http://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807
The title tells it all ladies and gentlemen. It's exactly what I and every other activist for the Second Amendment have been saying for decades.
Those who are willing and inclined to commit a rape, robbery or murder with a firearm, do not and never have obeyed laws that regulate firearm sales, possession or transportation.
It seems so obvious, that it's actually painful for me to keep repeating it. The only people who obey laws that control guns are people who obey the law in the first place.
The once championed federal Clinton-Reno Semi-Automatic Firearms Ban that sunset last September is a perfect example of what I'm speaking of. There were thousands of anti-gun activists who lamented about "blood running in the streets" if the sunset on the Semi-auto ban remained.
Whenever they could find a microphone and a camera they wailed and whined about semi-automatic rifle fire echoing in every street and in every alley in the nation if the ban on semi-auto firearms was allowed to pass into the annals of terrible legislation.
Sarah Brady of Handgun Control Incorporated fame and now The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said of the sunsetting semi-auto ban "Our streets are going to be filled with AK-47s and Uzis."
They all grieved and carried on about how many young men would be lost in America's streets. However, the only loss that occurred was in the credibility of gun control activists.
Every single time that a state passed concealed handgun carry legislation, the gun control miscreants and the gun ban iconoclasts, reached for every camera and microphone they could get their filthy hands on and made dire predictions of car accidents escalating into gunfire. They forecast that simple disputes would swell into high murder rates all over the state because people were going to be allowed the freedom to carry a concealed firearm.
Now, thirty eight states and I think soon to be thirty nine, have enacted legislation that allows concealed carry of a handgun. What has happened with the massive increase in concealed carry states and the sunset of the asinine Clinton-Reno semi-automatic ban from 1994?
According to the F.B. I., crime, especially the violent crimes of rape, robbery and murder are down and down big-time. Even more so in the highly populated inner cities. Crime is dropping precipitously.
Cities with more than a million (1,000,000) citizens saw the largest decrease in rates of violent crime of 5.4%. Cities with under ten thousand (10,000) citizens saw the largest decrease in actual rates of murder of 12.2%.
Nationwide, murders fell by 3.6%. All four of the nation’s regions showed decreases in violent crime, with the Northeast dropping the most, 2.6 percent, followed by the West (2 percent), Midwest (1.5 percent) and South (1.2 percent).
So, you might ask....
How come the media isn't loudly trumpeting the fact that rates of violent crime are down, while the Second Amendment has gained much more support in both Congress and the state legislatures? The semi-auto ban is gone, many new states are allowing lawful citizens to carry concealed firearms and murder rates are down 3.6% overall and 12.2% in smaller cities.
Why is everybody silent on this issue except for those who support The Right to Keep and Bear Arms. It seems that the only place you'll hear of this great news is on pro-gun blogs and pro-gun Web sites like www.SaveTheGuns.com and the NRA, GOA and others.
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
When Considering Legislation...
This is a very important blog that I think every local politcian, state legislator and U.S. Congressman should read, consider and obey.
It is my belief, in conjunction with the belief of the Founding Fathers that any piece of proposed legislation has a certain hierarchy or order in which the bill must be considered.
When considering any legislation, whether it be from a town selectman's proposal, a state legislator's bill, a House Resolution offered in the United States House of Representatives or a bill offered in a United States Senate Committee, it must be evaluted in a certain order.
First, the proposed bill must be held up to the blinding white light that radiates from the Bill of Rights.
"I hope, therefore, a bill of rights will be formed to guard the people against the Federal government as they are already guarded against their State governments, in most instances."
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1788.
If the proposed legislation passes this test and completely complies with the Bill of Rights, then the offered legislation should be held up to and closely compared with the rest of the United States Constitution.
"We may be tossed upon an ocean where we can see no land nor, perhaps, the sun and stars. But there is a chart and a compass for us to study, to consult, and to obey. The chart is the Constitution."
Daniel Webster
"An act against the Constitution is void. An act against natural equity is void."
James Otis (1725-1783)
"On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invent against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
Thomas Jefferson June 12, 1823
If the offered legislation complies with the United States Constitution, then it must be compared with the individual state constitutions and it must then be determined if it complies with the articles found there.
Kentucky: The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. (1792)
Vermont: [T]he people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power. (1777)
Pennsylvania: That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; And that the military should be kept under strict subordination, to, and governed by, the civil power. (1776)
Maine: Article 1 Section 16. To keep and bear arms. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.
If any proposed local, state or federal law, stands up to the Bill of Rights, the remaining seventeen amendments of the Constitution and the indivdual state constitutions for state and local bills, then and ONLY then, may it be considered further.
Next, the bills may be considered according to what grave and serious problem they help to solve. Legislation should never be considered simply in order for the Congress or the legislatures of the fifty states to keep busy and have something to do. Regulation and restriction of the people's freedom, liberty and independence should ALWAYS be very carefully weighed against any benefit derived from proposed legislation.
Then the representatives of the people have the duty to carefully weigh and deliberate upon the desires and opinions of their constituents. They can then request any available data to help them arrive at an equitable and fair decision upon whether or not to co-sponsor and/or support the bill at hand.
I have spoken with many legislators who consider offered legislation without first holding it up to the Bill of Rights and the remaining hierarchy I have described above. If we don't hold our representatives in government responsible for observing the Bill of Rights and the federal and state constitutions first, we're not doing our duty as Americans.
The average world democracy lasts about two hundred years.
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
It is my belief, in conjunction with the belief of the Founding Fathers that any piece of proposed legislation has a certain hierarchy or order in which the bill must be considered.
When considering any legislation, whether it be from a town selectman's proposal, a state legislator's bill, a House Resolution offered in the United States House of Representatives or a bill offered in a United States Senate Committee, it must be evaluted in a certain order.
First, the proposed bill must be held up to the blinding white light that radiates from the Bill of Rights.
"I hope, therefore, a bill of rights will be formed to guard the people against the Federal government as they are already guarded against their State governments, in most instances."
Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1788.
If the proposed legislation passes this test and completely complies with the Bill of Rights, then the offered legislation should be held up to and closely compared with the rest of the United States Constitution.
"We may be tossed upon an ocean where we can see no land nor, perhaps, the sun and stars. But there is a chart and a compass for us to study, to consult, and to obey. The chart is the Constitution."
Daniel Webster
"An act against the Constitution is void. An act against natural equity is void."
James Otis (1725-1783)
"On every question of construction (of the Constitution) let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invent against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
Thomas Jefferson June 12, 1823
If the offered legislation complies with the United States Constitution, then it must be compared with the individual state constitutions and it must then be determined if it complies with the articles found there.
Kentucky: The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned. (1792)
Vermont: [T]he people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power. (1777)
Pennsylvania: That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the state; and as standing armies in the time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; And that the military should be kept under strict subordination, to, and governed by, the civil power. (1776)
Maine: Article 1 Section 16. To keep and bear arms. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arms and this right shall never be questioned.
If any proposed local, state or federal law, stands up to the Bill of Rights, the remaining seventeen amendments of the Constitution and the indivdual state constitutions for state and local bills, then and ONLY then, may it be considered further.
Next, the bills may be considered according to what grave and serious problem they help to solve. Legislation should never be considered simply in order for the Congress or the legislatures of the fifty states to keep busy and have something to do. Regulation and restriction of the people's freedom, liberty and independence should ALWAYS be very carefully weighed against any benefit derived from proposed legislation.
Then the representatives of the people have the duty to carefully weigh and deliberate upon the desires and opinions of their constituents. They can then request any available data to help them arrive at an equitable and fair decision upon whether or not to co-sponsor and/or support the bill at hand.
I have spoken with many legislators who consider offered legislation without first holding it up to the Bill of Rights and the remaining hierarchy I have described above. If we don't hold our representatives in government responsible for observing the Bill of Rights and the federal and state constitutions first, we're not doing our duty as Americans.
The average world democracy lasts about two hundred years.
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."
John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
I don't own a fully automatic machine gun. I don't own a paramilitary semi-automatic rifle with a bayonet either. Neither do I own a .50 caliber rifle.
Because I don't own any of these types of firearms, I'm often asked by people what I'm afraid of. I respond that I'm not afraid of anything that walks the face of the Earth. Neither am I afraid of death itself.
What I fear is that my descendents in future generations of America may have to live under the heavy chains of tyranny, dictatorship and despotism, simply because I stood idly by while I allowed the Bill of Rights to be dismantled by my own government.
Whether people find it distasteful or not, it doesn't matter. The Second Amendment was specifically designed to protect the people from their own government and to keep the door to tyranny forever locked. I will staunchly oppose any attempt whatsoever that may unlock that door. It has nothing to do with hunting.
"Honor, justice, and humanity, forbid us tamely to surrender that freedom which we received from our gallant ancestors, and which our innocent posterity have a right to receive from us."
Thomas Jefferson
"If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
Samuel Adams, speech at the Philadelphia State House, August 1, 1776.
Thank you for listening to me today and reading my latest blog.
Have you looked into the great benefits of becoming an NRA Member?
http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htm
Thanks again,
Marc Richardson
www.SaveTheGuns.com
P.S. Is it a surprise that I'm actually related to Samuel Adams, John Adams and John Quncy Adams? :-)
Monday, April 25, 2005
Firearm Owner's Responsibilities
Your decision to lawfully own a firearm is protected from government encroachment by the Second Amendment found in the Bill of Rights. Very few who know what they're talking about would disagree with that statement.
Once you've decided to buy a gun, there are quite a few responsibilities that go along with that decision. The decision should be carefully weighed and thoughtfully considered. Please do not approach the decision to own a firearm lightly.
