Virtues of Humanity Have No Color

This summer, as part of an effort to portray the United States as a bigoted People, building and guiding a society to keep white people’s social prominence through the institutionalization of ‘white superiority’ and telling those of us who are white skinned that we are racist no matter if we know it or not, the Smithsonian Institution issued a white paper (another institutionalization) defining this ‘white superiority’.  This link provides a fair review of an academic paper since hidden from the Internet for having promoted racism itself.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2020/07/15/smithsonian-african-american-history-museum-defines-whiteness-individualism-science-hard-work/

Since this weblog entry is likely to be active longer than the Breitbart link, here are few excerpts:

• 
  Be #1
• Win at all costs
• Winner-loser dichotomy
• Action Orientation
• Master and control nature
• Must always “do something” about a situation
• Aggressiveness and Extroversion
• Decision-Making
• Majority rules (when Whites have power)

…

Protestant Work Ethic

• Hard work is the key to success
• Work before play
• “If you didn’t meet your goals, you didn’t work hard enough”

…

Family Structure

• Nuclear family (father, mother, 2.3 children is the ideal social unit
• Husband is breadwinner and head of household
• Wife is homemaker and subordinate to husband
• Children should have own rooms, be independent

First of all, these are not ‘white’ ideas.  These ideas are from timeless scriptures across religious and moral values that go back beyond the dominance of European culture of the 2^nd millennium C.E.  That Christianity adopted these and then became the dominant religion of Europe for nearly two millennium accounts for the probability of classifying these as ‘white’.

Second, I was raised on these and more.  They represent the measures of building my Conscience.  That others find them abhorrent is more for a lack of their own recognition of these timeless virtues than the fact that these virtues were adopted and successfully employed by white-skinned Europeans.

White Europeans are not the only ones that have adopted and employed these virtues.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_Greatest_African_Americans ( they had to limit it to 100?)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_Americans

Millions of people world-wide know these virtues, employ them, and find success in them.  These lists above were easily acquired.  Hundreds of non-white Americans have success stories that far exceed my own.  If ‘white-superiority’ were institutionalized in the United States, by law or by practice, then how is it all the people in the lists above have superior notoriety to my own?

‘White-superiority’ is a lie meant to divide our country.  It is a lie perpetuated by those who live on government funding and their own failures to embrace timeless principles.  It is a lie that uses a blanket of victimhood to keep people down.

No law, no ordinance, no act of government will keep one person from acting or reacting toward another in a manner fully compliant with the virtues above, and of those guiding religious principles of humankind.  Each Conscience is formed by the world around it.  This is why is it incumbent on every generation of humankind to cling to those virtues that build and bind us as a people and change laws that provide penalty for violating those virtues as is required.

I have witnessed this fight all my short life of 60 years.  The fight is external to and yet more strongly within those who most greatly protest against ‘white-ness’.  “Why you actin’ so white?” was a common phrase I heard others ask in their social groups.  Levels of prejudice within communities of ‘color’ were explained to me; the more ‘white, the more prominent’.  Like the caste system of Asia these people were living.

We all face obstacles that exist in our lives.  Some are based on skin-color.  Others on creed professed.  Others on gender.  We have social-construct documents that state these are false barriers.  The are also human barriers and each generation must fight to keep them down while respecting others.

If the concept of ‘white-superiority’ were real, then the lists above should not exist.  I should be wealthier and more prominent that any on them. 

Truth tells that what some are using as a divisive is actually a false theory, hiding the source and validity of divine virtues given for all human-kind to exercise, and it is not the color of my skin that has given me success, but the efforts of my own wit and ability that raises me along with my intent and the divine grace afforded me to carry them out.

So too it is for each and every one of us.

Chicago Mayor Says Its Not ‘Her’ Constitution –

“The Constitution didn’t consider me a person, in any way, shape, or form.” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she believes in the Constitution, but not the way Amy Coney Barrett interprets it… 10/14/2020 7:02 PM  https://www.ecosia.org/search?q=chicago+mayor+says+the+constitution+is+not+hers

The current Mayor of Chicago (October 2020) Loir Lightfoot is a homosexual, black, female…  let’s see if the Constitution, as written, considers her a person.

