Seven Freedom-Principles That Are Not Negotiable
In the
Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson
wrote:
"Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient causes; and
accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are
more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable,
than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to
which they are accustomed. But when a long train of
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute
Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw
off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their
future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of
these Colonies."
I would argue that we, like our
patriot forebears, have also endured
"patient
sufferance." For at least a half-century, we have
patiently endured the erosion and abridgment of our
freedoms and liberties. We have watched the federal
government become an overbearing and meddlesome
Nanny
State that pokes its nose and sticks its fingers in
virtually everything we do. We cannot
drive a car,
buy
a gun, or even
flush a toilet without
Big
Brother`s permission. We are taxed, regulated, and
snooped-on from the time we are born to the day we die.
And then after we are dead, we are taxed again.
In the same way that Jefferson and
Company patiently suffered up until that shot was fired
that was heard around the world, we who love freedom
today are likewise patiently suffering
"a long train of abuses and usurpations." In fact, I would even dare
say that these States United have become a boiling
caldron of justifiable frustration and even anger.
Accordingly, it is incumbent upon
us to very seriously and thoughtfully examine those
principles that we absolutely will never cede or
surrender. We have already surrendered much of the
freedom that was bequeathed to us by our forefathers. We
are now to the point that we must define those
principles that form our
"line in the
sand" and that we will not surrender under any
circumstance.
Either that, or we must admit to
ourselves that there is nothing–no principle, no
freedom, no matter how sacred—that we will not surrender
to Big Government.
Here, then, are those principles
that, to me, must never be surrendered. To surrender
these liberties to Big Government would mean to commit
idolatry. It would be sacrilege. It would reduce us to
slavery. It would destroy our humanity. To surrender
these freedoms would mean
"absolute
Despotism" and would provide moral justification to
the proposition that such tyranny be
"thrown off."
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The Right to Keep and Bear
Arms.
Men without guns are not free men;
they are slaves. Men without guns are
not
citizens; they are subjects. Men without guns have
lost the
right of self-defense. They have lost the power to
defend their families and protect their properties. Men
without guns are reduced to the animal kingdom, becoming
prey to the Machiavellians among them who would kill
them for sport or for their own personal pursuits. As
King Jesus plainly ordered,
"He that hath no
sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one." (Luke
22:36) This we will do—at all costs.
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The Right to Own Private
Property
Like the right of self-defense, the
private ownership of property is a God-given right that
is rooted in the Sacred Text. As God told Moses:
"Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour`s landmark, which they of old time
have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit
in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess
it." (Deut.
19:14)
In fact, the history of
Western Civilization is replete with the examples of
free men who were determined (even at the cost of their
very lives) to defend the right to own property. Without
private property rights, men are reduced to serfs and
servants. Like chattel, they feed themselves by
another`s leave. This we will not do.
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The Right to Train and
Educate Our Children
Education has never been the
responsibility of the State. From time immemorial,
education has been the right and responsibility of the
family. This, too, has its foundation in the Sacred
Volume: "And, ye
fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
(Eph.
6:4)
Therefore, the absolute right of
homeschooling or private/parochial/Christian
schooling must never be surrendered. Homeschooling,
especially, is fundamental to freedom. It is not a
coincidence that throughout history, most totalitarian
governments forbade parents homeschooling their
children.
Any government–federal, State, or
local–that forbids, or even restricts, the right of
parents to homeschool their children has taken upon
itself the uniform of a tyrant.
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The Freedom of Speech and
Worship
Speech and worship are matters of
the heart and conscience (Luke
6:45;
John 4:24). Only tyrants seek authority over matters
of the heart. But, of course, that is what tyrants do:
they seek to control men`s thoughts and beliefs.
Hence, the alternative media is
essential to liberty: the Internet, short wave radio, as
well as independent magazines and periodicals. It is
almost superfluous to say that there is no such thing as
a free and independent press among the Main Stream news
Media today. In fact, the major media more resembles a
propaganda machine than it does a free press.
The same can be said for most of
the
mainstream churches in America today. They more
resemble havens for politically correct, Big-Government
ideology than they do bastions of Bible truth.
Therefore, home-churches and non-establishment churches
are increasingly requisite to a free people.
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The Right to Determine One`s
Own Healthcare
The marriage of Big Government and
Big Medicine has created a
healthcare monster. Already, the dispensing of
medical treatment is micromanaged by Big Brother in a
way that has resulted in skyrocketing costs and inferior
care (and in some cases, even
death). President Obama`s universal health care
initiatives that are sure to come (in one form or
another) will only exacerbate an already untenable
situation.
Free men and women absolutely have
the right to refuse vaccinations for themselves and
their children. Forced vaccinations (of any kind) are an
assault against the very foundation of freedom. Free men
have the right to choose their own physicians, their own
hospitals, their own insurance programs, etc. They also
have the right to refuse any and all of the above.
God is Creator. He is also Healer (Exodus
15:26). Therefore, how men choose to seek God`s
healing is a private matter between them and God.
Alternative medicine is a right. Already, our military
personnel are used as human guinea pigs to test a
variety of drugs and chemicals. Public schools also
require
forced vaccinations. And now the
push
is on to force the general population to take the
Swine Flu vaccine. At the current pace, it won`t be long
until all alternative medicines and treatments will be
illegal and the federal government will be America`s
doctor. This is not acceptable.
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The Right to Life
2000 years of Western Civilization
have perpetually reconfirmed that life is a gift of God.
Both Biblical and American history repeatedly honor God
as the Source and Sustainer of man`s existence.
Therefore, evils such as
abortion, infanticide, and
euthanasia must be vehemently resisted. It is bad
enough that any government (especially one such as ours)
would legalize abortion, but the concept of FORCED
abortion, infanticide, or euthanasia could only be
regarded as a despotic attack on life and liberty of the
gravest proportion. In fact, under Natural Law, such an
attack would remove said government from the protection
of Heaven and would place it in a state of war.
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The Right to Live as a Free
and Independent People
God separated the Nations (Genesis
11). Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that we
Americans maintain our independence and national
sovereignty. We simply cannot (and will not) allow
ourselves to become part of any hemispheric or global
union.
There they are: seven
freedom-principles that are not negotiable.
As Jefferson said, we are
"disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable".
But cross these lines and free men
must do what free men must do:
"Throw off such
Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security."
Dr. Chuck Baldwin is the
pastor of Crossroad Baptist Church in Pensacola,
Florida. He hosts a
weekly radio show. His
website is
here.
