Originally written November 1, 2024

"The spark from heaven falls. Who picks it up? The crowd? Never. The individual? Always." – Arthur J. Balfour

EXCERPTS from an article I've been saving for over 60 years, by Charles B. Shuman, American Farm Bureau president:

"History is the record of man's struggle to either obtain or to destroy power. Farmers have traditionally been opposed to concentrations of economic power that limit individual opportunity . . In some cases, there was need for corrective action, but the remedies proposed often bring with them new concentrations of power . . Local school boards meekly accept government edicts as the price of financial assistance.

"What is the alternative? Our fundamental documents, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights, provide the answer – diffusion of power. If we accept the principle that government should provide a climate for individuals to reach their highest possible economic, cultural, and spiritual levels, we much return to the concept of building power in the people – not in corporations, organizations, or government. The welfare state makes it easy for the underprivileged to become, and remain, dependent.

"UNDER THE GUISE OF PROVIDING 'SOCIAL JUSTICE' for the weak, we are being sold on the idea that the use of force is good – that the end justifies the means.

"I am convinced that the great need of today is for a moral and spiritual revival which will turn our minds from the temptation to solve problems by setting force against force and return to God's way by helping individuals increase the power and purpose of their own lives."

- "Power in the Individual" by Charles Shuman, NATION'S AGRICULTURE, 1961

Balfour said, "For thousands of years, society has depended upon individuals for those great achievements of mind and spirit that have guided it upon the path of civilization . . It is he and he alone as inventor, explorer, scholar, scientist, spiritual leader, or statesman who stands nearest to the source of life, and its essence."

P.S. For further insight, you might want to reread my column, "Why did the English capitalize the word 'I'?"

http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/dahlgren/090724

PPS: This is the individual's last stand, 2024. Let's hope it goes better than Custer's.