Have you considered all the responsibilities that go along with the choice to purchase your first gun?
I have been a Certified Firearm Instructor, NRA Recruiter and I am the Owner and Founder of a Web site called www.SaveTheGuns.com. I have been shooting guns since I was a child. I have taught gun safety and firearm education since I was a mere 22 years old or so.
The responsibilities that go with a first gun purchase are many. A few of them, you might not have even considered before you opened the box that contained your first gun. Let me take you on a brief tour on what I believe are the gun owner's many responsibilities.
I will attempt to address these items in the order of their importance. It is up to the reader to hold yourself accountable. In owning a firearm, you're not only answerable to yourself and your family, but I believe you're also answerable to your community and your nation.
Here is my list of gun owner responsibilities:
Once you've decided to buy a gun, there are quite a few responsibilities that go along with that decision. The decision should be carefully weighed and thoughtfully considered. Please do not approach the decision to own a firearm lightly.
Have you considered all the responsibilities that go along with the choice to purchase your first gun?
I have been a Certified Firearm Instructor, NRA Recruiter and I am the Owner and Founder of a Web site called www.SaveTheGuns.com. I have been shooting guns since I was a child. I have taught gun safety and firearm education since I was a mere 22 years old or so.
The responsibilities that go with a first gun purchase are many. A few of them, you might not have even considered before you opened the box that contained your first gun. Let me take you on a brief tour on what I believe are the gun owner's many responsibilities.
I will attempt to address these items in the order of their importance. It is up to the reader to hold yourself accountable. In owning a firearm, you're not only answerable to yourself and your family, but I believe you're also answerable to your community and your nation.
Here is my list of gun owner responsibilities:
- Safety and Storage
- Awareness of State and Federal Laws
- Defend and Support the Second Amendment
- Proficiency and Practice
- Involve your Children
I will attempt to address each one and expand upon them.
Safety and Storage:
I believe the primary responsibility of a gun owner is to make absolutely certain that nobody is permanently maimed or killed because of a lack of knowledge or carelessness when it comes to gun safety rules, proper gun handling or storage of your firearm.
There are three basic rules of gun handling. I will not address them here in this blog. They are listed on my "Safety Rules" page. http://www.savetheguns.com/safety_rules.htm.
If you own a gun, but cannot correctly recite the three basic rules of gun handling in their order of importance, you have not met your primary responsibility and you have some reading to do.
If you think there are only about ten gun safety rules, again, you have some reading and learning to do. I have an addtional forty seven (47) gun safety rules and tips on my "Safety Rules" page linked above.
As far as gun storage goes, you have a responsibility to keep your firearm away from unsupervised hands (especially little ones). I believe you also have a responsibility to prevent your guns from being stolen in a home burglary.
If your guns are in a glass case in your livingroom or den or there sitting in your bedroom bureau draw or closet readily discoverable by a home burglar, your responsibility in proper storage is not being met.
Firearms stolen from homes are one of the few major sources of guns used during the commission of a violent crime. You have a responsibility to reduce the possibility that your new revolver will not be used to kill the elderly couple down the street.
Safe storage of a gun and the quick accessibility of that gun in an emergency should be very carefully weighed and considered. Obviously if your gun is locked in a safe at all times, it will probably not be of much use in an emergency. However, a loaded gun set aside for emergencies with small curious hands in the close proximity is no good either. Please take the time to weigh these decisions very carefully.
There are many devices available on the market which can bar access to small curious hands, while keeping the gun pretty quickly accessible. Single pistol boxes, with quick combinations or fingerprint readers are just one solution. There are many others. Weigh them all carefully.
Awareness of State and Federal Laws
Are you familiar with all the laws of your home state and have a knowledge of the federal legislation that affects gun owners? My bet is that almost no gun owner in the country has a complete knowledge of the gun laws that they are supposed to obey.
There are more than 20,000 federal, state and local laws and ordinances concerning the ownership, purchase transportation and carry of firearms. One cannot possibly be aware of them all.
You should, however be aware of the basics. How far away from a home, business or street do you have to be to fire a gun? What is the proper process of selling a firearm in your home state? Are there any type of mandatory storage laws that you are forced to obey? You get the idea.
The Chief of Police's Guide to Gun Control Laws in the state of Massachusetts is more than just a few inches thick. Just to read the guide, would take you longer than reading the Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and the Silmarrilion all back to back and Tolkien's works are a lot more interesting than Massachusetts legislators.
Anyway, the best place to go for a basic knowledge of gun laws in your home state is either your state's NRA Affiliate or your local police department.
http://www.savetheguns.com/state_nra_groups.htm
Defend and Support the Second Amendment
The very first thing that comes to your mind is probably the National Rifle Association, otherwise referred to as the NRA.
Yes, you should indeed consider joining the NRA. That's not just because I'm an NRA Recruiter either. The NRA offers many benefits. A good number of current NRA Members are probably not even aware of them all.
http://www.savetheguns.com/nra_membership.htm
Go here, to my "NRA Membership" page to learn more about it.
Or go here, to join the NRA right now.
There are many other groups you can join and help fight for the Second Amendment and many of them are listed on my "Links" page.
http://www.savetheguns.com/links.htm
Proficiency and Practice
Have ever considered carrying a concealed firearm in a public place? Now 38 states in the United States offer some degree of concealed carry.
Would you want someone defending themselves from a violent attack in a public place in your families' vicinity if they weren't completely proficient with their firearm? Of course not.
You have a responsibility to practice with and be efficient with a firearm. This is especially true if you are licensed to have your gun on your person in a public place.
Practice with your guns as often as time permits. Make time to do it. Join your local gun club. Make a gun range on your property as long as it's lawful to do so.
If you have a gun in your home, do you practice with it at least a couple times a year? Do you involve your children.
Involve Your Children
Please make time to involve your children. Telling them that your firearms are "off limits" is not a good idea. If you do so, they'll satisfy their curiosity when they're unsupervised. You know that as well as I do.
Also, you know as well as I do that you could spend more time with your kids anyway. Take them shooting. Have them learn the basics. Teach them about real American history and the Second Amendment and what it really means.
They see guns being misused nearly every day on television. The messages they're likely to get from school about guns I'm certain won't be very helpful.
If we don't involve today's children in our firearm hobby, we can kiss the right to keep and bear arms goodbye in the next generation. Teach them properly about guns, gun safety and our rights under the United States Constitution.
Get them a Junior NRA Membership today as a gift. You will not be disappointed in this decision.
http://membership.nrahq.org/default.asp?campaignid=XR017807
Thank you for reading my latest blog. I'm open to your comments and suggestions at any time. webmaster@savetheguns.com
Please consider a contribution today:
http://www.savetheguns.com/contributions.htm
Marc Richardson
www.SaveTheGuns.com
Saturday, March 12, 2005
The Biggest Threat To America
What is the biggest threat to the United States of America?
Is it terrorism?
Is it Socialism?
Is it nuclear war?
Is it dirty bombs?
Is it judicial obstructionism in the U.S. Senate?
Is it natural disasters?
Is it AIDS?
Is it human diseases or some yet undiscovered virus?
Is it Hillary Clinton?
Let me first quote Abraham Lincoln, before I go any further.
"At what point should we expect the approach of danger? By what means are we to fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military power to step across the ocean and crush us? Never. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it cannot and it will not come from abroad. If danger ever reach us, it must spring up from amongst us. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live through all time or die by suicide."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) From an 1838 speech when he was just 29 years old.
It is my belief that this approach of danger that must spring up from within America to destroy us, is our own unwillingness to conduct our lives within a moral and virtuous framework.
The Founding Fathers knew quite well that national morality, individual virtue and a national focus on religion, are essential ingredients in a free constitutional republic.
"The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code ... laws essential to the existence of men in society."John Quincy Adams
WHAT ABOUT THE EFFORTS TO REMOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843
HEY, YOU MIGHT SAY, WE ELECT OUR OWN PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND IF THEY WANT TO TEAR DOWN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, ISN'T THAT WHAT WE GAVE THEM POWER TO DO?
"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843
With the level of freedom, liberty and independence guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution, with special emphasis on the Bill of Rights, personal responsibility and individual virtue are inseparable.
"[Religion] is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submission to the Divinity?"Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in the exclusion of religious principle…"George Washington (1732-1799)
How can we honestly expect to hold onto our current level of freedom, or even gain back some of the freedom and liberty we have lost in the past century, if we cannot control ourselves. We must have self-discipline and a focus upon morality and religion that we once had if America is to survive another 230 years.
"[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. Religion and virtue are the only foundations...of republicanism and of all free governments."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"The belief in a God all Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
It has been said that some of the Founding Fathers were not Christians. I have heard many uninformed people say that we can find our own level of morality and define for ourselves what is right, true and just. Of course, that's a bunch of Sophist hogwash. There are moral absolutes and we have lost sight of them.
Have you ever been walking in the woods, following a clearly marked and well trodden path, only to find that after walking for a while, the path is gone? The path has vanished. What do you do? Really, what do you do? Of course, you know exactly what to do. You retrace your steps until you find the path again. NOW, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS BLOG IS ALL ABOUT.
Even as I write this message, there are national efforts to remove the Ten Commandments of God from all public buildings and displays.
Well, for those who think the "separation of Church and State" is part of our history and can easily be found in the founding documents of the United States, I say that you should be a little more informed of real United States history and not the historical revisionist crap that our children are being taught in public school.
The "Separation of Church and State" cannot be found in the founding documents of America because the Founding Fathers knew that national morality, virtue and religion are completely inseparable in a free country.
