The ideas or principles that comprise the American theory of government are posited as self-evident truths in the Declaration. They are universal in their application and may be true for men everywhere and for all time, because they are based on the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” They are the proper building blocks for human reason in matters of politics. They are themselves inherent in human nature. To be governed accordingly, is to be governed as well as man can be. These conceptual building blocks for righteous government are: Equality, Natural Rights, Consent, Revolution, God and Honor. The Declaration’s statement of principles begins: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . . .” Of course, humans are entirely different from each other in terms of their gifts and attributes. The Founders, however, meant to observe that regardless of differences like looks, talents or strength, etc., human beings are all equal in the life and liberty they are born with and deserve to keep. This kind of equality confers on everyone responsibility as well. James Madison explains in The Federalist 54 that every human being, but no cow, is held morally accountable for violence committed against others, because every man is free to choose his behavior. Moreover, because of the innate temptation to abuse power (part of human nature), equality as the Founders understood it meant that no one should have inordinate power over others.

Men are therefore equal in their potential towards depravity and cruelty, if entrusted with too much power. Madison observed that men are not angels; if they were, there would be no need for government in the first place. As it is, government should not concentrate too much power in the hands of anyone or any group of people. Note that if you deny personal responsibility or pass it along to someone else or worse, to some drug or psychosis or whatever, you practically lose your basis for equality as understood by the Founders. People recategorize themselves with cows all the time, and that’s just not good horse sense. The Founders expected us to walk on two legs and to get up off all fours–to behave like responsible moral agents, because we are equal in that respect. Only in this way are the great mass of men, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, unfit to be saddled, booted and spurred by the favored few.

The Declaration continues that human beings are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” A right, according to the Founders, is a claim that a person may rightfully make against someone who would deprive him of what is his own. You own your clothes for instance, and you have a right to them. If someone takes them from you, you have a legitimate claim against that person. He or she owes them back–or rather, he or she has a duty not to take them in the first place. A natural right is a claim to what one rightfully owns by birth, or by way of one’s nature as a human being. Natural rights are unalienable, because they cannot be alienated or given away to someone else. A right from this point of view is a duty from another. If you have a right to liberty, I have a duty to respect that right. The Declaration specifically mentions three unalienable rights. No one may rightfully deny us these things. Note the third one mentioned above is the pursuit of happiness and not happiness itself. But the Declaration also says these three are “among” our natural rights, so there must be others. Additional natural rights may be gleaned from official documents and writings of the Founding era, and they include the rights of conscience and property, free speech and free press, freedom of religion, and others protected in what became our Constitution’s “Bill of Rights.”

The Founders would never have said that you have a right to decent housing, health care, recreation, or anything else before you have worked to get them. It is only after you have acquired your property in some legitimate way that your right to own property comes into play. That said, property rights can be seen as part of the right to liberty and the right to pursue happiness. There is also a natural right to work, and property comes into play here too. We own ourselves and our labor by human nature; ergo, we are free to work and to keep the fruits of our labor. The right to earn property, and to keep the property one earns is fundamental to the conception of Natural Rights shared by the Founders. Moreover, the right of religious liberty was not a right to exclude religion from public life. Indeed, the right to religious liberty flows from the duty that all human beings have towards their Creator. The most basic reason for freedom of religion understood by the Founders, was not to free man from obligation to God or religion, but to free him to perform his duties to God, without obnoxious coercion into modes of worship by fallible human beings in government.

But ‘I am what I am by the grace of God,’ and whether this is a liberated Twenty-First century or the misogynist Nineteenth, according to feminist historians, I do and shall utterly reject the androgynous image of this crazy day in which we live; and I shall do so in honor of my sweet mama—even in honor of what she lacked and fell short of. At the end of the day, I love her. Perhaps it is only a biological device, no doubt transferable, that wracks me with grief and also with gratitude when I recall: how she sacrificed to give my brother and I everything she could as a single parent; and we, selfish little boys, took every advantage as if we deserved it, because Mama said we did. And all the while she did without so many things, so much of the time, in order to set us up higher than she could climb, or at least to give us that chance. There is absolutely no doubt that her life would have been better without us in many respects. It seems to me she gave her bloom to her sons instead. At the end of the day, however, she loved us and told us so. Therein lies a great mystery, and it is spiritual, not merely biological and most certainly not rational. I was just a kid in 1970 when “Love Story” starring Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw came to the screen. It was a romantic tearjerker that I didn’t thoroughly get or appreciate at the time. The most confusing line in it seems to have become the most famous: “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” I never figured the line out until February 5th, 2007.

