The Tennessee Nation is not a new concept. We were an independent nation for forty-three days in 1861 – the period between our secession from the United States and our admission into the Confederate States of America.
The abuses and excesses of the current Columbian Empire are cause enough for Tennesseans to exercise their rights as “free and independent people” and cast off the chains of slavery which have so subtly been forged on us. I call it the Columbian Empire because it is most certainly not American. The term American in all its connotations is antithetical to the actions and intentions of the tyrants in the District of Columbia. The district of Columbia is the viper pit from which the Columbian Empire springs.
This blog is to emphasize the legitimate reasons for a free Tennessee Nation.
It is not the intellect, but our emotion which causes us to promote secession.
The significance of smaller and more responsive governments can be argued quite effectively philosophically and historically. There are significant writings both currently and dating from antiquity which give the parameters for the optimum size of a republic.
Aristotle wrote concerning the size of governments that there is “a limit, as there is to other things, plants animals, implements; for none of these retain their natural power when they are too large.”
More recently Dr. Donald Livingston edited a book entitled, Rethinking the American Union for the Twenty-First Century (2012), in which a variety of authors expound on the legitimacy of large nations breaking into more manageable smaller nations.
Beyond many of their arguments lies the simple comfort of having a government which is actually a part of one’s community. And that is the simple emotional argument.
I enjoy living in a small community. Yes, everyone knows everyone’s business! Kind of like a conscience on auto-pilot…someone is always watching. I grew up on a farm in just such a community.
As a teenager, I had a tendency to tear down the gravel road without much regard to safety. One day a neighbor was poking along (at a reasonable speed) in front of me and I attempted to pass him. He moved in front of me and slowed. I attempted to pass again and he blocked my path and slowed some more. This process continued until he had stopped and blocked my progress. The neighbor (whose name I never did know) got out of his car, came back to me and gave me the tongue-lashing of my life for my recklessness, concluding with the promise, “If you don’t drive safer, I’ll tell your mother!” I drove more safely after that.
On the other hand, a smaller community is wonderful in a disaster. The people of Oklahoma are experiencing that right now. It’s neighbors helping neighbors. No need for some massive governmental intervention from more than a thousand miles away.
The simple emotional argument is also exemplified by another experience a few days ago. Smaller governments are friendlier to the individual just as smaller community store are. I went to get a 50 pound bag of dog food at the local general store. I went to pay for it as one of the workers loaded it into my trunk. Later as I took the bag out of my trunk, I saw a message written in magic marker on the bag, “Mr David wish you a fine day!” You don’t get that pleasantry at Wal-Mart!
You don’t get that type of pleasantry from big government either.
It would seem we have left civil society behind and become instead a society of seekers of revenge. We are fast becoming a people without a civilization. Let everyone who has eyes to see; see.
Civilization is defined as an advanced state of human society which reflects a refinement of thought and action. It is most significantly related to a culture of deference to another’s rights.
Historically, the governments established on this continent were Anglo-European in origin, but more significantly, they reflected Christian/Biblical thought and practice.
Yesterday, a judge ruled that the Tennessee Department of Labor could be sued by a former official because he has charged that the former Commissioner fired him because he is white (reverse discrimination). The judge wrote that Commissioner Davis and her two top aides “engaged in a campaign to terminate or force out long term employees, virtually every one of whom was Caucasian and replaced them with African-American employees.”
And as we watch the actions of Emperor Obama and his appointees, we see a similar effort to get revenge with the white men and women who have supposedly been the bane of their existence. As well, the IRS has been used to target organization which have political agendas contrary to the administration.
It does not stop there. Congress is almost at a stalemate because of the rancor and efforts at revenge of the two parties competing for power. (This is perhaps the only example I appreciate.)
In the Tennessee legislature, both the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate have replaced/demoted individuals of their own party because of a difference of opinion rather than any ineptness.Clear cut cases of revenge.
Edmund Burke wrote, “all the good things which are connected with manners, and with civilization, have…depended for ages upon two principles…the spirit of a gentleman and the spirit of religion.”
As we have moved away from a Christian civilization, we have become more barbaric in thought and practice. We no longer live according to the concept of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” We instead have adopted a strategy of “do unto others before they do unto you.”
If we are to survive, we must reverse the trend toward revenge and begin the process of building. This will begin most successfully at the local level in local communities. Learn your neighbors’ names, make peace with them and begin to work together.
Do you know the names of the families on your block? or within a half mile of your home? Do you know what’s happening in the lives of those you worship with? or are they only “Sunday” acquaintances?
