NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC.
"The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt
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NASSAU COUNTY CIVIC ASSOCIATION, INC. "The government is us, we are the government, you and I." Teddy Roosevelt |
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July 23, 2007
The Doctrine of Liberty
Our responsibility to defend freedom
Our nation was founded on the doctrine of liberty. This doctrine was handed down by our Creator who shed his blood for our salvation. While salvation is free to all who seek it, our liberty must be defended from all of those who seek to take it. For more then 200 years, the sons of America have given their blood to protect our liberty and hence our freedom.
The struggle for freedom never ends. The arena may be a battlefield or it may be in the realm of politics. While it is easy to understand the need for victory on the battlefield, politics are now viewed in shades of gray defining victory as one’s opinion rather then what is morally right. Those who compromise our liberty for the sake of position, power or money define cowardice. It can arguably be stated that the most dangerous time in America is when a legislature convenes.
"The history of liberty is the history of the limitation of governmental power, not the increase of it. When we resist . . . concentration of power we are resisting the powers of death, because concentration of power is what always precedes the destruction of human liberties. " Woodrow Wilson
When our government goes astray and disregards the will of the people, one has to look no further then the people for whom government serves. The governed have the ultimate control of their destiny. The people will only have accountability when they demand it. This can only be accomplished by an informed electorate.
In the battle for our shared values, together we must enter into the arena and advocate for the very ideas which are the foundation of our liberty. These ideas are based on the principles of open, honest and moral government. Common sense dictates that when government has no morality, it can never be open and honest. We must therefore have the courage to act.
“To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.” Abraham Lincoln
We must not stand before legislative bodies simply as critics but rather optimists who believe in and trust the people. There are simple answers for the issues of today. Only in the world of politics is every issue one of complexity. Do you need a PhD to understand your taxes are too high or that we can no longer afford the current size of government? Is it too difficult to understand that public policy should promote and defend marriage for the common good of society and our children?
“If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness.” Teddy Roosevelt
Without liberty there is no freedom. It can only be defended by leadership and maintained by vigilance. The doctrine of liberty has proven that an idea will change the world as long as we have the freedom to share it and the desire to fight for what is morally right.
"Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation, are people who want crops without ploughing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one, or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will." Fredrick Douglass