Tag Archive for: founders

When the Going Gets Tough

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When the going gets tough where do you go? The going is going to get touch. There will be victories but there will also be setbacks and defeats. There are times you will feel disappointed. There are times when you will feel discouraged. You will believe that you’ve walked enough precincts, or you’ve worked the phone bank more than enough and when that happens you have to ask yourself why you’re in the fight. Are you in the fight for a party, for a candidate, for an issue? If you are than you will likely not have the inner strength to continue the fight. Let me tell you though it’s not about party, or candidate it’s about liberty! And if you think you’ve done your part and you’ve given enough, then remember this. Our founding fathers who fought for your liberty gave their life. Their families had to do on the run. Their houses were burned down, they were tortured all in the name of liberty. So when the going gets tough remember it is liberty that you are fighting for.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

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republic-if-you-can-keep-it-smAll forms of society rely on the continuing moral obligation of the people within that society, which is why I believe Benjamin Franklin, when asked what type of government they created, he responded, “a Republic, if you can keep it.”    With socialism, you eventually run out of someone else’s money and the system collapses.  With stateless society, you eventually run out of someone else’s morality and the system devolves into utter chaos.  With a republic you eventually run out of people’s attentiveness and immorality reigns in government.

Thomas Paine said, “Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is, but a necessary evil; in its worse state an intolerable one; for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.”

Paine is describing the very paradox of societies.  What happens without government will also occur with government; the same consequence, just with different actors.   The point that Paine was trying to make is that we hold fellowship with our fellow man as a blessing, so we desire to live in communities.  Small communities do well without much intervention of law, as people are bound by their closeness to respect each other’s liberty, act morally, and do not tread on their neighbor’s natural rights of Life, Liberty, Property and Right to defend these rights (Samuel Adams, Rights of man 1772) and are able to police themselves.  However, the larger communities become and/or the more detached man becomes from his neighbor, the less driven he will become by a personal obligation to morality.  When that occurs, the society will cry out for laws and as the society will begin to distrust his neighbor’s fair application of the laws, will elect government to enforce those laws.  Paine expounds:

“the reciprocal blessing of which, would supersede, and render the obligations of law and government unnecessary while they remained perfectly just to each other; but as nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice, it will unavoidably happen, that in proportion as they surmount the first difficulties of emigration which bound them together in a common cause, they will begin to relax their duty and attachment to each other; and this remissness, will point out the necessity, of establishing government to supply the defect of moral virtue.”

Perfect society is governed by morality; that circumstance exists when people “remain perfectly just to each other.”  The socialist societies believe that we will all operate in a just manner because we are “inherently good” people.  The stateless societies believe we will operate in a just manner because we can police ourselves as a “society” of “inherently moral” people.  With either of those systems there is no mechanism to compensate for the actual “inherently depraved” nature of man.  Which is why Paine points out that the people will then look to the enforcement of laws by a body of people, trusted to embody the morality of society.  Bottom line is this; government is the compensation for the immorality of man.  The more immoral man becomes in society, the more government is called for.  The more government we establish the less Liberty the people enjoy.  The less Liberty people enjoy the less government they want. Immorality is at the heart of these turbulent oscillations.

Our founders believed a Republic to be the most stable form of government as it is a blend of this “policing of the people” and a government to enforce the laws established by a moral society.  The Republic has lost its value when the PEOPLE no longer police the government.  The negligence of the people will allow them to then assume we have a “government problem” to avoid the personal responsibility of their actions.  Can there be a “government problem” that is not the result of a moral problem?  Not likely.  Therein lays the crux of the problem.  With the breakdown of the morality of the people, all society fails.  However, our founders believed the solution to our problem did not lie in the elimination of government, as Paine points out, societies naturally tend toward the establishment of government is some form eventually.  The solution lies with the restoration of morality in society.  Sam Adams warns:

“because we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

Difficulty is, as Paine points out, “nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice” and it appears have to suffer the “necessary evil” of government as long as we are a fallen world.  The question remains, how long will we suffer an intolerable one?

A Hertitage Worthy of Thanks

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As we reflect on the past year in America, let us not forget that Liberty is a gift that was purchased for us with great sacrifice. Among the many things we have to be thankful for, we must be eternally grateful for the wisdom of men and women that understood that Liberty was a gift from God and that all God’s gifts are worth our every sacrifice.  John Adams, in a letter to Abigail in 1777 expressed this sacrifice.

Posterity ! you will never know how much it cost the present generation to preserve your freedom! I hope you will make a good use of it If you do not, I shall repent in Heaven that I ever took half the pains to preserve it.