History does not exist in a vacuum with particulars separated from each other. History cannot be understood just as a series of military endeavors or as a series of economic booms and depressions or a series of random and disjointed dates and personalities.
History is a mosaic of all these things; it is the many becoming one. History is a reflection of its author, the Three-in-One. It is the story of men and their ideas and the consequences of those ideas.
Martin Luther, the great Christian reformer said that history is like type being set. You can’t easily understand its meaning until it is turned over.
God creates by act not process, thus since the beginning He has continued to “act” in history.
Suleiman I ruled the Turkish (Ottoman) empire when it was at its height. In 1526, his army conquered much of Hungary in the Battle of Mohacs. European powers feared that the Turks would overrun Europe. In 1529, he was at the gates of Vienna, when storms prevented his heavy siege guns from arriving. He suddenly turned and left. Europe (and the Church) was spared.
The Pilgrims held a charter for a settlement farther south, but were unable to sail down the coast because of bad weather. When they landed at Cape Cod in 1620, they should have been greeted by the fiercest tribe of Indians on the North American continent, the Patuxets. Instead, three years earlier, in 1617, the entire tribe was wiped out by a mysterious plague. And their human help came in the form of the sole remaining member of that tribe who had acted as a guide and been taught English by one Captain John Smith.
On 13 May 1846, the U.S. Congress voted in favor of President James K. Polk's request to declare war on Mexico in a dispute over Texas. The Mexican War would be God’s instrument to train and temper the best which the South would have to lead them in their future war for independence – P.G.T. Beauregard, Jefferson Davis, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, Albert Sydney Johnston, Joseph Johnston, Robert E. Lee, and James Longstreet.
Following the death of his first wife on only a few months, Jefferson Davis became a recluse, taking refuge at his brother’s plantation. Years of solitude ended with his election to the U.S. House. A year later he resigned to lead a volunteer regiment into the Mexican War. His men—the Mississippi Rifles—became the crack volunteer organization of Zachary Taylor’s army. At the battle of Buena Vista, the Mexican cavalry charged up a ravine on the flank of the Mississippi Rifles, but Davis threw his men round the end of the ravine, and poured a converging fire upon the Mexicans that broke the charge. The battle was won. He returned to Mississippi a hero.
History is a mosaic designed by God. He can take those who are broken and make them leaders.
When respect for ordered liberty no longer exists the result is eventual tyranny.
While the conservative political pundits will cry with outrage over Emperor Obama’s attitude toward the Constitution, they neglect that George W. Bush called it a “damned piece of paper.” Members of both the Republican and the Democratic parties chafe against the restrictions which were meant to be imposed upon them.
The failure of respect for ordered liberty began over a hundred years ago. In their book Who Killed the Constitution (2008), Thomas Woods and Kevin Gutzman limited themselves to covering only events of the 20th century. They make a profound argument that not only the Executive branch, but also the Legislative and Judicial branches of the central government are complicit.
The central government – which I continue to call the Columbian Empire because it exists in the District of Columbia – has lost its moral authority because it has buried its respect for ordered liberty.
Ordered liberty is liberty – not libertarianism – but the inalienable rights of life, liberty and property which are governed by only those laws which provide maximum protection with minimum restriction.
Just yesterday (1 May 2013) Fairleigh Dickinson University (New Jersey) released the results of a survey which states, “29 percent of Americans think that an armed revolution in order to protect liberties might be necessary in the next few years.” Approximately one-third of those surveyed live in the South. Having fought two wars (1775-83 & 1861-65) to remove a foreign presence from their soil, native Southerners are more resistant to government intrusion on their liberties.
The problem for us all is that the tyranny which is exalted in Washington will be replaced by anarchism before ordered liberty will ever be restored.
I have friends who serve as missionaries in the South Pacific in Guinea. They are experiencing anarchy. What follows are emails from them this morning:
Please pray for Guinea right now! We had heard that there was to be another demonstration (by the oppositions parties) today. ...We just got a call from one of the young men, in our compound, in Conakry,telling us that things were "very hot" in our area and he was afraid! Police and the military were out early this morning, on the streets in the "hot spots" of Conakry. ...Our young man said that guns were being fired at the main intersection just up from us and that there were lots of people running through the neighborhoods with guns, knives and coup-coups (machetes) and people were getting hurt! Some of the people were throwing rocks too, at people, houses and into walled compounds! The young men, in our area, went into the mission yard and locked the big metal gate! Please pray for peace to reign in Guinea! Pray that the demonstrations will stop and that God will give the leaders of this nation His wisdom in all things! Thank you!
