By now many of us and our fellow countrymen realize that they have spent to much. They realize that they should have purchased a smaller home and cheaper car. They now realize the overwhelming burden of debt. Our Founders realized that debt was a heavy burden. Indeed, they stated that it was just as destructive to freedom and liberty as a lack of military strength.
The men responsible for the Founding of this nation were well aware of the fact that from time to time the government would have to borrow money. That did not make them any happier about going into debt. Debt was to be temporary and done away with as quickly as possible.
Many of the Founders believed that borrowing would have a numbing effect on a person. Indeed, Jefferson stated, "The maxim of buying nothing without the money in our pockets to pay for it would make our country one of the happiest on earth....I think every man will remember that (the war), under all the privations it obliged him to submit to during that period, he slept sounder and awoke happier then he can do now." Jefferson stated that inherited debt was immoral and that everyone "should consider themselves morally bound to pay them (the debts) themselves".
These statements coming from Jefferson are a bit ironical when one looks at his financial affairs. Jefferson was a Virginia planter. He owned slaves. He purchased more slaves. He had to tend to the needs of his slaves. He owned plantations with vast tracts of land. He had to purchase more land because the land wore out and could only be rejuvenated by allowing it to lie fallow usually for many years until it again became suitable for farming.
Jefferson was not the only Founder to warn of the evil of being in debt. Benjamin Franklin was noted for his frugal ways through "Poor Richard's Almanac". He was particularly concerned about those who borrowed in order to splurge. "But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities....But, ah, think what you do when you run in debt; you give to another man power over your liberty". How many of us have every stopped to considered that? We simply went along with our credit cards, home equity loans and second mortgages wearing a stupid grin only to wake up and find ourselves in a financial mess.
Our first president was most concerned about debt, particularly the national debt and its effect on future generations. " No pecuniary consideration is more urgent then the regular redemption and discharge of the public debt; on none can a delay be more injurious, or an economy of time more valuable". Washington pleaded with the nation to get rid of the national debt as soon as possible so that it would not be a burden on future generations.
For the most part, the wish of the Founders was followed by those who came after them. We did not have the amount of money we have in circulation today until well into the 1960's. The greatest generation that grew up during the Great Depression and fought World War II was not a generation that went into great debt. Neither did our government. All of this changed as the children and grandchildren of this frugal group grew up with a hedonistic attitude and a willingness to satisfy the self. Thus new terms crept into our vocabulary. Credit cards and the debt associated with them. Lower or no down payments to purchase a home. Subprime mortgages could get you into a home. Adjustable Rates were really okay. On and on we went and then we woke up and had a terrible headache. Some are going to lose a home or a car. Others will lose their job. Some will lose all three.
Where are we going? There are those who say that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we will get out of this quickly. Others are calling this market a bear market rally--not good. Some say the end is further then we think. We do know that we have but a small majority that still supports capitalism, the economic system the insures our freedom. We know that more are willing to live under socialism, a system that has never worked.
What is sad is that those great men we call the Founding Fathers laid out the entire path for us and appears that we that we might have blown it.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Founders and Religion
When I reached 4th grade my teacher handed me and the rest of the students in 4th grade a book on American History. While I do not remember the title or the author of said book I do remember there was an American flag on the cover. I also remember ten Bible versus being read, the Lord's prayer being said, and the Pledge of Allegiance spoken by all students present that day and every day of the school year.
When it came time for history I was a happy student. I loved history. We learned about the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and how we defeated the British. After the War we covered the Constitution and then went on to the early years of our country. I remember reading about and discussing the Founding Fathers as I went through school and how these were principled men. Their principles were based on their religion and their faith in God.
Somewhere along the way we began to take a different path not the one recommended by those who gave us those two divinely inspired documents that formed our nation. Can I name that time? Yes, I can. It was February 27-28, 1963, when the United States Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin voted to end the policy of reading 10 Bible verses in school. That put America on the slippery slope to becoming a secular nation and took us off the path discovered by the Founders. The case, by the way, was Abington Township School District v. Schempp. To this case was added Murray v. Curlett. The Murray case was brought by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of an atheist organization. Ms. O"Hair, her son, and her granddaughter were brutally murdered in 1995.
The dumbing down of the nation, however, had begun even earlier. In fact you can go back to the early years of the 20th century when we got rid of the McGuffey readers, they taught lessons of morality, and they went to John Dewey's plan for public educaation, the miserable system we have today.
We also began the degrading of the Founders. They were not religious. Men like Jefferson and Washington were really Deists. On top of that, these men were slave holders and even fornicated with their slaves impregnating them. This theme became a primary one during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s so that we could remove the pictures and names of the Founders from the public square and rename the schools after criminals like Eldridge Clever.
Our Founders gained a great deal of inspiration from Cicero and his writings on the principles of natural law. Cicero believed that Natural Law is true law. "True law is right reason in agreement with nature...." Cicero proclaimed that Natural Law comes from God our creator. It "is the distinction between things just and unjust, made in agreement with that primal and most ancient of all things Nature; and in conformity to Nature's standard are framed those human laws which inflict punishment upon the wicked and protect the good."
