Go West

It's another cross-country trek, this time from York, PA to Ontario, California (and hopefully a chance for a QUICK visit home). This is the load Lori and Tamara were hoping they'd be able to get to in time this morning.

But before we talk about the new load, Lori was able to share something with Mike about the load they dropped off. Since it was a "high value" load, Lori couldn't provide all the details as to what it was until it was dropped off. Seems that in addition to four blood analysis machines, there were hypodermic needles on board - the kind used in the treatment of diabetes. There were actually some pretty strict security precautions in place at the shipper.

The next load was about 30 miles away, so they were able to get there fairly quickly, get loaded, and get back on the road before noon. It's a load of printed materials headed for three stops in Southern California.

Their route took them through Amish country, which Lori says was so quaint and very beautiful - a real touch of Americana. She's got to get her camera on the truck with her!

They also went through Gettysburg and were able to see some of the Civil War battleground area. Another very moving experience when you consider what took place there and the profound role it played in determining the future of our nation. As President Lincoln said in the speech he gave dedicating a portion of that battlefield as "the final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that the nation might live," it is the task of those who visit the place to "take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion --...that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

I am more and more convinced that too many Americans don't understand or appreciate what it "costs" to ensure that our nation - a nation unlike any other in the world - can and will remain free. There are people in the world who, for whatever reason, do not want the way of life we enjoy to continue, and they are willing and able to use deadly force to achieve their goal. And despite what some people would have us believe, they will not stop simply because our leaders go visit with them and try to understand them.

That kind of thinking is more than just naive; it is dangerous and wrong. It is based on the false belief that mankind is basically good. The Bible tells us - and history has repeatedly proven - that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9) and "there is none righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). If we are honest with ourselves, we know that many - if not most - of our desires are, at best, selfish and, at worst, would result in harm to other people if we followed through on them.

While certainly not everyone, or even most people, will ever display the kind of evil exhibited by a Hitler or Sadaam or bin Laden or Arafat, it's not because of any inherent goodness that's in Man. It is only because of God's influence on our minds, our hearts, and our circumstances that we are able to accomplish anything that is "good." And even the influence of God isn't enough to sway some people because, in the end, God has given us all a free will that He will not violate. It is those types of people we should be wary of and willing to protect ourselves and our loved ones from - with as much force as might be necessary.