Isaiah 1:
The Degenerate City
21 How the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She was full of justice;
righteousness lodged in her,
but now murderers.
22 Your silver has become dross,
your wine mixed with water.
23 Your princes are rebellious
and companions of thieves;
everyone loves a bribe
and follows after rewards.
They do not defend the fatherless,
nor does the cause of the widow come before them.
24 Therefore the Lord, the Lord of Hosts,
the Mighty One of Israel, says:
Ah, I will get relief from My adversaries,
and avenge Myself on My enemies.
25 And I will turn My hand against you,
thoroughly purge away your dross,
and take away all your impurities.
26 I will restore your judges as at the first,
and your counselors as at the beginning.
Afterward you shall be called
the city of righteousness,
a faithful town.
27 Zion shall be redeemed with justice
and her converts with righteousness.
28 But the destruction of the transgressors and sinners shall be together,
and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.
Yes, Lord of Angel Armies!
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Chief!
WATCH LIVE: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Delivers Lecture at UT Austin--excerpts:
"...Do any of us have what it took for our young soldiers to storm Normandy Beach, to fight at Guadalcanal, to later fight at Chosin Reservoir?
If we can't say that we have the courage required of these young soldiers in battle to defend our founding principles, then how do we preserve these principles and this Republic? Until we have a devotion that matches the courage of those who made this country possible, I seriously doubt any amount of study or development of insights about our Constitution will make much difference.
There's a world of difference between what it takes to score academic points and what it takes to protect and defend the Constitution.as we are sworn to do. I have faced this struggle myself. ...
And the structure and limited role of government is to assure that it does not exceed the authority to which we have consented or intrude on our natural rights. The Constitution is the means of government. It is the Declaration that announces the ends of government.
At that point I asked myself a simple question. What are these principles worth? What are your principles worth to you?
My answer then was the same I would give today. It is worth they are worth life itself. What are those principles? They are the same principles in the Declaration.
They were bequeathed to me by my grandparents and reinforced by my nuns and my faith. In God's eyes, we are equal. We are all equally created in the image and likeness of God. We are all endowed with the natural rights to life, liberty, and happiness. Our rights and our dignity are inherent. They do not come from others and they do not come from the government. And our government derives its legitimacy and its authority from our consent. We do not derive our rights from our government.
The primacy of our rights in relation to our government is crucial in reconciling the immortal words of the Declaration with our Constitution and our history. None of our rights come from the government. All of the government's authority comes from our consent.
And the structure and limited role of government is to assure that it does not exceed the authority to which we have consented or intrude on our natural rights. The Constitution is the means of government. It is the Declaration that announces the ends of government.
The Constitution achieves this purpose by protecting our natural rights and our liberties from concentrated power and excessive democracy. Our Constitution creates a separation of powers and federalism truly for the first time in modern history to prevent the government from becoming so strong that it threatens our natural rights. ...
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As we meet today, it is unclear whether these principles will endure. At the beginning of the 20th century, a new set of first principles of government was introduced into the American mainstream. The proponents of this new set of first principles, most prominently most prominent among them, the 28th president of our country, Woodrow Wilson, called it progressivism.
Since Wilson's presidency, progressivism has made many inroads into our system of government and our way of life. It has coexisted uneasily with the principles of the Declaration. Because it is opposed to those principles, it is not possible for the two to coexist forever.
Progressivism was not native to America. Wilson and the progressives candidly admitted that they took it from Otto von Bismar's Germany whose state centric society they admired. Progressives like Wilson argued that America needed to leave behind the principles of the Founding and catch up with the more advanced and sophisticated system of relatively unimpeded state power nearly perfected.
He acknowledged that it was a foreign science speaking very little of the language of English or American principle which offers none but what are to our minds are alien ideas. He thus described America still stuck with its original system of government, quote, "slow to see the superiority of the European system".
Progressives believed that Darwinian science, the idea of ever advancing progress written into biology itself, had proven the inherent superiority and inferiority of the races. It was only a small step for Wilson to re-segregate the federal workforce. It was only another step for the government to launch sterilization programs on those deemed by the experts of the day to be unfit to reproduce, upheld by my court in Buck v. Bell in an opinion written by no less a figure than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
We can argue over whether you We can argue over whether you believe in immutable absolute Natural Rights or the Wilsonian idea of ever progressing history. Indeed, your school of civic leadership was created to host just such arguments. But let me ask you to consider the consequences.
Since Wilson's presidency, progressivism has made many inroads into our system of government and our way of life. It has coexisted uneasily with the principles of the Declaration. Because it is opposed to those principles, it is not possible for the two to coexist forever.
