Wednesday, March 30, 2005

AnArChY =

Most anarchists today would consider themselves liberals, but have you ever noticed how closely many of the principles of modern anarchism follow conservative values? Less government, helping end oppression, free speech, right to bear arms, etc.

Have a look...



Anarchism: contrary to authority, the name given to a principle or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without government - harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between the various groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civilized being. (Noble but Naive)

The modern anarchist movement was lead by Anna Goldman "Queen of the Anarchists", a Jewish woman born in 1869 in East Prussia (now Russia). She came to the United States from Russia in 1885.

Emma was incredibly controversial during her own lifetime. Teddy Roosevelt called her a "madwoman... a mental as well as a moral pervert", the New York Times said she was a "mischievous foreigner... apart from the mass of humanity". The San Francisco Call said she was a "despicable creature... a snake... unfit to live in a civilized country". The government called her the "ablest and most dangerous" anarchist in the country.

Goldman often lectured on anarchist topics such as feminism, homosexuality, decentralization and opposition to hierarchy, free sex, birth control and labor rights.

She eventually fell in love with a man named Ben Reitman, who had many adulterous affairs while with Anna. Goldman soon found herself harboring extreme feelings of jealousy; in contrast to the principles of anarchism that she lectured on.

Unions and laborers distanced themselves from Goldman and the anarchist movement because they were already making advancements through strikes (better working conditions, 40-hour work week, etc.). In essence, the laborers were seeking capitalism for themselves, in contrast to Goldman's principles of anarchy.

Goldman worked with Lenin and Marxists towards the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. Goldman dreamed of bringing communism / socialism to America.

Anna Goldman was opposed to war and nationalism and felt that it always led to the lower class fighting against each other for the upper classes gain. She was arrested for obstructing the draft and opposing US involvement in WWI. Goldman was deported to Russia where she witnessed the revolution she had helped bring about in Russia. Goldman also witnessed the terrible economic conditions that were brought on in Russia.

Anna Goldman didn't directly condone violence but said that, "change never comes without it." The right to bear arms was an important aspect of Goldman's beliefs, strengthened in 1921 when she witnessed the slaughter of Libertarian sailors (long considered heroes of the revolution) who revolted at Kronstadt against the Bolshevik government. Goldman changed her mind about communism / socialism after witnessing the suppression of rights by the Bolsheviks to prevent dissent.

Goldman left Russia and vowed to admit her error and to lecture against communism / socialism. She wrote a long series of articles and two books about her experience in and the ideological contradictions she perceived within Soviet Russia. Her former enemies on the right praised her, while her former comrades on the left cursed her. She longed to return to America.

Before her death in 1940, Goldman wrote, "I am not wanted anywhere. The movement has not accomplished anything good, anywhere."

While attempting to save an Italian anarchist from deportation and certain death in Fascist Italy, Emma was finally silenced by a stroke and died in Toronto. After her death, Goldman was permitted to return to America to be buried in Chicago.

(In the end, Anna Goldman supported free speech, woman's rights, less government and other conservative principles. Goldman's views were originally based on her religious convictions. Some experts on the political philosophy of anarchism today, refer to the movement as a "paradise for Christians".)

* From ETV - American Experience, 2004

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldman/timeline/

Monday, March 07, 2005

One Nation Under God

-Bryan Baumgart

“You do well to wish to learn our arts and way of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ.” –George Washington.

There has been a lot of debate lately, over the separation of church and state. Public schools refuse prayer at graduation, athletic teams are prohibited from praying before games, the ten commandments are removed from parks and public settings and even the pledge of allegiance squared off with the ignorance of American atheists. Many argue that our Constitution calls for the segregation of church from state…but does it?

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people, peaceably to assemble and petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

The Constitution grants us a freedom OF religion, not a freedom FROM religion. (Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion) Our founding fathers drafted the first amendment to protect them from a government that would force a national religion on the people, such as what was done to them in England. (Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise thereof) The founding fathers intended us to be able to practice any religion, any time or place, with no exceptions. To take it a step further, (Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech). Our founding fathers knew that the right to express oneself is very important and cannot be denied. Is prayer not a form of speech and expression? Is religious assembly not a form of symbolic speech, also protected by the First Amendment? In John Stuart Mill’s essays “On Liberty” he wrote, “The whole world has no more right to stifle the voice of one person, than that one person would have the right to stifle the voice of the rest of the world.” Yet the masses are fed with propaganda claiming that our Constitution was meant to keep separate, what our forefathers desired as one.

Our founding fathers attended schools and universities that were founded on religion, and they practiced and built our nation on these same religious foundations. We must insist on a return to the original interpretation of these American guidelines and values.

