We God's People...

In order to restore our Union…

Feb 17, 2021

We, God’s People of the United States, in order to preserve this Union, reestablish Justice, restore domestic tranquility, defend this Union as independent and subservient only to God, promote morality, and secure and restore the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, [1] do repent from our sinful personal and public ways and beg God for a reprieve from our well-deserved chastisement.

As a land and nation consecrated to God numerous times in our history, we understand that with the blessings that have come from that, responsibilities are also due. We have not been fulfilling our responsibilities. We are sorry and beg for your mercy, Lord.

In an attempt, individually and as a group of free citizens, to fulfill our obligations to God and each other, we who chose to make the pledge below set forth the following foundations and principles, derived mainly from our founding documents, as ones that we will not violate and will work peaceably and tirelessly to restore to our entire nation.

Foundations –

[2] We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and Property. [2] --That to secure these rights, our Government was instituted among the people, deriving its just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to restore its foundation on such principles through the means provided in the Constitution, including elections and legislation. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience has shown, that people are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to stand up in any real way to correct the course to which they have become accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, threatens absolute Despotism (the denial of Truth for the purpose of increasing governmental and personal power to the level of informational, social, and physical tyranny [4]), it is their right, it is their duty, to restore by legal means such Federal Government to a state in harmony with Natural Law respecting the Rights and Responsibilities of all citizens.--Such is the state of our current Oligarchy [5], rapidly assuming absolute power through a union of governments and elite businesses that would traditionally have been called fascist. [6]

The 2020 elections have clearly shown that roughly half of the nation is at least loosely aligned with this progression toward an oligarchy led by political, academic, and business elites and their paid experts, while the other half retains our founders’ vision of citizens who remain free from undue political pressure. These latter individuals believe that all persons have not only a right but an obligation to bring their political ideas and positions into the public discourse for the sake of seeking the best solutions to the challenges we face. We need look no further for evidence of the above divide than the current environment where anyone who publicly disagrees with the oligarch’s narrative is subject to everything from being socially and/or financially canceled to being imprisoned or in rare instances killed.

Worse still is that lawlessness has become a tool of political persuasion. The threat of general riots or violence against specific individuals because of differing political opinions has no place in civil society. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi both demonstrated that truly peaceful means are the only path to change that does not lead to escalating violence. Similarly, election integrity has been challenged in all national elections going back to at least the year 2000. If there is to remain trust between the government and the citizenry it is essential that fair an verifiable means are provided for each citizen to vote once and have faith that that their vote will be counted. And that, it will not be watered down by unlawful votes cast in their local area or around the country.

Finally, nowhere in our founding documents does it call for a vast government bureaucracy to rule the citizenry by regulations and punishment detached from specific legislation or any real oversight by the people or their representatives. This goes doubly for the plethora of experts, inside and outside the government, where predetermined results in line with the prevailing narrative are funded using the people’s money with little regard for the Truth.

Principles –

We need look no further than Natural Law and the Founding Documents of the United Sates to find principles that have brought increasing peace and prosperity throughout human history. We can start with the U.S. Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, on which its ratification depended.

[7] A Return to the Bill of Rights…

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Notice, that nowhere does this say separation of church (God) and state. In fact it is saying almost the opposite, proposing a state founded on the principles inherent to the Judeo-Christian heritage, but not tied to any single expression of the same.

It also does not say “freedom of speech” that doesn’t hurt people’s feelings. Our founders knew that it was only through vetting in the public square that the best solutions to our problems and differences could be found. And, that to suppress the ideas of one group or another is only to beg for violence when people do not feel heard.

Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Recent government actions seem in many cases to skirt around these previous five Amendments. Many in positions of power have seemingly learned that they can use legal and regulatory processes to encumber someone they disagree with, regardless of whether they have violated the law. It has been shown repeatedly that under such pressure most will cave in and go along with their tormentor’s wishes rather than face looming social and financial cancelation.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
God’s natural law supersedes human law.
Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

These last two components of the Bill of Rights are essentially an expression of the principle of Subsidiarity. Not only are the people closest to a problem normally in the best position to solve it; the interpersonal connections made in implementing the solution are beneficial to society as a whole. Although both might solve a material need, there is no grace exchanged when an EBT card is electronically recharged, but there is when a person in need allows another the gift of helping them to alleviate that need.

To these we might add a couple of suggestions and comments.

One idea that merits additional mention is the Military-Industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned of. [8] Here we are not talking about our servicemembers. Rather this refers to the unhealthy incentive of an oligarchy, for the sake of its constituent military manufacturers, to initiate wars and international police actions in order to increase military hardware demand. War and other violent actions are sometimes necessary in a sinful world, but these must always be a last resort. The US military has too often been used by the political establishment for immoral and illegitimate purposes, and this must end. The Constitution clearly states that, “the Congress shall have Power To… declare War.” [9] Maybe Congress could look at returning to that responsibility and thus bringing this power closer to the people rather than to continue to abdicate it as has been the norm in recent decades.

Actual unbiased data is invaluable to proper decision making while opinions are worth exactly what we pay for them. A return to a press that actually reports the news rather than regurgitating the prevailing narrative is long overdue. A corollary to this is that the federal government needs to get out of the business of being the primary funder of research. This would lessen the bureaucracy’s ability to bias data toward a prevailing narrative and increase the probability of getting data on which decisions can reliably be made.

This would be a significant step toward restoring objective rather than subjective decision making. Related to this would be the restoration of reason and critical thinking to a society that has completely lost track of these ideas. A society making all decisions based on peoples feelings is doomed, and one with out the underlying data to be objective is stuck in the land of subjectivity.

Pledge –

Therefore, we God’s people of the United States of America do pledge mutually that we will…

Remember always that God is God and we are not.
Repent of our sinful ways.
Understand that the greatest thing we can do to improve our culture is to humbly accept areas where we need to grow.
Treat all people we meet with the dignity due them as children of God, and challenge all affronts to this dignity wherever we find them.
Work tirelessly to understand the perspectives of those from differing cultures, circumstances, and opinions, only moving forward once they feel heard and understood. This could go a long way toward returning to a standard whereby we all stop pretending we understand other people’s unspoken intentions and look to their actions as the expression of their intent.
Calmly and peacefully express our view of the world so that all ideas can be considered.
Try never to promote things that lead to lawlessness or violence and work to eliminate the same wherever we find them.
And, adhere to the best of our abilities to the principles laid out above.

We ask our representatives in government to join us in this pledge. Someone [9] recently said something along the lines of, the first things politicians learn is that there is no power in saying “yes” even to something they agree with. They get campaign donations and other forms of power by first saying “no” and then watching as their constituents or others seeking their attention are forced to grovel. Isn’t it time for a return to servant leaders?

To solidify this pledge in our mutual hearts, and as an offering to God our Creator, we vow to cement the promises set forth above by a Great Day of Prayer and Fasting to take place this coming 17th day of April 2021. This specific day of penance and fasting shall be completely dedicated to the Lord. We will offer penance (sacrifice), abstaining from food and anything that leads us away from the Lord, and dedicate the day to fervent prayer for our country and its people in the tradition of our particular faith. We as God’s people of this Union will present these offerings as we repent from our sinful ways and those of our country and beg God’s mercy.

We, therefore, God’s people of these united States of America, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in our names individually and as a people, solemnly publish and declare, That these United States ought to be restored to the wisdom and prudence of our foundation based on faith in God. And for the support of this Pledge, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor. [11]

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