Liberty and lawlessness cannot co-exist. Only moral governments can remain free. There are Americans who object to the statement by Founding Father, the first Vice-President, and second President of the United States, John Adams. He said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
Why They Disagree with Adams
These Americans say that the Constitution does not support Adams’ statement. They (mistakenly) think that Adams was saying we must all be religious to be American. That contradicts the First Amendment, which says, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of (a national) religion.” What Adams said is that you must have a moral population to remain free. Where do we learn morals? Primarily, this is accomplished through ancient wisdom or religious teachings, if you will. No one ever said you had to be religious. It’s just that moral standards assist in maintaining freedom. We aren’t born sin-free. Observe any young child. They need to discover moral teachings somewhere. It seems fair to conclude that our population will not learn ancient wisdom or morality from television, the internet, or at school.
Look To Metropolitan Areas For Proof
For example, one need only look at today’s news to see that Adams’ statement holds merit. In the larger metropolitan areas, big-name retailers are moving out. Why is that? One retailer on the west coast fired its employees for calling the police when thieves came in to, once again, carry out armloads of merchandise without paying. This criminal activity happens on a routine basis during daylight store hours. Shocking? Yes, but being soft on crime and hard on law-abiding citizens is the way of today’s cultural drift. It’s called “compassion gone awry.” People are no longer willing to pay an elevated price for goods to compensate for revenue lost by corporate compassion for robbers. Consumers are also unwilling to work or shop at stores where massive theft is ignored. It’s a safety issue.
As an illustration, on the east coast there is a large metro area where the police no longer arrest criminals because their supervisors will lay blame on cops rather than criminals. Again, its compassion gone awry. One misstep and a lifelong career of stellar police work can go down the drain. Law-abiding citizens are now at risk of losing their liberty because of policies that protect the lawless.
Undeniably, lawlessness is growing. The more it grows, the more laws are made. The more laws are made, the less freedom you and I have. It’s time to face the facts. Lawlessness and liberty cannot co-exist..
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
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