It was the studying of Cicero that convinced the Founders that being virtous and morally strong was important when it came to the writing of our founding documents. Benjamin Franklin stated,"Ony a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt or vicious, they have more need of masters." Jefferson pointed out that virtue was something that had to be earned and learned. Virtue was also something that could be lost. Washington said "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."
It is evident that contrary to what has become the popular view of our Founders, they weren't really a religious group and they really believed that there was a "wall of separation" between church and state, that these men believed in people being virtous, moral and principled individuals. Indeed, all of that was necessary to maintain our liberty and economic freedom.
Now we have a president who tells the world that America is not a Christian nation. He tells the rest of the world that like them we are a secular nation. If that, my readers, is indeed true, we will, as the Founders pointed out over and over again, fail and fall and the rest of the world will follow. The reason for the fall and failure is simple. If we fail to believe in something, in this case our greatness, morality and principles, we will fall for anything.
When it came time for history I was a happy student. I loved history. We learned about the Declaration of Independence, the Revolutionary War and how we defeated the British. After the War we covered the Constitution and then went on to the early years of our country. I remember reading about and discussing the Founding Fathers as I went through school and how these were principled men. Their principles were based on their religion and their faith in God.
Somewhere along the way we began to take a different path not the one recommended by those who gave us those two divinely inspired documents that formed our nation. Can I name that time? Yes, I can. It was February 27-28, 1963, when the United States Supreme Court by an 8-1 margin voted to end the policy of reading 10 Bible verses in school. That put America on the slippery slope to becoming a secular nation and took us off the path discovered by the Founders. The case, by the way, was Abington Township School District v. Schempp. To this case was added Murray v. Curlett. The Murray case was brought by Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the founder of an atheist organization. Ms. O"Hair, her son, and her granddaughter were brutally murdered in 1995.
The dumbing down of the nation, however, had begun even earlier. In fact you can go back to the early years of the 20th century when we got rid of the McGuffey readers, they taught lessons of morality, and they went to John Dewey's plan for public educaation, the miserable system we have today.
We also began the degrading of the Founders. They were not religious. Men like Jefferson and Washington were really Deists. On top of that, these men were slave holders and even fornicated with their slaves impregnating them. This theme became a primary one during the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s so that we could remove the pictures and names of the Founders from the public square and rename the schools after criminals like Eldridge Clever.
Our Founders gained a great deal of inspiration from Cicero and his writings on the principles of natural law. Cicero believed that Natural Law is true law. "True law is right reason in agreement with nature...." Cicero proclaimed that Natural Law comes from God our creator. It "is the distinction between things just and unjust, made in agreement with that primal and most ancient of all things Nature; and in conformity to Nature's standard are framed those human laws which inflict punishment upon the wicked and protect the good."
It was the studying of Cicero that convinced the Founders that being virtous and morally strong was important when it came to the writing of our founding documents. Benjamin Franklin stated,"Ony a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt or vicious, they have more need of masters." Jefferson pointed out that virtue was something that had to be earned and learned. Virtue was also something that could be lost. Washington said "Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."
It is evident that contrary to what has become the popular view of our Founders, they weren't really a religious group and they really believed that there was a "wall of separation" between church and state, that these men believed in people being virtous, moral and principled individuals. Indeed, all of that was necessary to maintain our liberty and economic freedom.
Now we have a president who tells the world that America is not a Christian nation. He tells the rest of the world that like them we are a secular nation. If that, my readers, is indeed true, we will, as the Founders pointed out over and over again, fail and fall and the rest of the world will follow. The reason for the fall and failure is simple. If we fail to believe in something, in this case our greatness, morality and principles, we will fall for anything.
Monday, April 6, 2009
The Founding Fathers and Their Contribution
First and foremost a description is needed for those we look upon as the Founding Fathers of the United States. Some would say that the Founders made up two groups, those 56 who signed the Declaration of Independence designated as the Founders and those who signed the Constitution and are designated as the Framers. Personally I put the two groups together, a total of 95 individuals who participated and signed the keystone documents of our representative republic.
Many of these men fought in the Revolutionary War. Some were soldiers and some were officers. Some fought on the battlefield while others raised funds or contributed from their own fortunes to the American cause for freedom. These men were responsible for defeating the British and obtaining our freedom for England.
The story of America began with the Revolutionary War but it was not completed until the writing and ratification of the Constitution. It would be this Founding document that would lay out the type of government that would be used in the governing of the people. Fortunately for us and future generations the men responsible for the creation of our government were both thoughtful and knowlegeable
Our Founders recognized that governments fell into one of three categories. On the left there is what the Founders referred to as "Ruler's Law." Under this category we would find various types of governments. There was monarchy, oligarchy, socialism, fascism and communism. The power was in the hands of the monarch or a small group of men who would use government to enrich their own well being. While a monarch is generally thought of as a single ruler keep in mind that the King always had a council of some sort around him.
At the other end of the pole the Founders saw "No Law" or what we would refer to as anarchy. Here one would expect the rule of the mob or anarchists. It is not a good situation.
