Virginia, the cradle of American liberty, easily recognized by its place and role in American history, also has more historic sites (130 in all) than any other state. This historic prominence is why this “founding” state is targeted for total transformation. This appears to be the mission of the newly elected Virginia governor, Abigail Spanberger, who campaigned as a moderate but revealed within 24 hours of being inaugurated that she is a radical wolf in sheep’s clothing.
In the 5,500-odd years of recorded human history, there was never true freedom in any nation-state until the United States was founded. The great Virginian Patrick Henry, known for his proclamation, “Give me liberty or give me death,” was extraordinarily sanguine about what it takes to maintain a free nation. In 1788, after the Constitution was drafted but not yet ratified by the 13 states, Henry said, “Guard with jealous attention the public liberty (and) suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up force, you are inevitably ruined.”
There is a tendency for free things to be taken for granted. Liberty — an unalienable right from God first realized politically by Americans — is too easily assumed to be an entitlement and subsequently taken for granted and lost. And so it may be that God wanted to reveal His presence and blessing on the first country in human history founded on His ideals by way of miracles associated with the sacred idea of freedom and the Constitution designed to codify and protect freedom that came from the Founders who made it all happen.
The first U.S. president, George Washington, was extraordinarily prescient when he warned in his farewell address that factionalism would divide the nation, provoke riots, and invite foreign influence, and even destroy the republic by fostering a “spirit of revenge,” enabling “cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men” to seize power. All of which is an apt description of the current political dysfunction on display in our government because of hyperpartisanship.
Spanberger’s anti-American radicalism has been clearly revealed in her de facto actions to make Virginia a sanctuary state by signing an executive order on her first day in office to prevent law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Now, when liberal judges turn loose criminals who are also illegal aliens in Virginia, they will be released onto the streets instead of being returned to their home countries through the Department of Homeland Security.
Since her inauguration, Spanberger has shown derision for the customs, culture and ideas cherished by Virginians. She supports transgenders in female sports and made hyperpartisan attacks on Virginia’s educational institutions, notably the storied 187-year-old Virginia Military Institute (VMI) — considered the West Point of the South — with an attempt to eliminate the autonomy of VMI by putting it under the control of Virginia State University — a move that would demoralize students and undermine the integrity of VMI.
With assurance of Spanberger’s support, Virginia Democrats have rolled out a dizzying array of some 50 bills that penalize Virginia residents for everyday activities in the form of sales taxes and levies on Amazon deliveries, Uber Eats, storage facilities, gas-powered leaf blowers, concert tickets and hotels, fairs, sports events, festivals, home improvements, house painting, gun ownership and gymnasium memberships. Spanberger has proposed taxes on dog walking and grooming, dry cleaning, barber shops, package deliveries and electric landscaping equipment. She even proposed a per-mile driving tax.
In conclusion, despite the strong leadership of the Trump presidency, it’s the observation of many that a sweeping, red-green color revolution continues apace in many states and cities. What stands in the way of the completion of this domestic revolution are the Biblical truths and Judeo-Christian values that still reside in our culture, as well as the written word of documents conceived by Virginians: the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.
America’s enemies know they cannot win on the battlefield of ideas because truth triumphs over falsehood. The subversives’ method of operation is to use deception and elite capture to take power in select cities and states, and then transform America piecemeal, through a largely dumbed-down culture, using Marxist tools of demoralization and division.
Historic Virginia needs to be protected and preserved lest it become the kingpin of the strike that can take down other states and the country.
“Virginia is for Lovers” has been an iconic and endearing tourism slogan for the last 50 years, but it is time for Virginians to rediscover their original state motto, conceived in 1776, “Sic Semper Tyrannis,” a Latin phrase meaning “Thus Always to Tyrants.”
Scott S. Powell is a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute and author of “Rediscovering America.” Ann H. McLean, a UVA Ph.D., serves on the Jefferson Council, the Virginia Council and the Republic of Virginia preservation groups.
