912

There is a grassroots movement taking shape in America and I am proud to say I am a part of it. It's called The 912 Project and it has been put together by Glenn Beck. Basically, it is the acknowledgment of nine core principles and 12 values:

The Nine Principles:

1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

12 Values:

* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude

Beck asks that you accept 7 of the 9 principles. Personally, I believe in all of them and have been trying to live my life by these simple rules for a very long time now. It's how I was raised.

There is a website The912Project.com but it has been down since the Beck TV program Friday evening. I haven't had a chance to fully explore it, but I look forward to doing so. Apparently there were so many visitors logging on at the same time that the site crashed.

This movement is not political. There is no partisan crap. There are politicians from both sides of the aisle who have broken these principles and values. The point is to remind them who they were elected by and what their responsibilities are. If they can't play by the rules, they are to be voted out.

Part of the 912 Project is to remember how we felt the day after September 11, 2001. There was a resolve in this country, a sense of brotherhood and comradeship. We vowed to stick together as Americans and help each other out. There were stories of people getting in their cars and driving across the country to help the victims in New York and at the pentagon. Flight 93 crashed about 50 miles east of where I live. I was ready to head over there to offer my services (whatever that would be) only to learn there was nothing left of the plane and there were no survivors. But the feelings after September 11th resonated deep within.

Where has that gone? What has happened to us?

Personally, I refuse to allow the basis of this country to go by the wayside. I refuse to allow it to become no different than socialist Europe. I have friends scattered throughout Europe - Great Britain, Sweden, Germany and Slovakia. They have all, at one time or another, told us of how fantastic this country is. They marvel at the opportunities here. Sink or swim, America is the land of opportunity. All you have to do is roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Guaranteed success? Certainly not. But you are guaranteed the opportunity to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start all over again. That's what I intend to do.