Before people can hold a meaningful conversation with another, they must establish certain ground rules.  These ground rules are intended to provide a reasonable level of assurance that they will understand each other correctly.  At a very minimum, these ground rules must contain symbols that represent things, concepts and ideas, as well as a common understanding of what each symbol represents.  There must also be a known and accepted set of rules governing how these symbols are used when there is a need to convey more complex thoughts or ideas.  There are many such systems of symbols and rules. There must also be a set of defined rules for how we use these symbols to convey more complicated meanings.  There are many such systems of symbols and rules.   Among them are basic logic and mathematics.  In the case of written and/or spoken words, we most commonly call this system “language.”

Now, this may all seem very obvious and maybe even boring, but it isn’t.  Our society has become multi-lingual, and even when people sound like they are using the same language, often times the words hold entirely different meanings.  This is commonly known as slang.  What’s more, there is a deliberate, concerted and ongoing effort to destroy our society’s shared understanding of language.  In many respects, a society is its language.  Language heavily influences the way we think, which then influences the way we act and react.  So, when we all share a common language, we all share at least one common thread that then serves to bind us together and create a sense of unity across our society.  However, if we confuse the common understanding with slang, or worse, we allow additional languages into the public square, then we sow division and discord within our society.  This is why, if someone wanted to undermine a society, one of the most effective means of doing so would be to subvert that society’s language – and that is exactly what has been going on in our nation for decades.

Therefore, if we are to defend our culture, it’s crucial that we defend our language, as well.  In a nation as large and diverse as ours, a common language is one of the few things that can bind us all together.  I write in the English language because it’s integral to our nation’s heritage and connects us to our founders. I adhere to the formal rules of English grammar, which can be found on sites such as this one.  And, unless I state otherwise, I will use the definitions found in the on-line edition of the Merriam-Webster’s English Dictionary (which, incidentally, traces its origins to Daniel Webster: founding father of this nation as well as American education).  Finally, in the interest of establishing our common understanding, when I make or critique and argument, historical document or news story, I will be using the rules of basic logic.

In WW II, the first offensive ground operation conducted by the Allies in the South Pacific was the invasion of Guadalcanal.  It was a sizable tropic island in the South-Eastern end of the Solomon Island.  The invasion was officially called Operation Watchtower, but the Marines dubbed it Operation Shoe-String because – fearing an attack from the Japanese – the Navy left before it unloaded the Marines’ heavy equipment, ammunition and food supplies.  This forced the Marines to make do with captured materials and whatever they could manage to get past the Japanese by air and small surface ships.  This situation continued for several months before enough strength could be mustered to relieve the hard-pressed Marines and secure the island.  I mention this story because, as a former Marine, I feel like those of us who are trying to hold back the encroaching forces of tyranny are in a similar position: we’re facing overwhelming odds from a foe flushed with victory and we have darned few resources with which to hold them.  But, as a former Marine, I don’t know how to give ground.  Instead, I am determined to do what I can with what I have in hopes that others will eventually join the fight in time to win the day.

Originally, I had intended to fill out all the information I want to put in the header pages at the top of the blog.  In my mind, those pages would form a sort of base from which we could work as we started to re-learn history.  They would also provide us with an ideal by which we could evaluate the stories and events of the day.  But I don’t believe we have enough time left for such a methodical approach.  Our nation is in decline and our society is starting to decay.  Every day, the headlines are filled with stories that illustrate how far we’ve strayed from the people we once were and were meant to be.  If we still understood Natural Law, Natural Rights, the social contract and how they all work together to insure individual liberty, then we would see the danger that lurks in these headlines.  But we don’t see it because we’ve forgotten – or worse, we’ve embraced a different ideology, an ideology that presents itself as providing freedom but always leads to destruction.  While it’s true, we have a lot of ground to recover if we want to be ready to face the crisis that is already at our door, and our time is very, very short, but I’m not ready to give up on this nation or our people.  So I’ve decided I’ve waited long enough.  Rather than taking the time to write everything I want to put in the header pages before I start explaining what I see in the headlines, I’m just going to start writing what I can when I can and hope – like the Marines on Guadalcanal — that everything will come together in time to save the day.

So let’s get going; let’s get back on The Road to Concord.