Left…Right….What’s The Difference?

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“A liberal listens to the ACLU and self-serving Hollywood scum. A conservative understands them.”  - ME  (Channeling Reagan!)

 

I often write about my overt disdain for all things liberal, but in a recent article I asked readers if they believed their children were strong enough to stand up and defend their conservative values in the face of the boisterous opposition. That opposition is often made to look ‘cool’ or enticing to young people through liberal strongholds in media, education, unions, and entertainment. Sadly, these sectors of our society hold more of our children’s attention than parental guidance can ever hope to obtain. Matters once considered to be exclusively those of a family are now openly viewed as “teachable moments” in our school systems. To insure that indoctrination occurs prior to family involvement, teaching of subjects once considered risqué at the collegiate level of American education are now being introduced as early as possible. Sexual discussions take place in first grade classrooms and to question the morality of this grossly inappropriate attack is considered bigotry. To suggest there’s too much vulgarity, or exposure to adult matters on TV means you’re not “progressive enough”.

It occurs to me that the best way to combat this ever-expanding indoctrination of our children is to arm them with facts, often and early. During a discussion with my own children recently, I was humbly surprised to discover the level of confusion when it comes to matters of Liberal versus Conservative. Despite what kids will tell you, they emulate what they see at home. If kids see their parents react negatively to a blatantly liberal slant in the media coverage of just about anything, they might feel negatively about an issue but not understand why they feel that way. I refuse to tell my children what to think, but I feel it’s my biggest responsibility as a parent to lead them down the right path as far as I can. At some point they will be on their own and free to live their lives, educate their own children, and view the world around them any way they choose. It is my job to lay the foundation upon which those future decisions will be based. Blindly voting because it’s what you’ve been ‘told’ to do is just as bad as voting for an unqualified candidate, regardless of party affiliation. Arm them with facts. That’s all you can do. (That doesn’t mean you can’t put your own spin on the facts as I have so graciously done in the outline below!)

Here are the facts as I see them…..use them to separate what is ‘said’ from what is ‘real’……use them to defend your own views as well as those of your family:

