Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 1 of 7
On Independence Day some adult fellow citizens may find themselves coerced to pledge allegiance “. . . under God, indivisible” or not at all if they’re in a crowd of dissidents to the U.S preamble’s proposition. Either way, a few citizens will feel uncomfortable as they struggle with civic integrity. In the past, I have weathered this dilemma with silence at “under God.” (Legislators like retired Justice Anthony Kennedy said I’m niggling and suggest I quietly leave the room.)
The pledge is controversial because it invokes public hubris rather than humility about a mystery: Most everybody perceives that no one knows God. When someone claims to know God, strangers suspect his or her motives. Yet political regimes impose a pledge that some fellow U.S. citizens are loath to express, especially with an American flag before them on the 4th of July. I now express “under whatever-God-is” to claim I do not know. I’m actually resisting colonial-English tradition: church-state imposition.
Why have the people never expressed humility by accepting “whatever-God-is” (or better) to express hope and comfort in the face of mystery? It is not too late for civic integrity. Whatever-God-is might celebrate an achievable better future for diverse believers.
Image: pledge to flag
Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 2 of 7
Fellow U.S. citizens are offered a global celebration---mutual, comprehensive civic safety and security---inequitably distributed as the benefits may be. How did the U.S. preamble’s proposition come to be so neglected?
Regimes don’t admit it, but 9 states established the global nation called the USA on June 21, 1788, leaving 4 of 13 states still globally free and independent (F&I). Whatever-God-is may have controlled past events. They included Shays’ Rebellion (1786-87) that convinced the 13 F&I states they could not continue as a confederation; England’s admission in the 1783 Treaty of Paris; France’s military superiority against England at Yorktown, VA in 1781; formation of the confederation of states in 1774; the liberation of Worcester, Massachusetts earlier in 1774; and England’s arbitrary taxation of the eastern-seaboard colonies in 1763. But I doubt whatever-God-is want’s war. Anyway, the USA was established 231 years ago.
The confederation of states, in the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776, declared war against England. The continental Nature and Nature’s God would defeat the empire’s Canterbury God. That was 243 years ago and a declaration of war over 13% of this country’s land area.
Despite France’s military strategy---trapping Cornwallis on the Virginia peninsula---and power---30,000 military personal to America’s 11,000 and England 9,000 including 2,000 Germans--- many citizens felt factional American Protestantism had defeated the Protestant Church of England. Militarily, yes: psychologically, no.
Image: Shays Rebellion
Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 3 of 7
Some fellow citizens erroneously felt that victory in the war for continental freedom from England (the 13 eastern seaboard states defeating the empire that colonized them) confirmed that “our God” will always defeat “their God.” In my articulation, the states’ whatever-God-is would defeat England’s whatever-God-is. The states didn’t accept the news: France’s military power won the war. I doubt military power is whatever-God-is.
In 1861, with religious zeal some Christian ministers taught whatever-God-is was punishing black slaves for sins of their ancestors, and abolitionists ought not interfere with Christianity’s plan. Errant fellow citizens tried to secede from the USA, denying citizens’ duties under the U.S. preamble. Seven states formed the CSA and fired on the USA, which still represented 27 states. Despite 1:4 power, the CSA’s whatever-God-is would defeat the USA’s whatever-God-is.
In the end, military power prevailed. I doubt whatever-God-is wanted the Civil War.
This great historical fact---the Civil War was empowered by erroneous religious belief---could inspire the continuum of living citizens to accept whatever-God-is, develop civic integrity, and still associate with fellow believers to take responsibility for the souls they sense.
However, no one has the prerogative to intend to modify another person’s responsible motivation and inspiration to civic integrity so as to fulfill a mystery.
Image: Civil War
Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 4 of 7
I cringe each time elected and appointed officials exercise the hubris to represent whatever-God-is using the generic name “God.” I doubt whatever-God-is favors official hubris. I also think the people suffer from legislative, judicial, and administrative pretense to “divinity,” colonial-English tradition that it is.
The irony of political regimes pretending partnership with whatever-God-is was expressed by Nicolo Machiavelli in “The Prince,” Chapter XI in 1513. Lucky is the land with religious believers: the church-state partnership picks the people’s pockets so the partners live high on the hog, and the people's belief in whatever-God-is prevents the people from leaving or rebelling.
The U.S. First Congress re-established the colonial church-state partnership they practiced as English subjects, and the factional American-church charade lives on in 2019.
