A few years ago, my optometrist said, “You have better than perfect vision.” Technically, I don’t think that is possible, but he said the oft used theory that 20/20 vision was perfect vision. When I pressed him, he informed me that the designation of ‘perfect’ might not be the best but that it was the baseline standard for what his profession deemed optimum vision. At that time, I had 20/15 in both eyes and to him, that was better than perfect.
In life and politics, we are always striving for perfection. Well, maybe not always, but we want things to be the best possible. Sadly, in too many lives and in American politics it appears that we have evolved in our attitudes to the idea that ‘pretty good’ is okay and what is being called ‘optimum’ in today’s politics would be resoundingly rejected by our Founding Fathers. They wanted a ‘more perfect union’ and did not believe that ‘just okay’ was okay. They wanted the best possible and so should we.
Our Founders saw the dangers of the human ego and the thirst for control and power and gave us repeated warnings to guard against those situations and people. They placed within our founding documents, the Constitution and Bill of Rights safeguards. They did all they could in both their actions and subsequent writings preserved for posterity to warn us of the dangers and give us guidelines to preserve the Republic. Sadly, we have allowed the deviousness of the devious to erode our government and steal from us rights and liberties for their purposes. That can change but not without incredible pain and sacrifice.
If anyone had told me, as a child or a teenager, in the ’50’s and 60’s that we would be on the brink of witnessing the year 2020, I would not have believed it. In the ’50’s and a significant portion of the 60’s we had the ‘Red Scare’ and most believed that there would be a nuclear war with the Soviets and/or the Chinese long before we became adults. We endured the drills hiding under our desks to protect us from a nuclear attack. We lived with a certain amount of daily trepidation. Some built bomb shelters at great expense and sacrifice, hoping to survive what was deemed a certain eventuality.
If 20/20 is perfect can we anticipate the year 2020 providing or ushering in an era of perfection? Where are my rose-colored glasses, I need to feed my unicorns and trim the wings of the flying pigs in my back yard. With the present state of disarray and decay politically ‘pretty good’ would be mighty good. If we achieve the objective of defeating the toxic liberal offering of Socialism and unseat the most anti-American, anti-Freedom, anti-God, and the sanitization of history and blurring the lines of moral decency we might achieve ‘pretty good.’
As an American who has lived more than 70-years, served in combat, raised a family, worked for what I have, and preached the gospel for over 50-years, I want more than ‘pretty good’ or ‘just okay.’ The desire for perfection lives and grows daily in my heart. Believe me, I am very aware of my lack in that area. I am profoundly cognizant of my personal deficiencies and failures. Yet, I continue to ‘press toward the mark’ and ‘seek that prize.’ I have always believed that if you accept second-best you get third or fourth or fifth best for your complacency and abandonment of the pursuit of the best.
As a preacher, I have encountered the arguments, “Well, I’m a good person. I don’t hurt anyone. I am not any worse than anyone else.” That is a flawed view of God’s desire and demand for us and it is a capitulation of our dream and objective of being the best we can be. The slogans of the various branches of the military, designed to inspire also expose our deficiency.
The Air Force’s current slogan: “Aim High, Fly-Fight-Win” is a lofty objective and would demand a rejection of the status quo and any acceptance of pretty good. The Navy’s current slogan: “Forged by the Sea” requires some inquiry to define its application to life and the pursuit of perfection. The Navy’s slogan is not that the sailors somehow crawled out of the ocean in some evolutionary process, but the Navy was designed to tame the seas. In life, we have stormy waters that must be tamed and navigated and pretty good just won’t cut it.
The Army’s slogans: “Army Strong” and “Be the Best or All that You Can Be” reveals that strength is required to attain the best and reach the highest goals in life. There can be no acceptance of second best. and it is a revelation that we cannot do this alone but must move as a unit. The Marines’ slogans: “The Few, The Proud” and “Looking for a Few Good Men” or women as would be apropos today demanding a sense of the pursuit of being elite. If you are not willing to give it your all you will never be a part of the victorious.
The Coast Guard’s slogan: “Born Ready” almost sounds like the Boy Scouts but “Semper Paratus” or ‘born ready’ and suggests that the attitude of determination is integral in their mission. Ingrained in the various branches mottos is the attitude that nothing less than perfection is acceptable. The Air Force’s motto: “Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in All We Do” is a proud target. The Marines’ motto: “Semper Fidelis” (Always Faithful) is indispensable if the pursuit of excellence. The Army’s motto: “This we will defend” is an attitude that must be incorporated in the pursuit of perfection and the protection of the Republic. The Navy’s motto: “Honor, Courage, Commitment” is essential in both the public and elected officials if the nation is to rise above mediocracy and beyond the acceptance of ‘pretty good.’
What will the year 2020 bring to America and us as individuals? Without question, we will witness even greater division politically. We will find ourselves faced with decisions more difficult than any of the past politically, socially, economically, and spiritually. We can revert to the paranoia and hysteria of past eras or we can determine that ‘Making America Great Again’ is more than a catchy political slogan but a worthy objective.
I am convinced that many on both sides of the political aisle want America to survive and thrive. Sadly, some of them do not truly understand what America has been, is, and can be. They have been taught a revised and slanted view of our Republic, its original purposes and the benefits of our system of government. They have only seen a sanitized and revised history of America and the world and out of that distorted view, they vote.
Also, there are many who have heard so little real biblical truth from the pulpits they believe the humanized interpretation of the Scriptures and are manipulated by political correctness. We are far from perfection and may never see any semblance of the exceptionalism and patriotism that established our Republic and keep us and much of the world safer for generations. However, failing to desire that status and abdicating our responsibility to pursue excellence and fight for the prize of perfection nationally and individually dooms us to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th best and that is unacceptable for this American.
Join me in a willingness to vote against the destruction of America and reject all politicians who do not or will not protect and defend the constitution. Let’s reject those on both sides of the political aisle who place their pursuit of power and control over their obligation to serve the American people and the Republic. I will vote no on the Leftists Agenda of National Socialism and vote for America!
God bless you and God bless America!
Roybeaird's Blog 