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This is my all time favorite movie scene!  William Wallace teaching the Scots that life without freedom is no life at all.  Honor is not a subject that is covered in today’s schools, but it should be.  Never take our God given freedoms for granted.  Freedom from tyranny is never free and eternal vigilance is the price to maintain the hard earned freedoms won in Western civilization.  Study the history of your country and study the history of man’s quest for freedom against tyranny.  Do you know the price paid for our freedoms?  Very inspiring stuff!  What is your favorite inspirational moment from the movies?  Remember that our lives are not dress rehearsal and we only have one life to live.  How you live that life will echo throughout eternity.  Live a God honoring life and make a difference in your sphere of influence.  Here are my favorite freedom quotes.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach himself. – Thomas Paine

History does not teach fatalism.  There are moments when the will of a handful of free men breaks through determinism and opens up new roads. – Charles de Gaulle

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. – Dwight D. Eisenhower

The patriot’s blood is the seed of Freedom’s tree. – Thomas Campbell

Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081.  First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs.  Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify.  And don’t regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression. – Gerard K. O’Neill

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. – Abraham Lincoln

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. – Dick Cheney

We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their ploughs but to secure liberty for their souls. – Robert J. McCracken

For what avail the plough or sail, or land or life, if freedom fail? – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it. – Thomas Paine

In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved. – Franklin D. Roosevelt

We have to call it “freedom”: who’d want to die for “a lesser tyranny”? – Mignon McLaughlin

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul. – Moshe Dayan

There are two freedoms – the false, where a man is free to do what he likes; the true, where he is free to do what he ought. – Charles Kingsley

No one is free when others are oppressed. – Author Unknown

Nations grown corrupt

Love bondage more than liberty;

Bondage with ease than strenuous liberty. – John Milton

Most people want security in this world, not liberty. – H.L. Mencken

Men fight for freedom, then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves. – Author Unknown

Liberty has never come from the government.  Liberty has always come from the subjects of it.  The history of liberty is a history of resistance. – Woodrow Wilson

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. – Benjamin Franklin

We have enjoyed so much freedom for so long that we are perhaps in danger of forgetting how much blood it cost to establish the Bill of Rights. – Felix Frankfurter

No man can put a chain about the ankle of his fellow man without at last finding the other end fastened about his own neck. – Frederick Douglass

Let freedom never perish in your hands. – Joseph Addison

I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. – James Madison

Freedom has a thousand charms to show,

That slaves, howe’er contented, never know. – William Cowper

The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power. – Daniel Webster

Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks.  Their children, brought up easy, let it slip away again, poor fools.  And their grandchildren are once more slaves. – D.H. Lawrence

I prefer liberty with danger to peace with slavery. – Author Unknown

Liberty means responsibility.  That is why most men dread it. – George Bernard Shaw

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion. – Edmund Burke

Freedom is never free. – Author Unknown

Many politicians are in the habit of laying it down as a self-evident proposition that no people ought to be free till they are fit to use their freedom.  The maxim is worthy of the fool in the old story who resolved not to go into the water till he had learned to swim. – Thomas Macaulay

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. – Holy Bible

The Solidarity Movement was successful in forcing changes to the inept, inefficient and un-productive Polish Communist Party.  Tyranny comes in many sizes, shapes and forms, but displays several uncanny common characteristic wherever it is practiced.  Leadership in corporations and governments is not any different at its core principles.  Leadership in both fields is responsible to lead with character and produce long-term results.  When this doesn’t happen, there will be resistance and eventually the incompetent “leaders” will be ousted.  Here is a fantastic article on the Solidarity movement in blue with my analysis on Solidarity’s resistance and tyranny’s oppressive principles after each paragraph.  Enjoy the article and learn about the brave men and women from Poland who stood up for truth against their Communist Tyrants.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Established in September of 1980 at the Gdansk shipyards, Solidarity was an independent labor union instrumental in the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, and the primary catalyst that would transform Poland from a repressive communist satellite to the EU member democracy it is today. The Solidarity movement received international attention, spreading anti-communist ideas and inspiring political action throughout the rest of the Communist Bloc, and its influence in the eventual fall of communism in Central and Eastern Europe cannot be understated or dismissed.

When people cannot communicate freely with those in power—they are forced to resists the dictatorial powers who will not listen to the needs of their constituents.  Leaders are responsible for results and if the titled leaders will not produce results, then others leaders with purpose  and results will replace them.