President Trump, at Normandy for D-Day celebrations expressed a dwindling Western-European influence with phrases like “with God as their witness,” self-judging “a virtuous people, praying to a righteous God,” then judging allies in “the palm of God’s hand.” Meanwhile, social scientists in Western Europe are promoting sophistry like John Rawls’ contractarianism, a politically progressive expression of social contracts. Western Europe excludes the U.S. preamble's exemplary proposition.
Does whatever-God-is claim responsibility for military strength and resolve? When young people commit-to and trust-in responsible human liberty is it arbitrary to attribute their sacrifices to the mystery of whatever-God-is? Is our obligation to future citizens served by discounting vigilance and strength as a civic people’s best defense? Is our posterity’s interest served by legislative, judicial, and administrative pretended divinity?
Is the actually real power of whatever-God-is invoked by human images and self-judgement? Does whatever-God-is choose involvements in wars? Is war won by military power?
I think pretense of divinity hurts the people, and only individual responsible human liberty can end the charade. Mutual, comprehensive safety and security requires individual civic integrity.
Image: D-Day
Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 5 of 7
Can fellow citizens accept that prayer offers them hope, comfort, and attention to whatever-God-is without restricting a neighbor’s opportunity for responsible human liberty? Can people of differing religious beliefs share dialogue about the mystery of whatever-God-is as a basis for neighborliness? Can people of differing political persuasion collaborate to discover and benefit from the-objective-truth, the ineluctable evidence on which truth is measured?
What would it take to achieve a better future---a future wherein today’s adults want to pay the accumulated $22.4 trillion debt rather than leave it to the children? A future wherein no one expresses perception of doom with the thought “At least I won’t be here to witness what my children face.”
There is available to U.S. citizens an agreement that accommodates the diverse responsible hopes and comforts of religion within human liberty. It does not accommodate alien influences such as opposition to the U.S. preamble’s proposition. When most citizens are collaborating under the U.S. preamble’s proposition, associations that are managed in foreign nations cannot influence outcomes in the USA.
People who aspire to be of We the People of the United States commit-to and trust-in 5 public institutions---Unity, Justice, Tranquility, defense, and welfare---in order to secure responsible human liberty to the continuum of living citizens. The 5 public institutions for liberty protect the civic citizen’s personal motivation and inspiration whether a responsible religion is involved or not. Religious institutions that think subversive political power will prevail are encouraged to reform their doctrine or face dwindling support in the USA. Aliens cannot with immunity abuse citizens under the U.S. preamble’s proposition.
Image: individual collaboration
Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 6 of 7
We encourage a civic people of July 4, 2019 to take charge: Establish the USA under the U.S. preamble’s proposition and the-objective-truth, after 231 years neglect. Political regimes bemused the people under the tradition of church-state partnership inherited from England with its constitutional Canterbury-Parliament partnership. Freedom of religion obscures the opportunity to develop civic integrity and individual happiness according to responsible personal preference rather than someone’s arbitrary dictates.
Responsible human liberty seems so attractive that contemplation of these ideas might motivate individual reforms. With enough individuals deciding to accept their church pursuits separately from civic discipline under the U.S. preamble, a better future in the USA may begin to seem achievable.
Acceleration by open-minded, candid communication rather than yielding to the subversion “don’t talk politics or the mystery of whatever-God-is” could effect rapid change to civic integrity.
Image: integrity and honesty
Integrity and “God Bless America” Part 7 of 7
The 4th of July 2019 marks opportunity for individual fellow citizens to accept responsible human liberty under the U.S. preamble’s proposition. One interpretation is described in this thread and elswhere on this Facebook Page. Without a broadly practiced citizens’ agreement for equity under the rule of law, there can be no development of statutory justice---statutory law that serves the continuum of living people rather than preserves impositions from the past or allows alien influences.
With widespread collaboration---perhaps 2/3 of voters on board---the path toward discovering the ineluctable evidence by which to defeat the tyranny of sophistry (for example, John Rawls’ contractarianism or more popularly “social democracy” or identity chaos).
It seems that 2019 England has neither experience-with nor regard-for the U.S. preamble’s proposition. That does not make them an enemy again. But under responsible human liberty, England’s negative political influences can be purged from typical American psychology at last. America can establish civic integrity rather than civic religion.
If the ideas in this 7 part series resonate with you, “like” this Page and this post. Share the series with friends. Responsible human liberty under the U.S. preamble’s proposition can go viral to help affect the next elections, which in Louisiana come in October. With widespread demand, no matter how sudden and late, every candidate may be compelled by voters to demonstrate how they have collaborated under the U.S. preamble’s proposition, not as I interpret it but as each individual citizen sees it.
Image: political stumping
Copyright©2019 by Phillip R. Beaver. All rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted for the publication of all or portions of this paper as long as this complete copyright notice is included.
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