The dumbing of America by Right-wing morons cloaking themselves in the American flag has become a significant threat to our freedom; more so than any terrorist group in the world. The reason our Founding Fathers favored a separation between church and state is because they recognized that our government has to rule everyone regardless of their faith or lack thereof. They understood that as soon as you throw religion into the political mix, you automatically infuse unnecessary emotional conflict into the realm of governing our citizens. Many of those first English colonists who came to this country did so as a direct result of the English King trying to impose his brand of religion on them. With this in the minds of the Founding Fathers, they knew that religion had no role in a secular government and they had no desire to establish a theocracy.
If people want their children raised as a specific religion by all means find a church that meets those needs. In the meantime, the Right-wing evangelicals and their cronies need to quit trying to turn our government into a backwards theocracy which condemns science and promotes faith healers and charlatans willing to take advantage of the ignorant and uneducated. Oklahoma's recent move to ban AP US History because Republicans deemed it unpatriotic while attempting to impose theological elements into our school system is a perfect example of what is going wrong in this nation. I don't expect much from Oklahoma and they rarely disappoint me. American history is filled with negative examples of both our government and our people, yet we are the greatest nation in the history of the planet. Not because of conservatives, who have been on the wrong side of history on every major social issue, but because of progressives who have recognized our short-comings as a society and have been moved to make the world a better place. As a Christian, I don't need schools to do the jobs of churches nor do I need politicians replacing educators. The rising tide of dumb rolling in from the right-wing of this country is drowning the future for far too many of our children and grandchildren.
Kevin C Shinn
Showing posts with label Founding Fathers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Founding Fathers. Show all posts
Friday, February 20, 2015
Thursday, September 6, 2012
American Patriotism
For many, patriotism means reciting the pledge of allegiance, taking your hat off your head and placing your right hand over your heart during the national anthem. I see and hear passionate views on the 2nd Amendment and on the separation of church and state and over our taxes being too high. I listen to zealous explanations as to why it is more important to regulate a womb than to feed a child. But our Founding Fathers did not suffer and risk all to produce a form of government in which our citizens could sit on their ever expanding butts enjoying the fruits of our liberty while stuffing their faces as they mindlessly flipped through the soul-sucking cable universe. This year's election, more than any in my memory, offers two distinctly different visions of the future.
The form of government under which we exist was created to be administered by an educated electorate and yet we are increasingly being bombarded by the visions of political extremes because they are the ones who are most passionate about articulating their points of view. My favorite Founder, Ben Franklin, once said, "In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech... Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech, which is the right of every man..." It is the most precious of rights and yet in the nation which has been the political ideal of freedom, it is a right which is so infrequently used that our future liberty is in peril of atrophying and disappearing without so much as a final battle to defend it recorded for the sake of our posterity.
What separates us from the rest of the world isn't our standard of living or our love of the free market. It isn't our endless array of mind-numbing entertainment options or our obscene, obesity producing food bars. What distinguishes us from the rest of the planet is the system of government that our Founding Fathers produced for us and generations have fine-tuned to allow even those individuals of the most humble origins to have a voice in the way they are governed and to enable those from the most modest beginnings to become President of the United States. Mitt Romney and the Republicans tell us everyday how bad that government is and the President reminds us every day how important it is to a free people. The differences between the two parties couldn't be wider. The Republicans have vowed to dismantle the federal government while the Democrats promise to protect it so that it continues to serve the needs of the Common Man. I obviously am a Democrat and believe passionately in our vision of government but I respect those on the other side who so ardently disagree with us. Unfortunately, too many of our people sit uninformed in the middle hoping the election will soon be over so they won't have to be bothered by the distraction of the campaign anymore. Representative democracy is such a burden to them that they proudly boast of their ignorance and wear their stupidity as a badge of honor. So don't tell us you're a Patriot and love our country if you don't take the time to get off your pompous ass, examine the issues facing our future, and go cast an informed vote.
