Eternalism Politics Slide Notes: Module 08

ETERNALISM POLITICS SLIDE NOTES: MODULE_08

SLIDE NOTES

1 In this module we discuss an overview of political conflict that has been brewing in America for many decades.

2 A HOUSE DIVIDED America today is a house divided between the "Progressives" on the "Left" and the "Tea Party Right" Anim1: The term "A House Divided" comes from Christ pointing out contradictions to the Pharisees (Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:25). The logic is that contradictions (mixed premises) cannot last. Anim2: Quote Abraham Lincoln * Lincoln famously used the phrase in his "House Divided Speech" in 1858 when he described that the issue of slavery was so divisive that the United States could not keep going with such "mixed premises". Anim3: The issue of slavery ultimately was resolved through armed conflict. America today is divided again in a heated political conflict over what constitutes the proper role of government.

3 A HOUSE DIVIDED *The crisis of today is over the question: What is the proper role of government? Anim1: Both sides agree the purpose of government is to establish justice. Anim2: The problem is there are two opposing theories of justice fighting to be implemented. Anim3: Both sides stand on principle, determined to hold their ground.

4 A HOUSE DIVIDED Today we risk the danger of civil unrest and conflict over two ideal principles: Anim1: Social Justice vs Natural Rights * The current conflict is between the Social Good and the Natural Right theories of Justice (between Socialists and Naturalists). * The left's siren call for social justice appeals to our Latter-day Saint benevolent ideals of brotherly love. * The right's conservative cries for justice by securing individual rights, appeals to our Latter-day Saint ideals of Natural Rights. * In an earlier module, we showed how the Restored Gospel satisfies both ideals.

Anim2: How did America again become a house divided?

5 HOUSE DIVIDED TIMELINE The timeline of becoming a house divided starts with…

FOUNDER'S TIMELINE Anim1: The "Founder's Era" occurred from 1776 to approximately 1900… Anim2: During this timeline, the governing political principle was Liberty Anim3: With an originalist interpretation of the Constitution, this meant limited government with enumerated powers. * The primacy issue is individual "Natural Rights" having primacy over the authority of the State, implemented through a Constitutional Republic. * The proper role of government was to "Secure Natural Rights".

PROGRESSIVE TIMELINE Anim4: The shift to progressivism over time could be considered as a gradual spectrum. * But we can roughly divide our history into two parts… The first ~100 years representing the Founder's era, and the last ~100 years representing the progressive era. * As many American's were returning from being educated in Europe, they brought back with them the political history and philosophy associated with the traditions of Equality being the governing principle. Anim5: America then entered into what is called the "Progressive Era" Anim6: With a "progressive" interpretation of the constitution, this meant unlimited government, operating through implied constitutional powers.

©ChristianEternalism.org ETERNALISM POLITICS SLIDE NOTES: MODULE_08

* The primacy issue is the authority of the State having primacy over individuals, implemented through collectivism and socialism. * The proper role of government under progressivism is to "Impose Social Justice".

Anim7: This leaves us today in our present "house divided" situation…with an ongoing conflict between those adhering to an "Originalist Constitution", against those adhering to a "Progressive Constitution".

6 PHYSICAL MAP OF PROPERTY CONTROL Q: What does a house divided look like out in the real world? Analyze the historical map of our nation.

Anim1: Map * On the timeline of our Nation, as each State progressively joined the Union over time, the % of Federally controlled Lands shows this shift to Collective Statism. * Today, the United States government owns approximately 47 percent of all land in the West.

Anim2: Founders Era * For the individual states entering the union from the Founders Era (1776 to approximately 1900)… The land is mostly under private ownership, * The political philosophy of the proper role of government at the time of their statehood was to secure natural rights (including property rights).

Anim3: Progressive Era * As additional states were added in the westward expansion during the Progressive Era, the land became increasingly more and more under Federal Government ownership. * The political philosophy of the proper role of government during this time was to impose social justice, through socialism and collectivist control of property.

7 What was once a fixed Constitutional structure with specific enumerated powers, protecting individual rights, has become…

8 POST-CONSTITUTIONAL ERA A "post-constitutional era"…

THE CRUSH Anim1: With freedom collapsing under the weight of a modern "Administrative State" Anim2: What was once "We The People" used to mean each individual citizen and their rights… Anim3: Has now came to mean the "Soft Tyranny" of Special Interest groups… Anim4: "Identity Politics" where people identify as part of opposing ethnic groups, pile on to vote and skew legislation to pick winners and losers according to group identity.

