America’s founders gave us a Constitutional Republic. Because of them, we were born free. Nevertheless, we could die as slaves because we have, as a people, lost sight of basic truths:

1. Freedom cannot exist without morality.

The phrase immoral free men makes no more sense than dry water. Unless we have sufficient character and moral fortitude, we will not be able to govern ourselves.

When morality declines, the abuse of rights increases and more government is necessary. Just as criminals need jailers and domesticated animals need herdsmen, an immoral citizenry needs a police state. If we ever abandon our morality and adopt instead the law of the jungle, we will lose our freedom.

2. Ignorant and free can never be.

In order to be capable of self-government, we must not only be moral but informed. If we are not informed, we will tend to vote for the politician who promises the most. We will vote for more and bigger government until one day we have total government.

An uninformed electorate, whether moral or immoral, will vote itself into slavery. Only a moral, well-informed electorate will vote for people of principle — those who will limit the government to its proper role.

3. Our rights come from God.

When God created man, He gave him certain inalienable rights. Because rights existed prior to men joining together to form governments, the purpose of government is only to protect these rights. The purpose cannot be to grant us rights that we already have. Nor can it be to legislate out of existence rights that are inalienable.

Our form of government is based on this fundamental truth. If we ever abandon it, we will lose our form of government.

4. The essence of freedom is the limitation of government.

Because men are not angels, some government is necessary to secure our God-given rights. Because government officials are men, the powers of government must be strictly limited and constantly held on check.

The U.S. Constitution limits the powers of the Federal Government. Nonetheless, much that the Federal Government does today is unConstitutional. We have allowed this abuse of authority to occur because we have forgotten basic truths. We will preserve our freedom for future generations only if we recall the wisdom of the Founders and get back to basics!

A Government of Laws – or of Men?

Because men created governments (and not vice versa), the rights of government are based on the God-given rights of the individual. An individual has the right to defend his life, liberty, and property; therefore, he also has the right to join with others and form a government to protect his rights. An individual does not have the right to violate the rights of another, and neither does government.

Government should be large enough to secure our God-given rights but not large enough to violate these rights. Anyone who understands this comprehends the proper role of government.

If there were no government whatsoever, our rights would not be secure. Individuals acting alone would be unable to protect their liberty against criminal acts of unjust men. In the absence of any organized government, anarchy would prevail. Ultimately, the criminals would take control and enslave their fellow citizens.

Our rights also would not be secure under a system of total government control. Such a government might grant its citizens privileges from time to time, but it could also take away those privileges on a whim. Whenever government has total power, individuals have none. Remember, the root of the word totalitarian is total!

Communism and Nazism are not at opposite ends of the political spectrum as the public has been led to believe. They are ideological twins! Both are totalitarian, and both are examples of 100 percent governmental control.

Our rights can only be secure under limited government. Liberty is a way station between anarchy (no government) on one end of the political spectrum and totalitarianism (total government) on the other end.

Preserving liberty for ourselves and future generations is not easy. As George Washington warned,

“Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”

The Founders realized that government, like fire, had to be contained, and so they gave us a government of laws — not of men. These wise men created a republic and not a democracy.

A democracy is majority rule and is destructive of liberty because there is no law to prevent the majority from trampling on individual rights. Whatever the majority says goes! A lynch mob is a good example of pure democracy in action. There is only one dissenting vote — and that is cast by the person at the end of the rope.

But a republic is a government of law under a Constitution. The Constitution holds the government in check and prevents the majority (acting through their government) from violating the rights of the individual. Under this system of government a lynch mob is illegal. The suspected criminal cannot be denied his right to a fair trial even if the majority of the citizenry demands otherwise.

We will either be governed by laws or ruled by men. Because of man’s nature, rule by men has always ended in tyranny. Only under a government of laws will our God-given rights be secure.