Liberals	CONSERVATIVES
ABORTION: Government should provide taxpayer assisted abortions to help women who can’t afford children kill their unborn fetuses. Heartbeat does NOT equal life and therefore the fetus has no individual rights.	ABORTION: Human life begins at conception. As a living being, the fetus has rights separate from the mother so abortion is murder. It’s important that your children know the difference between YOU and the nutbags blowing up abortion clinics. That’s who their teachers and media influences will point to in their arguments for abortion.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Government should work to insure that all those whose ancestors were once horribly mistreated in this country now receive free housing, career, presidential nominations, and Nobel Prizes.	AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: Earn your job, your money, your possessions, and your rewards. The color of your skin, your sexual orientation, your religion, and your appearance have nothing to do with it. If you didn’t earn something, don’t expect it to be given to you!
DEATH PENALTY: Someone who murders another human being in a horrific, meticulously planned manner has “rights” and should be humanely treated at taxpayer expense for the rest of his or her natural life.	DEATH PENALTY: If you take my child, my wife, my parent, or my brother from me…..I get to watch you die. Plain and simple. I don’t give a damn about your ‘rights’ and I certainly don’t think a penny of my taxes should go toward making sure you get three meals a day in front of a cable television.
ECONOMY: Give the government everything you can and then give some more. They are better equipped to spend your money than you are. You’re a peasant.	ECONOMY: Keep your money and spend it how you see fit, just spend it in America. Conservatives believe that economic growth starts with the citizens living in the economy, not the government stealing from it.
EDUCATION: Public education is the only way to keep the liberal voting unions happy and it is the only way to insure that your children are properly indoctrinated at an early age. You can’t be trusted to choose an appropriate school for your own children, the government needs to do that for you.	EDUCATION: A Voucher system would encourage competition and promote better performance. Schools promoting ideological lunacy would no longer receive your tax-money under this system and such institutions would eventually crumble. Teachers could be awarded based on performance rather than tenure.
STEM CELL RESEARCH: Embryonic Stem Cell research is okay because, as previously discussed, a fetus has no rights. The blastocyst used in this type of research has no human features yet. That’s their stance. That’s their big justification. They don’t look like humans yet so kill ‘em.	STEM CELL RESEARCH: Supports the use of adult and umbilical cord stem cells only. Stem cells are widely believed to carry answers to medical questions which have gone universally unanswered for centuries. Stem cells could provide clues to everything from curing diseases to reducing the impact of a physical deformation. Conservatives simply don’t believe a baby should have to be aborted in order to conduct said research. Effective cells can be harvested by other, non-baby-killing means.
ENERGY: While the left has not yet found a way to convince the easily fooled that we no longer need energy, they have managed to convince an alarming number of people that government is the only entity capable of exploring alternative energy sources. In other words; “give us your money and we’ll make sure we find a replacement for oil.” Liberals promote clean energy, but believe that government is the only one capable of researching it.	ENERGY: Government has made a colossal mess of the energy situation in our country. Enron was a criminal debacle and is often pointed to as a reason for government involvement in energy exploration. Please let your children know that a few greedy executives taking all of their employee’s money and running for the hills has nothing to do with competition and ingenuity among the private sector. What they did was despicable, but it does not mean you should hand more of your money to the government when they have conclusively failed to act thus far. They have created a system where action is impossible.
GLOBAL WARMING: Al Gore said it, so it must be true. Liberals believe that global warming is caused by our constant burning of fossil fuels and the carbon dioxide such actions create.	GLOBAL WARMING: Al Gore said it, so it must be BS! Conservatives believe humans are not capable of controlling nature but that environmental care is a good idea for logical reasons. No evidence can be shown to indicate change in temperatures is related to impact of man. Actions called for by the left would only lead to increased government presence, expense, and inflation. (Seriously, Read Michael Crichton’s State of Fear. It’s simply the best anti-liberal weapon you can have regarding Global Warming. Plus, a liberal gets eaten by the savages he’s trying to ‘save’)
GUN CONTROL: People don’t need guns, only the police and other enforcement agencies should be allowed to carry guns. (See Operation Fast and Furious)	GUN CONTROL: The Second Amendment to the US Constitution clearly defines our right to keep and bear arms. Do not let your children be convinced that the Second Amendment only allows for a state to keep a militia (i.e. National Guard) as liberals love to claim. in 1787, when the Amendment was written, a ‘militia’ referred to armed citizens using their own weapons to defend themselves, their land, and their families.
HEALTH CARE: Government should be in charge of that too. Give us more money. (See Obama-care)	HEALTH CARE: Privately funded healthcare means competition, research, and results driven care. The government should not be able to force sub-par health care upon us. Why should I be covered with the same care and level of knowledge as the gang member who was shot by another gang member over a nonsense based turf-war when I can afford better coverage in a private hospital? Because the government couldn’t rob me that way, that’s why!
HOMELAND SECURITY: They don’t care, just give ‘em more money!	HOMELAND SECURITY: Secure our borders, profile everyone regardless of their “feelings”. The terrorists that conducted the 9-11 Attacks were very well trained to blend into our society. The only similar characteristics they shared were their skin-tones, language, and religion. If you’re not a terrorist, criminal, or illegal immigrant then you shouldn’t be worried. Don’t let your children believe that their “freedoms” are being stolen in the name of security. That’s just ACLU hogwash!
IMMIGRATION: Let everyone in as long as they are willing to vote democrat and of course, give more money to government. Porous borders do not pose a security threat. Let’s sit in a big drum-circle and find more ways to waste taxpayer money, time, and resources.	IMMIGRATION: Conservatives prescribe to the silly notion that people allowed to vote, receive taxpayer funded government benefits, receive taxpayer funded healthcare, or receive permanent employment in this country should be US Citizens. Just because you sneaked into the country and had a baby, that doesn’t mean you get a chunk of my income. Learn the language, the traditions, the customs, and the history of this great country before you destroy it from within, please. No, that does not make me a bigot. It does not make me uneducated; a hillbilly; unenlightened, or any other annoying name you can conceive. It makes me an AMERICAN!
RELIGION: God and Christmas don’t generate a steady stream of income yet. They must be banned. Mentioning God in any fashion may offend the sensitive ears of the people in our country that pray to another god, or don’t pray at all. Liberals believe “separation of church and state” is a law. Liberals often chastise Christians, making light of our beliefs; deeming religion to be a tool of the weak. While there may be some very devout Christian liberals out there, it would be quickly determined that they are (1) only ‘liberal’ on a few issues or (2) Godless heathens who don’t know the first thing about Faith.	RELIGION: Separation of church and state is NOT a law! In fact, the words do not even appear in any federal documents. The idea came from a letter by Thomas Jefferson written in 1802 to the Danbury Baptist Association. In it, he described the need for government to stay out of ruling the church but called for God to influence EVERY decision made in government. Our country was founded by Christian men. That’s a fact. If you choose not to pray to a Christian God, that’s the right afforded you by the sacrifice of men who did. That does NOT mean you get to tell me to stop praying or to stop celebrating the birth of MY SAVIOR. When Mecca allows a cross atop the Ka’ba to satisfy my “feelings”, I’ll allow “In God We Trust” to be removed from our currency. Deal?
WELFARE: Kids, if you study, get good grades for the first eighteen years of your life, show up to work every day and work as hard as you can; make sound financial decisions; save your money and provide for your family……you should have to give most of your money to the government so they can in turn give it to someone who has done NONE of those things. Liberals believe that welfare promotes equality and gives the poor the chance they need. (See Welfare Checks Cashed in California Casinos)	WELFARE: Conservatives believe we should stop giving handouts to those who are simply milking the system. Parents raising special needs children, people with true disabilities, and wounded warriors are about the only exception I’m willing to concede. You don’t get MY money just because you are too lazy or too intentionally stupid to earn your own. Take a bath, hippie!

