Unmasking the Sacred Lies
by Dr. Paul A. Cleveland
Boundary Stone, paperback, 184 pp. (Shipping January 2009)
Public policy. Those two words probably do not
excite the hearts of most people you know. Yet, there are very few
things in life that are as certain to affect every American as
government policy. As the saying goes, there are only two things in
life that are certain: death and taxes. Even in death you are
exposed to the near certainty of more taxation. When elections come
around, you are asked to choose between candidates based on their
stands on a few public policy issues. Afterwards, you hear a barrage
of explanations as to how and why more and more of your money should
be taken from you so that these elected “experts” can solve the
nation’s problems. After all, they say, if they only had a little
more money and a little more power, then they could implement the
policies that would fix all those problems!
It is time for Americans to re-evaluate this
assertion. All too often the problems we face are not the result of
government inaction, but are actually the result of failed policy
decisions from the past. The “new” proposals are usually aimed at
fixing problems that government created in the first place. Today’s
political class is simply trying to convince us that spending more
money in the same direction will result in a better outcome. While
current officials usually receive the credit or blame for the
current situation, the truth of the matter always goes much deeper.
In Unmasking the Sacred Lies, Dr.
Cleveland clearly lays out the important foundational issues that
policy makers sadly miss or deviously seek to mask. Then he examines
several individual areas including education, the environment,
welfare, and business policy revealing the sacred lies we have
believed for far too long. The ideas in this book will more than
likely challenge your view of what constitutes good policy.
Foundational Issues
The beauty of the snowcapped peaks along the
continental divide in the Rocky Mountains is awe-inspiring. The
snowdrifts formed by the wind throughout the winter create beautiful
formations and smooth fields of deep snow whose untouched serenity
inspires and refreshes the heart. Despite the beauty, each year the
temperature eventually rises and the snow begins to melt. The snow that
was once so uniform at the mountain’s crest melts and runs off one side
of the slope or the other. The combination of the forces of gravity and
the contours of the land divide the resulting water that was initially
very close together. On one side, the water accumulates in various
tributaries and rivers eventually traveling to the Gulf of Mexico, while
on the other the water funnels into the Pacific Ocean.
Francis Schaeffer used a similar
picture of a watershed in the Alps to illustrate the importance of
foundational issues. Foundational issues are those that define the
“watersheds” for our lives and our cultures. It is often the case that
differences in opinion about foundations seem mundane and trivial to
most observers. However, the decision to be on one side or the other of
such issues is anything but insignificant. This is true, because
these choices logically force us to move in one direction or the other.
Moreover, it is not until the forces of time and logic drive us to see
where our opinions ultimately lead us that we understand the impact of
those decisions.
The situations we face in today’s
culture are sometimes very alarming. Many of us are deeply concerned as
we see our culture becoming more and more accepting of policies that
deny the sanctity of life, that limit the free exercise of religion,
that erode our right to privacy, and that continue to infringe on the
right to private property. However, becoming active in many of these
“causes” can feel like trying to stem the flow of the Mississippi river
and divert it to the Pacific Ocean. We may be able to transport some of
the water there bucket by bucket, but the general course of the river to
the Gulf of Mexico is relentless as it presses on in spite our efforts.
Until we begin to see clearly what
the essential issues are that determine where our culture is heading, we
will never really be able to stem the tide. The issues involved are much
deeper and more significant than we usually acknowledge.
Boundary Stone was formed to equip people with an understanding of
foundational principles that not only will allow them to make wise
choices for themselves, but will also allow them to protect and defend
the rights that all people should enjoy.
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