Today, Monday, May 30, 2016 is the day these United States pay tribute and reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. Before you rush out into activities that give little time for reflection, permit me an opportunity of challenging you with questions I put before my church family on Sunday.
How can we, the living, repay the debt we owe for the liberties we have inherited? How can we express our gratitude to those who died defending the sovereignty of our nation? What can we give in memory of those who gave their all that we might be free?
Many will answer those questions quoting John 15:13; “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Indeed, a wonderful verse of self-sacrifice that acknowledges Christ is the model of sacrifice, in that He “commendeth His love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
But what is the practical application of that verse to the questions I proposed? What can we give in service to our country? What can we sacrifice to preserve this nation and the freedoms others bought with their own blood and lives?
We must cherish our liberties by standing our ground against all who threaten them!
We must embrace and exercise our freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States: Freedom of Religion; Freedom of Speech; Freedom of the Press; Freedom of Assembly; Right to Bear Arms; Right of Equal Justice; Right to own private property; and Freedom of Petition to request our elected representatives oppose proposed laws or request protection under the law on our behalf.
We must sacrifice our time, talents, and strength to stand and defend our liberties! We must refuse to be silenced by those who would shout us down. We must remember that, contrary to the actions of our elected officials and federal government agencies, these United States are a Republic, not a dictatorship!
We must recognize the greatest threat to our nation and freedoms is not Islamic terrorists, but our own government.
For more than a half-century, our public schools and secular colleges have indoctrinated America’s youth in a liberal, socialistic ideology. Our children are woefully ignorant of our nation’s history and know little about the sacrifices of those who have gone before them. Inflaming a rebellion against their elders that is often a natural passing of youth, secular schools, activists preachers (i.e. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson), liberal politicians, spineless conservatives, and the encouragement of liberal media have fostered a generation of youth that reflect the thoughtless mob rationale of Brown Shirt Nazis and Communist youth threatening to usher in an era of anarchy inflamed by our own government. Given the immoral trajectory of our nation and its betrayal of God’s Law and Commandments, our government and society threaten to silence us all if we do not awaken. I am afraid the “Silent Majority” of the early 1980’s has become the emaciated “Moral Minority” of the 21st century and the proponents of wickedness have risen to the highest offices in our nation.
The Supreme Court has become a terror to Constitutional Law and the Commandments of God. The Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 and its decision to legalize “same-sex marriage” in June 2015 were direct assaults on traditional marriage and family. Added to the moral erosion of America is President Obama’s mandate to open restrooms, showers and locker rooms to those declaring they “self-identify” with the sex opposite their biological gender. The president’s action is not only morally reprehensible, it is a declaration of war on the moral innocence and character of our children. Evidencing the maniacal extremity of the left is the threat to withhold federal funds from school meals programs if schools do not comply with the president’s edict!
Wake Up America! The President’s heavy-handed enforcement of his ideology against school children should send a warning to every American—the government will inevitably crush us all if we remain silent.
(part 1 of 2)
Copyright 2016 – Travis D. Smith