(feel free to print, laminate, and distribute this chart for your children!)

 

 

I guess the best way to summarize the differences between conservatives and liberals, in a manner your children will be able to comprehend and recite, is as follows:

Liberals hate success, individual wealth, security, Jesus, Santa, and babies. (Probably puppies and cake too.) Conservatives hate liberals.

 

As always, thanks for playing!

 

J Robert Giles

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A dishonest man spreads strife and a whisperer separates close friends. - Proverbs 16:28

As I was out and about this weekend, it was impossible to ignore the fact that the Holidays are rapidly approaching. I say ‘Holidays’ because I am referring to multiple days of celebration, not because I’m afraid to say “CHRISTmas.” CHRISTmas is definitely one of the Holidays I will be celebrating with the ones I love, but this year, I would like to encourage each and every one of you to share your CHRISTmas cheer with a group that has given so much to us all.

This group often encourages those unable to encourage themselves and yet CHRISTmas is just another day on the calendar in their world. They defend the indefensible. They spend countless hours helping those willing to fight their own fights learn to instead blame someone else. They take from the rich and retain the richer to insure that your rights are not more important than those of their clients.

I’m talking about the worthless tireless efforts of the ACLU, of course. The ACLU, or American Civil Liberties Union, has given us so many gifts over the years and at the end of this article, I will offer a suggestion of just one way we can show them our gratitude. First, let’s take a look at just a few of the many, many gifts bestowed upon us, the little people, by the mighty ACLU.

NAMBLA: Due to the overwhelming generosity of the ACLU and their rock solid moral interpretation of our world, I now know about the existence of a group calling themselves NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association). The ACLU joined forces with NAMBLA in the Spring of 2000 when the group of disgusting perverts was having their precious ‘rights’ trampled by some angry parents who were upset when their son was murdered, THEN raped, then encased in cement and dumped in a river. These parents got all uppity when the killers were found to be card carrying members of NAMBLA and they started spewing out all sorts of hateful rhetoric. If there’s anything the ACLU won’t stand for, it’s hateful rhetoric, so naturally they agreed to represent NAMBLA in the legal proceedings. For those of you unaware, NAMBLA advocates sexual education among young boys by allowing older men to sodomize them. I would explain further, but researching the facts about this disgusting group is making me a bit sick. If you’d like to know more, PLEASE stop reading my words and go do your own research.

