A Community of Virtue

America! America! God shed his grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea!

Virtue (def): conformity to a standard of right; a particular moral excellence.

Brotherhood ... a true state of grace; one that is most reflective of a standard of right; with more than a smattering of moral excellence. It is a community of fellowship where love is given unconditionally -- regardless humanity’s cultural differences.

It could be ... America, the beautiful.

In every community, human interaction is manifest and unavoidable. Regardless the standard(s) of right and wrong that are ultimately applied to how—in a socioeconomic construct—humans interact, the moral imperative really boils down to one simple principle: Do no harm to another person or their property.

Crucial to the tenets of acceptable human interaction, “do no harm” is the secular catch-all phrase representing ideals which emanate from the world’s many diverse schools of philosophical and theological deliberation. When, however, the burden of special interests and material considerations outweigh the body of virtues that comprise “do no harm,” wrongful outcomes, sadly, have become evermore commonplace.

Sowing the seeds of wrongful outcomes

There are three concepts which exemplify the atrocities that proceed from grandiose designs suggesting what America and it’s role in the world should be; and they are: 1) Empire of Liberty, 2) Manifest Destiny, and 3) American Exceptionalism. Therefore, it must be recognized and accepted that even during America’s infancy there were dark powers capable of influencing the ways and means for our fledgling nation to become the greatest of all worldly empires. Two glaring examples are herewith cited below.

Slavery in the United States. Even before the ink on the Constitution of the United State of America was dry, a terribly wrongful act took place in the founding of our nation; to wit: As the central, crucial and righteous principle “ ... all men are created equal ...” was unceremoniously ignored, the die was cast for the destructive and lasting effects that were naturally to follow; many anger and hate filled manifestations of which remain with us to this very day.

It is impossible to overstate the dire consequences resulting from man’s inhumanity to man -- especially when the promise of equality is unceremoniously broken. Adding insult to injury, Article I, Section 2, Paragraph (3) of the Constitution gave us the Three-Fifths Compromise; codifying slaves as but 3/5 of a person.

The Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision (1857) further established the right of one person to own another; while nullifying the rights of slaves in a so-called “free state.”

In the post-civil war era, the Southern States enacted a series of “Jim Crow” discriminatory policies of the most demeaning and inhumane nature.

The Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Trail of Tears is a name given to the forced relocation of Native American nations from the South Eastern parts of the United States. The removal included many members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations ... from their homelands to Indian Territory in eastern present-day Oklahoma.

America’s founding documents are the near-perfect example of the socioeconomic organization of a built-from-the-ground-up and newly formed nation. But when public policy suborned the perverse idea of racial discrimination, it left all subsequent generations with a legacy of institutionalized cultural, social and political enmity.

But why? What could have possibly induced such otherwise forthright men to allow the furtherance of actions that were diametrically opposed to the Declaration’s promise of equality; and which denied to certain people(s) the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

The simplest and most popular answer proffered would be “racism.”

While racial discrimination was (and still is) a cultural and social presence in America, it did not rise to that level of import so as to compel the founders to permit the continuation of the state of slavery.

A far more logical conclusion would point to the trap sprung by the $75 Million of debt incurred during the war for independence; which, lacking the ways and means for the founders to service this mounting debt, opened a pandora’s box of bad choices; with the worst among these being the seductive prospect of ready access to “free labor” and “land for the taking.”

In his Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 18, 1781, Thomas Jefferson expressed great concern for how the young minds of future generations might be influenced by government allowing for the existence of the state of slavery; and to which he included the following thought:

“And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep for ever."

Presciently precise, that which Jefferson feared long ago took root in the fabric of American society ... and is still with us to this very day.

The unequivocal irony is this: In ever increasing numbers, the American people are rejecting the idea that our liberties are a gift from God; while, of all things, looking to the same inane body of “lawmakers” to correct the very problems the founders—in quite possibly their most vulnerable and weakest moment—created more than two-hundred years ago.

Government is incapable of fixing problems of the heart and soul. The rule of law is incapable of causing virtuous human interaction.

