The Ant, Atlanta, and Allatoona

King Solomon said, “Go to the ant, you sluggard!  Consider her ways and be wise, Which, having no captain, Overseer or ruler, Provides her supplies in the summer, And gathers her food in the harvest.”

We recently spent a few days at Lake Allatoona, in Bartow County, Georgia.  While there, I met a woman who was devoted to gardening, canning, and tanning (of animal hides).  I asked why she felt that compulsion.  She said, “Since I was a teenager, God has put it in my heart to get ready.” Canning and tanning in 2015 – how primitive.  Although her desire to be self-reliant may seem out of step now, she would have been in good company in Allatoona 150 years earlier.  

In spring, 1864, General Sherman’s forces bypassed the Allatoona area on their way to Atlanta.  Nonetheless, Allatoona remained strategically important since the Western and Atlantic Railroad ran through it.  Sherman knew the terrain could be easily defended because twenty years earlier, in 1844, as a young Lieutenant, Sherman had ridden through there on horseback. 

Because of Sherman’s foreknowledge, his axis of advance from Tennessee to Atlanta initially bypassed the Allatoona Pass.  He later secured Allatoona to establish a logistical hub from June until November of 1864. The rail line and surrounding area were deemed indispensable to supporting Sherman’s “scorched earth” strategy, his 100,000 man Army, the September 1864 sacking of Atlanta, and eventual March to the Sea.   

Failing to halt the Federal forces’ advance on Atlanta, the Confederates determined their best way to stop Sherman would be an attack on Allatoona.  On October 5, 1864, Confederate General Samuel French moved his 3,300 man Division northward to attack the Federal supply base.  They also intended to “fill up the deep cut at Allatoona with logs, brush, rails, dirt, etc.”  The “needless effusion of blood” produced a high percentage of casualties: 706 Union; 897 Confederate.  The Rebels destroyed about eight miles of rail line, but were unsuccessful in blocking the pass, destroying the garrison, and were unable to seize or destroy the one million rations stored there.

Regarding the Federal forces, one report says, “Elements were out of control and sacked homes depleting meager supplies.” Concluding that, “Property destruction and the deaths of one-third of Bartow county's soldiers during the war caused financial and social calamity for many.”  

The ransacking of Americans’ finances by the feds continues unabated to this day: a fiscal policy of printing and pumping, $18 trillion in debt, and trillions more in unfunded liabilities.  They fail to enforce our borders and then bestow benefits on the lawbreakers.  

A recent Wall Street Journal article reports, “A solid majority (62 percent) of Americans say they have a household budget, but too few have the ability to cover expenses …only 38 percent said they had enough extra money in the bank to pay for emergencies such as car repair bills, visits from plumbers, or small medical problems.”

The federal government is not content to just destabilize nearly two-thirds of America’s families.  They’ve weaponized government agencies to threaten all kinds of institutions.  The IRS is targeting conservative organizations.  The EPA is targeting the energy sector.  FEMA is after governors that don’t accept climate change.  Obamacare is sabotaging the medical system and economy in all sorts of ways, and most recently, “The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released a report saying the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation unfairly treated gun dealers and other companies as illegal entities, convincing banks to stop doing business with them under the Obama administration’s Operation Choke Point.”  Now they’re even naming their destructive operations.   

My newfound Allatoona friend eventually became a Scout leader.  Makes sense-- their motto which has been used by millions of Scouts around the world since 1907, “Be Prepared.”  In Scouting for Boys, the motto is explained:  “This means you are always in a state of readiness in mind and body to do your duty… by having thought out beforehand any accident or situation that might occur, so that you know the right thing to do at the right moment, and are willing to do it.”  It continues, “BE PREPARED to die for your country if need be, so that when the moment arrives you may charge home with confidence, not caring whether you are going to be killed or not”

 
It remains to be seen who ultimately will do more destruction to Allatoona and Atlanta, William Tecumseh Sherman or the present administration.  Nonetheless, like the lady at Allatoona and the ant -- Be Prepared.

This column appears in the 1 APR 2015 Upson Beacon. 

Bill Whittle on Gun Control/Murder rates

Just watched this 6:25 sec video by Bill Whittle on Gun Control/Murder rates:

URL = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELwCqz2JfE

If you've seen it already I apologize, if not, I highly recommend it.

Also serves as ideal educational material for that favorite liberal in your life.

Green Grass, Cake, and the EBT Card

When trying to persuade an individual or entity to the merits of an argument, I often vacillate between whether to present the strongest reasons first or last.  It seems logical to finishing strong – the most compelling point being the final thing in the audience’s mind.  Gradually persuading them, then closing the deal – “setting the hook“ so to speak.  

Conversely, the Army writing style calls for the “BLUF” – bottom line up front.   Get right to the point – the foremost reason first.  When engaging targets, you start with the closest – the most immediate threat and your highest probability of a kill.  

What about a list where all of the items are essential?  The Army had what they called a METL – mission essential task list – those tasks that a unit must master in order to be mission ready.  No need to prioritize – you had to master all of them to be deemed proficient.   

Consider the Ten Commandments.  The last one says, “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”   Is the final one the most important?    

Jesus was confronted by an expert in the law (a constitutional scholar perchance?) who, hoping to stump him, asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus boiled it down to two.  Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.   And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I don’t think it’s happenstance that the final commandment is all about our neighbor.  How would one show love to his neighbor?  That tenth commandment says it’s by our not doing something – specifically, not coveting what is rightfully his.  That’s the way we do right by our neighbor.  The apostle Paul told the Corinthians, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy...”    Quite simply, you cannot covet or envy what your neighbor has.  Even if it’s newer, better, or more attractive.

The benefit to the individual who obeys that commandment is self-evident.  Solomon wisely said, “A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.”  Paul said, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”  Presumably, if you’re  not coveting your neighbor’s stuff, you’ll find more satisfaction in what you do have. 

When I was stationed in Korea, I always enjoyed sharing American idioms with my Korean soldiers.  One in particular was, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.”  We even went outside to see that it’s actually true -- no matter which side of the fence you’re on.  After our hands-on experience, SGT Kim knowingly smiled and said, “We have one like that too.  We say your piece of cake is bigger than my piece.”  Anyone who has two or more kids knows the truth of that one. 

The benefit to oneself by not coveting is obvious.  But how does it benefit my neighbor by not envying or coveting “his wife, or his ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor”?  Frankly, it’s an act of love to not desire what’s his.  It will change your attitude towards him.  You’ll be able to be able to rejoice with him.  Arguably, it’s an act of hatred to covet his stuff.

America’s president is playing a very, very dangerous game.  His “fairness” and “income-inequality” talk is fueling covetousness.  Envy may motivate, but it also makes monsters.  Waging class warfare is like playing with fire.  Demonizing the more successful is simply sowing seeds of discontent.  It’s shortsighted and sinful.

As Ben Franklin said, “I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”  

The belief that the solution is government handouts to the able-bodied may be a good way to buy votes, but it in actuality is robbing people of

the dignity that only honest work provides.  Handouts are also a perverse disincentive for those who’d otherwise want to improve their lot in life.   

EBT cards may buy votes, but they’ll never buy love.