Thanksgiving honors founders' faith

For anyone born in the last 50 years, "separation of church and state" is inculcated secular orthodoxy. I well remember the family discussion during which my dad informed me that the phrase appears nowhere in the Constitution, and I recall spending the next two hours searching my history books in futility to prove him wrong. That government is insulated from faith is a notion that survives only in historical ignorance. Perhaps nothing disproves this fallacy more effectively than Thanksgiving Day, an official government holiday established for the purpose of acknowledging God's blessing of America.

Abraham Lincoln instituted a national day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday in November, proclaiming:

"We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown.

"But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us."

Lincoln deemed it "fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and once voice, by the whole American people."

Secularists, atheists and revisionists try to obscure these declarations of national faith, but Lincoln's sentiments echo those of our Founding Fathers.

The Continental Congress declared the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation on Nov. 1, 1777, so Americans could "express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor; and that together with their sincere acknowledgments and offerings, they may join (in) the penitent confession of their manifold sins ... that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them out of remembrance."

When the "father of our country," George Washington, issued a similar decree in 1795, he declared it "our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we (have) experienced."

Despite our collective and individual shortcomings, Americans have prospered like no other people, but we are foolishly misguided if we believe that our freedom and longevity is the result of mere chance or that it can persevere without demanding sacrifice, humility and resolve from each of us.

Liberty, equality and freedom have certain biblical roots, and although our forefathers practiced divergent faiths and a few exhibited little faith at all, they were unified by an acknowledgement that only a faithful people is capable of self-governance.

In the 21st century, Americans continue to demonstrate a pervasive belief in God -- a faith that comforts and unifies us when tragedy and adversity remind us of our vulnerability.

Patrick Henry testified to Christianity's role in the birth of this nation and its capacity to co-exist with other faiths: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and free worship here."

Our ongoing struggles, though sometimes painful and heartbreaking, are not exceptional when compared to the suffering endured by those early colonists who dared to oppose the global superpower of that day.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we must remember the source of those patriots' strength and cultivate it for future generations.

A Republican unity recipe

Does the unbending commitment to moral issues by some in the GOP ordain a party fracture? So we're being told by centrist critics in the wake of election 2008. That logic is not only false, it's politically suicidal. Another version of this apocalyptic nonsense was heard after Colorado passed the Referendum C tax increase. My rebuttal back then, late 2005, was to argue that there are at least 20 (if not 120) deeply held beliefs to bind us together even if the specifics of tax policy happen to divide us. I wrote the following list of 21 items to prove it, placing taxes last.

Notice that abortion and marriage can also be placed very low on the list and still leave many compelling common causes for America's conservative party to agree on -- and win with. Republicans can and must continue to be the pro-life, pro-family, pro-religion party and the pro-freedom, pro-growth, pro-defense party. It's not either-or!

21 Things that Republicans Believe and Democrats Don't

Even when Republicans find ourselves divided over one issue, there are still many others that should unify us as a party – and stiffen our backbone against the opposition party. Here are 21 examples.

Look at all the good reasons we have to stick together. Most Republicans agree with each statement below. Most Democrats do not. They would either flatly disagree, or they’d be very uneasy with it.

Now consider this: unless the GOP remains a united, competitive force in the political arena, we leave our beliefs undefended for the liberals to roll forward in transforming this country into a very different place from what it is today. So the choice is ours: hang together or hang separately.

1. Our rights come from God, not government, and they belong to individuals, not groups.

2. God is real, according to the best evidence of human wisdom throughout the ages, and religious faith is generally beneficial for human well-being.

3. Our constitution is a permanent document that must be followed in its original written meaning unless formally amended – not a living document to be remolded by judges

4. America is and must remain one common culture, a melting pot enriched by many influences – not a multicultural salad bowl.

5. Federalism should continue as intended by America’s founders, with checks and balances between state power and federal power.

6. Private property is essential to a free society.

7. Free enterprise is the best system for creating opportunity and sharing wealth.

8. Courts and judges should interpret the law and the constitution as written – not seek to rewrite them. They should enforce personal responsibility and protect those who have been harmed – not conduct a lawsuit lottery.

9. Crime should be punished as a matter of personal responsibility, not excused as a matter of therapy.

10. Guns and other means of personal self-defense should be minimally regulated.

11. American military superiority is necessary in a dangerous world.

12. National security is better served by American sovereignty than it is by the United Nations.

13. Schools should respect parental choice and authority – challenge children with a high standard of truth and virtue – and be staffed by education professionals, not labor unions.

14. Colleges should not use tax dollars to teach our young people that Western civilization is worthless and America is a nation to be ashamed of.

15. Welfare should be a safety net for misfortune, not a hammock for dependency.

16. Health care policy should be based on personal choice, personal responsibility, and free markets.

17. Transportation policy should be based on individuals having freedom of mobility in their own cars.

18. Environmental policy should recognize humans as the highest species and economic growth as a positive good.

19. Abortion law should recognize there is not just one life but two lives in the balance when a woman seeks to end a pregnancy.

20. Marriage between one man and one woman warrants preference in law for its humanly natural, socially nourishing, and historically proven benefits.

21. Taxes are necessary as part of the price we pay for a civilized society, but taxes are also dangerous because the power to tax involves the power to destroy.

