Columbus – The Real Story by Steve Weidenkopf

Published February 9, 2021 | By campconstitution
     In popular myth, Christopher Columbus is the very symbol of European greed and genocidal imperialism. In reality, he was a dedicated Christian concerned first and foremost with serving God and his fellow man.
     Peering into the future, Columbus (1451-15­06) could not have anticipated the ingratitude and outright contempt shown by modern man toward his discovery and exploration of the New World. Few see him as he really was: a devout Catholic concerned for the eternal salvation of the indigenous peoples he encountered. Rather, it has become fashionable to slander him as deliberately genocidal, a symbol of European imperialism,[1] a bringer of destruction, enslavement, and death to the happy and prosperous people of the Americas.
     In the United States, the vitriol directed against Columbus produces annual protests every Columbus Day. Some want to abolish it as a federal holiday, and several cities already refuse to acknowledge it and celebrate instead “Indigenous Peoples Day.”[3]
This movement to brand Columbus a genocidal maniac and erase all memory of his extraordinary accomplishments stems from a false myth about the man and his times.
     The so-called Age of Discovery was ushered in by Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) of Portugal. Prince Henry and his sailors inaugurated the great age of explorers finding new lands and creating shipping lanes for the import and export of goods, including consumables never before seen in Europe. Their efforts also created an intense competition among the sailing nations of Europe, each striving to outdo the other in finding new and more efficient trade routes. It was into this world of innovation, exploration, and economic competition that Christopher Columbus was born.
     A native of the Italian city-state of Genoa, Columbus became a sailor at the age of fourteen. He learned the nautical trade sailing on Genoese merchant vessels and became an accomplished navigator. On a long-distance voyage past Iceland in February 1477, Columbus learned about the strong east-flowing Atlantic currents and believed a journey across the ocean could be made because the currents would be able to bring a ship home.[4] So Columbus formulated a plan to seek the east by going west. He knew such an ambitious undertaking required royal backing, and in May of 1486 he secured a royal audience with King Fernando and Queen Isabel of Spain, who in time granted everything Columbus needed for the voyage.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus embarked from Spain with ninety men on three ships: the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.[5] After thirty-three days at sea, Columbus’s flotilla spotted land (the Bahamas), which he claimed in the name of the Spanish monarchs. Columbus’s modern-day detractors view that as a sign of imperial conquest. It was not: it was simply a sign to other European nations that they could not establish trading posts on the Spanish possession.[6]
     On this first voyage, Columbus also reached the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. He stayed four months in the New World and arrived home to fanfare on March 15, 1493. Unfortunately, the Santa Maria ran aground on Hispaniola so was forced to leave forty-two men behind, ordered to treat the indigenous people well and especially to respect the women.[7] Unfortunately, as Columbus discovered on his second voyage, that order was not heeded.
Columbus made four voyages to the New World, and each brought its own discoveries and adventures. His second voyage included many crewmen from his first, but also some new faces such as Ponce de León, who later won fame as an explorer himself. On this second voyage, Columbus and his men encountered the fierce tribe of the Caribs, who were cannibals, practiced sodomy, and castrated captured boys from neighboring tribes. Columbus recognized the Caribs’ captives as members of the peaceful tribe he met on his first voyage, so he rescued and returned them to their homes.[8] This voyage included stops in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
     The third voyage was the most difficult for Columbus, as he was arrested on charges of mismanagement of the Spanish trading enterprise in the New World and sent back to Spain in chains (though later fully exonerated). Columbus’s fourth and final voyage took place in 1502-1504, with his son Fernando among the crew. The crossing of the Atlantic was the fastest ever: sixteen days. The expedition visited Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, and was marooned for a time on Jamaica.
