90 Miles From Tyranny

Thursday, September 24, 2015

No, America Was Not Founded On Racist Principles

Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., told an audience at Liberty University that the United States was founded “on racist principles.” He added, “That’s a fact. We have come a long way as a nation.”

The principles on which on our country was established are articulated with clarity in the Declaration of Independence. On the matter of race, the Declaration has one simple but profound teaching: “all men are created equal.” That’s it. There are no qualifications or subtractions.

Nowhere does the Declaration or the Constitution, for that matter, classify human beings according to the color of their skin.

Far from the principle of equality being a product of racism, it actually struck at the heart of slavery. By making equality the defining principle of the nation, the Founders hoped to put slavery on the course of its ultimate extinction.

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While some of the Founders held slaves, they all knew that blacks were human beings.

In a rough draft of the Declaration, Jefferson charged King George III with waging “cruel war against human nature itself” by keeping “open a market where men should be bought & sold.” By calling slaves men, Jefferson clearly recognized their humanity.

Not only did the Founders think that blacks were human beings, but they also acknowledged the wrongness of slavery in principle.

Benjamin Franklin succinctly stated his opinion on slavery: “Slavery is…

Girls With Guns

GOP presidential hopeful Donald Trump is a lifetime member of the NRA and a concealed carry permit holder who believes the advantages an armed citizenry provides to America are so evident as to be beyond “debate.”

In a recent interview with Ammoland, Trump said:

I am a Life Member of the NRA and am proud of their service in protecting our right to keep and bear arms. The NRA’s efforts to stop dangerous, gun-banning legislation and regulation is invaluable. The media focus on those efforts overshadows the great work the NRA does on behalf of safety and conservation.

He went on to talk about this “permit to carry” in New York and said, “I know firsthand the challenges law-abiding citizens have in exercising their Second Amendment rights.”

Trump cited figures showing how concealed carry impacts crime and focused on how states with less restrictions on carry—”right to carry states”—enjoy a lower “violent crime” and a “lower murder rate” than other parts of the country. He contrasted this with the fact that gun control “has consistently failed to stop violence” and said there really isn’t anything remaining to “debate” on these things.

Ammoland asked Trump about a statement he made 15 years ago regarding “assault weapons,” trying to ascertain where Trump stands on the ongoing opposition to AR-15s from people like Senator Dianna Feinstein (D-CA). Trump responded by saying he believes the left’s targeted assault on AR-15s is really just an extension of the left’s usual habit of going after whatever it is that Americans love at a given moment.

Because of this, he said they focus on things that are non-essential—like grips, magazines, etc.

Here are Trump’s exact words: