The Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln said:
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
...tough act to follow, so I will make my statement quick. Absorb Lincoln's words.
Have the dead he spoke of died in vain? No longer do we live in a government 'of the people, by the people, for the people.' It is my belief that we live in a government that is 'of the government, by the government, for the government.' Or, an even worse, and increasingly true statement may be: 'of the people, by the people, for the government.'
Stand up. Reject passivity. Do not let their deaths be in vain.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Age of Lawlessness
In 1644, Samuel Rutherford published a work entitled LEX REX, which translates as The Law is King. He lived under a system of government that was instead REX LEX. The king was law. He ruled according to his own desires and whims. The king was above the law. The law of the king applied only to the people that were subject to him.
The founding fathers of the United States of America believed, practiced, and designed a government built upon LEX REX. Under the United States constitution, all men are to be equal under the law. The constitution provided a standard of justice under which all men were required to perform.
In America, we have returned to REX LEX. The rule of law is no longer functioning as the standard of justice. The American people are subject to the power, whims, and prejudices of the ruling class.
The recent passage of the health care initiative provides just another example of men ruling and the rule law being made impotent. The opinions of men are used to define what is good or what is bad, what is right or what is wrong, the way we should go or the way we should not. The constitution is no longer consulted for even the simplest of tasks, such as qualification to hold office.
We are under the rule of men.
In the midst of indescribable frustration, what are we as Americans to do? Over 60% of Americans responding to an MSNBC poll describe themselves as angry at the Congressional vote on health care. The air waves are ablaze with heated debate.
I believe that until we know what we ought to do, we should do nothing. What is it that has gone awry? What is it that needs to be fixed? Can it be fixed? If so, how do we fix it?
To be sure, we must avoid the rash reactions of lawless men. Lawlessness cannot be turned back by lawlessness. Angry reactionaries only confuse and obscure the significant issues that are on the table.
Our fathers fought for freedom under a system of law. Their entire effort was to restore order to a society that was being destroyed by a lawless king. They worked against lawless vigilantes as well as working against a lawless king.
Our culture is crying out for men of wisdom, of justice, of law. Unless such men show up, and are heeded, these states will be launched into a season of chaos followed by despotism. The rule of law is our only hope.
The founding fathers of the United States of America believed, practiced, and designed a government built upon LEX REX. Under the United States constitution, all men are to be equal under the law. The constitution provided a standard of justice under which all men were required to perform.
In America, we have returned to REX LEX. The rule of law is no longer functioning as the standard of justice. The American people are subject to the power, whims, and prejudices of the ruling class.
The recent passage of the health care initiative provides just another example of men ruling and the rule law being made impotent. The opinions of men are used to define what is good or what is bad, what is right or what is wrong, the way we should go or the way we should not. The constitution is no longer consulted for even the simplest of tasks, such as qualification to hold office.
We are under the rule of men.
In the midst of indescribable frustration, what are we as Americans to do? Over 60% of Americans responding to an MSNBC poll describe themselves as angry at the Congressional vote on health care. The air waves are ablaze with heated debate.
I believe that until we know what we ought to do, we should do nothing. What is it that has gone awry? What is it that needs to be fixed? Can it be fixed? If so, how do we fix it?
To be sure, we must avoid the rash reactions of lawless men. Lawlessness cannot be turned back by lawlessness. Angry reactionaries only confuse and obscure the significant issues that are on the table.
Our fathers fought for freedom under a system of law. Their entire effort was to restore order to a society that was being destroyed by a lawless king. They worked against lawless vigilantes as well as working against a lawless king.
Our culture is crying out for men of wisdom, of justice, of law. Unless such men show up, and are heeded, these states will be launched into a season of chaos followed by despotism. The rule of law is our only hope.
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