Making the Sacrifices

Originally written in 2000 by Shonda Ponder

The Founding Fathers gave their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors. What are we giving today?

Many patriots in the freedom movement today who are trying tirelessly to restore this nation back to the Constitutional Republic it was founded upon are making the same sacrifices. We may not hear most of their names. We may never see most of their faces, or shake their hands, or even have the chance to say, "thank you."

Some are shot and killed, some are burned alive. Some are, today still, political prisoners who have not even been charged with crimes and have no way of fighting the system without our help. Some have given their all and are now living on barely enough to keep them alive and are still giving. Some are sacrificing their marriages, and their relationships with their children while they promote those very things, their lives becoming a martyr for the cause. From Randy Weaver's wife in Idaho, to the Branche Davidian survivors, to Kenneth Vardon of APFN, to many others who would never speak out loud of the burdens they carry at home.

The exchange of information in this day of computer technology has sky-rocketed and the myth that conservatives are "poor, un-educated, and easy to command" has been successfully proven false. The work done by these brave and daring souls who refuse to sit on the fence waiting for something to happen is the reason that we are able now to enjoy what few freedoms we still have left.

The questions that remain now, in light of the new gun confiscation activities in several states, and in light of IRS harassment, and forcing of the people to become spies on each other by requiring them to ask their fellow citizens to "show me your papers, please," along with the fact that too many cringe and cower when you start talking about what is wrong in this country, despite the right to freedom of speech, is, "What now?"

Many of these patriots who have given their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors today have been begging for help before it is too late, knowing that there would soon come a day when what they are doing won't be enough without the help of the general public. Now they are seeing this happen.

Laws are getting passed that restrict our freedoms before they have the chance to send out a petition. The news is mainly covering what has already happened rather than what is going to happen and how we can stop it. Any information that we get is in the past tense rather than the present. It is much easier to change things before they happen than to change them after.

The "soldiers of passion" that are tirelessly fighting today are, one by one, dropping out of the race. The reasons vary, from no financial support, to lack of resources. How are we going to keep the enemy from taking any more guns from us if we don't have the guns to threaten them with? And how are we going to create and place more "soldiers of passion" if we don't support those that are already there? And how are those that are already there going to continue the fight when there is nothing left for them to fight with?

When a "mover and shaker" has done all he can do alone and is forced to ask for help, he is often attacked, accused of "seeking personal gain" and labeled a "patriot for profit" when the truth of the matter is that due to the time and money involved in this work, without that support the work will not grow and spread.

While the reporters on ABC, NBC and CBS get to live in nice homes and never have to worry about their children going hungry, conservative writers and journalists often volunteer their work covering and promoting events as they happen. Yet, if they ask for payment, they are asking too much.

Isn't it time to start fighting fire with fire? While the enemy is using money to their advantage, we are losing the fight. The patriots have done all they can do as individuals. Isn't time for something bigger?

As with all wars, the "Information War" is not cheaply fought.