“Voters shouldn’t be required to read.”: Yet another stunning example of ACLU magic. This one stems from a Florida case, but the ACLU has been involved in litigation against any state that dares to suggest ‘citizens’ should be required to read before voting. Their arguments contain such mantras as “our boys in the military didn’t have to  read the constitution before dying for our country” and  “you ain’t gotta read to pay taxes!” Both brilliant and articulate points but let’s push forward, shall we? While allowing imbeciles to vote has been an adventure, I say it’s time we start requiring tests for almost anything the easily fooled label as their “right”. At a BARE MINIMUM, I believe voters should be tested on basic essentials of Federal or State Government. It’s a right of citizens to vote, but that right has been stretched and weakened to the point that reinforcement is now a necessity. There’s a reason the ACLU wants illiterate morons with questionable citizenship to vote in our country. Those people will vote for whoever they believe will give them the most free crap.Those people come out of their feces filled tents on Wall Street to vote for the people the ACLU and other unions tell them to vote for. They vote, and they vote loudly so that we feel we’re making a mistake by voting with our brains. Just because they’re the loudest does NOT mean they are right. If you teach nothing else to your children, make it that lesson.

“Keep Texas’ politically slanted textbooks out of our schools.”: I guess when someone doesn’t agree with the ACLU’s particular brand of lunacy, they are “politically slanted.” This quote comes from a form letter the ACLU posted on their website so that concerned liberals (most likely the aforementioned illiterate ones) could demand that a Texas Board of Education decision be overturned. They couldn’t trust the people that would listen to the ACLU to write their own letters, so they made it as simple as possible. Just input your name, dude. See, Texas refuses to bow to the will of the ACLU and they refuse to take Religion out of their curriculum. They’re not preaching one religion over another. They’re not demanding prayer. Just teaching the historical fact that religion is one of the freedoms our country was founded upon. That obviously got the ACLU all fired up and they called their legions to action. They were proud to report that almost 12,000 people sent in their steadfast opposition to an offensive and ideological movement by the “religious lot.” Twelve thousand? Really? That’s the number you were aiming for? Really? I was bumped into by more people than that this weekend! Just to bring you up to speed……sodomizing little boys in the name of sexual education: OKAY! Illiterate voters that may not even be US Citizens: OKAY! Mentioning religion in a school textbook: HOW DARE YOU?!

“Same sex marriage is our {ACLU} top priority.”: That’s Anthony Romero (pictured to the right in an intentionally small photograph), Executive Director of the ACLU in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. What about  National Security you idiot? Shouldn’t that be a topic you discuss in your fairy tale meetings from time to time? Do you think Ayatollah Obama can guarantee the safety of all your little same-sex marriages when our country adopts Shari' a law over the distorted constitution you’ve left in your wake? You continue to try to shove the absurd notion that foreign enemies captured on a foreign battlefield engaged in acts of war against the US deserve the same rights as a citizen of this country. How the heck is that national security? You’re an idiot and you should be tried for treason but I’m guessing that would violate some right you have mangled to fit your needs.

“Thank God for dead soldiers.”: Finally, it would appear that the ACLU has found God. At last, the lost have seen the light and are heading boldly into moral sanity……oh, wait. Nope, I was wrong! They’re defending those idiots at Westboro Baptist Church. The ACLU has tried and tried to get the media on board with the purely insane antics of this so-called Christian group, but even the most hardened liberals are having a tough time wrapping their minds around defending a group that protests at a soldier’s funeral. Yes, it’s constitutionally legal, but do you really believe our Founding Fathers intended for this to be the application of Freedom of Speech? I sure as hell don’t. (And just as a side-note: These people are NOT Christians. They are a small sect that has gone severely off track. Tell your local media to stop using these fools as an example of “religious behavior.”) I’ve read a great deal of the Bible and I have yet to see scripture stating that God will send Improvised Explosive Devices to Iraq (Babylon or Mesopotamia back then) if the US supports homosexuality.