My mama and I had a few issues. I left the nest abruptly when I joined the Army and went to West Point. The selfish little boy just got bigger and hardly looked back at all. The worst thing I did apparently was to get married, and I never understood how the perfect mother could turn into the stereotypically bad mother-in-law. For all my own faults, and there are many, she did not know that you cannot continue to be a wonderful mother and a terrible mother-in-law—for both are the same things at different stages. But I learned something from the death of my mother. Namely, that no matter what she’d done or not done; no matter the accumulated disappointments, missed opportunities for amends and longed for changes of hearts; no matter the inadequacies on all sides, the unwise choices, frailties and jealousies; no matter the outbursts of temper, meanness, emotionalism, impulsiveness and stupid will of a stubborn little girl who didn’t get what she wanted—and the little boy who didn’t either; no matter all this and more, overdrawn or not drawn well enough, I had it within me undisturbed, intact, holy and pure, Love. I loved her regardless, and I love her now. I love her in spite of it; and nothing in the world will ever outweigh, diminish, dilute, or cancel that love. It is so far above and beyond and of such purer stuff, than anyone or everyone saying they’re sorry. And so I cried, and cried and cried for my mother on this battlefield of life. And it occurs to me this kind of love is something God knows well and feels towards us. Oh for change of hearts and making amends before death parts!

Another verse worth referencing is Nahum 1:7 which states, “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.” Indeed, the Book of Nahum is interesting, in that, it is actually a warning to Israel about God’s wrath and the destruction of the wicked, and a prophecy about the downfall of the city of Nineveh. There may be some allusion here to these United States! But then there are the words “for such a time as this,” taken from the Book of Esther. It is in Esther we find a message of hope and also of deliverance, and one may at least pray there’s an allusion to us in that Book as well.

Esther was a beautiful Jewish maiden. She was orphaned and brought up by her cousin Mordecai, who held office and served Xerxes the king of Persia. After dethroning his very difficult wife Vashti, the king chose Esther to take her place as queen. Mordecai and Esther did not reveal their relationship, however, probably because they did not want her Jewish parentage to enter in and become a point of contention or prejudice. Meanwhile another officer named Haman hated Jews almost pathologically, so much that he actually presumed upon the king’s authority and ordered their persecution throughout the kingdom. It is upon that occasion that Mordecai approaches Esther and asks her to intervene on their people’s behalf. At first she does not appreciate her influence, and she does not quite know the limits of her position. She is cautious at least, even afraid to broach the king on this subject knowing how hot tempered he could be. She might be viewed as being difficult like Vashti. She might blow her political capital so to speak, her query dismissed as mere nuisance or worse as a bald imposition.

Mordecai nevertheless persuades her to find courage and to persevere, by reminding her of the gravity of the situation and of greater purpose beyond her mortal self. He references the unlikely series of events that brought her to the throne and suggests to Esther that she may have come into her position just “for such a time as this.” It is a peculiarity of the Book of Esther that the name of God does not once occur in it, but the reality of God is clearly present. Esther obtains permission from the king to arrange a banquet and to invite Haman. She petitions the king at the banquet to stop all the outrages being committed against Jews in the kingdom. When asked by the king who is responsible for the terrible things she describes, she fingers none other than Haman who is there present. In an amazing turnabout, Haman is hung on the very gallows he had built and prepared for Mordecai. Talk about poetic justice! As for the Jews, they “rested from their enemies” and were allowed to take revenge—their desperate situation having turned in an instant “from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day” (Esther 9:22).

