The Legislative Branch of Government is DEAD, And State Governments Too

Four Things You Can Do to Magnify the Power of One to Preserve Your Freedom

Saturday, I published an article that raised a warning about the devastating effects recent legislation will have on our Constitutional Rights.  This article continues that warning and provides both the wording from the legislation that is the root of this problem and shows how it conflicts with the Constitution.  As well as how it sets us up to lose our Constitutional Rights. And I provide specific things you can do as an individual to try to thwart this oppressive power play.

I hereby call on all our elected officials at State and Federal levels and all citizens of this country to immediately take legal action to enjoin against the enforcement of as well as repeal and annul The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 - and this call has nothing to do with Iran and everything to do with the destruction of our Constitutional Rights.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 threatens to totally destroy our Constitutional Rights and protections and indeed, our very Republic.

This is not about Iran.  It is about Congress passing an Act that establishes a precedent which will destroy the very fabric of checks and balances which protects the freedom of individuals of the minority and the majority, regardless of their party affiliation or politics.  

This will destroy the rights of Conservatives, Liberals, Progressives, LGBT, straight, gay, transgender, Christians, atheists, Libertarians, Republicans, Democrats, independents, Greens, Communists, Tea Party, 99%ers, anti-gunners, NRA, … in short ALL AMERICANS will lose their freedom if this one Act is allowed to stand.

While aimed specifically at Iran and the treaty that President Obama has signed with them, that is irrelevant because it establishes a precedent.  And under the English Common Law system which prevails in this country, a precedent is extremely important.

The bill was written with good intentions.  It appears to be aimed at blunting some of the most offensive and dangerous parts of the treaty with Iran.  Unfortunately, it allows the President of the United States (POTUS) to implement this treaty without requiring that the Senate first ratify the treaty, as required by the US Constitution.

"The President may not waive, suspend, reduce, provide relief from, or otherwise limit the application of statutory sanctions with respect to Iran or refrain from applying sanctions pursuant to an agreement for:

12 days after the date of passage of a congressional joint resolution of disapproval, and

10 days after the date of a presidential veto of a congressional joint resolution of disapproval.

Specified deferrals, waivers, or other suspensions of statutory sanctions are excepted from such prohibitions."

Senate Bill 615: Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, Emphasis Added

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/615

Unfortunately, that last line gives away the farm.  It means that POTUS can make a million specific suspension of sanctions, individually, and they take effect regardless of what Congress says.  He just has to do it individually instead of making a blanket ending of sanctions.  So, even the good intentions of the Act are destroyed by the wording of the Act.

Remember, the word “agreement” here is being used in place of the word “treaty.”  That is because if they had used the word treaty, it would have caught everyone’s attention and folks would have clued into what exactly was happening here.

And what is happening here?

Three things are happening here, and the second is far, far worse than the first, and the third may be even worse than the first two.

ONE Really Bad Thing Happening Here

“[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; …”

US Constitution, Article II Section 2, emphasis added

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

1)  This act overturns how the US Constitution requires the handling of treaties. 

Under the Constitution, the President has sole power to enter into treaties for the United States.  Individual States cannot enter into treaties, and Congress cannot enter into treaties. 

However, no treaty entered into by the President is valid and binding until it is ratified by the Senate.  And then, it becomes the law of the land, even overriding the Constitution.

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

Article VI, US Constitution, emphasis added

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

This required ratification is a significant check on the power of the President.  It prevents him from entering into treaties such as the one proposed last year in the UN, and endorsed by then Secretary of State (and current Presidential hopeful) Hilary Clinton,  that would have required all of us to turn in our handguns under an international standard designed to disarm individuals all over the world which would have had the effect of leaving firearms only in the hands of outlaws and governments.

Or if the President should sign a treaty allowing the practice of Sharia Law inside the US, it would make it lawful inside the US for Islamic Councils to order the death of people who decide to leave Islam because they convert to another religion, such as Christianity.  And it would allow them to burn homosexuals alive, as ISIS has been doing under Sharia Law in the Middle East.

As you can see, treaties can be very powerful and dangerous things.  That is why the Founding Fathers established this significant check on the power of the President in making treaties. 

What is more, is because the Constitution requires the Congress ratifies a treaty before it can take effect, it means that if Congress simply ignores a treaty and does not vote on it, then it never takes effect.  And there is nothing the POTUS can do about that.

