Why I should be the poster child for the "new" America...

Yep, that's me. I was not allowed to work while I went to school. School was too important to be distracted by earning money. On welfare, I could have a place of my own, and I certainly qualify for it. Insurance is sky high. I'm overweight, and clearly need someone to tell me what to eat because I'm failing on my own. I've kept my head buried in the sand rather than look around at what's happening, so someone else should make the decisions about the things I know nothing about. I don't want to try to figure out what each candidate is really saying. Just tell me what to vote for, and I'll do it. I'm the only person in my family without at least a B.A. By every definition, I should want what the new government regime is offering.

I. DO. NOT. WANT. IT!

I was taught that Democrats were for the little guy, and Republicans were for the evil corporations; Democrats were peace-loving, and Republicans were warmongers. What I was taught was to be easy, non-confrontational, because everyone else was responsible, not me. I didn't have any power, so what could I do, really?

So how in the world did I turn out to be a capitalist down to my bones? It wasn't easy. There was a lot of learning, accepting responsibility, learning, creating healthy boundaries, learning, making priorities, learning, making mistakes, and more learning. Looking back, I recognize that it all came down to one thing: My free will, my right to choose.

It has been a gradual process, but one that has been escalating over the years. Several years ago, I began recognizing a pattern that really, really annoyed me. There were people that knew me well and wanted to make sure I never made the same mistakes again. Then I started to notice that there people who didn't know me or anything about me but were making assumptions about me. They were telling me what was best for me because they wanted to be sure I didn't make any unnecessary mistakes. If I only did everything they advised, I would be safe. Why did this all sound so familiar?

The adversary abhors freedom. If we're free, we might choose to serve God. God, who gave us freedom from the beginning, in the Garden of Eden, to eat or not. He knew what would happen if Adam and Eve ate, and expected it. He gave Man the freedom to make mistakes. So it follows that the adversary would want to take away all freedom. What better way than to disguise freedom as dangerous? Do I really want to follow the insidious plan the adversary has so carefully constructed since the beginning of time? Or do I want to be willing to risk my very soul for the right to lay claim to the Atonement that God provided through His only Begotten Son? All that is asked of me is that I believe and follow Christ. With God all things are possible; the adversary whispers that all is lost with too many choices. It's too risky. It isn't safe. You might fail. You could be hurt. You could have trials. You could struggle. You could die. A rule here, another there, and oh, better make a rule for that little thing there, and that, and that, and that, and that... And in an effort to remain safe, we find ourselves bound in the chains of safety, not only not safe but lost.

Do I advocate that Capitalism is God's perfect plan? You're kidding right? People aren't perfect. Given all the plans that Man has come up with, Capitalism gives the most choices so far. I want more choices not fewer. Consider that in the Old Testament, God gave 10 Commandments. In the New Testament, we were given three. Fewer rules, with more far reaching meaning. But those three rules are based on the individual. The first great commandment is to love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, might, mind, and strength, and the second is like unto it to love thy neighbor as thyself. There isn't anything in there anywhere about someone else making sure I'm taken care of, nowhere. I'm willing to trust that the Atonement is more than enough for all the mistakes, bumbling, failures, and loss that life will throw my way. I'm awed and grateful that God inspired the Founding Fathers to create a country that would make it possible to choose my own way. I may succeed spectacularly, but I may also fail just as spectacularly, but hopefully in the process I will become what God intended. I choose the freedom God promised.