Solidarity’s cohesion and initial success, like that of other dissident movements, was not created overnight, or the result of any specific event or grievance. Rather, the emergence of Solidarity as a political force in Poland was spurred by governmental and economic difficulties that had continued to deepen over the course of an entire decade. Poland’s ‘shortage economy’ put stress on the lives of everyday people who were unable to purchase daily necessities, such as bread or toilet paper, and faced endless queues for which there was rarely a reward. In July of 1980, the Polish government – facing economic crisis – was again forced to raise the price of goods while curbing the growth of wages. This was essentially the “last straw” for much of Poland’s labor force, with strikes spreading almost at once across the country, in spite of the absence of any organized network.

When the people responsible for the management of a country or company cannot produce results—this leads to many grievances and events that place stress on the people following the inept “leaders.”   When in charge, take command or you will be held responsible.  There does not need to be an organized network, only a common complaint among all members like the inept Polish Communist Regime.  People unite around the incompetence of the current administration to drive change.

In Gdansk, at the then ‘Lenin Shipyards’, the shipyard workers were unified by the additional outrage of Anna Walentynowicz’s firing. The dismissal of Walentynowicz – a popular crane-operator and activist, combined with the previous firing of Lech Walesa – an outspoken electrician, galvanized the workers into taking action. A strike began on August 14th, led by Walesa, who gave voice to the workers’ demands for the legalization of independent labor unions, the raising of a monument to the 80 workers brutally murdered in a 1970 labor dispute in Gdansk, and the rehiring of both Walesa and Walentynowicz.

The first action of the oppressors is to fire or murder the leaders that are most vocal in their resistance to the incompetent management.  By firing the leaders of the resistance, tyrannical “leaders” expect the followers to passively surrender their ideals.  Anna Walentynowicz and Lech Walesa were both fired for addressing the lack of results of the Polish Communist Regime, but the Polish people did not surrender their ideals and convictions.

Despite nation-wide censorship and the severance of all phone connections between Gdansk and the rest of the country, several underground presses succeeded in covering the story and spreading the shipyard workers’ message throughout Poland and the Eastern Bloc. On August 16th, several other strike committees joined the Gdansk shipyard workers and the following day 21 demands of the unified strike committee were put forward. These demands went far beyond the scope of local concern, calling for the legal formation of independent trade unions, an end to media censorship, the right to strike, new rights for the Church, the freeing of political prisoners, and improvements in the national health system. The movement’s news-sheet, Solidarnosc, began being printed on the shipyard printing press at a run of 30,000 copies.

The second action of all dictatorial powers is to censor the free speech of the resistance to kill the truth about the inept management of the enterprise.  Tyranny’s biggest fear is that the truth about the administration’s incompetence and hypocrisy would be publically exposed. 

On August 18th, the Szczecin shipyard joined the Gdansk shipyard in protest, igniting a wave of strikes along the Polish coast. Within days, most of Poland was affected by factory shutdowns, with more and more unions forming and joining the Gdansk-based federation on a daily basis. With the situation in Gdansk gaining international support and media coverage, the Gdansk shipyard workers were able to hold out longer than many of their compatriots. Poland’s Soviet government capitulated, sending a Governmental Commission to Gdansk, which on September 3rd signed an agreement ratifying many of the workers’ demands. This agreement, known as the Gdansk Agreement, became recognized as the first step in dismantling Soviet power. Achieving the right to form labor unions independent of Communist Party control, and the right to strike, workers’ concerns would now receive representation; common people were now able to introduce democratic changes into the communist political structure.

Tyranny counts on the passive behavior of the masses and will not yield to gentle requests.  History teaches that a God-less power hungry elite must be met with an equal but opposite Godly force to cause tyranny to relent.   The Polish Communistic regime only capitulated because of international support, media coverage, and a unified Solidarity.