THE BUREACRACY Anim5: As the unelected bureaucracy sprawls, nobody can say with complete authority exactly how many federal agencies even exist. Anim6: Best guesses estimate hundreds of Federal Agencies. Anim7: The last official count of Federal employees (not including the military) from the "Office of Personnel Management" was at 2.7 Million. Anim8: Many of these agencies arbitrate claims and hand out benefits to the various competing special interest groups.

9 DEBT * A consequence of Welfare Statism is that it comes with the belief that the government's job is to spend money on programs that benefit the populace, and that debt is no big deal. * Back in 1917 during World War I, the National Debt became a concern to where congress enacted a formal "Debt Sealing" to which they were bound by law to stay below.

©ChristianEternalism.org ETERNALISM POLITICS SLIDE NOTES: MODULE_08

Anim1: Quote Wikipedia.org Q: What was the consequence of this?

Anim2: Quote Brookings Institute * The drunken joyride of national debt just keeps going and going, with congress continually voting to increase the debt limit. * 84 times since 1917…Never once decreased.

Anim3: Quote usgovernmentdebt.us This is a plot of the rise of national debt since 1917

Anim4: Quote The Atlantic.com Entitlement programs and the welfare state are accelerating to where our debt is growing exponentially now. Q: How long can this continue? Q: Who will pay back the debt? Our yet unborn children and grandchildren will inherit an unjust burden.

10 Constitutional Crisis (What is at Stake) At the same time, freedom as we once knew it is constantly under attack. Q: Does anyone know what this is a picture of?

Free Speech Zones * Free speech zones (also known as First Amendment zones, free speech cages, and protest zones) are areas set aside in public places for the purpose of containing political protesting. * Free speech zones have been used at a variety of political gatherings. * The existence of free speech zones is based on court decisions stipulating that the government may reasonably regulate the time, place, and manner – but not content – of expression. Q: If an over-reaching government can constrict any one such right, what is to stop it from similarly reigning in all other rights?

Anim1: Post-Constitutional Era * This is what it looks like when the era of constitutional government has largely ended…This is what is at stake. * Over the last 100 years or so, with the growth in the federal government, the Executive branch has accumulated vast powers… * Over the same period, Congress has not only been legislating beyond its authority but delegating ever more of those powers to the 450 or so executive branch agencies it has created (the exact number is unknown)… * And where have the courts been in all of this? The Supreme Court has failed to provide oversight by developing "deference doctrines" that have enabled the President and Congress to act beyond their Constitutional authority… Q: Practically, what does this mean for us?

Anim2: Quote President Benson

11 HANGING BY A THREAD We have been warned…

Anim1: Quote Christ * Christ justifies us in befriending the Constitution. * Anything more or less than constitutional law "cometh of evil" Anim2: Quote President Benson Anim3: Quote President Benson Anim4: Quote President Benson

Q: What do you think President Benson is warning about? Q: What do you think is destroying it?

©ChristianEternalism.org ETERNALISM POLITICS SLIDE NOTES: MODULE_08

12 Overshooting, Undershooting * Understanding the crisis in our Constitutional Republic requires an "undershooting-overshooting" discussion. * Using our "Overshooting" and Undershooting" model, consider Individual Rights as the target in which we are "justified". * Realize that throughout history, societies have been all over this scale that represents the power of the state.

Anim1: Cometh of Evil Either side of the scale (more or less) is destructive to the constitution and "cometh of evil".

Anim2: Scale * On the scale, constitutional Liberty is justified in "befriending" * This means limited government with specific delineated powers is the target…

Anim3 Too Weak On the "Too Weak" side of the scale we have "No Government" or Anarchy.

Anim4: Libertarianism * On the complete Libertarian (undershoot) side of the scale we have societal breakdown such as war-torn Somalia, or Rwanda which became "the law of the jungle" * Lesser versions of "Too Weak" on the libertarian scale, include tribalism, militants, and the special Interest groups of identity politics. * This comes about because as the people get tired of "anything goes" anarchy, they naturally band together forming militant groups, tribes and factions, where "might makes right".

Anim5: Too Strong On the "Too Strong" side of the scale we have "Unlimited Government" or Dictatorship.

