Whatever Happened To Decency?

That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. I Corinthians 12:25,26

In a recent interview for Vox World, Republican Party operative and Forbes editor Avik Roy remarked: “I think the conservative movement is fundamentally broken, Trump is not a random act. This election is not a random act.”

The interview explains the shift in political perception regarding the civil rights movement in America. The exodus of Blacks from the GOP was a reaction to Republican presidential nominee Barry Goldwater’s “Principled stance against the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Goldwater himself was not a racist; he believed it was wrong for government to force private businesses to desegregate.

The article continues: “But this ‘principled’ stance identified the GOP with the pro-segregation camp in everyone’s eyes, while the Democrats under Lyndon Johnson became the champions of anti-racism.

This had a double effect, Roy says. First, it forced black voters out of the GOP. Second, it invited in white racists who had previously been Democrats. Even though many Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Act in Congress, the post-Goldwater party became the party of aggrieved whites.”

“The fact is, today, the Republican coalition has inherited the people who opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — the Southern Democrats who are now Republicans,” Roy says. “Conservatives and Republicans have not come to terms with that problem.”

Where the stance Goldwater took may have been principled and strict Americanism from a Libertarian perspective, it was ultimately wrong—just as such stances on states rights regarding slavery were wrong, wrong morally and an affront to natural law. Principles are great, when they agree with human decency and common sense. “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it”

It is not all right to advocate for individual rights which systemically harm or restrict others in their personal pursuit of happiness. A modern day example would be the Democrat Party and liberal’s in general slavish devotion to a woman’s right to murder her child in the womb, an act that robs the aggrieved individual the most fundamental right of all—Life!

There are some today who would attempt to draw a moral equivalency to LGBT patrons being denied services—on the surface this may seem a fair argument. For those of us with a mature outlook on reality, the argument falls apart as LGBT is an operation of choice, while a person does not choose their race, or the circumstances of their birth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Ephesians 4:29

I have struggled living up to that verse myself during this election cycle God forgive me! I am personally frustrated by the shear madness of the choices presented our nation for the next President. The party I have aligned myself with is chock full of wonderful people of all races, but it can no longer be denied. Trump’s ascendancy is directly attributed to the racists who joined the GOP because they mistook the party’s adherence to individual liberty to be a tacit approval of racism.

We did it to ourselves, the racists and the dull witted in the GOP are quick to argue against conservatives who suggest reaching out to minority groups. Stating callous rhetoric to bolster their position. “Why don’t they just get it?” Why should we reach out to Blacks, or fill in the blank group when all they do is reject us?”

The answer is simple; you do it to help others, which has the further effect of eventually helping yourself. You do it because it is the right thing to do! You do it because we are losing our country to the very bad ideas the unopposed liberals vying for and winning those votes champion!

The two factors most responsible for our choice this election cycle are hate and immorality. Trump tapped into the vein of hate infecting the Republican Party, not the majority to be sure, but more than enough to override the decent folk whose votes where split amongst the sensible and good Republican candidates. Just enough hate filled Republican voters to give a plurality great enough to give us Trump and a more lasting impression of ignorance and bigotry with the rest of the thinking world.

Hillary Clinton supporters are those whose conscience has been seared to the point they are completely incapable of moral thinking. The intrinsic wickedness she has displayed for decades is not even recognized as such. The Democrat party has tapped into grievance and personal identity, whether it be race, or LGBT and raised it to a religion so powerful it’s adherents have completely forgotten the Providence and tenets undergirding and guarding our nations prosperity from it’s founding.

Even if Trump were by a miracle to win the presidency, the very idea of decency will have been struck a blow so great this nation may never recover from it. Christians, supporting either candidate have completely lost sight of the tenets of God. Opting instead to join the world in this celebration, no this orgy of unscrupulousness.

Forgetting the Word of God that warns us you do not do evil that good may come of it, you cannot expect to overturn the corruption of Hillary Clinton with what you believe to be, the lesser corruption of Donald Trump! A house divided against itself cannot stand; Satan cannot and will not cast out Satan. Even when you think your Satan is less Satany than the other party’s.

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Colossians 3:12
Digital Publius

Rigged?

This ante meridiem, the nation wakes to such headlines as: “You Broke My Heart” documenting those who so stridently felt the “Bern” expressing their feeling burned by Senator Bernie Sanders’ tacit endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s run for President. Mr. Sanders states: “Hillary Clinton understands that we must fix an economy in America that is rigged and that sends almost all new wealth and income to the top one percent.”

All “New wealth and income?” who is creating the wealth and income Mr. Sanders? Is it the people you say you represent? On their own, the workers simply work, they don’t create wealth, and they benefit from the wealth created by the fertile minds savvy enough to risk what they have to bring about their ideas. The workers, through the fair and freely entered exchange of their energy for wages get what they earn.

No one is trapped in such an arrangement in America. Any person is free to pursue his own ideas, or to make herself more marketable by acquiring new skills, facilitating higher wages. There is nothing in the rigging of our economy beyond the ropes and pulleys everyone has access to and necessary for use in raising one’s self in our society.

