Intersecting Roadways

The Eiffel Tower, one of the wonders of the world, built in Paris in 1889, or the great ferris wheel of Earl's Court in London, built in 1895, or the Empire State Building in New York City, built in 1931; with these and other such landmarks of height built all over the world, at the top people with eyes can see for miles around. Now, I have been to all three, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Ferris Wheel, and the Empire State Building, but I have never been to the top because I do not like heights. I have traveled the globe many times by plane, at much greater height, but I had no other choice if I were to go on these long trips than to fly.

I had a choice about going to the top of these tall structures and I chose not to go because I have a morbid fear of heights (acrophobia). I remember so well helping my father put the roof on a barn, up a long ladder. I was scared to death, but I did not let him know because I did not want him to think he had raised a sissy.

Viewing intersecting streets, roads, crossroads, both in an urban and rural setting, you realize that most activity occurs at the crossroads. Across America, across any country of the world, always without fail, at the crossroads you find all human activity...stores, schoolhouses, church houses, garages (and before that, a blacksmith's), meeting halls for fraternal and other groups. It is easy to pinpoint a location in a city where each street has a name, but in the countryside each crossroads had a name, usually for some family who owned most of the land around the area.

More vitality was given to the crossroads if a train track came through (or later, an airport). If enough businesses and residencies grew up around the intersection, eventually it became a town. Early American towns and cities were built on waterways, rivers and bays. Before trains and trucks it was ships who provided commerce and methods of travel. The loading wharf was the center of civic activity. It is only when you study political geography that you realize pragmatic economics, how industry and agro-business grew and built this great system of free enterprise called America.

50% of all people living in the hinterlands, farm areas, have moved into the cities. Even in foreign countries such as India, cities such as Bombay and Calcutta are choked with an onslaught of people moving from the countryside. In my many travels through India, I never ceased to be amazed at the shantytowns, the poverty of the great cities. But they all made it eventually, moving up the chain in prosperity as others climbed up the ladder behind them. In India you still have rickshaws. One rickshaws runner, an old man, told me that he made a good living taking people like me from place to place. He said, “somedays I don't make much, somedays nothing, but then someone like you comes along and pays me along with a tip.” This is commerce, people willing to work. It still goes on in India and China as it once did in America.

We have forgotten the distinction between private character and public character. Character is what you do when no one is looking. To date, neither government, your neighbors, or your friends watch what you do in your own home. We have rapidly lost the work ethic because we have so many who just want to sit at home and do nothing...live off of the taxes of others because they do not know the joy of accomplishment, the passion and honor of labor.

Same with so many activities at the crossroads...the store, where young clerks cannot make the simplest change without a calculator. Same at the schoolhouse, always built at the center of traffic, and “child-raising activity”. You are forced to send your children to schools, forced to pay the taxes to support the schools, what redress do you have if your children do not learn anything at the school?

Same at the church house, having lost the essence of worship, the tares having taken over the church. The human propensity is towards sin not away from sin. (Philippians 2:15) You are unable to tell (their dress, their language, their commitment) the difference in those at the church house, from those at the clubhouse (private social clubs, country clubs, fraternal organizations).

Mid-twentieth century, every crossroads community, every town of any size, set aside athletic/sports fields. At first, families and onlookers would just stand around outside of the field itself. Then, some enterprising community member built stands where they could sit, then came stadiums, arenas. Larger public areas became lavish golf courses, soccer fields, etc.

The nexus for athletes, businessmen, politicians, pastors: preparation and encouragement at home and at school. Each crossroads community, as it grew into a village, town or city, could justifiably take pride in it's development, its streets, sidewalks, traffic lights, public places (parks, assembly halls, libraries although until this minute, the largest minority of the population, the disabled, are not able to participate in these areas even though they pay their taxes to support such), likewise any municipality could take pride in sons and daughters raised there, becoming outstanding in some area of endeavor.

Each municipality, each division of landmass, assuredly wanted its best to represent them anywhere and everywhere, most certainly in government. How did we reach the place in which we find ourselves: corruption in government, the greed of business, hypocrisy in religion, failure in education. Somewhere, somehow, everyone started taking shortcuts. I found in my own town, with prolific traffic, if you do not know the shortcuts you do not get many places very fast!

