The subject of freedom has been heavy on my heart lately. I would like to present some thoughts about freedom in the context of us as Americans and from my personal standpoint as a Christian. I would also like to tie that back to the ideal of Restoring The Constitution.
Where freedom and liberty are concerned, I am afraid that we are largely illiterate and inexperienced.
- We misunderstand what freedom is.
- We misunderstand the source of freedom.
- We don't know how it's obtained.
- We don't recognize what it costs.
- We don't know how it is upheld and sustained.
- And we don't know how to obtain more of it for ourselves.
What is freedom?
Merriam-Webster's dictionary defined freedom as follows:
- the quality or state of being free: asa) the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action b) liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another : independence c) the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous;
;
Is Liberty the same thing as freedom? No. Liberty is defined thus:
- the quality or state of being free:a) the power to do as one pleases b) freedom from physical restraint c) freedom from arbitrary or despotic control d) the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges
What is the source of freedom for us as Americans? How is freedom obtained?How many of you at one time or another have rendered honor to our soldiers, saying of them that "they fight for our freedoms", or that they "stand up for our freedom?" Is that really true? If it is, then the source of your freedom is the military. Does it take an army to free you? No.
Is it our Constitution? No. Our freedom as Americans predates the Constitution.
Is it our Declaration of Independence? No. The Declaration of Independence provided a reading of the injuries and insults suffered. The Declaration served as the basis and justification for breaking the bondage Britain had imposed and for becoming free. But did The Declaration of Independence alone secure freedom? No. Because the bonds were not yet broken. I could tell you what I'm going to do, but until and unless I actually do it, my words are void.
The Declaration was valuable because it documented the founders' recognition of their slavery. Recognizing slavery is a prerequisite for gaining freedom. If a man never realizes he's enslaved, then how will he ever know that he's a slave?
Our founders realized they were enslaved, petitioned for redress within the rules to the very end of the rules and were unsuccessful. They addressed the King's policies. Did they quit? They didn't!? (incredulously)
You mean they didn't Trigger the Vote and be tough like Chuck Norris!? You mean that just voting alone didn't work? Just protesting didn't work? Just picketing didn't work?
What now? They addressed the King's property. They tossed the King's tea into Boston Harbor. The Sons of Liberty broke their windows. Did that work? No, but it showed the resolve of the people that they were willing to escalate the conflict from mere protests.
What now? Well next, they harassed the King's persons. They threatened them. They tarred and feathered them. They assaulted them. Did that work? No, but it showed the resolve of the people that they were willing to escalate the conflict from mere protests to trashing property to assaulting people. After suffering a long train of insult and injury, these men decided that they were going to be free whatever the cost.
With each protest or grievance that was aired by the colonies, the King and Parliament tightened their grip and added new shackles and chains. It ultimately took a war to make good on the Declaration of Independence.
Don't miss sight of this. The Revolutionary War was not was not was not fought between America and Britain. We've been taught for a long time that this is the case. Wikipedia conveniently shows US and British flags and lists the US and Britain as "belligerents". The Revolutionary War was fought between British subjects who had revolted against the legal, rightful authority vested in the crown. While that authority was being used to increase tyranny, it was a legal authority. Your founding fathers made a conscious decision after much talk, debate, and prayer to break the rules. In short, they didn't become free by following the rules, they became free by breaking the rules. They did not simply wake up one morning and decide, "Let's fight for our freedom." Instead, they decided that to become free, they would have to act free.
What does freedom cost?
Rush Limbaugh's essay provides some insight as to the fates of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Of those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence,
- 9 died of wounds or hardships during the war.
- 5 were captured and imprisoned, in each case with brutal treatment.
- Several lost wives, sons or entire families.
- 1 was separated from his 13 children.
- 2 wives were brutally treated.
- 12 signers had their homes completely burned.
- 17 lost everything they owned.
- 56 were-at one time or another, the victims of manhunts and driven from their homes.
- 0 defected or went back on his pledged word.
How is freedom upheld-how is it maintained?
The burden passed on to the sons of the founders was simply this, do not go back into those chains of bondage. Period. Maintaining freedom is a whole lot cheaper than securing it for the first time.
Allow me to chase a rabbit for a moment. I love the story of Alvin C. York. A simple farmer and blacksmith from Pall Mall, Tennessee. He'd lived his life on the rowdy side, drinking and brawling. A revival meeting had changed his heart and his life for Jesus and he left all that behind. When York was called up in the draft during World War I, there was a tremendous battle in his own heart about what he should do. That battle continued even into his training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. At one point Major Edward Buxton gave York a 10 day leave to go home and think about it. He also handed him a book, The History of The United States. York sought out a high and remote mountain where he knelt and prayed for nearly an entire day and night seeking God's leading.
I think it's fitting that on this day, we should be here on this mountain retreat to consider a few things, to agonize over a few things, and perhaps settle a few things, to ask for the wisdom and leading of The Almighty.I believe the chief problem of America today is that we Americans fail to recognize the chains of slavery that are already upon us.
Look at this shiny gold bracelet. It's silk lined and has a very strong clasp so that it will never come off. In fact, it's part of a set that are all attached together to make sure you don't lose one. There's even a set of anklets and they're attached too. The chains used to be just a little longer, but they just got in the way and I was always tripping over them so I got them to remove a few links to shorten the chains. We raise our hands this high and think that we're free! We can move our feet only this much and think that we run in liberty!
