One Nation Under "You-Know-Who"

One Nation Under "You-Know-Who"

“So then I judged all that stuff was only just one of Tom Sawyer's lies. I reckoned he believed in the A-rabs and the elephants, but as for me I think different. It had all the marks of a Sunday school.” The teacher looked up, “So,” she continued, her eyes wandering searching the number of the classroom, “who who can tell me what Mark Twain is trying to say when Huck makes the statement?” Several hands rows into the air, nevertheless, the English teacher elected to call on the mousy, little blonde with a cold in the back row. The blonde held up delaying finger, her face contorted into a fussy grimace. We waited expectantly, and, “Achoo!” there it was. To this action came the inevitable response from the teacher, “God bless you!” My immediate response to this would be, "How sweet!" or perhaps an agreement with the teacher in conveying my well-wishes to the ailing child. Though this can not sensibly be ought but a harmless and endearing remark by a concerned teacher, some would argue that her reaction shows bias, hateful narrow-mindedness, and the imperious enforcement of personal whims, and that such speech should be strictly and absolutely forbidden. This illustrates perfectly the real "inconvenient truth," that America in general has drifted further and further into amoral decadence and an increasing intolerance of spirituality. This rapid secularization grows widespread and rampant among political officers and extremists alike. Nevertheless, we may still prevent this tragedy by understanding that a.) religion is the foundation of our governmental laws and principles, b.) that the current secularization of the people, if continued, will lead inevitably to utter mobocracy, and c.) that religion provides hope and ethical foundations, standards, and values that are quickly disappearing from government and society in general.
Religion is the cornerstone of government and a moral society. Before the ratification of the Constitution, before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, before the battle of Lexington and Concord, yea, even before the pilgrims of the Mayflower set foot upon this land, our wise and brave forefathers drafted and signed the first governing contract, a legendary compact that would be forever inscribed in the annals of history, and the hearts of this country. This great treatise began with these words; “In the name of God, amen." In the heat of battle against tyranny and oppression, the small army of the early American colonies affirmed that the very God of Heaven fought their battles (Hinckley xvii). In his First Inaugural Address, the great Father of our Country, General George Washington, stated this:

...it would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official act my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the universe, who presides in the councils of nations, and whose providential aids can supply every human defect, that His benediction may consecrate to the liberties and happiness of the people of the United States a Government instituted by themselves for these essential purposes...No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which conducts the affairs of men more than those of the United States. Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent nation seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential agency....(Washington).

"This is something the Founders understood implicitly and wrote explicitly into the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They were men of profound faith and recognized as such the necessity of religion in a free society. So said Washington as he warned us never to 'indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.' And so said [John] Adams when he wrote, 'Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people'" (Religion is Essential, Lieberman). How can we doubt, then, that religion is one of the forces, if not the main and ultimate force that drove our patriotic ancestors to endure the despotism of a destructive dominion, to persevere against the pressure of power-hungry preeminence, and to bear through the trials and torments of tyranny? Can we truly say that religious values did not underscore and inspire the entire foundations of liberty and justice? Nay, but rather, we must realize that religion and Deity infuse within humanity the very idea of moral and ethic conduct! Under widely-proclaimed direction from God, Joseph Smith Jr., the first Prophet of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, declares this message; that, "...governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man; and that he holds men accountable for their acts in relation to them, both in making laws and administering them, for the good and safety of society... that no government can exist in peace, except such laws are framed and held inviolate as will secure to each individual the free exercise of conscience, the right and control of property, and the protection of life" (D&C 134: 1-2). This raises a glaring question; If then, our very ideals and core beliefs of our government rest upon the principles of religion, why then, are we seeking desperately to abolish religion in all its forms from our government?
A Godless America is chaos. Declared Gordon B. Hinckley, the LDS Prophet, "Today, we face challenges the Founding Fathers could not have possibly imagined or conceived; our societal challenges would have horrified them...We are forgetting God, whose commandments we have neglected and in some cases forgotten, and which we seem reluctant- or too undisciplined- to obey." Conservative voice Sean Hannity in his book entitled Let Freedom Ring has recognized this, boldly asserting that, "For many years now this country's values have been under attack by a persistent cadre of people eager to remove God and prayer from our public schools," continuing that this "fringe movement" opposes everything from patriotically reciting the Pledge of Alleigance to singing the "God Bless America" and even our beloved national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner." Take, for example, an incident in Madison, Wisconsin. The Madison metropolitan School District voted to ban schools against leading the Pleadge of Alleigance, that "America's national anthem, even during a time of war, was forbidden.." One educator, displaying his approbation of the movement stated, "Indoctrination leads to totalitarianism, and we're approaching that moment." Yet another educator portrayed the patriotic reciting of the Pledge as being "... a really scary thing. it leads to nationalism and ultimately fascism." Anne Gaylor, head of the Freedom from Religion Foundation shared similar sentiments, “I think that religious patriotism is very dangerous, and when you combine the idea of country and God together, this is the most incendiary mix possible.” She continues, vindicating that leading the Pledge of Alleigance "makes our economy as bad as Osama bin Laden [by setting up] a war between the believers and the infidels... I think that religious patriotism is very dangerous, and when you combine the idea of country and God together, this is the most incendiary mix possible” (Hannity 114-116). Perhaps one may think that this radical insanity only grips the minds of some in Wisconsin, but alas, such disgraceful and absurd notions also permeate other choice parts of our nation. In response anti-religious measures such as this, lawmakers gathered on the steps of the nation's Capitol Building and sang "God Bless America." Representative Henry Brown, a participant, responded to measures against religion in schools, "To threaten a public school for showing the same type of patriotism that we all showed on the Capitol steps is the opposite of what this country is all about" (AFA 1). Shortly after the terrorist attack on America in September of 2001, students in Breen Elementary in California held a rally to honor the servicemen who gave their very lives saving attack victims. Part of the rally included a banner on campus that read, "God Bless America." Less than a few weeks later, the ACLU wrote a demanding letter that insisted the "...hurtful, divisive message" be removed at once, and that the display divided, isolated, and hurt students, instead of "supporting them and the values of pluralism and tolerance." Sensibly, the local president of the School Board of Trustees questioned the ruling, "I would like someone to explain how 'God Bless America' hurts anyone" (Hannity 116-117). Countless other examples abound all across the nation, proving that America is quickly becoming a Godless society, falling into same tragic mistake made by the Russians. Cal Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote:

