Of, By and For the People – Chapter 1 (continued)

Of, By and For the People – Chapter 1 (continued)

“Religion…a ‘fundamental system of beliefs concerning man’s origin and relationship to the cosmic universe as well as his relationship with his fellowmen.’”  — from The 5000-Year Leap, p. 76.

Greetings my Fellow Americans!

I felt it necessary to focus on the role of God and religion (as defined above) in the original American political philosophy for another week, because of how foundational these notions were to the framework established by the authors of our national Constitution, as well as how our cultural de-emphasis on, and/or outright rejection of, these explain much of the indifference and hostility toward being American that we’re experiencing today. 

While there are still a few remnants of the importance of these in our current system of national government (the oaths of office, the oath taken before court testimony, “In God We Trust” on our money, etc.), for many it is nothing more than lip service to recite “so help me God” when taking such oaths.  The cultural and behavioral underpinnings which have held us together (not only as a geographical nation-state, but as a like-minded society) seem to have been largely relegated and restricted to non-public places, if not outright dissolved.  As a backdrop for any calls for American renewal, I think it’s important to first highlight how We The People have publicly drifted away from the central tenets of these notions, the result being the corrupted governments to which we are increasingly becoming mere subjects.

The entire American framework (and the simplicity of our Constitution) was built on the premises that (1) all Men are fallen (i.e., no person or group could be trusted with absolute power, no matter how noble their words or intentions), and (2) that their strong personal beliefs in a final judgment of their lives on Earth would preclude the need for government to prescribe how they should live while here.  Several of the Founders (Franklin, Washington, Adams, et. al.) warned us of the perils of deviating from those premises.

“Separation of church and state” has become the national mantra by which God and religion have been systematically decoupled from our public institutions.  And yes, while the Founders did want to thwart the establishment of a government-mandated method of worship of God, their intent was never to separate the state from the personal ethics and behavior which accompanied strong faith through religion.  Furthermore, the federal government was to be excluded from ALL problems relating to religion and churches, as this was viewed as a power reserved for the individual States.

Instead, we’ve allowed the national government to monolithically pull God from the public schools, outlaw public religious displays, and mandate the provision of abortions, among other infringements to our Creator-endowed rights under the first amendment to our Constitution, and all under the guise of “separation of church and state.”  The consequences of this separation have been devastating, as we continue to invent rights endowed by the government while culturally drifting farther and farther away from the original American concept.

I’m repeating my call to action from my last article, to rediscover our American roots in the soil of God and religion.  The American ideal is not possible without this foundation, and it has to be centered in We the People and NOT government, socially and publicly as well as privately.  To be clear, I’m not talking about a universal method of worship here, but rather a basic set of beliefs with which most of us can agree:

1. There exists a Creator who made all things, and mankind should recognize and worship Him.
2. The Creator has revealed a code of behavior for happy living which distinguishes right from wrong.
3. The Creator holds mankind responsible for the way they treat each other.
4. All mankind live beyond this life.
5. In the next life mankind are judged for their conduct in this one.

— from The 5000-Year Leap, p. 78.

For me, the greatest practical benefit to anyone of a strong belief in a supreme Creator (regardless of the specific name chosen) is humility.  Throughout history, Man’s greatest achievements have been made when he knows and respects his limitations, and thinks and acts in concert with the realities (and uncertainties) of the world around him, and how he got here.  Where Man has consistently stumbled and fallen is when he sees himself as a creator, savior, hero, et. al., and acts in arrogance on what he believes he can (or should) do with little or no regard for the consequences, nor how he and the world around him actually came into existence to make it possible for him to act.  (The “Big Bang” has been the prevailing scientific theory for this for decades, but what started the Big Bang?)

From this humility flows respect for that which cannot be truly and fully explained, and desire to adhere to a code of behavior which is coherent with basic existence and “happy living.”  We dispense with that humility at our own peril.  Take for example our current gender dysphoria, which appears to be reaching epidemic proportions:  How simple has it been for millennia to distinguish two biological types of humans, i.e. male and female?  And how complicated has this recently become as we’ve denied this natural phenomenon in favor of our psychological arrogance in determining for ourselves how many different types of physical beings we can be?  Or how many we can transform others into through surgery, hormone therapy or other contrived means?

I’ve barely nicked the surface of the real consequences of our departure from our faith-based roots of what it means to be American, but I’d rather shift back to how we reverse course and begin a fundamental, bottom-up revival and renewal of the American spirit.  I believe this begins with us—WE THE PEOPLE-taking personal responsibility for living our lives each day in a manner fully consistent with the beliefs and principles of the first Americans, so that we may lead others by example and compel them to want to be American with us.  Simple yes; easy no.

I will likely come back explicitly to God and religion often as I continue this series with the next set of Principles of Liberty from The 5000-Year Leap.  We need to reawaken to what it means to be truly American, and we can never allow ourselves to fall asleep to it again.  I look forward to continuing this journey of renewal together.  Thank you to AFNN for allowing me to embark upon it with you

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