No Conflict, No Contest

 “Bitterness of taste is the nature of all conflict much as it is for all flavors expressing the true nature of its host. Yet for those who favor conflict their tongue is not always quite so faithful; choosing instead to season their nature in favor of a more immediate impulse.” 

Often we find ourselves in circumstances which tempt our thoughts toward actions contrary to our conscience; the more trying are often accompanied by the greater risk of expediency taking hold and thus dictating what becomes the lesser-choice-made. True, actions consistent with conscientious thought are rarely at issue when there is no contest, no challenge or temptation but then these circumstances are also infrequently accompanied by a measure of adverse consequence being imposed on another and so –No Conflict, No Contest. Yet, and I think we will agree, where both Conflict and Contest exist and we must root them out. 

“When in the company of virtue, clarity of purpose provides one an irreplaceable compass when facing the wasteland of ambiguity. No matter the obstacle, the course is always retrievable.” 

Clarity is a remarkable word; even when speaking it there exists an unmistakable tone and tenor resonating of precision and purpose; it also embodies the essence of what is absent in our understanding of what government is and what it is not and for this reason alone we find ourselves participating in a national pact that has, for the most part, become utterly meaningless amidst its own carnage and one has only to observe the product and practices of Congress, the Courts and many State Legislatures if conceding the point to a measure of agreement were necessary. With all this in mind I must continue my exploration which includes the following question: Why and in what way does this carnage occur? 

Whether in a media appearance or in public appearance I will often pitch the following statement: 

“We must be ever vigilant in our efforts toward both pursuing and protecting a cause worth perfecting!” 

Not only does this phrase speak to an individual commitment targeting the perfecting of ourselves as Individuals but also – as we consider our Constitution and the form of government it prescribes as well as the fundamental Ideals upon which it is based – the form, nature and flavor of the entity which we converge upon to assure that our expressing of a commitment toward self-perfecting is both identified as unalienable and sacred. This then, assuming No Conflict or Contest, becomes the only legitimate purpose of government and by extension that which embodies the meaning of a cause worth perfecting; I believe it is. 

“It is a misnomer to call a government republican in which a branch of the supreme power is independent of the nation.” 

I use this particular Thomas Jefferson quote to assist in identify the great Contest that this Nation must ultimately resolve. It is one which many believe had been fought and won nearly 234 year ago when in truth all that occurred was a defining of the Ideal; the ultimate outcome would be determined by all who would follow and singularly expressed by their willingness to be ever vigilant in the efforts toward both pursuing and protecting a cause worth perfecting! Clarity assures us that we’ve not been particularly faithful stewards in the service of our own Ideal though fortunately, being one of the many attributes of grace, it is all recoverable.  

Now then, we must consider that imbedded in the Contest is also an implicit Conflict and strangely enough, it is one which occurs from our choosing instead to season our nature in favor of a more immediate impulse. If, in fact, we have No Contest with our National Ideals and our National Cause, all of which we agree are embodied by our Declaration of Independence and enumerated within our Federal Constitution, then by what means or reason should there be a Conflict? Why the need to characterize the process as Political or for that matter, as Partisanship? Why the need to arbitrate down to the lowest possible common denominator? To approach an answer to any of these questions might I suggest that our initial review commence with the following: 

“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.” 

This quote of course is the oath-of-office taken by all members of Congress and the frequency and regularity of its breach is exceeded only by the apparent willingness of the American People to allow it and as such it is now more the custom that Politicians swear their oath to a Party-Driven Political Process which then owns their allegiance. We must again be reminded that the U.S. Constitution is not a social document; it was never intended as a metaphor or mechanism for entitling impulse, social engineering and most certainly not as a tool for terminating the Unalienable Rights of Sovereign Individuals. The product of its abuse has delivered a life-form all its own that is perceived by many as an Ascenciate Being of unlimited-power.  The end result of this line of thinking is that we are now a Nation of People enslaved by a form of government operating under the guise of legitimacy where none exists; it is an enterprise that is habitually self-licensing, self-entitled and completely adverse to the will and standing of the once consenting-governed and the Cause of this Contest-of-Conflict is of our own doing and there is no choice but to reverse it. 

You see, in the end it really matters not who occupies any given Office when the People express No Conflict or No Contest with what they do! You must ask yourself the following question:  

When the Ideal is known, what possible reason could there be to orchestrate a Contest where no Conflict exists? 

Never hesitate to express your influence toward preserving and protecting a cause worth perfecting, it is no longer an option; it is a necessity.  The words which follow are those of Thomas Jefferson and I admire their clarity and I trust you will as well: 

“When we reflect that the eyes of the virtuous all over the earth are turned with anxiety on us as the only depositories of the sacred fire of liberty, and that our falling into anarchy would decide forever the destinies of mankind and seal the political heresy that man is incapable of self-government, the only contest between divided friends should be who will dare farthest into the ranks of the common enemy.” 

“…who will dare farthest into the ranks of the common enemy.” Indeed! 

Curtis C. Greco, Founder

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