Harvard University (Est.1636) educated founding fathers such as John Adams, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams. The requirements to attend Harvard were: 1.) “Let every student be plainly instructed and consider well the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, and therefore to lay Christ in the bottom as the only foundation of all sound knowledge and learning.” 2.) “Everyone shall so exercise himself in reading the scriptures twice a day that he shall be ready to give an account of his proficiency therein.”

Yale University (Est.1701) educated founding fathers such as William Johnson, William Livingston and Noah Webster. Yale was known as “A school for liberal religious education”. The requirements to attend Yale included “Seeing God is the giver of all wisdom, every scholar, besides private or secret prayer, shall be present morning and evening at public prayer.”

Princeton University (Est.1746) educated 87 founding fathers including James Madison and Benjamin Rush. Princeton’s founding statement read, “Cursed be all learning that is contrary to the cross of Christ.”

One hundred and twenty three of the first 126 colleges founded in America were founded on Christianity. I can accept the notion that one should not be forced to pray or practice a religion in this free country of ours, but I also feel that someone should not be denied the right or forced to NOT pray or practice their religion when they want, in this country.

The first law on public education ever passed in America was passed in 1642 in Connecticut and Massachusetts. It is called “The Old Deluder Satan Act”. This act read, “It being one cheife project of that old deluder, Sathan, to keepe men from the knowledge of the scriptures, as in former times, keeping them in an unkowne tongue…”

Founding father Edward Kendall wrote on an education law in Connecticut in 1690 which read, “This court observing, there are many persons unable to read English tongue, and thereby incapable to read the holy word of God.” This was a concern because if we the people could not read and know scripture, then government could pass a law (such as abortion) that would contradict the word of God, and the people would not know enough to stop this from happening.

In 1789, under Article Three of the Northwest Ordinance, our founding fathers made the teaching of religion and morality a requirement to become a state in the U.S. This was the case for most of the state constitutions. Article Three was passed right in the middle of the time that the First Amendment was being deliberated. Therefore, unless our founding fathers were hypocrites, it doesn’t seem likely that the First Amendment would really call for the separation of church and state.

Founding father Gouverneur Morris (who wrote up our U.S. Constitution) stated, “Religion is the only solid basis of good morals, therefore, education should teach the precepts of religion and the duties of man toward God.”

Fisher Ames of Massachusetts (who proposed the original wording for the First Amendment) stated, “Why then, should not the Bible regain the place it once held as a school book? Its morals are pure, its examples captivating and noble. The reverence for the sacred book, that is thus early impressed, last long.”

Founding father Noah Webster wrote the dictionary along with many other great accomplishments. His early dictionaries included accounts of his life in which he professes his religion, and even turns his soul over to God at the time of his death. His elementary spellers (the first spellers for American schools) came out in the 1780’s and remained the standard of American schools for 150 years. These spellers included bible versus on the inside of the covers, and parables as grammar lessons. Webster stated, “The Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children under a free government ought to be instructed. The Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”

Webster also wrote a History/Civics book in which he states, “Our citizens should understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament, or the Christian religion.” His advice to students included, “The moral principles and precepts contained in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.” He concluded, “The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and his apostles. This is genuine Christianity; to this we owe our free constitutions of government. There are only two powers which are sufficient to control men and secure the rights of individuals, these are the combined force of religion and law, and fear.”

Jedediah Morse, yet another founding father (known as “The Father of American Geography”) stated in a geography book he authored, “Religion is the basis and reason for our freedom, and if we lose religion, we lose our freedom.” He spoke of personal experiences and stated, “When ever the pillars of Christianity shall be overthrown, our present republican forms of government and all the blessings which flow from them, must fall with them.”
Samuel Adams (known as “The Father of the American Revolution”) and John Adams held similar views. A book of letters between the two leaders (now located at Harvard University) includes statements, such as, “the youth must be educated in the study and practice of the exalted virtues of the Christian system.”

Thomas Jefferson (while president) authored the plan of education for Washington D.C. schools and placed the Bible and Watts hymnal as the primary reading text in Washington D.C. public schools. Jefferson stated, “The studious perusal of the sacred volume will make us better citizens.”

John Quincy Adams learned lessons from “The New England Primer” (the first textbook of the U.S.) All three versions of “The Primer” included an alphabet with Bible sayings, a list of Bible verses to memorize and a shorter catechism with some very tough questions on Christianity.

