A republic, if you can keep it

I wrote this letter to a co-worker yesterday, and after thinking about it, decided to put it up here as well.

From November 4th through about January 20th, I felt a little depressed and quite worried that we were at the beginning of the end (I mean the end in a biblical-type sense). My reason for this worry was that the Democrats (& most Republicans, too), the mainstream media & seemingly most Americans had replaced God with the obamessiah. And with that feeling, there were two quotes that were always in the back of my mind (actually the Jefferson quote is framed & hanging in my house, which helps keep it in my mind):

“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 the gift of God?”
Thomas Jefferson

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
John Adams

I have a deep respect for those men, so I can easily see the wisdom in those statements and agree. With the election of Obama, I feared that we as a nation had replaced our belief in the actual God with a belief in a false one. Speaking of the nation as a whole, it is clear that belief in God has fallen by the wayside. With so many people clamoring for the government to take the property of those who have lawfully acquired it and redistribute it to the “victims” of capitalism, our national morality is in question.

While this phenomenon continues - and continues to amaze and disgust me - it was quite literally on the afternoon of January 20th that I began to see signs - albeit small - that people were beginning to realize that what our government is attempting is wrong. The masses may not yet be able to explain what or why it is wrong, but I sense that many, in fact the majority of Americans, feel in their gut, their heart, their soul, that what is going on is wrong. Most Americans were educated in public schools, so they have likely never read the Declaration, the Constitution, writings or biographies of any of our founding fathers, the writing of people like Locke, Hume, Cicero, etc., and that’s why they can’t explain why this is wrong. But they know it at their core, and slowly but surely, they will be moved to find out why they feel it is wrong (that’s human nature). They will read those writings, they will be able to explain why these things are wrong. This is happening slowly now, but as time goes on, it will gain momentum, until it will become an overwhelming and unstoppable force. Because of this, liberty will prevail. As John Adams said, “The preservation of liberty depends upon the intellectual and moral character of the people. As long as knowledge and virtue are diffused generally among the body of a nation, it is impossible they should be enslaved.” While virtue, moral character and knowledge are lacking at a national level (how’s that for an understatement?), the speed with which our government is trying to get us to become socialists is already giving many Americans pause. We are just now slowly beginning to wake from a deep slumber and realize that we are lacking in knowledge. Many will then begin to seek knowledge. That new knowledge will be used to restore our national moral character (people will begin to apply principle 3 of Glenn Beck’s 9 principles), and we the people will then be ready to fight the malaise and fascism that emanates from Washington DC. This belief that the American people are not ready to go quietly into the night helps me to remain optimistic. Prior to the election & inauguration, I didn’t think that we had the desire to regain the knowledge and virtue our country once had. Since then, based on what I am seeing, I believe we do still have that resolve, it just needs to be focused.

The question is, how much damage will Obama and his ilk inflict upon America while Americans awake and ready themselves? I have a feeling that they will do much harm, but it will not end us. Calvin Coolidge said, “In its main features the Declaration of Independence is a great spiritual document. It is a declaration not of material but of spiritual conceptions. Equality, liberty, popular sovereignty, the rights of man; these are not elements which we can see and touch. They are ideals. They have their source and their roots in the religious convictions. They belong to the unseen world.” As people acquire that knowledge and those morals, they will hopefully - to a certain extent - gain at least an understanding, respect and appreciation for God. My belief is that God’s hand was directly involved in the creation of this country. America exists to fulfill a purpose for Him. So long as the people of this country will remember Him, He will help us, just as he helped us during the birth of this nation.

I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I suspect that it will get worse before it gets better. The American people as a whole are not yet ready to stop being American. A revolution is coming. I hope and pray it will be peaceful, but there is no way to know anymore (one more founding quote from Thomas Paine. “If there must be trouble let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”)

Now to be brutally honest, I do hope & pray for a peaceful resolution, but the more I think about it, the more I study, the more I am convinced that it will not be peaceful.  It scares me nearly to death to think what lies ahead.  Borrowing from Jefferson’s writing on Shays Rebellion, The Tree of Liberty will survive, but only after a healthy dose of its’ natural manure.  I believe this is why the latter part of the book of Alma, most of the book of Helaman, the historical writings offered by Mormon & Moroni and to a lesser extent, the record of the Jaredites were included in the Book of Mormon.  Those writings offer warning signs, as well as counsel on how to combat this evil that is now openly among us.  At some point we must heed the warning and act accordingly.  The widow in which we can act is rapidly closing.

And so does Scott Adams, his creator.  Here’s the Dilbert comic strip for today

Satan is known as The Father of all Lies, in part because he was the first to lie, and also because he is so good at it.  What makes someone “good” - as in talented - at lying is the ability to make it sound like truth.  That is what Satan excels at.  Take this exchange between Satan & Eve:

But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

If you look at that exchange, you’ll see there is some truth included in his statement.  That little bit of truth makes it difficult to discern the lie, and to be honest, the lie isn’t an outright lie, it is a statement that has multiple meanings.  In modern day terms, it would be called spin.