The form of government under which we exist was created to be administered by an educated electorate and yet we are increasingly being bombarded by the visions of political extremes because they are the ones who are most passionate about articulating their points of view. My favorite Founder, Ben Franklin, once said, "In those wretched countries where a man cannot call his tongue his own, he can scarce call anything his own. Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech... Without freedom of thought there can be no such thing as wisdom, and no such thing as public liberty without freedom of speech, which is the right of every man..." It is the most precious of rights and yet in the nation which has been the political ideal of freedom, it is a right which is so infrequently used that our future liberty is in peril of atrophying and disappearing without so much as a final battle to defend it recorded for the sake of our posterity.
What separates us from the rest of the world isn't our standard of living or our love of the free market. It isn't our endless array of mind-numbing entertainment options or our obscene, obesity producing food bars. What distinguishes us from the rest of the planet is the system of government that our Founding Fathers produced for us and generations have fine-tuned to allow even those individuals of the most humble origins to have a voice in the way they are governed and to enable those from the most modest beginnings to become President of the United States. Mitt Romney and the Republicans tell us everyday how bad that government is and the President reminds us every day how important it is to a free people. The differences between the two parties couldn't be wider. The Republicans have vowed to dismantle the federal government while the Democrats promise to protect it so that it continues to serve the needs of the Common Man. I obviously am a Democrat and believe passionately in our vision of government but I respect those on the other side who so ardently disagree with us. Unfortunately, too many of our people sit uninformed in the middle hoping the election will soon be over so they won't have to be bothered by the distraction of the campaign anymore. Representative democracy is such a burden to them that they proudly boast of their ignorance and wear their stupidity as a badge of honor. So don't tell us you're a Patriot and love our country if you don't take the time to get off your pompous ass, examine the issues facing our future, and go cast an informed vote.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Power does not exist in a vacuum
Power does not
exist in a vacuum. It is either controlled by those who run corporations or
those who have amassed massive wealth or by those who control government. Our
Founding Fathers were not naïve simpletons who placed power in the hands of man
based upon good will alone. They gave us a system in which the actions of our
elected officials may be monitored and drawn into the light of public scrutiny
and even the poor have a voice. This does not mean that the rich have no
influence but when organized and armed with a passionate cause, regular people
have the capacity to set the rules by which they live regardless of their circumstances.
It also does not infer that the common man is always right and the rich are
always wrong, it merely means the resources exist for a balanced playing field
which has not existed for mankind throughout history.
The fact that
Barack Obama could be elected following a two-term George Bush demonstrates
exactly how much control the American people have over the political process
while simultaneously demonstrating the volatility of the electorate’s judgment.
"Out, out,
brief candle!
Life's but a
walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and
frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard
no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury,
Signifying
nothing."
A favorite tactic
of the Tea Party zealots has become the use of historical references as a
justification for the most tenuous connections. Waving the banner of Socialism
as a form of Scarlet Letter while attempting to brand the policies of the
Democratic Party as un-American is yet another example of their intellectually
void approach to winning political arguments. It is not a coincidence that the United States
became a superpower at the same time that the federal government enacted waves
of social programs designed to improve the conditions of the working class.
The tired mantra of
the Republican Party that somehow Democrats long for a Soviet Union style
government is trite and absent any true intellectual foundation. The reality is
that the United States is a unique combination of capitalism and socialism and has
been for nearly a hundred years. No legitimate voice of the Democratic Party
advocates the total control of the private sector by the government yet the
leading voices of the Republican Party proudly champion an unfettered
capitalistic system oblivious of the poverty and corruption which coincides in
such an arrangement.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Rising Tide of Dumb
When the Founding Fathers debated and established our government, there were many who feared democracy and compared it to rule by the mob. It was their fear that the masses would be guided more by their passion than their intellect. Today, as even a relatively partial observer can note the fears of those cautious Founders appear to have been fairly grounded. On issue after issue, large numbers of our citizens vocally express their ignorance with a degree of pride that must have Alexander Hamilton spinning wildly in his grave.
In the world's most successful democratic society, the very people who benefit most from our political system are often the most oblivious to its structure and foundations. Doubt this? Conduct your own survey. Ask those around you a series of questions about celebrities and their performances and you are likely to hear an extended monologue concerning their value to our society. Ask those same people about the specifics of the contributions made by our Founders or even ask them specific questions about our current leaders and you are likely to either be enveloped in silence or caught in a deluge of rhetoric based on biased, non-factual emotional rants. Rarely will you be engaged in a principled discussion of the most pressing issues facing society.
