America's Responsibility

The Protestant Reformation guaranteed our ability to understand the scriptures in our own language. The execution of Mary Queen of Scots ensured British rulers knew law applied to them as well as to the people. The history of the colonies in America documented two hundred and fifty years of preparation before our forefathers  created a new form of government. America’s first try at government failed.

When the constitution hit the streets, everyone knew it required statesmen of character and morals to provide America with the best hope for the future. In today’s society, you have every right to ask, “Where are they?”

    Some of you already decided to vote along party lines in the election, probably because it’s what you’ve always done. Maybe you learned the party platforms and determined which one best represented you. Some of you struggle with your Christian worldview and wonder how you can vote at all given the circumstances. Some of you already determined there is no hope with the two candidates expected to win. Many of you are thinking my vote won’t make a difference.

    I’d like to point out your responsibility.

    Our constitutional republic requires your vote. We subject ourselves to cultural and media sources that tell us, “Your vote doesn’t count, especially in upstate NY.” Some have even said, “What difference does it make?” It certainly won’t if you stay home. The truth, as I see it, is your vote is your responsibility. It is required in order to adequately represent your way of thinking. Until everyone votes, neither candidates nor incumbents will understand America’s strength.

    The shame of America rests in the low turnout of voters. As long as people stay home from the polls, they will certainly NOT have a voice. Our right to representation guaranteed by the constitution is moot if you stay home. If you stay home, every other one of your rights is in jeopardy. If you stay home, church, God’s voice in the election disappears. Think about it. In a country where we are given the right to elect godly representatives, the Christian vote has been so low godly representatives don’t often run for office. The only way that will change is if YOU change it. Sitting home isn’t an option. If you don’t vote, you’ll have no right to voice an opinion about how bad things get when the country falls further into decline toward godlessness.

    Do not pass on your God given right, responsibility, and civic duty. Your vote does count. There’s too much at stake in this election for your voice not to be there. Rather than vote for the lesser of two evils, vote for the better of the candidates. Make America’s history report a turning point back toward God.

Carpenters' Hall and the Founders

 If there’s one thing carpenters understand, it’s the importance of a solid foundation to the longevity of a building. Not only a solid foundation, but one meant to match the purpose, details and use of said structure. Think of a nuclear power plant. How much trust would you have in the operation of said plant when you don’t know if the concrete in the foundation will withstand the pressures and heat created during the reaction? A new home is no different. Required building code inspections ensure homeowners the floors, basement walls and drywall partitions won’t crack because of a faulty foundation. If the foundation’s specifications are changed for any reason, the resulting damage to the home may be irreparable.

Have you stopped to consider how this same principle can be applied to the United States of America? Consider the foundation on which it was built—biblical principles. For instance, in Exodus18, Moses consults with his father-in-law about how to delegate authority to handle problems. “Moreover you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.” This is the foundation of our Constitution.

We the people choose representatives at a local level, county level, state level and federal level. However, the founders also knew people would be lazy and not knowledgeable concerning federal issues. Hence, we elect members of the House of Representatives and we elect state-level legislators. The founders expected the state legislators to be wiser and more discerning relative to who qualified to be elected to the Senate. Those same founders understood common civilians would have no knowledge of or discernment of the complexities of international relations and created the Electoral College for the purpose of electing a president. These delegated election processes are the foundation of the government of the United States of America.

What we now experience concerns the crack in the foundation. Carpenters can’t fix cracks in the walls or a tipping house when the foundation is damaged. The foundation must be reconstructed, and the reason the foundation failed must be eliminated. Was there too much water undermining the footers? A proper drainage ditch must be installed before repairing the foundation. Was there new construction added to the foundation that caused the failure? The new construction must be removed in order to put the foundation back in place.

And so it is with today’s version of the Constitution of the USA. The most significant deteriorating factor of our foundation is the 17^th Amendment. This 1912 addition to our by-laws completely unbalanced the federal government. It replaced the election of senators by the legislative bodies of the states with a popular election like that of the House of Representatives. It completely removed the wisdom and knowledge of the statesmen in office and replaced them with the ignorant public. One of the ploys engaged in obtaining the change included telling the public all politicians are crooked, so how could we expect crooked politicians to elect statesmen to send to the Senate in DC? Therein lays the hinge that swung open the public vote consideration. No one spoke up and said, “What if we simply elected statesmen with the qualifications Moses demanded of his leaders?” Read Exodus 18 again. “…able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness…”

Another modern issue concerns term limits. The founders considered the options when creating the foundation. People were expected to elect statesmen. As long as a statesman did their job and made decisions based on what made America better, they’d keep their job. If a statesman made a turn and became a politician (one in government for his own good), then the people would replace him. In the meantime, those with experience, wisdom and knowledge of the workings of the government would contribute to the general welfare of the nation. It’s not term limits we need. It’s the election of statesmen in all of our representative forms of government from local school boards all the way to the House of Representatives. That’s where the foundational principles so aptly applied by our founding fathers holds up our Constitutional Republic like a building set on a solid foundation.

First Amendment Reporters

            Our First Amendment rights were designed for one reason and one only, to allow Americans the right to speak openly and publicly about their concerns as to which way the government is going. There were no intentions to allow profanity. There were no intentions to allow vulgar painting. There were no intentions to allow libel or slander. Those things all came along with social humanists sitting on the Supreme Court. The newspapers were the high tech method of providing information to as many people as possible in the shortest time-frame. Before that notices were posted on the church door, like Martin Luther did. It is because of the written word, the spoken word, and the communication of ideas about government with those words that we see the clause about freedom of speech.

