The End Of The Republic

According to Benjamin Franklin (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6th, 1705] - April 17, 1790) one of the Founding Fathers of our country: "When [we] the people find they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic."

Why Democracies Fail As A Form Of Government

"The lessons of history show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit." — Franklin Delano Roosevelt, State of the Union, 1935.

"A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters (i.e., we the people) discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years." (Author Unknown. The earliest known appearance of this quote was December 9, 1951, in what appears to be an op-ed piece in The Daily Oklahoman under the byline Elmer T. Peterson¹)

The Reflections Of "We The People"

"[N]either the wisest constitution nor the wisest laws will secure the liberty and happiness of a people whose manners are universally corrupt." — Samuel Adams, State of the Union, 1935.²

The preamble to the United States Constitution states: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." So what has happened to our country? Are the politicians to blame? No! Emphatically No! Politicians are not the problem. Politicians are a reflection of we the people. We the people are a reflection of the Church. The Church is a reflection of our (i.e., we the people) commitment to living by the Word of God. And in the end, our commitment to living by the Word of God is a reflection of our love for Jesus Christ Himself. May God forgive us!

The Church Must Be Reminded!

"My uncle (Martin Luther King, Jr.) ... once said, 'The Negro cannot win as long as he is willing to sacrifice the lives of his children for comfort and safety.'" — Dr. Alveda C. King

In my opinion, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love, 1963 said it best when he wrote: "The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority." Only the Church has the moral authority to speak the truth into hearts of we the people.

Brothers, we really need to talk.

References:
1. The Daily Oklahoman, December 9, 1951, Elmer T. Peterson (http://bit.ly/fESalQ)
2. William V. Wells, The Life and Public Service of Samuel Adams (Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1865), Vol. I, p. 22, quoting from a political essay by Samuel Adams published in The Public Advertiser, 1749.