     Most accounts of Columbus’s voyages mistake his motives by focusing narrowly on economic or political reasons. But in fact, his primary motive was to find enough gold to finance a crusade to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims, as evidenced by a letter he wrote in December 1492 to King Fernando and Queen Isabel, encouraging them to “spend all the profits of this my enterprise on the conquest of Jerusalem.”[9] In this, he believed he was fulfilling conditions for the Second Coming of Christ. Near the end of his life, he even compiled a book about the connection between the liberation of Jerusalem and the Second Coming.[10]
     Columbus considered himself a “Christ-bearer” like his namesake, St. Christopher.[11] When he first arrived in Hispaniola, his first words to the natives were, “The monarchs of Castile have sent us not to subjugate you but to teach you the true religion.”[12] In a 1502 letter to Pope Alexander VI (r. 1492-1503), Columbus asked the pontiff to send missionaries to the indigenous peoples of the New World so they could accept Christ. And in his will, Columbus proved his belief in the importance of evangelization by establishing a fund to finance missionary efforts to the lands he discovered.[13]
     Contrary to the popular myth, Columbus treated the native peoples with great respect and friendship. He was impressed by their “generosity, intelligence, and ingenuity.”[14] He recorded in his diary that “in the world there are no better people or a better land. They love their neighbors as themselves, and they have the sweetest speech in the world and [they are] gentle and always laughing.”[15] Columbus demanded that his men exchange gifts with the natives they encountered and not just take what they wanted by force. He enforced this policy rigorously: on his third voyage in August 1500, he hanged men who disobeyed him by harming the native people.[16]
     Columbus never intended the enslavement of the peoples of the New World. In fact, he considered the Indians who worked in the Spanish settlement in Hispaniola as employees of the crown.[17] In further proof that Columbus did not plan to rely on slave labor, he asked the crown to send him Spanish miners to mine for gold.[18] Indeed, no doubt influenced by Columbus, the Spanish monarchs in their instructions to Spanish settlers mandated that the Indians be treated “very well and lovingly” and demanded that no harm should come to them.[19]
     Columbus passed to his eternal reward on May 20, 1506.
For more on European exploration and missionary activity in the New World, or to learn the facts about many other anti-Catholic historical myths, check out Steve Weidenkopf’s new book, The Real Story of Catholic History, available now from Catholic Answers Press.
___________________________________________________________________________
[1] Carol Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem (New York: Free Press, 2011), xii.
[3] Marilia Brocchetto and Emanuella Grinberg, “Quest to Change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day Sails Ahead,” CNN.com, October 10, 2016, accessed April 7, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/09/us/columbus-day-indigenous-peoples-day/.
[4] The sailors of Columbus’s day did not believe the earth was flat, as is commonly believed, but were afraid about the ability to get home after sailing across the ocean.
[5] Columbus demanded a patent of nobility, a coat of arms, the titles of Admiral of the Ocean Sea and Viceroy and Governor of all discovered lands, plus 10 percent of the revenue from all trade from any claimed territory. Isabel agreed to these terms and both parties signed the Capitulations of Santa Fe on April 17, 1492. See Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, 68.
[6] See Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, 92.
[7] Ibid., 109.
[8] Ibid., 130.
[9] Ibid., vii.
[10] The book was titled Libro de las Profecías or the Book of Prophecies.
[11] Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, 83.
[12] Daniel-Rops, The Catholic Reformation, vol. 2, 27.
[13] Ibid., 159.
[14] Ibid., 97.
[15] Columbus, Diario, 281. Quoted in Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, 107. Columbus was a literate man, which was rare for the day. He recorded his observations of the New World in his diary and ship’s log, at a time when keeping logs was not standard practice.
[16] See Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, 181.
[17] Ibid., 142.
[18] Ibid., 153.
[19] See Samuel Eliot Morison, trans. and ed., Journals and Other Documents on the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, vol. 1 (New York: Heritage Press, 1963), 204. Quoted in Delaney, Columbus and the Quest for Jerusalem, 125-126.