With an upsurge of momentum in the wake of their success, workers’ representatives – with Walesa on the pulpit – formed a national labor union on September 17th and Solidarity (‘Solidarnosc’ in Polish) was born. The first independent labor union in the Soviet Bloc, Solidarity’s existence was remarkable to people the world over who had previously thought such an organization could never exist under communism. In Poland, millions of people hopeful for change rallied around the union and in the 500 days following the Gdansk Agreement, 10 million people – students, workers, intellectuals – joined Solidarnosc or one of its sub organizations (Independent Student Union, Craftsmen’s Union, Farmer’s Union, etc.). A quarter of the country’s population bravely became members, including 80% of Poland’s workforce, marking the only time in human history that such a percentage of a country’s population voluntarily joined an organization. With the country behind them, Solidarity slowly transformed from a trade union to a full-on revolutionary movement, using strikes and other acts of protest to force change in government policies. The movement was careful, however, never to use violence, for fear of encouraging and validating harsh reprimands from the government.

Tyranny only recognizes a threat when the people stand so strongly with the resistance—they realize attacking the leadership is attacking everyone under their adminstration.  One, two, ten even a thousand dissidents can be thrown in jail, but not millions of the Polish workforce.  The Polish people called the bluff of the dictatorial threats and intimidation by standing together against the overt tyranny.  Over 80% of the Polish workforce bravely stood up to the Communist dictators by joining the Solidarity movement and this forced the Polish Communist to negotiate.

As quickly as December 1980, the Monument to Fallen Shipyard Workers was erected, and the following month Walesa and other Solidarity delegates met with Pope John Paul II in Rome. After 27 Solidarity members in Bydgoszcz were assaulted by the state police during a state-initiated National Council meeting on March 19th, news spread throughout the underground press and nation-wide strike was planned. This action, involving over half a million people, brought Poland to a standstill and was the largest strike in the history of the Eastern Bloc. The government was forced to promise an investigation into the Bydgoszcz beatings and allow the story to be released to the international press.

When tyranny realizes the leaders of the resistance will not back down—they will attack the next line of leaders, hoping to break the unity of the resistance.  27 Solidarity members were assaulted, but it only strengthened the will to resist.  Solidarity insisted the beatings be released to the media to the shame of the oppressors.  Every dictatorial mis-step by the oppressors must be met by united actions by the oppressed people.

After the Gdansk Agreement, Moscow stepped up pressure on its Polish government, which continued to lose its control over Polish society. The Soviets put General Wojciech Jaruzelski in the driver’s seat, expecting a crackdown on the Solidarity movement. On December 13th, 1981, Juruzelski delivered, declaring martial law and arresting some 5,000 Solidarity members in the middle of the night, Walesa and other Gdansk leaders among them. Censorship was expanded and police filled the streets. Hundreds of strikes taking place throughout the country were put down harshly by riot police, including several deaths during demonstrations in Gdansk and at the Wujek Coal Mine. By the end of 1981 strikes had ceased and Solidarity seemed crippled. In October of 1982, Solidarity was delegalized and banned. The Polish people were bowed, but not broken….

Tyranny will never willingly give up power and will attack on all fronts – in as many un-ethical ways it can think of to maintain power – regardless of their alleged principles.  In the Polish Communist Government’s case, the communist had always claimed they were for the common workers, but the behaviors proved they only cared for their special perks and power.  Ideology is thown out the moment their tyrannical power is threatened.

Upon the arrest of the Solidarity leadership, more underground structures began to form, including Solidarity Radio and over 500 underground publications. Solidarity managed to persevere throughout the mid-80s as an underground movement, garnering extensive international support which condemned Jaruzelski’s actions.

The more the resistance is attacked—the more it unites and goes underground.  The Solidarity movement created Solidarity radio and over 500 underground publications.  This ensured the truth about the un-Godly behavior of the oppressors would be made public.  The Solidarity radio and publications did not need to create lies about the oppressors as the truth is damning enough.

No other movement in the world was supported by such a wide gamut: Reagan, Thatcher, the Pope, Carrillo (head of communist Spain); NATO, Christians, Western communists, liberals, conservatives, and socialists – all voiced support for Solidarity’s cause. US President Ronald Reagan imposed sanctions on Poland, which would eventually force the government to soften its policies. The CIA and Catholic Church provided funds, equipment and training to the Solidarity underground. And the Polish people still supported what remained of the movement, demonstrating through masses held by priests such as Jerzy Popieluszko, who would himself later become a martyr of the cause.

Resistance to tyranny always brings other principle-centered Godly people to the freedom movement’s aid.  The French people helped the Colonials in the Revolutionary War.  The free-enterprise, freedom loving, people of the world helped the Solidarity movement against the power hungry, anti-freedom, intimidation filled Polish Communist Regime.  Tyrannical “leaders” must wake up and realize they will not be tolerated by freedom loving people of the world.

