Our Lives, Our Nation

"Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives." John Adams.

This sentiment is the true essence of patriotism.  To paraphrase another President, its not what our country can do for us, but what we can do for her.  On the other hand, if we lived in Cuba or Iran, this might be a bit different, but as Americans, we believe in, and are the beneficiaries of the First Principle of the Social Compact.  The Social Compact provides that we give up some rights to the government so that it will protect our unalienable rights, and that we have the right to direct the government through the republican form of government.

This sentiment is all but lost today.  Way too many seem to think that the government exists to feed itself - the government is supposed to be a servant - of all - for the benefit of protecting our unalienable rights.  Look at the GSA scandal - those public "servants" did nothing but abuse their positions.

Time to return to our First Principles and the true purpose of government.  Our obligations to our country include the obligation to set it back on the right course.

To learn more, visit Patriot Week and America's Survival Guide.

Law = Freedom

"Our nation is founded on the principle that observance of the law is the eternal safeguard of liberty and defiance of the law is the surest road to tyranny." John F. Kennedy (1962)

Kennedy's insight is not always apparent.  Many would argue that the ability to flout laws, or to do whatever one wants without constraint, is the definition of liberty.  Superficially such a conception is appealing.  Indeed, it appears entire swaths of our society embrace that hedonistic view of the world.

However, what America has long understood is that it is the law - adopted by the people - that protects our liberties.  The Constitution - the supreme law of the land, protects liberty by dividing power among branches and limiting the authority of the government.  Enforcement of the Bill of Rights is especially important to protecting the unalienable rights of individuals.  Thus, paradoxically, the law is truly the great protector of liberty.

For more on the importance of the rule of law, check out Patriot Week and America's Survival Guide.