Snapshots From The Past

By Tammy Derouin

There’s a saying, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.  Everyone knows this to be true because everyone experiences loss and the emotions which follow.  We take things for granted; everything from our surroundings, the people in our lives, to our freedoms. 

Our forefathers broke free from the chains of enslavement by establishing a Republic. They acknowledged our God given rights in a document of positive liberties, the U.S. Constitution.  We would be guided by the rule of law rather than the rule of man.

When events take place which cause you to lose your material possessions, you eventually recover. You miss what was lost and rely on your memory to give you solace.  Most possessions can be replaced.  They may be similar but they will never be the same.

When events take place causing a more permanent loss, such as a death, it's much harder and a deeper personal struggle.  Over time you come to terms with the loss.  Memories serve as snapshots from the past.  They remind you of what you had and give you comfort.  As you move on, others begin to fulfill the roles of those who were lost but it will never be the same.

When disaster strikes and you realize you missed several warning signs, you not only deal with loss but guilt and regret come into play.  Questions flood your mind.  Why didn’t I see it?  Why didn’t I say something or do things differently?  Why?  Why?  Why?  You wish you could go back in time to alter the outcome.  Although it’s too late, you now realize the value of what was lost. 

We often build protective walls around us to prevent us from getting hurt.  Some bury their heads in the sand to protect themselves from the truth.  After all, the truth isn't always pleasant.  It's much easier to deny and live in a world of make believe.  

What do you see happening, right now, in your life that is on a collision course?  If it crashes and burns up in flames, will you wish you could go back in time and do something about it?  Will you regret not paying attention to the signs you are witnessing right now?  Would you try to lessen the pain by doing everything you could to reduce the effects of that which was lost?  If so, why are you ignoring the signs right now?

We have an opportunity to save ourselves.  The last life boat is being lowered to save us from certain death.  But instead of an awakening, we are destroying the arm which is reaching out to save us.  We are plunging ourselves deeper into the icy water.  We willingly bang our heads on the iceberg as we smile and wave at the captain who is drowning us in his wake as he heads, at full speed, into the iceberg to destroy everything we once held so dear.  All will be lost and we allowed it to happen.

Our Republic is fast approaching a dictatorship as we become a land of men rather than a land of laws.  Our executive continuously attempts to take absolute power and our Congress, as a whole, refuses to restrain him.

When disaster strikes and you look back, how much guilt and regret will you carry with you?  The picture will be much clearer but it will reside in total darkness.  So many Americans continue to play their role as tools.  They are being used to remove the very document which was put into place to prevent their enslavement and our descent into darkness.

Maybe they feel they are protected because they smile, wave and support the captain in every radical, unlawful action he takes. Many play the blame game or try to cause uprisings and stir up controversy to get a pat on the head and to show they are a destructive team player.

In the end, they will discover that their beliefs and causes are a trap. They are being used, like tools, to advance an agenda which will destroy them as well. They were a means to an end.  When hell breaks loose they will demand their rights from a document which will no longer exist; a document they helped to destroy.  A puppet master mastered them.  

You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.  Events are continuously taking place which will lead to the loss of our freedom, our country and our very existence.  The signs are right in front of us.  How much regret can you handle?  Snap shots from the past will haunt us.  They will serve as continuous reminders of what we so carelessly abandoned and destroyed.  Once our freedom is gone, it’s gone.

“The greatest danger to American freedom is a government that ignores the Constitution.”

Thomas Jefferson