CHRISTmas: Surely by now you’ve heard an example of the atrocities leveled against Christ’s Birthday by the leftist nut-bags at the ACLU. Every year, someone gets sued for having a nativity scene displayed somewhere that brings mild discomfort to a non-Christian and the ACLU is right there in the thick of things. Again, I have to ask who it is that the ACLU is protecting? Based on the information outlined above, it would appear that the ACLU cares less about the baby Jesus in the sacred Nativity Scene than they do about the man who would wander into the scene with an erection and exercise his “right” to “sexually educate” the child.

I’m tired of having to refer to “The Holidays” because the ACLU tells me “Christmas” offends someone. So what? Anyone who knows me can tell you that I really don’t care if I offend people, but I care even less about offending a group that aims to simply rewrite historical facts to suit their agenda. No, no, that won’t do at all. It’s time to tell the ACLU to SHUT UP!! Separation of Church and State is not a law. It doesn’t appear in any Federal Documents. The ACLU would love for you to believe that this is one of the founding concepts of our country, but like most things they have severely distorted the truth on this issue. Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. In it, he outlined the need for “a wall of separation’ between government and Church. Jefferson essentially said that government had no authority over man’s belief in God but that God should play a role in every decision made by government. Nowhere is it written that the Ten Commandments must be removed from courthouses, and “Under God” removed from our currency.

Now that we’ve seen a small sampling of the many wonderful things the ACLU has done for us, don’t you think it’s time we give back? This CHRISTmas season, take the time to send a Christmas Card to the ACLU. It will only cost you a few dollars and maybe a few steps to your mailbox, but it will mean the world to some sad, whining little man in a dark room in the bowels of Washington DC who may be on the verge of launching another attack on everything you hold dear. Please join me in doing this. I plan to send at least three cards this year. I will not include any vulgarities and I will not try to incite a riot; I will simply wish the clowns at the ACLU a “Merry Christmas”……..three times.

Send this article to everyone you know. Send as many cards as you can……organize card drives……..encourage your kids to make their own cards and send them…….buy cards for those who can’t buy their own and hire buses to drive them to the post office in time for the big send-off. Send as many as possible. The overwhelming amounts of mail will clog their system as they are required to open every piece of mail in search of donations. I implore you…..CLOG THAT SYSTEM!!! Has there ever been a system more worthy of clogging??

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION

125 BROAD STREET

18TH FLOOR

NEW YORK, NY 10004

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J. Robert Giles

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“All great change in America begins at the dinner table.”

-Ronald Reagan

 

I’ll be the first to admit that I simply haven’t been all that captivated by the so-called Herman Cain controversy. I’ll also admit, albeit with a bit more shame, that I have paid more attention to the Kardashian publicity/wedding event than I have paid to the Herman Cain sexual scandal. Yes, although Kim Kardashian is a disgusting example of pretty much everything that’s wrong with America, she does have Mr Cain beat in the looks department. That’s about it.

I sincerely hope that anyone reading this rant knows me well enough to know that I couldn’t possibly care less about anything Kardashian. (Except Bruce Jenner’s hair. It’s mesmerizing.) I care even less about the vague, baseless and transparently misleading accusations against Herman Cain. I have yet to hear a woman’s name mentioned in association with this so called scandal, but I cannot emphasize enough how little attention I have given to this story. If one has identified herself, then I sincerely apologize for not calling her a liar by name. Personally, I don’t care if Herman Cain wears a diaper and sucks on a pacifier when he’s in the privacy of his own home. I don’t care how he dresses or who he slept with twenty years ago. That’s for him to reconcile. As far as I’m concerned, he’s being attacked by the very people I consider to be my enemies.

