Throwing it all away

America stands at the climax of her strength, power and success. We are the lone super power in the world, having caused the collapse of the oppressive Soviet Union by attacking their weak economic foundation. We could crumble the Communist government of China the same way, but they aren't near the threat the Soviet Union was, and too many Americans are now helplessly addicted to cheap, slave-produced products from China.

We reached this point in our nation's growth because we provided freedom and opportunity for America's citizens. We know that while so many of the world may criticize us for various reasons, few wouldn't give their right arm for the opportunity to live and work here. We stand at the pinnacles of what every nation wishes they could become, and we beckon to them to emulate our own path, in making their nation free and prosperous as well.

Meanwhile we are throwing our achievements away with wild abandon.

America is free because the Founding Fathers recognize a set of core principles that any free nation must posses. America is prosperous because the Founding Fathers also recognized a set of core principles that individuals in a free society must posses. Those core principles have been under attack for quite some time.

While the Constitution outlines the form and function of the US Government, the Bill of Rights was added as a leash on that same government, limiting it's scope and power.

The First Amendment was supposed to provide for freedom of speech and religion. Yet we now face "hate crime" laws which will make speech which a minority of the population find "offensive", criminal. Freedom of religion has been so curtailed that the moral influence our nation's pastors, priests, rabbis and other religious leaders once had, has now been declared illegal, and a political speech by religious leaders is punished, unless it conforms to a specific political agenda—then it is allowed as is exampled by the practice of Democrat candidates making political speeches from the pulpits of Liberal churches.

The Second Amendment was supposed to protect the right to bear arms, yet in many parts of the nation it is impossible to legally own a gun.

The Fourth Amendment was supposed to guarantee the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, but the court have conveniently allowed the local governments to seize private property for public use, which can be defined as nothing more than what the local government determines is a more "profitable" business. The courts have also allowed the ridiculous farce of the "arrest" of property, which allows law enforcement to "detain" the property, while then placing the burden of proof of "innocence" on the property. A measure supposed to allow for more control fighting drug distributors, but has been used repeatedly on people with no evidence of involvement in any crime.

The Fifth Amendment guarantees a speedy trial, as well as protection against double-jeopardy and forced self-incrimination. Admittedly the lack of speedy trial comes more from the use of delay tactics on the part of some defense lawyers than the government, but it is disturbing when some guilty verdicts result in prison sentences shorter than the time already served waiting for the trial to end. But what about double-jeopardy? I was amazed when the four police officers accused of beating Rodney King were tried twice, once in local court, then again in Federal court, for the same crime. The hypocrisy of self-incrimination really bugs me. What the Founding Father's wanted was to eliminate torture, yet many police tactics regularly used, seem unusually harsh, especially when they can and do result in false confessions.

What do each and every one of these aberrations stem from? A lack of moral foundation. These core principles that a free nation must posses, we see cannot be maintained unless those core principles that the citizens of that nation, also posses, maintain and pass on to the next generation. What are those core, individual principles?

1. There is a God, and He is in control
2. God makes rules.
3. We cannot change those rules.

Moral relativism allows any rule to become a suggestion. That's why we see our Bill of Rights stripped of it's meaning and relevance as courts and politicians redefine them for their own convenience.

Two approaches to freedom

Two men tried to explain the value of the Democratic process.

One was a Deist, who passionately believed in God, but stopped short of acknowledging any personal relationship with God. Hardly someone in step with most modern religions.

The other was an Atheist. Intelligent, articulate, passionate in his own ideas and philosophies, but firmly believing there was no God.

Both men wrote famous treaties on the value of Democracy—literature still available and widely read today.

The Deist was Thomas Paine, who provided valuable philosophical support for the newly formed United States as they wrestled with what type of government to form. Thomas Paine argued in "Common Sense"...

But where, says some, is the King of America? I'll tell you. Friend, he reigns above, and doth not make havoc of mankind like the Royal Brute of Britain. Yet that we may not appear to be defective even in earthly honors, let a day be solemnly set apart for proclaiming the charter; let it be brought forth placed on the divine law, the word of God; let a crown be placed thereon, by which the world may know, that so far we approve of monarchy, that in America THE LAW IS KING. For as in absolute governments the King is law, so in free countries the law OUGHT to be King; and there ought to be no other. But lest any ill use should afterwards arise, let the crown at the conclusion of the ceremony, be demolished, and scattered among the people whose right it is.

The Atheist was a man named Sun Yat Sen, a Chinese politician. In his book "Principles of Democracy" he admitted that democracy ran contrary to nature, but because he and others believed it was best, it should be adopted. His arguments were ultimately unpersuasive as history has shown. China rejected democracy and embraced Communism, leaving Sun Yat Sen and his followers to relocate to the Island of Taiwan.

Without those core principles outlined above, embraced by a significant part of the population, especially the leaders, a nation cannot long maintain freedom—it can't even begin to accept it. It is only by acknowledging a moral foundation outside our own right and ability to alter, that the strong can submit their ambitions to the protection and betterment of the weak. That is the essence of what has made America strong, free and prosperous.

It is only by electing leaders who unashamedly embrace and support traditional values that we can hope to avoid the trap of moral relativism, and the devastation it would wreak on our nation.

Posted by Danny Carlton at May 13, 2008 1:04 PM