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"The great pillars of all government and of social life …[are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
Some completely uninformed people actually have the belief that the Founding Fathers were not Christians. Well, bear with me a bit as I list some quotes disproving that.
"You do well to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."George Washington from his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779.
"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor so to live as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."George Washington July 9, 1776
"The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral precepts of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in his discourses."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The precepts of philosophy laid hold to actions only, but Jesus pushed His scrutinies into the heart of man, erected the tribunal in the region of his thoughts and purified the waters at the fountainhead."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity…I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Why is it next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day, the Fourth Of July? It is because the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission on earth and laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) From a speech on July 4th 1837.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice
"The Americans, combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: That it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of Christianity with the principles of civil government."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity, will change the face of the world."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving Father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins... Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight."President George Washington (From a booklet of prayers he wrote.)
"My custom is, to read four or five chapters [of the Bible] every morning immediately after rising from my bed. It employs about an hour of my time. It is essential, my son, in order that you may go through life with comfort to yourself, and usefulness to your fellow-creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper."President John Adams in a letter to his son John Quincy Adams
"The Bible is the book upon which this Republic rests."Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States
"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die. This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which can make them rich indeed."Patrick Henry (1799, on his death bed)
"In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us as men and Christians to reflect…All confidence must be withheld from the means we use and respond only on that God who rules in the armies of Heaven and without whose blessing the best of human councils are but foolishness and all created power vanity…and that America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven."John Hancock, April 15, 1775, just four days before the "shot heard round the world".
OK, OK, YOU SAY, YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT CLEAR, THE FOUNDING FATHERS WERE INDEED CHRISTIANS.
Our system of government depends almost entirely upon the American people being virtuous and righteous. If we continue on the path of moral relativism, we're doomed. If we continue to keep God and Jesus Christ out of our public lives we're doomed to failure.
If we continue to buy the lie that God should not have a place in our public schools, we're denying the truth of our historical record. In fact, right now, let me post in the 2nd and 3rd Articles of the Massachusetts Constitution as follows:
Article II. It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society,publicly, and at stated seasons to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship.
Article III. As the happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion and morality; and as these cannot be generally diffused through a community, but by the institution of the public worship of God, and of public instructions in piety, religion and morality: Therefore, to promote their happiness and to secure the good order and preservation of their government, the people of this commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature with power to authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from time to time, authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality, in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily.
And the people of this commonwealth have also a right to, and do, invest their legislature with authority to enjoin upon all the subjects an attendance upon the instructions of the public teachers aforesaid, at stated times and seasons, if there be any on whose instructions they can conscientiously and conveniently attend.
Provided, notwithstanding, that the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, shall, at all times, have the exclusive right of electing their public teachers, and of contracting with them for their support and maintenance.
And all moneys paid by the subject to the support of public worship, and of the public teachers aforesaid, shall, if he require it, be uniformly applied to the support of the public teacher or teachers of his own religious sect or denomination, provided there be any on whose instructions he attends;otherwise it may be paid towards the support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which the said moneys are raised.
Any every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law: and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.
WOW HUH?
So much for separation of Church and State huh? This might lead you to ask, what about the First Amendment that says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion? Here's my take on that portion of the First Amendment.
The Founding Fathers were very aware of how England did things. They wanted to be completely separate from England. That is what the Declaration of Independence and the ensuing Revolutionary War was about, remember?
England had a national church. It was called the Church of England. If you were not a member of the Church of England, but gathered privately for religious services, you were known as "Separatists". As Separatists, you were persecuted, oppressed and maltreated by the English government.
This drove a group of these Separatists to Holland, who then decided to make a new life for themselves in America. They made the perilous journey in 1620. We know them as the Pilgrims.
The Founding Fathers wanted nothing to do with an official national church that would control and oppress other Christian denominations. That is what that portion of the First Amendment is all about. Like it or not, believe it or not, it doesn't matter to me. The fact remains that the Founders of the United States of America wanted God, morality, religion and government to work together for the common good, remember the first Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay?
"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice
I wonder to myself sometimes what Chief Justice John Jay would have said to Michael Newdow who is single-handedly trying to erase God from everyday life in America? I say, we all stand on our own two feet and tell Michael Newdow to sit down and shut up and keep your God-hating opinions to yourself.
I will now finish this hopefully enlightening communication with the rest of the Founding Fathers words on the importance of morality, religion and virtue in America and its role in government and our lives as individual and free Americans.
Please feel free to pass it on. Incidentally, all these quotes can easily be found on my Web site. http://www.savetheguns.com/. If you want to see what the Founding Fathers had to say concerning private firearm ownership, go to my "Quotes" page. www.SaveTheGuns.com/quotes.htm
Now for the remaining quotes I have on religion, morality and virtue and their importance in America:
"Has it [government] any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone...? I think it is an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God, the author of Nature whose laws never vary...Government...is by no means an arbitrary thing depending merely on compact or human will for its existence... The power of God Almighty is the only power that can properly and strictly be called supreme and absolute. In the order of nature immediately under him comes the power of a simple democracy, or the power of the whole over the world...[God is] the only Monarch in the universe who has a clear and undisputable right to absolute power because He is the only one who is omniscient as well as omnipotent... The sum of my argument is of God, that the administrators of it were originally the whole people."Samuel Adams (1722-1803) The Father of the American Revolution
"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the states over which you preside, in His holy protection…that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example, we can never hope to be a happy nation."George Washington in his last official address to Congress
"I conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that ye pray but that ye act."John Hancock (1737-1793) First signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"[T]he law…dictated by God himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
"Three points of doctrine, the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of a God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it is possible for a man to disbelieve either of these articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark; the laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
"And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?...[W]ithout His concurring aid...we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events and the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"[W]e ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."George Washington (1732-1799)
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."George Washington (1732-1799)
"[T]rue religion affords to government its surest support."George Washington (1732-1799)
"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."George Washington (1732-1799)
"It is the duty of all nations as well as of men to own their dependence on the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose god is the Lord."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and in prosperity. We have grown in numbers and wealth and in power as no other nation ever has, but we have forgotten God. We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, and too proud to pray."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"Your love of liberty -- your respect for the laws -- your habits of industry -- and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness."George Washington
"Providence punishes national sins with national calamities."George Mason (1725-1792) The Father of the Bill of Rights
"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we remove from them a conviction these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
“And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."Benjamin Franklin
"There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us."Patrick Henry in a 1787 speech
"We need God to be our friend and our ally. We need to keep God's concurring aid. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable an empire can rise without His aid? We've been assured in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord keep the city, they labor in vain that build it.'"Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist. This quote was said on the floor of the Constitutional Convention June 28, 1787
"It's the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly implore his protection and his favor."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you."Abraham Lincoln 1858
"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless us with Thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle, and let all our victories be tempered with humanity. Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds, that they become sensible of their injustice, and willing to restore our liberty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy servant, for the sake of Him whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."General George Washington 1779
"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one."Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants."William Penn
"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America . . . America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."Alexis de Tocqueville
"What is liberty without...virtue? It is...madness, without restraint."Edmund Burke
"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised!, in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then ... under God trust our cause to our swords."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our won Country's Honor, all call upon us for vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions."George Washington
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."John Adams
"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"My God, how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth have ever enjoyed."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third President of the United States. Author of the Declaration of Independence.
"Our task and our duty must be to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God, for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill and the eyes of all are upon us."John Winthrop (1588-1649) Puritan and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 to 1649
AND NOW, LET ME END THIS COMMUNICATION TO YOU WITH MY FAVORITE SHORTEST QUOTE OF ALL TIME:
"I am nothing. Truth is everything."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth President of the United States.
WE HAVE LOST SIGHT OF THE PATH FOR AMERICA THAT WAS SET FORTH FOR US BY THE FOUNDING FATHERS. JUST AS IF WE GOT LOST IN THE WOODS, WE MUST RETRACE OUR STEPS AND FIND THAT PATH AGAIN IF WE ARE TO EVER PRESERVE THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME TODAY.
MARC RICHARDSON
INFO@SAVETHEGUNS.COM
Is it terrorism?
Is it Socialism?
Is it nuclear war?
Is it dirty bombs?
Is it judicial obstructionism in the U.S. Senate?
Is it natural disasters?
Is it AIDS?
Is it human diseases or some yet undiscovered virus?
Is it Hillary Clinton?
Let me first quote Abraham Lincoln, before I go any further.
"At what point should we expect the approach of danger? By what means are we to fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military power to step across the ocean and crush us? Never. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it cannot and it will not come from abroad. If danger ever reach us, it must spring up from amongst us. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live through all time or die by suicide."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) From an 1838 speech when he was just 29 years old.
It is my belief that this approach of danger that must spring up from within America to destroy us, is our own unwillingness to conduct our lives within a moral and virtuous framework.
The Founding Fathers knew quite well that national morality, individual virtue and a national focus on religion, are essential ingredients in a free constitutional republic.
"The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal as well as a moral and religious code ... laws essential to the existence of men in society."John Quincy Adams
WHAT ABOUT THE EFFORTS TO REMOVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS?
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843
HEY, YOU MIGHT SAY, WE ELECT OUR OWN PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND IF THEY WANT TO TEAR DOWN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, ISN'T THAT WHAT WE GAVE THEM POWER TO DO?
"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843
With the level of freedom, liberty and independence guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution, with special emphasis on the Bill of Rights, personal responsibility and individual virtue are inseparable.
"[Religion] is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submission to the Divinity?"Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in the exclusion of religious principle…"George Washington (1732-1799)
How can we honestly expect to hold onto our current level of freedom, or even gain back some of the freedom and liberty we have lost in the past century, if we cannot control ourselves. We must have self-discipline and a focus upon morality and religion that we once had if America is to survive another 230 years.