If we can't recognize the shackles that we're in right now, then how would we recognize freedom? Our government seeks to be our master, and make us their servant. And we go right along with it. It's so easy to bash our government as crooked and inept-which they are. But our government is nothing more than the sum of what we allow and tolerate as a people. If we can't even see the bondage that we're in, how can we be free as a country? Let's make this personal:
Freedom is the absence of shackles and restraints against your life, your liberty, and your property. In order for you to secure your freedom, you must first recognize your condition. You must protest and ask for redress. And when they come back with more chains and shackles for you, then you must take action to avoid new chains, remove the old ones, and deny those who come to you with more chains. YOU must do this for yourself. You cannot rest upon what the founding fathers did. Their chains are not your chains. Their bonds are not your bonds. Though you've tasted the fruits of their labor, their victory is not your victory. You will have to go out and get your own. You cannot outsource the job of securing your freedom to someone else. Does it take an Army of One to free you? Yes. And You are the one.
Now what does all that have to do with Restoring The Constitution?
The Constitution is the solution the founders gave us. The Constitution was intended to serve as the shackles and chains that restrain government to preserve your freedom. Governments' restraints come from the Constitution, not the rights of the governed. If we intend to be free, then we must return government to their chains and shackles, keep them there, and set a watch-especially when your friends reach office. In discussing how one secures his freedom, we've also covered how to keep someone in chains. You must stand guard over them. You must not turn your back on them. You must not allow them to weasel their arms out of the chains for even a minute. Not when it makes government uncomfortable. Not when it inconveniences you. Not when government can relieve your burden or make things convenient. Not ever. Remember, your government is what you allow it to be and what you are willing to tolerate. Have you had enough?
My friend Bob Wright would have fit right in with the founding fathers. Earlier this year, he expressed a great thought which I would like to echo and endorse here today. We're going to see the Constitution Restored. It's just a matter of how rough we're going to have to get to make that happen.
My hope and prayer for each of you here today is that in your own heart and mind you better understand what freedom is and what you must do for your own freedom.
May America bless the Lord our God in repentance on our face so that we may again be united and that God may again bless these United States of America.
 |
| "We happy few..." |
.JPG)
.jpg)
5 comments:
Well said.
Our Constitutional government consists of those who faithfully execute their Constitutional duties, as per their oaths. If you are married, and you strike your wife, the police will come and they will not respect your right to be together, simply because you have taken an oath, and can produce a marriage license. The make believe government currently occupying our hallowed halls is simply using our Constitution as a license to beat us up. They say they are “duly elected”. There are a good number of people in confinement right now who are “duly married”, who have dishonored their oaths to their wives. When that is violated, and the spouse wounded, then no one recognizes the marriage as legitimate anymore. The offices of President and Congress demand certain duties under the Constitution. If these are fulfilled, then they are occupied by legitimate officials. They are made legitimate not by means of election, but by the fulfillment of their oaths.
You cannot vote out tyranny. Tyranny lives in the hearts of those who must trade liberty for security. That population will grow a tyrant from its midst, and elect them to office every time. They will bring into being a thousand drones, duly certified to be “well qualified” for office. Can you legislate morality? Of course not. In like manner, it is not possible to vote out tyranny.
The solution to our present predicament lies not only in the words of our founding documents, but in the truths that pre-date those words. Liberty is understood on the most base level by every wild thing, but the cancer of dependency clouds the otherwise free mind. The Founders words were only an expression of what they realized after they had declared themselves free in their own person.
The Declaration of Independence certainly did not reflect political reality on the ground at the time. It did reflect however, the realization that we were created a free people, who were being deprived of our natural liberties. As Washington said, “Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are free men, fighting for the blessings of Liberty…” They were free, yet liberty had been denied them by their government. We must make the identical realization first, and embrace our natural condition before our Creator, before we proceed “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”. That’s all they had at the time to claim in support of their Declaration. They needed to rely on “self evident” truths. That is because no court in their world would give them a fair hearing, based on the law as it was administered then. They knew that their “truths” would have been dissected by the experts in light of current practice and belief. There were a million reasons that their actions were unlawful. Their illegality was incontestable, and they did not deny it. The invocation of “self evident” truths was their spiritual and political reset button. They transcended legalese, magistrates, attorneys, and the complex labyrinth of the law that damned them. We must accomplish the same.
We have the revolution behind us, and great founding documents from which we extract great founding document quotes. However, without the courage and responsibility to press our spiritual “reset button” that we may look inward and upward to, we have no simple claim to our Founders victory. The Founders won liberty for themselves, but opportunity for us. For as much as our Founders had rejected the illegitimate sovereign claim of kings’ progeny, we also are no effortless heirs to the true legitimacy they had won dearly, we lacking blood either cherished within our Creators gift of liberty, or spilt while staring down tyrannies barrel; Middle ground is very simply put, a place to die for no good reason. Liberty was indeed handed to the generations before us. And they handed us in turn the result of their neglect.
My child will know either liberty, or the opportunity to stare down tyrannies barrel. And he will thank me with a toast or with a curse, for handing him one or the other.
Excellent piece, Alvie.
Well struck. My sentiments exactly. A blogger in arms...
http://thecivillibertarian.blogspot.com/
Thank you for that prayer at the end. Well said. Well said.
Some of the militia commanders have taken to praying together. I can't think of better words than the ones you used. Amen.
Post a Comment