Congratulations to Brandon Liu, winner of the VFW Award for Darien, Connecticut!
Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”. George Washington said, “The foundation of our national policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality, and the preeminence of free government be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its citizens and command the respect of the world”. Washington wanted America to develop as a role model in a new vision of private morality of, for, and by the people, while Jefferson wanted the government to protect the natural laws he thought were God-given.
A new pandemic called coronavirus rages. This virus is one that was unknown to mankind and resulted in a lockdown that affected millions of jobs, resulting in an economic downturn never seen since the Great Depression. Wearing a mask is now almost ubiquitous, and doctors with contrasting views from the mainstream are being silenced. What is going on?
City centers and outlying areas are being destroyed by violent and criminal riots. The riots are because of a movement that came back into popularity again, called Black Lives Matter, where famous icons, important to American History, are toppled down by participants who believe in utopias with no policemen. They have caused an estimated total of 2 billion dollars of damage, which dwarfs the damages from any other period of rioting in US history. They’ve also reaped hundreds of millions in donations. On October 27th, a man in Philadelphia brandished a knife and ran towards a cop; he happened to be black and he was killed. What did BLM do? Well, they shouted “No Justice, No Peace” and then proceeded to loot CVS, Wal-Mart, and other random stores.
Washington said America was supposed to be the role model for the world. Jefferson wanted Americans to pursue their dreams, and of course they would expect their hard work to meet challenges. But today there are challenges, as I look ahead to adulthood.
When one hears about Black Lives Matter, they would be not surprised to see some of the largest organizations such as the MLB, NBA and Disney donate. Private morality is the conduct of an individual who is free from government interference and other intrusions and is one of the things that Washington spoke of, as being what people must have. Is this something that the participants of BLM work for? No. They disrupt the private affairs of many. They force companies to support them with threats of violence. And what about that donated money? Well, the leaders take the money and give it to the Democratic Party or keep it for themselves, as did the Florida BLM leader (Sir Maejor Page) who was recently arrested for embezzling close to $200,000.
Jefferson spoke that “all men were created equal” and there is a dearth of that idea in BLM. They prioritize African Americans over all races, citing vaguely in their now deleted What we believe page: “We work vigorously for freedom and justice for Black people and, by extension, all people”. Well, if they were to believe all people’s lives matter, then why are they attacking police? The police are people, not a bunch of mindless robots. There are also black people in the police, too. BLM is not a group creating universal treatment of people regardless of race, but a supremacist organization that hides under Marxist slogans to create a new society, one where black people dominate. Furthermore, they frequently disregard their opponents. Many examples abound: would-be BLM protesters breaking into a restaurant and making the customers raise fists for “black power” and threatening violence to those who oppose their ideologies; painting their slogans, destroying statuary; with the aforementioned major corporations’ donations, sports franchises trumpet the cause and continuing their moralistic posturing (and losing fans by the millions as they do so)… these are the wider and more persistent effect.
Thomas Jefferson also said “The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others”. He wants the government to not intrude in such affairs as perceived racism or other thought crimes. With this definition of government, we can see that the BLM motto “White Silence is Violence” and their intimidation and ultimately destructive behavior are a reverse of Jefferson’s idea. By pushing for the Defunding of Police and reallocating those funds to push their worldview’s needed infrastructure (social workers, educators, health experts) we see a push for more social intrusions into our private lives. ALL of our lives.
With all these events that happened in 2020, I foresee a shaky future for the United States. Whoever wins the 2020 election will have to deal with high unemployment, a pandemic that’s still going and these protests. If nothing is done about these issues, then America may end up as a washed-up ex-superpower. If something is done about these issues, then America may still retain their seat for dominance. The year 2021 will see how the elected president would determine most of the foreseeable future for our country.