Today these United States of America face a desperate situation economically and politically, and the nation is in dire need of prayer. The people need Mordecai’s encouragement, in order to weather unemployment and a rapidly approaching debt crisis, taxes and overregulation; they need to be reminded like Esther, of their exalted position in the Republic. Americans have enemies around the world to be sure. They also have enemies within and our own share of officers in the government who presume upon the authority of the people and who subvert the written Constitution and intent of the Founders. It behooves us to remember, however, that turnabouts come quickly. Exposing evildoers in public can have a dramatic effect as it did with ACORN, and one single election can reverse four years of very bad policy practically in an instant.

Address:
Lakeway City Park Pavilion
502 Hurst Creek Road
Lakeway, TX 78734
Saturday, April 21, 2012, 5:00 PM

Cost: $15.00

Contact Information
Mr. Harry Jukes
104 Far Vela Lane
Lakeway, TX 78734
512-331-1194

Saturday 21^st – Wes Riddle Booth at the Founders Day Festival in Hays County @ 2pm to 5pm

Where exactly does the Founders Day Festival take place?
In Downtown Dripping Springs, Texas on Mercer Street. It is parallel to Hwy 290 West. Off RR 12 West, to the left is Mercer Street. If you just head to Dripping Springs, you can’t miss it!

Founders Park
Ranch Road 12 North
Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Where is parking available and what is the cost for parking?
Parking is available around Mercer, but there are streets next to Mercer that are blocked off by barricades. For $5 you can park at the VFW, on the corner of RR 12 and Hwy 290 West.

What is the admission cost to the Festival?
Admission is FREE!

Contact Information
Phil Waldron
292 Heather Hills Dr
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
210-240-7114

Friday April 20^th – Founders Day Parade in Hays County @ 6:30pm – Wes will be in the Parade

Where exactly does the Founders Day Festival take place?
In Downtown Dripping Springs, Texas on Mercer Street. It is parallel to Hwy 290 West. Off RR 12 West, to the left is Mercer Street. If you just head to Dripping Springs, you can’t miss it!

Founders Park
Ranch Road 12 North
Dripping Springs, TX 78620

Where is parking available and what is the cost for parking?
Parking is available around Mercer, but there are streets next to Mercer that are blocked off by barricades. For $5 you can park at the VFW, on the corner of RR 12 and Hwy 290 West.

What is the admission cost to the Festival?
Admission is FREE!

Contact Information
Phil Waldron
292 Heather Hills Dr
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
210-240-7114

Ignorant people in the world think we’re soft, because they see the plenty and don’t understand what it has taken—and what it takes—to have what we have. They don’t understand the discipline we live each day, in terms of balancing hard work and family relations, and service to our country and to God. They don’t understand our striving to be the best we can be, and I mean in every single capacity God has granted us: mental, physical, spiritual, social and emotional. We strive to be “whole” persons, and we strive to be good. We also strive to win, because we’re good. That’s actually pretty unique in this world of ours.

Our own countrymen often overlook the value we subconsciously place on “freedom”—the freedom to do things, to go places, to have fun, to start new enterprises. We also generally place emphasis on personal responsibility, on self-reliance, on dignity and yes, even on clean living. It’s horse sense really: you reap what you sow. The Taliban and Al Qaeda certainly learned that. But they didn’t have any American horses. They didn’t know Middle America—or New York, for that matter. They sure as “H” didn’t know a Texan or they would have known we’d kick their rear end. They thought Americans were weak and cowardly materialists, but I suppose it’s easy to mistake the love of freedom for lack of virtue, or the love of peace for cowardice.

It’s a shame our attackers didn’t read our history (it’s a shame a lot of us don’t), because then they’d realize what it takes to be American. What it takes, in addition to good education and tons of elbow grease, is one or more wars practically every generation. Now did we really think that the twenty-first century was going to be any different, perhaps more peaceful because of the victory “the greatest generation” won in World War II? Believe it or not, that’s a sentiment made by the famous historian Stephen Ambrose, just two days before the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon! I guess the Cold War, Korea, Viet Nam, and the Gulf War were just chopped liver. Anyway, I am very grateful for the World War II generation, certainly the greatest of the twentieth century. But don’t think their accomplishment means we’ve got less to do, because it doesn’t.