Dietrich Bonhoffer, Lutheran preacher, hanged naked by the Nazis toward the end of WWII, said, “it is a righteous man that lives for the next generation.” In all our doing, we forgot to drain the swamp to give our communities necessary cleansing.

One of my neighbors, a 95 year-old man, sent for me. the newspaper at his death determined him to be a founder of the community, persistently wanting “the best for everyone”. I remember so well him saying to me, “it is too late for me, but I wish I had given myself, my time, my wealth in sustaining your ideals, your conservatism in faith and actions, these are the only things which will restore the country to the greatness which it once had.”

Smoke and Mirrors

I saw the play David Copperfield on Broadway, I have seen several of the great magicians such as Doug Henning. We have all heard of Houdini, these magicians utilize smoke and mirrors in order to fool the audience. Today's politicians should know that the public is aware of their smoke and mirrors act.

Life has become a daily activity with smoke and mirrors. Day to day, week to week, you cannot predict what will happen next. Somebody has said that life is a hectic interlude in an otherwise peaceful nonexistence.

On the farm, my hardworking parents faced the daily trials of insects and weather. By the time the crops began growing out of the ground, there were already insects trying to eat the greenery, if not an insect, a new disease of some type. And every time a storm cloud came, blackness, thunder and lightning in the sky, you did not know what would be left in the fields after the storm.

I have yet to send one repairman to a building and not have him notify me of damage he has found from original poor construction, water seepage, termites or some other pest, rot, or neglect of some sort. Life becomes a calculated series of minor and major disasters. Most of these problems are financial disasters. I don't know how the average person, without faith, lives to survive these problems, the risk involved, always looking for answers. Those who you'd expect to be able to give advice seldom have advice to give; everyone is caught in the same bind. I walk everyday by faith, not sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). How I wish there were someone around who could always tell me what to do, on whose advice I could depend. In this self-centered world, the “me generation”, you learn to depend on divine guidance, the One who knows the beginning as well as the end of the parade. I have spoken of just physical things, even more important, medical, spiritual, or emotional trauma.

When we walk through the fire, we get tougher, impurities come out. Money is not the answer, so many lose their health seeking wealth. Money is like drinking seawater, the more you have, the more you want.

Liberal ministers and church members have told me time and time again, “I don't like to be preached to, I don't like people who 'pound' on the bible.” I often point out the most strict scriptural preacher you will ever read, Jesus himself, his woes as found in Matthew 23. Can you even imagine anything more specific than this: “Ye serpents, Ye generation of vipers. How can ye escape the damnation of hell.” (Matthew 23:33) The word woe means “pitiful”, he speaks of hypocrites, the only word not allowed in the US House of Representatives is the word “hypocrite”. Even our forefathers, those who wrote the rules of the House of Representatives, knew that most there would be hypocrites. It is from the Old Testament, and many people do not like to apply the Old testament to them. God dictated every word of the Old Testament, inspired, inerrant, just as He did the New Testament, sovereign. Read Deuteronomy, the 28th chapter, the cursing and blessings. Listen to what he told the Jews: “And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth“ (Deuteronomy 28:1)

I was in Kashmir, the country being fought over constantly by Pakistan and India. It is one of the God's chosen beauty spots in the world, more beautiful than I could possibly describe. As in so many beautiful places, unspoiled by civilization, the people were poor and delightful. The house boy on the house boat where I was living, want me to visit his aged grandfather. He was a remarkable man of delightful intellect, having lived as a boy in England, he spoke perfect English. He said, “so doctor, you are a army medical officer, you have a superior education, what then?” I told him about my aspirations for service, always he would come back, “what then?” I would say that I would like to have a family, and then he would say, “what then?” I said that I wanted to be successful, make much money so I could help others, “what then?” I said I would like to get old and be an inspiration to others; “what then?” I said, then, I suppose I will die; “what then?” He said, “only when you live everyday as if it is your last, you are ready to live.” He said, “believe me, in just a short time you will be my age: 90. At 80, I fully realized the intelligence of this wonderful man of India.”

The average person treats life as a soap opera, thinking that each day is a continuation, a never-ending saga. Not just the stock market, not just real estate transactions, not just disease that can enter the body, not just fire or some other disaster, we live every minute facing...what then?

