How Far Has America Fallen?

I write this article tonight after having watched a presidential debate that has left me mortified, astonished, and deeply disheartened. More than anything, however, it has left me thinking about the founders of this country and the message of some of our nation's earliest writers.

Even before nationhood, writers like John Winthrop envisioned our presence in the new world as "a city upon a hill," a shining beacon looked upon by every nation. He made clear that our intentions toward ourselves and the rest of the world would be watched closely, held as an example, and that we would earn the respect or hatred of the world community based on such.

With the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson established for all of the world to see that "all men are created equal," and that as such we have certain inalienable rights. Lincoln reaffirmed this notion of equality in his Gettysburg Address, further proclaiming the need for us to "take increased devotion" to the cause that our countrymen fought and died to procure - "a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth." These are milestones in the history of our nation and in human history. It is upon this foundation that we currently find ourselves wavering.

Tonight I saw an audience of thousands applaud the use of torture as a means of interrogation, though it has been reworded (newspeak style) as "enhanced interrogation" or other such nonsense. I saw the same audience applaud the notion of detainment at the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay and the proposed expansion thereof. Yet again, I saw this audience's favorable reaction to a proposed identification system that would require every citizen to carry a traceable ID card.

Is this really what we've become?

"Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
~ Benjamin Franklin

Stumble!