By November of 1982, Walesa was released from prison; however, less than a month later, the government carried out an attack upon the movement, arresting 10,000 activists. On July 22, 1983, martial law was lifted, yet many restrictions on civil liberties and political life remained, as well as food rationing which would continue until the late 80s. On October 5th, Lech Walesa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, despite the Polish government’s attempts to defame him and their refusal to allow him to leave the country and accept the award.

Tyranny cannot survive unless Civil Liberties are revoked, violated and repressed.  Oppressors must defame the leaders of the resistance for fear that the people will learn the truth and refuse to follow the incompetent leaders.  Awards and recognitions given to the resistance leaders will be disparaged, minimized and excused away.  Tyranny can have only worship one god and that is Self.

When Mikhail Gorbachev assumed control over the Soviet Union in 1985, he was forced to initiate a series of reforms due to the worsening economic situation across the entire Eastern Bloc. These reforms included political and social reforms which led to a shift in policy in many Soviet satellites, including Poland, and led to the happy release of hundreds of political prisoners connected with Solidarity. However, Solidarity members continued to be the objects of persecution and discrimination.

The only reforms ever implemented in a tyrannical power-hungry regime are those that are forced upon the oppressors by a united resistance.  Gorbachev only relented to the political and social reforms from political expediency to maintain power.  As Lord Acton stated, “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

By 1988, Poland’s economic situation was worse than ever due to foreign sanctions and the government’s refusal to introduce more reforms. A new wave of strikes swept the country after food costs were increased by 40%. Finally on August 26, the government announced it was ready to negotiate with Solidarity and met with Walesa, who incredulously agreed to call an end to the strikes. In preparation for an official negotiating conference with the government, a hundred-member committee was formed within Solidarity, composed of many sections, each of which was responsible for presenting specific demands to the government at the forthcoming talks. This conference, which took place in Warsaw from February 6th to April 4th, 1989, came to be known as the ‘Polish Roundtable Talks.’ Though the members of Solidarity had no expectation of major changes, the Roundtable Talks would irreversibly alter the political landscape and Polish society.

Years of no results in leadership will produce wave after wave of resistance, until the necessary changes are implemented.  Incompetent management will ultimately fail, because it does not meet the needs of those it claims to serve.  The Polish Communist blamed Solidarity for their fall, but their demise resulted from their own incompetence and pride.

On April 17, 1989, Solidarity was again legalized and the party was allowed to field candidates in upcoming elections. With its members immediately jumping to 1.5 million after legalization, the party was restricted to fielding candidates for only 35% of the seats in the new Sejm. Despite aggression and propaganda from the ruling party, extremely limited resources and pre-election polls that promised a communist victory, Solidarity managed to push forward a campaign that surprised everyone, including themselves. The party won every contested seat in the Sejm and 99 of 100 Senatorial seats: the new ‘Contract Sejm’ as it was called would be dominated by Solidarity.

Even after concessions, the tyrannical power will still utilize un-ethical propaganda and aggression to fear the populace into following their demands.  Tyranny never learns the lesson that a free people with a choice will never cower to threats and intimidation.  Solidarity won 99 of 100 Senatorial seats in the Polish Communist Regimes first free elections.  Throughout history, tyranny is clueless on how much they are hated by the people—even those who claim to be on their side.  Passive-aggressive behavior is rampant throughout any tyrannical system.  To the tyrants face it is: oaths of allegiance – hypocritical lies to pacify.  Behind their backs it is: Don’t ask and don’t tell.  The tyrants are saluted to their face and laughed at behind their backs.  An un-ending store of resentments and blatant hypocrisy by the followers surrounding the dictator; giving the tyrant the constant affirmations needed to affirm the lies and the liars conscience.  The lie continues until the first free elections – where the people rise up in mass and boot the tyrant unceremoniously out of power.

As agreed beforehand, Wojciech Jaruzelski was elected president; however the communist candidate for prime minister now failed to rally enough support to form a government and the Sejm elected Solidarity representative Tadeusz Mazowiecki as Prime Minister of Poland. Mazowiecki became the first non-communist prime minister in Poland since 1945 and the first anywhere in Eastern Europe for 40 years. Under Mazowiecki a Solidarity-led government was formed, and only Jaruzelski remained of the old regime. Communism had collapsed in Poland and within months the famous Wall in Berlin would do the same.

