Commentary: For the first time, I am truly concerned for America. Here’s why.

In the latest episode of “Freedom’s Disciple,” Jonathon Dunne explains how American principles changed the world, tells us why he's worried about the future of America (for the first time), highlights America’s history of sacrifice, and talks about the record-level U.S. Federal debt growth.

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Here are the show's highlights:

American Principles

When you study history, it's impossible to deny the benefits America has had on the lives of millions around the world. If you want proof, simply research any section of society (travel, communication, medicine, standard of living, hobbies, lifestyle, agriculture, etc.) and check out how it advanced from 0 A.D. to 1800 A.D. Now take the exact same section of society and look at how it advanced from 1800 A.D. to 2018. Why did society advance more in those 218 years than the prior 1800 combined?

There are countless ways to answer this question, but the simple version is the idea of America and the principles your founders fought for and died for 242 years ago: Man is meant to be [live] free and not controlled, government should be extremely limited in power, man has a God-given right to pursue their happiness and keep the fruits of their labor.

Future?

Over the last several weeks, we have witnessed the Democratic party reveal what's behind their mask and prove there is no line they won't cross if it means getting power. They will say anything, do anything and use anybody to get power. I am very worried about the temptation of seeing these actions and responding with anger, hate, and saying, "If they don't play by the rules, why should we?" You have already started to see this with comments from some on the right, like:

Jerry Falwell: "Conservatives & Christians need to stop electing 'nice guys.' They might make great Christian leaders but the U.S. needs street fighters."

Charlie Kirk: "The only way to thwart the sinister left is to punch back twice as hard."

Lindsey Graham: "If this is the new norm, you better watch out for your nominees."

I totally understand this reaction and it is very human. It will not work. This will only lead to America being more divided and following the French Revolution principle of brotherhood. It makes the battle into us versus them, and can only be truly ended when one side is totally defeated with the hope that the side that wins is good. We saw this in the French revolution with the guillotine. Can you say who were the good and bad guys in the French Revolution?

History of Sacrifice

We talk a lot about America being a country based on the individual and their rights. America's founders also knew one additional fact: society must place the family unit front-and-center if it is to survive. If a society is truly about the individual, its all about them and fulfilling their personal needs and wants. America is also based around the family because of sacrifice and survival. Parents in most generations can have a reasonable expectation that their kids will live a better life than them, have more opportunities than they will and also have a higher standard of living. Yet, the amazing thing is how much parents sacrifice for their kids, they sacrifice to give their kids every opportunity in life.

We have seen amazing levels of sacrifice in American history. Look at the men and women who founded your independence, look at the conditions they lived under? Look through the history of America and you'll see countless examples of people sacrificing themselves for their families, their friends, and sometimes complete strangers. That sacrifice still exists today, and it will be needed if America wants to be exceptional once again.

Debt Levels

America is currently in the mindset of sides and parties, and people love to highlight how the other side sucks. The fault with this thinking is you rarely look at actual principles of right versus wrong and what happens if all sides suck? Last week, America hit another major milestone and it was rarely talked about anywhere. If it had happened under Obama or the Democrats, a new Tea Party would have been formed. What was the milestone? For the calendar year of 2017/2018, the U.S. Federal debt grew by $1.2 trillion, which is now one of the largest increases of government debt in the history of the world. The U.S. debt stands at $21.6 trillion which is $21,600,000,000,000. Every citizen owes over $65,700 and every taxpayer owes over $177,000. Can you afford to pay your share? Can your neighbor?

It does not matter who holds power in D.C., the government grows, spending grows and debt grows. There are also people who will see this as an attack on President Donald Trump. It is NOT. He has to take responsibility for signing laws into place, like the Omnibus bill several weeks ago. However, if you really must blame someone, blame the people you should under the Constitution. The House holds the power of the purse, and the GOP has held the house since 2010, and your debt has nearly doubled under their "leadership".

Special Project:

A big thank you to everyone who has ordered our new hoodie and tee-shirts, as we continue to raise money for Mercury One. We currently have two designs with powerful messages:

"America: Making the impossible, possible. Est 1776" or “Never Personal, Always Principles”.

Tee-shirts start @ $13.95 and hoodies from $29.95, with 100% of the profits going to Mercury One. Please consider checking them out at www.freedomsdisciple.com/store or by clicking this link.

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