Berks Tea Party

Statement of Principles and Mission Statement

PREAMBLE

We believe that the founding documents of the United States of America are the “Declaration of Independence”, The United States Constitution, as amended, and the writings of the founding fathers.

We believe that it is each citizen’s responsibility to act to support and defend the rights of all men (and women, hereinafter referred to collectively as men).

We believe that our government over the course of the past several years has acted in a manner contrary to these tenets.
We, therefore, pledge ourselves to the peaceable overturning of these acts and to restore America to its rightful place.

We accept and adopt the 9 12 values and Principles

The 12 Values
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude

 The Berks Tea Party STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES

1. The Declaration of Independence being our guide states that “All men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”.
2. We believe in the Sanctity of all human life and that the fundamental duty of government is to preserve and protect life.
3. It is further the second duty of government to preserve individual liberty in all its aspects. Therefore, we also believe that the duty of government to secure the liberty of all those who would be denied such liberty by the actions of another.
4. The third duty of government is to provide an opportunity, not to insure, for each individual to pursue his own definition of happiness so long that he does not infringe on the rights of others.
5. Freedom is based on the fundamental rights of man including those embodied in our Constitution. Government must operate as efficiently as possible and must recognize its inherent momentum to self- increase. That such increase is abhorrent must always be understood as an infringement on liberty.  Therefore, government must be limited, both in size and scope of its activities.
6. We recognize that individuals, acting alone or in concert with others, are the best determinants of markets and needs. The government should never substitute its or others’ ideas for the action of free markets.
7. We recognize that the larger government becomes, the smaller the available investment in the free market. Therefore, government should be limited to a percent of Gross Domestic Product except in time of war.
8. We believe that the United States of America is a unique nation: We believe that our founding, our principles, our culture makes us unique among all nations. We believe that there is no other country  like America in the past or present.
9. We believe that among our sacred privileges is the citizenship and its attendant rights and  privileges. Therefore, we believe that our liberty and our culture is subject to undesirable change and influence when we do not defend our borders and allow illegal aliens into the country.

10. We believe that the duty of the government is to insure that Americans enjoy the fruits of their own labors and that the so-called free trade agreements are not free: We believe that competition is reduced not heightened and that free market forces are not in play. We, therefore, believe that we need fairer and more balanced trade agreements that encourage investment here in America.

11. American world leadership has been  built upon our desire to see all peoples and nations free. Therefore, a strong national defense is absolutely necessary.

12. We believe in the individual responsibility of each man to provide for his own welfare, wherever possible. If, in extreme circumstances, he is unable to do so, for a brief period of time, we must help that individual to regain dignity by helping  find work and, if necessary, temporary funds and retraining.

13. We believe the family is the fundamental foundation for the teaching of children. We believe it is governments responsibility to foster the formation and growth of the family.

14. We believe that government must provide for education outside of the family only when the family decides upon that option. We believe that an educated public is the best guarantee of our future, both in prosperity, our freedom and our national sovereignty. We believe that civics must return to the classroom as a requirement to these ends. We believe that , as with all governmental institutions, it is the nature of those institutions to become corrupted. It is therefore, the duty of citizens to oversee all aspects of educational institutions.

15. We believe that we have a custodial responsibility to the earth. While we have been given much by our Creator, we have the responsibility to wisely use what has been given. Thus, it is the responsibility of every man  to use the environment in such a way as not harm man or the environment, while at the same time harvesting what the environment and land has to offer. It is the responsibility of government to  insure such protection while at the same time recognize the need for business activity, public infrastructure, housing and the inalienable rights of property of the individual.

16. We believe that a republic is the right choice for our form of government. We are not, nor ever have been, nor want to be a democracy. Our forefathers saw the danger of that form of government and the tendency to become a mob.

17. Therefore, we also believe that a republic gives us just laws. Justice demands an honest and impartial application of the law. It is a perversion of justice to deny equal opportunity to any individual. All people have a right to property honestly gained.

18.  Therefore, it is the responsibility of government to protect those rights of life, liberty and property. To that end, All people should be safe and secure in their homes and their communities. A strong system of criminal justice, which metes out sure and swift punishment to those who break the law, must not be compromised.

19. A free market system is the basis of prosperity. The power of free enterprise to create jobs is the best means to eliminate poverty and provide for the pursuit of material happiness and abundance.  The forced redistribution of wealth and the over regulation of the free enterprise system is destructive of the fabric of such systems and the society itself.  Like any system, the basis of which is freedom, it is the responsibility of government to provide protection for that system. We also believe, like any other system, the opportunity exists for the accumulation of wealth to lead to the tyrannical assumption of political power. The tendency of the market to  eliminate competition is to be avoided and governments must provide protection for the continued freedom of markets by insuring that no one is too big to fail and monopolies be either fully regulated or broken up. Thus, the separation of powers is further achieved.