All real Americans are capitalists. We believe in an economic system characterized by private ownership of capital goods, by investments that are determined by private decision, and by prices, production, and the distribution of goods that are determined by competition in a free market. 

 

There is little else in this nation that still unites us. Initially we shared a belief in God, our interpretation of God may have differed, but still we acknowledged that there was a power higher than mortal man to whom we were subject. We adopted by common consent the rules of comportment contained in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. We declared to the world that we were endowed by that creator with rights of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Over the last fifty years, certain factions in our society have abandoned that assertion. Their efforts have eroded our common conviction. The Supreme Court has interpreted our right to freedom of religion as the freedom from religion. They are systematically striking reference to God from any public display. Our own president addressed the world and said, “We do not consider ourselves a Christian nation.” Having denied our creator, the source of our rights, we have denied our claim to those rights.

 

Still we hold up the torch of liberty to the world, and the wretched refuse come in mass. They come in the dead of night, they risk their lives, they swim rivers, tunnel under fences, bribe guards, steal identities and live here under the radar of legality.  They do not come here seeking religious freedom as our forefathers. They are here to live the American dream, to own a home, to select a car and negotiate a price they can afford to pay. They want for themselves and their children the freedom from oppression that robs a person of his will to work. They want to amble down main street and select their purchases of goods, imported from every country in the world. When they are sick, they want to go to a skilled physician and receive the best medical attention in the world. Like every real American, they are capitalists.

 

Our economic system has provided more wealth to more people for a longer period than any other society in the history of the world. All other economic systems have been forced to adopt capitalistic principles or collapse. The systems that abase the rich to appease the poor, crush the zest out of their people and doom them all to a life of mediocrity.

 

The average American seldom considers the threat to freedom that glowers over our heads. We gulp at the lures of cash for clunkers, home rebates, food stamps, and cheap health care. After all, we are capitalists and we want nice stuff. As a people, we don’t see the strings attached. Every freebie has a cost to freedom that we will collectively pay. Debt is a taskmaster that enslaves us and never sleeps. 

 

We owe billions of dollars to foreign powers. We gave them our jobs by legislating higher minimum wages that we did not earn. We bought their goods and paid with our capital, now they hold the mortgage to our future. The enemies who would oppress us with terrorism are simply the sleight of hand of a bigger threat. Why victimize a nation with violence, when they will sell their souls for trinkets like cell phones?   

 

The capitalists we once worshipped, are now vilified as the wicked executives of evil corporations. We want someone to blame for the residue of our greed. Never mind that we are the owners of those corporations. We own their stock in our pension funds. In person or by proxy, we elect the people who hire those executives and we pay them to give us a high return on our investment. Be careful when you point the finger of blame to count the fingers pointing back at you.

 

The soul-less corporations are run by individual souls. Our system of capitalism, just as our system of government, worked so well for so many years because they were tempered by people with religious principles. Do unto others as you would have them do to you, is a common principle in most world religions. Work hard, be honest, have integrity, be happy, there is a price to pay for every sin and you can’t escape punishment. Without these principles under God, we are destined to suffer the perils of greed.       

 

I am a Capitalist. I make no apologies for it. There is nothing evil about earning money or making a lot of it. However, there is a difference between being rich and being great. To be great, you must do good with your riches. I believe that legitimate governments are founded of God. There is a commonality in most people of faith that allows us to live and work together in peace. When we deny God or assume power of ourselves, then he leaves us to our own devices. I believe that as a nation, if we will return to the principles that made us great, God will make us great again.