And, if the Congress brings a treaty up for a vote and the Senate votes against it by a simple majority, POTUS cannot override that vote and here is where we begin to enter the second, and worst area of precedent and problem created by this Act.

TWO - Really, Really Bad Things Happening Here

2) Under the Constitution, the POTUS cannot enact legislation.  He cannot write a bill and submit it to Congress.  All legislation must originate in Congress.  And, under the Constitution, once Congress has enacted a bill, it does not become law until the POTUS signs it, or if he ignores it for a time, then it becomes law automatically.

However, if the POTUS really doesn’t want a bill to become law, all he has to do is veto it.  When he vetoes it, it goes back to Congress and it is not a law.  If Congress feels really strongly that this should be a law, they vote on it again.  And, if they get a 2/3rds majority in favor of the bill, then the bill will become law, because the Presidential Veto cannot override the force of a 2/3rds majority vote.

In allowing the POTUS to enter into a treaty (agreement) and allowing it to take effect unless Congress votes against it, the POTUS can now craft laws (agreements) and they will take effect unless 2/3rds of the Congress votes against the law.

Effectively, this Act eliminates the Legislative Branch of the Government at a stroke.  Oh sure, they can keep passing laws and doing their thing.  But if the President wants something different than Congress, all he has to do is have the State Department create a treaty with some other country and then POTUS signs it and it automatically becomes the law of the land unless Congress can muster a 2/3rds majority to create a veto-proof rejection of the President’s latest law.  And POTUS can always find at least one foreign head of state out there who will agree to sign a treaty that destroys the Constitutional Rights of Americans.  I can think of a half-dozen right off the top of my head, with Iran being right there with them.

THREE - As if ONE and TWO Weren't Bad Enough

3) In addition to eliminating the Legislative Branch of our Federal Government, this Act will have the effect of overriding all the State Governments of each of our individual states.  They will become puppets at best, or utterly irrelevant at worst.

"This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding."

Article VI, US Constitution, emphasis added

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

There is very little we can do about this, but there is something we can do.  If you are as alarmed about this destruction of our Constitutional protections as I am there are four things you can do, each of which will magnify the voice of The One (you) and turn it into many.  The Power of One is more than you realize.

"I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do

 something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the

 something that I can do."

Edward Everett Hale

1) Share this information with everyone you can.

• Send emails about it to everyone in your email Address Book.
• Post about it on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and all other social media accounts that you have.
• Tell anyone who will listen to you (one-on-one or in groups)

2) Contact each member of the Congressional delegation from your state that is currently serving in Congress.  This site http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ seemed to have the quickest and easiest access to contact information for all 50 states.  Urge them to repeal this Act immediately and to immediately take an expedited appeal to the Supreme Court so that this Act can be declared unconstitutional - which it is.

     A.    Write them letters.

     B.     Send them emails.

     C.     Send them faxes.

     D.    Phone their offices.

     E.     Do all of the above if you want them to realize how important this really is.

3) Contact the office of your state Governor and let him or her know what is going on and that the sovereignty of the state is about to be permanently and completely overridden and destroyed by one thoughtless Act of Congress.  Urge him or her to immediately order the State Attorney General to file suit in Federal District Court asking to have this Act declared unconstitutional.

     A.    Write them letters.

     B.     Send them emails.

     C.     Send them faxes.

     D.    Phone their offices.

     E.     Do all of the above if you want them to realize how important this really is.

4) Contact all your in-state legislators and let them know that their authority is being wiped out by a single act of the Federal Government.  Urge them to immediately pass resolutions condemning this usurpation of states’ rights and urging their governor to immediately file suit against the US Government in this matter.
     A.    Write them letters.