What could be more ironic? Americans are doing what they can wipe out religion from public schools, while Russians are doing what they can to revive religion in their public schools. Having been without religious freedom for most of the century, Russia apparently see the value of what they lost. Their country having been established upon principles of religious values and expression, Americans flirt with paganism, unaware of what it is like to live in an anti-religious nation. It appears the Russians have learned something from us. It also appears we have learned nothing from them. (qtd. in Hinckley 133)

A wonderfully direct Wall street Journal article published Christmas Eve of 1992 confirms this, "As we gather...[to celebrate Christmas], the very idea of religion finds itself under siege. The word of God... dare not be heard in the nation's schools. The creche cannot be erected on public property; for the first time since the conversion of Constantine, the state has outlawed the display of Christian symbols. Meanwhile, school distribute condoms, even over the objections of parents" (qtd. in Hinckley 132). Our divinely-inspired nation is debauching itself and declining down the path towards anti-religious rubbish.
Religion provides the necessary desideratum for the nation to reclaim itself from its rapid de-spiritualization. Like the Russians, we must learn that the abolishment of religion from schools and public in general will lead to our downfall and disenlightenment. We can prevent this by returning to the religious virtues found a home in the birth of our country; honesty, chastity, respect, and faith. Lawrence M. Gould admonished America with this profound declaration, "If America is to grow great, we must stop gagging over the word 'spiritual.' Our task is to rediscover and reassert our faith in the non-utilitarian values on which American life has rested from its beginning" (qtd. Hinckley 132). Throw your mind through the eons of time to Berne, Switzerland at a time of war in Europe some years ago. President Hinckley describes his experiences as such:

...tanks were rolling down the streets of a great city, and students were being slaughtered by machine-gun fire. I stood that December day in the railroad station...At eleven o'clock in the morning, every church bell in Switzerland began to ring, and at the conclusion of that ringing, every vehicle stopped... Men, women, and children dismounted and stood with bared, bowed heads. Then, after three minutes of prayerful silence, great convoys of trucks laden with supplies of food, clothing, and medicine began to roll... to the suffering nations to the east. The gates of Switzerland were thrown open to refugees. As I stood there that chilly morning, I felt the warmth and the tremendous sense of security of a nation appealing together to God. (135-136)

Only after restoring a faith-based and truly religious society that endeavors to preserve the wonderful benefits of a spiritual society can we rise above the low-leveled anti-denominational immorality that so pervades this nation. With religion a prevalent and inspiring force in our country and our government, we will return again to those values we have since abandoned. America is still as of yet the most prosperous nation in the world, but we are degrading and debasing our selves slowly through the loss of values and morals that once dominated and controlled the human heart. Through the restoration of religion being as publicly acceptable, America can return to being the land of liberty and freedom to the extent that it once was.
We must make an effort to recognize religion as the foundation of government; we must recognize that the current trend of secularization in America must cease, and we must recognize the necessity to accept religion as imperative to the the success of our nation.We must turn again to the essential values that gave birth to this wonderful nation. We must not let our standards fall short of the traditional teachings of organized religion. We must accept it as an essential piece of government, as well-guided ideals found in the Declaration of Indepndence, that "all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Sean Hannity comments, "...Without the principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and adopted by the colonies, however, there would have been no American Revolution, no United States, no Constitution, and no war to end slavery. The Declaration is a document that celebrates liberty." With the Declaration and the acceptance as religion as a driving force of good to be had among the public as a proud emblem and symbol of right, yet still many refuse to show extreme anti-religious spitefulness. This comes, for the most part, because they reject any possible notion of a higher power than the federal government, and secondly beacuse such a being's existence also means that there would exist absolute and defineable moral truths that do not change. This, in turn signifies that moral relativism is inexusable, and that the desires of a passing whim should not always be satisfied. The belief in a deity would establish standards built for overall wellness and not simnply personal immediate gratification (Hannity 141,138, 137). Should we passively ignore the increasing threat that now grows at an alarming rate? Should we sit back and ignore as the few seek to impose their anti-belief beliefs upon us? No, rather, we must stand for our beliefs, that all Americans should be entitled to worship and speak freely, even in religious matters, and that the First Amendment must be enforced. The government should not favor the belief system of atheism over the belief system of region. We must stand and say, with patriotic pride, "God Bless America!"

Works Cited

American Family Association Online. American Family Association. 14 November 2006 .

Hannity, Sean P. Let Freedom Ring. New York: HarperCollins, 2002

Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O.: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1989; Bartleby.com, 2001. www.bartleby.com/124/. 14 November 2006.