DiAnA M.’s Post

I live in the United States. I am a citizen of the United States of America. The flag I fly is the red, white, and blue. Here is what I’ve learned and I am still learning: I can believe in human rights and still be a USA citizen flying the flag of the country I’m happy to be living in. A democratic republic knows I won’t always agree with every policy but I enjoy the freedoms it stands for. As I watch what is happening across our great country I’m reminded of these freedoms. Freedom of speech. Freedom to peacefully assemble. Freedom to bear arms. Freedom to protest. Freedom. Yes, the USA is not perfect but what country is. Yes, we pass laws I don’t agree with. Yes, I don’t agree with every elected official. But, I do think our system of government is a check and balance. I will not allow media to manipulate my thinking. I will not allow politicians with an agenda make me forget the principles our founding fathers espoused: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." -Preamble of the Constitution, 1776. I encourage my friends, colleagues, leaders, family, and friends to read our constitution. Remove the filter of media. Remove the filter of political party. Remove the filter of religion. Seek to understand. Seek to listen. When we remove the noise, study, listen, and understand we truly recognize what it means to live in the greatest country, the United States of America, and the freedoms it allows. #proudtobeanamerican

Inalienable Duty? The Virginia assembly passed the Virginia Declaration of Rights on June 12, 1776, which provided in Section 3 as follows: "That government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people.... And that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes. A MAJORITY of the community hath an indubitable, inalienable, and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish it, in such manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal." (Annals of America, 2:432; emphasis added.) So, granted that the people are sovereign and the majority of them can take over whenever necessary to restructure the political machinery and restore liberty, what is likely to be the best form of government which will preserve liberty? The answer to this question was a favorite theme of the American nation-builders. A republic not a democracy.

https://lnkd.in/gxSHp9YV The forces tearing apart our democracy have never been more frightening or powerful, but who is actually behind them? Bad Faith reveals how Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into battles between good and evil, as they seek to upend the Constitution and impose their version of Biblical law on all Americans. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, the movement has succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening our democracy. 

As the United States approaches the presidential election on November 5th, the historical shadows of the Civil War loom large, creating an eerie resemblance that prompts reflection on the tumultuous times in which we live. The Civil War, a defining moment in American history, was not merely a battle between the North and South; it was a conflict rooted in profound ideological differences regarding liberty, governance, and the future of the nation. Today, as political divisions deepen, it is essential to examine the role Republicans played during the Civil War and how that role has dramatically evolved, reshaping the party’s identity and its relationship with the American populace. https://lnkd.in/gYr2XnGb

Today at 6pm, our annual Gray's Inn Reading: Watch via: https://lnkd.in/eMnAJhSs Lord Falconer asks, Considering the last decade, has the UK Constitution worked or does it need reform? Does it provide too much freedom for those that wish to abuse it? Or does it, perhaps in contrast to that of the United States and many other nation states, provide relative freedom to remove unsuitable political and civil service leaders without relative domestic political trauma?

The Emancipation Proclamation, or Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln effective January 1, 1863. It changed the legal status under federal law of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the Confederate states from slave to free. As soon as a slave escaped the control of the Confederate government, either by running away across Union lines or through the advance of federal troops, the slave was permanently free. The Union victory brought the proclamation into effect in all of the former Confederacy. The remaining slaves, those in the areas not in revolt, were freed by state action, or by the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, ratified in December 1865. The proclamation was directed to all of the areas in rebellion and all segments of the executive branch (including the Army and Navy) of the US. It proclaimed the freedom of all slaves in the ten states in rebellion. Even though it excluded areas, not in rebellion, including the border slave states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, it still applied to more than 3.5 million of the 4 million slaves in the country. The Proclamation applied only to slaves in Confederate-held lands; it did not apply to those in the four slave states that were not in rebellion, nor to Tennessee and lower Louisiana, and specifically excluded those counties of Virginia soon to form the state of West Virginia. Specifically excluded were some regions already controlled by the Union army. Emancipation in those places would come after separate state actions or the December 1865 ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which made slavery and indentured servitude, except for those duly convicted of a crime, illegal everywhere subject to US jurisdiction. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

#PrayForOurCountry If you are a citizen or permanent resident alien of the USA, and if you are a praying person, please pray for our Constitutional Republic, known as the United States of America, to return to respecting our foundational governing document, the US Constitution. The US Constitution was not created as a perfect document, but it was a very good start by imperfect men more than two centuries ago, with a built-in means of changing it as needed. The document is founded on an assumption that all three "separate but equal" branches of what we now call our "Federal Government" would honor and respect their branch's scope of authority, and the scope and authority of the other two branches. In my view, this respect for other branches has eroded a great deal over the past century, and such rapid erosion is impacting our businesses and our daily lives. Please pray for return to civility and respect between the branches. Failure to return to civility and respect for Constitutional law and the specific role played by each branch may lead to the end of the USA as we know it, so please pray often for our Constitutional Republic.

https://lnkd.in/eWNDtQ6e The forces tearing apart our democracy have never been more frightening or powerful, but who is actually behind them? Bad Faith reveals how pseudo-Christian Nationalist leaders have spread fear and anger for decades, distorting political issues into battles between good and evil, as they seek to upend the Constitution and impose their toxic version of pseudo-Biblical law on all Americans. Financed through the secretive Council for National Policy, the movement has succeeded in taking over the Republican Party, turning it into a powerful weapon to demolish democracy from within. Discover the origins of this organized grasp for power and the grassroots coalition of secular and interfaith leaders bravely confronting the unholy forces threatening our democracy.

"We the People of the United States." Us, all of us. Not a favored group. The laws and civil requirements apply to us all. We serve no king or prince; our leaders serve we the people. "In order to form a more perfect union." Our government is not perfect however, compared to other countries or kingdoms is closer to perfect than any other place. Remember in 1787 the constitution was a groundbreaking document. Revolutionary in word and intent. "Establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense." This is why I stated that this writing was revolutionary, as the constitution guarantees justice for all, rare in 1787. To insure or guarantee that our citizens live in peace with no fear from others or the government. The constitution pledged to raise a professional army to defend its citizens from invasion from foreign powers. "And secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." To make safe the right of freedom and liberty, and freedom not only to those alive today, but also to our children. "Do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." We officially order and set up permanently this set of rights and rules to insure these guarantees to all the citizens of this blessed country. May it ever live. This is for my fourth grade Social studies class for Constitution Day tomorrow. I think in light of all the craziness these days this may be worth a look by all the adults as well.