If anything was rigged, it was this election cycle, on the left and right! Bernie Sanders? Really? As much as the collective brainpower and common sense of the American youth has atrophied, there still aren’t enough dummies to think America would elect a socialist, democratic or otherwise to run the most powerful economy in human history.

If you think the democrat “Primaries,” has been anything other than an anointing ceremony for Mrs. Clinton… I don’t have the words to express your naïveté, or just plain pig-ignorance. Sanders was handpicked by the powers that be to run against Hillary so there would be no serious competition for her to overcome.

The fact so many people seemed oblivious to the contemporary nations suffering under the yoke of socialism and the loathsome history of the terribly destructive ideology would actually support Sanders was an unforeseen wrinkle. Consider modern day socialism notably contributing to the influx of Latin American refugees fleeing nations operating under the very ideas Sanders and to a slightly lesser extent Clinton champion as they pour unabated across our boarders.

No one with a brain ever conceived Bernie Sanders being a serious candidate for President in a nation, which spent the better portion of the twentieth century, fighting tooth and nail against socialism/communism. You Bernie supporters are not just woefully ignorant you were jobbed! How else to explain a democrat field so inexplicably unpolluted by democrat candidates? That my friends, is rigging.

Lest you think this critique too partisan, the rigging by no means stopped in ships sailed solely by leftists—the same builders strung the lines on the right’s political vessels this cycle. Donald Trump is no less a joke in opposition to Hillary Clinton. He too in my humble opinion was meant to make the way easier for the Clinton’s to be paid off for their globalist work.

No person was more tailor-made to distract and blunt the required contrast in policy needed to vanquish the left this cycle. Trump was the perfect shill designed to play to the most base thinking ruling the ignorant portion of the right wing. Trump’s shrill caterwauling, lying and indifference to decency was just the thing to make enough noise to drown out the real issues, policies and solutions offered by true conservatives.

Coupled with the never ending news coverage train wrecks, metaphorically speaking of course inevitably garner and the constant chorus of "Real conservatives can’t win"—we end up with the one democrat in the republican field winning the republican primary. Trump was the one man perfect for Hillary to walk all over in her march towards the White House. That my friend’s is rigging.

One can’t help but notice the two candidates left and right, recruited by whomever, for who knows what rewards to make it easy for the Clinton’s, are both enamored with speciously using the word “Rigged throughout their demagogic rants.” Mostly to describe systems they either don’t understand, or have actually worked quite well since our nation’s inception.

The easily manipulated, left and right are blind to the common handwriting marking a singular author, or group for both the Sanders and Trump campaigns—Both sides assure you they will protect the Supreme Court with the sort of judges who will do the sort of things both groups of lemmings want to hear. The ending of the story was inevitable, more of the same, in ever increasing portions as we as a nation are herded.  Rigged?

Ephesians 5:
⁶ Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

⁷ Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

⁸ For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

⁹ (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

¹⁰ Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

¹¹ And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

¹² For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

¹³ But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

¹⁴ Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

¹⁵ See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

¹⁶ Redeeming the time, because the days are evil

Digital Publius

Liberty Ain't Free!

A year ago today I posted on Facebook: "If the state you live in maintains your right to self defense and you are considering a CPL (Concealed Pistol License), allow me to encourage you to do so! That class ain't gonna take itself! Remember, it's not about fear, it's about preparation and personal responsibility. Protect yourself and the ones you love!"

On the day after we celebrate our nation's liberation from the tyranny of unjust rulers, I reflect on the turmoil being spread across the globe by various dark forces and I thank God for the wisdom of our founders. Where the United States of America is not untouched by the havoc wreaked by chaotic forces and Islam run amok, we do maintain our freedom to be armed for personal protection.

Sadly, many, blinded by relative security in their personal lives, do not see the wisdom, the reasons we should guard the "Unalienable" right to bear arms jealously. With every act of chaos, without regard to motivation, they call for less access to firearms, not for the criminals who disregard laws, but rather the law abiding.

Many are comfortable with abdicating personal responsibility when it comes to the security of themselves and their loved ones, I am not. Unfortunately this comfort level by some is driven by propaganda and a poor understanding of the very concept of the words, "Shall not be infringed."

The 2nd Amendment was not added to our Constitution to secure your ability to hunt, (hunting was a forgone conclusion) or for the sole purpose of raising militias, or limited to the types of arms available at that time, as if the framers could not imagine greater weapons invented in the future, (It ain't muskets v AR15s). The 2nd Amendment does not grant the right to bear arms, it affirms the right of protection, of self preservation granted by Almighty God! It is natural law!

A cursory glance at history grants access to those given to reason, example after example of tyrannical power riding on the backs of legislation aimed at disarming the people marked for victimization. Tyranny whether exercised by a political potentate, or maniac empowered by the knowledge of a freehand in so-called gun free zones, is only stopped when it meets an armed countervailing force.

"Then said he unto them, But now, he that has a purse, let him take it, and likewise his bag: and he that has no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." Luke 22:36


With that said, I offer a hunk of quotes preserved from the minds of the very Founders aforementioned, these quotes play hob with the notions peddled by the anti-gun rights advocates seeking to reinterpret the 2nd Amendment. Self defense is not only lawful, it is common sense.