Too many want to spew their personal moral views on a woman's right to control her own body, or who has the right to marry whom or whose view of God is more correct. Where are the passionate discussions about the factors necessary to keep our political system viable? Where is the public debate on the legitimate need for a fair distribution of economic opportunity in this nation? Who is factually raising the concern of having a failed state on our southern border? Who is openly talking about the changing nature of our society caused by the aging of the Baby Boomers? How many people are actively discussing the rising challenges posed to our future by China and India? On significant issue after issue, the public debate simply does not exist. Instead, our nation is channeled to the melodrama of sensational trials or the latest buzz in the entertainment industry.
There is a rising tide of dumb in this nation and if not stemmed soon, we run the very real risk of being drowned in a sea of ineptitude.
In the world's most successful democratic society, the very people who benefit most from our political system are often the most oblivious to its structure and foundations. Doubt this? Conduct your own survey. Ask those around you a series of questions about celebrities and their performances and you are likely to hear an extended monologue concerning their value to our society. Ask those same people about the specifics of the contributions made by our Founders or even ask them specific questions about our current leaders and you are likely to either be enveloped in silence or caught in a deluge of rhetoric based on biased, non-factual emotional rants. Rarely will you be engaged in a principled discussion of the most pressing issues facing society.
Too many want to spew their personal moral views on a woman's right to control her own body, or who has the right to marry whom or whose view of God is more correct. Where are the passionate discussions about the factors necessary to keep our political system viable? Where is the public debate on the legitimate need for a fair distribution of economic opportunity in this nation? Who is factually raising the concern of having a failed state on our southern border? Who is openly talking about the changing nature of our society caused by the aging of the Baby Boomers? How many people are actively discussing the rising challenges posed to our future by China and India? On significant issue after issue, the public debate simply does not exist. Instead, our nation is channeled to the melodrama of sensational trials or the latest buzz in the entertainment industry.
There is a rising tide of dumb in this nation and if not stemmed soon, we run the very real risk of being drowned in a sea of ineptitude.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
False Issue: Republic or Representative Democracy
The current rhetoric surrounding the issue as to whether the United States is a republic or a representative democracy has been sparked by those intent on dividing our people as a distraction from other, far more important issues and continues to be stoked by well-intentioned Americans whose passion has simply been misguided by nefarious forces. When the Founding Fathers came together to form what has become the most successful form of government for a free people in the history of our planet, they had no template to draw from and few sources to try and cobble together a new government to replace the failed Articles of Confederation.
Few expected this new document to last forever, most notably Ben Franklin, one of the few Americans of the time with an international reputation. On Monday, September 17, 1787, during the last day of the Constitutional Convention, Ben wanted to give a short speech to the Convention prior to the signing of the final draft of the Constitution. Too weak to actually give the speech himself, he had fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson deliver the speech. It is considered a masterpiece.
The following is as reported in Madison's notes on the Convention for Monday, September 17, 1787.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Mr. President
I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them: For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. Most men indeed as well as most sects in Religion, think themselves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ from them it is so far error. Steele a Protestant in a Dedication tells the Pope, that the only difference between our Churches in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrines is, the Church of Rome is infallible and the Church of England is never in the wrong. But though many private persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as of that of their sect, few express it so naturally as a certain french lady, who in a dispute with her sister, said "I don't know how it happens, Sister but I meet with no body but myself, that's always in the right — Il n'y a que moi qui a toujours raison."
In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the Builders of Babel; and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats. Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die. If every one of us in returning to our Constituents were to report the objections he has had to it, and endeavor to gain partizans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects & great advantages resulting naturally in our favor among foreign Nations as well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity. Much of the strength & efficiency of any Government in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends, on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of the Government, as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its Governors. I hope therefore that for our own sakes as a part of the people, and for the sake of posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution (if approved by Congress & confirmed by the Conventions) wherever our influence may extend, and turn our future thoughts & endeavors to the means of having it well administred.
On the whole, Sir, I can not help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me, on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument.”
