“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
(The Declaration of Independence)
“No human laws are of any validity if contrary to (the laws of Nature and of Nature’s God).” (William Blackstone)
“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.”
(Thomas Jefferson)
“An unjust law is no law at all.” (Martin Luther King, Jr. from a Birmingham jail)
* * * * *
King George and Uncle Sam: The Fight for Liberty
The past and the present seldom meet each other quite like they are doing today, and it should not be this way.
Sadly, even as we celebrate our Declaration of Independence from a tyrannical King George of England in 1776, we are today again confronted with numerous abuses of power that come from our own overreaching Uncle Sam here at home in each of our three branches of government.
For example, the diktat from the Supreme Court six years ago to force same-sex “marriages” on all of us – with the full support of former President Barack Obama and his rainbow-colored administration — violates the system of government as well as the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God on which our government rests.
In so doing, it has repeated the tyrannical judicial travesty of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 that forced “legalized” abortion on all 50 states against their wishes, and which has subsequently allowed the barbaric butchery of over 60 million unborn babies.
Why It Matters: The Roots of Liberty
The roots of our love for liberty are as long as history itself, reflected in biblical narratives that include Moses’ call on Pharaoh to “Let my people go!”; the British people’s demand for freedom from despotic kings that produced the Magna Carta in 1215; our own bloody Civil War that brought an end to slavery 155 years ago; and foreign wars over the last 100 years that turned back efforts to dominate and enslave all of us.
The Declaration of Independence embodies all of these struggles, past and present, in the following core principles:
First, the self-evident truths that we are all created equal and that our inalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness come from our Creator God – not from government.
Second, that the government draws its authority from “We the People” and that its primary responsibility is to secure these inalienable rights – not to ignore or to violate them.
Third, that when the government fails to properly execute this responsibility, the people have the right and the duty to replace it with a new form of government that will perform this important role.
Finally, that while we are dependent on Divine Providence for our protection, we must also be willing to pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to defend our liberties and to win back our independence.
That brings us to the “course of human events” that link our historic Declaration of Independence to the U.S. Constitution and to where we are today.
What can and must we do today to meet the challenges that resemble in so many ways the numerous “trials and usurpations” that our Founding Fathers faced in 1776? Do we need a new Declaration?
Crossroads: Where We Celebrate and Defend Our Freedoms
That’s the background for what Rita and I will discuss this weekend on one of the following Valley radio stations: WBTX (1470 AM and 102.1 FM) today (Saturday) at 4:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550 AM and 92.1 FM) at 8:30, ESPN (1360 AM and 106.9 FM) at 9:00, and WNLR (1150) at 11:30.
If you miss the broadcast, or want to hear it again, go to www.valleyfamilyforum.org and click on the Crossroad’s link located on the home page.
We deeply appreciate your prayers, your encouragement, and your continued financial support of these programs. Crossroads is almost entirely listener supported. Therefore, if you would like to help, you can do so by check to Crossroads at PO Box 881, Harrisonburg, 22803. All donations are tax-deductible.
Finally, if you would like to share a personal note with our Crossroads Team, you can do so by return email or to the same address above. We would love to hear from you.
From the Crossroads Team, for Life, Faith, Family, and Freedom!
Dean