On Fox News last week, Sarah Palin gave a telling response to Greta Van Susteren's question about a possible 2012 presidential bid. Palin said that if no one else came forward with solutions to get the country back on track, she would offer herself "in the name of service to the public." What that says is that Sarah Palin HAS the solution to getting the country back on track. How great is that?! Finally! THE Solution! And Sarah has it!
Just what is her solution? During a recent interview with Bill O'Reilly, Palin clearly laid out her common sense plan for doing the right things for this country. She said, "We should just keep this clean - keep this simple. Go back to what our founders and founding documents meant - they're quite clear - that we would create laws based on the God of the Bible and the Ten Commandments."
There it is. Sarah Palin's solution to all that ills America is for each one of us to live by laws based on the Ten Commandments.
What a great idea! Each one of us has only ten things to do. And, if we do those ten things, all of the problems facing our nation will be solved. Well, let's do it! Let's start today to implement the Sarah Palin Plan for America! We'll begin with Commandment Number One and, for one week, we'll all do what it says. Hey, wouldn't it be wonderful if it worked? And, if not, we'll go to the next one and try it. What do you say?
First of all, we have to find out what the first commandment says. Anyone have a clue? Yeah, I thought not. Okay, let me pull my Bible off the shelf. I know you would think that the Ten Commandments would be strategically placed on the very first page - right there at the beginning, front and center, with an ornate border around them - each decree having been written in a beautiful old style calligraphy. But, instead, you have to wade through pages and pages of stories about the beginning of the world, the destruction of the world, the rebuilding of the world, dividing territory, stealing territory, birth, death, treachery, intrigue - lots of good movie fodder.
So, contrary to popular belief, the Ten Commandments are not even prominently displayed in the Bible. They're actually kind of buried in and amongst all of that other human stuff. But, if you're the kind that likes to hold the map, you'll find them in the twentieth chapter of the book of Exodus. Commandment One says, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me."
Whew. To use my favorite Sarah Palinism: "Alrighty then." It feels like a blanket of uncomfortable silence just enveloped my brain. But don't give up. There's got to be something here for us. Sarah said it would be simple.
But let me be the first to blurt it out: "You shall have no other gods before me" has no meaning in our world today! We don't live in a time where there are the gods of the Canaanites and Babylonians. Today, we know that there is only one god, spirit, energy, life force or whatever you want to call he, she, or it. We, in the 21st Century, know that everyone is talking about the same "god." We just use different names or have different ways of explaining what or who "god" is. So, how is this first commandment going to fix our problems? How is it going to make life better for us? How does this solve the immigration problem? What's it say about abortion? Gay rights? Foreclosures? Health care?
Have patience, Grasshopper. Take a closer look at the first part of it. For more years than they cared to remember, the Hebrew people had lived and worked as slaves in the strange and exotic land of Egypt. Now, it's like God is having a fireside chat and reminiscing about the past. "Remember when you were slaves? Remember how I got you out of there?" It's as if The Almighty was saying, "You're not stuck back there in your old lives anymore. Life is totally brand new for you. You're free!"
How about that? The Ten Commandments were given because the people were now free. And they begin by saying that the first thing on God's mind is the same thing that's first on our minds - our freedom.
It's reminiscent of a very important document our Founding Fathers fashioned in which they declared independence from British rule. The Declaration of Independence also begins with the idea of freedom "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights and among those rights are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The first commandment isn't about God. It's about us. It tells us that the Universal Intention for each one of us is to live totally and completely free in every aspect of our lives. So, don't get yourself all tangled up. Don't complicate things. Keep your focus on freedom and all of the many ways it shows up in your life.
Can you do that? Just for one week - can you concentrate on freedom instead of constantly thinking about all of the things that supposedly are holding you back? For seven successive days, let's keep it simple like Sarah suggests. Light a torch for liberty - for everyone.
Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom. - Albert Einstein