No one at the schools Obama claims to have attended can remember him. There has never been a woman claiming to have been Barack HUSSEIN Obama’s girlfriend in college, high-school, or any other period in his life. I find the absence of past more alarming than a questionable one. A questionable past means Mr Cain fought through some demons. A questionable past means he has made mistakes similar to the ones we have all made in our lives and he has learned the lessons inherent in the pain. NO past means someone is going to great and expensive lengths to cover up a personal history that for some reason or another cannot be revealed. Why? Where are the people from OUR PRESIDENT’S past? No one makes it through the American political system without making enemies willing to expose, twist, and inflate even the most miniscule of indiscretions, so how is it that Obama seems to have no past? My theory that Obama was actually invented in George Soros's basement is starting to seem plausible, isn’t it? (No, I do not really believe he’s a robot. A demon? Yes. Robot? No.)

Sadly, this questionable coverage of Mr Cain’s questionable past is just another shining example of the infuriating control media continues to exert over the easily fooled. (Otherwise known as Obamanites, Barackians, Idiots, or Disciples of Obamunism)

Scott Whitlock, Senior News Analyst at Media Research Center, points out that “NBC, CBS, and ABC have developed an insatiable hunger for the Herman Cain story”. The “story” has been told over fifty times in just three days on the three major networks, insuring that the spark becomes a flame in the kindling of public opinion. In contrast, the far more serious allegations of sexual misconduct by Bill Clinton were largely ignored. We had named women, with graphic descriptions of specific acts and they were given far less airtime than this story with no named sources. The media is insuring our minds are consistently focused on something irrelevant while debacles like Solyndra, Fast and Furious, Nancy Pelosi’s facial tremors, and Eric Holder are being shuttled to safety behind our complacent backs. Shame on us!

So? What can we do? There’s an old saying in business: Never wage war with someone who buys their ink by the barrel. That saying is now antiquated like so many of our routines and beliefs. Media is no longer the “Great Oz” that it used to be. With all of the advancements in technology, we truly have the ability to insulate ourselves from the blistering onslaught of liberal lunacy if we so choose. As individuals, we lack the power to defeat the media. It’s sad but true. No, you can’t defeat the media, but you CAN and SHOULD do everything in your power to insure that the influence of the media is kept to a dull hum within the walls of your home and more importantly within the minds of your family. Media is not limited to TV and Internet either. Don’t be fooled. Your kids are being influenced at school, in advertising, with music, and even in the seemingly innocuous activities in which they participate.

Change starts at the dinner table. Such a simple statement from a man known for such things. It’s true, when you think about it. If we take the time to educate our children, media will eventually bow to their demands like the ratings driven, approval seeking, money dependent addicts they are. If we train our children to think for themselves; to seek the company of like minded, challenging people; to be unafraid to lead in an unpopular direction if it’s the right thing to do; to question hype; to study the facts and not memorize sound-bytes, we will eventually be okay. Teach your kids the difference between conservative and liberal and why the choice is so critical. Explain, in terms they can understand, comprehend, and repeat; the belief that small government and minimum taxation breeds success whereas big government and absurd taxation breeds dependence. Liberals are weak. Period. Anyone who believes someone else is better suited to make their own decisions for them is weak. Plain and simple. Put enough arrows in the quiver of a first time archer and they will eventually hit the bulls-eye. Your kids are going to face unimaginable influence from the very people, thoughts, and beliefs you fear. Are you giving them enough arrows? Could your teenage daughter defend her conservative opinions to an aggressive teacher with liberal views? Is your son strong enough to lead his friends in the direction he believes or will he follow in the direction of the pack? We can’t afford to just assume our kids will make the right choice when faced with such decisions. You have to get in there, get your hands dirty, and put in the work to guarantee they are.

Don’t let the world outside your home raise your children and then complain when your children behave exactly like the world outside your home.

As always, thanks for playing!