Signed by States Representatives Sep 17, 1787    Ratified by 2/3^rd’s majority of States Jun 21, 1788   Under these laws, the following progress towards full acknowledgement of Lori Lightfoot has progressed.

Constitution: Art.3 Sect 3 (The President)…shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed,

                President Lincoln, under this Article, signed the Emancipation Proclamation Jan 1, 1863, ending slavery in the United States.  Success of the North in April 1865 held this to be true.  The promise of the Declaration of Independence was upheld; “…all men are created equal…” (‘men’ and ‘mankind’ understood in English before the 1950’s as humankind, ‘man and woman’)

Constitution: Art. 5 – …whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution…

                This Article allows for additions and subtractions to the Constitution.  Mostly additions…which, for Lori Lightfoot, continues to allow for the natural progression of the People to govern themselves.

Constitution: Art. 6 – no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

                Homosexuality is not supported by the scriptures and Traditions of the Abrahamic Religions (Judaism/Christianity/Islam), and Buddhism/Hinduism do not specifically address this.  Lori Lightfoot was not submitted to a religious test in order to run for and hold office as the Mayor of Chicago.

Constitution: Amendment 9 – The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

                The Declaration of Independence only mentions unalienable rights.  It does not enumerate all those rights.  Loir Lightfoot has rights as a person afforded by the ‘higher power’ noted in the Declaration beyond and affirmed by this Article.

Constitution: Amendment 13 – Abolition of slavery, including involuntary servitude.

                Declared July 1776, affirmed January 31, 1865.

Constitution: Amendment 14 – Civil rights; …nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

                Lori Lightfoot, you are equal under the law, afforded those protections denied by politics originally, but afforded the full protection and recognition you deserve, July 9^th, 1868

Constitution: Amendment 15 – Black Suffrage – …right to vote…shall not be denied on account of race, color,…

                February 3^rd, 1870, by law, Lori Lightfoot, you have the responsibility to vote….oops, wait…

Constitution: Amendment 19 – Women’s suffrage – women’s …right to vote…   

                August 18^th, 1920, NOW you have the responsibility to vote

Constitution: Art.3 The judicial power (Supreme Court) shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution…

Obergefell v. Hodges – Supreme Court Docket 14-556 – under the ‘equal protection’ clause of the 14^th Amendment, homosexual marriage is permitted in these United States.

                …and finally, Lori Lightfoot, you have the right to marry, under secular law, a person of your same gender.

The White Anglo-Saxon, mostly Protestant Men we call Founding Fathers really did look after you Lori Lightfoot.  Seems the real problem is that you, and thousands of others like you either don’t know or don’t care to know just how the Constitution of the United States is set up, for people just like you.  Holding fast to that Constitution for more than 240 year, ‘We the People…’ have taken care to keep and hold this American Dream of self-determination, based on what Dr. Martin Luther King proclaimed, “I have a dream …where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

No law will ever force one individual to treat another individual in any given way/shape/form. How individuals treat each other is a matter of human anthropology; instinct is the oldest teacher, and experience and learning shape our Conscience and through that our individual actions. Law is for the formation and structure of the larger social body.

I believe what Dr. King proclaimed, Lori Lightfoot.  I also believe in the Constitution we have.  Every generation of Americans has had to fight for these words, these laws, these principles since the day they were approved.  But my white, Anglo-Saxon, male voice isn’t appreciated at this point in time. 

It’s your voice, Lori Lightfoot, yours and others like you who have to make the difference.   

(It’s very easy to be informed in the days of the Internet)

https://www.ushistory.org/documents/constitution.htm

https://www.oyez.org/cases/2014/14-556?_escaped_fragment_=&_escaped_fragment_=&_escaped_fragment_=

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Russia Probe Declassified: An American Chapter in the Globalization Effort

The current declassification of investigative documentary evidence by President Trump could be the Trump campaign’s ‘October Surprise’.  Certainly, proponents of the opposition will say so and certainly the bulk broadcast media (the Limbaugh designated ‘drive-by’ list) will largely ignore what they can and will discredit from the outset.

photo credit TheWashingtonExaminer

The release as declassified will, at the least, provide historians with an opportunity to read and review the impetus of a political fight for the Presidency that occurred in 2016 and has continued for four years.  This, at least, will occur until whatever political maneuvers can be accomplished to suppress and destroy this information.

