Some believe that there are two types of war, wars that can be won, and wars that will be lost. My fear is that there, is indeed, a third type which is, wars that can only be fought. The clearest example of this is the war that has been raging between Israel and Palestine. Napoleon and the Russians showed that controlling Afghanistan has historically been a war that will be lost. Now we Americans are taking on that place and people again, and with our vastly superior resources and technology we have changed it into a war that can be won. My worry is that, in fact, we have only changed it into a war that can only be fought. Time will tell…

Simply put the human race is divided into two groups, the decent and the indecent. The distinction has nothing to do with race, religion, sex, or age. It has everything to do with values. It is easy to believe that because we have a certain racial heritage or cultural background, or because we are men or women, or because we subscribe to a specific religion or none at all that we act, understand, and react the way we do. However all these distinctions are cosmetic, they only create a context in which values are defined and held by us as individuals. It is the actual values that these environments advocate, either knowingly or unknowingly, that form the soul of the man or woman that then acts upon the world through the filter of these values.

If a society has taught men that women are their property then they see no value in a woman being able to choose her own profession. If a culture has fostered the creative nature of the individual then they see value in the creations a person can imagine and build. Not all values are equal. Values roll up into two supreme values: the value of Good and the value of Evil. Values of Good are anything that increases or builds up the good things of the world and Evil is anything that destroys or reduces the good things of the world. The more good a value produces, the greater that value.

Do we know what we value? Many people are so busy in life that they do not take the time to thoughtfully reflect on their values. As a result many people believe that they hold values that in fact they do not. They give lip service to it in conversation but indeed their hearts are far from those values. Take the simple example of anger vs. patience. Most would assert that they hold the value of patience higher than anger and feel that one should have patience in most circumstances and resort to anger only when the need is important. The examples of people getting angry over unimportant things are legion; the problem of road rage alone is convincing.

Spend some time paying attention to where you spend your time and how you behave while executing your daily tasks. If watched closely enough you will see the things you value and the values you actually hold and those you cast aside. The observation could result in a revelation that may begin a personal transformation.

If I were to ask you to start a conversation about politics or religion with three people you have just recently met how would you feel? Nervous, intimidated, fearful? I believe most of us would feel those emotions. Why is this the case? I find it quite sad. These are two extremely important subjects to us all. Is there a God and if there is, does he have a plan, and what is that plan? How should the government of the nation that I call home, and whose job it is to protect and preserve my way of life, behave in the face of the current challenges we face? There are fewer questions asked where the answers have greater impact on our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren. However, we dare not bring them up.

The reason for this is because we allow ourselves to become too emotionally entrenched in our position. Feeling the need to defend it to the death. To question the idea is to question the value ourselves. We often feel like someone questioning our position is equivalent to them questioning our intelligence. We ascribe to ourselves only the purest of motives while giving no thought or little credit to the motives of the other person. We believe we have what is best in mind while the other person has some sinister motive or is shockingly naive. These attitudes are reinforced by name-calling and ad hominem attacks which does nothing but shut down dialog and end debate. All of this is expected, from children.

Most of us are not children, and we should stop acting like it. We have to be able to discuss these subjects if we expect to continue to evolve our thinking, expand our minds, gain intelligence, and extract wisdom. This child-like level of dialog has become an epidemic on the internet and on television. Today people are shouting at one another, attributing ill motives, mischaracterizing the others arguments, and showing a chronic unwillingness to admit error. A wise man once said, “when you open your mouth you can only learn what you already know.”

Recently when discussing a speech given by Dick Cheney many people via internet left comments like, ‘he’s an idiot’, ‘liar!’, ‘what an ass’, etc. Regardless if these statements are true or not, it does nothing to advance the dialog that matters which is related to the arguments and ideas he is presenting. Recently in response to materials created by Michael Moore people left comments like, ‘fat slob’, ‘liberal fascist’, etc. Again, this gets us nowhere. It only identifies the culprit as childlike and unserious.

As adults we should be able to keep our emotions in check because we want to understand better than we currently do and become wiser in our actions. When hearing an idea or position the first question that should come to mind is, “Is it true?” It doesn’t matter much if the source is a homeless vagrant or a Pulitzer prize winner. If it is true then we need to address it as such. It deserves our attention. By avoiding it or dismissing it we have only robbed ourselves of the opportunity to understand with greater clarity and increase in wisdom through meaningful dialog.

Remember these rules when approaching conversations:

1. Approach the conversation with a desire to uncover the truth and determine the wisest conclusions. If you are unwilling to do this, but rather seek to overpower your opponent then wisdom will never be your companion.
2. Listen and ensure that you hear and understand the arguments. If you are not going to listen to them you might as well just write them a letter. If you are going to argue with a position that they don’t actually hold you are just identifying yourself as someone that has a poor capacity for understanding.
3. Clarify what outcome the other has in mind before deciding to respond. If both desire similar outcomes but have different strategies to obtain it, then there is a discussion worth having. If however, the desired outcomes are completely different then the subject of your debate will be focused differently.
4. Before responding, seek to understand why they have come to the conclusion they have. Often it is in their reasoning that contains the flaw and debating the conclusion rather than the assumptions is like trying to keep water out of the boat without fixing the leak.
5. Once you have their position well in hand, ask the question: Is it true? This could be in response to the entire position or certain parts. You may disagree with their overall conclusion but find deeper understanding by identifying truth they may have. Accepting the truths of their position increases your ability to debate their conclusions if necessary.
6. When responding stay clearly focused on the issue. Do not allow yourself to resort to personal attacks. This only destroys common ground, kills trust, and abandons logic and reason in favor of petty emotions. This will remove any credibility you may have gained, and it also demonstrates that you are lacking in the power of self-control.

