The Freedom To Worship

“The Search For Freedom” is usually committed to the discussion of conservative political ideals, but for once, I’m going to stray away from that.

This weekend, I am attending The Voice Of The Martyrs annual conference in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  The Voice Of The Martyrs is a organization that supports the persecuted Christian Church worldwide.  I feel compelled to write about this because the plight of those who are not “allowed” by their governments to worship freely is truly an absence of freedom.

Last night, I heard an Iranian Christian gentleman named Mr. Hoosh speak.  Mr. Hoosh began by speaking “through a translator” about his work for the persecuted church in Iran.  However, after he finished with all of his inspiring and amazing stories, he said something that I will never forget. 

Mr. Hoosh began to break down in tears when he spoke of the secrecy in which Iranian Christians are forced to worship in.  As he continued to weep before the audience, his translator began to have a harder time getting his words out.  At one point, he simply said, “You all just sit there.” 

This really made an impact on me. I think I understand what Mr. Hoosh was trying to get across.  Mr. Hoosh was simply in awe of the freedom that we had, as a religious group, to gather in one place together.  Considering that it is a crime to convert to convert to Christianity under sharia law, our freedom must seem amazingly sweet. 

I realize now that we as Americans to often treat freedom as if we deserve it, while the truth is, that we don’t deserve it at all.  I want to see our freedom in the same way that Mr. Hoosh sees our freedom.  Freedom is precious, in every way possible.  We don’t need to forget what God has given to us.

 www.persecution.com

Running On Empty

Although we may not like it, the American economy has been in a moderate state of inflation for the last 60 years or so.  I understand and accept this.  However, when the need for a product or commodity outweighs what is readily available, this causes excessive inflation to some degree.

The current example of inflation that afflicts us is that of gasoline.  The price of gas is obviously ridiculous, but I’m not one to mindlessly complain about problems.  I try to figure out what is causing them, and how they can be solved.

First of all, the current energy crisis has not come into being overnight.  We’ve had it coming to us for years now.  We’ve let enviormental special interest groups dictate to us what we should drive and what kind of oil we should buy.  We have also let ourselves become dependent on countries who actually have the balls to drill for their own oil, and in turn we have demonized them for that.  So how can we, as conservatives, turn around our dependency to foreign oil?

For starters, we can vote for good energy policy.  We should demand that our elected officials are against the regulation and taxation of oil.  We should also insist upon increasing our national supply of oil.  We can start that by making sure that the ban on drilling both offshores, and in ANWR is lifted.  We our just beginning to feel the pain that these mindless policy makers have inflicted upon us.  2008 might be the last time that we can take action and ensure both mobility and freedom for our future generations.

Update From Matt

As you have probably noticed, I have been missing from “The Search For Freedom” for quite some time.  This is because I have been very busy.   For starters, I graduated from high school in early June and have been working almost constantly since then.  As anyone who has a blog knows, it is very hard to keep it up to date and relevant, especially when you are splitting your time and energy into multiple places.

Unfortunately, for the rest of the summer, I don’t expect the commotion to stop.  I’m sorry to say that my posts will probably be only sporadic at best.  However, when I enter college in the early fall, I am planning to “relaunch” the site and to add posts at least a couple of times a week.  Sorry for keeping you guys in the dark.

Thanks,

Matt

Don’t Call It A Comeback

Everyone who follows politics always seems to go through a certain election that really leaves them disappointed. I’m not talking about simply having your candidate lose, I’m talking about that election that leaves you feeling like something has been stolen from you. I’m sure that those who voted for Al Gore in 2000 know exactly what I’m talking about. For me, that election was in November of 2006. Gov. Bob Ehrlich, the first Republican governor in Maryland since Spiro Agnew, was defeated within two percentage points of Martin O’Malley, who was then the mayor of Baltimore.

What bothers me about that election is how popular Gov. Ehrlich really was. He seemed to be everywhere. He was on TV commercials, he attended sporting events, and he was in parades all over the state. On top of that, he also did an exceptional job as governor. He lowered taxes, cut spending, and held the state bureaucracy at bay. No one could doubt why Gov. Ehrlich had an approval rating of 68 percent in November of 2006. Everyone short of the occasional extremist liberal would have to admit that he was a good governor. With the combination of Gov. Ehrlich’s and Michael Steele’s loses in Maryland, November of 2006 was an extremely bitter month for me.

Fortunately, however, Gov. Ehrlich has not gone away. He and his wife now have a radio show, and he is remaining very active within the Republican Party in Maryland. Being how Gov. Ehrlich has remained in the public eye, it is easy to understand how Republicans in Maryland are longing for a restoration of Ehrlich as Governor. It is now painfully obvious how wrong the outcomes of 2006 were. Our current governor, Martin O’Malley, now enjoys an approval rating of 33 percent, and Marylanders in general aren’t exactly thrilled with the current administration’s tax hiking ways. As Gov. Ehrlich has duly noted on his radio show, politics in Annapolis are turning more to the left every day. The legislation being passed simply does not reflect the values of the people of Maryland. Maryland may be the most Democratic state in the U.S, but it is not the most liberal state. Most people in Maryland tend to vote democratic for one of two reasons, either because of tradition, or because their labor union tells them to.

In the midst of my daily political frustration, all of my hopes are resting on the possibility that Gov. Ehrlich will run against O’Malley in 2010. He is the not only the most obvious candidate who should run, but he is the only candidate who can win. In short, the Republican Party in Maryland lives and dies with Bob Ehrlich. Not only is he our best option, he is our only option. I know that I am not the only person who is strongly urging Gov. Ehrlich to try for a second term in 2010. Quite literally, Marylanders can’t afford four more years of Martin O’Malley. Like in 2002, we need Bob Ehrlich to make government work. Maryland once again needs a new way of doing things in Annapolis. Hopefully, Bob Ehrlich will be the one to make that happen.