We must honor this sacrifice by honoring their memory and continuing their efforts.  Too often I see the revisionism of our history in an effort to demean these men and women with the purpose of destroying our nation.  We do not properly respect their efforts by allowing these lies to be taught to our sons and daughters.  We must teach the truth.  We owe it to them.  We owe it to our children.

I am not trying to give the founders some divine status or even suppose them a level of perfection that they did not have. We must understand that our nation was not founded upon people, but upon principles. The people that gave us our exceptional American principles were flawed vessels just like you and me. However, the really amazing part of this history is that flawed men understood that the foundation of an enduring nation must be liberty moored in morality. Consider these words by Alexander Hamilton:

Equal pains have been taken to deprave the morals as to extinguish the religion of the country [France], if indeed morality in a community can be separated from religion…The pious and moral weep over these scenes as a sepulcher destined to entomb all they revere and esteem.

The politician who loves liberty sees them with regret as a gulf that may swallow up the liberty to which he is devoted. He knows that morality overthrown (and morality must fall with religion), the terrors of despotism can alone curb the impetuous passions of man, and confine him within the bounds of social duty. (emphasis original)
The Stand, No. III (April 7, 1798)

Our founders knew that Liberty is a combination of two equally important parts – it is FREEDOM under the constraints of MORAL LAW. Liberty cannot survive where there is pure freedom. Pure freedom gives man the right to do whatever is right in his own mind: cheat, lie, rob, murder. Pure freedom is anarchy. At the same time, Liberty cannot survive with moral law alone. Moral law not mingled with freedom is theocracy. Theocracy in the hands of men is tyranny in the name of religion. Our founders attempted give us this balance and secure the blessings of liberty for us in our founding documents. When we abandon our founding documents and disregard our moral foundations, liberty is in peril.

Thomas Jefferson gave us this warning, “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God?”

While Benjamin Franklin warned America’s founders directly:

“In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection…. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of Superintending Providence in our favor…have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?…. God Governs in the affairs of men And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”

Patrick Henry said “Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.”

As an exceptional nation built upon exceptional principles, we cannot deny that we are built with a foundational understanding of an exceptional God. Thomas Jefferson reminds us that, “We are not in a world ungoverned by the laws and the power of a Superior Agent. Our efforts are in His hand, and directed by it; and He will give them their effect in His own time.”

Because of our historical understanding that our nation was built on the principles of freedom and morality, America has always been the haven of rest when tyrants oppress their own. She is the vineyard of innovation and opportunity. This is the nation that opens its arms to the tired, to the poor, to the oppressed, to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free. No other nation can claim this legacy, no other people has this birthright. This is the shining city upon a hill, and we cannot hide our light under a bush.

The focus of our education should not be on the flaws of the men who gave us this nation, but on the exceptional nation that they gave us. We have an exceptional nation where “all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights.” A nation birthed by the principle that the power of the government is to be held BY the people and not where the government holds power OVER the people. A nation that believes the principle that says all are free to worship according to the dictates of their conscience, and all are equally free, “Jews, Turks, pagans, AND Christians.” A nation that has prospered based on the principle that ideas and hard work open the door to prosperity regardless of bloodline, skin color or social status. A nation that has remained free based on the principle that liberties remain secure by maintaining the right to defend self, property, and Liberty.

In the profound words of Daniel Webster, “Is our Constitution worth preserving? Guard it as you would guard the seat of your life, guard it not only against the open blows of violence, but also against that spirit of change…Miracles do not cluster. That which has happened but once in six thousand years, cannot be expected to happen often. Such a government, once destroyed, would have a void to be filled, perhaps for centuries, with evolution and tumult, riot and despotism.”~ An Anniversary Address by Daniel Webster July 4th 1806

So in this time of Thanksgiving, let us maintain a true focus on what is important. In this day it is so popular to denigrate America for every little flaw. Why not take back a bit of American Exceptionalism? Why not embrace what makes us different from every other nation on the globe? America is an exceptional nation because we are built on exceptional principles. Principles of Liberty, freedom, morality, and equality as derived from our Creator.  And these principles are STILL WORTH FIGHTING FOR!

Happy Thanksgiving America! May God continue to bless this exceptional nation.

Giving Thanks for America

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Our daughter graduated from a liberal arts college in Maryland.  One day she contacted me amused by the subject matter of some of her liberal arts classes.  We began discussing one of her history classes where some time was spent “learning” about our founding fathers.  What she learned about the founders was all focused on the flaws of these men; whether based in fact or revisionist history.  This teaching reflects the popular view, shared by many university professors and school teachers across America, that America is no different than any other nation on the globe…that our nation is “fundamentally flawed,” after all, look at the flawed men that built it.

