Welcome to Today's American Dream! This site is dedicated to restoring the "American Dream" in the vision of America's Founding Fathers. Hopefully, these educational resources will enable Americans to apprehend and appreciate the principles that inspired America's Founding Fathers to pledge their lives, fortunes and sacred honor in order to secure the blessings of Liberty.
The American Dream... the words have been ingrained into us since very early in our lives. But what exactly is the American Dream? What does it mean to you? Is the American Dream still alive today? Are you living it? Consider what others have to say about the American Dream.
To kick off the celebration of their 10th anniversary, Forbes.com "asked more than 60 great achievers, including actors, artists, politicians and executives, to answer the question 'What is the American Dream?'."
Most of today's Americans would say that home ownership is the American Dream. Others would say that it is being your own boss, having your own business or becoming rich and famous. While the American Dream certainly could include some or all of these things, none of them by themselves constitute the American Dream. Rather, they are a result of it. The American Dream is far greater!
"Whereas the American Dream was once equated with certain principles of freedom, it is now equated with things. The American Dream has undergone a metamorphosis from principles to materialism. ... When people are concerned more with the attainment of things than with the maintenance of principles, it is a sign of moral decay. And it is through such decay that loss of freedom occurs."
Thirty years later, in the June 2003 issue of The Freeman, Lawrence W. Reed published an excellent and timely article entitled "The True Meaning of Patriotism". In it Reed writes:
"I subscribe to a patriotism rooted in ideas that in turn gave birth to a country, but it's the ideas that I think of when I'm feeling patriotic. I'm a patriotic American because I revere the ideas that motivated the Founders and compelled them, in many instances, to put their lives, fortunes and sacred honor on the line."
More recently, Chuck Baldwin emphatically stated in his article Can You Imagine This Country?, that material gain is not the American Dream. Baldwin writes:
"We hear much today about the American dream. By "the American dream," most people mean buying a big house, driving an expensive automobile, and making a lot of money. However, this was not the dream envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Remember that, for the most part, America's founders gave up their material wealth and substance for something they considered of far greater worth. Unfortunately, this hedonistic generation knows little of the kind of sacrificial spirit personified in the lives of America's patriarchs.
In the minds of the founders, liberty--with all of its intrinsic risks--was more desirable than material prosperity, if that prosperity was accompanied with despotism or collectivism. So strong was their desire that they were willing to give up the latter in order to procure the former for themselves and their posterity.
How dare Americans today refer to material gain as "the American dream." It is not! It is the freedom to honestly pursue one's goals that should be celebrated. Material gain is only a fruit of freedom, not its root."
In the Declaration of Independence, America's Founding Fathers laid out very clearly for us the true meaning of the American Dream ...
"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"...
America's Founding Fathers clearly understood that faith in the Creator and true Freedom are inseparable. We believe their worldview was a Christian one based upon the Great Commission of the Gospel and biblically enlightened self-government. As inscribed on the Liberty Bell, they would "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof." (Leviticus 25:10)
Solomon once said: "When there is no vision, the people perish." The true American Dream is more accurately called the American Vision. It is the Vision that drove our Founding Fathers to establish our Constitutional Republic as a nation under God. At the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Samuel Adams, Father of the American Revolution, declared:
"We have this day restored the Sovereign to Whom all men ought to be obedient. He reigns in Heaven and from the rising to the setting of the sun, let His kingdom come".
In his book, God, Gold and Civil Government, Tom Rose makes a very profound description of what constitutes liberty. True freedom or liberty is more than just having a lot of money. Having wealth will economically enhance a person's lifestyle and give them more free time to do what they want, but that is only one aspect of liberty. True liberty actually has three main parts:
"Liberty is like a three-legged stool. It has three aspects, or legs: the Spiritual, the Economic and the Political. Each leg must be carefully preserved. If one leg is shortened or cut off, the stability provided by the other two will be hampered or lost, and the ideal of Liberty will come tumbling down."
In the final years of his life, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, called upon the American people to
"Preserve inviolate the Constitution, which if cherished in all its chastity and purity, will prove in the end a blessing to all the nations of the earth."