The revelation of the details of this political fight is important in a larger review of U.S. and World history.  The campaign to keep Donald Trump from taking office, and then the attempt to remove him from office, and subsequently mitigate the success of his administration is a larger part of the move to globalize a world governing body.

The globalization efforts are easily seen for those who go looking.  The following programs and/or concepts are part of this effort:

• The formation of NATO following WWII – created a world-wide military to enforce political will.

• The formation of the United Nations and subsequent treaties adopted by the member nations – provided a forum for legislation, and the appearance of the smaller countries having a voice, while the Security Council countries conduct business (U.S, Soviets/Russia, China, Great Britain, France, and two rotating countries)

• The opening of China’s economy to the World economy – combination of opening a third-world market to business and tying it to the greater global economy and giving a Chinese government a ‘seat at the table.

• The formation of the Trilateral Commission, an organization formed of the wealthiest people in the world and catered to by former politicians, including the Presidents of the United States, Secretaries of Defense and State, and Speakers of the House.   http://trilateral.org/  – involves the money behind the world’s governments the forum to project their decisions and bind, through international treaties (Non-Government Organizations) all the U.N. nations to the appearance of world law.  (the U.S. Supreme Court has constitutionally upheld the requirement that the Executive Branch adhere to international treaties when those treaties have been approved by Congress).

• The First Gulf War against Iraq: Desert Shield/Desert Storm – two items accomplished here; first, the world’s forth largest army was dismantled legally by NATO.  Second, the world’s primary oil supply of the time was protected for collection and distribution.  It is suspected that the follow-on campaign called ‘Desert Fox’ was conducted in retaliation for Saddam Hussein’s (NOT a Trilateral member) assassination attempt on George H. W. Bush (a Trilateral principal member).

• The politization of the Global Warming science -global warming has been promoted to create the ‘Green’ economy, which opens the renewable energy market to government support and legislation.  Green energy was previously investigated, attempted, and failed in the 1960’s and 70’s because it cannot keep up nor generate the levels of energy required by the fossil-fuel economy.  Marketed as saving the world from ‘global warming’ created new markets and abilities to legislate requirements for adopting such methods.  Consequently, wind farms now dot the horizons of rural America, solar farms cover croplands.  While the technology works, it does not meet the energy requirements to smelt and process the materials needed to develop the technologies.  (See Forbes Magazine https://www.forbes.com/sites/rrapier/2020/02/16/estimating-the-carbon-footprint-of-utility-scale-battery-storage/#13f8221b7adb )

The Constitution of the United States stands as an obstacle to the globalization concept.  Election of politicians by the people, and the political appointment power (federal courts) of duly elected officials gives the control of policy to the general public in the controlled fashion of the election process, including the check-and-balance of the Electoral College.  In particular, the First Amendment Rights of Free Speech and Free Press give voice to the People.  The Second Amendment Right to bear arms establishes one of the largest armies in the world, albeit not under any federal or State control.  Thus, any politician who rises to the level of President of the United States who supports and defends this Constitution and appoints judges to the federal courts to defend this Constitution presents a problem for those committed to globalization.

Donald J. Trump is not a politician, he is a businessman with international holdings, giving him a unique viewpoint of world government, NGO, and U.S. policies.  He has not been part of the ‘inner-circle’ of politicians groomed over the last sixty+ years.  He is not (yet) a member of the Trilateral Commission.  Consequently, his election by the people of the Republican Party was a shock and surprise those who were and are.  Further, his election over Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State and wife of a former President) was a setback to the globalization and moving the United States away from the Constitutional foundation under which it was formed.

