restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

The Biggest Busybody

 David Alan Black

George W. Bush, though he ran as the Un-Clinton, is in fact the anti-Jefferson, intent on canceling the Bill of Rights. The USA Patriot Act is anything but patriotic, that is, if you interpret it in light of the old Constitution and not the new, living one.

Civil government is now the nation’s biggest busybody. I use the term “busybody” because of what I read in 1 Peter 4:15: “But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.”

The word “busybody” is an accurate description of our federal spy legislation. Big Brother takes the term “patriot,” turns it wrong side out, and says “Here are your freedoms.” It is, as one translation of 1 Peter puts it, a “troublesome meddler.”

Much of our difficulty as citizens stems from our unwillingness to take the Constitution as it is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist on trying to modify it and to bring it nearer our own conceptions of what government should do. In so doing, we usually mess things up royalty.

Anyone who might feel inclined to surrender his liberty to the tyranny of another should remember that back of all, above all, and before all is the U.S. Constitution. Hence the federal government cannot do whatever it likes, willy-nilly. And as American citizens we have an obligation to speak out whenever we feel our government is acting in a manner that is inconsistent with the principles of our Founding Fathers. If I see my government drifting decisively away from this charter, I have no other choice but to stand up and speak out. It’s the most patriotic thing I can do.

For anyone – including government – to be a busybody is not only unwise; it is positively sinful. That’s what 1 Peter 4:15 says. Meddling in other people’s affairs is as evil as being a murderer, a thief, or an evildoer.

Tragically, many people are living with, and some are dying from, the consequences of not upholding the Constitution. To reclaim our republic will require eternal vigilance – and an intense awareness of our rights as free men and women.

August 23, 2004

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com. His latest book is Why I Stopped Listening to Rush: Confessions of a Recovering Neocon.

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