As Americans we must also educate ourselves and our children in order to better understand our nation's founding documents and how America's Founding Fathers originally intended for them to be interpreted. Thomas Jefferson also said:
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
The words of exhortation from America's sixth president, John Quincy Adams, call out to us from the past:
"Posterity -- you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it."
The Vision of America's Founding Fathers, the true American Dream, is still alive and waiting to be renewed. Make a decision to be a part of restoring it! Become informed! Get involved! You CAN make a difference! Hold fast to your dreams! Rekindle the faith, hope and love in your heart! Be all that you were called to be! LIVE Today's American Dream!
"'Fight Them Over There vs. Over Here' a False Choice" In his op-ed in today's Washington Times, Congressman Paul presents his case for a truly conservative foreign policy, and lays out five principles that would keep us safe and respected as we interact with the rest of the world. ... Read the rest
Cap and Trade Will Lead to Capital Flight The Cap and Trade Bill HR 2454 was voted on last Friday. Proponents claim this bill will help the environment, but what it really does is put another nail in the economy's coffin. The idea is to establish a national level of carbon dioxide emissions, and sell pollution permits to industry as the Catholic Church used to sell indulgences to sinners. ... Read the rest
Ron Paul on Cap and Trade In his latest C4L video, Dr. Paul discusses the House vote on Cap and Trade and reminds his colleagues that opposition to big government intervention should carry through to all acts against the Constitution. ... Read the rest
Ron Paul: The Future of the Federal Reserve President Obama's financial regulatory plan has created controversy over the role of the Federal Reserve in our economy like rarely before. The person in Congress with perhaps the most unconventional point of view on these issues in American politics is Congressman and former presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX), a longtime critic of the very institution of the Fed and fractional reserve banking. ... Read the rest
International Bailout Brings Us Closer to Economic Collapse Last week Congress passed the war supplemental appropriations bill. In an affront to all those who thought they voted for a peace candidate, the current president will be sending another $106 billion we don't have to continue the bloodshed in Afghanistan and Iraq, without a hint of a plan to bring our troops home. ... Read the rest
Congressman Ron Paul on Healthcare Having practiced medicine for over 30 years, Congressman Paul gives his perspective on the past and future of medicine in this country, and the effects of government and special interests on quality, costs and access. ... Read the rest
Ron Paul's Strong Opposition to the War Funding Bill Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this conference report on the War Supplemental Appropriations. I wonder what happened to all of my colleagues who said they were opposed to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wonder what happened to my colleagues who voted with me as I opposed every war supplemental request under the previous administration. It seems, with very few exceptions, they have changed their position on the war now that the White House has changed hands. ... Read the rest
Moving Towards Tobacco Prohibition Last week, another bill was passed and signed into law that takes more of our freedoms and violates the Constitution of the United States. It was, of course, done for the sake of the children, and in the name of the health of the citizenry. It's always the case that when your liberty is seized, it is seized for your own good. Such is the condescension of Washington.
... Read the rest
Audit the Fed Update Congressman Ron Paul gives the latest exciting news on his legislation to audit the Federal Reserve and explains the possible next steps for the bill. ... Read the rest
GM, Amtrak and an Increasingly Fascist America Comingling public control of private business is known as fascism. While today's politicians may feel emboldened with all their new power, history will only repeat itself as all this collapses on itself. It is the height of hubris for bureaucrats and politicians to attempt to control the market and the freewill of the American people. In the end, the market always wins out ... Read the rest
Congressman Ron Paul: Well, it's against the law - both our law and international law. So, we shouldn't do it. And I'm against it for personal, moral reasons. I think it's horrible. And for practical reasons, I think it's absolutely worthless. And if we are serious about getting information, if we use other techniques, we actually get more information. ... Read the rest
As to the substance of the resolution, I find it disturbing that the House is going out of its way to meddle in China's domestic politics, which is none of our business, while ignoring the many pressing issues in our own country that definitely are our business. ... Read the rest
Fight Government Encroachment into Health Care! With a faltering economy, and skyrocketing costs, healthcare continues to be a critical issue for all Americans. Unfortunately government encroachment into the doctor/patient relationship is poised to exacerbate our problems with healthcare. Congress should put the American people back in charge of healthcare by expanding healthcare tax credits and deductions, increasing access to Health Savings Accounts, respecting privacy and the doctor/patient relationship. Further politicizing and bureaucratizing of healthcare will only increase costs and reduce quality, as demonstrated by most other countries with socialized medicine. ... Read the rest
Ron Paul on North Korea Dr. Paul discusses the NPRK's detonation of an atomic device, how they achieved that technology using subsidies from the Clinton Administration, and the importance of a noninterventionist foreign policy. ... Read the rest
Torturing the Rule of Law The government's own actions and operations in torturing people, and in acting on illegally obtained and unreliable information to kill and capture, are the most radicalizing forces at work today, not any religion, nor the fact that we are rich and free. The fact that our government engages in evil behavior under the auspices of the American people is what poses the greatest threat to the American people, and it must not be allowed to stand. ... Read the rest
Statement Introducing the Protect Patients' and Physicians' Privacy Act Madam Speaker, I rise to introduce the Protect Patients' and Physicians' Privacy Act. This legislation protects medical privacy, as well as quality health care, by allowing patients and physicians to opt out of any federally mandated, created, or funded electronic medical records system. The bill also repeals the sections of federal law establishing a "unique health identifier" and requires patient consent before any electronic medical records can be released to a third party. ... Read the rest
Audit the Fed, Then End It! I have been very pleased with the progress of my legislation, HR 1207, which calls for a complete audit of the Federal Reserve and removes many significant barriers towards transparency of our monetary system. This bill now has nearly 170 cosponsors, with support from both Republicans and Democrats. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a companion bill in the Senate S 604, which will hopefully begin to gain momentum as well. I am very encouraged to see so many of my colleagues in Congress stand with me for greater transparency in government. Some have begun to push back against this bill, and I am very happy to address their concerns. ... Read the rest
Support H.R. 1146, to get the United States out of the United Nations On February 24, Rep. Ron Paul (R.-Texas) introduced H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act of 2009 in the House and the legislation was referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. The bill was cosponsored by Rep. John J. Duncan, Jr. (R.-Tenn.) on March 19. The stated objective of H.R. 1146 is to end membership of the United States in the United Nations. It would accomplish this end by initiating the following actions: ... Read the rest
Podcast: Christianity and War Part 1 Today marks the release of the first installment of the Christianity and War Audiobook Podcast. As many of you know, Christianity and War is the work of Laurence Vance, who has given me permission to begin recording the audiobook for him. In this installment, you can hear the Foreward, the Introduction, and the first essay that gives the book it's title: Christianity and War. ... Read More
The Barmen Declaration The Barmen Declaration, Dr. Dobson And The Dangers Of Exalting Presidents, Parties And Politics Above The Lord Jesus Christ. That is the topic on this "The American View" radio program which broadcasts live, daily, from 11 am to Noon (EST) and is now on the Liberty News Radio Network. Our call-in phone number is 1-866-986-6397. ... Read More
Into Slavery Proclaiming Freedom Russian writer Stanislav Mishin wrote in Pravda, "The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world, how free he really is. The world will only snicker." The world will snicker because Americans have enjoyed an unequalled freedom and instead of being grateful they are "proud". The pride has been extensive and of long duration, now the fall is coming but prideful Americans fail to see it. ... Read More
Religion & The Totalitarian State - Part II There are many Christians around the world who live in political and economic oppression but who are free because they are in Christ. Similarly there are countries which were shaped by the categories of a fading Christendom who still know something of political and economic freedom though a large segment of their population is spiritually dead. ... Read More
Religion & The Totalitarian State The sphere of action of the State has grown steadily larger until it now threatens to embrace the whole human life and to leave nothing outside its competence. ... The other spheres of sovereignty that were designed by God for Family and Church (and some would add School and Guild) have been co-opted and seized by the State so that the State has seized a monolithic power that can't be checked or challenged. ... Read More
Christian Scripture: The Zionist Deception Judeo-Christianity is less than 200 years old. The World Jewish Zionism movement has played a key part in assuring its growth. We see the result of this mind bending in the creation of a new "Christianity" which in its extreme form is known as Christian Zionism, fed by Oxford University Press's Scofield Reference Bible, published in New York in 1908. ... Read More