President Trump’s ordered declassification of the Justice Department’s probes into the origins of the Russia probe and the subsequent Mueller investigation is an attempt to reveal to the People the lengths to which those involved would go to remove a duly elected representative of those People.  The efforts cap a four-year defense he has waged to protect the People’s choice (Electoral College), showing us how our government has been dissuaded from carrying out our Constitution.  The question is whether this revelation will be reviewed, studied, and believed, or if it is simply a last gasp of a failing campaign that will be ignored.

Those of us who have followed these events over the course of a lifetime know the fact that these events have occurred.  It is not unusual that events at the micro-level will precipitate a fog that hide some details and allow others to be easily distorted and dismissed.  The daily conduct of our Constitution relies on a bond of trust between the People, the Press, and those elected to run our business for us, and for many that trust is broken.  Every so often, it becomes necessary for the People to take more than a cursory look at what is happening in our government and make necessary adjustments.  Reviewing the documents made public by President Trump this October is one of these times, and it remains so no matter who the President is for the next four years.

John L. Zoll, Citizen, Patriot, Author, Theologian, but most importantly, Husband and Father. For my grandchildren…

Written and offered in preparation for the Rosary Across America this 7th of October 2020, Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, as the 103rd Anniversary of the Miracles of Fatima (Oct 13th).

Clermont, FL

Main Street is Burning. Wall Street Must Come to Its Aid.

Businesses across the country on Mainstreet have been shut down, boarded up, and some burned out by those who do not believe in the philosophy of government this Pledge represents.  The purpose of the LinkedIN site is to promote business relationships.  This will not be successful when the governmental philosophy under which business is conducted is undermined.  ‘Powering through’ without addressing the erosion of the foundation is a fatal decision.

‘Philosophers’, of which I am one as a theologian, do not necessarily earn much money.  Business leaders, from the small business owner to the company and boardroom CEO’s do, and they make money for those of us who invest, whether directly or through our retirement 401Ks.  Preserving the foundation of business operations requires the preservation of the method of government under which we all currently work.

Philosophy is not something commonly discussed.  Rather, terms of ‘strategic planning’, ‘tactical advantage’, and ‘financial stability’ are the normal watchwords and guiding principles of business.  What happens when these are impacted by a shift in the conduct of government?

What happens has been demonstrated over the past four months in the streets of our cities where a lack of support by government for law enforcement results in the damage on Mainstreet.  What happens is demonstrated when the cable and airwaves call this damage ‘protest’ instead of ‘riot’.  What happens is demonstrated when the businesses of sport suffer market ratings drops of 30% and 40% over the same cable and airwaves transmissions.

The ‘attack’ on our government, and the Pledge in particular, started decades ago.  School children were not required to stand and say the words nor taught the need to understand the words.  We had ‘international’ students who needed to not deny their own heritage, we were told.  The requirement was an ‘infringement’ of students’ free speech rights, we were told.  Parallel to this, the Stars-and-Bars were taken down at public schools and replaced with other national ensigns.  Again, we were told it was the students’ free speech rights.

Instead of a ‘melting pot’ society, where all nationalities blended and yearned for the freedoms of the United States and the ‘American Dream’, the segregated society was encouraged. 

Business requires labor to conform to business policy for the promotion of successful operations.  Labor conforms or finds other business to join with for successful ventures.  The struggle has been in the boardrooms for decades as well, and the boardrooms have followed ‘politically correct’ policies… to the current environment.  Business is more culpable than government for the current situation.

It is up to business leaders in the board rooms to make the changes, to recognize the failed social policies of those promoting ‘politically correct’ and to make the changes necessary to support the freedoms of the Constitution over the desires of the socially diverse.  Is it more important to set up divisive policy within, or require conformity for unity of purpose?

Main Street is burning.  Wall Street must come to its aid.

On the Sept 29th, 2020 Presidential ‘brawl’ debate

I think the President is confused about the vocabulary meaning of a ‘Bulley Pulpit’.

He certainly gave Mr. Biden a reason to remove himself from any further such encounters.

We needed to see a business leader and planner last night. What we got was a bully and a polished politician. No one likes a bully. No one cares about Hunter Biden. No one cares any longer (except Trump supporters) about Hillary Clinton or Russia-gate.

