Memorial Day and the future of America
This past May was the first time that my husband and I attended the Memorial Day service at the Fort Snelling Cemetery with our children. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Governor Tim Pawlenty and Lt. Col. John Morris, chaplain of the U.S. Army 34th “Red Bull” Division all spoke at the event. Through their comments, our hearts were reminded of the tremendous sacrifice of life that has been required to secure our country’s freedom.

After the ceremony, we went to visit my grandfather’s gravesite for the first time. He served as a medic in World War II and passed away just two weeks before our daughter, Miriam, was born. Our hope and prayer for her, and for all the children of America, is that she will be able to grow up enjoying the same freedoms that her great-grandfather fought for and that countless thousands died for.

However, my husband and I are concerned about the direction America seems to be headed. We were shocked to find out that President Barack Obama’s health care plan passed, even though the majority of the American public did not support it. To us, this signaled a crucial shift in the politics of our nation. This is the first time that we are aware of in which our elected officials so completely failed to represent the interests of their constituents, but instead chose to vote in favor of their own agenda for America.

It is our desire to see America remain a free country—governed of the people, by the people, for the people—not one in which her government leaders begin to erode her people’s foundational freedoms with their own agendas, not one in which our hard-earned independence as a nation is only nullified by international treaties and law.

Take the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child for example. Most people do not realize that international treaties such as this trump state law. In America, most law governing the family is state law. Therefore, if the United States were to adopt this treaty, it would put the governance of our families almost completely in international hands.

Do we really want to give up our national sovereignty on any issue—especially one as profound as the future of our own children? Absolutely not!

One way we can keep America strong is to keep our families strong and our nation self-governing.

Allow me to close by sharing words from one of the greatest Americans who laid down his life for our country: President Abraham Lincoln. Our family was reminded of his great leadership when we found the words of his Gettysburg Address inscribed on a plaque near the main building of the Fort Snelling Cemetery.

He concluded: “…we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

We couldn’t agree with his hopes more! Let every American resolve to stand in vigilant defense of the sovereignty of our nation and the ongoing freedom of her people.

Karin Miller
Robbinsdale

Christians and political action
As a regular reader of the Minnesota Christian Chronicle, I particularly benefit from the op-ed pieces by Chuck Colson and John Whitehead, usually agreeing with them 99 percent of the time! Thank you for including their views.

I’d like to comment on Whitehead’s views that our “governmental representatives should make us mad,” since he believes that “for too long, Americans have failed to hold their elected representatives accountable” (December 2009: “Why your representatives should make you mad”).

While I agree with him as far as he goes, I believe that it is Christians who should bear most of the responsibility for the mess that our country is in, since we can be directly linked (and blamed!) for a far greater responsibility for our failure to act than “Americans” in general, as we can’t expect people without God to know God’s will.

Something like 20 percent of Christians didn’t even bother to vote last November, which in itself is a disgrace, let alone in direct opposition to various passages in Scripture that talk about Christians’ responsibilities and duties regarding government and rulers.

Most of the real issues of life can be labeled “political,” and laws are written because of something that has a moral overtone and is therefore political. But we still hear people repeating the mantra, “You can’t legislate morality” and these long-held beliefs carry over into the political realm when Christians don’t get involved, don’t carry their weight, are not doing what they should to hold our government officials accountable, but are put into office by people who want to see liberal policies in place!

John Whitehead is absolutely right—he just didn’t go far enough in my view. It is Christians who need to “step up to the plate,” and it is Christians who are going to suffer most if we don’t!

Meredith Berg
Hudson, WI