This quote has been determined to be false and yet is still used and attributed to Abraham Lincoln on numerous pages. “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” – Abraham Lincoln
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My apologies for trusting multiple sources that have attributed this statement to the Great Emancipator. Please see Did Abraham Lincoln Say ‘America Will Never Be Destroyed From the Outside’? | Snopes.com
“Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country.”– Marquis de Lafayette
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This quoted excerpt from a letter from Marquis de Lafayette shortly after Yorktown captures the triumph of the human spirit in achieving freedom and establishing our American republic. Individuals fighting for liberty birthed a nation and society based on freedom and equality, liberating us from oppression. It should be noted that, although quoted in the New York Times as referenced from a volume pertinent to the French involvement in the Revolutionary War, there is no exact reference to a specific letter provided.
The understanding of freedom differs between persons and can be derived from economic disparity and social inequality, and the degrees of freedom have historically varied even in the United States of America. Because of this, it might be suggested that freedom is to be viewed as a work in progress and not a completed work. In modern times, the complexity of understanding liberty continues in the perpetual pursuit of freedom for all.
Two-Way Street
by Michael Doyle
I don't have the words to say
All the things that I must say
I silently sit here, and I pray
I will somehow make my way
To my shepherd, I will sing
The holiest of holies, He is my king
You know who I'm talking about
As you join in to sing and shout
As the days of life rapidly disappear
You will find me waiting here
Joining in with the congregation
To grow in faith as I reach for my destination
Even when I'm lost and feeling weak
Even when I can't find the words to speak
The Lord comes to comfort me
His words paint my life's tapestry
That is the life that he wants me to lead
By His yoke, I find that I am finally freed
Faithfulness walked is a two-way street
This is the path on which we will meet
(c) November 5, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Looking Back on Quincy U
by Michael Doyle
Mentor and teacher
To rocker and preacher
With a deepness of eyes
That made it easy to realize
Rather rock or jazz
His licks and hooks had pizzazz
Creating hits like a grand slam
Quincy's life was the master jam
Music is music
Until you lose control
It is two parts rhythm
And heartful of soul
If you want to make a hit
Leave your ego at the door
You have to sign up at Quincy U
If you're going to score
It is more than conjecture
To say music is emotional architecture
Love, respect, and trust
Are truly emotional and musical musts
Finger on the trigger and in control
Every note holds its own soul
Every thriller must have its own fire
With sunshine and smiles filled with desire
Music is music
Until you lose control
It is two parts rhythm
And heartful of soul
If you want to make a hit
Leave your ego at the door
You have to sign up at Quincy U
If you're going to score
Whether given or stolen every night
It must be made to sound right
What you have conceived and believed
Is what will be received
This is true, be it at times a feel
Or even your next record deal
A human tapestry of talented love and grace
Quincy Jones left his golden trace
Music is music
Until you lose control
It is two parts rhythm
And heartful of soul
If you want to make a hit
Leave your ego at the door
You have to sign up at Quincy U
If you're going to score
(c) November 5, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of order.” – Alexis de Tocqueville
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Anyone who has not yet cast their ballot in this election’s choice between Trump and Harris, should take the time to read Alex de Tocqueville’s Chapter VI, “What Sort of Despotism Democratic Nations Have To Fear.” It would not be many paragraphs before they recognize the blueprint of governance Ms. Harris intends is quite close to what is warned against. Our republic is in a precarious state, and history points the administrative state directly toward despotism. This is not mankind’s progression but a vapid state of regression that, be it milder than monarchy, still leads us back into the chains of servitude. Equity is not equality and each of these is a destroyer of freedom that brings America under a central authority that leads to equality for none and even less freedom.
The belief that the elite will protect the poor is age-old and has seldom proven true. The greater power amassed and centralized in Washington, D.C., the more specific that obligations to protect and serve the people across America will be shed. The people who still have greater attachment to our overall nation than others among the privileged class will become more dependent on this centralizing authority and forget their attachment to populations with differing needs and perspectives across America. A tyrannical majority is still a tyranny.
“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” – Will Rogers, “The Manly Wisdom of Will Rogers”. “Friars Club Bible of Jokes, Pokes, Roasts, and Toasts”. Book by Nina Colman, p. 316, 2001.
