I like the way that sounds and it resonates with the my beliefs. In the book The Coming Aristocracy I highlighted:
“Without shared values and standards of truth, there is no shared civilization” (O. DeMille, The Coming Aristocracy p. 89).
Where are these values first taught? In the family. To me the family is a vital force in civilization. It is the foundation of civilization. Dr. Roberts spends time talking about the importance of the family very early in this book. I can picture in my head Little House and Little Britches scenes of what families looked like in the past. They worked hard together and gathered around the table or fire together. They understood ownership and hard work. They had home businesses so to speak that they worked at every day. It would be wonderful if our government made it easier to create this environment again. A place where family, family work and family business could thrive without interference from the government. I don’t think you can force this or legislate this.
There are many points in this book that I agree with and several big points that I have concerns with. Those points that I have concerns with revolve around family, education and economy. I might be wrong, but I feel that Dr. Roberts things you can legislate this more with Sabbath Laws and Tax cuts and credits. In the Coming Aristocracy it talks about the difference between Governance and Establishment principles. It seems we turn to Legislative measures (compromise with the power players) instead of focusing on the principles and not compromising those principles. If we are all equal before God and have been all given unalienable rights, we should all be equal before the law. Single people or people without kids should not be punished for their choices. Yes, I believe families are incredibly important to society but why legislate that? I would rather see the 16th and 17th Amendment appealed instead of more legislation to benefit only those with families.
If Communities want to have Sabbath Day laws, then let the town meetings decide that. If families want to practice a Sabbath Day, then no one can stop them from choosing to not spend their time and money at places that don’t honor their beliefs. For those that have work issues, I think it will be hard but possible to work with employers in a way that could benefit both. This allows for each family to keep their personal Sabbath in a way that they believe. I believe that everyone should have a way to practice their beliefs without laws to force one set of beliefs. Yes, we are a Christian based society, however we have enough diversity that it would be unfair to impose Sabbath laws on those that have a different day for Sabbath observance. Besides just because there is a Sabbath Day law, does not mean it will be followed the way the creator of the law intended.
Dr. Roberts moves from Family and Family Practices (Sabbath Observance) to Education. The books title is called “Schools Should Teach Piety”. Intriguing title. What does piety mean? How is this enforced? I am not sure I saw a definition for piety. I did see “parental rights” along with many ideas about what is broken about the education system. And then I saw some words that concerned me: “We want to teach our students the right things to love (p. 90). Who decides the right things? Is that not what is happening now? There is a government group in power that has decided what they believe is the “right things to love”. How is that different from what? Seems like it is still a force-based system to me. I am not sure how piety fits in there. I love the idea of having classics in the education models. But who decides the classics? Which classics? Why? I will hold out for the hope that parents will have more rights in the educational systems and wish to continue to make those choices myself. I might get it wrong but that is okay with me because I think my goals in education are different from many people’s. I love the idea of the Hebrew model of education where the focus is training on HOW to think and lead while caring about what is right and true. I try to focus my time on learning wisdom still to this day so I would like to pass that model on to my family.
How can you talk about Saving America without talking about economics? There has been a lot to say here. Dr. Roberts talks about the need to fix our economy in a way that supports the small businessman. Sounds good on the surface. Small businesses should have the same opportunities and privileges as big business but that is not the plan to make all equal before the law with Dr. Roberts. He would like to penalize and punish big businesses. That is concerning to me. There are some businesses I think that work better as large businesses (like phone services and internet to name just two I use every day). I don’t believe it is far to punish a person for being too successful. I do believe that EVERYONE should be equal before the law. No special perks and privileges for the big guy or the little guy sounds like more freedom for all to me. I would rather have a free enterprise system not more regulations. We have so many regulations now. I think that it is important to have small, localized communities and services based on the needs of each community. I believe in regenerative agriculture and the potential that we bring to our communities as we revitalize the land and our communities. I disagree with a legislated action that forces these ideas. Force has never worked in my home, and I have never appreciated force (even and especially when it was for “my own good”).
In my head I picture a teeter totter that has Anarchy on the far end of one side and on the opposite far end is Tyranny (Making of America). For me the perfect spot in the middle is where Liberty sits. Just enough government to not have anarchy and mob rule but not so much that we have regulation and abuse of regulation. It’s a hard spot to manage. Even though I disagree with many parts of this book, I love the conversation I had because I read it. I took the time to clarify and record my thinking. I researched past books to help me better understand and support my ideas. It was a great experience.