Misquoting the Founding Fathers

 These are excerpts from a column by Sally Kohn, that appeared in the Christian Science Monitor on October 8, 2010: “Fox News television host Glenn Beck says the idea of “collective salvation” – that our fates are linked – is “dangerous to the Constitutional republic.” He argues that related notions of social justice, redistribution, and ending oppression are fundamentally anti-American, communist creeds. American’s Founding Fathers would disagree. They embraced collective redemption and the protection of the common good.  Within this context, the Founding Fathers saw the importance of ensuring a level playing field within the new republic – that the common good of equality could never be achieved by people on unequal footing.”

Beck is also credited with saying that we should “run away as fast as we can from any church that preaches social justice”.  The way I understand Christian theology, social justice is a core principle.

Beck’s arguments can only be described as self-serving and ugly.  They depend on an uninformed audience.  And they are the lowest form of pandering.  Yet somehow he continues to rake in millions a year by tearing the fabric of our society apart.  Why is this so?

Well, it can only mean one thing; he tells a portion of the American people what they want to hear.  And that fact is scarier than Beck.  He has called our president a racist and a socialist.  He has claimed that almost anything this administration does is conforming to a socialist agenda.  He depends on the ignorance of the masses by using trigger words that have such blinding emotional power that people forget to think.  And he cries regularly!

This is the “United” States of America.  It is not structured into “real” Americans and others.  We are not individuals alone on the frontier.  We are not competitors with each other.  Collectively, we are competitors in a global economy that is eating our lunch while we suffer from political gridlock.  We have the means and the strength to prevail.  We don’t seem to have the vision and leadership.

So while Beck destroys our public discourse, and makes $3o million a year, our economy lies in ruins.  While Beck misquotes the founding fathers, jobs disappear faster than snow in April.  While Beck distorts American principles for personal gain, our schools turn out students that can’t read or write, let alone do the math and science that will take us into the 21^st century. 

Ms. Kohn starts her column with this quote:  “Conservative punditry paints issues of social justice as Obama-led, communist agendas. But America's Founding Fathers made wise provisions for "the common good" and "general welfare." We need to abandon partisan battles and start working more as the United States.”

I want to add a quote that I saw somewhere.  I can’t give it proper attribution but I think it speaks to this issue:  “I am because we are”.  We are only individuals from the strength of the many.  But there I go again sounding like a socialist sympathizer.  Unfortunately, for those who are quick to call anyone and everyone a socialist and who don’t know squat about American history, our country was founded on principles that called for the common good.  From the same article mentioned above:  “John Adams wrote, “Government is instituted for the common good; for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people; and not for profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men.”  In case you don’t remember John Adams was one of our founding fathers, who are misquoted so often.

Robert DeFilippis