“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — Benjamin Franklin, 1755

“A Republic if you can keep it.” — Benjamin Franklin, 1787

“We have met the enemy, and he is us.” — Pogo the Possum (Walt Kelly), 1970

There is no debate that we are facing a grand existential threat to the American Republic. It is not a political threat but rather an ideological threat that seeks to undermine our rule of law. Very shrewd and manipulative individuals are tickling the ears of delusional “useful idiots” for the sole purpose of gaining power, control, and domination. The U.S. Constitution ascribes the proper relationship between the individual citizen and the institution of government. The Constitution is a restraining document on the powers of the federal government, as the writers described, the United States. What we are facing, and have faced, is a growing Leviathan, referring to the mythical sea creature and the title of English philosopher Thomas Hobbes’ book. Hobbes believed, coming out of the English Civil War, in the empowering of great centralized powers into a strong, absolute ruler as a means to preclude social chaos and war.

In September 1787, Benjamin Franklin was met outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia by Elizabeth Willing Powel, who asked him a pertinent question, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” Franklin’s reply is above. It was never the intent of our Founding Fathers to leave us with a Leviathan-type system of rule. They imparted to us a constitutional Republic with a representative democracy. Now, what I just said could not be repeated by probably 60% of this country. Therein lies the problem.

We have truly met the enemy, and he is us!

If we do not even comprehend the nature of our founding, it is quite simple to fall for the ruses of others. Our constitution cannot be used as a means for our demise, and that is what some are seeking to do. America requires an astute, educated, and engaged population of citizens. However, there are those cold, timid souls who prefer to be subjects and would surrender their essential liberty, and all of ours, in order to fall into the false belief of security.

I look at what happened during COVID, how an entire country was manipulated, no, fear-mongered into surrendering their essential liberty. We were told to stay in our homes. We were told that we could not freely breathe fresh air. We were mandated, given edicts, and punished for seeking to exercise our liberty. We were told that it was for a “greater collective” good, all the while being fed top-down government solutions that were detrimental to our health and welfare. And, if you challenged the Leviathan, you were persecuted, prosecuted, and had your life and livelihood destroyed. If you understood what essential liberty means, if it was not in accordance with the understanding of the Leviathan, you were targeted and attacked.

Now we have these Flock cameras all over the country under the guise of better security, yet they are a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights. No different from the insidious assertion that red flag laws will keep you safe, when the intent is quite evident: undermining the Second Amendment.

Now, we have these Marxists trolling about the Republic, saying that they will solve the affordability issue: we will take away your essential liberty to decide your healthcare, your equality of opportunity, and your freedom of movement. As always, the Leviathan promises everything, and it shall be free. It is never free because free does not equate to freedom.

The duty and responsibility of the government is to protect our life, liberty, and property. Our unalienable rights endowed to us by the Creator, Judeo-Christian faith heritage God, are life, liberty, and property (pursuit of happiness). It is not the mandate of the government to redistribute wealth, nationalize economic production, dictate our healthcare, or make us all “equal.” However, it is the desire of the Leviathan to do these things, and make us believe, falsely, that we are safer, when we are actually less free.

This midterm election cycle is not about Republicans and Democrats. It is about two very different ideologies. It is about our Constitution and our Republic. It is truly about the understanding and definition of liberty, the essential ingredient of the American Republic. And Abraham Lincoln explained it very clearly.

“The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name, liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names, liberty and tyranny. The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep was a black one. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty.”

Then it was about liberty for those who looked like me. Now, it is about Liberty for all Americans!

Steadfast and Loyal.