The only way tyranny endures is through the intimidation and fear of the masses threatened with reprisals if they tell the truth.  Lech Walesa and other brave men and women had the courage to tell the truth.  The King has no clothes on period!  Through many personal attacks, imprisonments, and financial hardships—the leaders of Solidarity stood for truth, until the lies were fully exposed and the Polish Communist regime collapsed.  Shortly after, the whole Eastern Bloc of Communist Countries collapsed like dominoes under the weight of their own lies. 

The fall of communism in Poland thrust Solidarity into a role it was never prepared for, and in its life as a political party it saw much infighting and a decline in popularity. Walesa decided to resign from his Solidarity post and announced his intent to run for president in the upcoming elections. In December 1990, Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland and became the first Polish president ever elected by popular vote. The 1990 elections in Poland, which scored astonishing victories for anti-communist candidates, set-off a string of peaceful anti-communist revolutions throughout Central and Eastern Europe which led to the fall of communism is these regions. In the Baltic’s people were joining hands in solidarity, and the cry for freedom could be heard in the Estonian Singing Revolution and its Lithuanian and Latvian counterparts. The example of Solidarity had emboldened the oppressed peoples of the entire Eastern Bloc to stand together and demand their independence. By Christmas of 1991, the USSR had ceased to exist, and all the former communist territories across Eurasia became sovereign entities once again.

When brave people stand, it grows the spines of all oppressed people around the world to speak the truth against the oppressors, who feed them only lies.  Tyranny cannot stand against the light of reason and truth.  Tyranny is an outmoded form of leadership that will not survive in today and tomorrow’s information age.

Today Solidarity’s role in Polish politics is limited and the organization has again reverted back toward the role of a more traditional trade union with a membership that currently exceeds 1.1 million. Summer 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the historic Solidarity movement, remembering the hardships of its humble beginnings and celebrating the changes those hardships inspired across the continent.

The thing we most learn from history is that we do not learn from history. – George Bernard Shaw

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. – George Santayana

Let’s follow up Ronald Reagan’s leadership post with another on how his thoughts produced actions.  My basic thesis is that how a person thinks in their own mind will flow into their actions in their life.  As a leader, it will flow into the culture they create in everything that they lead.  Reagan believed strongly in the power of the individual to govern their life better than any third party.   This belief propelled him from a small town Illinois kid to a Hollywood star, Governor of California, and President of the United States.  Not only must we give people freedom, but we must teach people how to think about their freedoms and corresponding responsibilities.  This is why the free enterprise system cannot just be transplanted into the former communist countries without some world-view changes. 

Reagan made America freer after years of less freedom, but he also cast a vision for America.  He made Americans proud to be Americans again.  One of the most important things the President does is cast a vision from their world-view.  This is why I believe understanding how a person views themselves and the individual will tell us what they feel government’s role is.   Because Reagan believed in himself, America, and the individual—he felt his main role in government was to reduce its pervasiveness in our lives.  I will allow Reagan to speak for himself, but notice how his thoughts led to his words which led to his style of government.   In my opinion, Reagan’s views of government and the success of his administration prove that a modern president can lead with the same principles that guided our founding fathers.   This is a huge point for Americans to understand as they listen to the candidates to understand their world-view.   Here is Reagan in his own words from his autobiography, An American Life.

“The first rule of bureaucracy is to protect the bureaucracy.  If the people running the welfare program had let their clientele find other ways of making a living, that would have reduced their importance and their budget.”

“I didn’t think much of the inefficiency, empire building, and business-as-usual attitude that existed in wartime under the civil service system.  If I suggested that an employee might be expendable, his supervisor would look at me as if I were crazy.  He didn’t want to reduce the size of his department; his salary was based to a large extent on the number of people he supervised.  He wanted to increase it, not decrease it.”

“There probably isn’t any undertaking on earth short of assuring the national security that can’t be handled more efficiently by the forces of private enterprise than by the federal government.”

“I became convince that some of our fundamental freedoms were in jeopardy because of the emergence of a permanent government never envisioned by the framers of the Constitution: a federal bureaucracy that was becoming so powerful it was able to set policy and thwart the desires not only of ordinary citizens, but heir elected representatives in Congress. . . For example, I learned the government had six programs to help poultry growers increase egg production.  It also had a seventh program costing almost as much as all six others to buy up surplus eggs.”

“No government has ever voluntarily reduced itself in size.”

