Katniss Everdeen - District 12 - The Hunger Games

Most people don’t realize it, but the new government regulations that were put into place forcing Catholic institutions to provide free contraceptives and abortion pills to employees not only hit a raw nerve with Catholics, but also caused non-Catholic Americans to question the motives of the Obama Administration.  These non-Catholic Americans rallied to the side of the Catholic Bishops in their opposition to the new regulations, which took the president and his administration by complete surprise.  Obama and his gang of thugs thought they were picking a fight with a weak church that was frowned upon by its members because of its position on contraception.  Instead, the administration quickly found itself at war with millions of patriotic Americans who now feel threatened by the flagrant violation of the rights they have always cherished.

Stick with me here.  I’m about to reveal to you how the Obama Administration not only violated the religion of the Catholic Church, but also violated the religion of America.

Ever since the founding of our country, there has been a secular religion that has been proudly practiced by a majority of Americans.  One of the definitions of religion is “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.”  Do you know what principles and beliefs have been held by Americans since the founding of our country?  They are the principles of individualism, self-reliance, hard work, and independence.

If you look at any point in the history of our country, you will see those principles woven into the fabric of the American culture and way of life.  I could give you examples of what I’m talking about from 150 and 200 years ago, but because of space limitations, I’m going to focus on the more recent past.

Let’s talk about Walt Disney first.

Have you ever heard of the Silly Symphonies?  It was a series of animated short cartoons that were produced by Walt Disney.  There were a total of 75 Silly Symphonies that were released to the public between 1929 and 1939.  You may have heard of or seen the most popular of the Silly Symphonies, The Skeleton Dance.

The religion of America was on display in a number of Silly Symphonies, one of which was The Grasshopper and the Ants.  In that particular cartoon, Disney borrowed from a classic Aesop’s Fable where a grasshopper attempted to convince hardworking ants that the world owed them a living.  A song that the grasshopper sang while playing his fiddle included the lyrics, “Oh, the world owes us a living.”  (If you’re not old enough to remember the cartoon, go to YouTube.com and look up “A Walt Disney Silly Symphony the Grasshopper and the Ants.”  You’ll be treated to an entertaining cartoon in which a grasshopper goes around singing that the world owes everyone a living, but changes his tune when winter comes and he has no food or housing.  The cartoon ends with the grasshopper being taken-in by the ants who are living in a toasty-warm building.  After the queen ant chastises the grasshopper for his inappropriate behavior, the queen puts the grasshopper to work playing his fiddle so they can all party and dance.  By then, having learned his lesson the hard way, the grasshopper is happy to work in exchange for food and housing.)

The Grasshopper and the Ants was released by Disney in 1934 and is more relevant today than it was when it was released.  For over 50 years, our federal government, through its (public) school system and agencies, has instilled in students of all ages the same beliefs that the grasshopper promoted – that the world (the U.S. Government and “the rich”) owes them a living.  (If we re-elect Obama, the private school system will be next in line for massive government intervention.  Private schools are an impediment to government control, because most of them still teach students the American religion of individualism, self-reliance, hard work, and independence.)

In the 1960s, there were other Disney classics, such as Swiss Family Robinson and Mary Poppins, that promoted the religion of America.  Swiss Family Robinson was based on a novel that was originally published in 1812.  The lessons on display in that movie were that a young family that had been shipwrecked could overcome the odds of surviving on a hostile and dangerous island.  How did they survive?  By embracing and practicing the principles of self-reliance and hard work.  They didn’t wait around for their government to come save them.  They used creativity and ingenuity to not only survive, but to actually thrive on the island.

In Mary Poppins, it was the individualistic, independent, and self-reliant housekeeper that turned the home and world of George Banks upside down.  That particular movie has relevance to what’s going on today because it was Mary Poppins who single-handedly went up against the government-approved financial system and the bankers who took advantage of, and looked down upon, the citizens of London.

More recently (2010), we were treated to the Disney movies of Tangled and Secretariat, both of which lionized the principles and beliefs that made America great.  Walt Disney was wildly successful because he knew how to connect with the core values and beliefs of his fellow Americans.

Do you know what the underlying theme of the recently released movie, The Hunger Games, is?   If you guessed individualism, self-reliance, and independence from government interference, manipulation, and control, you’re right.  I saw the movie last week with Georgette and our daughters, Mary, Christine and Teresa.  Since its opening six weeks ago, The Hunger Games has generated over $375 million in box office revenues in the United States.  It has struck a chord with Americans who instinctively know the dangers that arise when an out-of-control government robs its citizens of their individualism and independence.

So what does all of this have to do on our government’s attack on the Catholic Church?  Plenty.  A majority of Americans realize, deep down, that there is something gravely wrong with the actions that were taken by our president and his thugs.  Although most people may not be able to express it the same way I’ve expressed it here, they subconsciously know that even though they’re not Catholic, their religion – the religion of America – is under attack.  They realize that they are being ordered to think and behave in a way that is only acceptable to power-hungry government thugs whose primary objective is to exercise more control over them.

The bald eagle was chosen on June 20, 1782, as the national emblem of the United States of America.  It represents independence, freedom, and liberty.  Our current administration would prefer that we adopt a basket full of free government-approved goodies as our national emblem – a basket with (1) only enough government checks and food stamps to barely survive on; (2) coupons for substandard and deadly healthcare; and, of course (3) free contraceptives and abortion pills.  Thanks but no thanks.  I’d prefer to practice the religion of our founding fathers and provide for my own family.

Bishop Jenky did the Catholic Church and America a big favor.  He courageously stood up for principles and beliefs that are shared by all true red-blooded Americans.  The only people who seem to be complaining about the Bishop are the ones who have been poisoned by the belief that “the world owes them a living.”

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