Then an hour later:
We just received another call from our young man in Conakry. The mobs burned a car by the big mosque near the "hot" intersection. They also burned a semi-truck just down the road (about 50m) from our home intersection and they killed one military man! Please keep praying for divine intervention! This has really heated things up in our area of the city!
We just talked to Had. In her area, a military pick up was burned and she said that hot water was being sprayed on the crowds, in the streets, who were thought to be a part of the groups attacking the military. Any cars driving on the roads are stoned and any businesses that are open are attacked by the crowds too. The best thing is for people to remain in their homes/compounds with the doors locked!
Should the politicians which hold power not begin to rule with ordered liberty, we will be knee-deep in the same type of anarchy. It is inevitable. The last line of their first email should be repeated for this land — Pray …God will give the leaders of this nation His wisdom in all things!
It is remarkable how many events and men which have decided the course of history were considered insignificant at the time.
The recent parade of Presidents which has filled the Oval Office have had egos inflated by their own perceived self-importance. Each have done their part to increase their dominance of power and so relegated it to the next occupant. While many Republicans will denounce the arrogance of Obama, they neglect to remember that George W. was the author of those powers which give Obama his arrogance.
I am convinced that the influence of these men will eventually be recognized as minimal in the course of history.
Charles Carleton Coffin, in the Introduction to his The Story of Liberty first printed in 1879, wrote:
You will notice that the events which have given direction to the course of history have not always been great battles, for very few of the many conflicts of arms have had any determining force; but it will be seen that insignificant events have been not unfrequently followed by momentous results.
Sunday, 20 April 2013, Howard Phillips entered glory. His life was marked by a commitment to principle. He resigned his position in the Nixon administration when the President did not follow through with his campaign promise to defund Johnson’s “Great Society.” Most Americans don’t even know his name. He is insignificant to the average American.
When called for the dismissal of President Reagan’s Chief of Staff James Baker, he lost. When he opposed the Supreme Court nominations of Sandra Day O’Connor and David Souter, he lost.
He campaigned again the North American Trade Agreement and lost. He was laughed off as insignificant by Washington insiders.
Howard Phillips founded the U.S. Taxpayers Party which became the Constitution Party. Tailored to conservative and constitutional government on both social and economic issues, his efforts were considered insignificant by the bulk of voters who actually believed as he did but refused to vote for conservative candidates.
It is the principles and convictions upon which men like Phillips base their lives which actually change the course of history. Leaders come and go, but nations rise and fall upon good and bad ideas.
The President of the United States is often referred to as “the leader of the free world,” but it is men like Howard Phillips who history will record as the lights in darkness. Even in his losing, he won.
Do you follow men, parties, and governments? Or do you follow ideas and convictions?
There are five basic theories of history. Four of them align themselves in opposition to the fifth, but it is only the fifth which gives any hope for humanity, the others lead to despair.
The cyclical view of history sees the same pattern in the events of men as that which exists in the seasons. This theory spread widely in the religions of China, India, the Middle East, Greece, and Rome. It manifests itself in the religious concept of reincarnation. With repeating cycles there is no progress, thus it leads to despair.
The marxist view of history conceives history as a class struggle of the bourgeoisie (the “haves”) versus the proletariat (the “have-nots”). It manifests itself in constant envy and hatred. Because there will always be those who have more than others, there can be no historical progress which again leads to despair.
The existential view of history is a philosophy which states that man is not capable of determining the particulars of reality. History is meaningless, the future unpredictable, thus resulting in despair.
The evolutionary view of history states that everything starts with the simple and progresses to the complex. It is marked by what historians call the “Five Stages” of man’s economic progress: hunting and fishing, pastoral (or herding), agricultural, handicraft, and industrial. In recent years, an additional “stage” has been added: information.This view posits a progression of development, but archeology disproves it.
The Indus Valley cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro had a flush toilet in almost every house, attached to a sophisticated sewage system. Flush toilets were constructed at Knossos on Minoan Crete and were used throughout the Roman Empire, but with the fall of the Roman Empire, the technology was lost.
Ancient societies built the pyramids, copied throughout Central and South America. Engineers today are intrigued as to how they were built.
In the heights of Peru exist the ruins of Machu Picchu. The buildings were built of granite blocks fit together perfectly without mortar, although none of the blocks are the same size and have many faces; some have as many as 30 corners. The joints are so tight that even the thinnest of knife blades can’t be forced between the stones. Only our modern computer-guided lasers could cut with such precision. How did they do it?
Faced with archeological challenges, the evolutionary theory fails to show actual progress in the history of man and must cause us to question man’s ability to maintain society. This truly leads to despair.
These four attempts at explaining history fail miserably when confronted with the Providential view — God began at a certain time with a certain purpose and will continue until that purpose is completed.
