Analyst's note: Absolutely must read. Our thanks to William J. Dell for a very considered argument regarding this latest assault on our First Amendment rights.
Well did Thomas Paine say, “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.”
After Alexis de Tocqueville, a French Jurist, visited America in 1831, he wrote, “I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers, and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless prairies, and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. Not until I went to the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.”
This great nation was founded by those fleeing religious persecution from the tyrannical governments of Europe. Religious liberty was of so great importance to them and our Founding Fathers that they ensured our right to religious freedom as item one in our Bill of Rights. The First Amendment of our Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; . . .” [Emphasis added.]
On 29 January, from the pulpits of every Catholic Parish in the United States, a letter was read notifying their parishioners that the Catholic Church continues to be in conflict with ObamaCare’s requirement to provide birth control and abortion services in Catholic hospitals and at Catholic universities. This action was prompted by Health & Human Services Secretary Sebelius rule that would require EVERY faith-based institution, hospital and university to cover “all Food and Drug Administration approved contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures and patient education and counseling for all women with reproductive capacity” against their long-established objections. This is a violation of “the free exercise thereof” clause of the First Amendment. As such, this Health and Human Services rule is unconstitutional and ALL churches and faith-based institutions should join with the Catholic Church in supporting their efforts to reverse this assault on our First Amendment rights.
When Jay Carney, the President’s Press Secretary, was asked, “ . . . how does the administration justify having the federal government institute a law that basically forces people to violate their religious beliefs?” He responded, “The decision was made, as we have said in the past and Secretary Sebelius has said, after very careful consideration, and the administration believes that this proposal strikes the appropriate balance between respecting religious beliefs and increasing access to important preventive services. We will continue to work closely with religious groups during this transitional period to discuss their concerns.” The difficulty is, as mentioned above, the Obama Administration’s effort to strike “the appropriate balance between respecting religious beliefs and increasing access” prohibits the free exercise of religion. There can be NO balance. We the People are either free to exercise our religious beliefs or we are NOT.
Consider the following two statements. The first is by Rev. Martin Niemüller, a German Lutheran pastor, who was arrested by the Gestapo in 1938. “In Germany, the Nazis first came for the communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.”
Fred Albury has quipped, “When they took the 4th Amendment away, I was quiet because I didn’t deal drugs. When they took the 6th Amendment away, I was quiet because I had never been arrested. When they took the 2nd Amendment away, I was quiet because I didn’t own a gun. Now they’ve taken away the 1st Amendment, and all I can do is be quiet.”
We as patriots have often heard that eternal vigilance is the price of freedom. It is interesting to me that the earliest statement that reflects this sentiment was made by John Philpot Curran in a speech upon the Right of Election in 1790. He said: “It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt.”
Right is right even if no one is doing it. Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. Our unalienable rights of life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and the private ownership of property are granted by God and NOT the government, federal, state or local. Our unalienable rights can only be abridged by the government as “We the People” will allow it. In the words of Daniel Webster, “God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.”
Apathy is the greatest threat to America’s freedom! Whether by ignorance or neglect by those who understand, it is the same. In the economy of God, Freedom belongs only to those who believe in it the most. Those who, like the Founding Fathers, are willing to pledge their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to its attainment and its preservation. We the People, particularly those grounded in faith, must stand against this latest assault on our First Amendment rights by the Obama Administration and the law enacted by Obama, Pelosi, Reid, et al [the Socialists and Progressives, of both parties] known as ObamaCare!
May God Bless and Save the United States of America
Our Constitutional Republic !