Protect the Flock with a Glock: The Biblical Mandate for Self Defense

Published February 5, 2021 | By Hal Shurtleff

 

Hal Shurtleff and Rev. Steve Craft from Camp Constitution discuss the Biblical mandate for self defense and the need for clergy to insure that their churches are safe from violence.  Rev. Steve discuss Luke 22: 36 “Jesus told them but now if you have a money bag take it with you.  Also, take a traveling bag, and if you don’t have a sword, sell some of your clothes and buy one”  Hal and Rev. Steve encourage Christians to be able to defend themselves, their family, and church members.

George Washington Elected President February 4, 1789

Published February 5, 2021 | By campconstitution

George Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States by the electoral college February 4, 1789. At that time, as there was no Vice President, the Senate elected John Langdon as President of the Senate, “for the sole purpose of opening and counting the votes for President of the United States.” George Washington learned of his election on April 14th. He then wrote John Langdon, and Charles Thomson, the secretary of the Continental Congress.

——
From George Washington to John Langdon,
Mount Vernon April 14th 1789.
Sir,
I had the honor to receive your Official Communication, by the hand of Mr. Secretary Thompson, about one o’clock this day. Having concluded to obey the important & flattering call of my Country, and having been impressed with an idea of the expediency of my being with Congress at as early a period as possible; I propose to commence my journey on Thursday morning which will be the day after to morrow. I have the honor to be with sentiments of esteem Sir Your most obedt Servt
Go: Washington
——–
Address to Charles Thomson, 14 April 1789
Sir, I have been long accustomed to entertain so great a respect for the opinion of my fellow citizens, that the knowledge of their unanimous suffrages having been given in my favour scarcely leaves me the alternative for an Option. Whatever may have been my private feelings and sentiments, I believe I cannot give a greater evidence of my sensibility for the honor they have done me than by accepting the appointment.
I am so much affected by this fresh proof of my country’s esteem and confidence, that silence can best explain my gratitude—While I realize the arduous nature of the task which is conferred on me and feel my inability to perform it, I wish there may not be reason for regretting the choice. All I can promise is only that which can be accomplished by an honest zeal.
     Upon considering how long time some of the gentlemen of both houses of Congress have been at New York, how anxiously desirous they must be to proceed to business and how deeply the public mind appears to be impressed with the necessity of doing it immediately I cannot find myself at liberty to delay my Journey—I shall therefore be in readiness to set out the day after to morrow, and shall be happy in the pleasure of your company. For you will permit me to say that it was a peculiar gratification to have received the communication from you.
© 2020-2021 Clifford Olsen/250YearsofLiberty

The Weekly Sam: First Lecture at the South Boston Heights Academy

Published February 5, 2021 | By Hal Shurtleff

Not only was the late Sam Blumenfeld, a pioneer, in the  modern homeschool movement but in the early to mid 1970s, Sam helped to start a number of private schools including South Boston Heights Academy in South Boston, MA, and Hyde Park Academy also in Boston.    I Here is a link to the first lecture he gave at South Boston Heights where he discusses how he discovered the deliberate dumbing down of America:

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/shurtleffhal/episodes/2021-02-04T15_44_23-08_00

 

 

 

 

 

Camp Constitutution Loses a Friend with the passing of Pastor Garrett Lear

Published January 28, 2021 | By Hal Shurtleff

I have had the honor and privilege to call the late Pastor Garrett Lear, a friend.  He was one of the finest men that I knew.  I first met him in the mid-1990s and we shared many a podium together.   He was an instructor at Camp Constitution since its inception in 2009.   One of my fondest memories of Pastor Lear is the Gadsden Flag raising ceremony which we sponsored on Boston’s City Hall Plaza back in 2013.  He showed up in his Black Robe Regiment attire carrying his musket.  He and my son raised the flag and after the ceremony, Garrett walked around downtown Boston attracting plenty of attention. (See video below) It isn’t every day that folks see a 6′ 7″ man carrying a musket in Boston.

Pastor Lear with Rev. Steve Craft

 

His obituary:

Garrett Lear, affectionately known across America and parts of the world as The Patriot Pastor, died at his home in Sanbornville, NH on January 25, 2021 (where he had lived for 16 years) with his loving and devoted wife Kathi at his side.

He was born Joseph Albert Wills II on July 22, 1948 in Boston MA, the first and only son of Albert W. Wills and Shirley Viano Wills.  Most of his early years were spent in Lexington, MA and North Hampton NH.  He was predeceased by his parents and also his younger and only sibling Susan Ruth Mesterhazy who died in 2018.

He attended Lexington Schools until he was inducted in the corps of cadets at Valley Forge Military Academy, Wayne, PA in 1965, graduating with honors in 1967. He was a member of The National Honor Society and various other scholarly and sports societies while there. He was a member of the Anthony Wayne Legion Honor Guard being #1 in the standing. He was chapel vestry and sang in the choir.

