Declaration of the Principles of Liberty
Michael P. Farris, J.D.*
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.
– Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776.
A powerful voice for socialism has arisen in our nation. The government is here to provide for your every need.
We cannot effectively oppose this voice with a muted response. We cannot win with an alternative form of “socialism light.”
America must decide whether it wants to pursue the path of freedom or the path of socialism. Let us be clear. These are two separate paths and, in the long run, no nation can be free if it pursues the path of socialism.
But where is the voice for freedom? No political leader has yet clearly rallied the millions of Americans who still believe in liberty.
Then let the voice arise from the people themselves.
SIGN THE DECLARATION
The undersigned Citizens of the United States of America hereby declare that we will stand firmly upon the principles of liberty. We will pursue policies and will support candidates not on the basis of party or personality, but on the basis of faithful adherence to these principles of Liberty, Self-Government, and Virtue.
SIGN THE DECLARATION
Total Signatures: 2,024
A Nation that is Free and Good must Embrace Liberty,
Self Government & Virtue
The Right to Life
1. “God created man in His own image.” 1
“All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness.” 2
* We embrace the truth that we are created by God. We believe
this literally. This is the reason that we are entitled to unalienable
rights.
* We embrace the right to life, from conception until natural
death, as the foremost of our inalienable rights. We reject the claims of
a legal right to terminate the life of the unborn, the disabled, the ill,
or the aged. We also reject the use of cloning or the use of human beings
(which includes human embryos) for medical research that is designed to
result in their death.
* We embrace equal standing before the law for all. We reject
racism in any form.
Freedom of Religion and Conscience
2. “Every man must give an account of himself to God, and therefore
every man ought to be at liberty to serve God in that way that he can best
reconcile it to his conscience. If Government can answer for individuals
at the day of judgment, let men be controlled by it in religious matters;
otherwise, let men be free.”
* “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a
nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties
are the gift of God?”
* We embrace freedom of conscience for all.
* We reject the coercion that comes from using governmental
power to require Americans to teach or believe a single viewpoint on the
origins of life or other central matters. We also reject the coercion that
comes from politically correct speech codes on governmental campuses or in
legislative enactments of so-called ‘hate speech’ laws. We reject the
notion that the promotion of homosexual rights is a legitimate
justification for infringing upon the liberties of Americans in violation
of their consciences. We reject government efforts to coerce conscience
by requiring that medical professionals and institutions perform abortions
or other reproductive services contrary to the convictions of those
persons or institutions.
* We embrace the view that the First Amendment protects more
than belief; it protects the free exercise of religion, no matter how
unpopular the religion may be. Except in cases of clear public necessity,
government should not interfere with the exercise of religion.
* We embrace the view that our liberties and rights are a gift
from God. So is moral truth that guides our consciences as we exercise
those rights. If rights and morality come from men, then men may violate
human rights according to the mood of the moment. Only by understanding
that human rights come from our Creator God can we secure a sure
foundation for the concept that the rights of all men are inalienable.
* We embrace the historical practice of the public
acknowledgement of God by governments at various levels. Like the
Declaration of Independence’s proclamation that “we are endowed by our
Creator with certain unalienable rights” and the national motto which
declares that “In God We Trust,” such proclamations are consistent with
religious liberty because no individual is coerced thereby. They remind
us that rights given by God may not be rightfully trampled by men.
The Right to Bear Arms
3. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free
State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be
infringed.”
* We embrace the importance of the fundamental and individual
right of owning, possessing, and using weapons as central to the
preservation of peace and liberty. We reject the notion that the Second
Amendment confers only a collective right.
The Consent of the Governed
4. “To secure these rights, governments are instituted among men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
* We embrace the principle of the absolute necessity of the
consent of the governed for a morally legitimate government. Accordingly,
we reject judicial law-making in the guise of constitutional or
legislative interpretation. We reject the use of bureaucratic law-making
that enacts regulations to bind private people or private property. We
also reject any form of world government, whether legislative or judicial,
as an egregious violation of the principle of self-government.
* We embrace retaining the sovereignty of the United States as
utterly essential for maintaining our precious right of self-government.
We reject the use of international law for any domestic purpose whether by
treaty or by judicial imposition.
* We embrace the system of checks and balances within our
national government, and the principle of federalism that divides power
between the national and state governments. We reject the misuse of the
Commerce Clause, the General Welfare Clause and other theories that have
expanded the power of Congress and the national government far beyond the
enumerated powers granted by the founders who wrote and ratified the
Constitution.
The Necessity of Public Virtue
5. “The diminution of public virtue is usually attended with that of
public happiness, and the public liberty will not long survive the total
extinction of morals.”
* We embrace the principle that the law may promote the common
good by encouraging moral virtue and punishing serious breaches of public
morality. We reject the view that laws may only be justified by the
showing of harm to some individual. Thus, we reject the view that laws
against drug use, prostitution, pornography, and the like are outside the
proper scope of government. Finally, we reject the view that law may not
impact or regulate moral choices, since all laws impose some moral choice.
* We embrace the view that liberty and virtue are inextricably
intertwined. We reject the view that moral anarchy (every man doing what
is right in his own eyes) is the equivalent of liberty.
