Psalm 11:3, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (ESV)

I am going to apply this text politically, although its intent is primarily spiritual and directed at the Church, and to the politics of the United States specifically. The foundations upon which this nation was established are being intentionally and systematically destroyed. This assault has undoubtedly been on-going since the writing of the Constitution in 1787, but it is accelerating in our time.

Mr. Biden has as his mantra, “Build Back Better.” You see it on the wall behind him when he makes his pitch, or on the chyron streaming below his speeches on CNN. Build back better, hmm? Anyone done a home remodel or renovation? The first step after the planning is demolition. You can’t build back without tearing down. And that is what the so-called progressive movement of which Mr. Biden has the lead is doing. They have planned a radical restructuring of our nation and are now dynamiting the foundations. They are destroying the reputations of our founders and their contributions to our republic. They denigrate the explorers and pioneers who crossed uncharted seas and plains to establish something new on this continent. Yes, there were people already here. And, yes, they saw these locals as people to either be conquered or assimilated. And, no, that is not something unique to our founding; that is what every tribe and nation throughout history has done. A stone age population was replaced with one that was driven by the Enlightenment and the Reformation. The stronger replaced the weaker just as the Romans were replaced by the Germanic tribes that swept the European continent during the early centuries of the Anno Domini. The history of the world is the history of emigration and immigration – a history, I might add, that is being repeated at our southern border today as waves of desperate migrants seek better shores and more favorable opportunities.

Every statue destroyed or holiday renamed is a chipping away at the foundations. Do you not marvel that a statue of Thomas Jefferson is replaced with the image of a drug-addled criminal? Yes, I am saddened that George Floyd died, but he is not a suitable replacement for the writer of The Declaration of Independence. And I have no problem whatsoever with upholding the treaty rights our nation made with the tribal nations with which it warred. But I reject vehemently the denigration of European exploration by pretending the European discovery and colonization of the Americas was a tragedy and disgrace. This was not Eden and its occupants were not Adams. They warred and conquered and killed long before my ancestors ever arrived on these shores. If an Indigenous Peoples Day is needed, replacing Columbus Day with it is foolishness made large, and having a President that celebrates it is evidence he is part of the wrecking crew.

I could write a book on slavery. Slavery is not a stain on the American soul. Slavery was and is a universal reality, but my ancestors determined that slavery here was something whose time had expired. They worked hard at trying to bring it to an end. Our Constitution was designed to end its trade, and the “back to Africa” movement of the early 19th Century was an attempt, albeit an unsuccessful one, to solve the slave issue permanently by returning Africans to Africa. We even fought a war over it. The southern states had built their economy around cheap, mostly slave, agricultural labor while the northern states were building theirs around cheap, mostly immigrant, manufacturing labor. Manufacturing beat agriculture as a source of raw power and slavery as an institution was ended. The fact that our nation was willing to war over the issue of slavery is not a stain but a virtue. It is true that we have never quite been able to integrate the formerly enslaved and their descendants into the broader society, but the fact that we keep trying demands applause not condemnation.

But back to the scriptural question: the foundations are being destroyed and what are we to do about it? Let me suggest at least one response – say, No! A favorite weapon of the foundation destroyers is shame. They want to shame this nation for its failures instead of celebrating its successes. And we must, if we are to keep America, America, is to return to our roots. We must not let those who hate this nation rule over it. They have taken academia captive. It would be difficult to impossible to find a major university in this country that is not a hotbed of hatred for our founding. Entire academic departments are dedicated to making the lie of the religion and philosophy that form the bedrock of the nation. The darlings of the media are professors who hate everything about America and the best seller lists are replete with their hatred couched in academic terms to give it the guise of scholarship.

Our cities are hotbeds of foundation destruction. The first duty of government is the protection of the lives AND property of its citizens, yet in city after city policing is being constrained. And in the cities that are controlled by the foundation dynamiters crime is rampant. We see merchants stripped of their merchandise while the city government expresses sympathy for the thieves instead of punishing them. These mayors and city councils are destroying the foundations. What are we to do? Men and women who love this country and its foundations must take back control of its political institutions starting at the local level: the city and county councils, the school and regulatory boards – and the courts that release the lawless to prey on the law-abiding. It is not sufficient to vote in a congressional or presidential election and consider that you have done your duty. If you do not want to see the foundations destroyed and this nation replaced by another with the same name but a different character, you must stand up, take the abuse heaped upon you by the destroyers, and become a restorer of the breech. We may yet lose this nation, but we should not let it go without a fight.