"I have a dream...."

"The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men." - Samuel Adams

In the early 17^th century, amidst the rein of King James I, British Protestants eagerly sought to purify the church of catholic doctrines and traditions that prohibited them from adhering to their beliefs. But their efforts were opposed by King James, and they were forced to either live in subjection to customs and rituals that contradicted their faith, or leave their homeland and search out a place where they could freely exercise their religion. Faced with such a dilemma, the “Puritans” made an extremely bold decision: They set sail for the “New World” and hoped to establish a settlement where they could hold fast to their beliefs without governmental opposition.

Nearly four centuries later America is the most prosperous nation on the planet and its citizens enjoy freedoms that are seldom found elsewhere. What started as a dream for the freedom to practice religion without inhibition of the state eventually developed into a reality that forever altered the course of the western world!

In 1776, when America first declared independence from British reign, a government was established for the sole purpose of protection of individual rights. The declaration of independence outlines the rights which man is entitled to, and states that “to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men ... deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”.

Unfortunately, the same establishment that exists to protect individual rights has morphed into a primary threat to the same. I believe that the spirit of freedom that defines the United States of America is slowly being forsaken, and sadly we fail to see that this development will prove to lead to the demise of “the land of the free and the home of the brave”.

Although I am a strong believer in the sovereignty and omnipotence of our heavenly father, I also believe that He gives us the ability to change society - to alter the course of history. And for this reason, I am dedicated to an occupation as a public servant and a civil official. God has given me a dream, and through His grace alone I plan to fulfill it.