PrintJune 11, 2010
The Secret of America
America is not a plot of land. It is not a culture. It is not a nationality. It is not a set of traditions or customs. It is not a government. It is not a people. It is not a book of laws. And it certainly isn't a race.
America is an idea.
That's why anyone can become an American. Embrace the idea (and fill out a few forms) and you're an American.
You're one of us.
Most other nations are nationalities. Their heritage depends on blood and territory. America is portable. We carry it around in our hearts and minds.
If you bomb our cities, you can't destroy America. If you ruin our economy, you can't destroy America. If most of the continent falls into the ocean, you can't destroy America. Even if you kill most of us, you can't destroy America.
Because wherever two or more of us are gathered in her name...America is there.
Here is the secret: We don't live in America. America lives in us.
America is an idea.
The greatest, purest, sweetest, most sublime idea in the history of the world. It lifts man up, it blesses him, it encourage him, it enlightens him, it civilizes him, it opens his heart, it makes him kind and generous and honest and brave and free. It makes him smart and successful and industrious. It makes him innovative and cheerful. It makes him happy, honorable, and honest.
America is an idea.
And it is that idea that is under constant assault in the halls of power, the press room, the classroom, and the screening room.
Who seeks to murder the idea seeks the destruction of America.
What specifically is this idea? It is that man is created with certain inalienable rights, including Life, Liberty, and Property. It is that man has the right to self-government, the right to be left alone, the right to the fruit of his labors, the right to dispose of his property as he sees fit. It is that all men are created equal under God and the law, and that no man can take away these rights, and that the sole duty of government is to protect them. It is that government must be accountable to The People, not the people to the government. It is that ours is to be a nation of laws, not of men, and that no one is above the law. It is that justice is blind. It is that man must be virtuous if he is to be free. It is that human rights come from the creator and cannot be abrogated by men.
The entire goal of the Left is to murder the idea of the goodness and righteousness of freedom, of self-reliance, of independence, of merit, of virtue, of hard work, of honor, of courage, of sacrifice, of loyalty, of morality, of faith, of the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and property.
The Left, in politics, media, education and entertainment, despise the idea that is America. And they are doing everything in their power to promote a replacement "idea" -- one that distorts the language of freedom to promote the serfdom of dependence, twists the meaning of truth to tell lies, seeks to limit freedom, mocks faith, virtue and morality, undermines self-reliance and the independent spirit; one that disdains (or punishes) hard work, laughs at frugality, and sneers at sacrifice; one that approves of murdering new life, regulating liberty, confiscating property, and seizing the fruit of our labors. One that denies the Creator and those annoying and inconvenient inalienable rights.
They seek to replace a divinity with a corpse.
Since America is the idea, plotting the overthrow of the idea is plotting the overthrow of America.
They may love their jobs, their plot of land, their privileges, their personal wealth, their property, their family, their friends, their clubs, and their cars. They may love California wine and Maine lobster and Southern Fried Chicken, Texas barbeque, and Boston baked beans. They may love museums, and lighthouses, and beaches and palm trees and big salty lakes, and waterfalls and huge canyons, and redwoods and geysers and cowboys and Indians. They may love football, and Santa Claus, and Martin Luther King Day. They may love fireworks, and Hollywood, and Harvard. But they don't love America.
They have already killed her in their own hearts. And they are trying to kill her in ours and our children's with their unconstitutional laws, their biased reporting, their false history, their immoral and undermining "art."
They seek nothing less than the death of the American idea, which is far worse than the conquest of territory. They mercilessly and tirelessly work toward the destruction of the American soul.
Ms. Negro is Founder & Director of MyLiberty, the Tea Party Patriots of San Mateo County, California.