If we can do these things, we have the ability to find real solutions to the real problems of our day. Without this we are no better than the children in the playground yelling back and forth, “yes, you are!”, “no I’m not!”, “yes, you are!’ and the conclusions we make will only be worthy of our childishness.

We are happy to present the first American Sage Blog Carnival on American Politics. What is a Blog Carnival? It’s a collection of writings from blogs around the world on a particular topic. Carnivals are intended to broaden the horizon of the reader by bringing them articles that they might otherwise not find. Here are the articles we found particularly interesting; we hope you enjoy them.

Congress Weighs Landmark Change in Web Ad Privacy, by Straight Shooters Radio

The Web sites we visit, the online links we click, the search queries we conduct, the products we put in virtual shopping carts, the personal details we reveal on social networking pages — all of this can give companies insight into what Internet ads we might be interested in seeing…

End Corporate Personhood, by Phil for Humanity

Corporations are not people. Corporations do not have citizenship. The Constitution of the United States of America does not even mention corporations. As a result, corporations do not have any civil rights, including the rights to free speech or to vote…

Freedom is Not a Political System, by Wisdom from Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket

“Globalization and unfettered capitalism have been swept into the history books long with the open-market theory of the 1920s, the experiments of fascism, communism and the New Deal” (i.e., interventionism). Doesn’t leave much, does it? The above quote is typical of many attempts to counter the economic “recovery” claims which are popping up like the proverbial “green shoots”…

The Declaration of Independence, by Don’t Tread on Me

The first thing I have observed is it is a shorter read than I expected. The 13 colonies of America represented in creation of the  document.  I remember now these dates and topics being covered in high school but the teacher was not gifted nor knew how to exude his passion for history to engage us further than read the book, a small lecture a day, and read the paper while we did our class work.

We can not let a Good Crisis go to Waste, by Varg Freeborn

Anyone who is paying attention to the problems we are experiencing as a country today would agree that we are in a crisis in America. We are in the midst of the worst economic situation since the Great Depression. Federal government is printing billions of dollars and picking winners and losers in the financial markets. Socialistic moves are being made in the form of the partial nationalization of private corporations and public policy.

The Danger of Ambiguous Legislation, by Everett

Friedrich August von Hayek CH (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992), was an Austrian and British economist and philosopher known for his defense of classical liberalism and free-market capitalism against socialist and collectivist thought.

Divert and Conquer, by Brock Ventura

Dear American,

Intelligence is brutal when calculated with intent. True intelligence manipulates itself into illiterate disguise. The diversions of this administration since January 20th have bounced conservatism into a frenzy of defense after defense leaving it exhausted.

The Bottom Line on Socialism and the Future of Our Country, by Bob Brooks

If you look at the evidence, it is pretty clear that the politicians in Washington (for the most part) are about one thing – HUGE governmental control and power over everything. The problem with socialism is where it leads.

Bad Goals, Bad Solutions, by Jared Rhoads

Nearly seven months later, we have half a dozen bills in progress. Not a single bill shows any evidence that comprehensive free market solutions have been seriously studied or considered.

Are the Negative Rumors about the Obama Health Care Bill True?, by John Mastro

So many different views, rumors, assumptions and arguments are ongoing about the ”America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009“. The nation is very divided and there are very passionate supporters and opposers on both sides.

What Will I Do For America?, by Living Documents

I was born in Washington State and grew up in the rural town of Grapeview. The area is wide by miles but poor in tax revenue, still remaining absent of a mayor and police station. The population is around 400, spiking slightly in the summer when the city folk come to their vacation cabins. The men volunteer at the Fire Station, and if they don’t have sons, then they enroll their daughters.

On September 11th 2001, I saw evil in a way that was more real to me than it had been before. I watched that morning with the world as evil men who had declared me their enemy flew planes into buildings killing thousands of my countrymen. Men, women, fathers, daughters, sons, friends, just like me. The world changed for me that day. I was awakened to the reality that there were millions of radical Muslims who had declared me their enemy and sought my destruction. This was something that I had not realized before. From that moment I began reading, listening, and thinking with a seriousness that I had not previously had. I wanted to understand reality and not be fooled by any notions of what I thought reality should be. I began thinking critically about the principals at work in this complicated world in which I lived. I began to first ask, “what is true?'” Only after feeling comfortable with the answers that came from that question would I then try to decide what to do about that truth. This search for understanding and wisdom will go on my entire life, but it will only be fruitful if I rigidly demand the first question to be, ”what is true?” Only then can I formulate opinions and solutions that are based in reality and thereby result in some actual value to the world.

The threat on western culture from radical Islam is not one of policy or economics. It is one of ideology and faith. These people are converted to a faith that demands their obedience by eradicating the infidel. They have declared us their enemy and seek our destruction. Our options are simple: be defeated, defeat them, convert to their faith, convert them from their faith. There are no other options.

For further insight into this clash of civilizations I recommend the following books:

Civilization and Its Enemies, Lee Harris

Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Because They Hate, Brigitte Gabriel

Now They Call Me Infidel, Nonie Darwish