     B.     Send them emails.

     C.     Send them faxes.

     D.    Phone their offices.

     E.     Do all of the above if you want them to realize how important this really is.

I am sure that if you have read any of my previous articles in this blog, you know that there are many points of disagreement I have with different groups in our country today.  And this issue transcends all those disagreements we may have between us.  Because, if this Act stands, then we will all be oppressed together and our government will truly become the “jack-booted” regime that radicals have called it for many years.  And that boot will land firmly on the neck of everyone who doesn’t agree with what our POTUS wants to 

Related Link to this Article:

• Senate Bill 615: Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/615
• US Constitution, http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html
• Contact each member of the Congressional delegation from your state that is currently serving in Congress. http://www.contactingthecongress.org/ 
• Edward Everett Hale - the source of the quote, "I am one..."
• The Citizen's Constitution: An Annotated Guide by Seth Lipsky

Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

Visit Tom's Amazon.com Author's Page

(c) Copyright 2015 A+ Results LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

 Your comments are welcome... Please observe some ground rules. No profanity, vulgarity, or personal attacks. Profanity, vulgarity and personal attacks not only betray a lack of vocabulary and imagination, they also are the hallmarks of bigotry, and bigotry is the hallmark of someone who is fundamentally insecure in their views. Facts are always welcome.

Congress Sells Us Out to Iran, UN and Others

Congress Just Gave Up Our Constitutional Rights to the World

I don't know why we are just hearing about this now, but back in May of this year, our Congress passed a law which will kick the door wide open for the total destruction of ALL our Constitutional

Rights!  I am not an alarmist, or a ranting radio personality like Rush Limbaugh and this one has got me totally freaked out, because I understand the full implications.

Below you will find the text of a letter from Congressman Richard Hudson, written to a friend of mine.  He explains why he is opposed to the Iran deal Obama just negotiated.  But all of his arguments against it are overshadowed by one line in the letter.  I will quote it here.

I voted against the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act which was signed into law in May –it did nothing but abdicate the Senate’s constitutional right to review treaties by requiring the Senate to get two-thirds to disapprove instead of the constitutional two- thirds to approve. Under this law, Congress is technically able to review and vote to approve or strike down the agreement, but the President has promised to veto Congress’ disapproval, which virtually makes any Congressional decision moot.

Just in case you aren’t clear on why this is a big deal, let me explain this to you.  Under the Constitution, when a treaty is ratified by the Senate, it becomes the law of the land - even if it wipes out our Constitutional guarantees under the Bill of Rights.  So, now the President has the power to sign a treaty and it becomes the law of the land.  This opens the door for us to be ruled by every hair-brained treaty the American-Hating members of the UN manage to concoct and convince the President to sign.

Even if I totally trusted the President of the US (POTUS) to be looking out for our well-being and protecting our freedoms - and I don’t trust this current President at all - I would still be opposed to this.

The Constitution specifically states that the Senate has to approve treaties signed by the POTUS or they are not binding.  This law turns that approval process on its head and requires the Senate to disapprove the treaty and this gives the President the ability to override the disapproval.

In the past, if the Senate didn’t like a treaty, they could either just ignore it, or vote against it.  In either of those cases, it never comes to the desk of the POTUS and he cannot act on it, one way or another.

The folks in the UN are not our friends.  They have repeatedly trotted out treaties that would have ripped away our freedoms, and folks like Hilary Clinton have signed on.  Fortunately, the Senate just ignored all that garbage, and we were kept safe.
That is totally not the case anymore!

Each of us needs to write to our elected representatives and urge them in the strongest possible ways to repeal the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.  If we don’t me might as well kiss our Constitutional Protections away.

I encourage you to share links to this article, or copy it and paste it, but do everything you can to get this seen by as many Americans as possible.

And by the way, so that even any Liberals, LGBTQ, the same-sex marriage crowd and anyone who advocates human rights based on natural laws who read this are clear, this means that the Ayatollahs may be able to come and cut off your heads, or burn you in the public square, if they can get the POTUS to sign a treaty that says we accept Sharia Law.

Liberals and Conservatives alike should unite to repeal this unconstitutional law right now!
Here is the text of the letter in its entirety, except that I removed my friend’s name for privacy.

Dear XXXXXXXXX: 

Thank you for contacting me regarding the final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) that President Barack Obama has proposed for Iran’s nuclear program. I agree a nuclear capable Iran is a grave threat to our national security and I believe that President Obama has made a historic mistake pursuing this deal. 

The United States owes it to our allies and our citizens to promote peace and stability, especially in a turbulent region like the Middle East. Unfortunately, the President is formally blessing the illegal nuclear weapons program of the world’s number one sponsor of terrorism by signing the JCPA. 

