This website was started as a renewal of the covenant that was made in our Declaration of Independence to mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor for the support of that independence. After years of uncertainty in the wake of the Revolutionary War against the British, our Founding Fathers designed the Constitution as a pragmatic blueprint for the integration of the principles stated in the Declaration of Independence into an effective system of governance. Thus, the renewal of the Declaration’s covenant is also a call to follow the Constitution’s blueprint.
Initially, the focus of this website’s pledge renewal was declaring independence from President Obama and his cronies in the 2012 presidential election. It was a call to deny Barack Obama a second term due to his disrespect for our Constitution. Of course, Mitt Romney lost the election, and so President Obama remains in office, and the initial purpose of the website did not succeed.
In the wake of such disappointment and with the rhythms of daily life, it was easy to leave the website behind. To someone as opposed to President Obama’s attacks on our liberties as I, the election was and still is a hard pill to swallow. It is most difficult to accept because of the disconnect displayed by the majority of Americans from the basic freedoms to which they are entitled. People simply do not comprehend the dangers to their liberties that are presented by unshackled government. They do not understand that government instead is inclined to put the shackles on them such that their freedoms to live their own lives and pursue their own happinesses are jeopardized.
My disappointment has turned to determination, however, given the chaos that Obama and his fellow socialists are wreaking on the world. I simply cannot stand to sit quietly any longer. Issues keep getting worse. Things such as the IRS, AP, FCC, NSA, Benghazi, Syria, Ukraine, and Obamacare underline why I cannot abandon my efforts. Those issues are perfect examples of the dangers of big, unaccountable, and corrupt government. Those issues illustrate how the necessity of restraining government transcends one politician or group of politicians. They show that we must reimpose on government the constitutional restraints on its power so that our basic human rights might be secured. Government is a beast that must be yoked to serve the will of its masters…us!
However, while President Obama is the most current manifestation of the evils of big government in our American experience, these evils are and always have been much broader and deeper than him or any other individual. Big government produces evil in and of itself, regardless of political leader or structure. Big government is the problem that threatens our nation more than any other, save for the rot in our society that is the root of its growth.
Therefore, this website is about more than just one politician or one election. The website is about Americans declaring once again that each of us is a free individual in a society of mutual benefit. It is about each of us upholding the precepts outlined in our Constitution to protect the freedoms of one another. It is about us holding each and every politician in office currently or in the future to those principles. It is about keeping our government accountable for protecting our civil rights as it is sworn to do by the Constitution.
Doing this requires applying our Constitutional principles to everyone equally, regardless of political party, regardless of economic class, regardless of race, regardless of religion, and regardless of any other unique characteristics that might distinguish us as individuals. This requires that blunt things be said. Many times the bluntness will seem harsh. I will attempt to keep a civil tone and avoid name-calling. However, many times the facts will justify those names, and so the facts will be stated. In those cases, the names will be accurate representations, not mere angry exclamations. If I fail to apply a fair standard, please feel free to call me on it.
Equal standards should apply to all, regardless of our varying opinions. We will only survive as a nation if we agree to support and uphold the liberties of every single person with whom we disagree. Our Declaration of Independence ended with its signers upholding its principles by stating “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” It is time for defenders of liberty to stand once again. We must never sit down.
My name is Eric Richards, a citizen of the United States of America, alike any other citizen in rights and responsibilities, and I pledge my life, my fortune, and my sacred honor for the support of your liberty. Do you pledge to support mine? Your neighbors’? Your children’s? Your very own? I hope that you do, for your sake and mine and for all those about whom you care.
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