You’re Americans. Act like it!”

March 12, 2012 06:12


America was founded on an idea that Americans could pursue their own happiness by farming their own land, digging their own wells, drilling for their own oil, panning for their own gold, providing for their own safety, and generally being left alone. Today government won’t allow or seriously curtails the rights of Americans in all those areas.

 

By Chip Hammond at Center for a Just Society

 

I recently saw an “I want you” poster of Uncle Sam. It read, “I want you to stop being afraid of other Americans, of other religions, of other classes, of other nations, of other ideas. You’re Americans. Act like it!”

The poster was very emotionally stirring. As I thought about it, though, what was stirring is that it is a message from and for a bygone age.

At one time, although they may have had different ideas of how to accomplish certain goals, all Americans largely had the same goals and values. People coming into the country seeking citizenship wanted to be a part of America. Today some people value as good what others know to be evil, and people become U.S. Citizens who openly declare their hatred for the U.S. and their desire for its destruction. I think that’s why some fear other Americans.

Although our nation was founded on religious liberty, at the time there was a unity in the diversity. Different “religions” at the time meant different brands of Christianity (Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist mostly), and while Christianity and Judaism have their differences, they share the same moral code (the Ten Commandments). It is not unreasonable, though, to fear a religion one of the tenets of which according to its adherents is that everyone not like them must die. Nor is this a “fringe” element in the religion. In Iran Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani awaits execution, having been convicted of the crime of being a Christian. I think that’s why some fear other religions, or more pointedly, one specific other religion.

Although our nation was founded on the idea that no one born into a particular class must remain there, I speak to people frequently who have wanted to start a business but the government red tape makes it impossible for them to do so without the backing of a huge corporation. Welfare has created a permanent underclass which at times demands its “rights,” that is, the right to take by pillage and force what other people have because they worked for it. I think that’s why some people fear other classes.

Although our nation was founded on the principles of remaining peaceful with all nations, and not taking sides in fights, world events, for example the bombing of Pearl Harbor, taught us that we cannot always remain neutral, for there really are evil empires. The president of Iran has stated publicly that his goal is to annihilate Israel and destroy the United States, and that country is developing nuclear weapons in an effort to realize that idea. I think that’s why some fear other nations, or more pointedly, specific nations.

Although new ideas can be a wonderful thing, ideas are the wellspring of philosophies, and philosophies are the wellspring of policies, and policies are the wellspring of action. The ideas of Karl Marx, for example, have been behind the systematic and state-sponsored murder of more than 100,000,000 people according to research done by Stephané Courtois and published in 1997. I think that most people are not afraid of all ideas, but some people can see where certain ideas lead and are afraid of those ideas.

America was founded on an idea that Americans could pursue their own happiness by farming their own land, digging their own wells, drilling for their own oil, panning for their own gold, providing for their own safety, and generally being left alone. Today government won’t allow or seriously curtails the rights of Americans in all those areas. So to say, “You’re Americans. Act like it!” is a bit like taking Sir Edmund Hillary, cutting off his legs and right arms, and saying to him, “You’re a mountain climber – act like it!”

Chip Hammond is pastor of Bethel Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Leesburg, VA, and a doctoral student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, NC.



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