“No nation in history has ever survived a tax burden that reached a third of its national income.”

“Usually with the best of intentions, Congress passed a new program, appropriated the money for it, then assigned bureaucrats in Washington to disperse the money; almost always, the bureaucrats responded by telling states, cities, counties, and schools how to spend this money.  In Madison’s words, Washington was usurping power form the states by the “gradual and silent encroachment of those in power. . . . Over time, they became so dependent on the money that, like junkies, they found it all but impossible to break the habit, and only after they were well addicted to it did they learn how pervasive the federal regulations were that came with the money.”

“In return for federal grants, state and local governments surrendered control of their destiny to a faceless bureaucracy in Washington that claimed to know better how to solve the problems of a city or town than the people who lived there. . . . Once started, a federal program benefitting any group or special interest is virtually impossible to end and the costs go on forever.”

“We had strayed a great distance from our founding father’s vision of America: They regarded the central government’s responsibility as that of providing a national security, protecting our democratic freedoms, and limiting the government’s intrusion into our lives—in sum, the protection of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  They never envisioned vast agencies in Washington telling our farmers what to plant, our teachers what to teach, or industries what to build.  The Constitution they wrote established sovereign states, not administrative districts of the federal government.”

“The waste in dollars and cents was small compared with the waste of human potential.  It was squandered by the narcotic of giveaway programs that sapped the human spirit, diminished the incentive of people to work, destroyed families, and produced an increase in female and child poverty, deteriorating schools, and disintegrating neighborhoods.”

“My theme on the campaign stump was familiar to anyone who had heard me speak over the years: It was time to scale back the size of the federal government, reduce taxes and government intrusion in our lives, balance the budget, and return to the people the freedoms usurped from them by the bureaucrats.”

“If no one among us is capable of governing himself, then who among us has the capacity to govern someone else?”

“The same principle that affected my thinking applied to people in all tax brackets:  The more government takes in taxes, the less incentive people have to work.  What coal miner or assembly-line worker jumps at the offer of overtime when he knows Uncle Sam is going to take sixty percent or more of his extra pay?”

“I don’t think we will solve the problem of the deficit until three things happen:  We need more discipline on spending in Congress.  We need a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the budget.  And we need to give our president’s a line-item veto.”

“As I have often said, governments don’t produce economic growth, people do.  What government can do is encourage Americans to tap their well of ingenuity and unleash their entrepreneurial spirit, then get out of the way.”

“Every year that I was president, I asked Congress for a constitutional amendment that would require the federal government—like any well-run household or business—to balance its budget.  But Congress (and I concede there was opposition to it on both sides of the political aisle) wouldn’t sit still for this infringement on its spendthrift ways.  There was some important progress: . . . . But never underestimate the willingness of congressman to circumvent their own rules, or the public will, in the pursuit of their enthusiasm to spend other people’s money.”

“It is a fact of life that running for political office in this country is very expensive; once in office, few incumbents want to surrender their seats in Congress, so they often trun to the special interest, who want special consideration from them, for the money to finance their campaigns.  Then, after the election, they repay the favors—with the taxpayers’ money.”

“Until presidents have a line-item veto and there is a constitutional amendment mandating a balanced budget, I think the country is likely to face never-ending deficits piled up by a profligate Congress unable or unwilling to make the hard-nosed decisions necessary to bring down spending to a level the country can afford.”

“As I have often said, governments don’t produce economic growth, people do.  What governments can do is encourage Americans to tap their well of ingenuity and unleash their entrepreneurial spirit, then get out of the way.”

“For the free market to work, everyone has to compete on an equal footing.  That way, prices and demand go up or down based on free choices of people; there are winners and losers under the system of free competition, but consumers are ultimately benefactors.
Free competition produces better products and lower prices.  However, when governments fix or control the price, impose quotas, subsidize manufacturers or farmers, or otherwise intervene in the free market with artificial restrictions, it isn’t free and it won’t work as it is supposed to work.”

“The explorers of the modern era are the entrepreneurs, men with vision, with the courage to take risks and faith enough to brave the unknown. These entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States. They are the prime movers of the technological revolution. In fact, one of the largest personal computer firms in the United states was started by two college students, no older than you, in the garage behind their home.  Some people, even in my own country, look at the riot of experiment that is the free market and see only waste. What of all the entrepreneurs that fail? Well, many do, particularly the successful ones. Often several times. And if you ask them the secret of their success, they’ll tell you, it’s all that they learned in their struggles along the way – yes, it’s what they learned from failing. Like an athlete in competition, or a scholar in pursuit of the truth, experience is the greatest teacher.”

