by Sean C. Capparuccia
Speech given at Constitution Day observance, Sampson County Couthouse, Clinton, NC.
I, like many millions of fellow Americans, am a Patriot and have no interest whatsoever in seeing the fall of our great nation. I am not pleased at all with the plethora of internal strife with which we are struggling. But I have to tell you, when people gather in respect to our nation’s founding, its magnificent Constitution, its remarkable history, and to hear the singing of its powerful anthem, there is a feeling of hope that wells up within us. Because America is the greatest nation on earth! Now there may be some who disagree with that. And I would encourage them to get to our borders immediately and try to tell tell the hundreds of thousands who are crossing those borders each month that this not the place they want to be; this is not a great nation; you really don’t want to live here…. But it is. And they do.
At this point I just have to say this highly precedented statement: Friends, we are living in unprecedented times. But, you know what? In reality, they are not so unprecedented. America has had periods of great internal – and external – strife throughout its history and thus far it has been able to come through those perilous times. Yet there is an aspect to our new strife that very well threatens to undo us.
I’d like to take us back to the song Cameron sang. Allow me to paraphrase it.
Last evening, as the sun went down amidst the battle, we saw our glorious flag standing there. And throughout the night we could still see glimpses of it as flashes of light from the bombs went off periodically. Now that it’s dawn and the new day’s light is upon us, we look to see if it’s still there waving, this symbol of the freedom we are fighting for.
Not quite as poetic, but there it is. Listen now to verse two, paraphrased as well:
May our banner of freedom continue to wave as free people, always ready, stand in the gap between their homes and the desolation of war. Blessed with victory and peace, may we all praise the God who made and preserved this nation. And so, with our trust in God, may we always endeavor to conquer when our cause is just. And may our star-spangled banner continue to wave over this land of the free and of the brave.[i] (Why do we never sing that?)
I ask you, how many are willing today to stand in the gap between their loved homes, their loved ones, and face war’s desolation for the cause of freedom? Is freedom a “just” cause today as it was for the ones who were willing to die for freedom from England’s tyranny?
Freedom is the cornerstone of our nation. It was the cornerstone of its founding and continues to be the cornerstone of its existence. But it could not be that a mere government, on any level, granted freedom, for it could just as easily be taken away. With that in mind, Thomas Jefferson wrote these words:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal: that they are endowed by their Creator [that would be God: Father, Son, & Holy Spirit] 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: that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles [those being life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness], and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”[ii]
The role of government is not to control the people nor to regulate them, but rather, by the consent of the people, to make the rights of life, freedom, and the unobstructed pursuit of happiness, secure. The rights themselves are God-given; given to all men from His merciful and just nature. To the God-fearing person who knows God and the nature of God, this will make perfect sense and he will always hold the State as subservient to God; to the atheist, well, his view of freedom and justice will be totally dependent on the State and he will always find himself subservient to the State.
So with the Founders’ understanding that all just powers are given by the consent of the governed, and that the basic rights of man are unalienably given by God, there must enter another influence that underscores the truth of this Creator. George Washington, writing twenty years later in his farewell address as president said,
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness… And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”[iii]
In other words, without religion, and try as one might to argue it, but apart from the Christian religion, Biblical law, and the morality that it teaches, this Nation cannot maintain a true morality. Its moral and ethical laws will simply swing back and forth according to whoever wields the pen of the “executive order”.
