“Well, Doctor, what have we got — a Republic or a Monarchy?

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

“Ain’t it like most people, I’m no different; We love to talk on things we don’t know about.” —Ten Thousand Words, Avett Brothers

“No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.” —Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution.

Three simple words perfectly illustrate the calamity in our culture: natural born citizen.

Natural: existing in or formed by nature; born: brought forth by birth; citizen: a member of a state or nation who owes allegiance to its government and is entitled to its protection (distinguished from a lien).

Up until fairly recently, the definition of natural born citizen was always understood in its natural and historical context:

“As the society cannot exist and perpetuate itself otherwise than by the children of the citizens, those children naturally follow the condition of their fathers, and succeed to all their rights. The society is supposed to desire this, in consequence of what it owes to its own preservation; and it is presumed, as matter of course, that each citizen, on entering into society, reserves to his children the right of becoming members of it. The country of the fathers is therefore that of the children; and these become true citizens merely by their tacit consent. We shall soon see whether, on their coming to the years of discretion, they may renounce their right, and what they owe to the society in which they were born. I say, that, in order to be of the country, it is necessary that a person be born of a father who is a citizen; for, if he is born there of a foreigner, it will be only the place of his birth, and not his country. ” —Emmerich De Vattel, Law of Nations

How simple, by this definition, to vet a candidate.

Was your father a US citizen at the time of your birth?

­If yes, you are a natural born citizen, eligible for this office.
­If no, then you are not and, apparently, nature’s God did not want you to be eligible.

According to this definition, the current occupant, by his own admission, is not a natural born citizen, and therefore has no business conducting the business of the United States of America. And yet, there he sits taunting, abusing, committing high crimes and misdemeanors transforming these United States of America while aiding and abetting our enemies — doing the very things these three simple words were carefully crafted to protect us from: a usurper with divided loyalties (e.g. “Dreams Of My Father”) destroying the foundations of the Republic.

And here we sit, wringing our hands about the calamity, powerless to convince ourselves that we are still capable of keeping the republic. We can’t even agree about the simplest of ideas.

We’ve conceded the meaning of words to legal scholars and court officials. We allow ourselves to be bullied by thought police into lying against our own conscience, against the very nature of things. Remember when we used to know what human life meant? Remember when it was not even debatable to consider marriage the union of a man and woman? Remember when bathroom signs distinguishing males and females didn’t have to be defended or explained?

Maybe.

But most of us don’t remember when natural born citizen was a simple concept because we never had to think about it much. Like so many things required to keep the Republic, we never prepared ourselves to protect and defend the ideas of liberty.

The heart of the calamity is that we’ve abandoned nature’s God, nature’s Laws and self-evident truth. Consequently, we now lack the courage and will to do our duty. There is a way that seems right, says the scriptures, but it ends in death.

Case in point. It seems right for conservatives/Christians to promote men like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. But by the same definition of natural born citizen, neither are eligible for the office of president — their fathers were not U.S. citizens at the time of their births. But, they sputter, Ted’s mom was a U.S. citizen, like Barack Hussein Obama, and Marco is an anchor baby born, like Barack Hussein Obama, on U.S. soil. And they are “conservative Christians after all,” unlike Barack Hussein Obama. Isn’t that what really matters?

With a collective shrug of the shoulders, they reason that since we’ve already wandered off the reservation and play by a whole new set of rules made up by the whims and intent of the powerful we really don’t have a choice. Sigh…

Why do we wonder we have a calamity?

With hundreds of millions of legal citizens in the United States, is this the best we can do for presidential candidates (don’t forget Trump, Clinton and Sanders)? Maybe our problems are not political. Maybe the calamity has deeper roots.

“For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water; the mighty man and the soldier,
the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms. And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. … For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen,
because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence. For the look on their faces bears witness against them; they proclaim their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves. Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for what his hands have dealt out shall be done to him. My people­­infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths. The LORD has taken his place to contend; he stands to judge peoples.” —­­Isaiah 3:1­5, 8:­13 (ESV)

Can anyone contend that God is “taking away” His blessing, protection, support, godly leadership and counselors from the United States of America? Who doubts that infants now rule over the USA? False teachers, who wag their tongues and inflame the passions of envy, coveting and factions, compete for the hearts of the faithless with empty promises.

The problems in the USA are spiritual, not political.

And until we renew our national commitment to nature’s God and nature’s laws, we will not be able to keep the republic.

God have mercy.