"[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. Religion and virtue are the only foundations...of republicanism and of all free governments."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"The belief in a God all Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
It has been said that some of the Founding Fathers were not Christians. I have heard many uninformed people say that we can find our own level of morality and define for ourselves what is right, true and just. Of course, that's a bunch of Sophist hogwash. There are moral absolutes and we have lost sight of them.
Have you ever been walking in the woods, following a clearly marked and well trodden path, only to find that after walking for a while, the path is gone? The path has vanished. What do you do? Really, what do you do? Of course, you know exactly what to do. You retrace your steps until you find the path again. NOW, YOU KNOW WHAT THIS BLOG IS ALL ABOUT.
Even as I write this message, there are national efforts to remove the Ten Commandments of God from all public buildings and displays.
Well, for those who think the "separation of Church and State" is part of our history and can easily be found in the founding documents of the United States, I say that you should be a little more informed of real United States history and not the historical revisionist crap that our children are being taught in public school.
The "Separation of Church and State" cannot be found in the founding documents of America because the Founding Fathers knew that national morality, virtue and religion are completely inseparable in a free country.
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"The great pillars of all government and of social life …[are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
Some completely uninformed people actually have the belief that the Founding Fathers were not Christians. Well, bear with me a bit as I list some quotes disproving that.
"You do well to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."George Washington from his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779.
"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor so to live as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."George Washington July 9, 1776
"The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral precepts of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in his discourses."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The precepts of philosophy laid hold to actions only, but Jesus pushed His scrutinies into the heart of man, erected the tribunal in the region of his thoughts and purified the waters at the fountainhead."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity…I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Why is it next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day, the Fourth Of July? It is because the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission on earth and laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) From a speech on July 4th 1837.
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice
"The Americans, combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: That it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of Christianity with the principles of civil government."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity, will change the face of the world."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving Father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins... Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight."President George Washington (From a booklet of prayers he wrote.)
"My custom is, to read four or five chapters [of the Bible] every morning immediately after rising from my bed. It employs about an hour of my time. It is essential, my son, in order that you may go through life with comfort to yourself, and usefulness to your fellow-creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper."President John Adams in a letter to his son John Quincy Adams
"The Bible is the book upon which this Republic rests."Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States
"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die. This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which can make them rich indeed."Patrick Henry (1799, on his death bed)
"In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us as men and Christians to reflect…All confidence must be withheld from the means we use and respond only on that God who rules in the armies of Heaven and without whose blessing the best of human councils are but foolishness and all created power vanity…and that America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven."John Hancock, April 15, 1775, just four days before the "shot heard round the world".
OK, OK, YOU SAY, YOU'VE MADE YOUR POINT CLEAR, THE FOUNDING FATHERS WERE INDEED CHRISTIANS.
Our system of government depends almost entirely upon the American people being virtuous and righteous. If we continue on the path of moral relativism, we're doomed. If we continue to keep God and Jesus Christ out of our public lives we're doomed to failure.
If we continue to buy the lie that God should not have a place in our public schools, we're denying the truth of our historical record. In fact, right now, let me post in the 2nd and 3rd Articles of the Massachusetts Constitution as follows:
Article II. It is the right as well as the duty of all men in society,publicly, and at stated seasons to worship the Supreme Being, the great Creator and Preserver of the universe. And no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship.
Article III. As the happiness of a people, and the good order and preservation of civil government, essentially depend upon piety, religion and morality; and as these cannot be generally diffused through a community, but by the institution of the public worship of God, and of public instructions in piety, religion and morality: Therefore, to promote their happiness and to secure the good order and preservation of their government, the people of this commonwealth have a right to invest their legislature with power to authorize and require, and the legislature shall, from time to time, authorize and require, the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, to make suitable provision, at their own expense, for the institution of the public worship of God, and for the support and maintenance of public Protestant teachers of piety, religion and morality, in all cases where such provision shall not be made voluntarily.
And the people of this commonwealth have also a right to, and do, invest their legislature with authority to enjoin upon all the subjects an attendance upon the instructions of the public teachers aforesaid, at stated times and seasons, if there be any on whose instructions they can conscientiously and conveniently attend.
Provided, notwithstanding, that the several towns, parishes, precincts, and other bodies politic, or religious societies, shall, at all times, have the exclusive right of electing their public teachers, and of contracting with them for their support and maintenance.
And all moneys paid by the subject to the support of public worship, and of the public teachers aforesaid, shall, if he require it, be uniformly applied to the support of the public teacher or teachers of his own religious sect or denomination, provided there be any on whose instructions he attends;otherwise it may be paid towards the support of the teacher or teachers of the parish or precinct in which the said moneys are raised.
Any every denomination of Christians, demeaning themselves peaceably, and as good subjects of the commonwealth, shall be equally under the protection of the law: and no subordination of any one sect or denomination to another shall ever be established by law.
WOW HUH?
So much for separation of Church and State huh? This might lead you to ask, what about the First Amendment that says Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion? Here's my take on that portion of the First Amendment.
The Founding Fathers were very aware of how England did things. They wanted to be completely separate from England. That is what the Declaration of Independence and the ensuing Revolutionary War was about, remember?
England had a national church. It was called the Church of England. If you were not a member of the Church of England, but gathered privately for religious services, you were known as "Separatists". As Separatists, you were persecuted, oppressed and maltreated by the English government.
This drove a group of these Separatists to Holland, who then decided to make a new life for themselves in America. They made the perilous journey in 1620. We know them as the Pilgrims.
The Founding Fathers wanted nothing to do with an official national church that would control and oppress other Christian denominations. That is what that portion of the First Amendment is all about. Like it or not, believe it or not, it doesn't matter to me. The fact remains that the Founders of the United States of America wanted God, morality, religion and government to work together for the common good, remember the first Supreme Court Chief Justice John Jay?
"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice
I wonder to myself sometimes what Chief Justice John Jay would have said to Michael Newdow who is single-handedly trying to erase God from everyday life in America? I say, we all stand on our own two feet and tell Michael Newdow to sit down and shut up and keep your God-hating opinions to yourself.
I will now finish this hopefully enlightening communication with the rest of the Founding Fathers words on the importance of morality, religion and virtue in America and its role in government and our lives as individual and free Americans.
Please feel free to pass it on. Incidentally, all these quotes can easily be found on my Web site. http://www.savetheguns.com/. If you want to see what the Founding Fathers had to say concerning private firearm ownership, go to my "Quotes" page. www.SaveTheGuns.com/quotes.htm
Now for the remaining quotes I have on religion, morality and virtue and their importance in America:
"Has it [government] any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone...? I think it is an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God, the author of Nature whose laws never vary...Government...is by no means an arbitrary thing depending merely on compact or human will for its existence... The power of God Almighty is the only power that can properly and strictly be called supreme and absolute. In the order of nature immediately under him comes the power of a simple democracy, or the power of the whole over the world...[God is] the only Monarch in the universe who has a clear and undisputable right to absolute power because He is the only one who is omniscient as well as omnipotent... The sum of my argument is of God, that the administrators of it were originally the whole people."Samuel Adams (1722-1803) The Father of the American Revolution
"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the states over which you preside, in His holy protection…that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example, we can never hope to be a happy nation."George Washington in his last official address to Congress
"I conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that ye pray but that ye act."John Hancock (1737-1793) First signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"[T]he law…dictated by God himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
"Three points of doctrine, the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of a God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it is possible for a man to disbelieve either of these articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark; the laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
"And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?...[W]ithout His concurring aid...we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events and the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"[W]e ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."George Washington (1732-1799)
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."George Washington (1732-1799)
"[T]rue religion affords to government its surest support."George Washington (1732-1799)
"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."George Washington (1732-1799)
"It is the duty of all nations as well as of men to own their dependence on the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose god is the Lord."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and in prosperity. We have grown in numbers and wealth and in power as no other nation ever has, but we have forgotten God. We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, and too proud to pray."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"Your love of liberty -- your respect for the laws -- your habits of industry -- and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness."George Washington
"Providence punishes national sins with national calamities."George Mason (1725-1792) The Father of the Bill of Rights
"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we remove from them a conviction these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
“And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."Benjamin Franklin
"There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us."Patrick Henry in a 1787 speech
"We need God to be our friend and our ally. We need to keep God's concurring aid. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable an empire can rise without His aid? We've been assured in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord keep the city, they labor in vain that build it.'"Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist. This quote was said on the floor of the Constitutional Convention June 28, 1787
"It's the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly implore his protection and his favor."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you."Abraham Lincoln 1858
"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless us with Thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle, and let all our victories be tempered with humanity. Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds, that they become sensible of their injustice, and willing to restore our liberty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy servant, for the sake of Him whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."General George Washington 1779
"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one."Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants."William Penn
"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America . . . America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."Alexis de Tocqueville
"What is liberty without...virtue? It is...madness, without restraint."Edmund Burke
"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised!, in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then ... under God trust our cause to our swords."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our won Country's Honor, all call upon us for vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions."George Washington
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."John Adams
"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"My God, how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth have ever enjoyed."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third President of the United States. Author of the Declaration of Independence.
"Our task and our duty must be to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God, for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill and the eyes of all are upon us."John Winthrop (1588-1649) Puritan and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 to 1649
AND NOW, LET ME END THIS COMMUNICATION TO YOU WITH MY FAVORITE SHORTEST QUOTE OF ALL TIME:
"I am nothing. Truth is everything."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth President of the United States.