The principal of Somerville College, Oxford, said to his new arrivals in 1944 that all beginnings are hopeful. So the new century/new millennium probably invited optimism, and optimism is not all bad—indeed, it’s essential. But as one of the great Free World leaders during the Cold War—Margaret Thatcher—said, “My generation remembers that we had such faith after World War I that there could never be another world war, we let our defenses down.” Do you see a pattern? Again and again, we prove what it takes. The measure in blood, however, depends on our preparedness at the time.

Out of 150 countries in the world, only 72 are free. I’d say the odds are we’re in for a few more challenges. History and prudence dictate that we be prepared. Again, Thatcher has the right advice for Americans:

“We must keep our defenses up and we must have equipment
Of the very latest technology. This is absolutely vital….
I believe the first duty of any government is to protect the lives
of its citizens…. And we do that by having the latest technology
in the United States. My friends, you’re citizens of a wonderful
country. You’ve built the greatest country in the world in terms of
establishing the rule of law, defending the freedoms of others, and
building a most prosperous future for your people. If those who do
have liberty would be guided by your example, what a much
better world it would be. In the meantime …[you] must continue
to keep up [your] reputation.”

Well, that of course is horse hockey. In point of fact, colonialism and slavery are universal and not distinctively Western. The British conquered India and ruled it for 300 years, but before the British there were the Persians, the Mongols, the Afghans, and Alexander the Great. As for slavery, it has existed in all cultures: ancient India, China, Greece and Rome, and in Africa. American Indians even practiced it before Columbus corrupted them. What’s uniquely Western isn’t slavery but abolition—the movement to end slavery developed in Western civilization. As author and academic Dinesh D’Souza, himself an immigrant from India, has stated, “Never outside the West have slave-owners and potential slave-owners proclaimed principles condemning it, and expended blood and treasure ending it.” Moreover, Western civilization has produced the height of all civilizations in certain respects, to include literature. As Saul Bellow pointed out a few years ago, there ain’t a Tolstoy of the Zulus or a Proust amongst the Papuans. (He caught quite a bit of flack for his insensitivity, by the way). Obviously, there are great works produced by non-Western cultures—and you can add these and still remain anchored in Western thought and culture!

Recently the multicultural ideologues came up with another bizarre idea to give reparations for slavery—cash payments to blacks today to make up for the injustice of historical slavery. It made me think of what Muhammad Ali said after his mid-1970s fight with George Foreman. The fight was held in Zaire. After he returned to America, he was asked what he thought of Africa. He replied, “Thank God my granddaddy got on that boat.” Although a funny quip, colonialism and slavery proved ironical. They were bad for the generations experiencing them but indirectly beneficial to generations that followed. D’Souza points out that his Indian grandfather was embittered by the unfair treatment he experienced under British rule. Paradoxically, however, as a consequence of the same colonial rule, his grandchild learned ideas and traditions that inform a Western understanding of freedom: separation of powers, democracy, human dignity, equal rights.

Slavery in America was clearly harmful and wrong to the people who lived under it, but it proved to be the unintended transmission belt that brought Africans into the orbit of Western freedom. Are the descendants of slaves really worse off? Would Jesse Jackson be better off living in Uganda? Would we? (Don’t answer that). No, we cannot repair the harm done to those who suffered under slavery, but it would be absurd to pay those who have benefited most from their ancestors’ suffering.

There’s something else I want to say about the liberals’ mantra, “We are the world.” When they say multicultural, ask them “multi-what?” I don’t want America to be a microcosm of the world, if by that you would include all the ignorance, ugliness, vice and corruption that are present in the world—chiefly (though not exclusively) from non-Western imports. No, I’m old fashioned enough to want the best for America. I want to bring the best minds and the best souls here and to encourage those to flourish. America ought to represent a filtration of the mass of humanity. We need to have reasonable rates of immigration, and we ought to be selective. Western and American institutions are uniquely suited to bring out the best in everyone who is here—you might even say our institutions are superior in that regard. In the process, it doesn’t matter what color you are, to what race or religion you belong. It matters intensely, however, the character and the heart you bring. It matters that you are willing to uphold the Constitution of these United States and to love this great Republic. We are not the world, we are what the world hopes to become.