I'm reading "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose, which focuses on American history and the story of Lewis and Clark's epic journey. As with every historical study I've ever done, I'm always impressed by how tumultuous our past was. If you are shocked at the political divide today, rest assured that our present drama doesn't hold a candle to the past!
That's a comforting thought. If you get the impression that our nation is on the precipice of moral decay, chaos and financial disaster, take heart! Study history and you'll see that life has never been better. The past, if you take the time to read about it, is quite frankly shocking!
The truth is our nation is on the precipice of an era of prosperity and ease unlike anything that man has experienced in all of history. Our present squabbling is that of a people so steeped in luxury that we have been spoiled into thinking that we are beset in disaster. We are highly blessed, and yet we are ungrateful and wringing our hands.
And here's the even more astounding truth. There are political solutions afoot that would make your head spin. In my book, "The Emerging Kingdom" I detail how we could switch our tax base and free ourselves of income taxes while enjoying greater benefits than we ever thought possible. As I meet with groups and politicians I hear one comment over and over: "This sounds too good to be true, and yet I think you are right."
Today would seem to be too good to be true to Thomas Jefferson. Tomorrow seems too good to be true to us. And by the way... at most every point in history when people took stock of the news they thought their world was falling apart.
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