Garrett graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BA in 1971, where he was active in sports, fraternity life (Delta Kappa Epsilon – DKE), a campus student leader and a well-recognized media personality in Nashville.

He served in the US Army and was discharged with an honorable medical discharge from the officer corps at Fort Bragg, NC. ending his intentions for an Army career with the 82nd Airborne.

He moved to California in 1971 and continued in the entertainment and media industry (adopting the professional name Garrett Lear) while attending various Christian ministry schools, becoming ordained in 1973.

In 1975 he moved to Maui Hawaii where he was an avid hunter, fisherman, SCUBA diving instructor and tour guide. There he married his first wife (now deceased) Annette Villaren with whom he had 4 children (1 deceased) and 3 foster children.

In 1980 Garrett began full-time Christian ministry, launching The Well of Living Water Christian Ministries and Fellowship. He graduated from Project 714 and ministered in jails, rehabilitation centers and schools all over America, especially Teen Challenge.  He had many spiritual sons and daughters and was an adviser and mentor to people from all walks of life, particularly leaders in government, medicine, and education.

He traveled extensively holding services including Gospel and patriotic music concerts in all 50 American states, most of the provinces of Canada and some in Eastern Europe. He pastored churches in Alaska, Hawaii, California and New Hampshire as well as being interim pastor in many locations including Ft. Nelson, British Columbia.

He hosted a well-received radio program, “Water From The Well” that aired on a variety of stations, he was a popular guest on radio and TV programs, and published dozens of articles in numerous publications. In 1987 his radio broadcast even reached Siberia.  He was known as a person with a passionate and well-articulated Biblical worldview and over the years amassed an extensive personal library, of which he was very proud.

In 1992 Garrett founded The Patriot Pastor and The Heroes of American Liberty – The Black Robed Regiment for the 20th Century. He was one of the early pioneers in the Home School Movement, The Tea Party Movement, and We The People. He was one of the founders of The New Hampshire Alliance, Cornerstone Policy Research, National Day of Prayer, The Presidential Prayer Team, Calling All Mayflower Descendants, Pastor’s Prayer Summit, Micro-Farmers of New Hampshire and a familiar figure in various parades.

He was an officer of The National Society Sons of The American Revolution, serving on the National Chaplain’s Committee and holding various officer positions with the Massachusetts and New Hampshire Societies where he was highly decorated, having been awarded the Patriot Medal and the Roger Sherman award with oak leaf cluster. He also served on the Henry Knox Color Guard for the Massachusetts Society.  He was inducted in The Lexington Minutemen in 2016.

He was a member and instructor of the National Heritage Center for Constitutional Studies, third generation Member of The American Legion, member of and/or active in the Bunker Hill Monument Association, New England Genealogical Society, NH Historical Society, All Things Mayflower, Hampton Rod & Gun Club, White Birch Armory, NRA, NH Coalition of Gun Owners, Camp Constitution, Seacoast Pro-life Network, Options for Women, NH Right to Life, March for Life, March for Jesus, Full Gospel Men’s Fellowship International, Women Aglow International, Promise Keepers, and Oath Keepers. He received the Father O’Connor award, a lifetime achievement award given by NH Right to Life. As a board member for Lokahi Pacific Corporation, he was presented with The Golden Gavel Award, and he graduated in California from The PACE (personal and company effective program).

At various times, Garrett was ordained by different Christian denominations and accepted for ministry in dozens of Christian retreat centers. In 1981 and 1982 he received degrees in Pastoral Counseling and Doctor of Divinity from The Gospel Ministry Institute in California.

In 1995, he received an Award of Sincere Appreciation from the congregation he pastored in North Hampton, NH, also Family Research Council’s Watchman on The Wall Award in 1996, Daughters of The American Revolution Multimedia Services Award 2010, Hampton Rod & Gun Club 2012 Special Recognition Award, The National Center for Constitutional Studies Loyalty Award 2007, and several awards from numerous Rotary Clubs. Garrett was also Honorary Founder of 2 Timothy 3:15 Boy Scout Troop.  Regardless of the many awards he was given. Serving was Garrett’s greatest joy.  What meant the most to him and what he appreciated most were the cards and letters he received from men, women, and children thanking him for helping them with various life situations.