Unfortunately, the administration is gambling the security of the entire world on this deal and I fear Congress is almost powerless to stop it. That’s why I voted against the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act which was signed into law in May –it did nothing but abdicate the Senate’s constitutional right to review treaties by requiring the Senate to get two-thirds to disapprove instead of the constitutional two-thirds to approve. Under this law, Congress is technically able to review and vote to approve or strike down the agreement, but the President has promised to veto Congress’ disapproval, which virtually makes any Congressional decision moot. 

The JCPA lifts economic sanctions almost immediately and these crippling sanctions are what brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place. Contrary to the narrative the administration portrayed during negotiations that Iran would receive economic relief in phases, the JCPA provides sanction relief on implementation day. The JCPA also introduces provisions that will lift weapons embargos on Iran. This means that Iran will be free to sponsor Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis in Yemen, and any other terrorist group they desire while bolstering their military at home with over $100 billion in cash from the lifted sanctions. Giving Iran billions in cash while lifting weapons embargos against them is not only irresponsible, it is dangerous. 

The most alarming provision of this deal is Iran will continue operating thousands of centrifuges to enrich uranium. Additionally, much of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure will be left in place including the underground facility at Fordow, which will remain open for “peaceful research.” By signing this agreement, President Obama is granting Iran the right to be a nuclear power, threatening the security of the entire world. 

I have long been a skeptic of negotiating with such an anti-American and untrustworthy regime. Despite engaging in “good-faith negotiations,” Iran continues to aggressively drive its regional influence and fill the vacuum of power in the Middle East, threatening regional and global stability. I agree that diplomacy is the preferred method to deal with Iran, but we must pursue a treaty that permanently ensures Iran cannot develop nuclear weapons, not one that merely delays their development for a few years. 

As your Representative, I will continue to be a strong voice for our national security interests and in opposition of this deal that paves the way for Iran to obtain nuclear weapons capabilities. 

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your views. Your opinions are important, so please continue to write, call, or email me with any concerns you may have in the future. For more information on issues impacting North Carolinians, please visit our website at: http://hudson.house.gov and sign up for our weekly newsletter. 

Sincerely,
Richard Hudson Member of Congress

Related Link to this Article:

• The Citizen's Constitution: An Annotated Guide by Seth Lipsky

Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

Visit Tom's Amazon.com Author's Page

(c) Copyright 2015 A+ Results LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

 Your comments are welcome... Please observe some ground rules. No profanity, vulgarity, or personal attacks. Profanity, vulgarity and personal attacks not only betray a lack of vocabulary and imagination, they also are the hallmarks of bigotry, and bigotry is the hallmark of someone who is fundamentally insecure in their views. Facts are always welcome.

Back to School: Kill the Department of Education

Government Education – Many people do not realize that the takeover, makeover, and destruction of the locally controlled public school system has been an agenda item of Communists, Socialists, Fascists and other Liberal-Progressives at least since the days of President Woodrow Wilson. 

As the President of Princeton University, Wilson said, “Our problem is not merely to help the students to adjust themselves to world life…[but] to make them as unlike their fathers as we can.” 

The objective of these people is to brain-wash our children to think they way these elitists want them to think. To make this happen, they have steadily destroyed the concept and application of community-controlled schools and curricula, substituting centralized control over content and execution. In response, may have adopted home-schooling, a right which I defend. 

However, I believe that rejecting the “benefits” of centralized control and returning control of schools to local communities will result in students who learn how to think critically and how to read and write and do math, and will stem the tide of illiterate high-school graduates who think about things the way the state wants them to think.

Never forget that one of the primary ways masters have always kept control of their slaves is to limit the content and opportunity for education. The centralized control of the administration, curricula and funding of our public schools is a primary tool of those who do not want individual families and communities to pass on to our children our own values. They would rather teach our children what they want them to know and to believe.

1. Return control of schools to local communities. School boards should exist for each local community with the appropriate powers for raising funds, establishing curricula, hiring and firing of administrators and teachers, etc. These local boards should act under the supervision and authority of local elected officials such as Mayors, Town Councils, etc. The County Board of Education should be limited in its authority to schools that are not under any locally elected government oversight and should derive its authority from the County Commission. This will make local school management responsive to the needs, desires, and abilities of the local community.

2. Mandates from the State Board of Education and the Federal Department of Education should be resisted as a matter of course as unconstitutional usurpation of the rights of the citizens. The Constitution does not grant the right to management of education to the Federal Government, therefore the state and county have no basis in law for compliance with mandates from the Department of Education. If the State Constitution does not explicitly grant the State the right to manage education at the county and municipal level, then it too should be routinely rejected.

Mark Levin notes that some things should be added to the curricula:

“Encourage the creation of curricula that will educate young people about the intergenerational trap the [Welfare-State] has laid for them – which will steal their liberty, labor, opportunities, and wealth – thereby building a future electoral force for whom the elixir of entitlements is understood as poisonous snake oil.”

I agree and I propose further that we should:

3. Eliminate from curricula teachings designed to promote politically motivated concepts that are not based on the appropriate application of the scientific method. These politically motivated concepts include “global warming” and “man-made-climate-change.” Until a scientific theory has been demonstrated to be based on rigorous application of the scientific method, it should be taught in colleges as theory, rather than in elementary and secondary schools as fact.

Relevant Links to this Article:

• The School Revolution: A New Answer for Our Broken Education System, Presidential Candidate Ron Paul offers his prescription for fixing our educational system.
• Is College Worth It?: A Former United States Secretary of Education and a Liberal Arts Graduate Expose the Broken Promise of Higher Education, Former Secretary of Education William Bennett tackles a problem in higher education.
• The Global Auction: The Broken Promises of Education, Jobs, and Incomes, Authors Philip Brown and Hugh Lauder offer a timely expose about how the promise of education as a path for success is failing us.

Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

Visit Tom's Amazon.com Author's Page

(c) Copyright 2015 A+ Results LLC. All Rights Reserved. 

 Your comments are welcome... Please observe some ground rules. No profanity, vulgarity, or personal attacks. Profanity, vulgarity and personal attacks not only betray a lack of vocabulary and imagination, they also are the hallmarks of bigotry, and bigotry is the hallmark of someone who is fundamentally insecure in their views. Facts are always welcome.

Worshipping Government

So many now put their faith in government rather than God, they should call it Godvernment rather than government.  They worship the power of men and believe that humankind is capable of solving all their own ills by their own abilities.  They have abandoned faith in God in favor of faith in man.

I find it interesting, and informative, that many people today have a view and understanding on the freedom of religion guaranteed in the First Amendment that is completely at odds with the understanding and intent that the Founding Fathers had when they wrote this up.

Bear with me  moment and I will show how this relates to Godvernment.

Most governments in the world in 1776 embraced a state-sanctioned religion/church.  Contrary the understanding of many today, the church did not control the government.  Actually, the government used the church as an arm of government to achieve its ends.  Karl Marx called religion the opiate of the masses because that is exactly how governments used religion/church.  

In 1776, if you rebelled against your government, just like today, the worst they could do was kill you (and everyone you care about).  However, in most countries government worked hand in glove with the church so the interests of clergy and the interests of kings were aligned.  So, when you rebelled against the government, instead of just risking death, you were also risking eternal damnation, and that was the sermon even if you might win.  So, god-fearing people also had to be government-fearing people, because if you crossed one, you crossed the other.

When the Founding Fathers debutted the US Constitution in 1787, they took great pains to decouple church and state - because they knew that allowing the state meddle with the church was always going to produce bad outcomes. That is why they said, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;"   

When you look at the actual words (going to the source) instead of reading a wikipedia entry that supposedly tells you what it means, you can clearly see that the amendment was designed to keep the dirty paws of government from restraining the exercise of religion.  They were prohibited from both picking a favorite (to twist to their liking) and from interfering with those they didn't like.

Many refer to this as the "Estalishment Clause" and use it to erect a wall that prevents any religion from affecting the workings of government (instead of the original intent of keeping government from affecting the workings of religion).  What they selectively ignore, lately, is the next phrase which I choose to call the "Free Exercise Clause."

Regardless of the constitutionality of (or lack thereof) these actions, the effect has been to drive religion from the public square and attempt to confine its influence to a few hours of meaningless activity each week. 

I say "meaningless activity" becuase when our religion no longer shapes our daily conduct, when it is utterly satisfied through a few moments of ritual in a day or week, then it is meaningless.  It no longer has any real meaning or influence in our lives.

So the Establishment Clause has been used as a bludgeon to drive religion out of government, both communal and individual.  

