What makes a nation great? Is it power? Power just makes a bully. Is it accomplishment? The world is filled with accomplishments that go nowhere. I believe what makes a nation great is the same thing that makes a person great: character and ideals.

In the case of America, the single ideal this country has stood for that makes it great is true liberty, or freedom. True freedom is freedom that is not subject to the whims of man. As defined in our founding document, true freedom is an “inalienable right” that has been endowed by our Creator.

Our founders understood that if freedom were not endowed by our Creator, then it would not be “inalienable,” it would just be another idea that may or may not survive the next election.

And so the idea of true freedom is dependent upon the recognition that this freedom has been endowed by something greater than ourselves, greater than the government.

Yet we now find ourselves at a point where we have abandoned the idea that there is an authority greater than the government. And if the legislature and courts are the ultimate authority, there is no right that may not be taken away by the next legislature or court.

This is exemplified by the dangerous idea that the Constitution is a “living, breathing document” as it was defined by a recent presidential candidate and is so argued by many liberal proponents today.

For if you extend this idea to its logical conclusion, then we are, conceivably, just one election or Supreme Court justice away from a country where Allah must be worshiped, gun ownership is mandatory or women cannot go to school.

Think this is silly? Fifty years ago, who would have thought that God would be forbidden and homosexuality celebrated in our public schools?

We have seen this destructive idea result in many detrimental changes to our society. We can only expect these changes to continue. The direction that we, the people, are headed will result in the elimination of every other vestige of the Creator in public life.

Inevitably the Declaration of Independence itself, the founding document of this country which defined true freedom as being an “inalienable right,” will no longer even be allowed in our schools because it mentions a “Creator.” And, gosh, we sure wouldn’t want to offend anyone, now would we?

As we, the people, have allowed the Creator to be marginalized in this country, it only makes sense that those inalienable rights that were endowed by that Creator, including true freedom, are marginalized as well.

Freedom is no longer an inalienable right and America has ceased to be great.

Pepper Adams
Peachtree City, Ga.

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