And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings (Acts 17:26)
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will (Ephesians 1:11)
Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. (1 Corinthians 15:24,25)
Knowing that we have a future gives us hope that we will be able to plan a part in the development of that future. History then becomes meaningful. Your hope for the future really does lie in how you think of history.
Those who think that history only deals with the past are wrong. History deals with all facets of time: past, present, and future.
History has significance in our daily lives. It is easy to understand that our present has been formed by the past and most importantly our understanding of the past. But to take that thought along the time continuum into the future, our understanding of our present will not just affect our future, but determine it as well.
In the Bible book of Job (8:8-10), we read,
For inquire, please, of the former age,
And consider the things discovered by their fathers;
For we were born yesterday, and know nothing,
Because our days on earth are a shadow.
Will they not teach you and tell you,
And utter words from their heart?
Most people will endure only those history courses which they must take in order to get their diploma. But we are urged by Scripture to enquire: search things out and consider them.
History has significance in our daily lives because it is not a record of what happened, but history is a record of what people say happened. The viewpoints and prejudices of the person telling the story is interwoven into the record. Their viewpoints and prejudices then become the basis for our daily actions.
We are most familiar with the inaccuracies of today’s news media, especially in a “breaking” story. The media records events as the reporters believe them to happen, but there is a great difference between what is reported and the events themselves and their significance.
When war “breaks out” it is a response to past information interpreted in the present. In 1898, William Randolph Hearst (the first media super-star) sent illustrator Frederic Remington to Havana to report on U.S. tensions with Spain. (American tension with Spain traces its origin all the way back to the conflict between the English and Spanish empires.) Remington didn’t see anything worthwhile, so asked to return. Hearst cabled him, “Please remain. You furnish the pictures and I’ll furnish the war.” It can be easily stated that the Spanish-American War of 1898 was largely due to Hearst’s inflammatory newspaper articles.
History has significance in our daily lives because it creates the bias upon which we respond to the events around us. All men are biased, they have their own vantage point from which they view events and thus create their own interpretation of those events. A recent film, “Vantage Point” offers a good example of how differently a situation is perceived by different people with differing backgrounds.
What historical “facts” do you rely on for your daily judgments? How do you react when confronted with an opposing historical viewpoint? Do you immediately dismiss it, or does it cause you to inquire?
Children will often “steal the show” at weddings and other ceremonial events. The picture of a young John Kennedy saluting his father’s funeral cortege is an indelible part of history. This week, during the funeral of Britain’s Margaret Thatcher, another child was able to steal the show.
This child is the granddaughter of the late Prime Minister. An elegant, nineteen year-old Amanda Thatcher gave a dignified and subdued reading from Ephesians chapter 6. The entire recording is destined to be imprinted on the memory of everyone who hears it.
Putting all achievements aside, our lasting contribution in life is in the people we touch. As great as Margaret Thatcher’s political legacy, it is no match for the legacy she has left in this granddaughter. Amanda now lives in Texas with her mother and attends the University of Virginia. She has even done missionary work in China.
From all the reports available to me, it would seem that the character of this young lady reflects the very best of those that founded the Southern States, especially Virginia. Welcome. Amanda, you are welcome to steal the show anytime.
The voting public must come to an understanding of the difference between an empire and a republic before we are able to return to responsible governing.
An empire has no boundaries; a republic knows its limitations. George Washington said, “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.”
An empire centralizes its power because it has a managerial mindset. All power and authority must come from the center; all decisions must remain with those in the center. It then seeks to impose its power upon all it touches. A republic diffuses power over the range of its communities, recognizing that local authority is best able to address local problems.
An empire has no boundaries; a republic knows its limitations. Our differing attitudes on immigration are a reflection of empire vs. republic. Since an empire has no boundaries, it need not worry about illegal immigration because the world’s whole population is in the service of the empire to begin with. A republic recognizes the legitimacy of geo-political borders and works to preserve them.
An empire grasps power as its reason for being and seeks to spread it over the next nation. The endless efforts of the two Bush and the Obama regimes to extend their control over other nations of the world is a reflection of their attitude that the Columbian Empire (that based in the District of Columbia) has no boundaries. A republic will allow others to settle their own differences.
An empire has no boundaries; a republic knows its limitations. Thus the difference between a republic and an empire goes beyond political power to every facet of social and community life. As historian Dr. Clyde Wilson writes in From Union to Empire,
A society in which clergymen don’t save souls, school children don’t learn to read, reporters can’t distinguish facts from feelings, tanks break down on their first run, jurists substitute whims for legal learning, has already gone a long way down the road to imperialism. We no longer judge by result and results no longer depend upon will and effort… in an empire success consists of access to the levers of political power, which accounts for a progressive decline in performance in all areas of life. Only in sports and to some extent show business does the desire for excellence still reign supreme—the circuses of the masses have to be good as the quality of bread declines.