They say that nature abhors a vacuum. I don't know if that is true.  But I do know that human nature abhors a power vacuum.  For those who feel unable, unwilling, or too uninformed to govern themselves according to firm and enduring principles, the absence of religion to govern their inner lives is an abhorrent vacuum which must be filled.  And once religion is driven from the public square the only institution left standing is government.

And government, without the spiritual guidance of religion is nothing more or less than one group of people making up rules (and changing them according to the latest whim of human desires or knowledge) and enforcing the obedience of everyone else.

If people actively and consciously recognized that this is the nature of government today, and they realized that our "rulers" are just as stupid, greedy, short-sighted, and self-serving as every other human being is, they would not long tolerate such a system.

In order to prevent having a massive revolt stemming from the inherently flawed nature of human government, especially one that has severed its connections to any divine guidance, it is necessary for pro-government forces to begin to replace the worship of god with the worship of government.

This may sound far-fetched, but please take a moment to consider this, faith is needed for the functioning of both government and religion.

God and Governments Both Need the Faith of the People to Operate:

Faith is belief is something that is unseen.  

Faith is essential for the worship of God, because with our eyes we cannot see the hand of god working in our lives we must exercise faith.  We put our trust in god that he will protect us, wipe away our sorrows, punish all wrongdoers, and eventually bring us to a state of paradise and unending happiness.  The fundamental requirement of faith is expressly acknowledged in all religions.

Government likewise needs our faith to operate.  

• If we don't have faith in the government currency, the economy will collapse, perhaps reverting to a barter economy and the governments powers of taxation to fund its operations will evaporate.
• If we don't have faith that our vote actually influences the outcome of elections, we stop voting.  When everyone stops voting, the legitimate electoral process collapses and all that is left is the illegitimate process where ballot boxes are stuffed and what we now call voter fraud becomes the norm.
• If we don't have faith that government programs can cure society ills, then we will pressure our elected officials to de-fund those programs.  And if they are unresponsive to our views, eventually, we will remove them from office by electing someone we believe (have faith in) will act according to our views.

Government social programs exist because people have become convinced that we can solve our own societal ills using only our own pooled resources, without the influence or support of God.  We are replacing God with Government and worshiping at the altar of the godlike power of the collective human animal i.e., Godvernment.

I believe that man is created in the image of God and that we are capable, individually and collectively, of many great and good things.  And God expects us to do much, all we can, with what He has given us.  But, there are two things we should never forget. First, whatever we accomplish is done with wit and intelligence that He gave us.  We should always acknowledge on whose shoulders we stand.  Second, there is nothing we can do by way of action or argument that has the ability to change the nature and heart of humankind.  It has remained unchanged for 6,000 years of recorded human history, with the only notable exceptions being societies which wholly embraced and individually lived the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The reward those societies reaped included intense persecution, where armies marched to destroy them.  Until ultimately they were so rejected by the world and perfected by their living, that they were caught up into heaven, or destroyed by the wicked.

I am speaking of the society of the City of Enoch, and after it the City of Salem.  Both of which reputedly became so righteous that God snatched them up off the face of the earth and brought them to where he dwells.  They achieved this end by individually embracing the influence and rule of God in their own lives and acting according to the principles which they knew to be correct.  As individuals and as a society they were rejected by the broader world, which preferred to pretend to be smarter and better than God at helping humanity to overcome its flaws.

Godvernment is the modern equivalent of the Tower of Babel.  

The Confusion of Tongues by Gustave Dore' (1865)

The book of Genesis in the Bible tells of how, when humanity had no barriers of language to separate them, they decided to pool their collective resources and demonstrate that they were better at helping humanity overcome its flaws than God was, and they would prove this by building a tower that was tall enough that:

1. God couldn't destroy it and 
2. it would reach into God's habitation and allow them to:

  a) invade and
  b) dethrone Him, so that
  c) humanity could rule itself.

Today, our Tower of Babel is government.  Too many people erroneously believe that we can pool our collective resources through the coercion of government and cure humanity's flaws through a government program or collection of government programs (or laws).  One very major step in this effort is to dethrone God so that a 100% human-led Government can stand supreme in the world.  Without the need to acknowledge or accede to any wisdom higher than that of the collective, or of the smartest member(s) of the collective, Godvernment can pretend to have the powers of God - the ability to fundamentally change human nature to make us better.

