All of you who know me know how much I hate pure political pandering and hollow rhetoric. Nevertheless, during the Republican National Convention here in Tampa, Florida, I’ve sat through countless speeches that ticked off talking points and stayed on carefully scripted messages.
This trend was broken last night, however, by the brilliance of Condoleezza Rice and the conviction of Paul Ryan. Secretary Rice and Representative Ryan articulated a vision of America that was absolutely inspiring, and crystal clear in its construction. They appealed to what unites us as a people, not the petty politics that so often divides us.
The essence of both of their speeches was succinctly stated by Paul Ryan when he said “we believe that our rights come from nature and nature’s God, not government.” That is, at its core, the essence of the American Creed.
As I’ve stated many times on Common Cents, the American Creed is the belief that the rights of man come from God, not government, and as a result, there is no insignificant person who has ever been born. This quintessentially American conviction that the individual matters is the essence of our way of life.
The reason our nation has chosen to limit government is that we want to remove the limits from each individual’s potential. The reason Americans have always enjoyed the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which are incumbent on our humanity, is because we believe that no legitimate government can illegitimately deprive any person of their rights as granted by their Creator, the LORD of life.
As Secretary Rice’s former boss, President George W. Bush, once stated “America has never been united by blood or birth or soil, but by an unfolding American promise that everyone counts, and that no insignificant person has ever been born.” This was the heart of Secretary Rice’s message to the Republican National Convention last evening, and I believe it needs to be the message of the Republican Party from this point forward.
True Republicanism, to be differentiated from the milquetoast platitudes of the establishment crowd, is a set of principles that works for everyone.
True Conservatism is based on the reality of life as the LORD created it, and it upholds the principles of individual dignity and opportunity, as well as personal responsibility and private morality.
If America is to succeed again, if we are to remain the last best hope of man on Earth, then we must unite behind the founding principles of this nation instead of segmenting ourselves into easily identifiable subgroups for pure political purposes.
President Obama and his allies have sought to divide Americans to conquer America – constantly focusing on differences between groups of people in the country, in order to gin up antipathy that can only be assuaged by giving government more power. This is un-American.
Our currency carries the Latin phrase “E. Pluribus Unum,” which means “Out of Many, One.” This is how the American melting pot has worked: people from all over the planet subscribe to one American culture, one American Creed, which is based on the belief that rights come from God, not from government and that, as a result, each individual has dignity, rights and potential.
While the President and his allies seek to deconstruct America to prop up a presidency, the Republican campaign seems focused now on America’s first principles. Our next Vice-President, Representative Paul Ryan, summed this up last night in saying: “we don’t seek to replace America’s founding values, we seek to reapply them.”
That’s the way to restore America’s promise, ladies and gentlemen; that’s the recipe that made America the greatest nation on the face of the Earth and can restore our greatness in the years to come. Let’s get to work building a second American century.
What do you make of all the liberal media’s claims that Ryan’s speech was littered with errors of fact? One thing I see is fear, but is there any way to rebut those accusations?