Anim6: Egalitarianism * On the complete Egalitarian (overshoot) side of the scale we have totalitarian governments such as Communist Russia, and Fascist Germany. * Lesser versions of "Too Strong" on the egalitarian scale, include everything associated with the welfare state and the forced redistribution of wealth.

Q: Where does America sit today on the scale? * The progressive movement has over the last century slowly moved our society as a whole to "Welfare Statism". * Generally those seeking the "Tyranny" side of the scale, also employ the tactic of playing both sides of the "cometh of evil" scale. That is, they stir up "Tribalism" with "Identity Politics" then out of the chaos step in and provide tyrannical order. * Identity Politics: "A tendency for people of a particular religion, race, social background, etc., to form exclusive political alliances, moving away from traditional broad-based party politics."

13 SPLIT Q: Where has this left us? * Herein is the political constitutional crisis…Where America has become a house divided.

Anim1: Constitutional Republicanism What was once "Constitutional Republicanism" in the Founders Era, designed to secure individual natural rights…

Anim2: Welfare Statism Has become "Welfare Statism" since the Progressive Era, designed to impose social justice.

Anim3: The Hand of Government * Consider each political philosophy as the hand of government, implementing its policies according to its own political philosophy perspective. * Under the "Right Hand" with a Constitutional Originalist political philosophy, America was established with a limited Government and enumerated powers

©ChristianEternalism.org ETERNALISM POLITICS SLIDE NOTES: MODULE_08

* Under the "Left Hand" with a Statist, social justice political philosophy, America is becoming an unlimited government with all sorts of implied powers.

Anim4: The Glove of Ethics * The moral justification for each political hand (right and left) comes from a lower branch of philosophy. * The primacy issues from Ethics provide the "covering glove" to each political implementation.

Anim5: Duty Ethics The moral justification for the collectivism of social justice comes from the altruism of Duty Ethics. Choosing "Otherism" in ethics, logically leads to collectivist, socialist politics.

Anim6: Value Ethics The moral justification for the individualism of constitutional republicanism comes from Value Ethics. Choosing "Selfulness" in ethics, logically leads to an individualist, natural rights politics.

Understanding how we came to be such a house divided, leads to further discussion in a later module on the Constitutional Protections our Founding Fathers were inspired to put in place.

14 Three Safeguards * Those who can name the three American safeguards of religious freedom, in their appropriate primacy order are those who are best prepared to defend and uphold these safeguards in the face of an ever growing assault on religious freedom.

Anim1: Wedding Cake * Much has been said politically recently, regarding lawsuits over wedding cakes and religious freedom… * So let's picture a 3-tier wedding cake as an easy way to think of these three American safe-guards * The three safeguards in descending order are:

Anim2: The bill of rights: "A written guarantee" Anim3: A Constitutional Republic: "A structural guarantee" Anim4: A Moral Majority: "A foundational guarantee" * Notice that each of these American safeguards of political liberty AND religious freedom represent three distinct kinds of guarantees. * The first: “written guarantee” resting atop the second: “structural guarantee,” and the “structural guarantee” resting atop the third or “foundational guarantee.” * Notice, also, how each guarantee becomes more and more substantial as we move from the top layer on down to the bottom.

We will review each of these 3 guarantees beginning with the “written guarantee.”

15 Written Guarantees * The first of our three American safeguards of political liberty and religious freedom is what constitutional lawyers and scholars refer to as—“a written guarantee.”

Anim1: Statement Anim2: Legal Document Examples * Birth certificates, marriage certificates, mortgage deeds and car titles come immediately to mind. * Even something as mundane as a purchased movie ticket is equally a written document of rights. Q: So What “written guarantee,” can we point to in defense of our religious freedom?

Anim3: Quote The Bill of Rights (1st Amendment) * Comes directly from the first two clauses of the First Amendment. * Constitutional scholars refer to these first two “written guarantees” or clauses as the “establishment clause” and the “free exercise clause.”

16 Frailty of Written Guarantees * As highly valued and magnificent is the Bill of Rights, we must not forget that this “written guarantee” is the most frail and least substantial of the three American safeguards. * Without the other two safeguards in place our Bill of Rights could not stand alone. * If anyone doubts the importance of further “structural guarantees” underlying, and enforcing our “written guarantees,” then as an existential proof try this simple but deadly experiment:

Anim1: Statement Anim2: Statement Anim3: Q: What is missing?

