Summit_Ace
Regular Member
imported post
How far we have come.
" When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, 'just men who will rule in the fear of God.' The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."
"Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom 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 that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive."
These quotes are from Noah Webster. He was a man of God, and helped to shape our young nation. In reading these words and seeing how they apply today, it is difficult not to see the divine inspiration that this man possessed. The words of of Mr. Webster not only remind us the sad state of affairs we are in, but also give us guidance as to how to correct our mistakes. We have come so far from the principles our forefathers laid for us and I believe part of the reason is that we as people have forgotten what liberty is. Liberty is not a privilege given to us by our government but a inalienable right given by God himself. This is not to say that our liberty can't be lost,it can. It can never be taken from us, only given away.The responsibility for the sorry state our nation is in today is on our heads not just because of who we vote for, but that we have failed to keep our elected servants (a reality that has been forgotten in recent years} in check. Men in power when unchecked will always try to take more power,that is human nature, but they can only take what "we the people" freely give them or refuse to fight for. It is our duty to keep our elected servants subservient to us "we the people" and to our constitution.The freedoms,rights,and liberties spelled out in our constitution were written down by men but they were given to us by God.Our constitution is just as valid today as it was over 200 years ago when it was written. It is us who have not defended it, who have changed.
The second quote of Noah Webster tells us what an unchecked government will do. Have things gone to far? I don't know. what I do know is that the people we have elected to serve us are trying to fulfill their lust for more power. They are doing this by attacking our God given rights as laid out in our constitution,and we are giving it to them in exchange for what we think is security and safety.In the words of Benjamin Franklin "anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security" and that is exactly what we will get - neither. I was recently talking to some men and one of them asked a question. Where is there real liberty? The other man quickly replied. In my home. Our nation and the free exercise of liberty it provided did not start with millions or even hundreds of people. It started with just a handful of men. It started as a spark. that spark quickly turned into a flame,and that flame of liberty quickly spread like wildfire. That's how freedom is,it's contagious. It is our duty to the men who laid down their lives fighting tyranny so that we could enjoy our liberties to not give those liberties away. It is our duty to them and our children to fight for them. It is our duty to keep the flame of liberty that has been passed to us by our forefathers alive. If we are not diligent,if we continue to trade our liberty for false security. If we do not take back what is rightfully ours. One day our children will ask us. What was so important that you gave away my freedom? That is one question I never want to answer! Do you?
How far we have come.
" When you become entitled to exercise the right of voting for public officers, let it be impressed on your mind that God commands you to choose for rulers, 'just men who will rule in the fear of God.' The preservation of [our] government depends on the faithful discharge of this Duty; if the citizens neglect their Duty and place unprincipled men in office, the government will soon be corrupted; laws will be made, not for the public good so much as for selfish or local purposes; corrupt or incompetent men will be appointed to execute the Laws; the public revenues will be squandered on unworthy men; and the rights of the citizen will be violated or disregarded. If [our] government fails to secure public prosperity and happiness, it must be because the citizens neglect the Divine Commands, and elect bad men to make and administer the Laws."
"Another source of power in government is a military force. But this, to be efficient, must be superior to any force that exists among the people, or which they can command; for otherwise this force would be annihilated, on the first exercise of acts of oppression. Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom 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 that can be, on any pretense, raised in the United States. A military force, at the command of Congress, can execute no laws, but such as the people perceive to be just and constitutional; for they will possess the power, and jealousy will instantly inspire the inclination, to resist the execution of a law which appears to them unjust and oppressive."
These quotes are from Noah Webster. He was a man of God, and helped to shape our young nation. In reading these words and seeing how they apply today, it is difficult not to see the divine inspiration that this man possessed. The words of of Mr. Webster not only remind us the sad state of affairs we are in, but also give us guidance as to how to correct our mistakes. We have come so far from the principles our forefathers laid for us and I believe part of the reason is that we as people have forgotten what liberty is. Liberty is not a privilege given to us by our government but a inalienable right given by God himself. This is not to say that our liberty can't be lost,it can. It can never be taken from us, only given away.The responsibility for the sorry state our nation is in today is on our heads not just because of who we vote for, but that we have failed to keep our elected servants (a reality that has been forgotten in recent years} in check. Men in power when unchecked will always try to take more power,that is human nature, but they can only take what "we the people" freely give them or refuse to fight for. It is our duty to keep our elected servants subservient to us "we the people" and to our constitution.The freedoms,rights,and liberties spelled out in our constitution were written down by men but they were given to us by God.Our constitution is just as valid today as it was over 200 years ago when it was written. It is us who have not defended it, who have changed.
The second quote of Noah Webster tells us what an unchecked government will do. Have things gone to far? I don't know. what I do know is that the people we have elected to serve us are trying to fulfill their lust for more power. They are doing this by attacking our God given rights as laid out in our constitution,and we are giving it to them in exchange for what we think is security and safety.In the words of Benjamin Franklin "anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security" and that is exactly what we will get - neither. I was recently talking to some men and one of them asked a question. Where is there real liberty? The other man quickly replied. In my home. Our nation and the free exercise of liberty it provided did not start with millions or even hundreds of people. It started with just a handful of men. It started as a spark. that spark quickly turned into a flame,and that flame of liberty quickly spread like wildfire. That's how freedom is,it's contagious. It is our duty to the men who laid down their lives fighting tyranny so that we could enjoy our liberties to not give those liberties away. It is our duty to them and our children to fight for them. It is our duty to keep the flame of liberty that has been passed to us by our forefathers alive. If we are not diligent,if we continue to trade our liberty for false security. If we do not take back what is rightfully ours. One day our children will ask us. What was so important that you gave away my freedom? That is one question I never want to answer! Do you?
