When
in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve
the Political Bands which have connected them with another…they should declare
the causes which impel them to Separation.”
~ Declaration of
The
words of a concerned Thomas Jefferson ushered
I’m
seeing more and more examples of less and less common ground among Americans and
it concerns me greatly. There’s a
schism that is widening into a chasm as we lose our national identity and align
ourselves with a variety of splinter groups, cultures and philosophies.
When
many of us were kids, Americans seemed to share a sense of traditional values
much more so than they do now. We
appeared to have been more aware of what the American culture was and could more
easily describe it or at least know it when we saw it and identify ourselves
with it. God and guns were not
looked upon as political leprosy, the founding fathers were not vilified as
former slave holders deserving of no respect and the constitution was revered as
the foundation of our freedom rather than a challenge for politicians to
circumvent and ignore…and we were just Americans, no in-your-face use of
hyphenations that I remember. Today
we seem to have lost that melting pot look and are now more like a mosaic of
sub-cultures that feel a need for a hyphenated identity.
We’re
losing our sense of national unity that was
It
seems to me that we are now coming unglued and polarizing into two major camps
whose philosophies will never reach consensus because their fundamental values
are mutually exclusive. Can such
divergent philosophies ever coexist in one country and under one government?
The differences between the two philosophies are stark and becoming more
entrenched as attitudes harden. The
most basic differences are that traditionalists believe in self-reliance,
self-determination and personal freedom, while modern liberals believe in
government reliance, government control and very limited personal freedom…for
the masses.
Reviewing
some concepts of the opposing philosophies, traditionalists generally believe in
the former while modern liberals generally believe in the latter:
Individual freedom vs. societal control; Small government vs. big
government; Independence vs. dependence; Self-reliance and personal
responsibility vs. government reliance and “shared” responsibility; Freedom of
religion vs. freedom from religion; Equal opportunity vs. equal outcome;
Private property vs. public property; National sovereignty vs. world government;
States rights vs. federal rights; The money you earn is yours vs. the money you
earn is ours; “Shall not be infringed” pertains to the right to keep and
bear arms vs. pertaining to political ambition.
This
country is becoming so divided in basic values and polarized in philosophy that
I can see no clear path to a reconciliation of these two opposing camps.
Continued
coexistence would require not compromise but submission because this
confrontation involves diametrically opposed principles… and I don’t cotton
to compromising principles. As
I’ve said, compromise of principle is no compromise—its surrender and
traditionalists are unwilling to surrender their principles.
“…
in matters of principle, stand like a rock."
~ Thomas
Jefferson ~
These
attacks on our Constitutional principles are clearly an attack on the country
because it seeks to obliterate many of those principles and goes against the
very foundation upon which we’ve built our lives.
I sense dark clouds forming on
I
strongly suspect that if this divisive trend continues, the day will come when
patriots rise up in great numbers, standing united and strong against modern
liberalism and vehemently reaffirm their traditional principles for all to hear:
“For
those who choose to live in a country wherein the state is dominant over the
individual and government control replaces individual freedom, that’s your
choice and we’ll respect your right to that choice, but don’t try to fit us
into that mold nor force that same choice on any of us.
As we respect your right to choose your way, we demand you accord those
of us who choose otherwise the same respect in our right to live a life of
freedom bestowed by God and guaranteed by our Constitution.
We
refuse to accept your philosophy that leads to the loss of liberty.
While we refuse to live under a system based on government domination,
we’ll respect the choice of those who willingly surrender that liberty in
search of security. To us however,
such a life goes against the Creator’s vision for mankind and the principles
of freedom upon which
Let
there then be no misunderstanding, we will never surrender the rights bestowed
on us by our Creator which the Constitution of our forefathers forbids
government to negate. Our
Constitution still governs this land despite liberalism’s best efforts to
undermine it and we refuse to apologize for our beliefs which have their roots
firmly based on a set of values that your philosophy does not accept.
Let
us then go our separate ways, and do so peacefully as we see no possible
reconciliation of two such divergent and mutually exclusive philosophies.
If you persist in refusing to recognize our right to choose and continue
to harbor thoughts of coercion through ever increasing levels of government
regulation then many may see no alternative but to impel separation.”
People
who revere freedom over submission will not allow themselves to be dominated by
anyone and their resolve will not waiver. As
George Washington affirmed during their time of trial, “The
spirit of freedom beats too high in us to submit....”
I’m convinced, traditionalists will therefore continue to soldier on
the path pioneered by our forefathers and choose to live as did they—free!”
Just
the view from my saddle…
Contact Colonel Dan: coloneldan@bellsouth.net