17 Structural Guarantees * What is missing in these terrorist regimes is our second safeguard, a structural guarantee, or what we Americans call a Constitutional Republic. Anim1: Statement Anim2: Founding Fathers * The inspired nature of the Constitution consists in the ingenious way the Constitution was structured. Never before had such “a structural guarantee” been devised. * So important was this “structural guarantee” to the Framers of the Constitution that they put off the “written guarantee” or Bill of Rights until after the Constitution had been ratified. * This Constitutional Republic was no small accomplishment and was an unparalleled achievement well worth our examining.

Anim3: Let's examine a few of the structural highlights. There are actually Two Structural Guarantees setup by the Founding Fathers

18 Structural Guarantees * These two structural guarantees are designed to protect our individual liberties by preventing the centralization of an all-powerful government. * The Framers and Ratifiers of the Constitution knew that no Bill of Rights or “written guarantee” would stand in the way of an all-powerful centralized government. * So they did everything possible to prevent this potential monopoly of governmental powers from falling into the hands of a despotic and ruling class.

Anim1: Federalism Federalism is the dispersing of overall government power vertically with the States balancing our the Federal government.

Anim2: Federal Separation of Powers "Separation of powers" is the dispersing of Federal government power horizontally.

Anim3: Check and Balances * This horizontal dispersion of powers involves checks and Balances on the three branches of government. * The Framers and Ratifiers of the Constitution were so fearful of despotism that they provided for numerous Checks and Balances as additional “structural guarantees” throughout the Federal System. * All these various “structural guarantees” is what makes America a Constitutional Republic. * The addition of a Bill of Rights or “written guarantee” is simply further evidence of the seriousness of the Founders insistence upon safe-guarding our individual rights and liberties.

19 Foundational Guarantees Even with the establishment of a Constitutional Republic the Founders knew that one more indispensable element was needed to truly safe-guard our freedoms.

Anim1: Moral Majority The “foundational guarantee” of a moral majority is the most important of our three American safeguards.

* As Ben Franklin left Independence Hall on the final day of the Constitutional Convention 1787, he was approached by a Philadelphia woman who asked Dr. Franklin: Anim2: Quote Philadelphia Woman Anim3: Quote Ben Franklin * The Founding Fathers were well aware that no “written guarantee” or even “structural guarantee” without a moral or “foundational guarantee” underlying the entire superstructure would ever stand.

Anim4: Quote George Washington Our first ever President in his first inaugural address confirmed that any government policy rests upon private morality of the citizens. Anim5: Quote George Washington He also understood that all our liberties rest ultimately on the state of individual citizens.

Anim6: Quote John Adams * What this means is that our Constitutional Republic and Bill of Rights depend upon the moral character of the American people. * Without a moral majority, no society is governable, not matter how many police you put out to enforce things.

20 Book of Mormon Like our Founding Fathers, the Book of Mormon prophets, left us with both a promise and a warning.

Anim1: Quote 2 Nephi 1:7 * Notice the Conditional Nature of the promise. * The promise is that as long as "We the People" are (1) a virtuous people (2) a vigilant people jealously guarding our liberties (3) a people who continued to revere our standard of liberty (The Constitution) as a divinely inspired document

* However, herein lies the warning: Anim2: Quote Mosiah 29:27 If the time ever came when "We the People" ceased to be: (1) a virtuous people (strike one), (2) ceased to be vigilant (strike two), (3) ceased to revere the Constitution as a divinely inspired document (strike three), then, all would be lost.

* Ultimately then, a virtuous and principled Moral Majority of American citizens is the “foundational guarantee” upon which all our liberties rest — including our freedom of religion. * In fact, the “foundational guarantee” could just as easily have been called “the land of promise guarantee” or the “Book of Mormon guarantee” or even “the Lord’s guarantee,” for it all comes down to the same thing. * If the majority of the American people remain righteous, liberty and prosperity are assured, if, however, the majority of the American people are far more wicked than righteous, then we shall perish. * Those who know this are those who will know how best to defend political liberty and religious freedom in the face of an ever growing tyranny, as the best defense is—“the pure and immutable principles of private morality.”

21 Questions? Disagreements? Rating? Are we aligned on the principles so far?