What is lost on many in this debate is the reality of the circumstances surrounding the crafting of our federal government. We are unique. There is no other society like us. The best minds of the time, coming from a diverse array of circumstances, bound together by the single necessity of preventing their hard-won freedoms from being lost to the growing anarchy fostered as a result of the limited power of the Articles of Confederation, established a system of government that has become the beacon of freedom to the masses yearning to breathe free from around the globe and throughout history. The living quality of the document has been the true genius of its nature. A brief examination of the history of its amendments leaves no doubt as to the significance of the Constitution’s ability to adapt to the evolution of our political process while simultaneously providing a fixed point of justice for our citizens to be judged.
The United States is a representative democracy, but its system of government is much more complex than that. It is not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic in which majority rule is tempered with a respect for the rights of political minorities. The Constitution of today is far different from the Constitution of 1787, yet it is still the rock upon which our freedoms rest.
Before we get caught up in the false debate over names consider this list and ask yourself, "What is in a name?":
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Islamic Republic of Iran
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
People's Republic of China
Republic of Cuba
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Syrian Arab Republic
Republic of Colombia
Republic of Uganda
Somali Republic
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Republic of Iraq
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Whether to use the label "representative democracy" or "republic" is not what is significant. As bullets fly around Libya and the people of Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, and other nations struggle to obtain what we take for granted; the real name we should all remember is that we are "Americans." We may not agree on the manner in which we believe government should work but surely, we can all agree that the system works as well as those who cast their ballots every single Election Day makes it work.
To deny that fact is to deny what is undeniable. Elections matter and have consequences. Those who win power make policy; at least until they offend enough that the voters replace them with their opponents. At which time, the cycle begins again. God bless the United States of America because until the day we go to meet our Lord, America is the closest to heaven on Earth as man has ever been able to fabricate.
Few expected this new document to last forever, most notably Ben Franklin, one of the few Americans of the time with an international reputation. On Monday, September 17, 1787, during the last day of the Constitutional Convention, Ben wanted to give a short speech to the Convention prior to the signing of the final draft of the Constitution. Too weak to actually give the speech himself, he had fellow Pennsylvanian James Wilson deliver the speech. It is considered a masterpiece.
The following is as reported in Madison's notes on the Convention for Monday, September 17, 1787.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Mr. President
I confess that there are several parts of this constitution which I do not at present approve, but I am not sure I shall never approve them: For having lived long, I have experienced many instances of being obliged by better information, or fuller consideration, to change opinions even on important subjects, which I once thought right, but found to be otherwise. It is therefore that the older I grow, the more apt I am to doubt my own judgment, and to pay more respect to the judgment of others. Most men indeed as well as most sects in Religion, think themselves in possession of all truth, and that wherever others differ from them it is so far error. Steele a Protestant in a Dedication tells the Pope, that the only difference between our Churches in their opinions of the certainty of their doctrines is, the Church of Rome is infallible and the Church of England is never in the wrong. But though many private persons think almost as highly of their own infallibility as of that of their sect, few express it so naturally as a certain french lady, who in a dispute with her sister, said "I don't know how it happens, Sister but I meet with no body but myself, that's always in the right — Il n'y a que moi qui a toujours raison."
In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution. For when you assemble a number of men to have the advantage of their joint wisdom, you inevitably assemble with those men, all their prejudices, their passions, their errors of opinion, their local interests, and their selfish views. From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does; and I think it will astonish our enemies, who are waiting with confidence to hear that our councils are confounded like those of the Builders of Babel; and that our States are on the point of separation, only to meet hereafter for the purpose of cutting one another's throats. Thus I consent, Sir, to this Constitution because I expect no better, and because I am not sure, that it is not the best. The opinions I have had of its errors, I sacrifice to the public good. I have never whispered a syllable of them abroad. Within these walls they were born, and here they shall die. If every one of us in returning to our Constituents were to report the objections he has had to it, and endeavor to gain partizans in support of them, we might prevent its being generally received, and thereby lose all the salutary effects & great advantages resulting naturally in our favor among foreign Nations as well as among ourselves, from our real or apparent unanimity. Much of the strength & efficiency of any Government in procuring and securing happiness to the people, depends, on opinion, on the general opinion of the goodness of the Government, as well as of the wisdom and integrity of its Governors. I hope therefore that for our own sakes as a part of the people, and for the sake of posterity, we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution (if approved by Congress & confirmed by the Conventions) wherever our influence may extend, and turn our future thoughts & endeavors to the means of having it well administred.
