There are several points of concern that I plan to address as a member of Congress. We need to:

 

First, and foremost, we are not a democracy. The United States of America is a representative republic.

The founders understood the difference and designed the Federal Government, by way of a Constitution, as a republic because they knew that democracy did not work. Democracies end in mob rule, “mobocracies”, and limited individual liberties. In a republic, we elect representatives who carry our message to the Federal Government and they are accountable for their actions through frequent elections.

We, as an electorate, have been given the sobering responsibility to maintain the Republic.

We are required to monitor our elected officials and either acknowledge their successes or hold them accountable for bad decisions and behavior. If we, as an electorate, maintained a good knowledge of the Bible and the Constitution, we would not need term limits. We would be able to hold our elected officials accountable for their performance (or lack of it). We should hold our elected officials to a higher standard, not a lower one. In order to be able to hold our elected officials accountable, we need a good working understanding of the Constitution including the history and intent behind individual clauses. A good example is the Commerce Clause.

Wickard v. Filburn 1942 Supreme Court case.

The Federal Government declares Roscoe Filburn is not allowed to grow more than 11 acres of wheat. Roscoe Filburn grew 23 acres of wheat and was going to use the extra 12 acres of wheat for his own consumption. The Supreme Court ruled Filburn was not allowed to grow more than 11 acres of wheat, even though it was grown on his own property for his own consumption, because then he wouldn’t need to buy wheat for his personal consumption, which would affect interstate commerce (regulating people who are not participating in the economy). Filburn was ordered to destroy the excess wheat and pay a fine. The reason I cite this case is because President Obama used it as precedent to justify the individual mandate that everyone must purchase health-care or be subject to a fine. In other words, you must participate in commerce (buy health insurance) or be subject to the Federal Government’s wrath (face a fine).

If a nation expects to be ignorant, and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.”

Thomas Jefferson

Without knowing the real history of this country, we cannot understand the true reasoning behind the Constitution and our founders’ actions.

If we are not familiar with the significant events of this country, we cannot understand the true meaning behind our laws and traditions. If we do not understand the true meaning of laws and tradition, they can be molded into a new meaning to fit a particular issue for the day (separation of church and state, 3/5th clause, second amendment, 14th amendment, etc.)

Today, history is distorted using 6 tools:

 

Deconstructionism – steady flow of negatives about traditional values and heroes.

Poststructuralism – asserting that each individual must interpret history for themselves based on one’s personal views of today.

Modernism – examining historical incidents and persons as if they lived today.

Minimalism – oversimplifying everything into easy answers, not requiring thought or analysis.

Academic Collectivism – relying on claims from experts rather than original documents or sources.

Exclusionism – leaving out the opposing position (perhaps the worst and much harder to identify than positive vilification).

“Remember the former things of old” (Isaiah 46:9), “call to remembrance the former days” (Hebrews 10:32 KJV), 1 Corinthians 10, history provides lessons and illustrates principles that we can still apply today.

When our courts create new laws through creative interpretation, this is called legislating from the bench or judicial activism. Congress is the origin of laws that affect the people of the United States, and Congress is accountable to the people through elections. In the case of the Supreme Court, the judges are federally appointed for a lifetime term. They are not accountable to the people, therefore they do not have the authority to legislate. The only repercussion for judicial activism is impeachment. George Mason, “father of the Bill of Rights” explained “impeachment was for attempts to subvert the Constitution”.

Who knows the needs of the community better than the community themselves? Civic groups and churches are more capable of fulfilling the needs of the community than the Federal Government. Government that is closest to the people, governs best. Local governments are typically more accessible to the people, making them more effective in meeting the needs of a particular community. State governments likewise are closer to the people and are more easily able to identify and meet their needs. When we start legislating, on a federal level, to meet the needs of individuals, we have lost our republic and have become a democracy. Democracies have never worked and usually end up as tyrannies.

We should not judge the souls of our fellow citizens, but we should hold them accountable for their actions. We need to lead by example. Our children watch our every move. Show the next generation the honorable way to live by living an honorable life.

In selecting men for office, let principle be your guide. Regard not the particular sect or denomination of the candidate – look to his character. . . . When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor, he betrays the interest of his country.

[Noah Webster, Letters to a Young Gentleman Commencing His Education to which is subjoined a Brief History of the United States (New Haven: S. Converse, 1823), pp. 18, 19.]

Success needs to be celebrated, not demonized. We need to give examples of Americans who worked hard, did the right thing, and became successes. And how they use this success to help others. We need to understand we all have an equal opportunity for success, but not all of us use this opportunity effectively. This means we will all have different outcomes based on our input of effort. Different outcomes are okay, as long as we all have an equal opportunity.

Be proud of yourself, your church, your community, your schools, your state, and your country. If there is a reason not to be proud of any of these, get involved and make a change so you can restore a sense of pride. Be proud to tell your children you helped to make this a great country. Be proud knowing that we are the most generous country in the world. Be proud that we are the most diverse country in the world. Be proud that we are the most successful country in the world. But part of being proud means that we acknowledge our shortcomings and failures as well.

We are known as the land of opportunity, not the land of equal outcome. If we try to legislate equal outcome in this country, we will destroy individual liberty and individual incentive to excel. The reason we work hard, as Americans, is so we may extend greater opportunities for our children and our children’s children. Biblical principles teach us of delayed gratification.

The founders’ original intent of the First Amendment was that the Federal Government would not impose a particular denomination on the people. They did not intend for the Federal Government to be completely secular. The very same Congress that approved the Constitution / First Amendment created the Northwest Ordinance, which states that religion must be included in the new territories (Northwest Ordinance, Art. 3: Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged…).

The very same Congress, the very same day that they approved the final wording of the First Amendment (Sept 25, 1789), requested that President Washington declare a day of Thanksgiving “acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a government for their safety and happiness”.

Everson v. Board of education 1947 supreme court case:

This was a case about the use of public school buses taking kids to both public and private schools. The Supreme Court decided that the 14th amendment’s “due process clause” applied to both the federal government and state governments. Both the majority and decanting justices cited the “wall of separation” stated in Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury, CT Baptist Church. This phrase was taken out of context. This case led to the removal of the Bible and all religion out of schools.

Marriage is between a man and a woman. Family units that stay together are more successful. If a couple is married before having children, the chance that their family will be in poverty is significantly lower than if the child is born out of wedlock.

Another huge failure is the bias of the media. Media is sometimes called the unofficial fourth branch of government. It is supposed to be impartial and supported by the facts. The truth has no agenda and should be the absolute goal of all journalists.

If the federal govt. had to supply the people of The United States a balance sheet comparable to the accounting practices of the business sector, the American people would have a clearer picture of the financial position of this country. Instead the federal government hides it’s lack of fiscal control in made-up accounting practices that are not logical or easily understood even by our smartest citizens. It is a game our politicians play to hide the truth of the overspending and overreach that has increased over the last 100 years.