In God We Trust

13 February 2008

Dialogue of Freedom

Posted by Joy Bischoff under: Constitution in Peril; Judaeo-Christian Values Under Attack; Presidential Election 2008; Rejecting Herd Mentality .

Terrie’s Note: We would like to give Joy Bischoff a special thank you for her work on this important part of our Blog. She has been struggling with some major health issues and is supposed to be resting quietly (Terrie points finger at Joy and looks at her sternly!) I know she has very passionate feelings about our work here and continues to put forth great effort in advancing our cause. I appreciate, and I know she and her family appreciate as well, all of your prayers and well-wishes on her behalf.

Dialogue of Freedom

This is a call to action for all who have wanted to do something for their country but have been unsure how they could personally contribute. Many prominent conservatives are becoming alarmed at the aggressive attempt to pull the conservative movement drastically to the left. They claim we must do this in order to preserve our nation. This is a very persuasive argument, but has a crucial flaw that must be understood if we are to preserve our Constitution. While it is true that factionalism is tearing our nation apart, liberals assert that it is the religious right that is the biggest danger to our liberties. The strange thing is, most of the religious right are the people who used to be accepted as mainstream Americans. We have not moved but the rest of the country has. The liberal solution to the rift is that everyone accepts secularism for our society. What is the flaw? History shows that the religion of secularist-humanism always leads to the politics of socialism.

As Thomas Jefferson taught us, “The price of freedom is eternal vigilance”. In the muddle of information we are being bombarded with in a modern world, exactly what should we be most vigilant of? In a nutshell, I am convinced that our greatest need is concise and easy to understand knowledge of just what constitutes freedom. We cannot protect what we do not understand, and because our society has not been vigilant in preserving the concepts which undergird our Constitution, we are on the verge of losing our way in a fog of conflicting ideals.

If we want to remain free, we must learn and teach our children to understand and articulate the basic principles which gave this country freedom, and recognize what is threatening that freedom. Invest a little time to read this, and share it with your loved ones, perhaps in a family night setting. You will be amazed at how well they will be able to filter future information after recognizing these basic truths.

This is the Introduction to, and Part One of a six-part series called Dialogue of Freedom. The six parts are:

1. The political climate that gave birth to the Declaration of Independence and Constitution
2. What is secularism and how has it become our new state religion
3. How secularism leads to socialism
4. What are the basic principles of freedom that inspired our Constitution
5. A few examples of the nuts and bolts of socialism that have found a ready home with many Americans
6. A few statements by prominent religious and conservative leaders regarding secularism

1. The Political Climate of our Founding Fathers

Bird song, the creak of saddle leather, and the soft background sound of farm animals was the accompaniment to the dialogue of freedom that began with our forefathers.

No one in the civilized world gave the American Colonies a chance of gaining their freedom against the tyrannical world power who held us in their tight fist. Even the humble farmers, merchants, and others who made up the Colonies, did not think in terms of separating from England at first. Yet, the colonists felt the excitement of ideas spreading to every corner of their new land.

The Americans were surprisingly well-educated, even those living in rough circumstances. Pamphlets passed from hand to hand and old ideas rediscovered by wise men became new again. What are the rights of man? From where do those rights come? From what source stems the power to govern? Housewife and merchant sailor spread this dialogue until the oppression they were living under became unendurable. They came to reason out and understand how the Creator meant for mankind to live together in a climate of mutual respect, equality, and opportunity for personal growth.

This dialogue of freedom is how a group of very loosely connected states who mistrusted each other and were jealous over their own territories found a way to defeat the greatest power on earth. How did they get past the many hot issues of disagreement to discover ties that would bind a fledgling nation?

The answer is the same one that can now save the Constitution those forefathers gave to us. All across the spectrum of society, people educated themselves on principles of freedom. Now here is the important part; they actually had the courage to come out in the open and discuss these ideas and measure them against their circumstances. And finally, they learned to sift what was essential, thus the Colonies found common ground.

So here is the answer for each one of us who fear we do not have the time or the ability to help save our Constitution: learn the basic principles behind the Constitution, and have the courage to discuss those ideas with family, co-workers, friends and neighbors. Strangely enough, there has been a prevailing attitude for some time that it is not polite to discuss politics in a casual public setting. This is absolutely opposite to what happened to create our freedoms in the first place. We must change that taboo for it fights Jefferson’s directive of “eternal vigilance”. Look for opportunities to advance the ideas you learn. This will create a climate that will bring change and make it easier to detect the actions that work against freedom. Most specifically, once we learn, we can teach our children these principles and how to recognize the threat of socialistic ideals that are being embedded into many areas of society.

Without this self education by our forefathers, there would not have been public support to demand rights from the English monarchy. Can we do less and expect to hold to our God-given rights?

In addition to discussing Constitutional points, here is a suggestion for dialogue with friends and family regarding your vote in November. This, of course, would be only for those who do not wish to cast their vote for John McCain. Here is a story many have heard but maybe not in this context:

A little boy was walking down a path and he came across a rattlesnake. The rattlesnake was getting old.

He asked, “Please little boy, can you take me to the top of the mountain? I hope to see the sunset one last time before I die.”

The little boy answered “No Mr. Rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you’ll bite me and I’ll die.”

The rattlesnake said, “No, I promise. I won’t bite you. Just please take me up to the mountain.”

The little boy thought about it and finally picked up that rattlesnake and took it close to his chest and carried it up to the top of the mountain. They sat there and watched the sunset together. It was so beautiful.

Then after sunset the rattlesnake turned to the little boy and asked, “Can I go home now? I am tired, and I am old.”

The little boy picked up the rattlesnake and again took it to his chest and held it tightly and safely. He came all the way down the mountain holding the snake carefully and took it to his home to give him some food and a place to sleep.

The next day the rattlesnake turned to the boy and asked, “Please little boy, will you take me back to my home now? It is time for me to leave this world, and I would like to be at my home now.”

The little boy felt he had been safe all this time and the snake had kept his word, so he would take it home as asked. He carefully picked up the snake, took it close to his chest, and carried him back to the woods, to his home to die. Just before he laid the rattlesnake down, the rattlesnake turned and bit him in the chest. The little boy cried out and threw the snake upon the ground.

“Mr. Snake, why did you do that? Now I will surely die!”

The rattlesnake looked up at him and grinned, “You knew what I was when you picked me up.”

I personally cannot vote for John McCain. I have studied his actions of the past and do not believe his words of the present. I feel that he is a political “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who would sell conservatism out. Many would undoubtedly be shocked to see this happen but I can almost hear him saying to those who compromised their positions and voted for him: You knew what I was when you picked me up.

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