Saturday, March 13, 2010

"Don't Ask, Don't Speak"

Whenever the government acts, someone's First Amendment rights must always be denied. It is inescapable. There is no neutrality.

Consider Mormon polygamists. They wanted freedom for multiple wives. The U.S. Supreme Court denied them the "religious freedom" they sought, declaring that America was a Christian nation, and polygamy is prohibited in every Christian nation. If the government upholds the Biblical definition of marriage, then polygamists will not have the same degree of "religious freedom" that Christians will have.

Federal action against polygamists (fines, prison, death) is both unconstitutional and unChristian, as is federal action against homosexuals.

As America becomes a more Christian nation, there will be less polygamy. Not because there will be more arrests for polygamy, but because there will be fewer polygamists to arrest.

Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ....

In a civilized society, only one person speaks at a time. If the government decides who, the First Amendment will be infringed.

If the government promotes a homosexual view of marriage, then Christians will be denied their First Amendment rights. This is illustrated by John R. Guardiano, in his article, The Intolerance and Bigotry of Openly Gay Military Service. David A. Noebel sums up the case:

Two days after President Obama promised in his State of the Union address Jan. 27, 2010, to dump the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, the president of the Family Research Council, Tony Perkins (a former Marine), was disinvited to speak at a prayer luncheon at Andrews Air Force Base.

According to Guardiano, the reason for the disinvite came from the military itself – "Perkins had spoken out in support of 'don't ask, don't tell' ... and this, he was told, made his views 'incompatible for military members [who] serve our elected officials and our commander in chief.'"

The Washington Times explained the situation this way: "The [Air Force] Chaplain's Office retracted Mr. Perkins' invitation after his recent public comments made many who planned to attend the event uncomfortable, the Andrews base public affairs office said in a statement issued late Thursday, [Feb. 25]."

Perkins issued the following response:

"As one who took the oath to protect our freedoms, I am disappointed that I've been denied the opportunity to speak to members of the military, in a non-political way, solely because I exercised my free-speech rights in a different forum. It's ironic that this blacklisting should occur because I called for the retention and enforcement of a valid federal statute. Unfortunately, this is just a precursor of things to come in a post- 'don't ask, don't tell' military. This legislation would more than open the armed forces to homosexuals; it would lead to a zero-tolerance policy toward anyone who disapproves of homosexuality. Military chaplains would bear the heaviest burden. Would their sermons be censored to prevent them from preaching on biblical passages which describe homosexual conduct as a sin?"

The answer, unfortunately, is obvious.

America's Founding Fathers never envisioned the military being so prominent in American life, with over 50% of a bloated 3 trillion dollar federal budget being consumed by the military. A Goliath-like standing army has replaced David-like militias. America is no longer a "City Upon a Hill," but an imperialist Leviathan.

The Founders also envisioned the federal government being "under God," where "God" means the God of Moses, Isaiah, Jesus and Paul, and "under" means "humble" and "subservient." Today's "secular" federal government is arrogant and anti-Christian (except when a pseudo-Christian posturing is politically expedient).

As America leaves her Christian and libertarian roots, more and more people will look to the State as Savior, and demand a secular/socialist concept of "rights," and conflicts under the First Amendment will proliferate. The only way to eliminate infringement of First Amendment rights is to eliminate sin and government action.


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