Every empire has collapsed of its own weight and of the increasing dissolution of its leadership. The Columbian Empire is no different. The clock is ticking and the Empire is set to implode. It is time for the voting public to start recognizing what is demanded in governing a republic that will hopefully rise from the ashes.
I would say it were a joke if it were not so sad. As reported by Nashville’s Tennessean,
A group of 15 faith leaders from across the state delivered 133 baskets of loaves and fish and a letter Monday calling on Tennessee officials to not abandon Medicaid expansion if the state’s alternative expansion plan is not approved by the federal government.
The letter, which was signed by nearly 100 clergy and faith leaders, called Medicaid expansion “not only the right thing to do, it’s the moral and faithful thing to do.
Have these “faith leaders” ever read the Scripture? My Bible tells me that it was Jesus who fed the multitudes, not Pilate. If these men were truly faith leaders, they are the ones who would be feeding the poor, not demanding that the State of Tennessee do it.
I have a real problem with the image of Christ demanding the Roman government to take care of the poor. Instead I am happy to participate in “give and it shall be given you.”
A republic is a viable government only for a virtuous people, for they must be able to govern themselves before they can be self-governing.
In 1882, the theologian R.L. Dabney advised the graduates of Hamden-Sidney College,
Young Gentlemen, the heritage of freedom which our fathers left us, we have not been able to bequeath to you. Our apology is, that in the endeavor to save the liberties transmitted by our fathers, we did what we could.
Subsequent generations have done little to reverse the trend away from the republican form of government established in 1783. The major problem has been an increasing lack of the religion and morality which George Washington said was indispensable for a people to be free.
The general attitude of business and of the public in general has been to desire more – more of everything tangible. Even the Church has succumbed and changed the message of the Cross to one of more – happiness, prosperity and possessions.
Dabney continued in his speech,
Subsequent event have shown we were attempting to defend and preserve a system of free government which had become impossible by reason of the change and degeneration of the age. The changes had silently taken place, which rendered our fathers’ system too good for those who were to execute it. Thus the task which duty and Providence assigned us was, to demonstrate by our own [the South’s] defeat, after intensest struggle, the unfitness of the age for that blessing we would fain have preserved for them.
One hundred thirty years have passed since Dabney uttered these words, and they are more true today than then. What was known first as a Republic devolved into a Union and has now degenerated into an Empire. The Empire in the District of Columbia serves only itself. The Empire declares itself as sovereign over all the affairs of man. From what we eat to how we might defend ourselves is their prerogative, not ours.
The challenge to each of us personally is this – Do I govern myself? Am I contributing to the possibility of self-government?
It is hard for the typical American, especially a Southerner, to admit that they have become a slave. We tend to think slavery involves chains, cruel taskmasters, and sparse living quarters. We, like the Pharisee, are thankful that we are "not like one of them."
And we are NOT like one of them. We are a different kind of slave, for we have forged our own chains. We have done it so subtly. We are like the frog thrown not into boiling water, but allowed to swim in a warm pot and the heat gradually increased until we have been cooked.
We are all slaves, every one of us. There are actually three types of slavery.
Domestic slavery is the condition in which one person is subject to be directed in all his actions by another.
Political slavery results from one people group conquering another, either across national boundaries or within by another tribal group.
Civil slavery exists any time a government encroaches upon the liberties of the citizens more than is absolutely necessary for the maintenance of normal society.
Alexis de Tocqueville wrote (in 1840), Our contemporaries are constantly excited by two conflicting passions: they want to be led, and they wish to remain free.
He observed that in America, by the vehicle of elections, They combine the principle of centralization and that of popular sovereignty…they console themselves for being in tutelage by the reflection that they have chosen their own guardians.
We have become victims of civil slavery. We have forged the chains ourselves by neglect. We have forged the chains by not being attentive to the actions of those we elect. Also, we have been hindered by the sheer magnitude of the government which is now our overseer.
Just thirty years ago, a person could board an airliner using a ticket under someone else’ name. We didn’t think anything of it. Then came baggage screening because a few planes were hijacked. Then along comes an idiot who tries to light a fuse in his shoe, another tries to ignite his underwear and we are all required to undress – either virtually via a scanner or by being patted down – before boarding a flight. The Empire did it all in the name of our safety, so we reelect the bastards.
