• Home
  • About
  • BIO
  • Conferences
  • Contact
  • Follow Gerard on FB & Twitter
  • Speaking

Coming Home

Dr. Gerard M. Nadal: Science in Service of the Pro-Life Movement

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« Ending Abortion: Force Concentration as A New Strategy
Culture of Death: Rationing Abundance »

Self-Evident Truth

July 4, 2010 by Gerard M. Nadal

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

In two sentences, Thomas Jefferson distilled two centuries of Enlightenment Philosophy.

The truths of which he speaks are, according to Jefferson, so fundamental and not needing explanation as to be self-evident.

It is self-evident that there is a “Creator”

It is self-evident that humans are endowed by that Creator with unalienable rights, meaning that man cannot take them away, as they come from God.

It is self-evident that these rights begin with the most fundamental of all-Life.

It is self-evident that the next two follow in logical sequence: Liberty, and then the Pursuit of Happiness.

It is self-evident that the role of government is to protect those three greatest rights.

It is self-evident that the people reserve the right to alter or abolish that government if it becomes destructive of those rights.

We have seriously lost our way.

November 2012 is coming.

Share this:

  • Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

6 Responses

  1. on July 4, 2010 at 1:58 PM Emmett Dwyer

    a poignantly succinct and timely reminder Gerard. Thanks

    For anyone not aware-
    1. ALL US House seats (including Ms. Pelosi, Speaker of the House) are up for election-435 total on Nov 2.

    quick breakdown map here; click on your state
    http://www.opensecrets.org/races/index.php
    or enter your state
    http://www.votesmart.org/election_congress.php

    2. Addi tonally, some important Senate races will be decided this day -Mr. Reid in NV, Mr. Ms. Boxer in CA et al. See this in depth wiki for a color coded map and itemized breakdown
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_2010

    The important thing is: remember to vote on Nov 2, regardless of the weather, even personal commitments etc; if possible try early voting; or if needed, request an absentee ballot in time.

    The House can be regained and a Senate filibuster-proof arrangement enacted this coming Nov.


  2. on July 4, 2010 at 5:25 PM Subvet

    The elections this November and in 2012 are only a part of the solution. We still have to contend with those fools who voted the current crop of politicians into office. They won’t magically smarten up just by losing an election.

    Our culture has lost all sense of morality, our children have no grasp of history (he who does not remember it will repeat it), our churches are headed up by political lapdogs lacking any real spine (that includes other denominations besides the Catholic Church). The list goes on.

    It will take decades of work to repair, we’d better get to it and forget the desire for a quick fix.


  3. on July 5, 2010 at 2:09 PM gmmom

    Gerald,
    One of my favorite quotes is from Calvin Coolidge:
    “About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful. It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern. But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter. If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final. If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final. No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people. Those who wish to proceed in that direction can not lay claim to progress. They are reactionary. Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.”

    I had never read the speech these words came from, but just did now:
    http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Calvin_Coolidge%27s_Speech_on_the_Occasion_of_the_150th_Anniversary_of_the_Declaration_of_Independence

    This speech is chock full of wisdom. This quote is prophetic:
    “The things of the spirit come first. Unless we cling to that, all our material prosperity, overwhelming though it may appear, will turn to a barren sceptre in our grasp. If we are to maintain the great heritage which has been bequeathed to us, we must be like-minded as the fathers who created it. We must not sink into a pagan materialism. We must cultivate the reverence which they had for the things that are holy…..”


  4. on July 8, 2010 at 4:06 PM Lisa Mladinich

    Amen, brother Gerry!


  5. on July 9, 2010 at 5:40 PM William J. Holland

    As usual, timely, honorable and useful.


  6. on July 9, 2010 at 9:36 PM Leonarda

    How did our people go so astray as to elect a group of politicians who have erroded the very fabric that this nation was founded upon. Are we a nation of people that are so self-serving that we fail to see that once our basic, and yes, self-evident, unalienable, rights are cast aside, nothing serves anyone to any good. There cannot be any life, liberty or happiness if we lose sight of the fact that these “rights” are gifts from above and that everyone including government must ensure these rights are protected.

    Those of us who know and understand that our Creator gave us these rights, not our government or our fellow man, must speak up loudly and clearly, and point out that if these “self- evident rights are allowed to fall by the wayside, we are all in serious perill. Even those who think that their “agendas” (even if at the expense of other’s) are most important, must be made to realize that over time, they, too, will be in the position of being denied what they value most, their own self-serving needs.