Daniel Webster appealed to the Supreme Court for three days on why a school in Philadelphia should not be allowed to teach morality without religion. The Supreme Court ruled in Webster’s favor. The court stated, “Why may not the Bible and especially the New Testament, be read and taught as a divine revelation in the schools? Its general precepts expounded, and its glorious principles of morality inculcated? Where can the purest principles of morality be learned so clearly or so perfectly as from the New Testament?”

James Madison claimed, “We have staked the whole future of American civilization not upon the power of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us.” We did not heed the warnings of our founding fathers. We have reinterpreted what was intended, and now we are paying the price, evident in the declining morals of society! Crime has risen and offered evil a place to breed. Our only hope is not to push on forward, but to return to the basic roots that our founding fathers had intended.

Presidential proclamations throughout the years have candidly mentioned God and invoked His blessings on the country.

The history of these proclamations continues to this present day with President Obama's continued invokations of Jesus and his faith. Including: "I found myself drawn not just to work with the church but to be in the church. It was through this service that I was brought to Christ.” Obama continues to cite scripture in his speeches both foreign and domestic. For example he spoke of Jesus' sermon on the mount at Geogetown University to make a case for his economic policies. In a speech given in Cairo, Obama told the crowd that he is a Christian and mentioned the Islamic story of Isra, in which Moses, Jesus and Mohammed joined in prayer.

President Bush’s State of the Union address in 2003, where he stated, “Americans are a free people, who know that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation. The liberty we prize is not America’s gift to the world; it is God’s gift to humanity.”

The founding documents of America acknowledge God from Virginia’s first charter to the Manifesto of the Continental Congress. Every State Constitution acknowledges God and also argues that God is the basis of our freedom and our laws.

As John F. Kennedy stated in his Inaugural Address, “The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God.”

Benjamin Franklin wrote, “Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God.”

Thomas Jefferson, whom the Supreme Court has credited with the “separation of church and state” metaphor, exhorted, “[It is] God who gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are a Gift of God?”


The opening of the Constitution of ALL 50 States!

Alabama 1901, Preamble. We the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish the following Constitution ...

Alaska 1956, Preamble. We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land ...

Arizona 1911, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...

Arkansas 1874, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Arkansas, grateful to Almighty God for the privilege of choosing our own form of government...

California 1879, Preamble. We, the People of the State of California, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom ...

Colorado 1876, Preamble. We, the people of Colorado, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of Universe ...

Connecticut 1818, Preamble. The People of Connecticut, acknowledging with gratitude the good Providence of God in permitting them to enjoy ...

Delaware 1897, Preamble. Through Divine Goodness all men have, by nature, the rights of worshipping and serving their Creator according to the dictates of their consciences ...

Florida 1885, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Florida, grateful to Almighty God for our constitutional liberty ... establish this Constitution...

Georgia 1777, Preamble. We, the people of Georgia, relying upon protection and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and establish this Constitution...

Hawaii 1959, Preamble. We, the people of Hawaii, Grateful for Divine Guidance .. establish this Constitution ...

Idaho 1889, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Idaho, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings ...

Illinois 1870, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Illinois, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors ...

Indiana 1851, Preamble. We, the People of the State of Indiana, grateful to Almighty God for the free exercise of the right to chose our form of government ...

Iowa 1857, Preamble. We, the People of the State of Iowa, grateful to the Supreme Being for the blessings hitherto enjoyed, and feeling our dependence on Him for a continuation of these blessings ... establish this Constitution...

Kansas 1859, Preamble. We, the people of Kansas, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious privileges ... establish this Constitution.

Kentucky 1891, Preamble. We, the people of the Commonwealth are grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties...

Louisiana 1921, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Louisiana, grateful to Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberties we enjoy ...

Maine 1820, Preamble. We the People of Maine .. acknowledging with grateful hearts the goodness of the Sovereign Ruler of the Universe in affording us an opportunity ... and imploring His aid and direction...

Maryland 1776, Preamble. We, the people of the state of Maryland, grateful to Almighty God or our civil and religious liberty...

Massachusetts 1780, Preamble. We...the people of Massachusetts, acknowledging with grateful hearts, the goodness of the Great Legislator of the Universe... in the course of His Providence, an opportunity ..and devoutly imploring His direction ...

Michigan 1908, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Michigan, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of freedom ... establish this Constitution...

Minnesota, 1857, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Minnesota, grateful to God for our civil and religious liberty, and desiring to perpetuate its blessings...

Mississippi 1890, Preamble. We, the people of Mississippi in convention assembled, grateful to Almighty God, and invoking His blessing on our work...

Missouri 1845, Preamble. We, the people of Missouri, with profound reverence for the Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and grateful for His goodness .. establish this Constitution...

Montana 1889, Preamble. We, the people of Montana, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty establish this Constitution...

