By D. C. Link
#dutybased #obligationview #rightsafterresponsibility #getinformed
Socrates: Have you noticed on our journey how often the citizens of this new land remind each other it is a free country?
Plato: I have, and think it odd they do this.
Socrates: How so, Plato?
Plato: It is like reminding a baker he is a baker, or a sculptor he is a sculptor.
Socrates: You mean to say if someone is convinced of their trade, they have no need to be reminded.
Plato: That is correct.
Socrates: I agree. If these citizens were convinced of their freedom, they would not need reminders.
Bucchianeri, E. A. “Home.” AZ Quotes, https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1265944?ref=free-country. Accessed 7 April 2023.
Throughout history, civilizations [nations] have experienced the glory of their rise and abundance along with the infamy of their brutal collapses. Some of those empires are more well-known than others, such as the Roman and Persian Empires, just to name a couple.
Another more recent well-known example is the rise and fall of the German nation of the 1930s and 40s, which is more often remembered by its atrocities, and the madman who led them, than the empire aspect. What is not well known about these “fallen” empires is what they all had in common that led them to their violent ends, and that would be the lies that they didn’t just believe, but lived; the alternate realities that they faithfully carried out…or exercised.
When a civilization, as the rule and not the exception, believes lies about itself, regardless of why it believes them, always eventually lives out the alternate reality which leads to its destruction. That is where the saying “those who do not understand history are doomed to repeat it” actually comes from. Repeating the cycle of doom, almost the same way all fallen civilizations before have done, and proving that statement correct is what proves that statement correct. Yes, you read that correctly.
Not only does history tell us what causes societal collapse, but the Bible also tells us what brings civilization to bitter and violent ends, and what the signs are along the way. The literal writings in the Bible, Old, and New Testament run parallel to the lead-up of a nation heading to its demise. It is said by scholars, and by many of the founders, that the Bible is the manual for republicanism, and that is not only because of its design of government, but also its warnings of what causes destruction. The biggest warning is forgetting where it comes from, which means forgetting the founding principles. Forgetting what liberty and true prosperity is founded on leads to replacing them with something else. That something else is the lies of fallen civilizations before you.
The first alternate reality is freedomism, where “wanting to change the world” begins to take the place of “needing to adhere to constitutional authority”, and the false realities exercised within its umbrella will be covered in this first article.
Freedomism is that thing that exists in the mind of the generations following the informed and is the result of ignorance of the truth and a sense of duty. It is the flavor of deceit that convinces a population that freedom is the basis of what makes people free.
The bondage of a rights-based society originates from the idea that removing all restraints of duty and morals from the people is what makes a society great, otherwise known as a healthy democracy. This is where society is not yet completely taken down by its internal dismantling and is still feeling the benefits of the sacrifice and self-governance of the generations immediately before.
One sign of a rights-based society is when the adoration of the country is based on the freedoms of that country, and that is usually spoken with the gratitude of those who bled for those very freedoms. This is usually espoused by someone who couldn’t cite a single clause of the constitution, particularly not the one that states the mandated form of government. Nevertheless, it is a sign that freedom is the basis of the country’s sovereignty and not the obligation to adhere to the highest authority in the land which is its constitution.
Then as consumerism and addiction to convenience deepen throughout the ranks of the masses and classes, the defense of freedom grows proportionately, usually in the form of defending rights. “Rights”, or “Guaranteed Rights” become the sole purpose of the constitution, since at this point it is the only part of the Constitution that anyone knows.
When the bill of rights of a constitution is the only part of it that anyone knows, it becomes the only part of it that anyone cares about. In the case of 21st-century American politics, the 1st and 2nd Amendments become the focal point of The US Constitution in a way that each amendment gobbles itself up slowly and surely. This is mainly because of chronic freedomism. The real purpose of each amendment is completely unknown and therefore used, with rare exception, for everything but what they were intended for; the 1st Amendment for checking the government against the Constitution and guiding precepts and principles of the founders, and the 2nd Amendment for self-defense, to avoid having an overgrown standing army, and to constitutionally keep the population of American men combat-ready.
A society focused on freedom for long enough eventually comes to think that it not only is an example of freedom for the world but also the author and decider of what freedom is and who is free. This form of narcissism is by and large a result of generations removed from being informed of the responsibility enshrined in its constitution, and the Biblical precepts and warnings that The US Constitution was largely based on.
As the narcissistic tendencies that nurtured freedomism causes continue taking hold of a society, the defense of individual rights becomes engrained to the point that patriotism morphs into the lie that freedom needs to be defended instead of the actual nation. This is something that is also the result of thinking that the nation is too powerful and too big, and too free to fall. National defense becomes defense and the endlessness of what needs to be defended or democratized becomes the justification for the bottomless budget for defense, otherwise known to free countries as defense of freedom. Finally, as freedom-loving people, who have forgotten that freedom is merely a tool and given as a gift from God, the individual becomes his own king, and his kingdom is that which is constituted by his opinion. This is the evolution from freedomism into individualism…and where we transition to Lies of the Fallen Part 2: Individualism, where “wanting to change the world” transitions to “I can change the world.”