WE HAVE LOST SIGHT OF THE PATH FOR AMERICA THAT WAS SET FORTH FOR US BY THE FOUNDING FATHERS. JUST AS IF WE GOT LOST IN THE WOODS, WE MUST RETRACE OUR STEPS AND FIND THAT PATH AGAIN IF WE ARE TO EVER PRESERVE THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
THANKS FOR LISTENING TO ME TODAY.
MARC RICHARDSON
INFO@SAVETHEGUNS.COM
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Protection of Firearm Manufacturers
Dear Reader,
Thank you for visiting my www.SaveTheGuns.com Blog. Please feel free to print, post, forward, e-mail or otherwise use any information on this blog, as long as you leave it unedited and don't claim the work I did for yourself. Please include a link to www.SaveTheGuns.com somewhere in your work.
Now, onto protecting gun makers...
Again, in the latest session of Congress, there is proposed legislation in both the United States House of Representatives as well as the United States Senate to protect firearm manufacturers from being sued out of existence for the illegal, uncivil and immoral acts of violent criminals.
In the United States Senate, the Bill Number is S. 397 and in the United States House of Representatives, the house resolution number is H.R. 800 both entitled The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Go read the bills here http://thomas.loc.gov/.
The half-witted and muddle-headed trend of holding firearm manufacturers responsible for criminal acts committed with their lawfully produced and non-defective products is very disturbing on so many fronts.
The world's gun makers are concerned about gun safety. If you have purchased a firearm lately, you would find that there are many references to gun safety information and pertinent warnings included with a new firearm.
The vast majority of firearm manufacturing firms are small family-owned companies of usually less than 350 employees. Allowing individuals, cities and even state's to sue those small family owned companies will end the lawful production of firearms outright, or it will make it so expensive to buy a firearm that you'll need a six figure income to legally obtain one.
These inane and ill-conceived lawsuits are more about ending the firearm manufacturing business and less about the misguided effort to fight acts of violent crime. These lawsuits must come to an end. Not only because they're wrong-headed and downright stupid, but they're making the next gun I want to purchase so very expensive. :-)
The firearm manufacturing industry is already the most highly regulated industry in the world, short of those who produce nuclear energy. They only sell their legally manufactured and constitutionally protected products to federally licensed and highly regulated wholesalers, who then sell to highly regulated Federal Firearm License (FFL) holders. Gun makers do not sell their products to criminals.
If you want to find out where criminals are obtaining the firearms they use to commit crime with, then please see my blog titled "Felon-Focused" gun control. In short, criminals do not lawfully purchase firearms at retail outlets. Felons have been outlawed from owning guns since the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Thank you for visiting my www.SaveTheGuns.com Blog. Please feel free to print, post, forward, e-mail or otherwise use any information on this blog, as long as you leave it unedited and don't claim the work I did for yourself. Please include a link to www.SaveTheGuns.com somewhere in your work.
Now, onto protecting gun makers...
Again, in the latest session of Congress, there is proposed legislation in both the United States House of Representatives as well as the United States Senate to protect firearm manufacturers from being sued out of existence for the illegal, uncivil and immoral acts of violent criminals.
In the United States Senate, the Bill Number is S. 397 and in the United States House of Representatives, the house resolution number is H.R. 800 both entitled The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Go read the bills here http://thomas.loc.gov/.
The half-witted and muddle-headed trend of holding firearm manufacturers responsible for criminal acts committed with their lawfully produced and non-defective products is very disturbing on so many fronts.
The world's gun makers are concerned about gun safety. If you have purchased a firearm lately, you would find that there are many references to gun safety information and pertinent warnings included with a new firearm.
The vast majority of firearm manufacturing firms are small family-owned companies of usually less than 350 employees. Allowing individuals, cities and even state's to sue those small family owned companies will end the lawful production of firearms outright, or it will make it so expensive to buy a firearm that you'll need a six figure income to legally obtain one.
These inane and ill-conceived lawsuits are more about ending the firearm manufacturing business and less about the misguided effort to fight acts of violent crime. These lawsuits must come to an end. Not only because they're wrong-headed and downright stupid, but they're making the next gun I want to purchase so very expensive. :-)
The firearm manufacturing industry is already the most highly regulated industry in the world, short of those who produce nuclear energy. They only sell their legally manufactured and constitutionally protected products to federally licensed and highly regulated wholesalers, who then sell to highly regulated Federal Firearm License (FFL) holders. Gun makers do not sell their products to criminals.
If you want to find out where criminals are obtaining the firearms they use to commit crime with, then please see my blog titled "Felon-Focused" gun control. In short, criminals do not lawfully purchase firearms at retail outlets. Felons have been outlawed from owning guns since the Gun Control Act of 1968.
The radical experiment of the Founding Fathers of self-government and complete human freedom was a resounding success. With the amount of freedom that the founding documents guarantee us, we must have an equal amount of personal responsibility and moral and religious restraint that goes along with it.
Efforts such as holding gun makers accountable for the uncivil and immoral use of their products completely throws out the notion of personal responsibility, that is so central and essential to a free people.
The very concept of holding a manufacturer responsible for the illegal use of their products is witless, inane and senseless. Using the same misguided logic, we would be able to sue a drug maker for an overdose, a baseball bat maker for a beating or a cutlery manufacturer for a stabbing. The logic simply escapes me... Aren't our elected officials supposed to have some semblance of intelligence and common sense?
In the last legislative session of Congress, with the support of ousted Democrat leader Tom Daschle, anti-Second Amendment Democrats attached so many anti-gun amendments to this common sense legislation that even the staunchest Second Amendment supporter wouldn't vote for it. This time, we're watching the Democrats very closely.
Please contact your U.S. Senators and your U.S. House Representative and ask them to co-sponsor or at least support S. 397 and H.R. 800. Our nation's gun makers deserve the common sense protection against frivolous lawsuits contained in this bill.
Now that you've read my blog on this issue, go tell your two United States Senators and your United States House Representative how you feel about these inane and outright dangerous lawsuits. From the Senate and House homepages, you can easily contact those who represent you in our legislative branch of government. Remember that we are their employers and we tell them what to do in our stead. Although I know a couple of Senators from Massachusetts and New York who might disagree with that statement.
Remember to be polite, but firm and use the Bill Numbers and Title in the text above.
United States Senate
United States House of Representatives
Marc Richardson
Owner and Founder
www.SaveTheGuns.com
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
"Felon-focused" gun control
This blog is concerning a new approach to reduce crime, that I would like to call "Felon focused" gun control. I would like to see a fresh focus on legislation that will affect both the criminal mind and the main sources of firearms actually used during the commission of a crime.
Gun control legislation doesn't have to be a dirty word in the pro-gun community. All we really have to do is take the focus off the firearm and put it on affecting the criminal mind and also concentrate on diminishing the sources of actual crime guns.
I think that if gun control legislation was specifically designed to affect crime and not just guns in general and honest gun owners, it would garner widespread support in both the pro-gun and law enforcement communities.
First, let's address the criminal mind and how we can change the criminal's decision to choose a gun to commit a crime with.
We must add penalties to a violent criminal act if a firearm was possessed, brandished, fired or used to injure. I believe that if we had mandatory sentencing guidelines in place nationwide, that specifically punish criminals for choosing a firearm, it would greatly affect the violent criminal's decision making process.
I believe that if a gun was possessed, brandished, fired or used to injure, the criminal should receive an additional five, ten, fifteen and twenty year penalites attached to a violent criminal act. I.E. if a convenience store is robbed at knife point, and there is a conviction, the perpetrator should receive X number of years for the crime. However, if the same criminal during the same robbery, brandished a firearm to commit the crime, he should receive X+10 years or X+15 years if the gun was fired.
Studies have shown that 85% of all violent criminal acts such as robbery, rape and murder are routinely committed by only 7% of the criminal population. In other words, 93% of the people with criminal records are not habitually committing violent criminal acts. We must focus legislative efforts on this most violent 7% of the criminal population.
We must have laws in place that will actually make an impact upon the criminal's decision to commit a violent crime. Simply making laws that have to be obeyed by lawful, honest and upright gun owners and merely have to do with firearms will not affect rates of violent crime and never have.
The crimes that I'm referring to, that need this type of sentencing are the traditionally recognized set of violent crimes, such as rape, robbery and murder.
Contact your state and federal legislators today and ask them to begin to develop and implement "felon-focused" legislation and stay away from useless and unconstitutional laws that control the lawful ownership and carry of firearms.
Now, let me switch gears for a moment and ask the reader how he/she thinks criminals are actually gaining possession of guns that they use in criminal acts.
Where are felons actually getting guns? Let me first tell you where they're not getting them. They're not getting them from lawful, honest and upright gun owners peddling their cherished gun collections on street corners. But most gun control laws seem to assume such a ridiculous scenario.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) did a comprehensive study of more than 18,000 state and federal inmates and attempted to ascertain where they got the guns they used to commit their crimes.
Here is what they found:
Gun control legislation doesn't have to be a dirty word in the pro-gun community. All we really have to do is take the focus off the firearm and put it on affecting the criminal mind and also concentrate on diminishing the sources of actual crime guns.
I think that if gun control legislation was specifically designed to affect crime and not just guns in general and honest gun owners, it would garner widespread support in both the pro-gun and law enforcement communities.
First, let's address the criminal mind and how we can change the criminal's decision to choose a gun to commit a crime with.
We must add penalties to a violent criminal act if a firearm was possessed, brandished, fired or used to injure. I believe that if we had mandatory sentencing guidelines in place nationwide, that specifically punish criminals for choosing a firearm, it would greatly affect the violent criminal's decision making process.
