Chess

I always find it interesting how analogies give us, not only the ability to understand a concept, but also the ability to extend our knowledge.  Today as I was walking around my neighborhood contemplating the future of our nation, an analogy popped into my head.  I hope this will give you an idea pf where we are and also hope for the future. 

For this analogy we will assume that life is a giant chess board, and we are all players.  In the game of life, every single move we make either gets us closer or farther away from victory.  At this point, we must define two things said in the previous sentence.  First, the idea that we are moving further or closer.  Although this is the case in must be said that certain decisions, such as where you go to college and what career you pursue, have larger impacts on 'the game' than decisions like whether or not to do your math homework.  Second, I use the word victory very liberally, in the sense that victory can come in various forms.  For example there are victories in the areas of morals, finance, and spirituality.  Nevertheless, every move we make has an impact on our game.

This same concept applies to our country.  Every move our country has made since its founding, has had an impact on where we are today.  From the decision that our founders made to seperate from Britain, to the writing of the Constitution; every move has made an impact.  Let's now look at a specific example of 'the game'in our country's history; the Great Depression.  The bad moves that our country made prior to 1929, led to the collapse that followed.  Now the U.S found itself in a fix, where the right moves had to be made to get them out of trouble.  The bad news was they had just lost a key piece, lets say a Rook, but the good news was that if they made the right moves, they could get themselves back into the game.  If the wrong moves were made, however, they would have lost.  Thankfully, our nation made the moves necessary to get us out of the situation.

Let us now move to the situation our nation faces today.  We again have made many dangerous moves that have moved us into a dire situation, and at risk of losing the game.  Unfortuantely we are much worse of then we were 70 years ago.  Just like the Depression, we are in a bad posistion in the game, but unlike 1929 we aren't playing with an almost full board.  Instead we are playing with only a few pieces.  For years we have been sacrificing our pieces, and now we are left with only a few left, and our opponet is dangerously close to our king.  The pieces we have left are: Of course our king, let this represent our nation as a whole.  Our queen, the Constitution, Federalist Papers, and the beliefs of our founders.  Our Bishop, the American people and their committment to freedom.  And two pawns, representing young politicians who are still unknown but stand for the Constitution.  These pawns are weak now, but if they have enough time can develop into queens standing firm on our Constitutional foundation. 

So now lets get to the game.  We have long been playing poorly, and our bad moves have cost us dearly, leaving little room for error.  Although we posses the necessary pieces to win, one bad move could cause us to lose a key piece and lead to the capture of our king and the end of the game.  We must understand that the window is about to slam shut, but there is still time, if and only if we act now.  The rightmoves must be made.  The election gives us a great oppurtunity to make a good move.  The election of either Ron Paul will signify a powerful move made by the queen.  The continual growth and influence of grassroots organizations like the Tea Party, make for a strong move by our bishop.  We must not forget, however, that we face a great enemy.  The opponets queen is our mounting debt and inflation.  Their bishop, our army spread abroad.  Their Rooks, are our two political parties refusing to represent the people.  We must act now and successfully eliminate our enemies before it is too late.  The good news is that the game is still being played and victory is still possible.