That was the first rule of politics which I learned decades ago…He might be an s.o.b., but he’s OUR s.o.b. So we keep electing him. Those petty thieves we call politicians continue to whittle away at the few liberties we have left. The alternative is to divorce ourselves from the Empire.
Do we have any liberties left? What area of your personal or business life is not regulated by some agency of government? When is enough enough?
On this day of prayer for the Southern Nation, let us remember the words of Samuel Doak.
After graduation from Princeton (1775) and ordination as a Presbyterian minister (1777), Rev. Doak moved to what would become northeastern Tennessee. There he organized several churches and founded several schools, one of which became the first college in Tennessee.
On September 26, 1780 as the over-the-mountain men mustered prior to the Battle of Kings Mountain (a decisive defeat for the British), Doak delivered the following sermon and prayer at Sycamore Shoals.
My countrymen, you are about to set out on an expedition which is full of hardships and dangers, but one in which the Almighty will attend you. The Mother Country has her hand upon you, these American colonies, and takes that for which our fathers planted their homes in the wilderness - OUR LIBERTY. Taxation without representation and the quartering of soldiers in the homes of our people without their consent are evidence that the crown of England would take from its American Subjects the last vestige of Freedom. Your brethren across the mountains are crying like Macedonia unto your help. God forbid that you should refuse to hear and answer their call - but the call of your brethren is not all. The enemy is marching hither to destroy your homes. Brave men, you are not unacquainted with battle. Your hands have already been taught to war and your fingers to fight. You have wrested these beautiful valleys of the Holston and Watauga from the savage hand. Will you tarry now until the other enemy carries fire and sword to your very doors? No, it shall not be. Go forth then in the strength of your manhood to the aid of your brethren, the defense of your liberty and the protection of your homes. And may the God of Justice be with you and give you victory.
Let us pray. Almighty and gracious God! Thou hast been the refuge and strength of Thy people in all ages. In time of sorest need we have learned to come to Thee - our Rock and our Fortress. Thou knowest the dangers and snares that surround us on march and in battle. Thou knowest the dangers that constantly threaten the humble, but well beloved homes, which Thy servants have left behind them. Oh, in Thine infinite mercy, save us from the cruel hand of the savage, and of tyrant. Save the unprotected homes while fathers and husbands and sons are far away fighting for freedom and helping the oppressed. Thou, who promised to protect the sparrow in its flight, keep ceaseless watch, by day and by night, over our loved ones. The helpless women and little children, we commit to Thy care. Thou wilt not leave them or forsake them in times of loneliness and anxiety and terror. Oh, God of Battle, arise in Thy might. Avenge the slaughter of Thy people. Confound those who plot for our destruction. Crown this mighty effort with victory, and smite those who exalt themselves against liberty and justice and truth. Help us as good soldiers to wield the SWORD OF THE LORD AND GIDEON. AMEN.
Always praying for a free Tennesse Nation and a free South.
The headline reads, “Haslam gives qualified ‘no’ on TennCare expansion.” What is a qualified no? It is an UNqualified “yes, if you do it my way!”
Tennessee’s Governor Haslam is obviously in favour of ObamaCare (the Patient and Affordable Care Act), he just hasn’t yet found a way around the Legislature’s opposition. What is it that makes a free-enterprising businessman become a thorough socialist once he is elected? I believe Frederic Bastiat answered that in June 1850 in his pamphlet, “The Law.”
When a politician views society from the seclusion of his office, he is struck by the spectacle of the inequality that he sees. He deplores the deprivations which are the lot of so many of our brothers, deprivations which appear to be even sadder when contrasted with luxury and wealth.
The problem which the politician faces is that in order to exercise his “philanthropy,” he must first get the money to do so from somewhere else. That somewhere else is the pockets of every citizen. Your pockets however deep or shallow are the result of your effort in the marketplace either by trade of your labour or talents. It is your private property which must be taken by force of taxation.
Regarding any social equalization by government, Bastiat wrote,
The law can be an instrument of equalization only as it takes from some persons and gives to other persons. When the law does this, it is an instrument of plunder.
All of this “plunder” is the very essence of socialism. And socialism leads to the destruction of liberty.
While society is struggling toward liberty, these famous men who put themselves at its head are filled with the spirit of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. They think only of subjecting mankind to the philanthropic tyranny of their own social inventions. Like Rousseau, they desire to force mankind docilely to bear this yoke of the public welfare that they have dreamed up in their own imaginations.
Governor Haslam has no understanding of the steep and slippery slope upon which he is placing himself and the State of Tennessee. He needs to open his eyes to reality.
Only with a proper understanding of liberty vs. socialism will we ever be able to achieve a truly free Tennessee Nation.