I believe that if a gun was possessed, brandished, fired or used to injure, the criminal should receive an additional five, ten, fifteen and twenty year penalites attached to a violent criminal act. I.E. if a convenience store is robbed at knife point, and there is a conviction, the perpetrator should receive X number of years for the crime. However, if the same criminal during the same robbery, brandished a firearm to commit the crime, he should receive X+10 years or X+15 years if the gun was fired.
Studies have shown that 85% of all violent criminal acts such as robbery, rape and murder are routinely committed by only 7% of the criminal population. In other words, 93% of the people with criminal records are not habitually committing violent criminal acts. We must focus legislative efforts on this most violent 7% of the criminal population.
We must have laws in place that will actually make an impact upon the criminal's decision to commit a violent crime. Simply making laws that have to be obeyed by lawful, honest and upright gun owners and merely have to do with firearms will not affect rates of violent crime and never have.
The crimes that I'm referring to, that need this type of sentencing are the traditionally recognized set of violent crimes, such as rape, robbery and murder.
Contact your state and federal legislators today and ask them to begin to develop and implement "felon-focused" legislation and stay away from useless and unconstitutional laws that control the lawful ownership and carry of firearms.
Now, let me switch gears for a moment and ask the reader how he/she thinks criminals are actually gaining possession of guns that they use in criminal acts.
Where are felons actually getting guns? Let me first tell you where they're not getting them. They're not getting them from lawful, honest and upright gun owners peddling their cherished gun collections on street corners. But most gun control laws seem to assume such a ridiculous scenario.
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) did a comprehensive study of more than 18,000 state and federal inmates and attempted to ascertain where they got the guns they used to commit their crimes.
Here is what they found:
39.6% of the guns used to commit a crime with came from friends and family members of the felon.
39.2% of the guns used to commit a crime with came from illegal sources, such as on the street, through the narcotics trade and through burglaries and robberies.
8.3% were purchased fraudulently through properly licensed retail outlets. These purchases were made by misrepresenting themselves, lying on forms and providing false identification.
3.8% of them were obtained through a pawn shop. Again, bought by falsifying documents and identification.
1.0% of the guns used during the commission of a crime came from yard sales and flea markets.
0.7% came from gun shows.
With this very powerful and enlightening information, we can begin the see where gun control legislation should be properly aimed.
Let's look at the biggest source. Friends and family members of the felon. Now, with this information, we could develop legislation that would specifically punish people for knowingly providing a firearm to a known felon. How about a mandatory sentence of five years, living in the general population of a state prison for providing a firearm to a known felon.
How about the second highest source? An almost equivalent 39.2% of guns used in crime came from "on the street" purchases, through the narcotics trade and through robberies and burglaries of homes.
There is plenty of opportunity to enact meaningful laws to curtail these transactions. Illegal gun running is not currently punished harshly enough in either state or federal law in my opinion. If someone is convicted of trafficking in illegal firearms, they should not be able to plea-bargain a lighter sentence under any circumstances whatsoever. We must shut down this primary source of guns used in crime.
Now what about home burglaries? Yes, here is another primary source that we should focus on. Burglaries of homes and robberies of sporting goods stores are some of the biggest sources of guns used in crime. Let's implement penalties of five additional years of prison time for each and every firearm stolen during a burglary or robbery. I don't know about the reader, but if I knew there was a probability of an additional five years of real prison time added to a burglary, I would leave that gun right there and just take the television, stereo and silverware.
Let's move onto the other lesser sources of crime guns. 12.1% of guns used in criminal acts were purchased at lawfully licensed retailers and pawn shops. The vast majority of which I can safely assume were bought through fraudulent identification and by falsifying documents. I don't think it's too much to ask a retail firearm purchaser for at least two forms of positive identification. Another way to diminish these types of illegal firearm acquisition is to follow through on penalties for attempted unlawful purchase of firearms at retail.
The remaining 1.7% were obtained through yard sales, flea markets and gun shows. There was been a lot of noise lately about gun shows being virtual bazaars for violent criminals, but at 0.7%, the truth has been told. But even here, we can ask for more positive identification and increase penalities for fraudulent purchases.
There you go reader!!! I advocate for what I'm calling "Felon-focused" gun control. I think you'll easily find that most lawful and honest gun owners won't mind coming up with an extra method of positive identification. That is the only burden that my suggestions place on the good guys.
I've done my job. Now it's time for you to do yours. Contact your elected officials, e-mail them this article. Tell them to pass more "Felon-focused" laws and no more laws that regulate and burden the lawful and honest gun owner.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
The Foundation of Liberty
What a heavy subject to write about in a blog only a few hundred words in length!!! I will give it my best shot. Please feel free to reply with comments and tell me how well, or how badly I did.
What is liberty, freedom and independence sitting on? What does the very base of real human freedom look like? What is it comprised of?
Let me begin this brief discussion with a statement that I think is very relevant to my thoughts on this central issue.
I believe that every major problem that we are currently dealing with in the United States, has a viable solution that lies somewhere in America's past history. All we have to do is begin searching for the answers to today's dilemmas in our historical past.
Now that that statement is out of the way, allow me to continue...
We cannot have complete human freedom, liberty and independence, without having a solid foundation of religion, morality and virtue to stand on.
Let me quote: (which I will do a lot in this blog.)
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
We will not hold onto the freedoms afforded to us in the Constitution if we cannot find ways to confine our conduct within the boundaries of morality and virtue.
We likewise cannot have real morality and virtue, without a belief structure and a relationship to and with God. We human beings need a belief in a post-mortem future of rewards and punishments in order to properly define and constrain our moral conduct.
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
James Madison hit the nail right on the head. We must govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
Is this our fate? Is human freedom itself on the brink of extinction because of the lack of morality, virtue and righteous conduct?
How long would we allow the freedom to own and carry the firearms of our choice, if we had no compunction against murder? Likewise, if we believed it was a legitimate career choice to burglarize or rob, how long would we retain the constitutional rights afforded to us?
America is still pretty much a religious and moral country, still over 85% of Americans believe in God and an afterlife. However, our moral standards and our core belief in moral absolutes seem to be on the decline.
I have heard many times on this topic, people say something to the effect that we can choose our own morality and that there are no moral absolutes. That's total hogwash and a feeble copout if you ask me.
Clearly identifying the problem for us today is this quote:
"Man is the measure of all things. Truth is merely opinion, and, therefore even morality is relative."Protagoras (480?-411? B.C.) A 5th century B.C. Greek Sophist
Protagoras was wrong. History has proven without any doubt that there are and should be absolutes in morality.
Adolph Hitler thought his actions were right and just. Are we to honor the Holocaust because Hitler was operating within the boundaries of moral conduct that he set for himself??? Come on now. There are moral absolutes and they must be observed.
A clear and unobscured focus upon morality, religion and virtue and a univsersal willingness and intent to obey the Ten Commandments of God is the true foundation of human freedom, liberty and independence.
No other country in the history of the world has been so powerful, yet used that power so benignly and graciously as the United States of America. We have used our might to free the people of oppressed countries who have posed a danger to both us and their very own people. Spreading human freedom across the globe is the one best chance for world peace.
The intentions and words of President George W. Bush are noble and historic. We should attempt to spread human freedom throughout the world. World peace is the currency that human freedom can produce. We don't need to beat up every country in the world to spread the idea of human freedom. Freedom can do that all by itself.
True human freedom comes with a requirement of responsibility. A responsibility to conduct our lives within a framework of religious and moral behavior is an essential and inseparable aspect of human freedom. It also comes with a fundamental duty of protecting and defending that freedom once it has been acquired.
I have spent many years compiling the views of the Founding Fathers and other important historical figures, on the subject of the importantance of religion, morality and virtue. You can now take full advantage of my work.
ENJOY
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
THE QUOTES
(These men set forth the path for America and I contend that we have strayed dangerously far from that path.)
"Respect for religion must be reestablished, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of public officials must be curtailed, assistance to foreign lands must be stopped or we shall bankrupt ourselves. The people should be forced to work and not depend on the government for subsistence."Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and philosopher (106-43BC)
"Our task and our duty must be to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God, for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill and the eyes of all are upon us."John Winthrop (1588-1649) Puritan and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 to 1649
"Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternally life."Harvard University (Pamphlet published in 1643)
"Christ is the only, the true, the living way of access to God."Timothy Dwight, Yale University President (1795-1817)
"Give up yourselves therefore to Him, [God] with a cordial confidence, and the great work of life is done."Timothy Dwight, Yale University President (1814 Baccalaureate Discourse)
"The chief Thing that is aimed at in this College is to teach and engage the Children to know God in Jesus Christ, and to love and serve Him, in all Sobriety, Godliness, and Righteousness of Life, with a perfect Heart, and a willing Mind."Columbia University publication (1754)
"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."John Adams
"I have the most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America…Let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great Lord of the Universe, who loveth righteousness and hates iniquity…Let us joyfully leave our concerns in the hands of Him who raiseth up and pulleth down the empires and kingdoms of the world as He pleases."John Hancock, American Patriot and Revolutionary
"Posterity, you will never know what it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) Sixth President of the United States.
"In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us as men and Christians to reflect…All confidence must be withheld from the means we use and respond only on that God who rules in the armies of Heaven and without whose blessing the best of human councils are but foolishness and all created power vanity…and that America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven."John Hancock, April 15, 1775, just four days before the "shot heard round the world".
"My God, how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth have ever enjoyed."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third President of the United States. Author of the Declaration of Independence.
"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our won Country's Honor, all call upon us for vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions."George Washington
"I am nothing. Truth is everything."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth President of the United States.