Progressivism was not native to America. Wilson and the progressives candidly admitted that they took it from Otto von Bismar's Germany whose state centric society they admired. Progressives like Wilson argued that America needed to leave behind the principles of the Founding and catch up with the more advanced and sophisticated system of relatively unimpeded state power nearly perfected.
He acknowledged that it was a foreign science speaking very little of the language of English or American principle which offers none but what are to our minds are alien ideas. He thus described America still stuck with its original system of government, quote, "slow to see the superiority of the European system".
Progressivism was the first mainstream American political movement with the possible exception of the pro-slavey reactionaries on the eve of the Civil War to openly oppose the principles of the Declaration. Progressives strove to undo the Declaration's commitment to equality and natural rights, both of which they denied were self-evident.
To Wilson, the unalienable rights of the individual were, quote "a lot of nonsense". Wilson redefined Liberty not as a natural right antecedent to the government but as, quote "the right of those who are governed to adjust government to their own needs and interests".
To Wilson, the unalienable rights of the individual were, quote "a lot of nonsense". Wilson redefined Liberty not as a natural right antecedent to the government but as, quote "the right of those who are governed to adjust government to their own needs and interests".
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| Klanbake: The Wild Story of the 1924 Democratic Convention - Commonplace Fun Facts |
In other words, Liberty no longer preceded the government as a gift from God but was to be enjoyed at the grace of the government. The government, as Wilson reconceived it, would be, quote "beneficent and indispensable".
Progressives such as John Dewey attacked the Framers for believing that their ideas were immutable truth, good for all times and places, when instead they were, according to him, historically conditioned and relevant only in their own time.
Now Dewey and the Progressives argued those ideas are to be displaced. Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government. It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God but from government. It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights.
You will not be surprised to learn that the progressives had a great deal of contempt for us, the American people. Before he entered politics, Wilson would describe the American people as quote "selfish, ignorant, timid, stubborn, and foolish". He lamented that we do too much by vote and too little by expert rule. He proposed that the people be ruled by administrators who use them as tools. He once again aspired to be like Germany where the people he said admiringly were docile and acquiescent.
The century of progressivism did not go well. The European System that Wilson and the Progressives scolded Americans for not adopting, which he called nearly perfect, led to the governments that caused the most awful century that the world has ever seen.
Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini and Mao all were intertwined with the rise of Progressivism and all were opposed to the Natural Rights on which our Declaration is based.
Many progressives expressed admiration for each of them [the dictators] shortly before their governments killed tens of millions of people. It was a terrible mistake to adopt Progressivism's rejection of the Declaration's vision of universal unalienable Natural Rights. Wilson's claim that Natural Rights must give way to historical progress could justify the greatest mistake in our history.
Progressives such as John Dewey attacked the Framers for believing that their ideas were immutable truth, good for all times and places, when instead they were, according to him, historically conditioned and relevant only in their own time.
Now Dewey and the Progressives argued those ideas are to be displaced. Progressivism seeks to replace the basic premises of the Declaration of Independence and hence our form of government. It holds that our rights and our dignities come not from God but from government. It requires of the people a subservience and weakness incompatible with a constitution premised on the transcendent origin of our rights.
You will not be surprised to learn that the progressives had a great deal of contempt for us, the American people. Before he entered politics, Wilson would describe the American people as quote "selfish, ignorant, timid, stubborn, and foolish". He lamented that we do too much by vote and too little by expert rule. He proposed that the people be ruled by administrators who use them as tools. He once again aspired to be like Germany where the people he said admiringly were docile and acquiescent.
The century of progressivism did not go well. The European System that Wilson and the Progressives scolded Americans for not adopting, which he called nearly perfect, led to the governments that caused the most awful century that the world has ever seen.
Stalin, Hitler, Mussolini and Mao all were intertwined with the rise of Progressivism and all were opposed to the Natural Rights on which our Declaration is based.
Many progressives expressed admiration for each of them [the dictators] shortly before their governments killed tens of millions of people. It was a terrible mistake to adopt Progressivism's rejection of the Declaration's vision of universal unalienable Natural Rights. Wilson's claim that Natural Rights must give way to historical progress could justify the greatest mistake in our history.
In Plessy versus Ferguson, my Court upheld Louisiana's system of racial segregation because, quote "separate but equal," it observed, was "reasonable in light of the established usages, customs and traditions of the people and with a view to the promotion of their comfort and the preservation of the public peace and good order." It comes as no surprise that the progressives embraced eugenics.
