At present, there is a strong sentiment among some conservatives that the great American experiment is over; socialism will soon rule here in the USA. They believe that Liberty is dead and hope is futile. These are clearly the sounds of defeat, expressed by those who have already surrendered. Perhaps they should lower their flag, face the east at the proper hour, and bow their knee to the newly crowned King of Obamaland. They have given up on America and given up on the grace and faithfulness of God.

I cannot surrender. There is too much to lose. Liberty is a gem of many facets. At this hour, all of our rights have not yet been removed. We still have some things to fight with, and some things to fight for. There is a remnant of patriots who love their country more than their politics. They cannot be bought with “free stuff”. There is a remnant who will only bow to the Lord.

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other… A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.” –John Adams

More than a piece of geography, or a quantity of natural resources, a nation is a people. America is special because she is home to many special people and she is founded on a very special idea:

“…..that 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.” –Declaration of Independence

If John Adams was correct, we should not surrender now. Our Liberty is unique. Much blood and capital has been spent since 1776 to make us free, keep us free, and to free others of tyranny. America remains today, the last bastion of true Liberty.

Constitutional Amendments One through Ten enumerates and codifies the elements of our unique Liberty. They are called our Bill of Rights for a reason. They define and make law the unalienable rights of Liberty, granted by our Creator, not by our government. They serve to protect the natural rights of Liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government’s power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the people.

All of the Bill of Rights is important to Liberty. But a review of just two of the many facets of Liberty may encourage and energize the remnant among us who will not surrender:

Amendment I:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

We are protected from the establishment of a state sponsored religion and we are guaranteed the free exercise of religion. Although under fire, free exercise of religion is still our right today. In the last few decades, it seems our institutions and the government excessively protects secularism, while restricting Christianity. That does not set well with most of us. But we may still pray; we may still assemble ourselves together; we may still exercise freedom of speech to evangelize, educate, and politic. We still have the right to beseech the Lord to bring a moral/spiritual revival to our nation. Religious freedom is something to fight for, and it is something to fight with.

Freedoms of speech, the press, assembly, and petition also represent both our cause, and our weapons for the fight to save Liberty. With these we can win back the deceived to the cause of Liberty and help them find the true Source. They shall know the truth and the truth shall set them free.

Amendment II

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.

There is no need to rehash the pros and cons of the recent history regarding the 2nd Amendment. In my personal opinion, the right to bear arms has already been infringed. Attempts to further infringe are being considered.

One of my chief criticisms is that the “deceived” are being further deceived by the descriptions of semi-automatic sporting rifles as “assault weapons”. If you know anything about firearms, you know this is just ludicrous. An AR15 may look like an M16, but it has no selective fire mode and a limited magazine capacity. It is not an assault weapon. Furthermore, actual assault weapons cannot be purchased at gun shows or stores. Only persons holding a Federal Firearms License may buy or sell those types of weapons. They cannot be sold to Joe Citizen. FFL dealers are closely monitored by the ATF.

I will give the anti-gun crowd the benefit of the doubt and assume most of them are well intentioned. Perhaps they cannot see that the gradual, piecemeal reduction in American Liberty, having moved along an exponential curve toward tyranny, if not checked will end in intolerable oppression. It could come soon, when our own government becomes the enemy of the people.

It is impossible to estimate the will of a people, or to forecast the numbers that would possess the will to protect their last vestiges of freedom by force of arms. But we have evidential reasons to know the will exists and to believe the numbers are in the millions; perhaps tens of millions.

The point is: an armed citizenry is a powerful deterrent to a person, or a government body, that would attempt to impose unendurable tyranny. Could a militia armed with sporting weapons defeat a standing army equipped with helicopter gunships, laser guided bombs and missiles, etc.? No, they could not. But if (a big if) American military would initially stand with a tyrannical takeover, I believe the blood of many thousands of their once free countrymen would soon cause a change in their target selections. You see the point. If there are any Americans, past or present, who have earned my trust and respect, it is the American military.

We cannot lose the right to keep and bear arms. Unarmed we have no final defense of Liberty. May we pray and receive God’s blessing that armed conflict may be averted without surrender. As patriots, our duty is to use every weapon, or right, provided by the 1st Amendment to ensure that we do not find it necessary to take up arms against our government or our countrymen.

At this juncture of history, American Patriots are those who love their country more than political parties or ideologies. They understand what it means to work, pray and fight for things of the greater value. They stand proud and pugnacious in the defense of Liberty.

Win or lose, when the time for the end does come, I hope the Lord will find me on my knees, still seeking His blessings for this great nation. Until then, may the Lord give us converts, each day, to His cause and that of Liberty.

George Rogers Clark blogs at myFreeBlogs.us – http://www.myfreeblogs.us