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This quote is ankle-deep in cowboy humor and commonsense. It is also worth exploring some. There is an obvious meaning to learning by reading and observation. What is not quite as obvious is that there is a bit of scientific observation as to why most of us have to learn for ourselves. Instead, what is not so obvious is that learning through observation requires using a brain circuit to mankind’s evolutionary advantage. MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory felt a need to scientifically prove this. While most of us are satisfied with simply knowing this, MIT went to work at identifying a distinct brain circuit (anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA)) to develop the ability to interpret the social cues needed to learn from observation. For the most part, I think most of us will accept the common sense approach to this concern.
Of Love and Faith
by Michael Doyle
I bet my life on what I believe
Speaking the truth, I won't deceive
Pumping the brakes to live another day
It's love's world, I won't get in the way
Every moment that we keep it steady
We still know that we ain't ready
Yet, we're doing our minute's best
Standing at the foot of the cross to face our test
Life comes at us strong and aiming for good
At all times, some things must be understood
It's the seven good things that have traveled far
And the seven precise visions of who we are
Life comes with its seasons, each with its needs
Each of these provides us with the blessed seeds
God works both outside us and within our inside
Teaching us what we need to know despite our pride
Love and faith grow and manage to persevere
To become as we're needed and patiently revere
All seeing and all-knowing throughout our history
God teaches that hate gives way to love's mystery
These are the paths of immovable grace
As the children of God run to His embrace
God won't be bumped off His firm stance
Truth is not a matter of circumstance
We know that to reach our final destination
From time to time, we must check our foundation
Staying with the goodness wanted and needed
Is the essential wisdom to be heeded
We've found our ways to reach our salvation
But Haven must get through us for our sanctification
By the grace of God, we're carried through
Until at last, we receive what is our due
Believers are search deeply in heart and mind
With none of us among those left behind
Wicked are the habits that humanity has kept
And provides the reasons our God has wept
The true God is the God set apart
We know this truth within our hearts
Set ablaze with the strength of holy fire
God's love is the love that always inspires
Belief cannot be half-hearted but full contention
Tolerance creates the evil in our condition
We guard the boundaries of our hearts
We, the believers, are to be set apart
There is no time for procrastination's sorrow
Forgiveness is tied to repentance and our tomorrow
Christ is the answer beyond the slippery slope
There is only one path that gives us hope
Holding on and holding firm brings us victory
This is the truth shown us throughout history
There's an amazing grace for us all to behold
And it's written in the pages of the Bible as foretold
(c) November 3, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Tolerance is an attitude of reasoned patience toward evil… a forbearance that restrains us from showing anger or inflicting punishment. Tolerance applies only to persons… never to truth.” – Fulton J. Sheen, “A Plea For Intolerance” (1931)and “Old Errors and New Labels” (1931)
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Such tolerance leads to a church divided and thus diminished. Truth from and about God is not to be diluted in any way. In Sheen’s view and mine, there is either good or evil and either Christ or chaos. False broadmindedness has confused the modern world into believing Satan’s biggest con – that there is no true good and evil, just perceptions that differ between reasonable persons. Truth and first principles demand an intolerance toward falsity. But we are all sinners. As such, while there cannot be tolerance for these first principles, we should show mercy and grace toward mankind. The love of Christ should be shown to all.
“Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.” – 2 Timothy 3:1-5
These verses describe the characteristics of unbelievers and the false teachers they follow. While it has become the pattern of modern times to preach unrestrained tolerance, this passage clearly condemns 19 separate qualities as ungodly. These qualities include selfishness, arrogance, slander, hedonism, and the denial of God’s truth. This condemnation also includes holding to a form of godliness that denies its power. We believers would do well to keep this in mind as we observe the world around us.
One True Love
by Michael Doyle
In understanding your pain
It makes it quite plain
You are all that means anything to me
The worthy answer to my questions for me
You fill up my mind
Like nothing else I find
These are the secrets we reveal
Feeling like something I would steal
You are my one true love
You are held above
All else that I see
You are everything to me
All this is beyond my control
As my thoughts ravage my soul
Your love sets me free
To be all I'm meant to be
Filled with love, I raise a toast
To know these things the most
No one sparks the flame
Like your love that is to blame
You are my one true love
You are held above
All else that I see
You are everything to me
We'll run to be free
You're who it is that's meant for me
Please love me despite of me
Let's live quite happily
Poisoned by the hand of jealousy
There's no antidote for the hope in me
All I live is an unjust illusion
As I stumble through my life's confusion
You are my one true love
You are the one held above
All else that I care to see
You are everything to me
(c) November 2, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
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