Some of the following words are mine—but the original thoughts are not. ALL of these concepts and words of wisdom belonged originally to others who pondered Freedom’s Principles before me—in some cases hundreds or thousands of years before. That’s what makes them so unique, for no matter how “old” these ideas are, they never truly age, because “principles” that can assure—and have done so for centuries—the survival of human liberty are eternal.
Despite the attempts to degrade, destroy, belittle, deny, ridicule, and ignore these principles by assorted tyrants, kings, warlords, collectivist despisers of liberty, corrupt or leftist judges, and the disgusting socialist/collectivist/progressive mockers of the concept of individual freedom and responsibility over the entire history of mankind, the principles endure—sometimes ignored or forgotten or purged away for a time, but always there in the “dusty attics” of the minds of oppressed people, always ready to be rediscovered, forever declaring themselves as the “paths” to follow or resurrect when oppression becomes so unbearable that people must abide by them to survive, lest they perish.These “principles” were inspired by, and I’m indebted to, the following sources as the real originators of this eternal wisdom. I’ve merely put them in my words in order to share them with you:
- The Declaration of Arbroath, from Scotland of 1320 A.D.;
- Glenn Beck, from his “9-12 Project” of 2009;
- John Prebble, from his book: “The Lion of the North-1000 Years of Scotland’s History (Penguin Books, 1981)
- God’s Word—The Holy Bible
TWELVE PRINCIPLES TO ASSURE HUMAN LIBERTY
- All of Mankind have received the gift of freedom from our Creator Thus we each have a duty to defend God’s Gift with our lives if that becomes necessary. Therefore it is self-evident that the desire for liberty which God has instilled in mankind must be encouraged and supported, if humanly possible, to the benefit of others who know it not, lest it be taken from those who presently enjoy that eternal gift from God.
- Never fight for glory, or for wealth, or for earthly honors. Fight for FREEDOM, and ONLY for that, which no honest person will ever relinquish but with life itself.
- Belief in The Triune God of Scripture must be the center of our life—God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit—ONE GOD in three manifestations, our reverence for Whom must never be diminished.
- Absolute Honesty must always be our guide throughout our life, and we will be trustworthy and truthful no matter what it may cost.
- Courage and Personal Responsibility must exemplify our life. These concepts must be taught to our children, to their children, and to their children’s children, FOREVER.
- Our Family is Sacred. ONLY God is to be a higher authority over our families than are we, and NO government must ever be permitted to assume this role.
- The Power of Government at any level must be tempered with a respect for the people. No king or governor or ruler or legislative body shall be allowed to deny our right to give our personal opinions in any peaceful manner, nor shall our right to disagree with any governmental authority ever be denied, nor our lives threatened or our freedoms curtailed because of our exercise of our right to disagree with those in authority over us.
- Governments exist to protect the people from aggression by outside invaders, and to protect the people from harm threatened by their neighbors. Governments exist to protect our lives, our liberties, and our property, and allow us to lawfully pursue our life goals, but must not provide any guarantees of outcomes or force equality of results.
- Just and Moral Laws exist to assure the peaceful progress of
society. Those who defy these laws to the detriment of their fellow citizens must pay the penalty for their transgressions, for no member of society can be above justice, including the ruler or governing authorities of any nation.
- Governments must never be permitted to tax the lawful earnings of the people beyond what is mutually agreed to by the governing authorities and the people, nor must government ever be permitted to force the people to give any of their lawful earnings to any who refuse to work and provide for their own security. However, God’s Love should be given by God’s People, in the form of monetary and/or other assistance, to those among them who, through no fault of their own, are temporarily or permanently hindered from providing for themselves and/or their families. This should be freely provided by God’s People to “the least” of those in need.
- An Appreciation for the Past and for the People of History must be taught to all of our children, and to their children, unto the farthest generations, for the ancient wisdom that ‘those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat the mistakes of history’ has never been repealed or abolished.
- Injustices and Persecutions perpetrated upon the people will eventually be resolved and corrected by the people, who will endure the injustices and persecutions as long as they are endurable; until the time comes when the people declare that it is better to die resisting these evils than continue to live as slaves. (The U.S. Declaration of Independence, July, 1776).
“We the people” sometimes only give “lip service” to one or more of these principles, don’t we? Our Founding Generation back in the 1780’s and 1790’s did their best to incorporate most of these ideas, in one form or another, into that inspired, but imperfect, document they codified for us—the one called the Constitution of the United States of America and The Bill of Rights—the one that ALL of our government’s elected leaders since 1787 vowed to defend and preserve—the one that MOST of our elected government leaders increasingly IGNORE today—the one that sinister enemies of our freedoms are doing their utmost to ABROGATE AND DESTROY. Yes, THAT one! These “12 Principles” could be used to preserve our liberties forever, if we’d be brave enough to really use them—if we’d be sufficiently demanding of our governmental representatives that THEY abide by these ageless principles—if we as Americans who profess to cherish our freedom would INFORM ourselves adequately, do all we can to inform our fellow citizens, and abandon our timidity and our lackadaisical attitude toward resisting the enemies of our liberties that are gathering around us in ever increasing and more threatening numbers, laughing behind our backs over how easy it has been to turn a people who once revered freedom into a herd of sniveling and groveling serfs.
Are we, the inheritors of the hard won and blood-bought liberties of Western culture, from Magna Charta to the U.S. Constitution, willing to use these ancient principles to preserve our unique civilization and assure liberty to our future generations? Will we, as Americans, ever be? I wish I knew the answer to those questions. I really do!