American Leadeship Conference: Inspiration for North Dakota

America at a Crossroads:  Where do we go from here?

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Carl Swearson leads 11 participants; four second generation & eight old guys & gals in an afternoon of deep thought & fellowship

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Three Fargo families, the Haibara's from Perham Minnesota, and three Grand Forks students (second generation) experienced a meaningful afternoon together.  Carl Swearson, District Director of the American Leadership Conference shared his wisdom.  We were presented with a most important subject for our contemplation.  It was difficult to do the subject justice in that one afternoon.  How should our government and our religions relate?  No one wants one religion imposing  it's ideas and laws on others that hold different views.  For this reason, many think that religion should not be involved in government and excluded from the public square.  Should then an atheistic minority be able to impose a "purely secular government" on all citizens and remove all references to God?

We considered:

• America was uniquely conceived.  It was founded on the idea of "God". We find  God in our founding documents, on coins & bills, in the prayers that open congress every day, on carvings in public buildings across America, etc.
• Secondly, America has been populated by people from all over the world of different religions, with the vast majority believing in God.  Can this foundation and belief in God be a benefit or a problem for America?

The founding principles of America articulate a base for human rights:

• all are "created" equal;
• we are endowed by our creator inalienable rights (unable to be lawfully taken away), given by our creator not by any government;
• we recognize that these are "self-evident" truths, first principles, inherent in nature, established before man had written any scriptures or laws.

We can have a cultural consensus, base on these natural principles that reflect common held ethical standards such as:

• Valuing the family
• Being a good citizen
• living for the sake of others - being unselfish.

The authority in America is "the citizen", and the constitution assumes you are a good citizen.  You are assumed innocent by the law unless proven otherwise.  Religion should fulfill that public purpose of raising that good citizen, and not be walled in privacy.  Those who want to take God out of the public sector and create a wall will cause deeper problems, setting a base for a more purely secular, self-centered people.

The United States present reality is full of abhorrent conditions.

EVERYDAY: 2540 teens become pregnant; 4000 abortions are performed; 25000 sex diseases are transmitted, 89 commit suicide, 7000 dropout of school, 2461 report child abuse; 4931 commit violent crime; 517 sexually assault; 7 million live in jail; etc.

Our nations founders knew that religion had a public role, although some today will try to persuade you to think otherwise. One of the signers of the Declaration of Independence stated that we need religion for virtue and that we need virtue for liberty and freedom.  Free societies need religious citizens for the moralization of politics.

The french philosopher Roseau (in his "Social Contract") said that there are professions of faith that are purely civil, not religious dogmas, that are expressions of conscience, apart from which it is impossible to be a good citizen.  People of different faiths can agree on these expressions of conscience as a natural code or creed for good citizenship.

John Adams, the second president of the United States,  stated that the American Constitution was designed for a moral and religious people.  It is inadequate for any other.  This system will not work if people are not able to regulate themselves.

Citizens must find principles for a "civil religion" (not a formal religion but an ethical code) that contain the main tenants of all the major religious spheres.  These should be spiritual principles & common values of major Faiths:  These spiritual principles should be naturally founded in God.

God should be seen as our spiritual treasure.  Our freedoms & rights come from God.  In God we find the unity of our diverseness.  We have grown from 3 million to 300 million people, our countries area has increase 7 times since its founding. The 20 or so religious groups have expanded to 313 religions and denominations.  Racial minorities have grown to 60 million.

Religious exclusivism and even atheistic exclusivism will exacerbate our problems.  We must therefore be more than tolerant of the faiths of others.  We must see the value of each faith's contribution.  Pluralism is essential to our strength as a nation.  We must focus on our common ground.  We must restore the sense of providence for our nation.  What role can I play, what role can my family play. What is the role my nation is playing.

Here is Ben Franklin's personal creed, expressed to a friend just before he died:

1. There is one God who should be worshipped;
2. God has a plan and purpose (providence);
3. We serve God by serving his family;
4. The human soul is immortal;
5. Our life on earth determines our destiny in next world;

Here are "self-evident" first principles that can become part of our code:

1. Our transcendent source is God. People have a power in them that transcends the physical boundaries.  87 to 92  percent of American's believe in God.
2. Human beings are spiritual and they live forever.  They are the image of God, with unique and eternal natures and value. Our essential spiritual nature and value comes from God, never the government.
3. The highest ideal is living for the sake of others; serve the whole by becoming unselfish, mirror God's constant giving.
4. The purpose of life and the direction of history is to create One Family Under God.  The family is school love. We learn to be like God as we grow in life and raise our families.  We experience the heart of God in our very own heart.  All those problems earlier mentioned are due the to breakdown of the family. The Family is Sacred under all world religions. Marriage then is the seed for the Kingdom of God.  Providential history has been to create God's Family.

We had a great afternoon considering these great truths and discussing these essential questions. In both North Dakota and South Dakota the promotion of gay marriage was brought forth by the audience in the opening words after Carl's talk. Our college age participants (second generation), are labeled bigoted and pressured by their peers when they defend the traditional marriage point of view of the major religions.  The Africans in South Dakota (I attended the SD program the next day) said that America, which was once looked on as righteous, was now viewed by many Africans as evil because of the fact prominent Americans promote gay marriage.  Freedom requires responsibility in love.  We agreed that if we fail in that responsibility, it is probable that we would also loose our freedom.  Our afternoon then was well named as:  America at a Crossroads.

We all felt closer at the end of the day, and glad that we had taken the time to be with one another.

Reported by

John & Keiko Foss

 

Here is the  Audio of Carl Swearson's talk in South Dakota: