"BEWARE the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry
into a patriotic fervor. It emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism will offer up all of their rights onto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. I am Caesar." -Julius Caesar on Patriotism
The looming threat of terrorism brings into focus the most crucial political difficulty any “free” nation ever could face: the protection of the public health, safety and welfare, without compromising an individual’s personal freedom. More succinctly, Security vs. Liberty. Can a balance be struck? If not, should Liberty be abolished in the name of securing social order?
Most government leaders champion security as the prime justification for bureaucracy. The recent Anti-Terrorist or “Patriot” Act reflects this philosophy, subjecting critical, constitutionally protected liberties, such as the liberty to write, speak or demonstrate against government policy, to the capricious maw of executive scrutiny. If not defeated by a constitutional challenge, the Patriot Act, and other Legislative and Executive Orders likely forthcoming, will sacrifice personal liberty at the alter of public welfare-to secure the village it will be necessary to burn it down. If unopposed, the political machine will stop at nothing to extinguish personal liberty in maintaining social order; even if it means the inevitable black boot of totalitarian dictatorship—In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Never forget, everything Hitler did was legal.” Because this prospect is looming near event horizon, if freedom is to survive, a viable alternative must be forthcoming. Now would be a good time.
The solution to what appears on the surface to be a dilemma is very simple. Liberty herself is the cure. Because Security is the serendipitous progeny of Liberty, Security can not be provided by more laws and bureaucracy. No balance can be struck between Liberty and Security, and Americans must abandon the ridiculous notion otherwise.
America’s problem is failing to appreciate that Liberty requires a sensitive ear to be understood. Were Americans to listen, truly listen, we would hear that Liberty's offspring is Security. We would learn that Security, when promoted in lieu of Liberty, will be enthroned as an imposter, binding liberty, and will result in the antithesis of social order, pandemonium, ending in revolution. The astounding truth amidst current propaganda otherwise is not that government should restrain Liberty for Security’s sake, but rather that government needs to be restrained for the sake of Liberty.
Are the phrases “E Pluribus Unum”, “In God we Trust” and “Liberty” on American coins so hard to understand? These simple principles are the requisite elements of the formula for both security and social order!
“E Pluribus Unum” is Latin, meaning “the many, one.” Many people can be one person only by integrating their thought and pulling together—by uniting under allegiance. The present government regime and media well understand this. Like the enemy America fights, unification is manufactured by appealing to national pride, invoking the name of God, and soliciting retaliation, vengeance and war—the identical tactic employed by Germany’s Third Reich. However, just as in Hitler’s day, note that the critical element of personal Liberty is ominously missing.
The true prescription for security dictates that social order can only be accomplished by people uniting under true allegiance to God. Translated this means the many, being one, in the Spirit of Love—Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 2 Corin 3.17-- Allegiance in the Spirit of Love is "Faith". Freedom rings as the reward of the Faith of the many in Love. Individual Faith joins the collective in melodious, resonant convergence, consummating Liberty's child: security and perfect social order!
Remember the song, “My Country Tis of Thee”? The second stanza may come as a surprise to many:
My country tis of Thee
Sweet land of Liberty
Of thee I sing
Land where my fathers died
Land of the pilgrims pride
From every mountain side
Let freedom ring
Our Father’s God to thee
Author of Liberty
To Thee we Sing
Long may our Land be bright
with Freedoms Holy Light
Protect us by Thy Might
Great God our King.
Bureaucratic regimentation cannot produce the security that only faith by the many as one can produce. Requisite faith is not expressed by mere rhetoric about belief in a god, or by going to church or offering worship in some formal setting. Rather, faith is only expressed by being faithful: by loving our self, our neighbors, even our enemies, the way we claim to love God. Complete recovery is only a thought away. Its time that we, individually, give our allegiance where allegiance is overdue. The security of a world depends on it.
