I was raised with several religious influences in my youth.  I particularly liked 'Christian Science.' A definition of science: Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organizes knowledge through testable explanations about the natural world and society.

Christian Science could be compared to a systematic discipline that builds and organizes knowledge through testimony of its practitioners about the metaphysical world and the Bible, particularly as demonstrated by Christ Jesus.  What physical science is to physics, Christian Science is to metaphysics, and the acknowledgement of Divine Intelligence behind the Creation.😁 

I like it!  Our 'natural rights' are inherent and a faculty of birth.  How can we come to know 'who we are' without the liberty to do so?

Yes, that is my experience, too.  This was my experience with going to church and school.  I would ask myself, "Does God want to hear the same old things over and over just being repeated without any individual spark?"  Can we not be 'real'? 

😎 Yeah, freedom and democracy actually don't mix... And that's one of government's best kept secrets!

Or like the leftist trick of accusing the other side of what they in fact are doing?

Yes, for the most part.  I agree with Mike.  A republican form of government is a government of laws, not of men.  The representatives have no more power than that of the common people that elected them, and specifically, no more power than what is enumerated in the Constitutions.

Excellent point, Mike!  Love it. 👏

This didn't happen overnight.  It has been a long haul since at least the 60's when the Ivy League schools that were founded as seminaries became hotspots for secular progressive liberalism.  Yale is but a shadow of its former self, and has become a bastion of Marxist thought.  

The politicization of college education is primarily fueled by government grants and guaranteed loans which have compounded the expense of education beyond any possible return in value to the students except for indoctrinating them with leftist ideals.

Another often overlooked fact, is that with a fiat money system enthroned by the FDR progressives, all the money in circulation is 'minted' by 'borrowing' it — i.e. credit/debt.  Student loans make up a considerable percentage of the money in circulation, along with mortgage debt, credit card debt, auto debt and good ol' government debt.  This has been another banker's trick to expanding the money supply without an equal backing of labor/capital in return, thus more inflation.

Ever-expanding unpayable debt is the master plan of the socialists/communists (it's a founding plank).  Which is also why not one college kid in a million knows anything about it!

It's true, but unfortunately, there are no places to exile oneself to — all are worse than the USA.  We must fight to regain our freedom here.  The virus called democratic-socialism is a scourge on the planet, and the illness only gets worse if not eradicated completely.  The only defense is abstinence of such mental retardation that takes root in the mind.  Don't be conned! 

It's really not complicated.  Let's make a distinction between 'laws' and 'rules.'  The 'law' is immutable (like the law of gravity), it is preexisting and forever.  Rules are what have been determined the best way to act within the boundaries of the law, so as to avoid the inevitable price of 'breaking' the law. 

Simply, 'the law' can be summed up as 'As you sow, so shall you reap.'  Thus the Golden Rule: 'Do unto others as you would have done unto you.' Why? Because of the Law.

When we don't clearly understand the difference between law and statute (i.e. legislation), the State becomes transformed into a god meting out judgement. 

The Common Law is more than enough to adjudicate disputes over violations of rights.  Commercial law is a set of rules for regulating commerce particularly for agreements made for commercial purposes and for regulating commercial use of the public commonwealth.  

These two jurisdictions should remain clearly distinct to prevent the common man from becoming beholden to all rules of commercial law and thus subject to its regulation. 

For the Common Man, no one may subject him to regulation, only to hold him accountable for his actions and any violation of another's rights.

When my children were growing up, I would remind them that they are only as good as their word, and if their word means nothing, then they have nothing.  Don't become good at lying, otherwise that will become what you are most skilled at doing.  Self-respect is paramount — retain your honor, no matter the cost.

I get it.  We should remember that the People were never expected to 'trust' their representatives — that's why 'checks and balances' were implemented because power can corrupt. 
The Constitution, and the Bill of Rights particularly, were written to limit government power which history provides plenty of examples of abuse by 'well-meaning' rulers.  We should never trust our elected, but 'chain' them to the Constitution.

