When we lose Religious Liberty we lose all our Freedoms

As the merry-go-round of scandals continues in Washington, the events of the world outside of our country indicate unrest and trouble in many countries.  There is much unrest in England, Turkey, and Iran. Finding a clear understanding of what is taking place is hard. Should we take the space to list the places where there is growing distrust of governing powers and rebellion against authority all we would have space for is to include a list of the nations. The growing distrust in our country is almost to the point of alarm. Surveys of the mood of citizens in our country let us know there is much concern about our freedoms and with every new revelation of what we have come to know as the government spying on the citizens, there is increased concern growing as to how trust can be restored and what it will take to bring our nation to a point of unity. There are people who want to define every point of concern as if it is rooted in racial feelings. Other people like to paint every question from one side or the other as if it is only political and is rooted in ideological differences. It is true that we can see a great divide taking place in our world and especially in our nation as we seek to move forward as a country. Surveys continue to reveal there is little trust in the national media to be able to produce a newscast that will reveal facts without commentary one way or the other to make the story being presented in a good or bad light. 

Being a freedom of speech and freedom of the press advocate, I watch with interest those who seek to control both in our time. Stories in the media continue to report the way some in positions of power in the government abuse that power by overreaching and then cover up their actions only to pretend they know nothing when they are questioned by members of Congress in a congressional hearing. This type behavior is enough to continue the impression that power abusers are out of control and they are picking off our freedoms one at the time. To be able to govern from a position of trust, the government leaders must have the trust of those being governed.

As I speak across our state in various events, the question and answer time has increasingly become tense. People are expressing their frustration and wanting to know someone is listening to them and their concerns about loss of freedom. The frustration of elected officials is being seen as a number of them are choosing not to seek reelection because of what they see as the gridlock in being able to have questions answered correctly and to reach solutions to the issues. There is a group of citizens who are sure that the answer is to throw out of office any and all who are serving now. Others want to target certain legislators to have them voted out of office and replaced with those who promise they will address the issues and reach solutions to the malaise that is keeping anything from being done in Washington. There seems to be no real answer or real long term solution to the mess we have today.

One of the recurring questions I am asked in these various venues is: “What do you see as the greatest threat in our nation?” With a follow up question stated thusly: “What do you see as the freedom that is most likely to be abolished in our nation?” My answer to both questions is the same. I believe the greatest threat, and freedom we are most likely to see abolished in our nation is religious liberty. As we study history and see the way other nations have been taken over from inside or out, one of the first freedoms lost is the freedom to choose ones religion and to be able to assemble with others of that faith to worship as personal convictions so dictate. Once the freedom of religion is lost, the other freedoms fall quickly.  There is no government that should be allowed to control the personal decision making of the citizens to force them to worship as the government leaders determine. Religious Liberty must be cherished and kept alive.

Ray Newman