12 reasons I'm a Republican

Editor: Ron Phelps sent this to newspapers before the election. With the GOP's identity crisis, it's needed now more than ever. 1. I believe people should be guaranteed equal rights, not equal things.

2. I think making decisions locally is better than having Washington politicians or bureaucrats make them for me.

3. I think a free-enterprise system within a representative republic is a more effective way of running our country and meeting our needs than socialism.

4. I believe businesses in America should be allowed to make profits and I reject government redistribution of the profits of private enterprise. I reject socialism and the nationalization of private companies.

5. I believe that people misusing guns, and not the guns themselves are the issue. If someone with a weapon threatens my family or me, I have the right to, and will, shoot you.

6. I believe judges should not rewrite the Constitution to suit a fringe element, a minority that fails to get the support of voters.

7. I believe in private healthcare, not socialized medicine. I've lived and experienced the inefficiencies of government provided health care as a veteran.

8. I believe it's important to explore, develop, and use all possible sources of energy for our health, safety, and growth. I believe we should drill for oil here and now while we develop alternative sources of energy.

9. I believe marriage is a sacred union of a husband and wife for the purpose of bearing children, raising a family, and teaching them strong moral values. Our civilization is built on and will only survive on a foundation of strong families.

10. I believe that unborn children's lives are valuable, sacred, and should be defended. I reject abortion as a method of birth control.

11. I believe that early abortion should occur rarely and only be considered when the life of the mother is at risk.

12. I believe all who migrate to this country must do so within the established legal system. I believe that allowing, supporting, or offering sanctuary to anyone who illegally migrates to America is a crime.

Primer: Repeat after me

It is not the government’s responsibility to save Chrysler, GM, or Ford. Looking back, it was not the government’s responsibility to save AIG, Citigroup, or any other financial institution. Looking ahead, it is not the government’s responsibility to save coal companies, homebuilders, retailers, manufacturers, or hot dog carts. It is not the government’s responsibility to “protect” jobs – even when those jobs are held by member of politically powerful labor unions.

It is not the government’s responsibility to “create” jobs – the only jobs the government has the power to create are government jobs, and the world doesn’t need more bureaucrats.

It is not the government’s responsibility to prevent foreclosures, where people took out loans they cannot afford to pay back.

It is not the government’s responsibility to make sure that everyone has high-speed internet and cable TV. For that matter, it is not the government’s responsibility to pay for anyone’s personal expenses, be they medical costs, gasoline, or pedicures.

It is not the government’s responsibility to address “income inequality.”

To be clear, it IS the government’s responsibility to provide an environment where people and businesses can – through innovation, effort, and personal responsibility – achieve success, be self-reliant, and have the opportunity to strive for ever-greater achievement.

The ingredients are a fair, predictable legal system; dependable property rights; low taxes; and light regulation. That’s all.

Will BHO tack to center like Sarko?

Rush Limbaugh’s giddiness since the Republican election loss has proved infectious among French advocates of American conservatism, admittedly a rare breed but a committed one nonetheless. Why the Gallic mirth? Well, consider this. During the French presidential campaign back in early 2007, Nicolas Sarkozy pledged that, if elected, he would bring profound change to economically sclerotic France. “La rupture” he dared call it to liberal and even some center-right catcalls and hisses.

About 18 months on, those previously doing the catcalling and the hissing are now cheering and blowing kisses to their Nemesis-turned-fellow-traveler. How come? Well, in France’s predominantly leftist political culture, President Sarkozy has realized that his approval ratings as well as his chances of reelection in 2012 depend to a large extent on his ability to tack to the left.

Judging by his social and economic record so far, his reelection campaign started about a year ago. He calls it “pragmatisme”. Let’s take it for what it really is and call it Socialism, the “spread-the-wealth” kind of Socialism America voted for more than a week ago. Even on foreign policy, Sarkozy is turning out to be a typically French fair-weather friend, gesticulating against America’s Missile Defense just to placate his KGB pals over in the Kremlin.

Given la rupture’s slim hopes of survival in post-election worlds, President-elect Obama’s “Change we can believe in” may well follow Sarkozyesque revert-to-cultural-type political meanderings after all.

In other words, in a (still?) predominantly center-right country like the United States, Obama may well realize that sticking to some lite version of pro-family-strong-defense-tax-cutting conservatism is his best political option.

Even Rush himself not so facetiously let the cat out of the electoral bag a few days before the vote. In a brief exchange with Rudy Giuliani over Joe Biden’s Obama’s-gonna-be-tested-gaffe, Rush hinted that Biden’s pleas to liberal faithful for support of Obama’s response might actually imply that the next president would be as tough as George W. Bush.

Nothing for conservatives to worry about then? Maybe so, unless a majority of the American people, including 20% of conservatives, are so enamored of Sarkozy and Socialistic France that they are prepared to take their cue from Tocqueville’s ill-advised descendants and ditch freedom for the smothering embrace of Welfarist paternalism.

In that case, freedom will have been no more than one election cycle away from extinction. Conservatives, French and American alike, would then all be laughing on the other side of their faces.

Note: “Paoli” is the pen name, er, nom de plume, of our French correspondent. Monsieur is a close student of European and US politics, a onetime exchange student in Colorado and a well-wisher to us Americans. He informs us the original Pasquale Paoli, 1725-1807, was the George Washington of Corsica.