Two weeks ago, Ohio Sen. Rob Portman did an about-face on marriage. He decided that instead of supporting traditional (Biblical) marriage, he would support same-sex marriage.
"I've come to the conclusion that for me, personally, I think this is something that we should allow people to do, to get married, and to have the joy and stability of marriage that I've had for over 26 years.”
Described in the media as “certainly a social conservative,” Portman has landed himself in the muddy water of the middle.
The problem with Mr. Portman is the same problem we face with the Empire, with local and state government and in our businesses and churches. People have forgotten that there are eternal absolutes which must govern us in order for there to be true “joy and stability” (as the senator put it).
There must be a return to an understanding the absolutes do exist, that they are born of the mind of God, and that they are delivered to us in the Scripture. What “I feel” does not make an ounce of difference for eternity nor for the present either.
We must be able to learn and hold on to Truth. Only then can we be a truly independent and self-governing people.
In respect of your time, I shall make this note short and to the point.
There has been a great amount of debate and demonstration expended concerning the issue of “gun rights,” but I would like to add a couple of comments which have not been raised.
With all due respect to my friends who go on at length in support of “gun rights,” there is no such thing.
Our Constitutions and legal system are based in English common law which in turn takes its genesis from the Mosaic covenant. Two of the Ten Commandments which speak to the various proposed legislation and should concern us at this juncture are numbers five and seven.
The 5th commandment is “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13) and the 7th, “Thou shalt not steal” (20:15).
“Thou shalt not kill” is the force behind the right-to-life and our understanding of the right of self-defence. “Thou shalt not steal” provides our understanding of the importance of private property.
By attention to the penalties proscribed for disobedience to these two commandments we can resolve an important principle – the right-to-life always supersedes property rights.
When considering the current raft of legislation, please compare the arguments against this principle – the right-to-life always supersedes property rights. The failure to do so places you under the same judgment as the U.S. Supreme Court when it decided in Roe v. Wade that a woman’s “property rights” in her body were more important than the right-to-life of her prenatal child.
Christ’s servant,
David O Jones
Chairman
Tennessee League of the South www.FreeTennessee.org
In The Rights of Rulers, Theodore Beza wrote, “if the magistrate connives or in some way refuses to perform his duty, then let each private citizen bestir himself with all his power to defend the lawful constitution of his county, to whom after God he owes his entire existence…”
When our leaders in government go outside of their authority to impress us with onerous mandates, too many – especially Christians – will satisfy themselves with complaints to their friends, but will not “bestir” themselves to actually communicate their grievances to the specific leaders who need to hear from them.
Whether by email or postal mail, everyone needs to “with all his power … defend the lawful constitution.” It is your duty before the Lord Jesus Himself.
Tennessee legislators need to hear from you about every issue with which you have a concern. Go to http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/ to search for specific legislation AND to find the phone number and email address of your representative and your senator.
Beza wrote in 1574. We need to follow his advice in 2013.
All Empire and State offices are closed today to honor the birthday of a great Christian husband, father, teacher and general.
On 21 January 1824, Thomas Jonathan Jackson was born in Clarksburg, Virginia. When he was two, both his older sister and father die of typhoid. A day after his father’s death, another sister was born. At six, his mother remarried, Thomas and his younger sister were sent to live with relatives. His mother died a year later.
At eighteen, Thomas Jackson entered West Point. Through extreme effort and endless study, he graduated 17th out of 59 students. He served in the Mexican War, earning three promotions. In 1851, he resigned from the army to accept a teaching position at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia. There he taught artillery tactics and a mix of physics, astronomy, acoustics, optics, and other scientific courses. While at VMI, he conducted a Sunday School class for slaves in Lexington. Later, while serving in Confederacy, he sent his tithe back to the church for the support of that same Sunday School class.
Two years after arriving at VMI he married. A year later, his wife died in childbirth, their son was stillborn. Thomas Jackson was heartbroken, but as a devout Presbyterian, his faith in Christ was resolute. He had an abiding confidence that “all things work together for good” for the faithful believer. He remarried three years later, but their first child died a month after its birth.
He called war, “the sum of all evils,” but quickly responded to the call to defend Virginia. When Virginia seceded, VMI’s cadets were ordered to Richmond and Jackson was placed in command of the cadets.