What ‘main street’ people care about is when the vaccines for Covid will get to them and when they can go back to work and when will there be ‘normalcy’? Mr. Biden promised the country these three things (‘promised’ being a political term). The President promised continued mayhem, and blamed Mr. Biden.

Then Dems got what they needed last night. The ‘real’ Donald Trump.

The ‘Short’ of it… Fill Judge Ginsburg’s Seat

https://www.npr.org/2020/09/21/915171218/should-the-next-supreme-court-justice-be-nominated-before-the-election

The NPR story link above won’t last as long as this post is on-line. News is of fleeting interest in the beginning of the 21st Century. The information contained in it will be borne out by history books and news articles, appropriately preserved by those ‘winning’ and others who hold such things as philosophy to be followed.

The purpose of this writing is to record something of the above and the disconcerting issues it raises for this date in history. The interview proposes to present a ‘conservative’ scholar supporting the idea of the President and Senate waiting until after the election to fill the seat of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

I support filling that seat as soon as possible for the reasons presented by the scholar.

1. A Democrat party-controlled Senate is likely to move the District of Columbia and the Territory of Puerto Rico toward Statehood. These are politically Democrat oriented territories and would likely provide four Senate seats to the Democrat party, tipping the Senate toward their party and power for some time in the future.
2. A stated proposal of the Democrat party is to increase the number of seats on the Supreme Court while the Senate and Presidency is in their hands in order to seat more justices according to their principles and control the law of the land for the foreseeable future of the mid-21st Century.
3. A stated proposal of the Democrat party is to eliminate the Electoral College and leave the popular vote to determine the results of national elections.

Two of these proposals would require Constitutional amendments under current law. Further, it was stated that a Conservative (Constitutional) Court would destroy the ‘progress’ of the past 60 years.

With Constitutional Justices on the bench, from local to State to the federal and the Supreme Court, the Constitution of the United States survives and our form of government survives. Trump, Biden, Conservative, Progressive,… people and ‘definitions’ change. Two of these will be quickly passed into history.

These United States exist as ‘we’ are only because we have the Constitution we were given to support and defend. Politicians and soldiers swear allegiance to it through oaths taken. ‘We the People…’ swear allegiance when we stand and Pledge to it (which is why the current trend to kneel and denigrate the flag is an affront to us all). ‘We the People…’ have our voices only because of this Constitution. How do we defend the Constitution?

Congress of the United States, the House and Senate, these are supposed to be the lawmakers under the Constitution.

The Executive Branch lead by the President is supposed to administer the country under these laws and create policy where Congress fails to act in a timely manner.

The Supreme Court is supposed to determine if these laws and policies meet the intent of the Constitution, and NO MORE. They are not supposed to legislate through their opinions.

https://www.ushistory.org/documents/constitution.htm

Fill the seat, Mr. President. Follow the full history of our country’s leadership from ALL political parties’ example over 240 years and fill the seat on the SCOTUS bench. Defend the Constitution for the next several decades and fill the open seat with someone who will defend the Constitution.

President Trump Articulates a Vision for America’s Future

Here’s what I recall from last night’s (August 27th, 2020) acceptance speech by President Donald Trump:

Action items for the next 4 years;

An additional income tax reduction

Continued pursuit of (phase two) of China trade treaty

Continuation and completion of the boarder wall on the southern border.

Continued federal support for State and local authorities in maintaining law and order.

Continued strengthening of energy independence.

Additional exploration and transportation of oil and gas fuels.

National self-sufficiency: continuing return of manufacturing, pharmaceutical development to within US borders.

Continued strengthening of legal immigration and border control.

Continued recommendations and appointment of Constitution oriented federal judges, including the Supreme Court.

These are articulated actionable goals, punctuated by the pre-speech montage’ of the accomplishments of the last four years in spite of a hostile opposition (as opposed to a ‘loyal’ opposition). [Hey, did anyone else know about the TVA rotating US workers out of their jobs and hiring immigrant workers at lower wages?]