J Robert Giles

 

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Galatians 1:10 - For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 

I realize that it may seem a bit sac religious to start off an article with a Bible verse and then launch immediately into a rant about sports, but please bare with me as I bring it around to what I can only hope will be an appropriate conclusion. I want to take a moment here, in the beginning of this article, to congratulate the World Champion Saint Louis Cardinals. What an unbelievable ending to an improbable season. Thank you!

 

In September, I posted on my personal Facebook page that I was saying goodbye to the Cardinals. I’ll admit it. I posted something along the lines of “Hey Cardinals, I’m gonna go watch football for a few months. Try not to suck next year.” For those of you familiar with the story, you know the Cardinals were basically eliminated from the playoffs as late in the season as September. I gave up, they didn’t. Instead of giving up, they played with a carefree zeal that I’ve never before witnessed in sports. Each player, manager, and front office employee approached each miraculous game with the same attitude as the fans. We all had that “playing with house money” mentality. It was a completely different sense than was present in the 2006 World Series, and definitely different than the 2004 World Series. There was no panic. If we lost, we lost, but we lost to a city and to a team that no one hates. We lost a series that we [The City of Saint Louis] hadn’t prepared for. Every win was a surprise and a bonus. The Championship was simply the impossible ending to a real-life fairy tale.

I was given the opportunity to watch the unforgettable Game Six in the friendly confines of my parent’s home in Fort Worth, Texas. I was there for a meeting in Dallas that morning and spent the night watching the game with my brother and my father who happen to be Born Again Rangers Fans. While they may not have been as happy with the eventual outcome of that indescribable game, the fact that we were able to witness it together will not soon be forgotten. First of all, we don’t have that many opposing teams for whom we cheer. Except for baseball, our views on sports are pretty much aligned. Second, we realize how slim the chances of the Rangers and Cardinals ever playing each other again in a championship setting truly are. Third, even if they do manage to get back there someday, what are the odds that I will be in Fort Worth on the night the two teams battle it out in an eleven inning game that could not have been more thrilling if Michael Bay directed the story? The emotions that ran through that living room as I sat there outnumbered by the two men I feel closer to than anyone else in the world will never be duplicated. Moments of sheer agony followed immediately by sheer joy in the only emotionally inverse relationship I’ve ever experienced with Dad and Ryan. I understand their inability to see it that way just yet. Their team was ONE STRIKE away from the first championship in team history on TWO occasions only to have it ripped from them both times. As a fan, you don’t get over something like that very easily.

How am I going to tie this into the Bible verse I opened with?  Good question…..

I have often stated that it is inappropriate to pray for victory from your favorite sports team, but all those faces in the crowd at Busch Stadium last Thursday night were talking to someone when they clasped their hands in front of their faces and whispered “please please please please.” The perspective I took from that scene was forged as I flew out of a city that is prospering the next morning. The Dallas / Fort Worth area may not be prospering in the fashion to which it has grown accustomed, but there are construction cranes lining the skylines of both cities and all the ones connecting them whereas the wooden boards are still in the windows at Lambert Saint Louis International Airport from a tornado that struck on Easter weekend. On the way to the meeting on Thursday morning, I counted thirteen E-Class or higher Mercedes Benz vehicles. That’s not mentioning the BMW’s, multiple Bentley’s, Range Rover’s and countless high end Lexus’……Lexi…..plural of Lexus. Dallas and the surrounding areas are experiencing a better economic climate than many cities whose economic downturn started where Dallas sits now. The prayers for a Cardinals Championship were not all coming from inside Busch Stadium on Friday night. Many of them were not even prayed by Cardinals fans (although there aren’t many non-fans in this city). Today, as the confetti is swept off the Victory Parade route along Market Street where I happily stood with my family yesterday, the stories of what this championship truly means to the city are beginning to emerge. In particular, the story of the hundreds of city employees whose jobs were literally saved by the revenue generated during the four games held here in Saint Louis. Last year, Saint Louis Mayor Francis Slay began furloughs among all city employees, including himself. Employees have noticed a steady reduction in pay, implementation of mandatory days off, and constant restructuring during the budget crisis. It was announced today that furloughs have been lifted. THOSE are answered prayers.

