simma down nah

there's so much lunacy going on in politics right now...so many things i could go off on. i just don't have the energy to do it. if i did, i would comment on how nice it would be if obama were so busy WORKING that he didn't have so much time to make appearances -- after this weekend he'll have made 124 since taking office. (and slow it down, folks -- bush had only made 40 at this same point.) i'd also share my disgust on how the patriotic and very civilized protesters gathering in washington last saturday have been all but ignored by the media elite. amazing that the president and other elected officials all left town (obama to, what else, make a personal appearance). believe me, i'm at my wits' end with everything that's going on. from all the corruption in acorn, that wonderful group from which obama sprouted and which helped him get elected, to the absolute whacko czars our president has surrounded himself with. (you know, people who believe in sterilization, forced abortion, and legal representation for animals.)

there's so much out there i just can't even wrap my head around it. i mean, it literally hurts my brain to think about it. moreover, it hurts my heart to see our country in such turmoil. i don't like to argue -- contrary to what many of you may believe. i would never want to hurt anyone's feelings. but i have gotten into some heated exchanges with people i care about. i've had to take a step back and relax a little bit. i am not saying i intend to quietly watch this great country head down the wrong road -- which i firmly believe it is -- but i do need to keep my perspective where it should be.

a wonderful friend emailed me a quote not long ago, and it has really hit the spot for me. it comes from President Harold B. Lee, 11th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. (I don't have a date on the quote, but he was the Prophet in 1972 and 1973.)

"Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail. This is the cradle of humanity, where life on this earth began in the Garden of Eden. This is the place of the new Jerusalem. This is the place that the Lord said is favored above all other nations in all the world. This is the place where the Savior will come to His temple. This is the favored land in all the world. Yes, I repeat, men may fail, but this nation won't fail. I have faith in America; you and I must have faith in America, if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are living in a day when we must pay heed to these challenges.


I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world. This is the favored land. This is the land of our forefathers. It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through."

it reassures me to know that our leaders have told us again and again that this great country will not fail. i take this to mean as well that even though our current leaders are doing their best to undermine those principles our country was founded on, they won't succeed. my new focus is to avoid the pessimism i have often allowed to plague me. i too have faith in this country. everything will be alright.