Thursday, August 5, 2010

Federalist No. 7: A Firm Foundation

By now we can all agree that, as in the period right before the American Revolution, "these are the times that try men's souls". As elitists in Washington use "divide and conquer" as a standard MO, as both political parties continue try insist on leading us by the nose, and as our economy continues to flush itself down the toilet, many fined themselves despairing, or at the very least, getting really really frustrated with what seems like an endless cycle of corruption and fear.

Of course there are no shortages of answers from the right and the left as to what to do, politically. And all manner of political solutions have been proposed, defended, criticized, discarded, and recycled. I watch the news and listen to talk radio (It's no secret I enjoy watching and listening to Glenn Beck), and one of the most agonizing things about both is, at the end of the day I'm left thinking, sometimes even yelling at the TV, ''SO NOW WHAT?!". No doubt many of you find yourselves in the same situation. You watch the news, you read the papers, you hear the radio, and you think "Ok, so Congressman so-and-so is a schlub. Congresswoman so-and-so is crooked. The attitude and actions of the entire Administration is an affront to the America People, SO NOW WHAT? What do I do? What CAN I do?" No doubt that many of us who are frustrated or despair feel that way because of our own perceived impotence. We WANT to make a difference. We WANT the problems to go away. We WANT things to go back to more peaceful times.

It has been said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. But vigilant in what? Civic duty? The political system? Who has time to spend protesting or playing activist? How many of us would love to attend a TEA party convention, or participate in some form of activism, but cannot because of school, work, or family obligations? It's not fair that the squeaky wheel gets the oil, especially when so many of us are too damn busy to waste time playing the squeaky wheel.

So where do we start? I've always been, and will continue to be, supportive of a nation-wide movement to vote out every incumbent from Washington in order to effectively break the back of the two-party charade, and to send a simple but powerful message to all current and future leaders: "We are not as as stupid as you would like us to believe, and we are in control, not you!" But such a movement would take much time, organization, and resources, and as a nation, we are too divided to accomplish such a feat...for now.

So what can we do in the meantime?

"And [Jesus] seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying...
...Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon fa rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a crock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

If we are to weather the coming storm, then there needs to be a solid foundation up which our houses, our lives, are built. The foundation of any society is a strong, healthy, loving family; and the foundation of any strong, happy, loving family is truth and righteousness. We have to gather up truth -all the good and true principles in the world- and treasure them and abide by them, or we shall not come out true Americans.

Our Founding Fathers believed in truths that were self-evident: truths that did not need to be explained our expounded upon. One of these truths was that we are endowed by our Creator (that we are Created seems to be a given -another self-evident truth) with certain inalienable rights. That statement alone is a profound one. We are created, by a Being who saw fit to put us here on the earth, and to gift us with rights that no man can take away. Among these rights, our Founding Fathers continued, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (property). No man can take my life.The Lord giveth life, and the Lord taketh it away. No man can strip me of my liberty, and compel me to act in his interest at the expense of my own. And every man has the right to work, and by the sweat of his brow, raise up to himself wealth and riches such as will make him content in his station in life. And those who will not work shall not eat.

We used to call such principles common sense. We used to accept them as a given. They, were, as our Founding Fathers said, self-evident. If such truths are no longer self-evident, than it is because we as a people have fallen from the lofty stage of enlightenment that our Founding Father's had obtained. Our minds have become darkened, and we have become blind to the truth. If we are to obtain the same level of enlightenment, the same level of divine grace, so that once again such truths become self-evident, we must once again obtain that same level of noble civilization. As individuals we must become humble, compassionate, meek, virtuous, merciful, pure in heart, and peaceful. We must refrain from violence in speech and action. We must seek to do good, and be anxiously engaged in a good cause. This can be something as simple as spending a little more time with one's family. Teach your children by example that all men are created equal. Teach them by example, by your words and your deeds, that God loves them, as well as all men. Teach them that truth exists, and that happiness is only obtained by those who actively seek it, and apply it. Teach them to hunger and thirst after truth and righteousness as if they were the very food and water needed to survive.

This is how we will fight back. This will be our defiance against the elitists in Washington. We will live on, we will survive, and we will stand for truth and righteousness. Our civil disobedience will be to believe what we know to be true, even when our leaders tell us otherwise. The greatest blessings or acts of charity we can call upon against those who would seek to govern us and exercise unrighteous dominion over our lives, are our little acts of defiance and personal integrity.

It is time for us to find those truths once again. Our lives and our families will never experience happiness until we become a people to whom these truths are self-evident: that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that they will be held accountable to the Almighty Judge for the righteous exercise of those rights. It is time for us to become a people upon whom Almighty God can pour out the richness of his blessings. Lets us thirst for knowledge and wisdom. God is more liberal in His views, and boundless in His mercies and blessings, than we are ready to believe or receive. Our Founding Fathers knew this. It is time we came to know it as well.

Sic Semper Tyrannis,

-Damocles