That is exactly what the Founders of our nation wanted to avoid – one person, or a group of people, even a simple majority, wielding all power over the people. To be independent from the power of the English monarchy (at the time) and embrace a self-government was the goal. It was a bold move but not without precedent. In 1620, fully 156 years before the Declaration of Independence was written, a group of men, women, and children, blown off their course to a colony in Virginia, landed in Massachusetts. Although they were loyal subjects of England, they found themselves in a place where the arm of English rule did not reach. They were all alone. But before anarchy could take hold – which is exactly where men will go naturally – several of the group drafted what we know today as the Mayflower Compact. This document, signed by 41 members of the group was a covenant between themselves. This document, as anthropologist Peter Wood writes, “sketched, for the first time in European settlement of the New World, an ideal of self-government based on justice.”[iv] And contrary to popular belief, not all of these pilgrims were ‘religious.’ They came from all walks of English life, some wealthy some poor; some ex-convicts, some upstanding citizens. As Wood writes, “It ignored class, wealth, and other marks of status…”[v]
In the document, they mutually agreed before God and one another to “covenant and combine ourselves into a civil body politic… and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal laws, ordinances, acts, constitutions, and offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the colony…”[vi] Again Peter Wood writes, “What is this ‘civil body politic’? It isn’t a political party, eager to impose its opinions on those who disagree. It isn’t a nation or state, setting out to govern a people. …[it] is simply a group of people who agree to govern themselves by common rules to be created through peaceful deliberation… It offers an ordered public life under the rule of law.”[vii]
These were the seeds of our Constitution. This is what makes America the greatest nation on earth: a government of the people and by the people, under the rule of law, acknowledging that God is the Giver of life, and by rights, the only lawful taker of life (except where He explicitly gave the power of capital punishment to men in cases of murder.)[viii]
There are perhaps far too many who must view our nation’s Constitution as though it were some outdated piece of yellowing parchment that has no meaning anymore. In fact, we see that sentiment in some of our government officials as well. Anyone who can say in all sincerity, “I know this is unconstitutional but I’m going to do it anyway,” obviously has no respect for the Constitution nor for the republic which it charters. It is an attack on our Constitution, the very foundation of our socio-political life. If the Constitution can be flagrantly disregarded, then we have nothing with which to protect our Liberty. We, the governed, every man, woman, and child of us, should be looking with fresh eyes upon our Constitution because when it is upheld by those whom we elect to govern, we, all of us, remain in the driver’s seat.
When we are governed by the consent of the governed, it prevents the government from tyranny. I believe that we are at a serious crossroads in our nation. At the root of our nation’s founding and behind every document that brought it into existence is the idea of freedom: and now, as it has been in the past, our freedom is at stake. In fact, like a reservoir with with a small hole it in, our freedoms as originally intended for us have been slowly eroding for a long time.
I remember clear as yesterday my 7th grade history teacher in Woodbridge, VA. Mr. Delinoccci. A short and round Italian guy. I will never forget two things he told us on the first day of class. He said, “There will be no profanity in my class, although I don’t expect you to simply say, ‘Gosh darn that hurt’ when a desk drops on your toe.” And he also said, “We all have rights. But my right to hit you ends where your nose begins.” And being Italian myself I was thinking, I hope you have a short swing because my big Italian nose sticks out pretty far. And while there is some truth in his sentiment, both of those sentiments, it also led us to always wonder what was acceptable. It became a matter of legality. Is it legal? Like, can I say the S-word if something not so heavy as a desk drops on my toe? Is a papercut worthy of a good cuss word? What if your fist is in front of my nose and someone pushes me from behind and my nose hits your fist? Who is at fault? I mean, seriously, these are the questions that run through a kid’s mind. How far can I go or what are the limits of this or that rule? What if? What if? What if?
And though these kinds of questions are common to humankind, always wanting to know the limits of acceptable depravity or recourse, these are not the kinds of questions that the Framers of our Constitution needed to answer for us. The Constitution is a covenant between all of us. The constitution is not a covenant, or agreement, between the government and the people. Remember, the government is the entity charged with upholding the laws that We the people agree upon “in order to form a more perfect Union [of States], [to] establish justice [for all], to insure domestic tranquility [or peace], provide for a defense that will protect our nation, promote the general well-being of all, and secure the blessings of Freedom to all Americans.”[ix] How far can I take my freedom? When does my fist start to touch your nose?
Am I free to throw bricks through a business’s windows and loot their store?