His final reflections included, “I have lived a life that most people can only dream of or see in a magazine; it has been a very full life and I have no complaints.  Being a servant of King Jesus in service to His people has been my passion and joy”.  His favorite scripture was Acts 17:28.

Service arrangements are pending and will be announced as soon as they are available.

In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to be sent to The Well of Living Water Christian Ministries & Fellowship, 66 Buttercup Lane, Wakefield, NH  03872 so that the Lord’s work that Garrett began nearly 50 years ago may continue and grow.

 

Next Step for Christian Flag: U.S. Supreme Court

Published January 23, 2021 | By campconstitution

Next Step for Christian Flag: U.S. Supreme Court

Jan 22, 2021

BOSTON, MA – Following a decision by the First Circuit Court of Appeals, Liberty Counsel will file a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of Boston resident Hal Shurtleff and his Christian civic organization, Camp Constitution, arguing that the city of Boston violated the First Amendment by censoring a private flag in a public forum merely because it contained a cross.
Despite the clear evidence presented at trial, the First Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the city of Boston’s censorship of the Christian viewpoint on the public forum, a place designated as a “public forum” by the city itself, and where it never censored private speech – until Camp Constitution’s application.

Never has Boston censored any flag until the Christian flag, which is white with a blue square in the upper corner and a red cross. The flag contains no writing. Under oath, the city official testified the flag would have been approved if the application did not refer to it as a “Christian flag.” The word “Christian” on the application alone triggered the censorship. The official said he had never heard of a “Christian flag” until Camp Constitution’s application. This testimony showed that if Camp Constitution had not referred it the flag on the application with the word “Christian,” it would not have been censored.

The city refers to its flagpole as a “public forum” and allows private organizations to temporarily raise their own flags on the flagpoles. However, the city censored the religious viewpoint of Camp Constitution’s flag, which was to be raised for about an hour on September 17 in observance of Constitution Day, while supporters gathered around the flagpole. The flag was part of the ceremony to honor the Constitution and recognize the Christian Founders.

Shurtleff and Camp Constitution first asked the city in 2017 for a permit to raise the Christian flag on Boston City Hall flagpoles to commemorate Constitution Day (September 17) and the civic and cultural contributions of the Christian community to the city of Boston, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, religious tolerance, the Rule of Law, and the U.S. Constitution.

The city’s records show Boston has allowed at least 284 applications by private organizations on the city hall flagpoles without denial except for the Christian flag. Other flags raised include the Turkish flag (which depicts the Islamic star and crescent) and the Portuguese flag (which uses religious imagery). City officials have also never denied the “messages” communicated by the “Chinese Progressive Association,” the  rainbow flag of Boston Pride, and a “transgender” pink and blue flag. The flags of private community groups include Albania, Brazil, Ethiopia, Italy, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, and Mexico, as well as of Communist China and Cuba. No flag was ever denied until the city denied the flag of Camp Constitution.

Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The city’s discrimination against Camp Constitution’s Christian viewpoint is both obvious and unconstitutional. There is a crucial difference between government endorsement of religion and private speech, which government is bound to respect. Censoring religious viewpoints in a public forum where secular viewpoints are permitted is unconstitutional. We look forward to the next step in our journey to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Liberty Counsel provides broadcast quality TV interviews via Hi-Def Skype and LTN at no cost.

(The above article is a news release from Liberty Counsel:  https://lc.org

TAKE ACTION

 

Determination of the Secretary of State on Atrocities in Xinjiang

Published January 20, 2021 | By campconstitution

Determination of the Secretary of State on Atrocities in Xinjiang

PRESS STATEMENT

MICHAEL R. POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE

JANUARY 19, 2021

The United States of America has led the world in holding the perpetrators of the most heinous human rights abuses accountable. From the Nuremberg Trials, to the creation of the Genocide Convention in 1948, to the declaration of ISIS’s recent genocide against the Yazidis, Christians, and other religious minorities in Iraq and Syria, Americans have given voice to those who have been silenced by evil, and stood with the living who cry out for truth, the rule of law, and justice. We do so not because we are compelled to act by any international court, multilateral body, or domestic political concern. We do so because it is right.