Nebraska 1875, Preamble. We, the people, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom .. establish this Constitution...

Nevada 1864, Preamble. We the people of the State of Nevada, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom establish this Constitution...

New Hampshire 1792, Part I. Art. I. Sec. V. Every individual has a natural and unalienable right to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience...

New Jersey 1844, Preamble. We, the people of the State of New Jersey, grateful to Almighty God for civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing on our endeavors...

New Mexico 1911, Preamble. We, the People of New Mexico, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of liberty...

New York 1846, Preamble. We, the people of the State of New York, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings...

North Carolina 1868, Preamble. We the people of the State of North Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for our civil, political, and religious liberties, and acknowledging our dependence upon Him for the continuance of those...

North Dakota 1889, Preamble. We, the people of North Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, do ordain...

Ohio 1852, Preamble. We the people of the state of Ohio, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, to secure its blessings and to promote our common...

Oklahoma 1907, Preamble. Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessings of liberty ... establish this...

Oregon 1857, Bill of Rights, Article I. Section 2. All men shall be secure in the Natural right, to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their consciences...

Pennsylvania 1776, Preamble. We, the people of Pennsylvania, grateful to Almighty God for the blessings of civil and religious liberty, and humbly invoking His guidance...

Rhode Island 1842, Preamble. We the People of the State of Rhode Island grateful to Almighty God for the civil and religious liberty which He hath so long permitted us to enjoy, and looking to Him for a blessing...

South Carolina, 1778, Preamble. We, the people of the State of South Carolina grateful to God for our liberties, do ordain and establish this Constitution...

South Dakota 1889, Preamble. We, the people of South Dakota, grateful to Almighty God for our civil and religious liberties ... establish this...

Tennessee 1796, Art. XI.III. That all men have a natural and indefeasible right to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience...

Texas 1845, Preamble. We the People of the Republic of Texas, acknowledging, with gratitude, the grace and beneficence of God...

Utah 1896, Preamble. Grateful to Almighty God for life and liberty, we establish this Constitution...

Vermont 1777, Preamble. Whereas all government ought to... enable the individuals who compose it to enjoy their natural rights, and other blessings which the Author of Existence has bestowed on man...

Virginia 1776, Bill of Rights, XVI ... Religion, or the Duty which we owe our Creator ... can be directed only by Reason ... and that it is the mutual duty of all to practice Christian Forbearance, Love and Charity towards each other...

Washington 1889, Preamble. We the People of the State of Washington, grateful to the Supreme Ruler of the Universe for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution...

West Virginia 1872, Preamble. Since through Divine Providence we enjoy the blessings of civil, political and religious liberty, we, the people of West Virginia... reaffirm our faith in and constant reliance upon God...

Wisconsin 1848, Preamble. We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, domestic tranquility...

Wyoming 1890, Preamble. We, the people of the State of Wyoming, grateful to God for our civil, political, and religious liberties ... establish this Constitution...


As you walk up the steps to the building which houses the U.S. Supreme Court you can see near the top of the building a row of the world's law givers and each one is facing one in the middle who is facing forward with a full frontal view - it is Moses and he is holding the Ten Commandments!

As you enter the Supreme Court courtroom, the two huge oak doors have the Ten Commandments engraved on each lower portion of each door.

As you sit inside the courtroom, you can see the wall, right above where the Supreme Court judges sit, a display of the Ten Commandments!

There are Bible verses etched in stone all over the Federal Buildings and Monuments in Washington, D.C.

James Madison, the fourth president, known as "The Father of Our Constitution" made the following statement "We have staked the whole of all our political institutions upon the capacity of mankind for self-government, upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God."

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said, "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".

Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777.

Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies.

Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law would begin making law....an oligarchy....the rule of few over many.

The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said, "Americans should select and prefer Christians as their rulers."

How, then, have we gotten to the point that everything we have done for 220 years in this country is now suddenly wrong and unconstitutional? If people who believe in our core values don't start fighting back, then those values may be permanently removed from our public and governmental lives.

The Mount Soledad cross is our Normandy, the Pledge of Allegiance our Gettysburg, the sanctity of marriage our Yorktown, the Boy Scouts our Iwo Jima, child pornography laws our Verdun. If we lose these battles (and that day is coming very soon if we don't act), then America as we know it is over. If we tear down all public crosses and the Ten Commandments, remove God from our money and the Pledge of Allegiance, destroy the moral stand of the Boy Scouts, pervert the 4,000-year-old institution of marriage and allow the proliferation of child pornography, then let no man dare say "God bless America" when the next terrorist attack happens.