Am I free to use undue force in restraining someone?
Am I free to kill a child if I think it’s life, or mine, would be difficult? What about an adult?
Am I free to not hire someone because their skin is lighter than mine? What if it’s darker? (See, I’m trying to be fair here.) What if you hire someone who gets kind of light in the winter, then tans real dark in the summer? What a conundrum that would be.
Am I free evict someone from my house if they refuse to pay rent?
Am I free to continue living in someone’s house and not pay the rent?
Can I make my neighbor take a shot or wear a mask?
Should everyone make the same amount of money regardless of their skill level, education, or willingness to work?
Am I free to slander (or libel) someone on Facebook because they don’t agree with me?
How far can my fist be from your nose?
And how close should I let your fist be from my nose?
You see, these are all questions that are being acted upon, but I’m not sure people are really discussing them. We’re seeing a lot of opinions flying around at light speed over the Internet, but no one seems to want to sit down over a cup of lovely coffee at Simply NC and talk. And when people do “discuss,” one or the other is too often shut down and “cancelled” before anything of substance is said. People are absolutely losing their grace. And in the meantime, our government has gotten away from us and I’m not sure if any of the popular news channels are giving us much in the way of truth.
One of the greatest presidents our nation has ever had, in my opinion, Ronald Reagan, said, “…Man is not free unless government is limited. There’s a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts… We’ve got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom – freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare…” He says, “[Freedom] is fragile; it needs protection.”[x]
I am sure that the many who are running to our borders, just as those who always have, are seeking a better life. They have heard that America is free. That if a person works, they will eat and have a roof over their head. 95% of the people who come to our borders are running away from dictatorships and Communist and Socialist nations that have run their resources and their people into the ground. They have seen the prices of basic necessities go up and up as inflation rises. Vehicles become useless as gas prices soar. And like the Statue of Liberty proclaims on her pedestal: “Give me your tired, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” I believe this nation exists to give all people a chance to live and breathe free. Unfortunately, many have not heard that freedom is itself is not free. Anyone who comes here, and all who presently live here, need to be educated in this simple fact: We must continue to fight for freedom together or we will all be enslaved together. I reckon there’s a growing minority of people who think some form of Socialism would fix our problems without realizing that it is the very shadows of Socialism that are causing most of our problems.[xi] Let me tell you, if our country loses it republic, as Benjamin Franklin warned,[xii] there will be nowhere for us to go. There is no other border in the world that will welcome a people seeking true freedom. Not a one.
One final thought. Society, as a rule, is caught in what’s called a dialectical tension. Every society has always struggled between the concept of the one and the many. We certainly experience that here. We are the many: each with our own hopes and dreams, skills, tastes, energy levels, and desires. We are also the one: American. The question here is where does liberty reside and who has the power to grant liberties? Obviously, if we lean too far in the direction of the many, or absolute individualism, we will come to anarchy. To lean too far in the other direction, toward the one, or idealistic unity, will lead to tyranny. This pendulum shifts back and forth through history. Take Russia for instance. After WWI and the fragmentation of Eastern Europe, Russia moved in and coerced many nations under its so-called “protection” and control. It was not a happy situation for any of those nations as Communism wreaked havoc on untold millions of lives. (In fact, in the last 100 years, over 100 million have died because of communism; that’s died “of” communism, by the way, not died “with” communism.) Then, with the dissolution of the USSR, and the Balkanization of many of those countries, the many returned although they continue to struggle immensely.[xiii] This isn’t rocket science; it’s simply learning from history. And any would-be dictator would know this: in order to put people in a position to be controlled, the first thing that must happen is to put them at odds with each other. “Divide and conquer”, as Julius Caesar famously said it; Napolean did it; Karl Marx became an imminent expert at it. If people can be divided against each other, whether it be racial, socio-economic, religious, any means necessary- they can be conquered and controlled by a state that will claim to unify all under the guise of “the public good.” Unchecked “unity” would be an attack on the free exercise of religion; an attack on free speech and an attack on the right of conscience. The worst threat to a tyrannical government is a people who answer to a higher power, a higher law.
