WILL YOU STAND UNITED WITH ME?

In his last public speech in March of 1799, Patrick Henry declared, “Let us trust God, and our better judgment to set us right hereafter. United we stand, divided we fall. Let us not split into factions which must destroy that union upon which our existence hangs.”

(As noted in the picture to the left, he's the same fellow who, when we were considering whether to go to war against Great Britain, said, "Give me liberty or give me death.")

I bring this up because we seem to be a "nation divided against itself," as warned against by Abraham Lincoln in 1858.

Why is that? Why are we so divided?

There are lots of reasons, but the core reason is the very nature of freedom, that is, that each citizen of this great land, according to our Declaration of Independence, has a God given right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

That is, you have a right to live, you have a right to live free of governmental encumbrances, and you have a right to live your life pursuing that which makes you the most satisfied.

The problem is that in a country of 360 million people there are at least 360 million ideas of how that notion should manifest itself.

In one sense, if we are to be united somebody will have to compromise their thinking.

I, of course, think it is you who should compromise yours, while you may suffer under the delusion that it should be I who compromise mine.

Should you not, for instance, adjust your thinking to agree with me that the union of a human sperm with a human egg results in an entity whose DNA can be distinguished from that of every other life-form on earth; whose DNA is different from his/her mother's and therefore is not "her body;" whose cell division results in growth; who takes on nourishment; who gives off waste and who therefore meets all of the scientific qualifications of human life which must be protected?

Since I believe that each individual should bear the responsibility of creating wealth for himself, his family and the economic well being of the "national product," and thus recoil at the thought of the governmental redistribution of wealth, should you not adjust your thinking to conform to mine?

Because it is clear to me that taxes should be equitably collected and therefore a low, flat tax rate should be imposed on every earned dollar above the poverty level by both individuals and businesses, should you not adopt the same concept?

It is my belief that The United States of America has consistently been the most generous, giving, altruistic country ever to have graced the surface of this planet, giving aid to countries in deep need...even those who had been our enemies, and so I cannot accept the concept that we have ever been, are now or ever will be arrogant, and thus should not apologize for it. You should agree with that, shouldn't you?

Having read a great many of the writings of our founders, I have concluded that they deliberately and specifically set out to establish a nation in which the government was disallowed from interfering with the freedom of an individual or collection thereof to worship anywhere, any time, including in governmental places, and that they simply did not want the government to establish a state religion. It seems that you would see how obvious that is.

You should agree with me that protecting its citizens is of special interest to our nation, and so our military defense should be the finest anywhere in the universe, ready to show all potential enemies that you mess with us at your peril, and that we will defend liberty and freedom anyplace on earth. Therefore, sustaining the strength of our military should remain the largest part of our national budget.

For unity's sake, you must accept my notion that legal immigration to this country should be encouraged, as we are a nation of immigrants, but illegal immigration must be stopped in its tracks immediately.

If you seek unity with me, you surely understand that effective communication demands that we leave the redefining of time-tested terms such as "marriage" to dictionarians, and not to the government.

In order to enjoy a "more perfect union," you must surely understand and accept the fact that Israel is a nation that deserves our support, our encouragement and our assistance in defending herself against those who seek to crush her.

Having experienced the arbitrariness of our government run health care systems (read: Medicare; Veterans Administration and Medicaid), you surely understand why you should agree with me that, although our private health care system needs some adjustment, it is still the best in the world and should not be placed in the hands of the government.

You would certainly agree with me that people who choose entertainment as their life's work do not therefore deserve to have some special voice in forming public opinion by using their platform to mock and attack everything we as a nation have historically stood for, by promoting perversions of every kind, by making every effort to turn the sacred name of Jesus into an abased curse word, and to tolerate everything except intolerance of what they tolerate.

As I have, you would surely see that our leaders have made every effort to remove the name of God or Jesus Christ from our Society, have challenged capital punishment, the right to bear firearms, and the most basic principles of our criminal code; they have attacked one of the most fundamental of all Freedoms, the right of free speech, and you would stand with me against those efforts.

So, if we are to remain "...one nation, under God, indivisible, and with liberty and justice for all," you will recognize the urgency of changing your view of life in The United States of America to conform with mine.

Better hurry...before it's too late.