Should Christians Take Over Government? With the rejection of God's law and the radical separation of faith and life coming from a rapidly-apostatizing Christianity today, it's about time that Christians in the west develop a proper theology of kingdom, church, and culture. ... Read More
Is Your Pastor One of the "Cleared Clergy"? Now you know the real reason behind the Faith Based Initiative, and it wasn't because of concern for the poor or because the "Faith Based" community could do it better than government. It was so "Big Brother" can cash in his chips and begin collecting sweat equity from the preachers of America for the billions in "Faith" Based benefits that they have been receiving for preaching the social gospel. ... Read More
Christian Zionism is a modern theological and political movement that embraces the most extreme ideological positions of Zionism, thereby becoming detrimental to a just peace within Palestine and Israel. ... Read More
American Christian Funding Flows To Jewish Settlers President Obama has called on Israel to stop expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank. But U.S. evangelical Christian groups continue to raise millions of dollars for the communities, which many others see as an obstacle to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. ... Read More
Follow Christ, Reject "Christianity" The answer to unwinding this unholy alliance of Warmakers and warring churches is to ask every churchgoer a simple question; are you a follower of Christ or of "Christian?" Christianity is a religion that has become associated with Christian-Zionism, an America invention. Jesus would challenge it, as he challenged the Pharisees of his day. Following Christ is a faith, not a religion, that does not allow room for hatred and killing...this makes it the most difficult of faiths. ... Read More
What Christians Don't Know About Israel In my early 20s, I began traveling the world, earning my living as a writer. I came to the subject of the Middle East rather late in my career. I was sadly lacking in knowledge regarding the area. About all I knew was what I had learned in Sunday School. ... Read More
Gods Come Cheap These Days For eight years, Christian conservatives had "Lord Bush." Now, liberals have "Lord Obama." Seems to me that gods come pretty cheap these days. ... Read More
Christianity and War Many Christians are guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry. They have bought into a variety of American nationalism that has been called the myth of American exceptionalism. ... Read More
Fear Rules The power of irrational fear in the United States is extraordinary. It ranks up there with the Israel lobby, the military-security complex and the financial gangsters. Indeed, fear might be the most powerful force in America. ... Read More
When Christian Love Grows Cold, Evil Flourishes One of the biggest challenges for Christians today in our cruel and sadistic world is resisting the urge to abandon love for justice. But, love for God and one's neighbor, being the greatest of the commandments, underscores our call and duty as followers of Jesus Christ to not take vengeance for an injury or injustice inflicted upon us or return evil for evil regardless of the opportunity or circumstance. ... Read More
Do Americans Have a Moral Conscience? One might think that the American public’s toleration of torture reflects the breakdown of the country's Christian faith. Alas, a recent poll released by the Pew Forum reveals that most white Christian evangelicals and white Catholics condone torture. In contrast, only a minority of those who seldom or never attend church services condone torture. It is a known fact that torture produces unreliable information. The only purpose of torture is to produce false confessions. The fact that a majority of American Christians condone torture enabled the Bush regime's efforts to legalize torture. ... Read More
Again, May God Forgive Us Conservatives and others who revere the founders of our late Republic might recall that the men who won our independence and wrote the Constitution opposed a standing army, not only because it could be employed as an instrument of domestic tyranny, but also because it would offer irresistible opportunities for foreign adventurism. In this, as in so much else, the Founders' wisdom has withstood the passage of time. ... Read More
Should Christians Resist Tyranny? The contention that Christians should simply lay down and comply with even the most hideous requirements of government is an old argument. It was thoroughly debated by America's Christian founders when they took up arms to defend their declaration of independence in 1776 – and even before at Lexington and Concord when British troops tried to take away their arms. Many of the founders were biblical scholars – and well aware of Paul's warning in Romans 13:1-7, most often the text cited by the new defenders of the "divine right of kings": ... Read More
State Constitutions and the Tenth Amendment These early American constitutions, with their declarations or bills of rights, were Christian documents...some more manifestly, even beautifully, so than others. They honored God, recognizing His existence and stating (some more fully than others) certain truths about His nature: Almighty, Creator, Lord, Governor of the Universe, Savior, Inspirer of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and the like. These are Christian affirmations, not products of eighteenth-century Deism. ... Read More
