Patrick Henry, March 23rd,1775

"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty GOD! I know not what Course others may take, but as for Me, give me liberty, or give me Death".

Paraphrased , Sept. 2001

Is false security so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty GOD! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me Death.

Our nation today possibly faces the most serious crises of it's history, not because of any terrorist threat, outside invasion, or any physical threat; but because of a spiritual decline within the hearts and souls of it's people. Our nation was founded by people who, if not inspired by almighty GOD, were certainly led by Him, who understood that liberty was His gift, and demanded personal responsibility for each individual's actions as well as in all areas for which He provided the means. They understood the meaning of liberty and were willing to stand in the face of what appeared to be an overpowering force, place the results in the hands of GOD, and declare for that liberty. They fought the war which resulted from that declaration under a banner which said "no king but king JESUS", and after that war, wrote a constitution which united the states under that law, joining for the first time in history, the doctrines of JESUS and civil law. (John Quincy Adams - July 4th,1821) The liberty they (under GOD) gave us has faced many tests throughout our nation's history, however the heart of our people has held fast, and the proper role of government, which is to protect our borders, and maintain order in civil disputes, has been held in balance under the collective authority of individual citizens.

For many years there has been an assault on the minds of our people to the effect that "we should submit to evil" in the name of peace. This has come in many forms, perhaps beginning in some of our cities which told crime victims "not to resist". This was proclaimed to be the safest procedure when those who were making these statements knew from their own statistics it was a lie. Airline CEO's told their crews and passengers not to resist air criminals for the same reasons. The most damaging, and profound lie perpetuated onto the minds of the citizens is the idea that "the government will protect you, the individual". That has never been the role of government, they are in no way capable of fulfilling that role, and history has shown that where this thought is allowed to progress, government itself becomes more of a threat to the peace and security of it's citizens than the threats they are supposed to be protecting from. This assault has made so much of an imprint onto our minds that today, like the ancient Hebrews who had been rescued from slavery by GOD, we cry "give us a king".(1st Sam. Chap.8) We wish our government to provide for our welfare, our old age, our health, and our personal security. Benjamin Franklin said that those who are willing to sacrifice liberty for a bit of security will gain neither and lose that they have. History shows that statement to be so true.

Government definitely has a role in the preservation of security, both as ordained by GOD and proclaimed in America's declaration of independence. As a matter of fact that role is their major purpose for existence. It is to defend our national borders, control or eliminate criminal organizations, and to punish those responsible for criminal deeds. It is important to note that "criminal deeds" are those which trespass or attempt to trespass on the rights of others. The unfortunate fact is that as government itself trespasses on the rights of citizens they become more incapable of fulfilling their proper role, which is precisely what is taking place in our nation today.

On September 11th of 2001, thousands of American citizens came face to face with an evil intending their destruction. This evil had evaded every roadblock supposedly established by the government to protect it's citizens, including all the inconveniences, and deprivations of constitutionally mandated liberties imposed upon those citizens; and managed to kill approximately 7000 of us. The reason this destruction was able to be perpetrated was due, in large part, to the change in mindset previously discussed.

The reason the death toll was not much higher, was due to absolutely nothing that any element of government did, but instead was due to a small body of Americans on flight 93, acting as representatives of that body established by our forefathers, and still stated under federal law, - title 10, section 311 - which says that all males between the ages of 18 and 45 are a part of the well regulated militia. It must be noted that "well regulated" to our forefathers, in this context meant,: "proficient in the use of personal arms", including the current military arm. Those individuals on flight 93, made their best stand, handicapped as they were without arms; and in selling themselves, managed to save many lives, and perhaps much of the nations leadership. The policies in place on September 11th, and previous dates had accomplished nothing but insure that only perpetrators of violence would have the means to inflict deadly force; in other words they would be in an environment where they had almost complete control. Anyone should find this offensive, however what this author finds more offensive, is the fact that these policies, and many others of like effects, were placed into existence by people who are and were well aware of the truths espoused here, along with many others, which illustrate the threat that policies like these create against the peace, security, and liberty of the citizens of this nation.

Prior to 1954 airline pilots were expected to carry arms aboard their flights. In 1954 a pilot flying for American Airlines foiled a hijacking attempt to force a change in the flights destination. Shortly thereafter the policies were changed so that pilots were not supposed to carry arms, although many did, until in the 70's when the airlines "cracked down" on the practice. One has to ask - whose side are these people on, although the reasons probably had more to do with fear of trial lawyers than anything else -.We were treated to movies showing horrible results from cabin depressurization, and a fear was generated into the public and aircraft personal concerning "bullet holes in the cabin walls", The fact is that during the second world war (and probably all others involving airplanes) planes came back to their fields full of bullet holes. (does it really matter if a hole is made from the outside or inside) A few years ago there was an incident where for some reason a portion of the cabin roof (about 2 feet square) was opened. The masks came down, the passengers used them, the pilot dropped the plane down to a "safe" altitude and flew in with no harm to anyone. The fact is, the only place or time that bullets (or bullet holes) have caused serious problems on airplanes is in the movies or on television, and even if these and many other facts did not exist.

There is the fact that criminals do have them. It has been aptly demonstrated, not just on September 11, but often with past events, that the criminal (terrorists are criminals) will have with them whatever they wish. I repeat: the only accomplishment of searching the persons or personal belongings of the individual citizen is to insure the criminal can work with impunity! It needs to be also illustrated that everyone who buys a ticket on an airplane (except for standbys) gives their name, address and phone number. With that information a background check can be ran on the entire passenger manifest within approximately one hour, a fact that certainly is known by all security planners. With all of this, the question must be asked - what is the real purpose and intent in subjecting the citizenry to the type of searches and deliberate infringement of the meaning and letter of the 4th amendment that is presently taking place.

It is certainly not the intent of this paper to denigrate our government, or the noble intentions of many well-meaning persons honestly trying to do all possible in protecting the citizens, however some facts can not be ignored. Most striking of those fact is that even with the most efficient intelligence efforts, and means, that government can use in placing the strongest barriers between the criminal and honest citizens, that barrier, at times, will be breached, and when that breaching takes place, the only force left to prevent that criminal act is the intended victim; whether that victim is on the street, in their home, on a trip, or on an airplane. Any government official, knowing this fact-and they all do, which would deprive the citizen of their constitutionally guaranteed right to have the means of their protection is themselves as great a criminal as the criminal perpetrator.

Thomas Jefferson said that the "beauty of the second amendment is that it will not be needed until they try to take it from us". He did not indicate if he meant "to take it away" by means of coercion, force, or deception, however I believe, in his wisdom, he was aware that all three would be used, and he was counting on the wisdom of the American people to prevent the "coercion and deception", in which case it would be impossible for it to be taken by force. There is no more dangerous phrase, than "I believe in the second amendment, but….".We must be very clear - "The right of the people to keep and bear arms is very plain. Only someone who could not pass a 7th grade grammar test, can fail to understand that article, when expressed in entirety. With that article fully in place and used by a free people governed by GOD and the 10 commandments (James Madison-on the future of America-) Americans can remain free.

More than any other item the maintenance of our liberty depends upon our remembrance of the source of those liberties, where our strength and power comes from, our willingness to adhere to the laws of that source, and standing firm under the doctrines of JESUS Christ. Patrick Henry perhaps spelled that out for us better than any others. Patrick Henry defined our nation with these words: "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the gospel of JESUS CHRIST. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here".

The pastors who stood during the time of the birth of our nation understood very well the true meaning of "separation of church and state" and refused to be intimidated by either the kings mandates or ecclesiastical orders. They called events as indicated in GOD'S word, and through their, and the peoples perseverance our nation was born. Today, like too many of our citizens, too many of our pastors are intimidated by both the "kings mandates" (the IRS) or/and ecclesiastical orders. Too many among all of us have lost the firm conviction of the fact of GOD'S power and of our own power through JESUS CHRIST.

If we will stand with the law that GOD gave us, use the tools HE gave us, and not allow ourselves to be either intimidated, coerced or frightened into surrendering any of those provisions, our nation will remain strong and our children, grandchildren, and posterity will enjoy HIS liberty until HE returns.

Stan Smith
President: East Gulf Coast Republican Assembly