By By KATTIE K. MAXWELL
Speaking of Atmore
In this great country of ours we have reason to be concerned about Supreme Court decisions which affect our national defense. Any high court decision which chips away our basic freedoms n especially those which promote immorality n also tears at the fibers of our commitment to national defense. We must return to the values we believe in n the things for which we have been willing to sacrifice.
Our Declaration of Independence established the basic principles by which our country operates. It proclaims that the purpose of government is to secure individual rights given of God and that the source of governmental power is the consent of those being governed.
The Declaration of Independence is the most important document in American history and a beacon of light in the world. Neither bureaucrats nor judges have been able to distort it as they have the Constitution. After 216 years it still affirms God's existence as a "self-evident" truth. There are five references to God in the Declaration n God as Creator of all men, God as the supreme lawmaker, God as the Source of all rights, God as the world's supreme Judge and God as our Patron and protector. Benjamin Franklin said, "He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of primitive Christianity will change the face of the whole world." Certainly the Declaration, which was so influenced by Franklin, is properly viewed as both the foundation of our republic and the charter which made us a separate nation.
John Quincy Adams concluded that "the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States are part of one consistent whole, founded upon one and the same theory of government." The Constitution as stated in the preamble was created "in order to form a more perfect Union." It is a set of by-laws written in order to implement the principles set forth in the Declaration and we should not allow the rights stated in the Constitution to be separated from the responsibility stated in the Declaration.
Fifty-two of the 55 founding fathers were orthodox evangelical Christians, and they knew that a legal system must be based on a sound code of morality. George Washington said that if you "remove religious principles, you are going to lose national morality." The Supreme Court rulings that have outlawed the Bible and prayer in schools while legalizing pornography and blasphemy violate hallowed principles enunciated in the Declaration of Independence. Since the 1963 ruling on prayer, unwed birth rates of females, age 10-14, have increased 553 percent; sexually transmitted diseases in ages 15 – 19 are up 226 percent; and unmarried couples living together are up 353 percent.
Some of today's school children are hearing a version of the past and present that their parents would not recognize. We see the customs, beliefs and principals that have unified our country for more than two centuries being challenged daily. Abraham Lincoln said, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next."
Much has been given to us in this great nation, and much will be required of us. We must be informed, we must be active, and we must inform our elected representatives of our convictions. When we return to the precepts of the Declaration of Independence as a source of our strength and greatness, we shall truly be "One nation under God."