God wants us to be good people.  

Godvernment wants us to be good people.

God's definition of what "good" means does not vary over time and is not swayed by popular opinion.  He knows what we must do to succeed at become good, he reveals that, and he encourages us to obey, but does not force us.

Godvernment's definition of what "good" means changes with public opinion, scientific discovery, and whatever suits those in power to enable them to do what they want.  Godvernment does not actually "know" anything.  The individuals involved can guess, persuade, and experiment, but they only know what they can discover.  And they use the compelling power of government laws and law enforcement to force us to behave in the ways that they define (today) as good.

God allowed the people to build the Tower of Babel for a while.  He knew that they would not attain any of their objectives, regardless of what he did.  The tower would never reach to where He dwells.  If they were able to attempt to dethrone Him by force, His power and intelligence alone was more than all their collective power and intelligence.  He also knew that their desire to exile Him and rule themselves would only produce despotism and cruelty and would never cure the ills of humanity.

The reality is that each of us can exile God from ruling our lives.  We don't need a Tower of Babel or Godvernment to achieve that end.  There is no collective effort necessary.  We exile Him from our lives by choosing to ignore Him.  When we do that, we inevitably and unavoidably replace our worship of God with something else.  Either we worship something outside ourselves, such as nature, or smart people, or we worship ourselves and sit ourselves upon God's throne, imagining that we are the master of our own fate.

Just like those who built the Tower of Babel before us, Godvernment, humanity-worship, nature worship and self-worship will all come crashing down and end in utter failure and disillusionment.

God confounded the builders of the Tower of Babel by mixing up their languages and making it much harder for them to collaborate (like any good general, his first move was to sever their lines of communication).  This caused them to flee in confusion and cease trying to build their tower into heaven.  Later, he destroyed the actual tower itself with earthquakes.

At a stroke, he unmasked the folly and hubris of humanity and their leaders.  They thought they could outsmart and overpower God.  They had no realistic idea of the extent of the abilities of their avowed enemy.  They suffered humiliation and defeat, and later misery as warfare became rampant when people with different languages made war on each other.

Godvernment too will one day loom in the history books as a cautionary tale of the hubris of humanity.  It will end at a stroke from God, whom they have declared is their enemy.  They direction and form of that stroke will be utterly unforeseen by the lackeys and worshipers of Godvernment, because they have no realistic idea of the extent of the abilities of their sworn enemy.

Until the day when God acts to confound this modern Tower of Babel, those who put their faith in God instead of man need do what they can to resist this folly:

Defend the Throne of God against usurpers

1. Vote against government social programs, regardless of how humane they sound.  People will never change human nature.  Only God can do that.  And one way He does that is through VOLUNTARY programs to help the poor and needy, not through force (which is the Godvernment way).
2. Support (work on their campaigns, talk favorably to friends about them, give money to fund their campaigns, and vote for) people for public office (local, state and federal candidates) who seem to want to take us away from government run social programs.
3. Actively work in your church or synagogue.  Make sure that your religion is not meaningless.  Make it more that a meaningless ritual once a week.  Work to implement the principles of your religion in your daily life so that it transforms your personal conduct.
4. Strengthen others in their desires to let God direct their lives, but try to force them to believe the same as you.

Search Results Related to This Article:

• Babel - a Brad Pitt movie, rated "R".
• The Abolition of Man - a book by CS Lewis points out both the trend and the outcomes of replacing the worship of God with the worship of man.
• The Constitution of Religious Freedom: God, Politics, and the First Amendment - Dennis Goldford directs his readers to consider the First Amendment. The founding fathers' words, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
• The Reason Revolution: Atheism, Secular Humanism, and the Collapse of Religion - a free Kindle ebook, written by a secular humanist purporting to refute the foundations of religion.
• Lectures on Faith - an inexpensive book containing a collection of lectures explaining the origins, basis, and results of faith by the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Written circa 1830.
• Freedom from Religion - a book by Noel McGivern that bills itself as a guide for defending non-belief.

Tom Sheppard is a business consultant and coach to small business owners and individuals. He is a recognized author with dozens of titles in business and fiction to his credit. One of his endeavors is to help those who want to see their own book in print. He does this through his trademarked Book Whispering Process (TM). The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein. 

The author is not an official spokesperson for any organization or person mentioned herein.

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