Re-Declare Your Independence

Egypt’s Plight Highlights the Challenges Facing American Democracy, Too

By Matt Rooney | The Save Jersey Blog

The military appears to be back in control of Egypt, Save Jerseyans, which means President Mohamed Morsi is just the latest Middle Eastern leader to lose his job by force in recent years.

Our own president isn’t happy about it. Despite the fact that Morsi is a tyrant in his own rightwho has attempted to supplant Egypt’s civil institutions with radical Islamic alternatives, the American Left is absolutely distraught over the deposed anti-Semite’s predicament! ABC News lamented the fact that Egypt’s “first democratically elected leader” is now under house arrest. They’re taking cues from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue; check out Wednesday’s statement from President Obama:

The United States is monitoring the very fluid situation in Egypt, and we believe that ultimately the future of Egypt can only be determined by the Egyptian people. Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today’s developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the Government of Egypt.” [emphasis added]

Don’t act so surprised, folks. Virtually no one prefers military coups to peaceful transitions of power. Our unique American ability to resolve political conflicts with ballots instead of bullets has only only failed once, and that Civil War is 150 years in our rear view mirror. But just because President Obama and his ideological allies line up under the Democrat Party’s banner doesn’t mean they conceive of democracy in the same way as you and I.

Their vision is a lot closer to former President Morsi’s worldview if we’re being honest…

In Obama World, “freedom” means that you get to vote. Period. You don’t have a claim to “unalienable rights” as the first Democrat president, Thomas Jefferson, conceived of them 237 years ago when he drafted the Declaration of Independence. Power flows from the top down in Obama World, not the bottom up, since liberals sincerely (although not always openly) believe we’re all here to serve the government class’s vision for us. Whether you want it or not, and regardless of whether you (or your representatives) had time to read it before the final vote for passage. Real “change,” right? There’s no higher purpose in their universe particularly given the fact that many modern liberals don’t even believe in a deity from whom “unalienable” rights could flow, so everything from property rights to religious liberty can be modified to suit their purposes. And if your rights don’t flow from someone or something outside of the human world, then you can be damn sure that everything is negotiable. They’ll even create new “rights” (like a woman’s right “to choose” the death of her child) in order to solidify the regime’s foothold. Morsi is Egypt’s first “democratically-elected” leader in that sense only.

Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood movement exists for the sole, express purpose of affecting the spread of Islamic law globally. Their plan is to convince/cajole the Islamic world in voting for tyranny. You won’t find anything lauding the virtues of property rights, natural law, or religious pluralism in Morsi campaign literature, folks. It’s not about you. It’s about them and their vision for you. If you’re gay, a woman, disabled, a non-Muslim or simply have a different belief system… tough luck! Allah’s elected agents will prove merciless.

Granted, we won’t have to worry about a coup or caliphate this 4th of July, Save Jerseyans. Just please don’t delude yourself into thinking we’re immune to any of that. You can eat your burgers and watch your fireworks in relative peace, but mark my words: tyranny is tyranny regardless of whether it’s packaged in secular or religious wrapping paper. Re-declare your independence this Independence Day. Dedicate yourselves to working against any politician or political movement that adopts a dim view of your constitutionally-protected liberties. Celebrate what makes us different than a country like Egypt and impart those important distinctions on the next generation at your family barbecue in between courses and lawn games. “Freedom” is meaningless if a majority can vote away your rights for the promise of free stuff every November. Our Founding Father rebelled for a whole hell of a lot less than what we’re putting up with today, and they’d be awfully disappointed if we simply sat still and took it on the chin…