For the past four years, this Administration has exposed the nature of the Chinese Communist Party and called it what it is: a Marxist-Leninist regime that exerts power over the long-suffering Chinese people through brainwashing and brute force. We have paid particular attention to the CCP’s treatment of the Uyghur people, a Muslim minority group that resides largely in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in Western China. While the CCP has always exhibited a profound hostility to all people of faith, we have watched with growing alarm the Party’s increasingly repressive treatment of the Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups.

Our exhaustive documentation of the PRC’s actions in Xinjiang confirms that since at least March 2017, local authorities dramatically escalated their decades-long campaign of repression against Uyghur Muslims and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups, including ethnic Kazakhs and ethnic Kyrgyz. Their morally repugnant, wholesale policies, practices, and abuses are designed systematically to discriminate against and surveil ethnic Uyghurs as a unique demographic and ethnic group, restrict their freedom to travel, emigrate, and attend schools, and deny other basic human rights of assembly, speech, and worship. PRC authorities have conducted forced sterilizations and abortions on Uyghur women, coerced them to marry non-Uyghurs, and separated Uyghur children from their families.

Party apparatchiks have denied international observers unhindered access to Xinjiang and denounced reliable reports about the worsening situation on the ground, instead spinning fanciful tales of happy Uyghurs participating in educational, counter-terror, women’s empowerment, and poverty alleviation projects. Meanwhile, they are delivering far darker messages to their own people, portraying Uyghurs as “malignant tumors,” comparing their faith to a “communicable plague,” and exhorting the Party faithful to implement a crushing blow, telling them “you can’t uproot all the weeds hidden among the crops in the field one-by-one; you need to spray chemicals to kill them all.”

Since the Allied forces exposed the horrors of Nazi concentration camps, the refrain “Never again” has become the civilized world’s rallying cry against these horrors. Just because an atrocity is perpetrated in a manner that is different than what we have observed in the past, does not make it any less an atrocity. Today, I thus make the following determinations:

  1. After careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that since at least March 2017, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), under the direction and control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has committed crimes against humanity against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other members of ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. These crimes are ongoing and include: the arbitrary imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty of more than one million civilians, forced sterilization, torture of a large number of those arbitrarily detained, forced labor, and the imposition of draconian restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, and freedom of movement. The Nuremberg Tribunals at the end of World War II prosecuted perpetrators for crimes against humanity, the same crimes being perpetrated in Xinjiang.
  2. In addition, after careful examination of the available facts, I have determined that the PRC, under the direction and control of the CCP, has committed genocide against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minority groups in Xinjiang. I believe this genocide is ongoing, and that we are witnessing the systematic attempt to destroy Uyghurs by the Chinese party-state. The governing authorities of the second most economically, militarily, and politically powerful country on earth have made clear that they are engaged in the forced assimilation and eventual erasure of a vulnerable ethnic and religious minority group, even as they simultaneously assert their country as a global leader and attempt to remold the international system in their image.

The United States calls upon the PRC immediately to release all arbitrarily detained persons and abolish its system of internment, detention camps, house arrest and forced labor; cease coercive population control measures, including forced sterilizations, forced abortion, forced birth control, and the removal of children from their families; end all torture and abuse in places of detention; end the persecution of Uyghurs and other members of religious and ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang and elsewhere in China, and afford Uyghurs and other persecuted minorities the freedom to travel and emigrate.

We further call on all appropriate multilateral and relevant juridical bodies, to join the United States in our effort to promote accountability for those responsible for these atrocities. I have directed the U.S. Department of State to continue to investigate and collect relevant information regarding the ongoing atrocities occurring in Xinjiang, and to make this evidence available to appropriate authorities and the international community to the extent allowable by law. The United States, on its part, has spoken out and taken action, implementing a range of sanctions against senior CCP leaders and state-run enterprises that fund the architecture of repression across Xinjiang.

The United States has worked exhaustively to pull into the light what the Communist Party and General Secretary Xi Jinping wish to keep hidden through obfuscation, propaganda, and coercion. Beijing’s atrocities in Xinjiang represent an extreme affront to the Uyghurs, the people of China, and civilized people everywhere. We will not remain silent. If the Chinese Communist Party is allowed to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against its own people, imagine what it will be emboldened to do to the free world, in the not-so-distant future.

Proclamation on National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2021 by Donald J. Trump

Published January 20, 2021 | By campconstitution

 

Proclamation on National Sanctity of Human Life Day, 2021Issued on: 

Every human life is a gift to the world.  Whether born or unborn, young or old, healthy or sick, every person is made in the holy image of God.  The Almighty Creator gives unique talents, beautiful dreams, and a great purpose to every person.  On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we celebrate the wonder of human existence and renew our resolve to build a culture of life where every person of every age is protected, valued, and cherished. 

This month, we mark nearly 50 years since the United States Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision.  This constitutionally flawed ruling overturned State laws that banned abortion, and has resulted in the loss of more than 50 million innocent lives.  But strong mothers, courageous students, and incredible community members and people of faith are leading a powerful movement to awaken America’s conscience and restore the belief that every life is worthy of respect, protection, and care.  Because of the devotion of countless pro-life pioneers, the call for every person to recognize the sanctity of life is resounding more loudly in America than ever before.  Over the last decade, the rate of abortions has steadily decreased, and today, more than three out of every four Americans support restrictions on abortion.

Since my first day in office, I have taken historic action to protect innocent lives at home and abroad.  I reinstituted and strengthened President Ronald Reagan’s Mexico City Policy, issued a landmark pro-life rule to govern the use of Title Ten taxpayer funding, and took action to protect the conscience rights of doctors, nurses, and organizations like the Little Sisters of the Poor.  My Administration has protected the vital role of faith-based adoption.  At the United Nations, I made clear that global bureaucrats have no business attacking the sovereignty of nations that protect innocent life.  Just a few months ago, our Nation also joined 32 other countries in signing the Geneva Consensus Declaration, which bolsters global efforts to provide better healthcare to women, protect all human life, and strengthen families.

As a Nation, restoring a culture of respect for the sacredness of life is fundamental to solving our country’s most pressing problems.  When each person is treated as a beloved child of God, individuals can reach their full potential, communities will flourish, and America will be a place of even greater hope and freedom.  That is why it was my profound privilege to be the first President in history to attend the March for Life, and it is what motives my actions to improve our Nation’s adoption and foster care system, secure more funding for Down syndrome research, and expand health services for single mothers.  Over the past 4 years, I have appointed more than 200 Federal judges who apply the Constitution as written, including three Supreme Court Justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.  I also increased the child tax credit, so that mothers are financially supported as they take on the noble task of raising strong and healthy children.  And, recently, I signed an Executive Order on Protecting Vulnerable Newborn and Infant Children, which defends the truth that every newborn baby has the same rights as all other individuals to receive life-saving care.

The United States is a shining example of human rights for the world.  However, some in Washington are fighting to keep the United States among a small handful of nations — including North Korea and China — that allow elective abortions after 20 weeks.  I join with countless others who believe this is morally and fundamentally wrong, and today, I renew my call on the Congress to pass legislation prohibiting late-term abortion.

Since the beginning, my Administration has been dedicated to lifting up every American, and that starts with protecting the rights of the most vulnerable in our society — the unborn.  On National Sanctity of Human Life Day, we promise to continue speaking out for those who have no voice.  We vow to celebrate and support every heroic mother who chooses life.  And we resolve to defend the lives of every innocent and unborn child, each of whom can bring unbelievable love, joy, beauty, and grace into our Nation and the entire world.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 22, 2021, as National Sanctity of Human Life Day.  Today, I call on the Congress to join me in protecting and defending the dignity of every human life, including those not yet born.  I call on the American people to continue to care for women in unexpected pregnancies and to support adoption and foster care in a more meaningful way, so every child can have a loving home.  And finally, I ask every citizen of this great Nation to listen to the sound of silence caused by a generation lost to us, and then to raise their voices for all affected by abortion, both seen and unseen.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-fifth.

DONALD J. TRUMP

Designed by Eric Conover.