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Why I Stand
What we are seeing on across the country isn’t a search for justice. It’s lunacy. It is anarchy. I’ve written on several occasions about the fictions upon which so much of the current protests and riots depend — fictions that have been easily repeatedly disproved. The response has been silence, honest dialogue now being considered heresy, and virtue having left town sometime back. Since there’s no use in applying reason, I’ll refrain from any further attempt and instead place some markers here for future reference. These are the beliefs upon which I stand and will not yield:
I am an American Veteran. I kneel before my Lord. I stand for the flag. I stand and salute during the National Anthem. Why? Because I know the price that’s been paid, I remember in reverence those who fought and died to preserve liberty and will in no way disrespect the flag under which they fought. I stand for the flag under which I, my father and my grandfathers served. And I will not be bullied into doing otherwise.
I believe that those who kneel for the flag and the anthem have the right to do so, a right secured for them by those who stood and fought. I am under no obligation to patronize those who kneel, nor to think highly of them.
I believe that the condition of mankind is one of inherent imperfection, and that this condition cannot be remedied by the utopian dictates of other men who are no less imperfect just because they happen to hold public office.
Likewise, I reject the idea that our forebears fought and bled during the American Revolution in order to secure the blessings of mob rule, groupthink, or anarchy.
I am an independent-minded cuss. Deal with it.
I believe in the right to self-defense. The defense of my family and home is inviolate and I will act accordingly.
I believe the Good Book’s admonishment to turn the other cheek, …but when both cheeks are bloody, there’s going to be trouble.
I believe that the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are not favors bestowed by imperfect mortals in government and are therefore not the prerogative of government to take away.
I believe that the Constitution is a dead document, not a living one; that it is a contract between citizens and their government and that it has a fixed meaning that is no more changing than the terms of your mortgage contract.
I believe that any perceived “right” which makes demands on the time, property, or freedom of another person is not a right at all, and that legitimate rights exist in harmony with one another.
I believe that when you “spread the wealth around,” everyone loses because plunder robs all involved of the incentive to fully realize their God-given potential.
I believe in holding the door open for a lady, greeting everyone with a smile, and genuinely believing in the very best of any person with whom I come into contact unless and until proven otherwise.
I believe that All Black Lives Matter, including those who are even now being annihilated by black assailants, especially including those who die in their mother’s womb, where they should be most safe.
As a practicing Catholic, I believe that all life is sacred, that we are created in God’s image, imbued with immortal souls, and all worthy of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.
I believe that black economist Walter Williams was right when he wrote, “I also agree that slave owners and slave traders should make reparations to those whom they enslaved. The problem, of course, is that slaves, slave owners and slave traders are all dead. Thus, punishing perpetrators and compensating victims is out of the hands of the living.”
I don’t believe in looking for trouble. But if trouble insists on tracking me down and harassing me, I’ll deal with it decisively. And I believe this would be a prudent approach to foreign policy.
I believe that imperfection has plagued our species since the time of Adam and Eve, and America is no more immune to human imperfection than any other nation in history. I also believe, on balance, that America has been the greatest force for good in the history of the world, and that as General Colin Powell observed, the only thing we have requested from those whose countries we defended from tyranny, was enough land to bury our dead.
I believe William F. Buckley Jr., was right when he said, “I mean to live my life an obedient man, but obedient to God, subservient to the wisdom of my ancestors; never to the authority of political truths arrived at yesterday at the voting booth.”
I am an American. I stand for my country without apology.
Published in General
Well said Dave.
I have been sincerely hoping and praying that what we have established in this country will remain. That the forces setting themselves upon Our Republic will not destroy our way of life.
If they do, it won’t take long for many in the ranks of the “peacefulprotesters” to realize they made a mistake.
I believe that in Nov 2016, God intervened in the affairs of our nation, and saw to it that the only person who could possibly turn the tide was selected as President. This man, Donald Trump is most imperfect, and often too set in his ways. It would behoove him to learn how to deal with the processes of long term governing. But on the other hand, the tenacity he demonstrates, his loyalty to the nation stand all of us in good stead.
Like you Dave, I try to make it a habit to be believing in the very best inside anyone and everyone with whom I come into contact. But lately, I am wishing that the other people did not make this lifelong habit so damn hard to uphold.
Mr. Carter, much as I sympathize and agree with your sentiments, I implore you to recognize that we can’t vote our way out of our dilemma. Much as I revere our Constitution, I recognize that we no live under its rule. As Victor Davis Hanson has observed, we live in a state of anarcho-tyranny.
The institutions of the republic are infested with muticulturalism, political correctness, and self-hatred. We are witness to the submission of corporate and political leadership to absurd and self-destructive ideas and behaviors.
Failure to recognize these underlying problems make the rest irrelevant.
Dave, good post. I have a response to a small part.
I agree that those who kneel have a right to do so. I think that you are too easy on them. I think that we should consider them despicable anti-Americans.
I hold out the possibility that some (many, most?) are “useful idiots” not anti-America. They are unable to see what their “acts of contrition” actually promote.
Well said.
I don’t really care about their motives. Taking a knee, like burning the flag, is an act of extreme disrespect to everything that our country stands for.
I think that it is perfectly fair to consider anyone doing so to be a despicable anti-American. There is room for repentance, once they realize that they were wrong.
You have again expressed clearly and simply complex feeling I could not put into words. You’re a good man Dave Carter.
Another outstanding post Dave.
Q. Do you agree with Trump that flag burning should be illegal?
Thank you, brother! Sometimes it’s best to let the heart speak, yes?
Dave, thank you so much! On flag burning, …put it this way: If a legal carve-out were made to make burning the flag illegal, I could live with it. If I’m not mistaken, and I’m not able to check at the moment, …I think the courts have ruled it protected speech. I’m infuriated when I see it, and I want to engage in serious kinetic mentoring with anyone who burns our flag. But I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s observation that the Constitution protects the right of people to make asses of themselves, and I take the act of burning the flag as the ultimate act of asininity. I’m reminded of the sacrifice of my my brothers and sisters in arms that enables these idiotic ingrates to do this without getting their ass kicked. Now, if kicking said ass were protected speech as well, we’d have balance. Absent that, I can live with it being illegal, but if it’s not, I can see the reasoning behind it.
It can be legal as long as this is:
Security was there to see them off? In part. Mainly they were there to keep Tommy Lasorda from breaking them both over his knee.
Best play the Cubs made all season.
Exactly!
In two minds myself. Of course 1A protects people to have the right of free speech, if even that we find mortifying. I’m not a constitutional lawyer but I don’t think Trump can just carve out an exception to our first amendment. But then we just saw Roberts kabuki gender classification so I guess anything is open for interpretation.
A double-edged sword, that. I was hoping we wouldn’t have another Kennedy on the Court.
And losing this election is losing the last real election and rapidly going on Venezuela’s path with no where for any to flee.