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Abandoning Rights in the Name of "Higher" Ideals
by George F. Smith
One of the conditions associated with neurosis is a weakened sense of
personal identity. Nations, too, sometimes suffer from not knowing
the values they live for and defend. Our rallying cry is "freedom,"
but what exactly does that mean?
If we turn back to the Fifties, we notice our fear of communism was
based more on its godlessness than its suppression of personal
freedom. Indeed, the American New Deal and Fair Deal followed in
principle the Communist Manifesto's "step-for-step transformation of
capitalism into socialism," as Ludwig von Mises observed. In pushing
government further into our lives, demagogues, particularly FDR,
claimed their measures were attempts to "save capitalism," a lie so
big people believed it. Intervention begets more intervention, as
Marx knew and our leaders knew not to admit. With the country steeped
in economic ignorance and the worship of altruism, it was fully
prepped for slave state legislation.
But it was who the slaves served that was the crux of the Christian
objection. Desperate to distance themselves from the Reds, Congress
in 1956 adopted "In God We Trust" as its motto and ordered the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing to put it on the government's fiat money.
"E pluribus unum" ("out of many, one"), which had been our motto
since 1776 and referred to our colonies uniting as one country, had
its roots in our revolt against tyranny, a sentiment at odds with our
growing fascination with compulsion.
"From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his
need," Karl Marx proclaimed. Could Christians disagree? In Acts 4:33-
35, we read that "from time to time those who owned lands or houses
sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the
apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need."
Though the biblical allegory suggests consent, the government,
alienated by that notion, forced its "deals" onto the backs of the
able with the fervor of a moral ideal. The means don't count as long
as the ends are sublime.
Our founders emphatically rejected the morality of sacrifice and
suffering. If they had thought man's place was to serve others and
tolerate abuses, bowing to the king would have been just fine.
Where did they get their ideas? The spirit of their revolt began in
late medieval times with the re- discovery of Aristotle's works in
Spain. From this intellectual awakening, men got more involved in the
real world, both in thought and deed. Exploration and trade
flourished, as did discoveries. In trading with China, for example,
the West learned the Chinese had records of eclipses that predated
the Flood, calling in question the Bible's reliability.
After Copernicus placed the sun at the center of the solar system in
1543, science took off on a run. Some of the greatest scientists did
their work in the two-and-a-half centuries following Copernicus �
Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Leibniz, Descartes, Boyle, Cavendish,
Priestly, Lavoisier, Hutton, Linnaeus, Buffon, and many others.
Challenged by science's success, philosophers developed a doctrine
called empiricism in which "experience" was reputed to be the source
of all knowledge. In 1690, the first major empiricist, John Locke,
derived a consent theory of government from this thesis that our
founders later embraced. In a state of nature man has certain rights,
Locke asserted, namely "life, liberty, and estate." Men form a
commonwealth with others to protect those rights � that is
government's sole purpose. Though Locke was evidently a Christian,
especially in his last years, he believed the truth of God's
existence could be ascertained through reason.
Our leading founders shared with Locke the supreme value placed on
reason. As deists, they accepted the view that the world we see
implies a Creator we can�t see. But we know nothing beyond the fact
that He exists. As part of the creation, men were endowed with reason
to understand the world and guide them in making a good life. This
leaves no room for miracles, which they viewed as incompatible with
the Creator's natural laws. Jefferson, in fact, found the idea of
miracles so intolerable he constructed his own New Testament in which
all mention of them was removed, including the resurrection.
"Fix reason firmly in her seat," Jefferson wrote, "and call to her
tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the
existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of
the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."
At the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C., a panel beneath his statue features
excerpts from his writings, one of which reads, "I have sworn upon the alter of God
eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over t
he mind of man."
As it stands, it makes Jefferson sound like a Christian repudiating oppression. But
the wider context of his words changes that picture significantly. The quote came from
a letter, written to his physician friend Benjamin
Rush, in which he expressed his displeasure with the Philadelphia clergy's opposition
to his political candidacy. Jefferson wrote: "They [the clergy] believe that any
portion of power confided to me, will be exerted in o
pposition of their schemes. And they believe rightly: for I have sworn upon the alter
of god eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man. But this
is all they have to fear from me: and enough too
in their opinion."
Perhaps a more fitting quote for his memorial, and a message to the clergy, would be
"the legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to
others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to sa
y there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
Jefferson was hardly alone in wanting religion separate from government. In 1797,
President John Adams signed a treaty which stated, "The government of the United
States is not in any sense founded on the Christian religi
on."
Some religionists today want to add God to the Constitution or to
areas of our lives under government control, just as Congress did to
the pledge of allegiance decades ago. Aside from threatening a
fundamental protection, what will that accomplish? By saying "One
nation, under God" did we prevent the rash of assassinations, wars,
Watergate, higher taxes, a presidential impeachment, bloated
government, declining education, the failed wars on drugs and
poverty, and Terrible Tuesday? People who say reason isn't enough
usually have it in short supply.
If we want a moral society we have to kick government out of our
lives. The heart of moral behavior is the acceptance of self-
responsibility and the absence of compulsion in human relations. Our
government today violates both these conditions. If neither one of us
has the right to break the other's leg or pick the other's pocket, on
what basis do we give that permission to the people we elect?
The only way to differentiate ourselves from statism is to come home
again, by reclaiming our fundamental values of individual rights and
free markets.
References and Suggestions for Further Reading
http://www.greatseal.com/symbols/unum.html - e pluribus unum
http://www.ustreas.gov/opc/opc0011.html - In God We Trust history
von Mises, Ludwig, Planning for Freedom, Libertarian Press, South
Holland, IL, 1962.
http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/publications/ digest/991/bethell.html -
Pilgrims' attempt at communism
http://www.radicalacademy.com/lockebio.htm - Locke theory of
individual rights and government
http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/Paine/AOR- Frame.html - Age of
Reason, Paine
http://www.freeworldtrading.com/Reason/pages/ fundamentalsarticles/
dangerouslydroppedcontext.htm - Dangerously Dropped Context
http://sc94.ameslab.gov/TOUR/jeffmem.html - Jefferson Memorial
http://www.theology.edu/journal/volume2/ ushistor.htm - founders
deists, not Christians
http://members.aol.com/TestOath/deism.htm - founders Christians, not
deists
http://religion.aynrand.org/quotes.html - founders deists, not
Christians
http://www.youdebate.com/DEBATES/ founding_fathers_religion.HTM -
founders deists or Christians: pro and con.
http://www.unc.edu/~pinaula/enlight.htm - The Enlightment in Europe
and its effect on young America.
George F. Smith ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) is a freelance writer.
-30-
from The Laissez Faire City Times, Vol 6, No 4, January 28, 2002
End<{{{
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