rd.

Enjoy.

Red Skelton's Pledge of Allegiance

"The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people." - George Washington

Today we celebrate this grand "experiment" of self government - under God.

Celebrate. Reflect. Honor.

Finishing Well Part 2

Hold it right there! This post is a continuation of the one below it - if you haven't read it already - it would be beneficial to do so.



In our last post we were talking about how Moses had climbed to the top of Mt. Nebo to view the Promised Land and (according to popular opinion) die there; only he didn't die there. Instead he made one last trek down into the valley.

We talked about the pathos of going out with a fizzle instead of a bang!

Some of you - like me- may have thought that God should have given Moses a second chance, but He didn't.

Now let's rejoin our story...

As the 120 year old worked his way back down the mountain and into the area of Beth-Peor, perhaps Moses said, "Hey, I know this place - I've been here before!".

And indeed he had.

Deuteronomy 3 describes the last visit he had made to that little burg. There, fresh on the heels of a couple of major military victories over some countries just outside the Promised Land, Moses had gone back to God one last time and asked Him to change His mind. One more time he asked to be granted entrance into what had been his life-consuming dream.

God gave us an excellent example of restraint. He stuck to His guns and did not change His mind. Not only did He tell Moses "no", but He also made it clear that the subject was closed. Sometimes I say "no" to my kids and then later, when I am in a better mood or when I feel that "parent-guilt" I will change it to a "yes" - but not God. This is something we need to remember about Him: He is loving and kind, but He is also JUST and He does what He says He will do - even when it is not what we want Him to do.

This all happened at the spot to which Moses was now returning.

Why did God say "no"? Was He just being stubborn? Maybe He said "no" because He could see further out than Moses. Perhaps it was because His plan called for Moses' dream to end before fulfillment.

Part of the closing duties Moses had to perform was to appoint a successor. God, through Moses, had been grooming a young man by the name of Joshua to take Moses' place.

Now the Bible is divided into two parts, Old Testament and New; there is a theme in the Old Testament of pointing to a coming Messiah and Christians believe that the New Testament is the story of when Messiah came and what He did.

But God, Who is quite clever, also saw fit to leave us with illustrations in the Old Testament that would show us what He had in mind for the New Testament. We call these illustrations "types" .

And they are a sort of story within a story.

This transition of Moses to Joshua is just such a "type" or illustration, and it has an application for us. You see it reveals to us the very plan that God had in mind to redeem His people and allow them (you and I) to become a part of His family. These are the elements of this "type":

Think of the Promised Land as representing Heaven or an eternal reward.

Then consider the Law: that was the Ten Commandments along with all the hundreds of Jewish laws regarding animal sacrifices and such. To the Hebrews this appeared to be the only way to find God and to please Him. They tried to obey all the rules, they tried to fulfill every requirement but they just weren't able.

Next, think of Moses, he personified the law, God gave the law to the people through Moses.

Moses represented the law.

But Moses was not allowed to enter the Promised Land.

Moses was not able to take the people into the Promised Land. The Law, all that struggling to try and keep the rules, could not get the people in to the promised reward.

It fell short.

Then add Joshua, the final element, his name means "deliverer" or "saviour" ; his name is the same as Jesus.

Joshua brought them into the Promised Land. In the same way that Jesus delivers people into the heavenly kingdom today. The Law or Moses couldn't do it.

That is the Plan of Salvation. And God had it all planned out way back then.

If God had relented and let Moses step into the Promised Land, that wonderful word picture would have been trashed.

There was a reason, unseen by Moses... misunderstood by many ... but God had a reason.

And today, it's nice to see some people ride a wave of enthusiasm and faith right down to their last breath. But when it is necessary for others to deteriorate and slowly droop down into the valley, we have to trust that Sovereign God sees further out.

He knows.

Finishing Well

Two of the signers and framers of the Declaration of Independence - men who contributed their devotion, their wisdom, their courage to the cause of freedom - both died on the 50th anniversary of that momentous day!

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the second and third presidents of our nation both died on the 4th of July, 1826, just hours apart - patriotic to the end!

I thought about them as I was reflecting on something a ran across in preparation for our Sunday School class last week. I will lead into it with this question:

Imagine that you had taken on an "Indiana Jones-like" quest to find the long lost tomb of Moses; where would you begin to look?

Many folks will remember the story of Moses in the Old Testament, how he behaved poorly during one of his numerous trials with the wandering nation of Hebrews, and was thus prohibited from entering the famed Promised Land.

You know how at the end of the story, God was unrelenting - still would not let Moses set foot in the Promised Land. But he did let him go up on one of the highest peaks in the Pisgah mountain range - Mount Nebo - and view the land and then he died. 'Remember that? Well if you don't, some of the details can be found in Deuteronomy 34.

From that information, many of you Indiana Jones wannabes would smile quirkily through your scruffy, 2-day beard and deduce that Moses died and was buried there on Mount Nebo.

Now before you flip down the brim of your Fedora and board a plane to the Middle East, perhaps you better read that source document one more time.

There in Deuteronomy 34, in the 5th and 6th verses is a surprising statement:

So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, just as the Lord had said. The Lord buried him in a valley near Beth-peor in Moab, but to this day no one knows the exact place. [emphasis mine]

This was something of a shock to me when I read that verse the other day. I have always assumed that Moses got all emotional over the Promised Land and just keeled over there on the top of that mountain. But apparently God had a little more traveling for him to do.

The thought was kinda' sobering to me. I like the idea of "finishing well", "going out with a bang" and such. I wanted Moses to die at the pinnacle, but instead God had him trudge back down the mountain.

It's really sad to see good people - Christian people - digress into a pathetic state before the die. It's sad to see anyone - good or bad - in that state, but we'd like to think of Christians as being most triumphant when they come to the end of their days here.

My Dad is not - I hope - at death's door, but he has gone down hill rapidly over the past two years. Physical health problems and some real deterioration of his mental capacities have taken away his confidence, his desire, his life. I and my family have prayed for his healing and we still hope, but things do not appear to be going in the right direction.

I had rather him be strong and courageous til the end - picking on the grandchildren, arguing relentlessly whatever point he has espoused or taking his turn in the kitchen, throwing various and sundry food items into a skillet and topping them with a generous portion of cheese (Dad - like me - thinks cheese will improve most any dish). But instead he sits quietly or tells the same anecdotes over and over and talks about how he just doesn't feel like doing anything these days.

Naturally, I drew a comparison between Moses and my Dad, and I didn't like the idea of the hero of Biblical proportions dying in a valley. In fact some believe it was worse than that. It is believed that he died within a stone's throw of a temple dedicated to an idol; idol worship: the very enemy he faced down most of his life!

But this place was significant. And I will tell you why in my next post.

... To Be Continued ...

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved

Abbott And Costello 13 X 7 is 28