Sam Weaver
Tolerance and intolerance in America
By Sam Weaver
The very idea and substance of human liberty disintegrates whenever any relatively small group of human beings is afforded the power and authority to establish and define the rules — the rights, duties and responsibilities of a society's citizens. Before the United States of America was founded, society's rules were largely based upon either the dogmas and doctrines of an establishment of religion or upon the wiles and whims of kings, emperors and aristocrats. Dogmas, doctrines, wiles and whims emanating from the hearts and minds of powerful and influential men, imposed upon the citizenry, is the adverse and the bane of liberty. Human will, imposed upon a people via brute force, via fiat or even via propaganda, is the total absence of liberty. A free society can only remain free when the people come together and generally agree on a broad set of principles by which they ought to be governed, eagerly defend that set of principles, and pass it on to their posterity.
The most fundamental tenet, or principle, of American liberty is not just that certain basic human rights are unalienable; but that these unalienable human rights come from a Source much higher than man or any government. Otherwise, how could these rights be unalienable? That Source is the Creator of man, and the Author of all moral, ethical, fiscal and physical law. The role of legitimate government is not to establish, enhance or arbitrarily take away human rights. Rather, the role of government is to protect and secure the God-given rights of its citizens against enemies — both foreign and domestic — who would seek to rob its citizens of those fundamental rights. Under America's federalist system, generally speaking, the federal government was tasked with protecting us against foreign foes and the state and local governments protected us against domestic enemies (namely criminals).
The rule of law cannot be based upon the "good intentions," or upon the doctrines and dogmas of men. Otherwise, the rule of law degenerates into the rule of man; and liberty deteriorates into tyranny.
After the Preamble, the very first clause of the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." "All legislative Powers..." Government by and with the consent of the governed. Congress is accountable directly to the people. Put two and two together and you arrive at an obvious fact: This clause was to guarantee that a moral, educated and informed electorate would have the power and the ability to uphold the rule of law and to crush the rule of man.
At the time of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the people of the United States generally — albeit not unanimously — agreed on a broad set of principles drawn from Judeo-Christian faith and tradition that would come to define the way the United States of America would be governed. Besides the most basic of these principles, mentioned in the Declaration of Independence and above, other examples include the following:
The fallen nature of man as the result of original sin: Thus, the separation of powers among three branches of government, the system of checks and balances among the three branches and limited government with enumerated powers.
The free will of man: Hence, government by and with the consent of the governed, federalism and, again, limited government with enumerated powers.
The Father of Our Country (America's first and greatest president, George Washington), said in his Farewell Address, "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports." [Please click the above hyperlink and read paragraphs 27-29 of that address to the people of the United States. For similar statements by other Founders and influential Americans through the ages, please click here. After some 22 years of research (three years of very intense study) on America's founding, I am absolutely convinced that America's forms of government, laws and culture were all solidly erected upon precepts and principles that can only be found in the Holy Bible. By the way, in George Washington's day, it was all but universally understood that when the phrase "Religion & Morality" was used, the word "religion" referred to the duties one owes to God (as outlined in the first four commandments of the Decalogue) and the word "morality" concerned the duties one owes to fellow man (as framed in the last six commandments).
The late Barry Goldwater did and said a lot of wonderful things for the United States of America. However, he did the world a terrible disservice when he famously coined the phrase, "You can't legislate morality." What is legislation — what is law — if it is not the legal codification of things that a citizen — any citizen — can or cannot do to or on behalf of another citizen? Fundamentally, all law is the legislation of morality! Do we want the morality of a handful of high and mighty men and women in black robes who are not accountable to the people to codify our rules and standards of conduct? Pointy-headed Ivy-league intellectuals? Pencil-pushing bureaucrats? Or do we presume, as our predecessors did some 219 years ago, a much Higher Authority — a Creator and Author of Law? In the balance of those questions hangs the difference between absolute tyranny and unabridged liberty.
Is the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible a tyrant? Like Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, does he delight in the torture and murder of those He deems "unworthy," or who violate His law? Many of my readers think so. Needless to say, those readers do not know Him at all. The God of the Bible is the Embodiment of Love. He is absolutely good, just and righteous. He established His law for the protection, edification and fulfillment of man — the pinnacle of His Creation. Was your dad a tyrant when he firmly told you "Look both ways before you cross the street," and then punished you when you endangered your life by disregarding his mandate?
Sin is the transgression (violation) of God's law. All sin results in negative, sometimes dire, consequences. In a just, free, healthy and prosperous society, sinful behavior must be discouraged — even stigmatized — by the populace if for no other reason than to guard the people against these negative consequences. Love the sinner, but hate the sin.
These were all nearly universal principles and ideas held by great majorities of the American electorate for more than 175 years after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Many of my beloved readers who have succumbed to the relativistic indoctrination of public schools, the propaganda of "mainstream" media and popular culture, and their own desire to pursue either their own "truth" apart from the Creator and Author of Law or their own carnal lusts, vehemently deny that these principles were once held as Truth by vast numbers of the American people. Through my studies of America's Founders and early American history, I am absolutely convinced that the unity of the United States of America was firmly rooted in a general adherence to these principles and ideas. Our national motto reflects the truth of this: E pluribus unum — "Out of many, one." Diverse peoples united under one set of principles and ideas. Near absolute individual freedom as long as the individual is responsible to the Laws of Nature and Nature's God and is held accountable for any violation of the law. These are the things that built America and made her great.
There are two things that any civilized society must not tolerate:
Intolerance (i.e., sexism, racism and homophobia) is a common charge leveled by liberals against conservatives. Of what, besides crime, are conservatives intolerant? Conservatives are intolerant of subversive, Marxist ideology that is shredding the social, moral and fiscal fabric of this great nation. Conservatives want no part of elitist, oligarchic (despotic) government, socialism or relativist doctrine — all of which are antitheses of the American Ideal; and all of which have proven utter failures, drastically inferior to the American Ideal. Liberals who obstinately cling to this failed ideology (the secular/progressive worldview) are only fooling themselves.
Conservatives are intolerant of the goals and actions of America's enemies who want to kill her people and destroy her institutions. Conservatives are intolerant of sinful, destructive lifestyles that not only ruin individual lives; but if tolerated by large numbers of the people, will surely destroy the entire nation.
And what of liberal intolerance? Liberals have been waging war against American culture for about 90 years now. Since the 1960's, when secular/progressive power and dominance in most of America's cultural institutions became secure, liberal intolerance has been blatant and shameless. Liberals, by and large, are intolerant of Truth. They have been stalwart in their intolerance of Christianity, and those (conservatives) who wish to retain Biblical principles as the foundation of American culture. They have ravaged American public education with their progressive, revisionist approach, and are intolerant of anyone who wants to correct the problem through vouchers, charter schools or by any other means. Liberals, for the most part, are intolerant of talk radio, and seek to destroy it by way of a restored "Fairness Doctrine." Elitist liberals are firm in their advocacy of the welfare state and are intolerant of those who want to end it.
In each of these cases, to name just a few, it is plain to see that liberals are intolerant of those who threaten their base of power and control. Contrast this with conservative intolerance which is directed against those things that threaten American society and American culture. Who are the real bigots; conservatives who stand firm on the principles that made America the greatest nation in world history, or liberals who cling blindly but devotedly to failed or unproven philosophy and theory?
Conservatives are branded "racist," or at best, "cold-hearted," "cruel," "uncaring" or "pitiless," because they oppose federal government programs designed to help the poor and minorities. The very assumption that the poor and minorities need federal assistance is racist, or at best, displays insolence; and it is insulting to the poor and minority citizens of this nation. Liberals imply that these citizens are weak and incompetent; unable to improve their own standard of living.
What's more, conservatives know, and history attests to the fact that federal assistance removes any incentive for individuals and families who receive it to improve their standard of living and in many cases, mires them in dependence indefinitely, making them, in essence, slaves — members of a permanently dependent underclass beholden to those who keep them permanently dependent. Liberals have purchased the dependence of thousands of American citizens with taxpayer dollars for the purpose of erecting and maintaining their own power base.
Now liberals are looking covetously at some 11 or 12 million potential members of an emerging dependent underclass of "legalized" illegal aliens. They are using the same old tried and true tactic to gain this power and control — emotion-based rhetoric, demagoguery and charges of racism against conservatives who only want the rule of law upheld, the borders and the national security of the homeland ensured and America's sovereignty respected.
Conservatives have faith in the American people regardless of race or social class — faith in the drive and the resiliency of a free people to overcome adversity and to actively pursue and attain happiness for themselves and their families. This is the American Dream. Liberals, with their confiscatory tax policies, Keynesian economic policies, prohibitive regulation on industries (making jobs harder to come by) and doom-and-gloom attitudes, have put the American Dream out of reach for many Americans; or, at least, have convinced them that the American Dream is unattainable.
Religious conservatives are intolerant of homosexuality and abortion. Judging from election results whenever homosexual "marriage" has been placed on the ballot, and from myriad recent polls on the subject of abortion, a majority of all Americans are intolerant of homosexuality and disapprove of abortion at least as a "convenient" form of birth control. Is this intolerance a result of hate? Absolutely not! It is the result of conscience, common sense, and evidence seen with one's own eyes. Homosexuality is a destructive "lifestyle choice" and abortion is the murder of a totally innocent human being. I have personally witnessed some of the negative consequences of both. Intolerance to sin and sinful behavior is guided by love — not hate!
Conservatives cherish liberty — individual freedom with responsibility to the laws of Nature and of Nature's God. Liberals seek license — freedom with little or no responsibility, except perhaps to the ever-evolving mores of a secular state. America was built on liberty, not on license. Liberty made America great; license breeds anarchy.
Conservatives want to shine the brilliant light of Truth on an America and a world shrouded in the darkness of confusion and evil. Liberals, frantic to retain their bases of power, want to stymie the conservatives. Who are the true bigots?
© Sam Weaver
The very idea and substance of human liberty disintegrates whenever any relatively small group of human beings is afforded the power and authority to establish and define the rules — the rights, duties and responsibilities of a society's citizens. Before the United States of America was founded, society's rules were largely based upon either the dogmas and doctrines of an establishment of religion or upon the wiles and whims of kings, emperors and aristocrats. Dogmas, doctrines, wiles and whims emanating from the hearts and minds of powerful and influential men, imposed upon the citizenry, is the adverse and the bane of liberty. Human will, imposed upon a people via brute force, via fiat or even via propaganda, is the total absence of liberty. A free society can only remain free when the people come together and generally agree on a broad set of principles by which they ought to be governed, eagerly defend that set of principles, and pass it on to their posterity.
The most fundamental tenet, or principle, of American liberty is not just that certain basic human rights are unalienable; but that these unalienable human rights come from a Source much higher than man or any government. Otherwise, how could these rights be unalienable? That Source is the Creator of man, and the Author of all moral, ethical, fiscal and physical law. The role of legitimate government is not to establish, enhance or arbitrarily take away human rights. Rather, the role of government is to protect and secure the God-given rights of its citizens against enemies — both foreign and domestic — who would seek to rob its citizens of those fundamental rights. Under America's federalist system, generally speaking, the federal government was tasked with protecting us against foreign foes and the state and local governments protected us against domestic enemies (namely criminals).
The rule of law cannot be based upon the "good intentions," or upon the doctrines and dogmas of men. Otherwise, the rule of law degenerates into the rule of man; and liberty deteriorates into tyranny.
After the Preamble, the very first clause of the U.S. Constitution reads as follows: "All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives." "All legislative Powers..." Government by and with the consent of the governed. Congress is accountable directly to the people. Put two and two together and you arrive at an obvious fact: This clause was to guarantee that a moral, educated and informed electorate would have the power and the ability to uphold the rule of law and to crush the rule of man.
At the time of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the people of the United States generally — albeit not unanimously — agreed on a broad set of principles drawn from Judeo-Christian faith and tradition that would come to define the way the United States of America would be governed. Besides the most basic of these principles, mentioned in the Declaration of Independence and above, other examples include the following:
The fallen nature of man as the result of original sin: Thus, the separation of powers among three branches of government, the system of checks and balances among the three branches and limited government with enumerated powers.
The free will of man: Hence, government by and with the consent of the governed, federalism and, again, limited government with enumerated powers.
The Father of Our Country (America's first and greatest president, George Washington), said in his Farewell Address, "Of all the dispositions and habits, which lead to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports." [Please click the above hyperlink and read paragraphs 27-29 of that address to the people of the United States. For similar statements by other Founders and influential Americans through the ages, please click here. After some 22 years of research (three years of very intense study) on America's founding, I am absolutely convinced that America's forms of government, laws and culture were all solidly erected upon precepts and principles that can only be found in the Holy Bible. By the way, in George Washington's day, it was all but universally understood that when the phrase "Religion & Morality" was used, the word "religion" referred to the duties one owes to God (as outlined in the first four commandments of the Decalogue) and the word "morality" concerned the duties one owes to fellow man (as framed in the last six commandments).
The late Barry Goldwater did and said a lot of wonderful things for the United States of America. However, he did the world a terrible disservice when he famously coined the phrase, "You can't legislate morality." What is legislation — what is law — if it is not the legal codification of things that a citizen — any citizen — can or cannot do to or on behalf of another citizen? Fundamentally, all law is the legislation of morality! Do we want the morality of a handful of high and mighty men and women in black robes who are not accountable to the people to codify our rules and standards of conduct? Pointy-headed Ivy-league intellectuals? Pencil-pushing bureaucrats? Or do we presume, as our predecessors did some 219 years ago, a much Higher Authority — a Creator and Author of Law? In the balance of those questions hangs the difference between absolute tyranny and unabridged liberty.
Is the God of the Judeo-Christian Bible a tyrant? Like Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, does he delight in the torture and murder of those He deems "unworthy," or who violate His law? Many of my readers think so. Needless to say, those readers do not know Him at all. The God of the Bible is the Embodiment of Love. He is absolutely good, just and righteous. He established His law for the protection, edification and fulfillment of man — the pinnacle of His Creation. Was your dad a tyrant when he firmly told you "Look both ways before you cross the street," and then punished you when you endangered your life by disregarding his mandate?
Sin is the transgression (violation) of God's law. All sin results in negative, sometimes dire, consequences. In a just, free, healthy and prosperous society, sinful behavior must be discouraged — even stigmatized — by the populace if for no other reason than to guard the people against these negative consequences. Love the sinner, but hate the sin.
These were all nearly universal principles and ideas held by great majorities of the American electorate for more than 175 years after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Many of my beloved readers who have succumbed to the relativistic indoctrination of public schools, the propaganda of "mainstream" media and popular culture, and their own desire to pursue either their own "truth" apart from the Creator and Author of Law or their own carnal lusts, vehemently deny that these principles were once held as Truth by vast numbers of the American people. Through my studies of America's Founders and early American history, I am absolutely convinced that the unity of the United States of America was firmly rooted in a general adherence to these principles and ideas. Our national motto reflects the truth of this: E pluribus unum — "Out of many, one." Diverse peoples united under one set of principles and ideas. Near absolute individual freedom as long as the individual is responsible to the Laws of Nature and Nature's God and is held accountable for any violation of the law. These are the things that built America and made her great.
There are two things that any civilized society must not tolerate:
- Crime — any violation of law (although there are many laws on the books in the U.S. today — most enacted by liberals — that need to be repealed); especially the taking away, by force or by fraud, of another person's life, liberty or property.
- Treason — the waging of war against one's own country, or the giving of aid and comfort to the enemy of one's country.
Intolerance (i.e., sexism, racism and homophobia) is a common charge leveled by liberals against conservatives. Of what, besides crime, are conservatives intolerant? Conservatives are intolerant of subversive, Marxist ideology that is shredding the social, moral and fiscal fabric of this great nation. Conservatives want no part of elitist, oligarchic (despotic) government, socialism or relativist doctrine — all of which are antitheses of the American Ideal; and all of which have proven utter failures, drastically inferior to the American Ideal. Liberals who obstinately cling to this failed ideology (the secular/progressive worldview) are only fooling themselves.