    We have a tough job ahead of us. Unfortunately, not only are those who have not studied history being led astray down a path to destruction, but many who do know history are turning a blind eye to it. If we, as a nation, are not careful, not only will we lose our ability to persue happiness, but we will lose our very lives. We will have beurocratic, self-serving. strangers making decisions about our health, our lives and our deaths. We will have our ability to maintain and preserve our health and our very lives threatened.

    November is around the corner and I pray that voters will be alert, keep their eyes and ears open, and not forget that if we do not make some serious changes, we are on a slippery slope to self destruction.



Comments are closed.

  • Archives

    • June 2022 (1)
    • May 2022 (1)
    • July 2021 (1)
    • January 2021 (7)
    • November 2020 (1)
    • May 2020 (2)
    • September 2019 (1)
    • May 2019 (2)
    • April 2019 (1)
    • February 2019 (1)
    • April 2018 (2)
    • January 2017 (1)
    • December 2016 (1)
    • November 2016 (1)
    • October 2016 (10)
    • July 2016 (2)
    • June 2016 (1)
    • May 2016 (1)
    • April 2016 (1)
    • March 2016 (1)
    • February 2016 (3)
    • December 2015 (1)
    • November 2015 (2)
    • October 2015 (1)
    • September 2015 (1)
    • August 2015 (3)
    • April 2015 (1)
    • February 2015 (1)
    • December 2014 (3)
    • November 2014 (1)
    • October 2014 (4)
    • September 2014 (15)
    • August 2014 (6)
    • June 2014 (5)
    • May 2014 (1)
    • April 2014 (2)
    • March 2014 (2)
    • February 2014 (1)
    • January 2014 (3)
    • December 2013 (17)
    • November 2013 (9)
    • October 2013 (12)
    • September 2013 (4)
    • July 2013 (2)
    • June 2013 (5)
    • May 2013 (2)
    • April 2013 (3)
    • March 2013 (6)
    • February 2013 (2)
    • January 2013 (1)
    • December 2012 (18)
    • November 2012 (6)
    • October 2012 (13)
    • September 2012 (1)
    • July 2012 (10)
    • June 2012 (13)
    • May 2012 (8)
    • April 2012 (1)
    • March 2012 (11)
    • February 2012 (21)
    • January 2012 (5)
    • December 2011 (18)
    • November 2011 (3)
    • October 2011 (23)
    • September 2011 (24)
    • August 2011 (22)
    • July 2011 (22)
    • June 2011 (29)
    • May 2011 (8)
    • April 2011 (11)
    • March 2011 (18)
    • February 2011 (42)
    • January 2011 (26)
    • December 2010 (30)
    • November 2010 (34)
    • October 2010 (33)
    • September 2010 (16)
    • August 2010 (15)
    • July 2010 (7)
    • June 2010 (21)
    • May 2010 (33)
    • April 2010 (14)
    • March 2010 (41)
    • February 2010 (36)
    • January 2010 (59)
    • December 2009 (59)
  • Categories

    • Abortion (258)
    • Advent (26)
    • Biomedical Ethics (82)
    • Birth Control (51)
    • Bishops (87)
    • Black History Month (10)
    • Breast Cancer (65)
    • Christmas (26)
    • Cloning (4)
    • Condoms (16)
    • COVID-19 (1)
    • Darwin (2)
    • Development (6)
    • Dignity (119)
    • Divine Mercy Novenas (10)
    • DNA (3)
    • Embryo Adoption (2)
    • Embryonic Stem Cell Research (6)
    • Eugenics (29)
    • Euthanasia (8)
    • Family (44)
    • Fathers of the Church (11)
    • Fortnight for Freedom (1)
    • Golden Coconut Award (3)
    • Health Care (14)
    • HIV/AIDS (5)
    • Infant Mortality (2)
    • IVF (4)
    • Joseph (6)
    • Lent (17)
    • Margaret Sanger (19)
    • Marriage (6)
    • Maternal Mortality (2)
    • Motherhood (12)
    • Neonates (1)
    • Personhood (20)
    • Physician Assisted Suicide (4)
    • Planned Parenthood (64)
    • Priests (50)
    • Pro-Life Academy (23)
    • Quotes (10)
    • Radio Interviews (3)
    • Right to Life (34)
    • Roots (1)
    • Sex Education (25)
    • Sexually Transmitted Disease (12)
    • Stem Cell Therapy (7)
    • Transgender (1)
    • Uncategorized (208)
  • Pages

    • About
    • BIO
    • Conferences
    • Contact
    • Follow Gerard on FB & Twitter
    • Speaking

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Coming Home
    • Join 857 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Coming Home
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: