User:TK

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Wednesday 7 October 2026

A Happy New Year (and the Principles That Should Guide It)

As we prepare to round the corner from 2008 to a new year in 2009, it goes without saying that we face many challenges. But one challenge that shouldn't get lost amidst the inevitable focus on the economy and our national security is the role of God and religion in our national life.

Protecting our religious heritage and belief from those who would deny it or suppress it is a good in and of itself, of course. But the preservation of faith in our public life also bears on how we view the proper role of government in our lives, how we approach the education of our children - indeed, how we expect to survive as a democratic republic.

On this question, the American Founders were explicit: Virtue is a necessary pre-condition for democracy, and religion is a necessary pre-condition for virtue. In his Farewell Address, George Washington famously said that "reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle." Benjamin Rush said simply, "Where there is no religion, there will be no morals."

These are words to reflect on as we prepare to begin 2009. America is on the precipice of change - politically and economically. How we will negotiate this change and what kind of nation will emerge will be greatly influenced by whether or not we take George Washington's and Benjamin Rush's words to heart. --Newt Gingrich

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Yes, it was a very bad error to post there. I know those guys are up to no good and the fact that they think they’re on my side is somewhat galling. I don’t mind posting on Conservapedia because I have a better chance of being crowned Miss World than being mistaken for a conservative.[1]--Tony Sidaway, 28 Jan 09

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