Of, By and For the People – Prologue

Portrait by Alexander Gardner, November 1863

“In fact, I am surprised how little improvement there has been in human evolution. Oh, there has been technical advancement, but, how little man himself has changed.” – Khan Noonien Singh, character from the episode Space Seed, of Star Trek:  The Original Series

As an avid fan of that series, I have found this statement, though made by a fictional character, to be one of the most profound and memorable of any I have ever encountered.  It also represents the seminal basis for the course I am now charting with my planned articles for AFNN.  I have considered myself a “constitutional conservative” for a very long time, and more and more a traditionalist, at least where the founding of America is concerned.

In my first two articles, I posited two key themes:  First and foremost, we ARE in a full-scale, global war for the very survival of the idea that is America, though not in a traditional military sense.  Secondly, because this is a war being waged with intangible weaponry, our strategy and tactics must be different to counteract the effects of our enemies’ aggression in the virtual theater in which it is being conducted.  And to build and hone superior armaments in such a war requires superior information and superior messaging which, ironically, resonates and is more in harmony with, who we are as humans and the world around us.

Hence the start of this series around the fundamentals of not just what America is, but more so WHY it has worked so well when tried.  Our Founders were wise (well beyond their years by today’s standards) in matters of human history and civilization, and demonstrated this in the crafting, and initial execution, of a framework for self-government and civilization which remains unparalleled to this day.  Renewal of the core principles of this framework is how we win this war; how quickly and effectively we can initiate and spread that renewal depends on us—WE THE PEOPLE.

I’ve started rereading a book I first opened and read cover-to-cover about ten years ago; like the Star Trek quote with which I started this piece, I have found this book to be seminal in the evolution of my love for America, not just as a place, but as a way of being, and beautiful in its simplicity in distilling the fundamental principles upon which our Declaration of Independence and national Constitution are based.

It is The 5000-Year Leap, by W. Cleon Skousen, and I’d like to launch this exercise of renewal by echoing here the 28 Principles of Liberty expounded in the book, and purported to be the basis for America as a framework for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness:

    1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.
    2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.
    3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.
    4. Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.
    5. All things were created by God; therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.
    6. All men are created equal.
    7. The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.
    8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.
    9. To protect man’s rights, God has revealed certain principles of divine law.
    10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.
    11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.
    12. The United States of America shall be a republic.
    13. A constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.
    14. Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.
    15. The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and a minimum of government regulations.
    16. The government should be separated into three branches:  legislative, executive and judicial.
    17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.
    18. The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.
    19. Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people.
    20. Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.
    21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.
    22. A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.
    23. A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.
    24. A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.
    25. “Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations – entangling alliances with none.”
    26. The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family.
    27. The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.
    28. The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.

First published in 1981, and based on the 18th-century writings of our Founders as well as the ancient philosophers and scholars upon whom the former relied for historical context, this book summates the original American experience as well as any other to which I have been exposed, and is timeless in its fundamental resonance.

These may seem obvious to us on their collective face, but are they really?  Can any of us honestly say that we know these backwards and forwards, and that we’ve done all we can to preserve, protect and defend these principles?  I can think of no better place to start an American reinvigoration than to deepen our individual and shared understanding of these basics, so that we may fully embrace and adopt them in our own lives, and entice others to want to follow and be a part of its existential brilliance.

I intend my next several pieces to delve more deeply into these principles with an especial pragmatic focus on WHY these work.  In the meantime, I welcome comments on this and any past or future writings of mine, to agree, disagree, and/or discuss; we need to dialogue if we’re going to be American together.

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5 thoughts on “Of, By and For the People – Prologue”

  1. Jeff, excellent article, Tucker needs to comprehend #12.
    Revival is definitely in order, I was just musing that after last weeks SCOTUS ruling on life & 2A, perhaps the pendulum is starting the return swing to the right 🙏🇺🇸

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