Liberty Begins at Home

by Kimberly Fletcher

In 1787, after a long hot summer of deep debates and negotiations, Congress approved the Constitution of the United States of America.  As Benjamin Franklin, left Independence Hall a woman approached him and asked, “Sir, what did you give us?” To which Mr. Franklin replied, “A Republic ma'am, if you can keep it.”  How profound his words were.

Benjamin Franklin knew how hard it would be to keep the Republic.  He knew how easy it would be for men in power to usurp power and authority (not granted them) if we were not vigilantly watching.  He knew how easy it would be for us to forget what the Republic was about, and the ideas that made it strong, if we were not constantly reminding ourselves.  He knew how easy it would be for us to start looking to the government to solve our problems and save us from ourselves.  He knew “keeping” the Republic would mean hard work, a firm understanding of the principles of liberty, and an unwavering commitment to preserve them.  Benjamin Franklin knew what a challenge it would be to sustain a Republic but he fervently believed—if ever there were a people who could do it, it would be us.

                    

After two centuries of freedom we have certainly done better than any other nation, country or empire but we have definitely not done our due diligence in keeping the Republic.  In fact, the Republic our Founders left to us is hardly recognizable anymore.  All the things our Founding Fathers feared, warned us about, and tried so desperately to protect us against, are the very things we are facing today. 

There has been a lot of talk about democracy lately.  Democracy seems to be the new buzz word in the world, but I often wonder if the countries currently mulling around the idea of democracy really understand what it means?  Even more, do Americans understand what it means?  In this revival of liberty we are experiencing in our country today, I think these are questions every American should be asking themself.  So today, I’d like to share what Democracy means to me.

I think Benjamin Franklin defined it best when he said, “Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.”

Our Founding Fathers realized the oppression of a Monarchy, but they were also aware of the failings of a Democracy.  And while the world looks to America as a symbol of democracy, it is the combination of self-governance and representative leadership that is the secret of America’s success.  America is not a democracy, it is a Democratic Republic—the divinely perfect combination to promote freedom and protect individual liberties.

If we are to have a discussion about what Democracy means, we must first understand what it is and what it is not.  The American experiment is much more than a form of government, it is an ideal.  It is the belief that man can, in fact, govern himself and if he will not, then the experiment fails.  But, like Benjamin Franklin, our Founders truly believed it could be done and that we would do it.

Many people are blaming the predicament of our country on the president, his administration, Congress, and the government in general, but in reality, those things are not the problem but merely symptoms of it.  You can’t rid a garden of noxious weeds simply by cutting the stems, you have to go to the root.  The problem in our country today is not an out of control government, the problem is that Americans are not acting American—we are not embracing our divine heritage of liberty, we don’t know our magnificent, providential history, and we are not fulfilling our civic responsibility.  The harsh reality is, if we don’t like what’s going on in our nation today, we only have ourselves to blame. 

We are a government of the people and by the people not just for the people.  If we the people are not “by the people”, if we are not willing to do our civic duty and watch over government then corruption will take root and consume our nation until we the people are strangled right out of existence.  If we the people are not willing to be “of the people” and run for elected office then there will be plenty of self-serving, power-hungry individuals who will.  If we the people are not fostering a love of liberty in our own homes and our own hearts then we will never understand and embrace the principles of liberty our nation was founded on.  If we are not willing to sacrifice our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to preserve liberty and sustain the Constitution then freedom in America will cease to exist.  We are the reason we are in the state we are in.  And we are the only ones who can pull us out of it. 

It is true, there have been many forces working against us feverishly trying to destroy this last bastion of hope for the world; but in the end, we are the keepers of the flame, not the schools, not Congress, not the media.  If our schools aren’t teaching our children about America’s history and heritage, then we need to be doing it.  If the media is not going to present truth and facts, then we need to.  It is not the government’s job to raise and teach our children it is ours.  We cannot count on others to do our job for us and we cannot legislate our rights and responsibilities away and expect liberty to simply sustain itself in the name of democracy.

If our children are patriots it is because we raised patriots in our homes.  If our children know and understand the Constitution it is because we taught them.  If our children embrace freedom and love their country, it is because we instilled that love in them through our own examples.

Democracy is the embodiment of self-reliance, self-governance and self-sacrifice; which, simply stated, means the American experiment can only succeed when we are able to govern ourselves in righteousness.  As Alexis de Tocqueville so aptly stated, “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.”

It is not our government, our wealth, or our rich soil that ensures our democracy, it is our goodness.  And if American’s cease to be good, the American experiment will have run its course.  But goodness has not ceased. It is here, rising up in homes all across America.   The spirit of America is alive; it just needs to be awakened. 

And that should be our personal quest—to wake up the American people and infuse the light of liberty in their very souls.  Every American we convert to Liberty and the Constitution is one American closer to securing a free nation.  It is very probable that the day is not far off when our economy will collapse and our government will crumble—but America never will, because America isn’t a president or a Congress, it is us!  It is We the People. And We the People will rise from the ashes waiving the standard of liberty to the world.  Every American who understands and internalizes the principles of liberty will rise up, holding the Constitution firmly in their grip and lead the people of this nation to freedom. 

So, when I am asked, what does Democracy mean to me?  I answer, it means hope.  It means believing in something greater than yourself.  It means personal responsibility.  And if we don’t take that responsibility seriously, instead of explaining to our children what democracy is, we will have to explain what happened to it.

Liberty begins at home.  You and I, we hold the keys. We are the keepers of the flame.   We must do everything in our power to pass on the flame, make sure it burns bright, and that it continues to be a light on the hill and a beacon of hope to the world.  The Constitution is our banner.  Raise it high.  Because if liberty is to prevail in America, it will be because of you!

Supreme Court Delivers False Hope

Supreme Court Delivers False Hope

By Kimberly Fletcher

It’s hard to be anything but disappointed at the decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court this week.  I think by now most of us see the writing on the wall.  Liberty hangs in the balance.  We’ve tried tipping the scale.  We rallied on Washington; we circulated petitions, called our legislators and shouted until we were hoarse.  And when that fell on deaf ears, we placed all our hope on the U.S. Supreme Court.  So now where do we go?  The email flurry among my fellow Tea Party leaders suggests looking to the elections.  I definitely agree that is a good place to focus our attentions but I don’t believe that it is where we should hang our hope.

I’ve been involved in the political “game” a long time.  I have worked on several campaigns and public policy issues, testified on bills, written congressional resolutions, met with legislators on various issues and worked on three presidential campaigns.  I have been around the block long enough to know that putting your hope in Washington is a one-way ticket to severe depression. 

I’m not saying this election isn’t important.  Every election is important from school board to the president.  But in the grand scheme of things, an election is only as good as the people who are doing the electing.  Maybe a change of men will stop Obamacare.  I hope so.  But even if it does, what have we really done? 

Let’s be honest.  We’re only treading water at this point and we’re sinking fast.  A friend of mine teaches elementary school at Schofield Army base in Hawaii.  The students aren’t required to pledge the flag.  In most of the classes they don’t.  And when they do, the children grumble and complain and want to know why they have to do it.  The parents of these students are the men and women who put their very lives on the line for that flag and everything it stands for.  If their children have no respect or appreciation for it, what hope can we possibly have of sustaining liberty? 

We face an onslaught of tyranny and oppression.  Maybe a change of men will stop this particular tyranny this particular time, but it will rear its ugly head again.  And who will be there to stop it—a nation of children who grew up complaining because they had to pledge the flag?  I don’t think so.

We can look to this election for a short-term fix, but if we are looking for hope that will bring about real change with lasting results, that will sustain liberty, we need to stop looking at Washington and start looking at our homes.  That is where we will find the hope of America.  We can’t expect anything to change until we first change our own hearts.

We have the power to turn this whole thing around.  We can keep treading water hoping it will work out in the end or we can do things that will make a real difference.  We have the power to cut the purse strings of Congress and make the federal government come begging the states for money instead of the other way around.  Repeal the 16^th Amendment and that’s exactly what will happen. 

We have the power to strip the senate of its tyrannical control over the states.  Repeal the 17^th Amendment and our Senators will be subject to the states instead of the Senate ruling over them. 

If the States still appointed their U.S. Senators instead of the people electing them, we wouldn’t have had to march to Washington.  We’d just march up to our Statehouse; or better yet, stop by the house of our State Representative who lives ten minutes down the road.  If we didn’t have the 17^th Amendment, we wouldn’t have had all those states filing law suits against their own Senators—the men and women who are supposed to be protecting them from that kind of tyranny.  If we didn’t have the 16^th and 17^th Amendments we wouldn’t have Obamacare. 

Our Founders knew what they were doing when they wrote the Constitution.  All our “fixing” and second guessing has really mucked things up.  It took a hundred years to get us where we are and it is absurdly naive to think that one Supreme Court decision or one presidential election will make it all right. 

What’s wrong with America can’t be fixed by government, taxes, laws, or a president.  There is, however, a sure solution to the problems facing our nation and it begins at home.  We need to grow stronger citizens—citizens who cannot be oppressed; who are capable of tackling tough challenges; who are still in love with liberty and know its cost.  We need to know who we are as a people, know our rights, and our responsibilities, and rise up to be what we were always meant to be—a free people!

Maybe we aren’t there yet.  Maybe we aren’t the ones ready to do something that will really make a difference like repealing Amendments.  Maybe we aren’t ready to make the sacrifices needed.  But if we foster liberty in the hearts of our children today, there is hope, and we can create a strong nation capable of sustaining of freedom. 

Maybe we aren’t the generation that will win this war.  But if we lay a firm foundation of liberty in the hearts of our children, they will.   

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Kimberly Fletcher is the author of WOMEN: America’s Last Best Hope and the president of HomeMakers for America Inc. The views in this article are solely of the author and not representative of HomeMakers for America Inc.  For more information or to contact Kimberly visit www.kimberlyfletcher.com or www.homemakersforamerica.com