Biblical Prophesy and the Iraq War The revelation this month in GQ magazine that Donald Rumsfeld as Defense Secretary embellished top-secret wartime memos with quotations from the Bible prompts a question. Why did he believe he could influence President Bush by that means? The answer may lie in an alarming story about George Bush's Christian millenarian beliefs that has yet to come to light. ... Read More
Justifying Iraq with Torture George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were scrambling to find a legal justification for their war of aggression against Iraq. People have a right to know whether they employed torture in the hopes of finding that justification. People also have a right to know how the U.S. government came to enter into torture agreements with the brutal regimes in Egypt, Libya, and Syria and what the consequences of those torture agreements have been. ... Read More
The Morality of Torture The current debate over the morality of the U.S. government engaging in torture has revealed many Americans who profess to adhere to a moral code to be hypocrites. Now we are being told that, because the end (saving American lives) justifies the means (torture), the use of torture is justified under certain circumstances. Christians especially are being hypocritical since they have historically condemned situation ethics and the decline of moral absolutes. They are also cautioned in the New Testament not to do evil that good may come (Romans 3:8). ... Read More
Lawlessness Will Abound America is lawless because the church is lawless. In this "age of Grace" we have become convinced that one can sin without consequences. The American Church has preached grace in the place of remorse, offered compassion instead of discipline, and spread tolerance to cover shame. Mercy follows judgment. We are no longer taught to hate sin. ... Read More
An Eye For An Eye - The Rejection Of Mercy Jews have become a disruptive force wherever they live. Their presence brings discord and strife. They have failed to accept the forgiveness their God has provided and as a result are unable to forgive others. It will be so until they, themselves, succumb to the propitiation provided by their God through the death of their Lord and Savior, Jesus, The Christ. ... Read More
The U.S. Government Has Become Patently Anti-Christian I hope all the evangelical Christians who continue to support George W. Bush and his unconstitutional, preemptive invasion of Iraq are paying attention. I hope all my Christian friends who kept trumpeting the unconstitutional policies of President Bush, "because he is a Christian," are paying attention. I really wish that James Dobson and his ilk would have been as outraged at the unconstitutional (not to mention unchristian) policies of the former Republican President as they are the current Democratic President, because, for all intents and purposes, the federal government is functioning in exactly the same way under one as it did under the other. ... Read More
'Patriot Pastors' Called to Crush 'Hate Crimes' Bill America has become a morally bankrupt society that embraces intolerance against Christians, including a new push for "hate crimes" legislation, according to one pastor who believes it's all because church leaders have failed to do their jobs. ... Read More
American Capitalism Gone With a Whimper Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega-preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo-Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America. ... Read More
On Proper Government in a Republic Open letter to local, state and federal governments and politicians: In essence, from the public speeches, articles, columns and the proclamations and policies listed on many of your websites, most of you readily admit that neither your state constitution nor the United States Constitution are applicable in the modern world. Your own words and deeds deny that The United States Constitution applies to anyone at any time. The only apparent legal authority you offer in place of those documents are your own ideas of fairness and of what is or is not applicable in 'today's world.' Those are very arbitrary and subjective distinctions. ... Read More
Messianic Economics Man's Dream of Turning Stones to Bread: Much attention has been focused on the messianic nature of the images and promotion of Barack Obama. The criticism of political leaders is often party-selective; such imagery has been part of modern politics for many years, most obviously in the rhetoric of political nominating conventions. It behooves us to see as equally offensive the tendency of all statists to project themselves as noble paragons of truth and justice. ... Read More
American Dream Town, USA is restoring Home Town Pride in communities across America by inspiring Americans to celebrate their town's heritage and take pride in their neighborhood's appearance, and to invite tourism and new residents to the area. The American Dream Town, USA mission is to restore national pride in Americans through domestic travel and related programs. The direct result of becoming an American Dream Town is that all sectors of the private economy (like real estate and local employment) could improve. Learn how your community can benefit by going to American Dream Town, USA