In the middle the Founders recognized Democracy or rule by the majority. The problem with a Democracy is that there is no protection of the minority voice in the community. It has, as was the case with anarchy, the appearance and potential of mob rule.
Yet within the middle is another form of government. That is a Republic or Rule of Law. Under a Republic, there is a document that outlines the form of the government and the powers of same. The leaders are elected by the people who are the true authority and government. The formation of our government was not an easy task. The vast majority of those at the Constitutional Convention never thought that it would take four months to put it together and many believed that it would not last. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin probably expressed a lot of the members feelings when he responded to the woman who asked him what type of government had he given the people. Franklin's response, "A Republic if you can keep it."
Many of these men fought in the Revolutionary War. Some were soldiers and some were officers. Some fought on the battlefield while others raised funds or contributed from their own fortunes to the American cause for freedom. These men were responsible for defeating the British and obtaining our freedom for England.
The story of America began with the Revolutionary War but it was not completed until the writing and ratification of the Constitution. It would be this Founding document that would lay out the type of government that would be used in the governing of the people. Fortunately for us and future generations the men responsible for the creation of our government were both thoughtful and knowlegeable
Our Founders recognized that governments fell into one of three categories. On the left there is what the Founders referred to as "Ruler's Law." Under this category we would find various types of governments. There was monarchy, oligarchy, socialism, fascism and communism. The power was in the hands of the monarch or a small group of men who would use government to enrich their own well being. While a monarch is generally thought of as a single ruler keep in mind that the King always had a council of some sort around him.
At the other end of the pole the Founders saw "No Law" or what we would refer to as anarchy. Here one would expect the rule of the mob or anarchists. It is not a good situation.
In the middle the Founders recognized Democracy or rule by the majority. The problem with a Democracy is that there is no protection of the minority voice in the community. It has, as was the case with anarchy, the appearance and potential of mob rule.
Yet within the middle is another form of government. That is a Republic or Rule of Law. Under a Republic, there is a document that outlines the form of the government and the powers of same. The leaders are elected by the people who are the true authority and government. The formation of our government was not an easy task. The vast majority of those at the Constitutional Convention never thought that it would take four months to put it together and many believed that it would not last. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin probably expressed a lot of the members feelings when he responded to the woman who asked him what type of government had he given the people. Franklin's response, "A Republic if you can keep it."
Saturday, April 4, 2009
We Are Losing Our Nation
America is on an unprecedented down hill path that will end in a socialist or fascist state with the redistribution of wealth to the looters and moochers currently in charge of the nation. In order to understand how we got here, we must go back in our history and look at the path that was laid out for us by God and the men who believed in Him.
Despite the pronouncements of his critics, the mess did not start with George W. Bush. The critics of the Bush administration run the gamut from the insiders within the current administration and Democrat controlled Congress, to the downright ignorant and unschooled people on the street who have never taken the time to study our nation's history. You hear them constantly. They freely admit that they do not like history and that it is old and boring. These are the folks Joseph Stalin fondly referred to as "useful idiots". In a revolution they would be the first to be "secured" because they would be those who ran to the moochers and looters with tidbits of information.
Our forefathers fought a War for Independence and in so doing gave us the Declaration of Independence. They actually admired this piece of parchment that laid out their views on the Rights Of Man, more so then the document they would create later, the Constitution of the United States. These two documents laid it out for us in that they explained our God given rights and liberties while establishing a lifetime government that when properly followed would make this nation and her people the most secured and wealthiest on the face of the earth.
Benjamin Franklin was asked after the convention what type of government he had given us. Franklin responded to the woman's question with this answer,"A Republic if you can keep it." Not only was this a warning by Franklin, but it was a shared view of te participants at the Constitutional Convention. Many did not believe the Republic would last but a few decades. The Founding Fathers placed us on the right path but we are now off it and determined, it seems, to give it up to tyrants within our own government.
Despite the pronouncements of his critics, the mess did not start with George W. Bush. The critics of the Bush administration run the gamut from the insiders within the current administration and Democrat controlled Congress, to the downright ignorant and unschooled people on the street who have never taken the time to study our nation's history. You hear them constantly. They freely admit that they do not like history and that it is old and boring. These are the folks Joseph Stalin fondly referred to as "useful idiots". In a revolution they would be the first to be "secured" because they would be those who ran to the moochers and looters with tidbits of information.
Our forefathers fought a War for Independence and in so doing gave us the Declaration of Independence. They actually admired this piece of parchment that laid out their views on the Rights Of Man, more so then the document they would create later, the Constitution of the United States. These two documents laid it out for us in that they explained our God given rights and liberties while establishing a lifetime government that when properly followed would make this nation and her people the most secured and wealthiest on the face of the earth.
Benjamin Franklin was asked after the convention what type of government he had given us. Franklin responded to the woman's question with this answer,"A Republic if you can keep it." Not only was this a warning by Franklin, but it was a shared view of te participants at the Constitutional Convention. Many did not believe the Republic would last but a few decades. The Founding Fathers placed us on the right path but we are now off it and determined, it seems, to give it up to tyrants within our own government.
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