Conservatives are intolerant of the goals and actions of America's enemies who want to kill her people and destroy her institutions. Conservatives are intolerant of sinful, destructive lifestyles that not only ruin individual lives; but if tolerated by large numbers of the people, will surely destroy the entire nation.
And what of liberal intolerance? Liberals have been waging war against American culture for about 90 years now. Since the 1960's, when secular/progressive power and dominance in most of America's cultural institutions became secure, liberal intolerance has been blatant and shameless. Liberals, by and large, are intolerant of Truth. They have been stalwart in their intolerance of Christianity, and those (conservatives) who wish to retain Biblical principles as the foundation of American culture. They have ravaged American public education with their progressive, revisionist approach, and are intolerant of anyone who wants to correct the problem through vouchers, charter schools or by any other means. Liberals, for the most part, are intolerant of talk radio, and seek to destroy it by way of a restored "Fairness Doctrine." Elitist liberals are firm in their advocacy of the welfare state and are intolerant of those who want to end it.
In each of these cases, to name just a few, it is plain to see that liberals are intolerant of those who threaten their base of power and control. Contrast this with conservative intolerance which is directed against those things that threaten American society and American culture. Who are the real bigots; conservatives who stand firm on the principles that made America the greatest nation in world history, or liberals who cling blindly but devotedly to failed or unproven philosophy and theory?
Conservatives are branded "racist," or at best, "cold-hearted," "cruel," "uncaring" or "pitiless," because they oppose federal government programs designed to help the poor and minorities. The very assumption that the poor and minorities need federal assistance is racist, or at best, displays insolence; and it is insulting to the poor and minority citizens of this nation. Liberals imply that these citizens are weak and incompetent; unable to improve their own standard of living.
What's more, conservatives know, and history attests to the fact that federal assistance removes any incentive for individuals and families who receive it to improve their standard of living and in many cases, mires them in dependence indefinitely, making them, in essence, slaves — members of a permanently dependent underclass beholden to those who keep them permanently dependent. Liberals have purchased the dependence of thousands of American citizens with taxpayer dollars for the purpose of erecting and maintaining their own power base.
Now liberals are looking covetously at some 11 or 12 million potential members of an emerging dependent underclass of "legalized" illegal aliens. They are using the same old tried and true tactic to gain this power and control — emotion-based rhetoric, demagoguery and charges of racism against conservatives who only want the rule of law upheld, the borders and the national security of the homeland ensured and America's sovereignty respected.
Conservatives have faith in the American people regardless of race or social class — faith in the drive and the resiliency of a free people to overcome adversity and to actively pursue and attain happiness for themselves and their families. This is the American Dream. Liberals, with their confiscatory tax policies, Keynesian economic policies, prohibitive regulation on industries (making jobs harder to come by) and doom-and-gloom attitudes, have put the American Dream out of reach for many Americans; or, at least, have convinced them that the American Dream is unattainable.
Religious conservatives are intolerant of homosexuality and abortion. Judging from election results whenever homosexual "marriage" has been placed on the ballot, and from myriad recent polls on the subject of abortion, a majority of all Americans are intolerant of homosexuality and disapprove of abortion at least as a "convenient" form of birth control. Is this intolerance a result of hate? Absolutely not! It is the result of conscience, common sense, and evidence seen with one's own eyes. Homosexuality is a destructive "lifestyle choice" and abortion is the murder of a totally innocent human being. I have personally witnessed some of the negative consequences of both. Intolerance to sin and sinful behavior is guided by love — not hate!
Conservatives cherish liberty — individual freedom with responsibility to the laws of Nature and of Nature's God. Liberals seek license — freedom with little or no responsibility, except perhaps to the ever-evolving mores of a secular state. America was built on liberty, not on license. Liberty made America great; license breeds anarchy.
Conservatives want to shine the brilliant light of Truth on an America and a world shrouded in the darkness of confusion and evil. Liberals, frantic to retain their bases of power, want to stymie the conservatives. Who are the true bigots?
© Sam Weaver
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
