I mentioned in an early post being impressed by the statue that stands in front of the National Archives with the inscription, "Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty." We are, as a nation, learning this hard lesson again.
Since the founding of this unique and exceptional nation, there have been forces aligned to destroy it. Call it evil, call it entropy, call it what you will. There is an active, decaying force opposing individual liberty and freedom in the world. This country has withstood it for over two centuries.
But our vigilance has been weakened in tangible ways, obviously. The undercurrent of "Progressive" influences since the administration of Woodrow Wilson have been steadily eroding our system of self government and they have gone largely unnoticed by most of us. These "progressives" were excited at the rise of the oppressive Soviet Union, sympathetic to the anti-semitism of Hitler's Nazi Germany, and they continue to favor dictators and thugs to this day (hence the popularity of Che T-shirts, "looking into [the eyes of Fidel Castro]" and openly admiring Hugo Chavez)! And they continue to seek to model our country after those despite their consistent failure throughout history (and, ironically, their efforts continue despite our nation's successful efforts at defeating their foreign idols in the past century). There's no shortage, it seems, of ego-maniacal would-be dictators willing to step up and attempt to establish themselves as our proxy parents!
It seems that every time I've watched a documentary on Nazi Germany I or someone with me has asked, "How could the Germans be so foolish as to let that psychopath gain that much power?" Now, we are witnessing how that can happen. It is the validation of the old saying, "The only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men [and women] to do nothing."
Hence the challenge and the difficulty. Liberalism, as it presently exists, is nothing more than the consistent and deliberate erosion of the foundational supports and institutions of this nation. Conservatism is simply the effort to conserve those foundational principles and institutions from the efforts of the "progressives" and liberals. Therefore, by definition, every time we compromise the standards set by the founders, we lose and the liberals win. And regaining lost ground is practically impossible. Therefore, the progressives job is the easy one, it requires no real vigilance, just constant whining and seizing on crises to manipulate the public. In short, it is the coward's path--the path of least resistance.
But the difficult path of duty has always been and remains the true path of America. It is difficult to remain engaged as the political machine, constructed increasingly by cowardly progressives, becomes more and more complex and debate becomes increasingly clouded by pseudo-intellectual banter. As our schools are increasingly co-opted by the left and refuse to teach the truth and the principles of our founding, as the film and news media crank out their propaganda and their depressing rhetoric of an evil, hopeless, exploitive America the task becomes obviously more difficult.
Nevertheless, the duty remains and Americans have always fulfilled that duty, despite the difficulty. If we buy into the notion that we cannot succeed, that we cannot overcome, that our founders and the principles enshrined in our Constitution are outdated or unnecessary, then we will sink into the amorphous societal ooze with the rest of the world.
But that is not our destiny! This nation was touched, I believe, by the hand of God Himself and set apart in the world to be that "shining city on a hill"-- a beacon to the rest of the world that man is capable of self rule and self government. Americans throughout our history have been that beacon of true hope and true change--from tyranny and oppression, from burdensome taxation and the slavery of socialism to liberty and the guaranteed rights of life, liberty and private property.
As Americans, it is our duty still to shun the promise of ease and the property of our neighbors from manipulating politicians. It is our duty to remain engaged, to study our founding and the discern the divinity in the Constitution. It is our duty to remain suspicious of all politicians--to demand that their conduct conform to a higher standard. It is our duty as Americans to step to the plate and serve when needed in political office rather than cede that work to career politicians craving our wealth and with a ravenous hunger for power over our lives. It is our duty to educate ourselves as broadly as possible and to never cede our individual liberty to an elite class of "experts" or to any government bureaucracy.
Finally, and most importantly in my opinion, we must spend time on our knees every day supplicating the aid of heaven in preserving our liberties. It would be arrogant and ultimately destructive of our purposes to suppose that this nation under God--whose affairs and destiny have been so profoundly influenced and directed by His hand--can be saved through mortal exertions alone.
Abraham Lincoln, in bidding farewell to his hometown as he left to serve as President said, "Without the assistance of the Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well."
The duty upon is places our feet on a difficult and stony path, it is true. But the rewards that await us and our children far outweigh any meager sacrifice on our part to achieve that end. And, with God's aid, it will shine all the brighter in contrast to what we must now suffer to achieve that end and through the strength gained by struggle, endure all the longer!
"Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions." --George Washington
[To all Kindle users: Don't forget, you can subscribe to this blog through Amazon.com!]
Comments
Post a Comment