There WAS pandering to the base. There WAS political hype. This is what a ‘pep-rally’ is.

And there IS a plan, backed by 4 years of successful exercise of policy and articulated by the man who has lead the way. There is something to ‘think’ about, not just ‘feel’ about.

Last night was a portrait of courage in the face of adversity, a 1000+ people gathering in spite of the fears of the day to stand with and for the vision presented by a leader., a vision already in progress.Nov 3, (or earlier) vote to keep it rolling forward. Remember, if you DO vote-by-mail, do so early enough to return your ballot before Nov 3rd. Order it now…

And one doesn’t have to be a soldier/sailor/airman or law enforcement officer to need courage to stand for what one believes. See the Twitter videos in this link on how mobs will treat you in the street when they know what you believe:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/sen-rand-paul-thanks-dc-cops-for-saving-him-from-crazed-mob-after-rnc

Pioneering Spirit vs Pandering Words

Watched Mr. Biden’s speech last night. Was as expected. He said what his base wanted to hear. He was long on ‘feelings’ , short on policy, and empty on process. It was a true politician’s speech.

The President is a brash, unapologetic man who says what he means and does as he says. Sometimes I agree, sometimes I don’t. What I know is because he speaks his mind and not platitudes at least I know what to expect.

I see the choice as between those who want to be taken care of and those who expect to stand on their own two feet then help others to do the same, between those who want a handout and those who would give a hand up. The latter perspective is what built this country into the powerhouse it became. President Trump IS that perspective.

European socialism hasn’t resolved all their problems and a similar styled social construct in the U.S. isn’t going to fix our problems here, it will only give the government control of the problems, and the individual a higher tax bill to pay for it (from 43% in Italy to 57.7% in Sweden*).

Our Democratic-Republic hasn’t fixed all of our problems either. It does allow citizens and visitors alike to step up and do so, individually and collectively as well. From the first settlements in Roanoke and Jamestown to the pioneers setting out from the Atlantic across the continent, it’s ‘rugged individualism’ that lead the way for dreams to be built.

This is the question that hangs in the balance of the election.

Vote… and vote GOP for the pioneering American Dream.

*https://tradingeconomics.com/country-list/personal-income-tax-rate?continent=europe

Cloth, Colors, Concepts – Honoring Ourselves and Our Lives

“Flag, a piece of cloth, bunting, or similar material displaying the insignia of a sovereign state, a community, an organization, an armed force, an office, or an individual.”

“Flags recognizable as such were almost certainly the invention of the ancient peoples of the Indian subcontinent or what is now China. It is said that the founder of the Zhou dynasty in China (1046–256 BCE) had a white flag carried before him, and it is known that in 660 CE a minor prince was punished for failing to lower his standard before his superior.”

 “The colours and designs of national flags usually are not arbitrarily selected but rather stem from the history, culture, or religion of the particular country.”

The Stars and Stripes of the United States of America represent the principles around which the “We, the People…” of the country conduct our government.  We stand to honor our principles when the flag is raised.  We pledge our allegiance not to a flag, but to those principles that provide us the freedoms to conduct our lives.  The Preamble to our Constitution summarizes those principles.

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”²

Are these principles perfectly implemented in our society?  They are not.  Principles are ideals we strive to live by.  However, we are human, and humans err, typically more so when their emotions affect and interfere with our judgement.

Are these still the principles we desire to live by?  Another principled document answers this question.  “‘Lord, to whom can we go?”³ The ‘experiment’ of a government run by the People is two-hundred forty-four years on and continues currently in turmoil.  Yet, around the world this same experiment is looked to and longed for as the best hope for people to live their own dreams and determine their own destiny.  People cross deserts in the heat of summer, pay to stow away in cargo containers and have themselves shipped into its borders, apply by the thousands for visas of any sort that will allow them to come and work and study and live under these principles.  There are people who volunteer to defend these principles from all enemies, foreign and domestic, placing their lives at the will of the People they come from.  Yes, it is apparent these principles are still something for which people will “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”⁴

“The flag was the first object of attack in battle, and its fall would mean confusion if not defeat.”¹

I am aware that in my lifetime it has become acceptable, and recently even preferable, to deface and dishonor the Stars and Stripes.  Artists design their works such that observers are encouraged to stand on our flag.  It is popular to burn our flag publicly, both by foreign protestors decrying our international policies and by domestic protestors who claim we have failed to live up to our principles.  Foreigners insult us and entreat us to battles.  Domestic protestors dishonor us all by their actions, including themselves.  The fervor for their cause blinds them to the insults they perpetrate upon us all.

