Stand And Be Counted

 

BY AARON ABELL
(Reposted with permission. Original article at Government As Fiction) 


     With the passage of the National Defense Authorisation Act of 2012 (NDAA) the police state, about which every US citizen has been so often warned, has come to pass. IGNORE THIS AT YOUR OWN PERIL AND CONDEMNATION. I will begin with a quote:

     "It is said in the Doctrine and Covenants, that he that keepeth the laws of God, hath no need to break the laws of the land [D&C 58:21]. It is further explained in section 98 [D&C 98], what is meant in relation to this. That all laws which are constitutional must be obeyed, as follows:
     “And now, verily I say unto you concerning the laws of the land, it is my will that my people should observe to do all things whatsoever I command them.
     “And that the law of the land which is constitutional, supporting that principle of freedom in maintaining rights and privileges, belongs to all mankind, and is justifiable before me;
     “Therefore I the Lord justify you and your brethren of the Church in befriending that law which is the constitutional law of the land. And as pertaining to laws of man, whatsoever is more or less than these cometh of evil” [D&C 98:4–7].
     "That is taking this nation as an example, all laws that are proper and correct, and all obligations entered into which are not violative of the constitution should be kept inviolate. But if they are violative of the constitution, then the compact between the rulers and the ruled is broken and the obligation ceases to be binding. Just as a person agreeing to purchase anything and to pay a certain amount for it, if he receives the article bargained for, and does not pay its price, he violates his contract; but if he does not receive the article he is not required to pay for it."

- President John Taylor, Journal of Discourses 26:350  

     The above scriptures are plain as to what duties a citizen of the US, but the Latter-Day Saint especially has, concerning government and law. The people of this earth cannot support (either actively or tacitly) immoral, evil laws and expect their rights as children of God to be held sacred. The passage of the NDAA is, in my opinion, one of the grossest challenges to the eternal nature of God's children, and therefore His authority. In Leviticus 6:2-3, the Lord declares:

     "If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;
     "Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein:"

     Acts against people are therefore primarily acts against God Himself. Further evidence of this can be seen in Matthew 25, especially verses 34-45 (for more information on this, please see the article "In Mine Own Image" at www.ldsliberty.org). When a government seeks to act contrary to God's law it seeks, by its actions, to supplant God as the ultimate authority. This is evil, and CANNOT be supported by true Christians. God will not be mocked.

Our Heavenly Banner

The Scourge Of False Choices

 

BY DIEGO LUCERO

In today’s world, we have choices. We can choose which Supermarket we can shop, we can choose which car we drive, we can choose which restaurant we take our family to eat. We choose our careers, we choose our mates, and we choose our elected officials. We can choose right or wrong. We choose our faith. It could even be said that our individual moral codes are actually a complex system of the choices that we have made throughout the courses of our lives. Here in America, we are accustomed to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of our choices. We have choices because we have freedom.

However, we also have ‘false choices’.

"The logical fallacy of false choice is a correlative based fallacy in which options are presented as being exclusive when they may not be. It’s often used to obscure the likelihood of one option or to reframe an argument on the user’s terms."(1)

Simply put, false choices are based on misinformed or misrepresented facts. This is usually because they are the products of narrow-minded worldviews, which have been closed off from outside or opposing opinions. They can also be called ‘biased’, ‘partisan’, and/or ‘divisive’.

False choices fool us. They disarm us by causing us to believe that we are solving problems, even if the choices presented yield the same result or no result.

This is why I believe ‘false choices’ are a root cause for the mass confusion present in our world.

Dallin H. Oaks (Apostle of the Lord in the LDS church) gave a powerful address concerning false choice and deception in October of 2004. He stated:

“From your position on the road of life, you . . . have many miles to go and many choices to make as you seek to return to our Heavenly Father. Along the road there are many signs that beckon. Satan is the author of some of these invitations. He seeks to confuse and deceive us, to get us on a low road that leads away from our eternal destination.”(2)

Most of us can agree that this is true. We wrestle with deception at various levels on a daily basis. One of the best ways this concept is represented is through an analysis of our tradition of choosing politicians. After all, haven’t we all heard the statement, “Choosing the lesser of two evils”?

Every year, we are bombarded with phone calls, door-to-door pamphleteers, national news coverage of political races, and various forms of solicitation for donations. We watch, hear about, and read politically charged articles that are meant to sway public opinion in one direction or the other, or to support this candidate or the other candidate. Our social networks are flooded with personal insights, political language, and aggressive graphics opposing other people’s views. We endure painful political debates where candidates trounce on and demean all that we believe to be noble and true.

Why School Tuition Is So Expensive

 

BY DIEGO LUCERO


It’s the beginning of the year again, and students are filling the halls of universities and colleges across the United States.  Touted as essential to the “American Experience,” students are leaving their homes at the advisement of parents to pursue their educations.  It can be said that in today’s world, there is almost nothing more desired--or even needed--than an education that would adequately qualify us as participants in the “American Dream”.

This year though, things are different. 

We are in a prolonged recession.  Real unemployment is very high.  Deficit spending is at a record high.  Our national debt now exceeds our Gross Domestic Product.  Let’s not even talk about the interest our country owes against our national debt.  We have wars and rumors of wars.  Political discussion has become polarized and has been overtaken with evil intent.  It’s becoming difficult to be hopeful, as it is becoming more and more clear that the change that we desperately need may never actually come.

Because of these reasons and more, colleges and universities have been seeing a very significant upward trend in enrollment over the last few years.  The National Council for Educational Statistics¹ reports that there are more students applying for admission into higher educational institutions this year than in any prior year (an estimated 20.7 million²).  In 1990-1999 and 2000-2009, overall enrollment increased 38 percent and 45 percent, respectively.  Non-traditional students make up 63.15% of all new enrollments during the 2000-2009 time period¹.  Total enrollment is projected to continue setting records each year, ultimately reaching about 24 million students by the Fall of 2019². 

Just like our demand for quality education, tuition prices have never been higher.  According to Bloomberg and the College Board³, the average tuition increases last year was 8.3% at public universities (almost three times the rate of inflation), and 4.5% at private universities.  At an average tuition increase of 8.3% per year, the price of college will double in 9 years.  It’s also important to notice that the ten-year historical rate is 6%⁴, which doubles college prices after a period of 12 years.  From looking at the data, it is clear that our college prices are rising at much faster rates than our nation’s inflation and average wage.

Washington Post's "Chart Of The Day" for Oct 10, 2011,
featuring Matthew Philips' data at Freakanomics

At the end of the day though, what really matters are completion rates.  In a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)⁵ which is based on data up until 2007 derived from 30 member countries, it was reported that the United States completion rate ranked first in 1995.  In 2007 however, we had fallen to 14^th with a 36.5% completion rate, well below the OECD average rate of 39%.

"What that tells you is that a number of other countries have been much more successful in expanding their higher-education systems," [says Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD unit that produced the study.] "The United States has fallen so far behind in higher-education completion, and private costs have become so high, that some people are suggesting that tuition has become a barrier to extending participation."⁶ 

So, we have evidence of a tuition barrier.  It’s actually becoming so expensive that people must drop out of school because they cannot afford it.

What is the primary cause of this trend of expensive schooling?  The short answer: subsidy.  More specifically, federally guaranteed financial aid (student loans and grants included).  Why does financial aid drive up the prices of school you ask?  The answer lies in a basic understanding of how opportunity cost works.