During this Christmas season it is only natural to reflect on the many things for which we have to be thankful. For Christians chief among these is the incarnation of Christ, the seminal event in all of human history. That the Lord of Creation became a man is a source of unfathomable wonder. That he reigns now forever at the right hand of the Father, a source of unspeakable hope. Michelle and I wish each of you a blessed Christmas.

Turning from the sublime to the practical I want to thank each of you for the interest you have expressed in the future of our county, our state and our community. The legislature will return to session on January 10th and we will confront a full range of issues from school finance to stem cell research. Periodically during the session I will send out updates regarding our progress and my thoughts on the issues of the day. I would encourage each of you to contact me at any time with your ideas and concerns.

Before the rush of the legislative session begins I did want to take just a moment to share a few reflections. One of my favorite authors, Russell Kirk, once wrote, “Every right is married to a duty, every freedom owns a corresponding responsibility. There cannot be genuine freedom unless there exists also genuine order in the moral realm and in the social realm." There is great wisdom in these words which remind us that the very freedoms we all so rightly cherish are ultimately untenable in the absence of a moral community of mutual obligation. We daily receive word of brave soldiers who have given the last full measure of devotion in order to protect us from those who would attack these freedoms from without. The debt we owe to each of them is beyond all measure. Perhaps one small way to pay on that debt is to think carefully about what we each can do to guard against the erosion of the underpinnings of our freedoms from within.

Apathy in the face of injustice, a refusal to call evil by its name, hardness of heart in the face of suffering and acquiescence in the crassness of our culture are seemingly commonplace. And such things are not mere personal vices, rather they gnaw at the social and moral order that is the prerequisite for the healthy flourishing of the liberty we so enjoy. But what is perhaps most remarkable is that in the face of so much that is discouraging we still see countless examples of courage, wisdom, hope and love. To give way to despair would then be the greatest sin, for it would be to express ingratitude to all those who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice so dearly for us all. So let us move forward, fighting the good fight together with vigor and resolve.

God bless each of you, Merry Christmas.

Lance Y. Kinzer
State Representative
District 14
Olathe, Kansas
(913)782-5885