Most of us know about the Titanic and its tragic end. Forget the Leonardo DiCaprio version. Let me give you Roger’s “Reader’s Digest” version of the historical facts.

It’s 1912, and America was at the pinnacle of power, riding on the waves of the Industrial Revolution. Royalty in foreign countries was being replaced by the titans of industry in America. Traveling in White Star Line’s new ship, the RMS Titanic, offered all the style and comfort. It was luxurious and fast! Edward Smith, White Star Line’s most experienced captain, wanted to set a record for crossing the Atlantic.

There were shortcomings, but they were ignored by the company. Two of those were the rudder (too small to actually steer the ship) and a shortage of lifeboats (only enough for half the passengers). These were just minor details. The Titanic was the largest man-made, movable object on earth at the time. She could withstand anything that might be thrown at her, even a collision (because of her double hull). Yet on her first voyage she struck an iceberg, sinking with a loss of 1,500 lives among the 2,240 passengers and crew.

There are many interesting facts about this disaster, but let me lay out the real reasons for the sinking of the Titanic: pride and greed. Pride because the builders claimed, “Even God couldn’t sink this ship!” I’ll explain the greed in a moment.

Captain Smith, who awaited a retirement party upon their arrival in New York City, wanted to set a cross-Atlantic record. Despite warnings of icebergs in the area, the ship was running at a speed of 24-25 knots on a deceptively calm night on the Atlantic. There were only a few lookouts on watch that night, and they didn’t even have binoculars.

When the iceberg was sighted, the command to reverse engines did not accomplish the goal of slowing the ship down. The engines in reverse magnified the small rudder’s inability to turn the ship on time. Most earlier movies showed the iceberg ripping holes in the side of the ship. It would be 84 years before the truth was known. A contractor substituted the stainless-steel rivets for an inferior-quality rivet. The discovery of the Titanic revealed that when the hull of the ship hit alongside the iceberg, the inferior rivets popped loose and entire sheets of steel plating fell to the ocean floor.

Pride kept Smith from slowing down, even after receiving six wireless warnings of icebergs in their path. Greed caused contractors to switch inferior-quality rivets to make a few more bucks. There’s so much more to the story that can be applied to today. But let me plainly tell you: America is on a collision course with reality. This administration is filled with egotistical elitists who believe they alone are smart enough to tell us how to live, what we can have, and what we can do.

We are on a collision course with the iceberg of reality because of the actions of these elitists. Everything they touch is a disaster. They have no idea what they’re doing, and they will take the whole ship (America) down with them if we don’t stop them. Patriots, we can either man the lifeboats or take back our ship! Your call.

Something to think about?