Tradition in America

In thinking about tradition, which is culture, it it necessary to understand diversity. Our culture is maintained by its laws, which describe a '"free way of life". Congress is pledged that they are not to make a law that legislates a religion. While our freedom is a value that maintains a climate that gives room for diverse views and opinions, the Church also allows this "freedom" as it is only one among many religious traditions within our nation.

Freedom, which is protected by the "rule of law", is what human rights is about, as tradition would limit freedom, because it maintains a climate of tightly defined laws that govern its "tradition". Our government is based upon free and open exchange of information and thus, does not limit a person's choice of lifestyle, while Tradition does.

So, human rights is about the freedom of the individual from oppressive governments, regimes and traditions. Some traditions believe that their rules legislate "right behavior", but breed a narrow understanding of human rights.

Human rights is about life and liberty. Each human life has value, as well as a right to exercise freedom of choice. We are a people who are governed by laws which are protective of these rights. This protects our sense of security and peace. All civilied nations interact with other nations through treaty. These treaties represent the attempt to produce peace between the parties.

In our country, civil liberties are affirmed under our government's desire to protect "all rights". Therefore, those who subvert the "rule of law" are subversive and are considered terrorists. We do not condone terrorism of any kind.

Because of our cultural diversity, we allow the individual to choose which community organizations he commits, whether religious, political, or communal. This is what we believe and this is the mantra of the American "ideal" of freedom and justice for all.