The Tribune printed a letter that apparently it thought was needed by its readers, but it is mistaken on so many levels that a response is required. (Un-American definition, February 12)
The definition of America is certainly the single most important
issue facing our country today. The
definition will guide all of our policies and programs. And spending.
The simplest definition of America is provided in the Declaration
of Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that 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.
Period.
In brief: all people are created equal, meaning that nobody
has a divine or inherent right to rule over other people.
God gave unalienable rights to human beings, rights that
precede and supersede government. These
rights include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Governments exist to secure these rights, and when they don’t,
the people have the right to change it so it does.
That’s it. That’s the
definition of America.
The only reason our country is multiethnic and multiracial
is because it attracts people from all over the world, but more particularly,
because our immigration policy has favored minorities since 1965. There is nothing inherent in our country’s
founding or definition that seeks diversity.
The idea of “aggressively” policing our southern border has
nothing to do with being un-America. On
the contrary. For example, most of the
major drug cartels in the world are right across that border, and we are their
target customer base. We have a major
drug crisis in our country, which the media will talk about from time to time. White supremacism has nothing to do with it. Anyone entering our country with the
intention of staying needs a medical check and a criminal background check. We need to control who and how many people
enter our country in order to do that.
Equal rights? The
very definition of rights is that they are equal. Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, bear
arms, self-incrimination.
The definition of rights has changed in the last few decades
in our country. Originally it was things
you could do without the government’s permission, interference, or
regulation. Now they define it as things
that society or the government owes you.
The Founders would not have known or accepted that definition, because
that requires people to do things for other people, which is very definition of
slavery, or lack of liberty.