Traditional Marriage
6. “Marriage, while from its very nature a sacred obligation, is
nevertheless, in most civilized nations, a civil contract, and usually
regulated by law. Upon it society may be said to be built, and out of its
fruits spring social relations and social obligations and duties, with
which government is necessarily required to deal. In fact, according as
marriages are allowed, do we find the principles on which the government
of the people, to a greater or less extent, rests.”
* We embrace the sacred union of one man and one woman as the
sole form of legitimate marriage. We reject any attempt to create other
legitimate unions, whether called same-sex marriage, civil unions, or
polygamy.
* We embrace the importance of honoring the sacred bonds of
marriage as a true commitment. We reject the perversion of the sexual
relationship whether in the form of adultery, homosexuality, prostitution,
or through pornography and related industries.
* We embrace marriage as the best foundation for a healthy
family and the well-being and development of children.
Parental Rights
7. “The law's concept of the family rests on a presumption that parents
possess what a child lacks in maturity, experience, and capacity for
judgment required for making life's difficult decisions. More important,
historically it has recognized that natural bonds of affection lead
parents to act in the best interests of their children.”
“The fundamental theory of liberty upon which all governments in
this Union repose excludes any general power of the state to standardize
its children by forcing them to accept instruction from public teachers
only. The child is not the mere creature of the state; those who nurture
him and direct his destiny have the right, coupled with the high duty, to
recognize and prepare him for additional obligations.”
* We embrace the view that the right of parents to direct the
upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right. We
reject the notion that the government may substitute its view of the best
interest of the child for that of the parents’, absent proper proof of
harm to the child.
* We embrace parental choice in all matters concerning
education. We reject the notion that parents who choose to have their
children educated in the public school should lose any meaningful control
over the direction of their child.
Economic Freedom
8. “The moral foundations of a society do not extend only to its
political system; they must extend to its economic system as well.
America's commitment to capitalism is unquestionably the best example of
this principle. Capitalism is not…an [intrinsically] amoral system based
on selfishness, greed, and exploitation. It is a moral system based on a
biblical ethic. There is no other comparable system that has raised the
standard of living of millions of people, created vast new wealth and
resources, or inspired so many beneficial innovations and technologies.
The wonderful thing about capitalism is that it does not discriminate
against the poor, as so often has been charged; indeed, it is the only
economic system that raises the poor out of poverty.”
* We embrace the principles of freedom with respect to economic
matters. Therefore, we reject any form of socialism or communism. We
specifically reject any socialistic intervention in the economy to promote
business as well as any form of redistribution of wealth.
* Just as we reject the idea that other freedoms are absolute,
we reject the notion that economic freedom has no limits; but we also
reject the notion that economic freedom is anything less than a
fundamental right.
* We embrace the view that property rights should be recognized
and protected as fundamental to our liberty. We reject the view that
private property may be taken by the government, only to be transferred to
other private owners in the name of economic development.
Limited Government
9. “Man is not free unless government is limited.”
“The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is
that government spends too much.”
* We embrace limited government. We reject the idea that low tax
rates are the end-goal; rather, low tax rates are the mechanism to ensure
that we pursue only those functions of government that are both
constitutionally sanctioned and actually necessary.
* We embrace faithful adherence to the original meaning of the
Constitution as the single most important principle to ensure that
government stays within its proper bounds.
National Defense and Foreign Policy
10. “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil
constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to
defend them against all attacks.”
“If a nation takes up arms when she has received no injury, nor is
threatened with any, she undertakes an unjust war. Those alone, to whom an
injury is done or intended, have a right to make war."
* We affirm the right of the United States to defend itself
against all threats without the necessity of consent from any other nation
or any group of nations.
* We affirm the right of the United States to use its power, in
a proportionate manner, to counteract the actions or policies of other
nations or groups when there is clear and convincing evidence that such
intervention is necessary for the defense of our people or our liberties.
* We reject the use of American tax dollars for the support of
nations or institutions hostile to the ideals of free and virtuous
government.
* We reject the use of military force for the purpose of
planting a democracy in a nation which poses no direct threat to the
United States. Freedom and self-government cannot be exported by the
exercise of might.
* We affirm the duty to fulfill our treaty obligations for
mutual defense for those who have been faithful to their obligations to
us. We also affirm America’s participation in the defense of innocent
nations invaded by aggressors in extraordinary situations such as in World
War II in Europe. Our participation in such matters should be as limited
as possible given the exigencies of the situation and never undertaken
without the request of our treaty partner or the legitimate
representatives of an invaded nation.
A Call to All Americans
We hope and believe that all Americans of good faith can embrace these ideals. We invite all to examine the history of this great nation and test these ideas with a long-range view. We believe that the facts reveal that the goals of freedom and justice that we all seek have been best served whenever our nation adheres to these ideals.
At the same time, we note that the Founders’ belief in freedom of speech and the right of political participation for all people has been fundamental to the success of this nation. We remain steadfastly committed to the full protection of the constitutional rights for all who differ with our views in whole or in part.
SIGN THE DECLARATION
The undersigned Citizens of the United States of America hereby
declare that we will stand firmly upon the principles of liberty. We will
pursue policies and will support candidates not on the basis of party or
personality, but on the basis of faithful adherence to these principles of
Liberty, Self-Government, and Virtue.
SIGN THE DECLARATION
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Total Signatures: 5,512