Progressives believed that Darwinian science, the idea of ever advancing progress written into biology itself, had proven the inherent superiority and inferiority of the races. It was only a small step for Wilson to re-segregate the federal workforce. It was only another step for the government to launch sterilization programs on those deemed by the experts of the day to be unfit to reproduce, upheld by my court in Buck v. Bell in an opinion written by no less a figure than Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes.
We can argue over whether you We can argue over whether you believe in immutable absolute Natural Rights or the Wilsonian idea of ever progressing history. Indeed, your school of civic leadership was created to host just such arguments. But let me ask you to consider the consequences.
European thinkers have long criticized America for remaining trapped in a lock in world with its weak decentralized government and strong individual rights. They say our 18th century Declaration has prevented us from progressing to higher forms of government. But we were fortunate not to trade our Lockean bonds for the supposedly enlightened world of Hegel, Marx and their followers.
Fascism, which after all was national socialism, triggered wars in Europe and Asia that killed tens of millions. The socialism of the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China proceeded to kill more tens of millions of their own people. This is what happens when natural rights give way to the "higher good" of notions of history, progress or as Thomas Sowell has written the "Vison of the Anointed".
None of this, of course, was an improvement on the principles of the Declaration.
None of this, of course, was an improvement on the principles of the Declaration.
de Tocqueville's "Democracy in America" is largely about how America owed its superiority over Europe to its conscious decision to reject central planning and administrative rule, root and branch.
Progressivism, in other words, is retrogressive. As Calvin Coolidge said on the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration, and I quote,
Progressivism, in other words, is retrogressive. As Calvin Coolidge said on the 150th Anniversary of the Declaration, and I quote,
"If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the Consent of the Governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions." |
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| Chief! |
When Abraham Lincoln addressed the assembled crowd at Gettysburg, they had gathered to memorialize the past. But Lincoln's address urged them to not do so with complacency. Instead, Lincoln said they should look to the past as inspiration to take them to greater heights in the future. and I quote,
"It is rather for us to be here, dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead, we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion. That we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom and that this government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
As we are gathered to celebrate the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration, we it may be tempted to do so as if we are passive spectators. It may be tempting to enjoy our tea and crumpets, treat the Declaration like a shiny object or a keepsake, and listen to the sound of our own voices.
We could get into debates over whose conception of the Founding is better, over how we are so much better than our Founders were, over what we would do differently. We could be careful to not do anything that exposes us to criticism, costs us friends, or hurts our career prospects.
But in my view, we must find in ourselves that same level of courage that the Signers of the Declaration had so that we can do for our future what they did for theirs.
Each of you will have opportunities to be courageous every day. Whether your calling in life is as a day laborer, a stay-at-home mom, a small business owner, an educator, an office worker, a judge, or some other endeavor.
It may mean speaking up in class tomorrow when someone around you expects you to live by lies. It may mean confronting today's fashionable bigotries such as anti-Semitism.
It may mean standing up for your religion when it is mocked and disparaged by a professor. It may mean not budging on your principles when it will entail losing friends or being ostracized.
It may mean running for your school board when you see that they are teaching your children to hate your values in our country. It may mean turning down a job offer that requires you to make moral or ethical compromises.
One thing I do know to be true, it will mean waking up every day with the to withstand unfair criticism and attacks. These are the choices that we will confront that will confront you and you must decide whether to respond with timidity or with courage as the Signers of the Declaration did. It will of course not be easy. Never is. But if like me, you need a greater source of strength than yourselves, you will need to rely on your faith to guide and to sustain you through it all. You will disappoint people you thought were friends and endure personal attacks as well as attacks on those you care about.
But if you stand, you will find that courage, like cowardice, can be habit forming and it will become a part of your life and a part of who you are. And I may dare say it is liberating. You will also be a living example for others to emulate. So by all means, celebrate the Declaration of Independence. It is the most important act of American history. the foundation of our Constitution and as Lincoln said, the sheet anchor of our Republic.
But I implore you to celebrate it by standing up for it, by defending it, and by recommitting yourselves to living up to its ideals channel the courage of the men who faced down a king and signed it or a president who led the nation in a civil war rather than permit this house to be divided by the great contradiction of slavery.
Take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure. And with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, let us mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.
Thank you, and may God continue to bless our country." .......
Thank you, and may God continue to bless our country." .......
more:
Rest in the Vine: The Real "No Kings!"- Moments in American History
Rest in the Vine: "The Declaration of Independence" by Justice Clarence Thomas (2021)
Rest in the Vine: Justice Clarence Thomas and 'Kelo': A CONSTITUTIONAL GIANT IN THE LAND OF LILLIPUT
Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Chief!
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