Unfortunately many people view liberty as a one way street. The government is to make everyone do what we would have them to do. While the government leaves us free to do as we please.There are people on the left and the right that want to use the government to make their fellow citizens fall into line with their moral philosophy. We often swing between the extremes of wanting to be anarchists or hyper-socialists..The left wants moral chaos and a social totalitarianism. The right wants to impose moral order and have laissez faire or social Darwinism in all other aspects..Both the left and right have their anarchists and their government conspiracy theorists.
The average citizen operates somewhere in the center between these extremes. However I am seeing a trend where the extreme left, and the extreme right are becoming different sides of the same coin..To maintain liberty a nation needs a moral center, or moral cornerstone on which to build. Liberty is based upon the personal responsibility and personal integrity of individual citizens. In the past whether one was building left or right of center, the cornerstone was personal integrity. Character was paramount. Things like honesty, mercy , kindness, altruism, self control and self sacrifice were held in high esteem. The main goal of religion and citizenship, was fostering impeccable character.. Individualism was defined by ones ability to provide for and morally govern ones self.
Individualism today means to be sexually bizarre, out of control, defiant towards authority, successful without regard for how the success was attained. Increasingly the religious right and the secular left are leaving the moral center and redefining what our personal and collective goals in life should be. They may have slight variations and methods in the attaining of those goals, but more often than not they are ending up in the same place. Personal wealth, success, perfect health, longest life possible with no set backs, only increasing prosperity have become our new national aspirations.. As our goals as citizens shift to the material from more noble things such as ; duty to our fellowman and striving for a free and just society as well as developing a sterling character and an honorable reputation. We are more and more willing to sacrifice our liberty to obtain the material goals.
Both the right and left now believe who ever lives the longest and dies with the most stuff wins. Both are antagonistic towards authority, just in different ways. However they are willing to sacrifice personal liberty to avoid making personal responsibility and personal liberty the cornerstone of their politics and religion... Rather than striving to produce citizens with character, integrity, and the ability to make their own decisions. Our focus is to use government as an equalizer and moral nanny..We want to live forever so we give government the power to say what we can eat and drink.We want to be prosperous so our politics are motivated by the money. We can not discern what is moral so we let the government decide for us.
Historically the Holy Bible has been the catalyst for producing citizens worthy of liberty. It united under common values the free people of the western world. It went beyond parochial political and religious interests. Whether one was externally religious or not, it produced character and responsibility from within the individual.The Holy Bible turned our focus from the material and temporal, to developing inner strength and moral dignity. A government of the people and by the people will only promote liberty as long as the people themselves want liberty. Persons of integrity want more than ease and prosperity..They need liberty. We all do if we are to attain to greater things than material wealth.
As the Bible, and it's focus on personal moral responsibility continues to fall out of favor among political and religious leaders. I wonder how long we will remain free..Those who do not live according to Biblical precept are living in freedom because there are those who through Biblical knowledge are able to govern themselves. As that number dwindles I am afraid our liberties will as well. I will end this post with 2 quotes from George Washington 1) " It is impossible to rightly govern a nation without God and the Bible." 2) "Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. Reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."
Wesley Jones
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