THE NATIONAL CREED IS UNDER ATTACK
What is the glue that holds this great nation together?
Think about it. The foundation of any family or nation is its shared value system.
America has stood united throughout its history because, despite differences in political beliefs, race and religion, we have a shared set of values. The belief system was stated beautifully by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence in what became known as the “National Creed.” It states what America stands for, that each person enjoys God-given rights. These rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
The National Creed is the bedrock of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And yet today, the Democratic Party adamantly rejects, in their rhetoric and their legislative initiatives, each component of the Creed as envisioned by our Founding Fathers.
There is no middle ground in this clash of values. America is at war with itself.
Were the Founding Fathers right?
Do all have a right to life?
Democratic legislators, by their actions, say “No”. They have paved the way for tax-funded abortions in their health care initiatives. They seek to revoke conscious-protection provisions that would require doctors and hospitals to perform abortions even if they have moral objections.
This is a big deal. One in eight hospitals are affiliated with the pro-life Catholic Church. These hospitals employ 750,000 workers. Do rank and file Democrats really want to force these institutions to make this choice: perform abortions, which they consider to be murder, or shut their doors?
What about liberty?
Today’s Democratic Party is not concerned with liberty as much as it is with equality, even if it is at the expense of someone else’s civil liberties.
Nowhere was this more evident than with the President’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court last year. Judge Sotomayor sat on a circuit court panel that struck a blow against liberty by ruling against Frank Ricci.
Mr. Ricci was a poor student, impaired by learning disabilities. He became a firefighter in Connecticut. His department announced an opportunity for promotion, which he wanted. Unfortunately, it required him to pass a test that he was ill-prepared to handle.
Undeterred, he quit his second job and invested over a thousand dollars in books. Because of dyslexia, he hired someone to read to him. He studied eight to thirteen hours a day. His hard work paid off. He finished sixth on the exam, which qualified him for promotion. But the city threw out the results because no African-American fighters scored high enough to be promoted.
Ricci and nineteen others sued, charging they were discriminated against on the basis of race. Judge Sotomayor said tough luck. She embraces the philosophy of the Democratic Party that promotes identity politics. Liberty can always be sacrificed in the name of equality.
What about the pursuit of happiness?
George Mason, who is considered the father of the Bill of Rights, said that “all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights … namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property…”
The Founders considered the right to property to be fundamental. In today’s Democratic Party, the pursuit of happiness has become all about lifestyle choices that are at odds with our core values. Property is something to be redistributed at the whim of the state in the name of equality.
Do fundamental rights come from God?
Finally, do these inalienable rights flow from our Creator? Democrats and their pressure groups, such as the ACLU, have successfully expunged most public references to a Creator. And the attacks on God continue. Just this week, U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb, appointed to the court by President Carter in 1979, ruled that a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.
Keep in mind that when Congress set a day aside for prayer in 1952, they didn’t tell you to Whom you had to pray. It could be Jesus, Allah, or Mother Earth.
Keep in mind, a national day of prayer is an idea that’s been around since President John Adams. He called for “a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer,” during which citizens of all faiths were asked to pray “that our country may be protected from all the dangers which threaten it”.
Keep in mind, if you don’t want to pray, you don’t have to!
Our Founding Fathers had it right. America’s greatness and unity reside in its values. To my many Democratic friends: call your party to accountability. They have drifted too far from what this country is all about.