“Good” politicians have the same talent, and the video below shows one of the best doing what he does best

Listen to what he says.

• He inherited a 1.3 trillion deficit. That is spin.  He campaigned for that deficit.  Remember last Fall, he urged the Bush administration to bail out the banks, which is where most of that deficit came from.  While that deficit was created by someone else, and he now has responsibility for it, he was a major factor in getting that passed, so to say he inherited it is not entirely accurate.  He asked for it.
• He states, “We cannot and will not sustain deficits like this without end.” That is absolutely true, by mixing in some truth, it makes it tougher to sort out the lies.
• He quotes some numbers to make his case. Those may or may not be true, but are probably based on facts.  Anyone who has taken financial or accounting classes understands that it is easy to make numbers say whatever you want.  When you quote them like he does, it makes him look smarter and more capable of using the numbers to fix the problem.  It also legitimizes what he is saying.
• Of course he takes a few shots at Bush. And in this case, Bush deserves it.  But the reason he takes those shots is because Bush acted more like a liberal/socialist Democrat rather than a fiscally conservative Republican.  One of the most effective things that liberals have done is associate George Bush’s domestic and social policies with conservatism, and since those policies are terrible, people dislike him and the conservative brand.  What they have done so brilliantly is fool people into thinking that Bush (and really the entire GOP) are conservative, when in reality they are socialists-lite.  This is a very subtle lie that most Americans fail to see, it was created and perfected by the Father of All Lies, and his pupils have learned it well.
• He uses the numbers to prepare people  for more upcoming spending. Not only does he use the numbers to show how much debt we have, he uses the numbers to make a plug for two of his party’s pet projects: education and socialized medicine.
• He then goes from quoting some numbers to a little bit of fear mongering, using our common sense as a weapon against us. Conservatives have been harping on the fact that spending this much money will saddle future generations of yet unborn Americans with a huge debt, and that doing do is immoral.  He talks of this as if he agrees.  Again, he uses just a little bit of truth to play on our fears.  By using just a bit of truth and mixing in emotions - in this case fear - he is able to fool many into thinking that he has a plan that will work.  Then he announces what he plans to accomplish to fix the problems and allay our fears.
• Here is the biggest whopper. Listen to him from 1:29 to 1:37.  I’ll admit I missed it until someone pointed it out on the morning talk show I listen to.  He says he plans to cut the deficit in half.  In fact that’s the title of the You Tube video. But that is NOT what he said he would do.  He said he would cut the deficit HE INHERITED by half.  He said nothing of reducing the debt he has strapped us with during his first month in office, nor any of the other debt he will heap upon us during the rest of his administration.  He has learned his lessons well, and he serves his master well.
• He then finishes with one bit of truth and a couple more lies that sound good and speak to our senses. He says it won’t be easy, and he’s right.  Then he says he doesn’t want to leave our children with a debt they can’t repay.  He also says we have to take responsibility now to get spending under control, which is also very true.  So the question is, if he wants to be responsible, control spending and not leave an enormous debt to our children, why then has he basically doubled the national deficit he “inherited” in only one month? Why does he plan on spending more so quickly?  By his own admission it is not sustainable, yet he has promised to work on the inherited deficit, while apparently creating his own deficit that dwarfs Bush’s.

This is what a liar looks like, and this is what he does.  These are not little white lies; these are the types of lies used by Satan to strip away liberty and freedom, and make us as miserable as he is.  Our government seeks to strip liberties and freedoms, and they are employing the same tactics that Lucifer uses.  If they act like the devil, if they talk like the devil, what else could these politicians be but devils?

If we as a nation are to remain free, we have to work for it.  Things don’t look good right now, but there are some glimmers of light.

I have found two in text that Glenn Beck & Mike Church have created.

Beck has what he calls The Nine Principles

1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

Mike Church has gone further than that and drafted what he calls the America Again Resolves.  They are based on the Thomas Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolves.  Click the link & it will take you to a 10 page document.  It takes a few minutes, but is worth the time.  I do have a few questions about this resolve, but overall I support it & think that we must do something now, or simply watch the candle of liberty go out.  If you want to get involved, go to these websites and say so.  The time is now & the window is closing.

