I was struck, reading the Inaugural Address of President John Adams, by the way that he decided to close his address with a prayer to God, that liberty may be preserved in the United States of America: “May that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.”
The irony is that John Adams and his Federalist supporters in Congress soon acted in direct contradiction to the prayer. Adams violated the Constitution by waging war against the French without a formal congressional declaration of war, and when the opposition protested, Federalists in Congress passed the Sedition Act, which made written dissent against President Adams a crime.
The historical lesson is clear: Prayers to God to preserve liberty have no power to withstand the acts of human beings to destroy liberty. It is easy for a politician to make glowing statements about the heavenly foundations of freedom, and then to attack the earthy laws upon which freedom is truly founded.
George W. Bush is as much of an example in this lesson as John Adams was. In the 2008 presidential election, American citizens must not be content with professions of love of liberty. We must look at what the candidates have actually done to defend liberty, or to support the vivisection of the Bill of Rights conducted by right wing politicians claiming to be motivated by the will of God.
(Source: Inaugural Address, John Adams, March 4, 1797)
