What Will Save America?
President Abraham Lincoln once said these inspiring, and strikingly applicable words,
"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves… Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant, to step over the ocean, and crush us at a blow? Never!—All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth in their military chest; with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a Thousand years. At what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide."

It has been said that the people largely get the Government they deserve. I agree with this sentiment, for even Lucifer himself, assembled with all of the mighty hosts of hell would have no power over us if we did not surrender it to him. In egotism and pride, we have largely forgotten that our strength is not in the greatness of our armies, but the greatness of our hearts. We are quick to blame our leaders and elected officials, but slow to honestly evaluate "we the people" who elected them. We have become quick to point to any who question the constitutionality and true motivations of corrupt leaders and factions as irrational conspiracy theorists. However, in the pride of our hearts, we dangerously ignore conspiracy fact.

If America is to be saved from the downward sliding slope of destruction, it will not be a result of some political think tank, the Republicans, or Democrats. It will be because we as a people, stand up and say "no more!" It will be because we begin to think more about the welfare of others than we do of ourselves. It will be because the Government, which derives its power from the consent of the governed, will be denied abuses of power by the American people collectively.

May we remember the source from which our freedoms, rights, and liberties emanate. May we recall that each and every human being is endowed with certain inalienable rights from their Creator, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The proper role of limited government is to protect these rights which are inalienably ours. Nowhere in the Constitution or Declaration do we find the role of Government entails granting or giving us rights. God is the source of such rights, and if we turn from believing in absolutes and eternal truths, the Government will and has assumed that role. To accept the premise that Government gives us rights is to accept the premise that Government can take such rights away.

May we be quick to remember the responsibility that is ours to serve and help our fellowman. Who are we really helping when people are stripped of their private property at the whims of Congress? The Government does not make people good. How many Americans at tax time think to themselves, "Wow, I am really helping my starving neighbor out today by filing my taxes. I am so grateful the Government is forcing me to give up a third of my income so that my neighbors can get some fraction of the money I am paying in taxes?" A good society comes from within, not from without. If Government forces us to choose to surrender such a substantial portion of our money, they have robbed us of the choice and the means to be good. Government appropriately derives its power from the consent of the Governed, and therefore cannot excercise any power which is not possessed by an individual member of society. What man has a right to strip their neighbor of his hard earned income, regardless of the allure of his promised agenda?

How much greater we would be as a people if out of love and compassion rather than compulsion, we reached out to those in need because it is the right thing to do. What is more, it is not a new concept to any economically minded individual that government programs, however good their intention, are rewarded for failure. As opposed to the private sector, running such subsidized nationalist businesses do not fail as a result of ineffective management, but are subsidized more. Such subsidies find their basis in taxation, a gross portion of the Americans' incomes who they intend to help with such programs. The private sector can work and will work more effectively if we as Americans recognize a need to serve others. Furthermore, the result will be that we choose to be good, rather than the paradoxical requirements and burdens placed on us by the Government to mandate such behavior. Many Americans would be suprised to learn for example, that private donations by the American people to help developing, impoverished nations of the world are three times as great as those given by the Government.

People are only as free as they are personally responsible. Think of the power that one surrenders when they incessantly rely on some party for their sustenance. How easily persuaded is the man who is driven to do or surrender whatever he must to another to receive his daily bread. When Government becomes the means through which we subsist, man becomes slave, and Government becomes master.

Finally, may we base policy upon true principles, which may be readily discovered through a careful examination of the inspired Constituion of the United States of America. Policy must become the pillars upon which we build our nation. Such pillars will be supported by the American people, or else the edifice of our greatness will crumble to the earth. May we realize that we as a nation cannot force people to be free, we cannot discriminate to end discrimination, and we cannot assume or excercise rights without accepting and establishing responsibility for our actions. Policy without principle, is like being without feeling.

And so I stand with Lincoln, in inviting you my dear friends, to carefully consider what has made our nation great and to humbly recognize the impending forces which threaten its destruction. Our hope is not in government programs our bailouts, but in the good of humanity and those willing to help out. I believe in the American people. I believe there is still so much good in the world today. I believe that we as a people are still good at heart. I invite you to awaken to a sense of your awful situation, that we may not stand divided as Republicans and Democrats, but unite as Americans under God. May our unification stem from the banner which we wave triumphantly and invitingly to all the world, even the Constitution, a heavenly banner.