Yet the dilemma still exists. We don’t want to be divided yet complete unity is dangerous as well. Again, where is our true liberty? I submit to you that Biblical law alone provides the balance between the two. How can this be? Because human laws do not transcend the minds of men nor their natures. We hear a lot of impotent pleading, “Please let our government officials just reconcile with each other.” “Let there be peace in our nation.” Folks, there can be no compromising or peace over issues that have diametrically opposed solutions. Someone has to lose and no one, as of yet, is willing to do that; there is too much at stake on all sides. There’s only one winning side and that’s the Lord’s side. (Baptists can say amen now). I would encourage you to get on it. Do you believe there is “systemic racism”? How about Systemic classism? What about systemic elitism? Is there true injustice? Tyranny thrives on these things. But I tell you, Biblical law and Christianity tolerate no such thing. “But I know Christians who do these things,” someone says. No, you know church people who may do these things; I know of no Christian who tolerates that mess. There’s a difference. Let us look to the foundational Law to which our Constitution points.
Yet even our beloved Constitution can only do so much; but it is also the exact reason why the Founders did not spell out too much but pointed it all ultimately to Providence, the ultimate Lawgiver. God’s law, in a large part, makes each individual responsible for their own conduct. Only God’s law can transcend the hearts and minds of an earth-bound people and when we each one submit to Him as we ought, then there will be peace. Not by regulation and coercion, but by a self-rule that is rooted in the law of Christ. Now I am not saying that everyone who lives in this country has to be a Christian, but I am saying that living under a rule of law, informed and dependent upon its principles will enable all people to be free as they ought – even free to not be a Christian as their own conscience dictates.
Oh say, can you still see, in this present light, what they so proudly hailed 245 years ago: a document that proclaimed we are free from foreign rule, and from any who would rise through the ranks and seek to overthrow our individual as well as our national freedoms? When we look at our flag, the symbol of our covenant with one another to “live free or die”, can we say, “Our cause, it is just; In God is our trust!?” And will it continue to wave triumphantly over this land that is the greatest in all the world? We must be united in this: that individually we will fight for the life of America; for our sakes and for the sake of the world. Una stamus; divisi sumus incidere.
I encourage you all to not be afraid to keep your noses uncovered and know that as long as our glorious Constitution is upheld, no one’s fist will get too close.
________________________________________________________
[i] National Anthem, Francis Scott Key. Verse 2: “Oh, thus be it ever when free men shall stand between their loved homes and the war’s desolation; Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the heav’n rescued land Praise the Pow’r that hath made and preserved us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just; And this be our motto: ‘In God is our trust!’ And the Star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
[ii] From the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson, one of a committee of five (incl. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin…), submitted June 28, 1776, unanimously ratified July 4 by the Continental Congress.
[iii] Geo. Washington, “Farewell Address”, September 17, 1796 The US Constitution, A Reader (Hillsdale, MI: Hillsdale College Press, 2018), 147.
[iv] Peter S. Wood. 1620: A Critical Response to the 1619 Project. (NY: Encounter Books, 2020), 26.
[v] Ibid.
[vi] Ibid., 27.
[vii] Ibid., 27-28.
[viii] Genesis 9:5, Noahic Covenant.
[ix] Preamble to the Constitution, paraphrased.
[x] Ronald Reagan, Farewell Address, January 11, 1989.
[xi] National Education standards; EPA; gov’t overreach; Vaccination mandates; socialized healthcare, etc.
[xii] Benjamin Franklin, in answer to the question, “what kind of government do you have?” answered, “A republic, if you can keep it.” 17 September 1787, Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Penn.
[xiii] This section taken from Martin G. Selbrede, “Dialectical Culture” Arise & Build (Chalcedon Foundation), September 2021.
posts 