            In earlier times, journalists took great pains to make sure all facts addressed in any given writing/speech were true. Absolutely true. The more important the individual speaking those words, the higher the likelihood of a bigger staff of researchers to ensure the legitimacy of the words. Are there journalists still around? I believe perhaps there are. These folks take the time necessary to cross reference quotes, dig into story background, and never ever print a statement they haven’t proven to be true. Today, even with the advent of the internet and all the words posted there, we have difficulty determining what truth is.

            The issue at hand remains the others. Perhaps we can get a better grasp of their inadequacy if we view them as reporters rather than journalists. A reporter has no conscious need of determining facts. Their word choice slides into one viewpoint or the other with enough slant to subtly influence viewers. They are rarely encouraged to think independently; hence they kowtow to the chief editor’s point of view. These are the people gearing their presentations to sixth grade education. They will pound the airways/internet with misinformation for as long as it takes to make their viewpoint considered to be true, whether it is or not, and they are generally paid well to do so.

            With all the reporters talking on the news shows, blogging across the internet, and making presentations on stages it’s no wonder our world is upside down. It’s no wonder our federal government extends its tentacles into every aspect of our lives outside of the Constitution’s original intent. Few have read it and fewer still speak to the abuse, especially the news who use reporters rather than journalists.

Who do you say?

The discussion in politics, especially in light of recent events, often turns to the phrase the lesser of two evils. This implies we have no real choice and either way we go will result in a continuation of the downward spiral of the nation. I have a different view. What the country has been missing for so long is a better choice, as my cousin recently noted on a Facebook post.

When we turn this old saying around and create a positive, we begin to see how our country can regain its place in world politics. Rather than accepting someone is a little less evil to sit in the Office of the President of the United States of America, let us look at the benefits of choosing the better one.

This simple process allows us the opportunity to find the statesmen amongst us. It is the statesman who judges the value of a law according to how it best fulfills the intent of the Constitution. It is a politician who looks at the value of a law relative to his own best interests. Statesmen in today’s world are far and few between. Most of the politicians have never held a job. Yes, it’s a general statement, but you get the drift. If they don’t know what work is or how things work at the ground level, how do they expect to know what’s right for the country?

Now the question remains, how do we find statesmen to run for office? It’s a good question and one requiring more answers than can be placed in this blog. There are, however, a few questions I would ask someone purporting to be a statesman in the United States. The primary one is, “Who do you say Jesus is?” The importance of this question surfaces in the First Amendment. One must understand the context of the founding fathers when they wrote this Constitution of ours. The US was a Protestant Reformation Christian nation. Many of the founders were graduates of the seminaries of the day, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, William and Mary. God stood in the middle of their lives and they made decisions based upon their knowledge and understanding of the scriptures. The public, too, understood these concepts because their reading knowledge and skill came from scriptural lessons in the Bible, Primers and other educational resources.

Until we in the U. S. A. start seeking out statesmen to run for office, we may well have to suffer the lesser of the two evils. When we make the choice to pick the better of the two candidates, we power the move of God in the land where voting is a right established by Biblical principles.

World Famous Constellation

Isaiah 13:10

For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Some constellations are known worldwide. Others, like the Big Dipper, are known primarily in the northern hemisphere since it points to the North Star. Ever wonder why God arranged the stars in such a way that they all revolve around the North Star, at least in our galaxy? There is, however, a constellation known around the world for its effect on the troubles of the world. The tragedy, it appears, is the light fades. The constellation? The fifty stars within the field of blue on the American flag.

Professor Mark A. Kalthoff, Chairman of the Hillsdale College History Department is shown on a YouTube video explaining how America stands as a Christian nation. A larger issue is how the American public feels about it. In a country founded on Christian principles and statements to that affect by the fathers who wrote about it, one would think we’d be well grounded in the truth of the Christian heritage. Yet truth in today’s world appears relative. We read more about someone’s opinion of what the founding fathers said than reading the written word of those men and a few of their wives.

Throughout our modern history, America answers the call whenever the world’s population rings us up. Tsunami in the predominantly Muslim country of Malasia? No problem, we send supplies, medical staff and our armed forces to peacefully see to their public. Massive earthquake in Haiti? Countless hours of volunteerism applied to the entire nation for close to a decade, and it continues. In a small town in New York State, a church of less than two hundred men, women and children over see the delivery of five million dollars of groceries to the poor and desolate population within a thirty mile radius. It is because of our Christian heritage of mercy and generosity these examples shine throughout the world.

But our country is in trouble and it’s coming from within. The City of Light set upon a hill generating hope to the world through the constellation of the fifty states, darkens. For too long the dying ember of Freedom lays dormant. It’s about to go out entirely because it is being trampled to oblivion by a runaway government run by elitists bent upon preserving the resources of America for themselves. In “Why Nations Fail” by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, the pattern for failure repeats. It’s because personal property rights are abolished, work is done by all to feed the coffers of the elites, and the common people have no way to fight back.

On this the two hundred and fortieth anniversary of our founding as a constitutional republic, the America known around the world for the hope it gives, strains to fight off oppression. Oppression comes in many forms and you experience those every day, relentlessly. We have one hope to remain a constellation of light and truth through our Christian heritage; your participation at the polls. If you do not participate this year in the election process, bastardized as it is, America the beautiful will descend into darkness for which there can be no escape. God gave us unalienable rights as recognized in our Declaration of Independence. We, as a people, are the governors, as a friend likes to say. But we don’t govern if we don’t vote. And we don’t vote if we kowtow to the mass media telling us how little our vote counts. It’s time, America. It’s now or forever hold your peace.

This Independence Day stand for all the world to see. Make a statement by using your knees. Recall your Christian past and update it like your phone app. Call to remembrance the God of your forefathers. Get a download from the Bible and challenge the virus with a new program of humility, meekness and your vote. Light those stars up so there’s no question about which nation in the world shows up when the bell rings, the Christian one.