Kneeling is a current, non-destructive method of protest.  Rather than stand to honor our principles, kneeling before it is a reverent act, one that both honors the principles and argues the effectiveness of our collective efforts to implement them. 

Imperfect we are.  Still, the iconic pictures of the flag flying in New York harbor at the Statue of Liberty, the Iwo Jima image recalled from Mt. Suribachi from the Pacific in World War II, and the post 9/11 photo from the middle of the World Trade Center rubble are meant to stir within each of us some sense of the desire for people world-wide and within our own consciences to fight to live for those principles enshrined in our Constitution.  For this reason, each of us should pledge allegiance to those principles before our public actions, whether we intend to defend those principles or to protest the failures to carry them out.

“”I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”⁵

1. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Flag”. Encyclopædia Britannica; Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., October 10, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/flag-heraldry. Access Date: July 22, 2020
2. “Constitution of the United States of America.” Published on-line by the Independence Hall Association; Philadelphia.  www.ushistory.org. 1999-2020. Accessed July 22, 2020.
3. Jn 6:68. “Gospel of John”. New Revised Standard Edition.  New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Catholic Edition, on-line. www.biblegateway.com. 1989, 1993, 1995. Accessed July 22, 2020.
4. “Declaration of Independence”. Published on-line by the Independence Hall Association; Philadelphia.  http://www.ushistory.org. 1999-2020. Accessed July 22, 2020.
5. ‘The Pledge of Allegiance”. Published on-line by the Independence Hall Association; Philadelphia.  http://www.ushistory.org. 1999-2020. Accessed July 22, 2020.

Philosophy that built a nation…

Two centuries apart…

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Declaration of Independence

…because principled philosophy through the ages builds a people.

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge — and more.“
President John F. Kennedy

“We are now engaged in a great civil war, to judge whether this nation or any nation so dedicated and so conceived may long endure.” Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg.

1998 and 1999 I was an ‘equal opportunity’ instructor on USS Enterprise. I guess that what has morphed into the Diversity person.

I made one point. Everyone was a sailor. There were no white sailors, latino sailors, asian sailors, black sailors…just sailors whose lives depended on the sailor next to them at any given time, aboard ship or at sea.

This is an American idea. This is what the ‘melting pot’ concept of the U.S. intended. The 1964 Civil Rights Laws intended to put in writing. These same laws, by ‘counting’ and distributing money according to race, creed, gender, and sexual orientation, institutionalized the racism arguments and created a new ‘industry’.

So long as there is political catering to ANY group, we will remain a divided people.

Aboard ship we were bound by a common need to survive. It was a long swim home. This is no less real for us all, though it is far less understood. It begins with an understanding and faith in our founding principles.

The writers and signatores of the Declaration of Independence were willing to give everything for the principles of the Declaration. Most of them ended up poor men. A few of them gave their lives before the end of the revolution.

John Kennedy promised Americans they were still necessarily bound to those same ideals.

Abraham Lincoln promised that it was not the living who sanctified the country, but those who died for these principles. George Floyd has joined the ranks of those, from Crispus Attucks, through the city of Baltimore in 1813 where the Star-Spangled Banner was written, through Gettysburg, the Argon, Normandy, Viet Nam, and the Civil Rights Movement.

The protesters in the June/July of 2020 may be fighting the same battle for freedom as our predecessors. Many who join the ranks have begun tearing down the very principles that allow them the right to argue their points. It’s time they do more study of the historical principles of freedom, rather than attempt to rip them apart.

Read more here, and find just how much the rhetoric of today is as that of yesterday.

www.ushistory.org/documents