On the radio, on the first day of the Afghanistan war, I said, “these people in Washington have never seen the Hindu Kush mountains...the most anguishing heights of the Himalayas. From the time of Rudyard Kipling, the British, the Russians, no one has been able to conquer this land. I remember the first time I saw the Khyber pass, a camel train was coming through the mountain pass, just as it had done two thousand years before. The tribal people were still living in huts, riding on donkeys. These people can survive drones...can wait for years until their last enemy surrenders.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German Lutheran minister, went to the gallows in 1945, like so many Jewish and Catholic ministers in Nazi Germany, stripped naked, still walking erect, he said, “I never received much encouragement from my church.” He knew, as you will learn, not to expect much from others, that God and His mercy is all that you need.

This totally blind writer can honestly say, “I do not believe anyone can prove otherwise, that I ever received one letter, one word of encouragement, during my long life, living alone, totally disabled, giving the largest part of my income to church and church-related activities, awards and scholarships. But that is nothing, these are just people, people who do not thank God for anything.

I visited my wife's uncle about 50 years ago, he and his wife lived in a very small house, very poor. He told me of his once wealthy lifestyle, they had owned a large hotel complex in a Texas resort on the Gulf of Mexico. A huge tidal wave, tsunami, had erased all his property, worth millions, from the face of the earth. He thought he had insurance on the property, but the insurance, to his sorrow, did not cover such a loss. His only words, “always read your insurance policies very carefully. We all know that insurance policies are written by lawyers, and only lawyers can understand them. They are all filled with loopholes, insurance is for selling not for paying. The great hotels in Las Vegas, were built by losers. I have never collected from any insurance policy of any type, at any time, without a fight.”

Insurance, like your government promises, like warfare, like the daily challenges of living in an unpredictable world, all smoke and mirrors. Now you can understand why everyone wants to work for the government, the whole world is caught up in an enticing, risk-free aroma of entitlements.

Tapestry

One of the most beautiful areas of the world, high in the Himalayas is the country of Kashmir.

Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" referred only to the valley lying between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range; since then, it has been used for a larger area that today includes the Indian administered state of Jammu and Kashmir consisting of the Kashmir valley, Jammu and Ladakh; the Pakistani-administered provinces of the Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir, and the Chinese-administered region of Aksai Chin. In the first half of the first millennium, Kashmir became an important center of Hinduism and later of Buddhism; later still, in the ninth century, Kashmir Shaivism arose in the region.

The heritage of Kashmir during this period is well documented in Rajatarangini by Kalhana. In 1349, Shah Mirza became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir and inaugurated the line Salatin-i-Kashmir. For the next five centuries Kashmir had Muslim monarchs, including the Mughals, who ruled until 1751, and thereafter, the Afghan Durranis, who ruled until 1820. That year, the Sikhs under Ranjit Singh, annexed Kashmir. In 1846, upon the purchase of the region from the British under the Treaty of Amritsar, the Dogras ( I have visited Amritsar twice and the gold temple of the Sihks)—under Gulab Singh—became the new rulers. Dogra Rule, under the paramountcy (or tutelage) of the British Crown, lasted until 1947, when the former princely state became a disputed territory, now administered by three countries: India, Pakistan, and the People's Republic of China.(warfare and earthquakes have effected the whole area)

I was probably one of the last Americans to visit this mountainous wonderland because it has become a war zone between Pakistan and India. I remember not only the beautiful country but the beautiful people. Their beautiful lives so beautifully shown in the tapestries and rugs which they weave. As one who is totally blind I am still haunted by the scene of entire families sitting on the ground in shed-like structures knotting and weaving Kashmir carpets and tapestries. Most of the children, and they all work in the family business, because of the intricate work and poor lighting, lose their eyesight at a very early age. My guide explained how the hundreds of spools of thread were utilized in perfecting on one side of the carpet a marvelous scene, very smooth and intricate, but on the other side just a mass of knots, twists, and curls necessary in the final product.

How much the hand making of such a product of art is like the human life.  For most of us, it has been a matter of knots, twists, and curls under impossible circumstances in achieving the final product. (or as the scripture tells us the end of the race)  Dag Hammarskjold, Swedish, second secretary of the UN, killed in a plane crash early in his career in Zambia in 1961.  In his Bible, these words were found, “we are born to die“. Such was the comments of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran minister, who went to the gallows and was hanged naked along with other German Jews. ““Only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes.” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) Someone who witnessed his execution said, “I never saw anyone walk so straight and his last words were that he was born to die”.


Old men dream dreams and young men see visions. As we approach the sunset years of our life we are more aware than in our youth that it is not a “dress rehearsal”.  It is so important, early in life, to get on the right road and stay in the right direction. I have known and employed many young men in my time.  I was always very serious about my life and I believe I could have been successful in accomplishments going in many directions.  One young man who worked for me, the survivor of many tragedies, said to me one time when we were eating in a restaurant “my mother did not want me, she gave me away and I have never had a chance at all”. Later, one day when driving for me he said “I don’t understand why you are so good to me”, I said, “I don’t want you to ever say again that no one has ever been good to you or not treated you well”.

We hear daily of the crime statistics, the short comings of our young people.  I have said from the public platform many times, “it amazes me that most of them turn out as well as they do”.  An article in a local newspaper, the Raleigh NC News and Observer, featured an article about the death of a small boy.  The article went into detail describing the wounds, broken bones, and internal injuries of long standing, before the child finally died from horrendous abuse.  I went to the sink in my kitchen and just threw up because this was a child of God, a child that could have been a blessing to loving parents. Hell is really too good for adults who abuse children.

Yet, the greatest abuse of children, in this country as in other Godless countries in the world happens before birth when the small baby is torn apart in the mothers womb in the most horrible of all atrocities, pre-birth and partial birth abortion.  Those who have seen the small limbs, hands, faces, do not easily forget the abortion holocaust promoted by such pro abortion politicians as president Obama, governor, now secretary of human resources, Kathleen Sebelius, who vetoed six bills passed by the Kansas legislature to prohibit such destruction of life.  Her greatest supporter financially and otherwise who has made a fortune doing these abortions, Dr. Tiller, as well as the planned parenthood group. 

God is still in charge, and this country as in China, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, and the others who in the details of history have never prospered as a nation. Pope John Paul, said “any nation that kills its own cannot be called a nation“.  Will it take a disastrous earthquake, a terrorist strike, which in either case could lead to the death of millions, to awaken this country to the danger of spitting in the face of a God capable of wrath. 

The Catholic church, more so than these smaller protestant denominations who are declining in effectiveness (the mainline denominations declined 12% last year, there are more professed atheist than ever before, 12%), are on the forefront in the pro-life battle.  They always have been in the forefront with children, even when Arch Bishop Sheen was alive and giving his television broadcasts for 30 years.  Sometimes he would get as many as 100,000 letters a week with money to help in the fight against poverty and abortion.  Once, in the Congo, near Goma (where today much fighting and horrendous torture is taking place) I met a Catholic priest, Father Swain, who was driving a pick up truck, on the back of which were 6 AIDS victims. Males who were almost dead from this dread disease that is wiping out Africa.  A nanny goat was in the back with them which furnished nourishment for them as he was trying to maneuver the truck through unspeakable bush country to a hospital.  He told me, “I cannot help very many of them, but I do what I can”.  He also said, “Americans have no idea of how many people are dying in this country, and on this continent”.  The abortionist would say that all these sick people, and the disabled, (such as myself) should not or do not have a life.  These “normal”, superior human beings, do not understand the weaving of a tapestry or expensive Kashmir carpet. 

Cale Young Rice in his play “The Immortal Lure” Says we must see Jesus in the faces of those we are trying to help.

In the early years of this nation most people lived on farms, where they knew the fascination of life, seeds that became plants, animals which produced young animals, hens hatching eggs on nests which became young chickens. They saw the face of God in the sun and the rain, the attention necessary for the production and growth of plants and animals.  Life and its blessings are no longer important to children who spend most of their time in front of Satan’s idol, the Television set. The helplessness of our blessed Lord on a cruel cross means nothing to a nation that has cursed the most innocent of life and those who live productive committed lives.


When the unbelievers pass through the “valley of the shadow of death“, (Psalms 23) will they have any regrets about their life or the lives they have snuffed out?