“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
Abraham Lincoln
It seems like something has been released upon America, and it reminds me of an old Star Trek episode.
The Bible (and an old song by Barry McGuire) says that there is a time for everything, including a time to keep silence, and a time to speak, as well as a time to hate, and a time of peace.
Regardless of one’s political views, it’s fair to say that it’s getting pretty ugly out there. And I think that one of the reasons this is happening is because people are confused.
For example, a lot of terms are thrown around by politicians and the media which we would do well to look at briefly:
Democrats = political party, started by Martin Van Buren, to support the candidacy of Andrew Jackson in 1828. In the 1850's, the part split over the issue of slavery, allowing Republican Abraham Lincoln to win the 1860 election. (History.com)
Republicans = political party, founded in 1854 to oppose the westward expansion of slavery in America. It's first presidential candidate was Abraham Lincoln. (History.com)
In his book, Are You Liberal? Conservative? or Confused?, Richard J. Maybury claims:
“Both (parties) tend to hover close to the center, which is where they perceive the bulk of the voters to be.”
Richard J. Maybury (“Uncle Eric”)
That was the way it was in the 1970’s (think Gerald Ford), but if you think back, American Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy could also be considered centrists or moderates.
Moderates (Centrists) = "One who is in the middle of the left-right spectrum...not to the extremes..." (Richard Maybury)
And even in the 1980’s, we had Conservatives and Liberals, like Ronald Reagan, “Teddy” Kennedy, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro. But it was still an era of compromise.
Modern Liberalism = "based, in general, on faith in progress and in the ability and goodness of man, and on the firm belief in the importance of the rights and welfare of the individual...Liberalism advocates steady change" (Columbia Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed.)
Conservative = "the desire to maintain, or conserve, the existing order...Conservatives value highly the wisdom of the past and are generally opposed to widespread reform." (Columbia Encyclopedia, 3rd Ed.)
But nobody’s moderate now, and compromise has not happened in Washington D.C. since Newt Gingrich and Bill Clinton produced The Contract for America (“one of the most significant developments in the political history of the United States“) in 1994.
Today, everyone–to quote Richard Maybury–is “to the extremes.”
But what would our Founding Fathers think of the nation that we’ve become? (For an excellent understanding of their point of view, I recommend, What Would Thomas Jefferson Think About This? by Richard J. Maybury.)
The popular musical Hamilton does a pretty good job of trying to tell us about them (See our blog ). They were Classical Liberals.
Classic Liberalism = "One who believes that the country should have a small, weak government, and free markets, and that the individual is endowed by his Creator with inalienable rights to his life, liberty, and property. Also, one who believes in Natural Law and common law, or Higher Law (think Thomas Jefferson)." (Richard Maybury)
But they were not radicals. Radicalism results in “widespread hysteria,” burning, and looting.
And it leads–in the end–to despotism, and the all-powerful State.
Statism = "The opposite of the original American philosophy (Classical Liberalism). Says political power is a good thing. Government is our friend, our protector, the solution to our problems, and there is no higher law than government's law." (Richard J Maybury)
There are many, many examples of this in history–in France, in Germany, in Russia, in China.
The Bible says:
“This is the spirit of the antichrist; you have heard that he is coming, and he is already in the world now.”
1 John 4:3
One of my pastors once said something very wise about this. He said that every generation has an antichrist waiting in the wings. I think that is true. Yet, it’s really up to us. The Bible says:
” You know what currently restrains him…”
2 Thessalonians 2:6
The American people have restrained him before, and we can do it again.