"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised!, in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then ... under God trust our cause to our swords."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"What is liberty without...virtue? It is...madness, without restraint."Edmund Burke
"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."George Washington
"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America . . . America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."Alexis de Tocqueville
"If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants."William Penn
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one."Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die. This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which can make them rich indeed."Patrick Henry (1799, on his death bed)
"To commit our children to the care of irreligious people is to commit lambs to the superintendency of wolves."Timothy Dwight, President of Yale from 1795-1817
"The Bible is the book upon which this Republic rests."Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States
"My custom is, to read four or five chapters [of the Bible] every morning immediately after rising from my bed. It employs about an hour of my time. It is essential, my son, in order that you may go through life with comfort to yourself, and usefulness to your fellow-creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper."President John Adams in a letter to his son John Quincy Adams
"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless us with Thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle, and let all our victories be tempered with humanity. Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds, that they become sensible of their injustice, and willing to restore our liberty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy servant, for the sake of Him whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."General George Washington 1779
"O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving Father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins... Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight."President George Washington (From a booklet of prayers he wrote.)
"Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you."Abraham Lincoln 1858
"Wish not so much to live long as to live well."Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1738
"At what point should we expect the approach of danger? By what means are we to fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military power to step across the ocean and crush us? Never. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it cannot and it will not come from abroad. If danger ever reach us, it must spring up from amongst us. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live through all time or die by suicide."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) From an 1838 speech when he was just 29 years old.
"It's the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly implore his protection and his favor."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"We need God to be our friend and our ally. We need to keep God's concurring aid. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable an empire can rise without His aid? We've been assured in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord keep the city, they labor in vain that build it.'"Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist. This quote was said on the floor of the Constitutional Convention June 28, 1787
"He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity, will change the face of the world."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us."Patrick Henry in a 1787 speech
"Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."Benjamin Franklin
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: That it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of Christianity with the principles of civil government."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
“And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"If you wouldst live long, live well, for folly and wickedness shorten life."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we remove from them a conviction these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The precepts of philosophy laid hold to actions only, but Jesus pushed His scrutinies into the heart of man, erected the tribunal in the region of his thoughts and purified the waters at the fountainhead."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"Providence punishes national sins with national calamities."George Mason (1725-1792) The Father of the Bill of Rights
"Your love of liberty -- your respect for the laws -- your habits of industry -- and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness."George Washington
"The Americans, combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"[Religion] is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submission to the Divinity?"Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice
"Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Why is it next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day, the Fourth Of July? It is because the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission on earth and laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) From a speech on July 4th 1837.
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and in prosperity. We have grown in numbers and wealth and in power as no other nation ever has, but we have forgotten God. We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, and too proud to pray."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"It is the duty of all nations as well as of men to own their dependence on the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose god is the Lord."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."George Washington (1732-1799)
"[T]rue religion affords to government its surest support."George Washington (1732-1799)
"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in the exclusion of religious principle…"George Washington (1732-1799)
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."George Washington (1732-1799)
"[W]e ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."George Washington (1732-1799)
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity…I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. Religion and virtue are the only foundations...of republicanism and of all free governments."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral precepts of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in his discourses."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"A nation that expects to be ignorant -and free-…it expects what never was and never will be."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The belief in a God all Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events and the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?...[W]ithout His concurring aid...we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"Three points of doctrine, the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of a God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it is possible for a man to disbelieve either of these articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark; the laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor so to live as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."George Washington July 9, 1776
"[T]he law…dictated by God himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
"I conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that ye pray but that ye act."John Hancock (1737-1793) First signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"You do well to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."George Washington from his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779.
"The great pillars of all government and of social life …[are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
"Has it [government] any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone...? I think it is an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God, the author of Nature whose laws never vary...Government...is by no means an arbitrary thing depending merely on compact or human will for its existence... The power of God Almighty is the only power that can properly and strictly be called supreme and absolute. In the order of nature immediately under him comes the power of a simple democracy, or the power of the whole over the world...[God is] the only Monarch in the universe who has a clear and undisputable right to absolute power because He is the only one who is omniscient as well as omnipotent... The sum of my argument is of God, that the administrators of it were originally the whole people."Samuel Adams (1722-1803) The Father of the American Revolution
"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the states over which you preside, in His holy protection…that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example, we can never hope to be a happy nation."George Washington in his last official address to Congress
Now that you have seen these quotes, what are your thoughts? I'll tell you what I think of them... I think that we have lost sight of the vision that the founders had for the future generations of America.
They knew quite well that a nation could not be truly free if they could not find ways to keep their conduct within a framework of morality, virtue and righteousness. Without religion and morality playing a primary role in the lives of every American, we will continue to lose our freedom.
I will close with a restatement of a quote from Benjamin Franklin:
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
I invite your comments.
What is liberty, freedom and independence sitting on? What does the very base of real human freedom look like? What is it comprised of?
Let me begin this brief discussion with a statement that I think is very relevant to my thoughts on this central issue.
I believe that every major problem that we are currently dealing with in the United States, has a viable solution that lies somewhere in America's past history. All we have to do is begin searching for the answers to today's dilemmas in our historical past.
Now that that statement is out of the way, allow me to continue...
We cannot have complete human freedom, liberty and independence, without having a solid foundation of religion, morality and virtue to stand on.
Let me quote: (which I will do a lot in this blog.)
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
We will not hold onto the freedoms afforded to us in the Constitution if we cannot find ways to confine our conduct within the boundaries of morality and virtue.
We likewise cannot have real morality and virtue, without a belief structure and a relationship to and with God. We human beings need a belief in a post-mortem future of rewards and punishments in order to properly define and constrain our moral conduct.
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
James Madison hit the nail right on the head. We must govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
Is this our fate? Is human freedom itself on the brink of extinction because of the lack of morality, virtue and righteous conduct?
How long would we allow the freedom to own and carry the firearms of our choice, if we had no compunction against murder? Likewise, if we believed it was a legitimate career choice to burglarize or rob, how long would we retain the constitutional rights afforded to us?
America is still pretty much a religious and moral country, still over 85% of Americans believe in God and an afterlife. However, our moral standards and our core belief in moral absolutes seem to be on the decline.
I have heard many times on this topic, people say something to the effect that we can choose our own morality and that there are no moral absolutes. That's total hogwash and a feeble copout if you ask me.
Clearly identifying the problem for us today is this quote:
"Man is the measure of all things. Truth is merely opinion, and, therefore even morality is relative."Protagoras (480?-411? B.C.) A 5th century B.C. Greek Sophist
Protagoras was wrong. History has proven without any doubt that there are and should be absolutes in morality.
Adolph Hitler thought his actions were right and just. Are we to honor the Holocaust because Hitler was operating within the boundaries of moral conduct that he set for himself??? Come on now. There are moral absolutes and they must be observed.
A clear and unobscured focus upon morality, religion and virtue and a univsersal willingness and intent to obey the Ten Commandments of God is the true foundation of human freedom, liberty and independence.
No other country in the history of the world has been so powerful, yet used that power so benignly and graciously as the United States of America. We have used our might to free the people of oppressed countries who have posed a danger to both us and their very own people. Spreading human freedom across the globe is the one best chance for world peace.
The intentions and words of President George W. Bush are noble and historic. We should attempt to spread human freedom throughout the world. World peace is the currency that human freedom can produce. We don't need to beat up every country in the world to spread the idea of human freedom. Freedom can do that all by itself.
True human freedom comes with a requirement of responsibility. A responsibility to conduct our lives within a framework of religious and moral behavior is an essential and inseparable aspect of human freedom. It also comes with a fundamental duty of protecting and defending that freedom once it has been acquired.
I have spent many years compiling the views of the Founding Fathers and other important historical figures, on the subject of the importantance of religion, morality and virtue. You can now take full advantage of my work.
ENJOY
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NIV)
"if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."
THE QUOTES
(These men set forth the path for America and I contend that we have strayed dangerously far from that path.)
"Respect for religion must be reestablished, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of public officials must be curtailed, assistance to foreign lands must be stopped or we shall bankrupt ourselves. The people should be forced to work and not depend on the government for subsistence."Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman orator and philosopher (106-43BC)
"Our task and our duty must be to do justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God, for we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill and the eyes of all are upon us."John Winthrop (1588-1649) Puritan and Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 to 1649
"Let every student be plainly instructed, and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is, to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternally life."Harvard University (Pamphlet published in 1643)
"Christ is the only, the true, the living way of access to God."Timothy Dwight, Yale University President (1795-1817)
"Give up yourselves therefore to Him, [God] with a cordial confidence, and the great work of life is done."Timothy Dwight, Yale University President (1814 Baccalaureate Discourse)
"The chief Thing that is aimed at in this College is to teach and engage the Children to know God in Jesus Christ, and to love and serve Him, in all Sobriety, Godliness, and Righteousness of Life, with a perfect Heart, and a willing Mind."Columbia University publication (1754)
"When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, "just men who will rule in the fear of God." The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence. If 'Thou shalt not covet' and 'Thou shalt not steal' were not commandments of Heaven, they must be made inviolable precepts in every society before it can be civilized or made free."John Adams
"I have the most animating confidence that the present noble struggle for liberty will terminate gloriously for America…Let us humbly commit our righteous cause to the great Lord of the Universe, who loveth righteousness and hates iniquity…Let us joyfully leave our concerns in the hands of Him who raiseth up and pulleth down the empires and kingdoms of the world as He pleases."John Hancock, American Patriot and Revolutionary
"Posterity, you will never know what it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) Sixth President of the United States.