If only 'democracy' was understood for what it is: mob rule.

In the USA, only land holders (via their land patents) were considered to be electors for Governor and President for the very reason that they understood the danger of allowing those with no stake to vote away the property of those that do.  If tenants can vote away the property of their landlords, it only becomes a matter of time before they do. 

Remember that even communist countries consider themselves 'democracies' — just don't dare to not vote for 'The Party.'

Honesty is not a matter of perception — the truth is the truth, whether it is perceived correctly or not.  My experience differs from Waffler's, the closer I have gotten to the boss, the more evident the 'act' the boss is putting on to keep the position becomes. Since 'perception is reality,' the goal is to keep up the act. 

Particularly true for politicians for whom bending the truth is the primary way to get elected — deception and mass psychology becomes clearer the closer one gets to those that practice it.  Authenticity rarely survives populist appeal.  Politicians get elected by making promises they know they can't keep — promise the world, it doesn't matter because once elected, there is no firing for breach of contract.  Power attracts the dishonest because lying pays very well.

The truth has always been the enemy of power.

The US Constitution never 'legalized' slavery.  The Constitution was established as a rule book for the government, not as law for the people.  I'm not sure the Constitution abolished slavery either.  The amendments that followed emancipation took on a different tone than previous amendments, more reflecting a statist tone in which the meaning of the Constitution shifted as a rule book for government and more a rule book for the States.

Fifteen years later, the Occupy movement proved to be nothing more than political theater that only resulted in solidifying Wall Street's power, not diminishing it.  All the while the unlawful fiat money system and making nothing but gold and silver the lawful medium of exchange is completely ignored. The next crash is inevitable.

Huh? Socialists don't support force as a method of change?(!!) I think you are confusing socialists with republicans.  Statism by its very premise is 'force' by the state of the individuals it treats as 'subjects.'

As a truth-seeker, I have found that as long as there is a commitment to answer honestly, the question is the seed and the answer the fruit.  And with AI, the clearer the question, the clearer the answer.  Devil's advocates merely ask questions to distract from the truth — they don't care about an answer, only to sow doubt and hesitation.

It is the result of seeking Power rather than Truth.

While the USA is not a Christian theocracy (thank God), the framers and signers of the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution were all Christians — signed "in the year of our Lord."  Oaths of office were sworn over the Bible. Prayers open every session of Congress. 

The 'way' of Christ is still the ideal of 'civilization' because a free people must still govern themselves in accordance with 'the Law' — otherwise, the republican ideal cannot stand. 

I suppose atheists prefer to be ruled (and to rule ultimately), and to keep even the faithful as far away as they can from acknowledging the Creator and his idea for man.  Pitifully ungrateful and ignorant if you ask me...

I can relate.  Love conquers all.

There is no greater wasteful spender than Congress — remember, they can do nothing without paying private interests to deliver, whatever it is.  The issue is that if American government was run like a for-profit business with proof of delivering the results promised at the price quoted, 90% of what is spent today would not be necessary. Most of the social ills addressed by social programs are in fact caused by other social programs. 

Lying is still the most effectual way to gain power — it's the number one racket in the world.  Our politicians lie, our so-called money is a lie, social security is a lie, our media lies, lawyers and judges are lying — the whole thing comes crashing down once the Truth is made known, that is why truth is always crucified. 

But lies are unreal, and the truth is the truth is the truth eternally and forever and can never be destroyed for it stands on its own without effort.  It is no surprise that the spiritual disciplines of the world hold 'Truth' as the ultimate foundation of the world, and everything built upon lies lives on borrowed time — the taller that tower is built on a foundation of sand, the greater the crash will be.  Buckle up!

Hear, hear, Logan!

It's not a bug, it's a feature. 

To conquer a nation, the masses must be impoverished in every way.  Americans are the most protected from such destruction than any other nation, which is why only through their ignorance have they managed to dig themselves into a hole so deep, starvation and civil war are likely the only way out.