The first great battle of the War was at Manassas Junction in July 1861. Northerners thought the whole war would be a picnic. In fact, residents of Washington, D.C., traveled by carriage and horseback with their picnic baskets to the hills around the site of the battlefield in order to watch and have lunch. At one point during the battle, Confederate troops were beginning to flee from a sustained federal onslaught, when Gen. Barnard E. Bee, attempting to rally the troops, shouted, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.” The men in Jackson’s command had maintained discipline and they became known as the “Stonewall Brigade.” Thomas Jackson earned his nickname, he will forever be remembered as “Stonewall” Jackson. He and his men turned the tide of battle and won a decisive victory for the South. The observers left blankets, picnic baskets and more as they fled in terror back across the Potomac River into Washington.
Jackson’s tactics and maneuvers were nothing short of brilliant. His conduct under fire was the substance of legend. His exploits were followed by Northern newspapers and the northern public. He was Robert E. Lee’s most versatile, successful, and clairvoyant lieutenant in the Army of Northern Virginia. By clairvoyant, I mean that he understood Lee’s mind and intent so well it seemed that he could read his mind. His faith and concern for those around him is well documented in the film “Of Gods and Generals.”
In the mysterious Providence and grace of God, Jackson was shot mistakenly by his own men at the moment of his greatest victory in the battle of Chancellorsville, having turned and routed the entire Yankee army under the arrogant Hooker. When news of the amputation of Jackson’s arm reached General Lee, he responded, “He had lost his left arm; but I have lost my right arm.” Jackson died a week later 10 May 1862, and as he had wished it was a Sunday. Lee said, “I know not how to replace him.” The army of Northern Virginia was never the same after his death. In any list of a half-dozen greatest American soldiers, Stonewall Jackson is listed by all critics.
His death was received with sadness around the world. One northerner eulogized that the Almighty had sent angels to earth to recover Jackson’s body, but they could not find him. When they returned to Heaven, they discovered that Jackson had made a flanking maneuver and was already there to meet them.
It isn't possible to understand Jackson apart from his Christian faith. He struggled to come to faith, but once there he applied to its development the same dogged labor that he showed in the rest of his life. When his pastor became reluctant to call on him for public prayer because he performed with such embarrassment, Jackson went to him & insisted that he call on him anyway because it was his duty to learn to pray publicly.
And learn he did. During the War he became famous for his private prayer. In his tent or in the woods, he would pace and pray aloud vehemently. Once one of his subordinate generals, an unbeliever who mocked him privately, burst into his tent one night. A kneeling Jackson was loudly praying, and never stopped or looked up. The man backed out in embarrassment, & later remarked, “If that is religion, then I must have it.”
Jackson also said, “My religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me. . . . That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave."
I must admit to quite a bit of concern over the recent enthusiasm toward secession. I support secession because the government smallest and closest to the people is that which is most admirable. The Columbian Empire is too unwieldy to be either efficient or responsive to legitimate human needs.
My first concern is that should Tennessee or any other State secede, not only the general population but political leaders as well have no concept of the origins of civil government, nor understanding of the necessity to take extreme care in the formation of a new government.
Many think that our forms are fine, our problem is simply that we must replace the people. But the forms have given evil men the ability to advance their agendas. For confirmation, just refer to the anti-federalists and their writings of the late 1700s.
My second concern is that we have neither the citizenry nor the leadership virtuous enough to establish any new forms. Most (not all) of those who advocate immediate secession are doing so out of passion and hatred of the current regime. We need to “get our act together” before we even consider secession.
In 1574, Theodore Beza wrote Concerning the Rights of Rulers Over Their Subjects and the Duty of Subjects Towards Their Rulers. This little book, with the addition of Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos (A Defense of Liberty Against Tyrants, 1579) were Biblical guides to government familiar to our founders but neither have been read by many today. Beza wrote,
I most strongly approve of Christian patience as laudable beyond all the other virtues and never sufficiently commended…In affliction especially I am of opinion that we should depend upon God alone; prayer accompanied by a serious recognition of our error I recognize as the true and necessary remedies for the overthrow of tyranny since this evil is rightly counted among the scourges sent by God for the chastisement of the people. But I deny that all these considerations deprive nations crushed by manifest tyranny of their right to safeguard themselves against it by means of prayers and repentance as well as other just remedies; and this I corroborate whilst I reply on the following powerful arguments.
Beza advocates a variety of resolutions to tyranny including the taking up of arms in defense of liberty. But here he admonishes us to the first step: repentance and prayer. I seldom hear or see an advocate of secession exhorting citizens to repent. The direction of their righteousness is usually pointed toward the tyrants and their need to repent. The prophets of old called the people to repent in order to see the salvation of God.
In every civil action, let us start at the Throne of God, asking for His forgiveness, then His mercy and deliverance.
It would seem we have left civil society behind and become instead a society of seekers of revenge. We are fast becoming a people without a civilization. Let everyone who has eyes to see; see.