There is Reagan in his own words.  Can you see how Reagan’s worldview led to a specific style of government based on the freedom of the people to learn, grow, fail and try again until they get it right?  This is what we desire for our children and grandchildren—the opportunity to grow and lead by their own merits.  I encourage everyone to study the candidates and give them the Reagan test for their thoughts on the role of government.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

In our continuing series on the Presidential Candidates for 2008, I would like to look at leadership and vision.  No matter how impressive the candidate’s rhetoric is, the rubber hits the road in execution.  Can they implement the lofty programs espoused during the campaign?  The best platform of the right ideas without implementation will damage the truth and bring the lesser platforms and the wrong ideas to the front.  America needs a leader with character, honor, vision and courage.   Let’s go back to the last of the great presidents America has had – Ronald Reagan.  I find reading the autobiographies of great achievers to be inspirational and educational.  I just finished reading for the second time, Ronald Reagan’s autobiography called An American Life.  It is an incredible book and I highly recommend to all aspiring leaders.  

My strong belief is America needs a leader who can develop other leaders.  The way government can do this is by giving more back to the people and allowing free enterprise to give everyone an equal opportunity to perform.  The president should be evaluated on how his administration executes on providing people the freedoms to pursue meaning and wealth.  Government does not generate the wealth, but creates and environment where entrepreneurs can create wealth for the benefit of all.  Ronal Reagan did this task marvelously and we need to relearn his methods.  My goal in reading autobiographies is to determine the underlying principles or world-view that the achiever has developed in life.  After reading Reagan’s book, you feel that you know him.  It was less of a book than it was listening to a friend share his story.  Many times in the book, Reagan would pause and share his personal beliefs.  By compiling his personal beliefs, it helps you see the world through Reagan’s eyes.  Ronald Reagan created a freer America and the entrepreneurs responded to the freedoms with increased productivity.  The Soviets could not keep up with the wealth creation of the U.S. and the Cold War unceremoniously ended with the collapse of communism.   Ronald Reagan’s beliefs, led to his world-view, which led to his legendary conviction and courage.  Let’s review some of Reagan’s beliefs and how his beliefs shaped his view of government, people and the roles of each.

“I was raised to believe that God has a plan for everyone and that seemingly random twists of fate are all a part of His plan.  My mother—a small woman with auburn hair and a sense of optimism that ran as deep as the cosmos—told me that everything in life happened for a purpose.  She said all things were part of God’s Plan, even the most disheartening setbacks, and in the end, everything worked out for the best.  If something went wrong, she said, you didn’t let it get you down: You stepped away form it, stepped over it, and moved on.  Later on, she added, something good will happen and you’ll find yourself thinking—‘If I hadn’t had that problem back then, then this better thing that did happen wouldn’t have happened to me.’”

“I grew up observing how the love and common sense of purpose that unites families is one of the most powerful flues on earth and that it can help them overcome the greatest of adversities.  I learned that hard work is an essential part of life—that by and large, you don’t get something for nothing—and that America was a place that offered unlimited opportunity to those who did work hard. . . . I have always wondered at this American marvel, the great energy of the human soul that drives people to better themselves and improve the fortunes of their families and communities.  Indeed, I know of no greater force on earth.”

“The dreams of people may differ, but everyone wants their dreams to come true.  Not everybody aspires to be a bank president or a nuclear scientist, but everybody wants to do something with one’s life that will give him or her pride and a sense of accomplishment.  And America, above all places, gives us the freedom to do that, the freedom to reach out and make our dreams come true.”

“My parents constantly drummed into me the importance of judging people as individuals.  There was no more grievous sin at our household than a racial slur or other evidence of religious or racial intolerance.”

“My mother of course, repeated her old dictum that everything works out for the best and that every reverse in life carries the seeds of something better in the future.”

“Throughout my life, I guess there’s been one thing that’s troubled me more than any other: the abuse of people and the theft of their democratic rights, whether by a totalitarian government, an employer, or anyone else.  I probably got it from my father; Jack never bristled more than when he thought working people were being exploited.”