For example, what my daughter remembers about Alexander Hamilton, one of the primary founders of this nation, is that he was a womanizer.  Not only a womanizer, explains her feminist professor, but a hypocrite at that.  After all, how could a man who is free to have affairs with other men’s wives feel that his sense of morality is at stake over a duel with Aaron Burr?  These questionable accounts are all too typical in America’s classrooms and textbooks.  I have read the same type of story about George Washington, claiming a torrid affair with his married friend Sally Fairfax.  Most credible sources will tell you that is a terrible lie.

I am not trying to give the founders some divine status or even suppose them a level of perfection that they did not have.  We must understand that our nation was not founded upon people, but upon principles. The people that gave us our exceptional American principles were flawed vessels just like you and me.  However, the really amazing part of this history is that flawed men understood that the foundation of an enduring nation must be liberty moored in morality.    Consider these words by Alexander Hamilton:

Equal pains have been taken to deprave the morals as to extinguish the religion of the country [France], if indeed morality in a community can be separated from religion…The pious and moral weep over these scenes as a sepulcher destined to entomb all they revere and esteem.

The politician who loves liberty sees them with regret as a gulf that may swallow up the liberty to which he is devoted.  He knows that morality overthrown (and morality must fall with religion), the terrors of despotism can alone curb the impetuous passions of man, and confine him within the bounds of social duty. (emphasis original)
The Stand, No. III (April 7, 1798)

Our founders knew that Liberty is a combination of two equally important parts – it is FREEDOM under the constraints of MORAL LAW.  Liberty cannot survive where there is pure freedom.  Pure freedom gives man the right to do whatever is right in his own mind: cheat, lie, rob, murder.  Pure freedom is anarchy.  At the same time, Liberty cannot survive with moral law alone.  Moral law not mingled with freedom is theocracy.  Theocracy in the hands of men is tyranny in the name of religion.  Our founders attempted give us this balance and secure the blessings of liberty for us in our founding documents.  When we abandon our founding documents and disregard our moral foundations, liberty is in peril.

Thomas Jefferson gave us this warning, “Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a gift from God?”

While Benjamin Franklin warned America’s founders directly:

“In the beginning of the Contest with Great Britain, when we were sensible of danger, we had daily prayer in this room for Divine protection…. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of Superintending Providence in our favor…have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? or do we imagine we no longer need His assistance?…. God Governs in the affairs of men And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid?”

Patrick Henry said “Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us.”

As an exceptional nation built upon exceptional principles, we cannot deny that we are built with a foundational understanding of an exceptional God.  Thomas Jefferson reminds us that, “We are not in a world ungoverned by the laws and the power of a Superior Agent. Our efforts are in His hand, and directed by it; and He will give them their effect in His own time.”

Because of our historical understanding that our nation was built on the principles of freedom and morality, America has always been the haven of rest when tyrants oppress their own. She is the vineyard of innovation and opportunity.   This is the nation that opens its arms to the tired, to the poor, to the oppressed, to the huddled masses yearning to breathe free.  No other nation can claim this legacy, no other people has this birthright. This is the shining city upon a hill, and we cannot hide our light under a bush.

The focus of our education should not be on the flaws of the men who gave us this nation, but on the exceptional nation that they gave us.  We have an exceptional nation where “all men are created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights.”  A nation birthed by the principle that the power of the government is to be held BY the people and not where the government holds power OVER the people.  A nation that believes the principle that says all are free to worship according to the dictates of their conscience, and all are equally free, “Jews, Turks, pagans, AND Christians.”   A nation that has prospered based on the principle that ideas and hard work open the door to prosperity regardless of bloodline, skin color or social status.  A nation that has remained free based on the principle that liberties remain secure by maintaining the right to defend self, property, and Liberty.

In the profound words of Daniel Webster, “Is our Constitution worth preserving? Guard it as you would guard the seat of your life, guard it not only against the open blows of violence, but also against that spirit of change…Miracles do not cluster. That which has happened but once in six thousand years, cannot be expected to happen often. Such a government, once destroyed, would have a void to be filled, perhaps for centuries, with evolution and tumult, riot and despotism.”~ An Anniversary Address by Daniel Webster July 4th 1806

So in this time of Thanksgiving, let us maintain a true focus on what is important.  In this day it is so popular to denigrate America for every little flaw.  Why not take back a bit of American Exceptionalism?  Why not embrace what makes us different from every other nation on the globe?  America is an exceptional nation because we are built on exceptional principles.  Principles of Liberty, freedom, morality, and equality as derived from our Creator.

May God continue to bless this America, established upon the principles of Liberty.