I keep in my pocket a copy of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. Pictured above is one of those copies. Have you ever read the documents? They were world-shaping, emancipatory, transformative documents. They remain world-shaping, emancipatory, transformative documents. The first few sentences of the second paragraph in the Declaration are profound. When you ponder what they say, it is no wonder America, in her founding principles, is the envy of the world:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, they they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

The immediate pressing historical despot was Britain’s King George III (1738-1820). The next twenty-seven paragraphs in the Declaration list historical realities the Americans in the original thirteen colonies and more were enduring at the hands of a ruler they viewed as an occupier, one not elected by them, one who did not represent their values. He was a British citizen and Britain’s monarch. The young American patriots did not create another monarchy but a democratic republic. The people, not monarchs or plutocrats, would rule their nation by electing those who represented their values. It was to be a bottom-up republic, not a top-down monarchy/plutocracy/corporatocracy/aristocracy.

I don’t much believe what I see on the ‘news’, because most of it has become crass, juvenile, and utterly anti-intellectual. When Anderson Cooper waded into a pond for the camera in September 2018 in order to make it appear the rains from the storm Florence were hurricane-level behemoths, and camera angles made it appear legitimate to undiscerning CNN viewers that Anderson was braving the elements to bring them the truth, but then other video appeared with the realistic picture of the levels of rainfall, Cooper was again disgraced.

When it is crafted to appear that thousands of supporters have turned out for a politician when in fact there is only a handful of people in attendance, the wise person realizes that truth is not what the media monsters value. When Brian Williams lied about his helicopter coming under enemy fire in Iraq in 2013, he later, only when caught in the lies, said he “made a mistake in the recalling of events.”

I have been in some rather tense situations in various countries across the globe across many years in the military. I promise you: I can remember where I was, who I was with, what time of day/night it was, and what happened. It’s not the sort of thing one forgets. Had the helicopter I was in been shot down, I think I’d remember that clearly, if I’d managed to escape. But for the media monsters, well, “mistakes were made.”

When I read all I could stand of this week’s news, it was more of the same: Critical Race Theory being forced upon the populace by elites; women’s sports continuing to be destroyed by men who say they’re women; U.S. borders inundated with illegals; politicians not wearing their face diapers but sermonizing about how the proles must. And camera-hungry Tony Fauci, doing his best not to pass out when having to speak to Senator Paul and Congress about revelation after revelation of the corruption, about the coronavirus, about masks, about shots, about lockdowns–all for the masses but not for the politicians.

See the parallels? In the 1700s, American patriots were not as dumb or as docile or as dependent upon Britain as Britain bargained for. The patriots were a hearty lot, determined to live and to let live. I sense a similar timbre across America today. A lot of folks have had more than enough. I do not know what lies ahead for the nation. I do know that “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,” though (Psalm 33:12). But the nation, by and large, hates the Lord. Apparently, most folks think they know better. So, you’re seeing the results. I see a behemoth government, hostile to the people, thumbing its nose at the Lord, and even at those who just long to be left alone by government. We shall see what lies ahead. But as for me and my household, I don’t think that CRT, being ‘woke’, mystery shots, or face diapers are going to be the nation’s salvation. I hope the patriots will read the Declaration and Constitution again, and see why we rightly call the Founding Fathers wise. They knew their history. May we also.