The New Hampshire legislature is in the process of debating this resolution.  It is fairly short, and I recommend reading the entire document.  It is a resolution that serves to remind the federal government that they are limited in ther duties, and it spells out what will happen should the federal government continue to overstep it’s bound.  2 parts that really stood out were these:

That the Constitution of the United States, having delegated to Congress a power to punish treason, counterfeiting the securities and current coin of the United States, piracies, and felonies committed on the high seas, and offences against the law of nations, slavery, and no other crimes whatsoever; and it being true as a general principle, and one of the amendments to the Constitution having also declared, that “the powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people,” therefore all acts of Congress which assume to create, define, or punish crimes, other than those so enumerated in the Constitution are altogether void, and of no force; and that the power to create, define, and punish such other crimes is reserved, and, of right, appertains solely and exclusively to the respective States, each within its own territory.

The Constitution is clear on what the government can & can’t do.  Especially Article 1, section 8, and Amendments 9 & 10.  

That the construction applied by the General Government (as is evidenced by sundry of their proceedings) to those parts of the Constitution of the United States which delegate to Congress a power “to lay and collect taxes, duties, imports, and excises, to pay the debts, and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States,” and “to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the powers vested by the Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof,” goes to the destruction of all limits prescribed to their power by the Constitution: that words meant by the instrument to be subsidiary only to the execution of limited powers, ought not to be so construed as themselves to give unlimited powers, nor a part to be so taken as to destroy the whole residue of that instrument: that the proceedings of the General Government under color of these articles, will be a fit and necessary subject of revisal and correction.

This is in line with what Jefferson and Madison thought.  In fact, this resolution is based on the Virginia and Kentucky Resolves.  The penultimate paragraph contains this sentence that puts the government on notice:

That should any [unconstitutional] act of Congress become law or Executive Order or Judicial Order be put into force, all powers previously delegated to the United States of America by the Constitution for the United States shall revert to the several States individually.

New Hampshire is on the verge of officially stating that if the federal government oversteps its bounds, it will cease to exist, because all powers delegated to it BY the states will be removed and returned TO the states.

Now, what of the other 49 states?  This morning I sent emails to both my state assemblyman and senator, as well as one other assemblyman who has shown a deep love for the state of Nevada and this country, as well as the Assembly Minority Leader.  They are all busy right now, so I don’t know if they will respond, but I would encourage you to do the same.  Write your state representatives.

Quick update: This morning I heard that Oklahoma (HRJ 1003) and Idaho have similar legislation.  There may be as many as 25 states with similar legislation, but I can’t conform that, and I don’t know if Nevada has anything in the works (my guess is no).

I was reading a thread on a firearm forum today that was discussing a hypothetical situation and how one could defend themselves while remaining legal.  It involved disarming a criminal who had attacked you, and then deciding what to do when they won’t follow your commands (to leave, lie down, etc).  Most people commented that it would be prudent to call 911 ASAP.  One person made this comment:

In my opinion, a pistol in the hands of a civilian for self defense is for just that, defense, not apprehension. If the guy runs away, then he runs away, call the cops and let them handle it.

Shortly after that, someone else commented about that comment:

Agreed. While I certainly wouldn’t be happy that he got away to menace someone else, the law doesn’t empower me to force his compliance so I’m not going to get myself into a legal quagmire.

Given the litigious world we live in today, I would have to agree 100% with both comments.  What bothers me though is part of the second comment.

…the law doesn’t empower me to…

Now in this particular case, the discussion is about using a gun for self defense, but in reality, there are many instances where the same statement could be said.  “The law doesn’t empower me to do something,” whatever that something may be.  That sentiment - while unfortunately true today, is entirely opposite of one of the key founding principles.

The law - or government - was never meant to empower an individual to do something.  In a just form of government, it is the individual who offers empowerment.

The principle in question can be summed up by saying that, “[T]o secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”  Now I hope you recognize that sentence.  It is based on the political and philosophical teachings of John Locke, and was written by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence.  What it means is that individuals can come together and as a group, delegate specific roles or responsibilities to the government.  The individual does NOT surrender or forfeit that right, they merely give authority to the government to do it for them.  The individual retains the right to do it - whatever it may be - for themselves at any time. This is necessary because the people thereby retain the right to take away authority or empowerment of the government at any time, for any reason.

As a society, we have done this with police services.  We have empowered law enforcement with authority to detain and arrest criminals.  For government to work properly, we, the people,  have to retain the ability to detain and arrest criminals.

We can’t grant that which we don’t have, and for government to work, we can’t give it away, nor will a just government seek to take it.

As a result, while I agree that the statement above is legally right, it is fundamentally wrong, and I think it shows us one of the root causes of the problems we as a nation are facing today. We have gone beyond just delegating tasks to the government and now freely surrender many rights.  It could be argued (not by me - I’m just saying it could be) that in past times, the people would completely forfeit a right, and the government would step in to take care of it, because someone has to.  Our present-day government has become so used to this arrangement that they now no longer wait for the people to forfeit something, they just unilaterally decide to take those rights.  Regardless of how we got here, we have - by definition - an unjust government, and an electorate that for the most part, doesn’t care.

For those who do care, we have a really tough question to answer: How do we fix this problem?