On the whole, Sir, I can not help expressing a wish that every member of the Convention who may still have objections to it, would with me, on this occasion doubt a little of his own infallibility, and to make manifest our unanimity, put his name to this instrument.”
What is lost on many in this debate is the reality of the circumstances surrounding the crafting of our federal government. We are unique. There is no other society like us. The best minds of the time, coming from a diverse array of circumstances, bound together by the single necessity of preventing their hard-won freedoms from being lost to the growing anarchy fostered as a result of the limited power of the Articles of Confederation, established a system of government that has become the beacon of freedom to the masses yearning to breathe free from around the globe and throughout history. The living quality of the document has been the true genius of its nature. A brief examination of the history of its amendments leaves no doubt as to the significance of the Constitution’s ability to adapt to the evolution of our political process while simultaneously providing a fixed point of justice for our citizens to be judged.
The United States is a representative democracy, but its system of government is much more complex than that. It is not a simple representative democracy, but a constitutional republic in which majority rule is tempered with a respect for the rights of political minorities. The Constitution of today is far different from the Constitution of 1787, yet it is still the rock upon which our freedoms rest.
Before we get caught up in the false debate over names consider this list and ask yourself, "What is in a name?":
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Islamic Republic of Iran
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
People's Republic of China
Republic of Cuba
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Syrian Arab Republic
Republic of Colombia
Republic of Uganda
Somali Republic
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Republic of Iraq
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Whether to use the label "representative democracy" or "republic" is not what is significant. As bullets fly around Libya and the people of Iran, Egypt, Tunisia, and other nations struggle to obtain what we take for granted; the real name we should all remember is that we are "Americans." We may not agree on the manner in which we believe government should work but surely, we can all agree that the system works as well as those who cast their ballots every single Election Day makes it work.
To deny that fact is to deny what is undeniable. Elections matter and have consequences. Those who win power make policy; at least until they offend enough that the voters replace them with their opponents. At which time, the cycle begins again. God bless the United States of America because until the day we go to meet our Lord, America is the closest to heaven on Earth as man has ever been able to fabricate.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Call For Sanity and a Stop to Religious Zealotry
Glenn Beck is a TV personality who is in pursuit of the almighty dollar. One of the main problems our nation is suffering from is too many people relying on the opinions of people from the entertainment industry. Beck writes specifically to stir people in to actions that will line his pockets with gold and not to solve problems. Shame on those who fall for his silliness.
There is simply no doubting the fact that many of our Founding Fathers had a strong belief in a greater power and prayed for divine guidance. Just as today the overwhelming majority of Americans identify themselves as religious people. According to the United States Census Bureau of the 300 million people in this country, over 228 million identify themselves as being associated with a religion. The largest single religious affiliation is Catholics with just over 57 million adherents followed by Baptists with just over 36 million followers. Methodists/Wesleyans make up over 11 million followers. There are dozens and dozens of different religious groups in our nation and hundreds of variations on each group’s beliefs. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mennonites, Christian Science, and host of others are collected under the banner of Christianity. Nearly nine million Americans list themselves as something other than being a Christian.
In general, it can easily be claimed that as a nation the majority of our population declare to be Christians but as with most things in life it is when you get to the details that the issues become more difficult. The divide between Catholics and Protestants has been a major split between Europeans since Martin Luther. Look at the split between the second largest groups of Christians the Baptists. Pick any small community, much less larger ones, and if you wait 15 minutes you’ll see another Baptist church spring up somewhere usually after having a falling out among the membership of an existing church. Those who try to stir up our emotions through the use of religion deserve a special place in hell for their deceit and their manipulations which detract from the true meaning of our religious faith. We are all sinners who find salvation through the cherished gift of our savior Jesus the Christ. When we start mixing the earthly realm of men with our spiritual works we are failing horribly as a light on a hill whose mission is to draw the souls of men to the path of our own redemption. How can I convince you that Jesus is our passageway to deliverance if I am condemning you for your political views?