Here’s the paradox: Every person elected or appointed to public office comes from—in the broadest sense—the same gene pool that represents the whole of the American people. It is, therefore, safe to conclude that the moral turpitude of those holding public office is an accurate reflection of that being expressed by the population at large.

The Library of Congress has an interesting exhibit entitled Religion and the Founding of the American Republic. Near the bottom of Section VII of that exhibit there is a paragraph labeled “Religion Indispensable to Republican Government;” featuring a quote from the 1830 author of Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville, which states:

“I do not know whether all Americans have a sincere faith in their religion; for who can know the human heart? but I am certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. This opinion is not peculiar to a class of citizens or to a party, but it belongs to the whole nation and to every rank of society.”

The Laws of Nature and Nature’s God are the foundational premise for “do no harm.” God gave us the Ten Commandments; Jesus gave us the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule. These writings bring no harm to anyone, yet in 1962 the Supreme Court [unconstitutionally] ruled the expression of faith in the public square to be unconstitutional; thereby prohibiting to the American people the freedom to exercise their faith according to the dictates of their conscience -- in clear violation of the guarantee of free speech accorded by the 1st Amendment.

Question: Why, during America’s first 175 years, was it acceptable—regardless the venue—to either read or quote from the Bible? ... but to do so today [in the public square] is not only strictly forbidden, but punishable by law as well?

The simple answer: In order for government to be able to act with impunity; with little to fear from a vanishing system of civic accountability that, in better times, had it’s roots steeped in morality.

How convenient! Make laws that do great harm; seldom be held accountable, and then get reelected!

America’s body of laws are found within the 200,000 pages recognized as the United States Code. Within those laws lay the institutionalization of a nation divided.

In his Farewell Address, George Washington was especially animated as he cautioned:

“The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice in your real independence, the support of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that, from different causes and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices employed to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth; ... “

Affirmative Action is a broad-brush title given to concepts designed to “level the playing field” for the many diverse groups that make up America’s cultural landscape. Born of compassion for those asserted to be underprivileged, the initiatives of the body politic (different causes from different quarters) have, in legislating “improvements” to humanity’s natural arrangements, turned American against American; creating an atmosphere where every question of justice is now open to politically correct interpretation; with the logical consequence being the hateful, peace-destroying, partisan-driven, vitriolic and acrimonious contestations that were naturally to follow.

America’s “vaunted” two-party political system, each party with it’s issue-specific special interests and their attendant donors are the bane of America’s constitution -- as well as the root cause of a nation divided.

But be advised, America: “ ... Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”

Personal beliefs of the author

I believe in a community of virtue. I believe in good things. I believe that there are definitive right and wrong behaviors. I believe America can be much better than it has been; and that Americans can be far better than our recent history has shown.

I believe in the virtues of peace, truth, honesty and integrity. I also believe that for people to be imbued with these moral imperatives, a social climate must exist that allows for the free and open expression of religious and spiritual thought.

I believe that America can be a nation at peace -- both at home and abroad.

In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gave us “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.”

I believe that the term “peacemakers” refer to those who are capable of liberating the conscience from the weight of wrongdoing ... through the process of both humbly asking for and lovingly and graciously granting that all-important act of love: forgiveness.

I believe that making and keeping peace with ourselves and our neighbors—both at home and abroad—is a virtue; and is one of the higher callings of our human existence.

I believe that the rewards—both material and spiritual—of peaceful coexistence bring advantages of every sort to the full spectrum of humanity.

I further believe that the majority of Americans possess a natural and deep-seated inclination to do good things, to extend a helping hand in times of need, to be ... Good Samaritans.

I believe there is but one race -- the human race.

A promise

As a follower of, and in accordance with, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I herewith promise to always endeavor to think, say and do the right thing; to bring no harm to another person or their property; to refrain from passing judgement on people for their beliefs, but rather I will always attempt to mitigate the negative outcomes of wrongful—intentional or otherwise—acts; thereby doing all possible within my small sphere of influence to assist in creating a community of virtue.

America! America!

God mend thine every flaw,

Confirm thy soul in self control,

Thy liberty in Law...