 |
|
|
|
« Back to Opinion & Analysis
First Things First
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
February 7, 2008
Successful people practice the fundamentals. They set their priorities and take action. This applies to nations as well.
Can the United States remain the "shining city on the hill" to which President Reagan so often referred? To do so, we must practice the basics and fundamentals which will guarantee our success.
Our founding fathers established this great experiment, called the United States, upon enduring principles. They adhered to certain truths which they stated were self-evident and proclaimed them in The Declaration of Independence.
"That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Our founding fathers understood that our rights were not granted to us by the state, the power of man, but were given to us by God Himself because He had created us. For this reason, the state, at that time England, could not alienate or remove these rights. They belong to individuals, not civil governments.
Our founding fathers then explained the purpose of civil government. "That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…"
Civil government has been established to ensure that each of our foundational, God-given rights is protected. The first and foremost right is the right to life. Without life nothing else matters. You cannot have liberty without life and without life there is no happiness. Therefore, the protection of life is the fundamental reason for the existence of civil government, and is the first principle. All actions of civil government must support this principle. This is why many Americans oppose abortion and promote a Human Life Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They see the duty to protect life as the overriding issue before which all other rights and issues pale. Political and economic liberties have no meaning without life.
Life begins in a family, which is a person's first schooling. Here, the child begins his training so he can learn to govern himself. In the family, the child should learn about worship and reverence for God, appropriate behavior, economy, relationships, and the value of hard work. The old adage remains true, "As the twig is bent, so grows the tree."
Civil government must protect the family and the marriage, from which life begins and the family grows. All efforts to undermine the family structure must be opposed. This is why many Americans are against the advocacy of the homosexual lifestyle and its promotion by civil government. This is why Texans passed the Marriage Amendment to the Texas Constitution in 2005. Families are to a nation what cement is to a foundation. Families that practice good government hold our country together.
In this election season, most politicians have made the economy their driving principle.
If we want to maintain a successful nation, then we must promote the life principle and families. Do the first things first and the rest will take care of itself.
About Conservative Republicans of Texas
Steven F. Hotze, M.D. is president of Conservative Republicans of Texas and founder of Hotze Health & Wellness Center in Houston, Texas.
|
|
|
|
|
|