"In circumstances dark as these, it becomes us as men and Christians to reflect…All confidence must be withheld from the means we use and respond only on that God who rules in the armies of Heaven and without whose blessing the best of human councils are but foolishness and all created power vanity…and that America may soon behold a gracious interposition of Heaven."John Hancock, April 15, 1775, just four days before the "shot heard round the world".
"My God, how little do my countrymen know what precious blessings they are in possession of and which no other people on earth have ever enjoyed."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) Third President of the United States. Author of the Declaration of Independence.
"We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our won Country's Honor, all call upon us for vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the cause, and the aid of the Supreme Being, in whose hands victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions."George Washington
"I am nothing. Truth is everything."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth President of the United States.
"If Virtue & Knowledge are diffused among the People, they will never be enslav'd. This will be their great Security."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"Our unalterable resolution would be to be free. They have attempted to subdue us by force, but God be praised!, in vain. Their arts may be more dangerous than their arms. Let us then ... under God trust our cause to our swords."Samuel Adams "The Father of the American Revolution"
"What is liberty without...virtue? It is...madness, without restraint."Edmund Burke
"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."George Washington
"Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the greatness and the genius of America . . . America is good. And if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great."Alexis de Tocqueville
"If we will not be governed by God, we must be governed by tyrants."William Penn
"The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws. All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery, and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible."Noah Webster 1758-1843
"Say nothing of my religion. It is known to God and myself alone. Its evidence before the world is to be sought in my life: if it has been honest and dutiful to society the religion which has regulated it cannot be a bad one."Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826)
"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die. This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which can make them rich indeed."Patrick Henry (1799, on his death bed)
"To commit our children to the care of irreligious people is to commit lambs to the superintendency of wolves."Timothy Dwight, President of Yale from 1795-1817
"The Bible is the book upon which this Republic rests."Andrew Jackson, Seventh President of the United States
"My custom is, to read four or five chapters [of the Bible] every morning immediately after rising from my bed. It employs about an hour of my time. It is essential, my son, in order that you may go through life with comfort to yourself, and usefulness to your fellow-creatures, that you should form and adopt certain rules or principles, for the government of your own conduct and temper."President John Adams in a letter to his son John Quincy Adams
"And now, Almighty Father, if it is Thy holy will that we shall obtain a place and name among the nations of the earth, grant that we may be enabled to show our gratitude for Thy goodness by our endeavors to fear and obey Thee. Bless us with Thy wisdom in our counsels, success in battle, and let all our victories be tempered with humanity. Endow, also, our enemies with enlightened minds, that they become sensible of their injustice, and willing to restore our liberty and peace. Grant the petition of Thy servant, for the sake of Him whom Thou hast called Thy beloved Son; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done."General George Washington 1779
"O most Glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving Father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins... Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in Thy holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight."President George Washington (From a booklet of prayers he wrote.)
"Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in us. Our defense is in the spirit which prized liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism at your own doors. Familiarize yourselves with the chains of bondage and you prepare your own limbs to wear them. Accustomed to trample on the rights of others, you have lost the genius of your own independence and become the fit subjects of the first cunning tyrant who rises among you."Abraham Lincoln 1858
"Wish not so much to live long as to live well."Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanack, 1738
"At what point should we expect the approach of danger? By what means are we to fortify against it? Shall we expect some trans-Atlantic military power to step across the ocean and crush us? Never. At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it cannot and it will not come from abroad. If danger ever reach us, it must spring up from amongst us. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of free men, we will live through all time or die by suicide."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) From an 1838 speech when he was just 29 years old.
"It's the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for his benefits and to humbly implore his protection and his favor."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"Almighty God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."George Washington (1732-1799) First President of the United States.
"We need God to be our friend and our ally. We need to keep God's concurring aid. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable an empire can rise without His aid? We've been assured in the sacred writings that 'except the Lord keep the city, they labor in vain that build it.'"Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist. This quote was said on the floor of the Constitutional Convention June 28, 1787
"He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of Christianity, will change the face of the world."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us."Patrick Henry in a 1787 speech
"Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."Benjamin Franklin
"The highest glory of the American Revolution was this: That it connected in one dissoluble bond the principles of Christianity with the principles of civil government."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
“And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"In these my confidence will under every difficulty be best placed, next to that which we have all been encouraged to feel in the guardianship and guidance of that Almighty Being whose power regulates the destiny of nations, whose blessings have been so conspicuously dispensed to this rising Republic, and to whom we are bound to address our devout gratitude for the past, as well as our fervent supplications and best hopes for the future."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"If you wouldst live long, live well, for folly and wickedness shorten life."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we remove from them a conviction these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and His justice cannot sleep forever."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The precepts of philosophy laid hold to actions only, but Jesus pushed His scrutinies into the heart of man, erected the tribunal in the region of his thoughts and purified the waters at the fountainhead."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"Providence punishes national sins with national calamities."George Mason (1725-1792) The Father of the Bill of Rights
"Your love of liberty -- your respect for the laws -- your habits of industry -- and your practice of the moral and religious obligations, are the strongest claims to national and individual happiness."George Washington
"The Americans, combine the notions of Christianity and of liberty so intimately in their minds, that it is impossible to make them conceive the one without the other."Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"[Religion] is more needed in democratic republics than in any others. How is it possible that society should escape destruction if the moral tie be not strengthened in proportion as the political tie is relaxed? And what can be done with a people which is its own master, if it be not submission to the Divinity?"Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
"We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government. Far from it. We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"Providence has given to us the choice of our rulers, and it is the duty as well as the interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers."John Jay (1745-1829) First Supreme Court Chief Justice
"Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"Why is it next to the birthday of the Savior of the world, your most joyous and most venerated festival returns on this day, the Fourth Of July? It is because the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer's mission on earth and laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) From a speech on July 4th 1837.
"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and in prosperity. We have grown in numbers and wealth and in power as no other nation ever has, but we have forgotten God. We have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, and too proud to pray."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"It is the duty of all nations as well as of men to own their dependence on the overruling power of God and to recognize the sublime truth announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose god is the Lord."Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
"It would be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States."George Washington (1732-1799)
"[T]rue religion affords to government its surest support."George Washington (1732-1799)
"Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in the exclusion of religious principle…"George Washington (1732-1799)
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness."George Washington (1732-1799)
"[W]e ought to be no less persuaded that the propitious [favorable] smiles of heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained."George Washington (1732-1799)
"Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were…the general principles of Christianity…I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God; and that those principles of liberty are as unalterable as human nature."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. Religion and virtue are the only foundations...of republicanism and of all free governments."John Adams (1735-1826) Second President of the United States.
"The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral precepts of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in his discourses."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"A nation that expects to be ignorant -and free-…it expects what never was and never will be."Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)
"The belief in a God all Powerful, wise and good, is so essential to the moral order of the world and to the happiness of man, that arguments which enforce it cannot be drawn from too many sources."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"No people ought to feel greater obligations to celebrate the goodness of the Great Disposer of events and the Destiny of Nations than the people of the United States…And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift we are indebted for all those privileges and advantages, religious as well as civil, which are so richly enjoyed in this favored land."James Madison (1751-1836) Fourth President of the United States.
"And have we now forgotten that powerful Friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance?...[W]ithout His concurring aid...we ourselves shall become a reproach and a byword down to future ages."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
"Three points of doctrine, the belief of which forms the foundation of all morality. The first is the existence of a God; the second is the immortality of the human soul; and the third is a future state of rewards and punishments. Suppose it is possible for a man to disbelieve either of these articles of faith and that man will have no conscience, he will have no other law than that of the tiger or the shark; the laws of man may bind him in chains or may put him to death, but they never can make him wise, virtuous, or happy."John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
"The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor so to live as becomes a Christian soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country."George Washington July 9, 1776
"[T]he law…dictated by God himself is, of course, superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe, in all countries, and at all times. No human laws are of any validity if contrary to this."Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804)
"I conjure you, by all that is dear, by all that is honorable, by all that is sacred, not only that ye pray but that ye act."John Hancock (1737-1793) First signer of the Declaration of Independence.
"You do well to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are. Congress will do everything they can to assist you in this wise intention."George Washington from his speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs on May 12, 1779.
"The great pillars of all government and of social life …[are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible."Patrick Henry (1736-1799) American Orator and Statesman
"Has it [government] any solid foundation? Any chief cornerstone...? I think it is an everlasting foundation in the unchangeable will of God, the author of Nature whose laws never vary...Government...is by no means an arbitrary thing depending merely on compact or human will for its existence... The power of God Almighty is the only power that can properly and strictly be called supreme and absolute. In the order of nature immediately under him comes the power of a simple democracy, or the power of the whole over the world...[God is] the only Monarch in the universe who has a clear and undisputable right to absolute power because He is the only one who is omniscient as well as omnipotent... The sum of my argument is of God, that the administrators of it were originally the whole people."Samuel Adams (1722-1803) The Father of the American Revolution
"I now make it my earnest prayer that God would have you, and the states over which you preside, in His holy protection…that He would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, without an humble imitation of whose example, we can never hope to be a happy nation."George Washington in his last official address to Congress
Now that you have seen these quotes, what are your thoughts? I'll tell you what I think of them... I think that we have lost sight of the vision that the founders had for the future generations of America.
They knew quite well that a nation could not be truly free if they could not find ways to keep their conduct within a framework of morality, virtue and righteousness. Without religion and morality playing a primary role in the lives of every American, we will continue to lose our freedom.
I will close with a restatement of a quote from Benjamin Franklin:
"[O]nly a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) American printer, author, philosopher, diplomat and scientist.
I invite your comments.
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