“For so long, I had shared the reverence most Americans have for that historic building; back when I was a kid in Dixon, I’d imagined what the private part of the White House must be like; but I had never imagined myself actually living there.  Now, we had gone in the front door, gotten on an elevator, and we were here to stay—at least for four years.  If I could do this, I thought, then truly any child in America had an opportunity to do it.”

Can you see how these beliefs helped Reagan overcome any setbacks?  I am always amazed at how many people will gloss over the key nuggets the author shares in their autobiographies.  Leaders cannot tell us everything about themselves, but they do wish to share the key thoughts that make them who they are.  Reagan understood that people were not perfect, but believed a free people would choose better than a bureaucratic government on the key issues in their lives.  He understood that a leader’s role is to create the vision, develop the culture and get out of the way!  Reagan was less concerned about being the star and more concerned with giving people the freedom to become stars themselves.  This was one of the key secrets to Ronald Reagan’s success.   Ronald Reagan knew government could not create societies wealth, but it could create a level playing field where the most talented and courageous entrepreneurs would create societies wealth.  Reagan deeply believed in America and in the ability of the average man and woman to improve their lot by hard work and discipline.  Anything that took away a person’s self worth was detrimental to the person and America.   I will have a follow up article on how Reagan’s world-view transformed America.   Reagan developed a plan for our country based upon unleashing the latent talents hidden inside of the American people and it worked.   I will share with you some of the specific of the Reagan Revolution in the next installment.  I believe we need to finish the revolution Reagan started.  The plan will work again because the principles of economics and people never change.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

Assignment:  I have stated repeatedly that ideas have consequences and Reagan’s autobiography confirms this well proven thought.   How does your world-view compare to Reagan’s.  What beliefs would you add to Reagan’s list?  Does your world-view lead to convictions and courage? 

The quote below reminds me of:

William Wallace in Bravheart , Maximus in Gladiator, Winston Churchill against Hitler, George Washington against King George and England, Oliver Cromwell against King Charles, Martin Luther against the Pope, Spartacus against his Roman masters, Demosthenes against Philip!

When dictatorship is a fact, revolution becomes a right.

Victor Hugo
(1802-1885)

Throughout history, men and women have fought against tyrants who will steal a person’s property, liberty and life.  It takes men and women of character to stand for their freedom against the tyrants.  Can you give any other examples that this quote reminds you of?

While flying to Florida from Michigan, two thoughts popped into my head
that I turned into quotes.  I have been thinking about our responsibilities to God and the importance of having ideals in your life.  America is at the crossroads due to many citizens lack of responsibility and ideals.  Both of these quotes clarified my thinking on these important subjects and I hope they do the same for you.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

If the citizens will not willingly surrender their rights to their responsibilities in Godly obedience—they will be seduced into servitude by Godless dictators of disobedience – Orrin Woodward

I would rather have ideals and be accused of hypocrisy than have no ideals and be praised for sincerity – Orrin Woodward

I listened to my daughter Christina recite a poem for her school project
tonight.  I decided to research the poem and I sure am glad I did!  The poem was written by a Canadian MD during World War I.  This post is dedicated to our brothers and sisters north of the border in Canada.  Laurie and I had the honor of speaking outside of Halifax,
Nova Scotia Canada two weekends ago.  I am very proud of the hunger, attitude and leadership we witnessed.  The Canadians are making a difference and watching the courage of so many leaders tells me the men of Flanders did not die in vain.  Here is the story behind the poem In Flanders Field and here is the link.

McCrae’s “In Flanders Fields” remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the terrible battle in the Ypres
salient in the spring of 1915. Here is the story of the making of that poem:

Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime. 

As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating injured men — Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans — in the Ypres salient.

It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it: 

“I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days… Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done.”

One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae’s dressing station, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain. 

The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the dressing station beside the Canal de l’Yser, just a few hundred yards north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical texts besides dabbling in poetry.

In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook.

A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. “His face was very tired but calm as we wrote,” Allinson recalled. “He looked around from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer’s grave.”

When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO. Allinson was moved by what he read:

“The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me just an exact description of the scene.” 

In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it, McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD
(1872-1918)

Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields. 

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

What part are you playing in the media war to ensure these brave young men and the cause they fought for are remembered?  Let us not break faith with those who died to maintain our freedoms – they risked their lives defending freedom and we only risk rejection and derision defending ours.  We have no excuses!  God Bless, Orrin Woodward