The Founding Fathers had lived under the tyranny of a system built on the belief that God willed some men to be rulers and other to be chattel. Responding to the unjust taxation of a foreign government placed upon them following the French and Indian wars they rebelled against the government because they wished to be heard. No taxation without representation meant exactly what it said. They did not mean no taxation from those who they elected a few months ago and who they would be voting on again shortly. They purposefully created a republic in which there was a careful balance of power between the varying branches so that no central power could rule as a tyranny. BUT, they also did not trust the will of the people who they feared could have their emotions inflamed by charlatans’ like Glenn Beck so they made certain that the Senate, not the House, would be elected by the elites from their states as a way to check the passions of the mob.
We are all Americans who love our country no less than the next. But love of country and the love of our God, however we may define that God, does not mean that we cannot, nor will not have disagreements over political issues. Not all people benefit the same from all proposals. It is that very reality that leads to the failure of communism as a form of government. It is why our Founding Fathers were so brilliant in hindsight. They knew that people will always act out of self-interest and they created a system that worried more about keeping the actions of our elected officials in the open and allowing the people the power to remove corrupt officials as they were discovered.
Looking for proof that our Founding Fathers wanted to establish a theocracy is like looking inside the magician’s hat for the bunny. You may think it is there but upon closer inspection you realize that it was all an illusion.
There is simply no doubting the fact that many of our Founding Fathers had a strong belief in a greater power and prayed for divine guidance. Just as today the overwhelming majority of Americans identify themselves as religious people. According to the United States Census Bureau of the 300 million people in this country, over 228 million identify themselves as being associated with a religion. The largest single religious affiliation is Catholics with just over 57 million adherents followed by Baptists with just over 36 million followers. Methodists/Wesleyans make up over 11 million followers. There are dozens and dozens of different religious groups in our nation and hundreds of variations on each group’s beliefs. Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mennonites, Christian Science, and host of others are collected under the banner of Christianity. Nearly nine million Americans list themselves as something other than being a Christian.
In general, it can easily be claimed that as a nation the majority of our population declare to be Christians but as with most things in life it is when you get to the details that the issues become more difficult. The divide between Catholics and Protestants has been a major split between Europeans since Martin Luther. Look at the split between the second largest groups of Christians the Baptists. Pick any small community, much less larger ones, and if you wait 15 minutes you’ll see another Baptist church spring up somewhere usually after having a falling out among the membership of an existing church. Those who try to stir up our emotions through the use of religion deserve a special place in hell for their deceit and their manipulations which detract from the true meaning of our religious faith. We are all sinners who find salvation through the cherished gift of our savior Jesus the Christ. When we start mixing the earthly realm of men with our spiritual works we are failing horribly as a light on a hill whose mission is to draw the souls of men to the path of our own redemption. How can I convince you that Jesus is our passageway to deliverance if I am condemning you for your political views?
The Founding Fathers had lived under the tyranny of a system built on the belief that God willed some men to be rulers and other to be chattel. Responding to the unjust taxation of a foreign government placed upon them following the French and Indian wars they rebelled against the government because they wished to be heard. No taxation without representation meant exactly what it said. They did not mean no taxation from those who they elected a few months ago and who they would be voting on again shortly. They purposefully created a republic in which there was a careful balance of power between the varying branches so that no central power could rule as a tyranny. BUT, they also did not trust the will of the people who they feared could have their emotions inflamed by charlatans’ like Glenn Beck so they made certain that the Senate, not the House, would be elected by the elites from their states as a way to check the passions of the mob.
We are all Americans who love our country no less than the next. But love of country and the love of our God, however we may define that God, does not mean that we cannot, nor will not have disagreements over political issues. Not all people benefit the same from all proposals. It is that very reality that leads to the failure of communism as a form of government. It is why our Founding Fathers were so brilliant in hindsight. They knew that people will always act out of self-interest and they created a system that worried more about keeping the actions of our elected officials in the open and allowing the people the power to remove corrupt officials as they were discovered.
Looking for proof that our Founding Fathers wanted to establish a theocracy is like looking inside the magician’s hat for the bunny. You may think it is there but upon closer inspection you realize that it was all an illusion.
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