Core Lessons: Introduction

In my dealings with a serial troll over at FreedomFolks, I've been challenging him to back up his rantings by writing expository pieces on where his so-seemingly muddled ideology comes from. Not giving in to the tempation to hunt snipes with him, or respond directly to his ad-hominem-dependent way of writing, I've attempted to nudge him into giving us a hint about what his core beliefs are and to explain to us what it was that led him to internalize them...and perhaps what possesses him to stalk bloggers.

Alas, he's just a troll. We can't expect him to skip out from under the bridge to write cogently about what stirs his soul, what drives his intellect or what truths he holds sacred. Surely if had the nerve, he'd be starting up loving conversations with the Kos-sacks.

But if I am to challenge him, perhaps I need to let it all hang about a bit more here. And so I shall.

The ideas that led to my creating what was first a web site that morphed into a blog obviously did not simply arrive as my ideology one day out of whole cloth. All of my early writings on this site - especially the pre-blog version - were of those things I deduced from experience, the ideals imparted to me by my family, those that emerged as I allowed my sense of stewardship to guide me toward the works of great Western Conservative minds, and, of course, what my exposure to people who stood for or promoted things with which I disagreed but piqued my curiosity to study despite my aversions.

With this in mind, because I think it's always good to revisit an earlier self and because there is just a lot of stuff I wrote before the Internet provided a broad and tag-word attracted audience, I'm going to start posting some of my older work and will continue to do so until I've picked through all of my older work that I'd like to re-examine. I'll post it unedited from it's original form. There will be things with which I now disagree, and there will be things I know more about now. Comments are welcome. Trolls are not; if you have something critical to offer, please include some background regarding how you came to your point.

What follows in this post is the original introduction to the old web site. While it is not close to being the earliest work I'm going to republish, I think it's the best place to start.

So, warts and all, here goes:


Introducing the Journal of The American Kernel

Dear Readers,

January 1, 2002 was no ordinary New Year's Day for me. It was life-changing! My wife woke me, a little white plastic stick in hand. A thin pink line was visible through its window. At 42, I was going to be a first-time father! Happy New Year! The first few days of 2002 were filled with a joy that allowed no intrusive deep thought. But soon I began to contemplate what kind of father I would be. And there were questions: What kind of life will she have? What will I do to nurture her growth? What kind of person will she grow up to be? In the aftermath of September 11th, what kind of world, and more importantly, what sort of America am I leaving for her? The questions came one after the other and they kept on coming for many days.

My daughter's ancestors had a hand in the sowing the seeds that grew into this great nation, not just in one, but all three of the major colonial groups: the northern, middle and southern colonies. All of her ancestors and relatives were duty-bound to carefully hand down family traditions with a sense of pride, responsibility and solemn stewardship.

I realized that this duty was now in my hands and that I had a long-standing commitment to take it very seriously.

So, I began to consider how I would handle my mission. What is the best way for me to make sure that I pass down the things I consider to make up my true "American soul?" My daughter is integrally connected to the blood, toil and sacrifice contained in each and every seminal event that made this great nation. It is important that this thread remain unbroken. How do I make sure this is so?

Well, one of the things that I think I do best is put words on a page. The advent of the Internet offers the opportunity and the means for me to establish a permanent record in a manner that my ancestors did not have. So, I have decided to keep an ongoing record of my thoughts about both my ancestry and current events viewed through the lens of what I know in my heart to be things true to the "real" American traditions.

What is "The American Kernel?"

I believe that there began a unique culture that sprang forth very early in the American colonial era. The people who were ancestors of those who fought to free this land and found a nation were diverse only in the narrowest of senses; they shared far more commonalities than differences. The hardships of frontier and geographic isolation from the nearby foreign influences common in the rest of the world soon produced a people who were more "American" than they were anything else. These hearty people cobbled together something different from anything that came before it in the history of the world. With a nod both to history and to technology I decided to call this essence "The American Kernel."

With all these things in mind, I dedicate this site to my daughter and, hopefully, the rest of my children and their descendants. I have decided to communicate to them in a series of letters. In addition, through this web site I will entertain and post the thoughts and ideas from others who share a similar desire to cherish and preserve the American Kernel.

So, let us begin.

Technorati tags: core beliefs, American Kernel

Political correctness would have killed the colonists

I really enjoy Gates of Vienna. Each visit to this blog provides food for thought. Today, I'm just going to link to a comment that was elevated to the front page. It falls right in line with everything I hope, dream and fear for our nation. Brilliant!

Gates of Vienna: A Stirring in the Forest

The American spirit that our ancestors harnessed to conquer this continent lies
somewhat dormant today, especially in certain regions of America. Our ancestors woke up in a world every morning where there were other groups of humans in the woods with a uncompromising violent warrior ideology looking to butcher our families. In an environment like that you couldn’t afford to let political correctness dictate your responses. You couldn’t wait for the authorities to come protect you. You had to be willing to take responsibility for your family’s survival into your own hands, and if that meant you had to use your technological and tactical superiority in a preemptive use of locally organized violence, local law enforcement would understand. But the further the threat was pushed away from the backyards of the northeast political elite the easier it was for them to legislate a conscience.

Technorati tags: Political Correctness

A lefty becomes victim of SMACKDOWN!!

This article steamed me the other day. Not to be outdone by the 900 responses, mostly against, his first drivel attracted, he decided to wade into the part of the pool he peed in again.

A soldier responds:

Old War Dogs: WaPo Weasels II

"Want to slam our soldiers, Arkin?
Well here is one to slam.
I got used to Lefty slamming
When I came back from Vietnam.
So you want to put a muzzle
On our brave fighting men?
Well try muzzling me you jerk,
Just tell me where and when."

Go read the rest. Brilliant!

HT: Michelle Malkin

Technorati tags: moonbats

Freedom for sale! Turns out it's cheap, too!

Rachel of Pay Heed to the Geek wonders:

Pay heed to the geek :: The “easy way” out :: January :: 2007:

"I wonder where America would be now if our founding fathers, the abolitionists, the suffragists, the civil rights leaders had all just decided that things were too hard here in this part of North America and gone elsewhere. What if Benjamin Franklin had decided things were easier in France and stayed there? What if Frederick Douglas had just kept following the underground railroad into Canada? What if Susan B. Anthony had become a conservative Quaker? What if Martin Luther King had just stayed in Liberia?

Why are all the Mexicans who are willing to risk life and limb confronting the United States government instead of their own? Why won’t they fight for change in their home land and instead expect us to do it for them? Why do they seem to think that
changing their nation only involves sending a check home on pay day?"

Those are all great questions. I've often wondered similarly myself. What if America had played a harder line with Castro and not allowed any of those who fled his regime to come here? Would he have been able to keep control of a restive and vastly more militant population for so long? Certainly not!

I may come across as less than compassionate at times, and perhaps I am. It is not that I lack feelings for other peoples' strife; it is that I know my ancestors put property, life and limb on the line in the cause of freedom; they did not seek an easier way when they surely could have. That is why I have next-to-zero sympathy for those who come here clamoring for, often demanding, a "better life." I hate the fact that the fruits of my ancestors' efforts have been made so convenient to steal by this government. I loathe the thought that most of those who come here today surely don't consider coming because they desire embracing America's ideals, they come here for "stuff." And in many instances they don't share it or invest it in our economy, the send the stuff "home."

Despicable!

It pisses me off that my family's sacrifices have been made so tritely fungible by both the intent and neglect of those who are supposed to be our leaders. And I'm supposed to find compassion for those complicit? To hell with that!

Technorati tags: illegal immigration,illegal alien, sovereignty, Freedom