"A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined..."
- George Washington, First Annual Address, to both House of Congress, January 8, 1790

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, Virginia Constitution, Draft 1, 1776

"I prefer dangerous freedom over peaceful slavery."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, January 30, 1787

"What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance. Let them take arms."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to James Madison, December 20, 1787

"The laws that forbid the carrying of arms are laws of such a nature. They disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."
- Thomas Jefferson, Commonplace Book (quoting 18th century criminologist Cesare Beccaria), 1774-1776

"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 19, 1785

"The Constitution of most of our states (and of the United States) assert that all power is inherent in the people; that they may exercise it by themselves; that it is their right and duty to be at all times armed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to to John Cartwright, 5 June 1824

"On every occasion [of Constitutional interpretation] let us carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying [to force] what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, [instead let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Johnson, 12 June 1823

"I enclose you a list of the killed, wounded, and captives of the enemy from the commencement of hostilities at Lexington in April, 1775, until November, 1777, since which there has been no event of any consequence ... I think that upon the whole it has been about one half the number lost by them, in some instances more, but in others less. This difference is ascribed to our superiority in taking aim when we fire; every soldier in our army having been intimate with his gun from his infancy."
- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Giovanni Fabbroni, June 8, 1778

“They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759

"To disarm the people...[i]s the most effectual way to enslave them."
- George Mason, referencing advice given to the British Parliament by Pennsylvania governor Sir William Keith, The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adooption of the Federal Constitution, June 14, 1788

"I ask who are the militia? They consist now of the whole people, except a few public officers."
- George Mason, Address to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 4, 1788

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed, as they are in almost every country in Europe. The supreme power in America cannot enforce unjust laws by the sword; because the whole body of the people are armed, and constitute a force superior to any band of regular troops."
- Noah Webster, An Examination of the Leading Principles of the Federal Constitution, October 10, 1787

"Besides the advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation, the existence of subordinate governments, to which the people are attached, and by which the militia officers are appointed, forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

"The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A well regulated militia, composed of the body of the people, trained to arms, is the best and most natural defense of a free country."
- James Madison, I Annals of Congress 434, June 8, 1789

"...the ultimate authority, wherever the derivative may be found, resides in the people alone..."
- James Madison, Federalist No. 46, January 29, 1788

"Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves."
- William Pitt (the Younger), Speech in the House of Commons, November 18, 1783

“A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves…and include, according to the past and general usuage of the states, all men capable of bearing arms…  "To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
- Richard Henry Lee, Federal Farmer No. 18, January 25, 1788

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are ruined.... The great object is that every man be armed. Everyone who is able might have a gun."
- Patrick Henry, Speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778

"This may be considered as the true palladium of liberty.... The right of self defense is the first law of nature: in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest limits possible. Wherever standing armies are kept up, and the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction."
- St. George Tucker, Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England, 1803

"The supposed quietude of a good man allures the ruffian; while on the other hand, arms, like law, discourage and keep the invader and the plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property. The balance of power is the scale of peace. The same balance would be preserved were all the world destitute of arms, for all would be alike; but since some will not, others dare not lay them aside. And while a single nation refuses to lay them down, it is proper that all should keep them up. Horrid mischief would ensue were one-half the world deprived of the use of them; for while avarice and ambition have a place in the heart of man, the weak will become a prey to the strong. The history of every age and nation establishes these truths, and facts need but little arguments when they prove themselves."
- Thomas Paine, "Thoughts on Defensive War" in Pennsylvania Magazine, July 1775

"The Constitution shall never be construed to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms."
- Samuel Adams, Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, 1788

"The right of the citizens to keep and bear arms has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of a republic; since it offers a strong moral check against the usurpation and arbitrary power of rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them."
- Joseph Story, Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States, 1833

"What, Sir, is the use of a militia? It is to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty .... Whenever Governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins."
- Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, I Annals of Congress 750, August 17, 1789

"For it is a truth, which the experience of ages has attested, that the people are always most in danger when the means of injuring their rights are in the possession of those of whom they entertain the least suspicion."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 25, December 21, 1787 

"If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no resource left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government, and which against the usurpations of the national rulers, may be exerted with infinitely better prospect of success than against those of the rulers of an individual state. In a single state, if the persons intrusted with supreme power become usurpers, the different parcels, subdivisions, or districts of which it consists, having no distinct government in each, can take no regular measures for defense. The citizens must rush tumultuously to arms, without concert, without system, without resource; except in their courage and despair."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28

"[I]f circumstances should at any time oblige the government to form an army of any magnitude that army can never be formidable to the liberties of the people while there is a large body of citizens, little, if at all, inferior to them in discipline and the use of arms, who stand ready to defend their own rights and those of their fellow-citizens. This appears to me the only substitute that can be devised for a standing army, and the best possible security against it, if it should exist."
- Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 28, January 10, 1788

"As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms."
- Tench Coxe, Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789Digital Publius