Most of the time, it’s simply the superior skill and execution of the athletes on one team versus another. This year, that was not the case. The teams were very well matched, and they provided fans with seven unforgettable games. I’m willing to bet that these teams could play each other 99 times and the series would be decided 50-49. Those are the acts of men. Those are the things that make our time here on earth more enjoyable but the wins and losses are simply not what God cares about. The prayers God cares about are the ones that desperate men pray when giving up would be much easier. The prayers God answers are the ones that propel His Plan and His word, not bragging rights. The prayer He answered for me personally in this series was not in the form of the Victory Parade yesterday. It wasn't answered in the historic swing of Freese’s bat or the tearful tone of Joe Buck’s voice saying “we’ll see you tomorrow night” in a direct homage to his legendary father. The prayer answered in my life can only be explained with Divine Intervention. On Wednesday night, Game Six was supposed to be played. It was supposed to be played, and by all accounts the Rangers were supposed to win their first championship. The game was rained out and I got to watch the makeup game with my brother and dad on Thursday night. The Rangers were one strike away; just one pitch; on two occasions but ‘my’ Cards just wouldn’t go away. It was the most exciting game in World Series history and made it possible for me to watch Game Seven with my son in my lap, my beautiful bride beside me, and within earshot of the fireworks and celebrations filling the streets of a deserving city.

Again, God doesn’t care who wins or loses a game invented by men. He doesn’t care who has the best stadium, the biggest contract, or the most wins. God cares that individual lives are lived according to His Word. God had nothing to do with the outcome of the game itself, but He had everything to do with the emotions and the memories many of us are feeling. Even those in Texas who may not be feeling the jubilation that is gripping St Louis have to realize that they were part of something historic and special. Historic and special here on earth. When we put too much emphasis on a championship (and the inherent bragging rights), or money, or material possessions, or appearance; we lose track of what is truly important. God has a plan for all of us; Cardinals fans, Rangers fans and even Yankees fans. (I have my own hopes as to the Plan for the latter.) All of us, regardless of Faith are part of a Plan. It doesn’t matter if you understand it, as long as you believe it. When you start to care more about your own plans, agendas and missions than those of God; you suffer. You suffer alone and fall prey to the trappings of man. Just ask the Cowboys how much success has come their way since building “the biggest house.”

To say that the Cardinals won the World Series because God favored them is absurd. God doesn’t care about such things. But the Cardinals victory does illustrate the verse quite well. They were 3 games out of the wild card spot with 5 games to go…….they had to get through the two best records in baseball just to earn a spot in the World Series…..Rangers had all the momentum, etc. The Phillies thought they earned the championship trophy back in May by signing their names to a few contracts. They listened to the opinions and it cost them a season. The Brewers employ one Nyjer Morgan and are therefore prohibited from discussion in this article. The Rangers are a young team that I believe will win several titles in the next couple of years, but this season went to the team that was able to abandon their own plans and follow one that had been written for them. No one expected them to be there and they played like they were savoring each moment.

Serve God; not a team or a paycheck. Lead your children to trust in an untold Plan and their lives will not hinge upon one team’s victory. Lead your team in the ‘right’ direction, not the easy one. The Rangers and Cardinals earned their spot in the Championship Series without having to buy it. You can’t “buy” your way into Heaven either. You have to accept Christ and the Plan God has set for your life. There is no other path.

Thanks for playing!

J Robert Giles – Card Carrying Member of Cardinal Nation

 

PS: I realize it’s easy to write this from the stage of a victory, but many of you will find it interesting to know that this article was actually started in the guest room of my parents house when the Rangers were leading the Cardinals 7-4 in the eighth inning of Game Six. I had originally intended to write this as a congratulations to the Rangers and to the many fans with whom I have exchanged entertaining trash talking throughout this series. Thank you for your gracious, “Texas-sized” competition. Sincerely.

 

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