Democratic Control of Government Means Redefining America

Star Parker on May 20, 2026

Per USA Today columnist Chris Brennan, the Rededicate 250 event, held on the National Mall to rededicate our country as One Nation Under God, violated both our national spirit and our Constitution.

Per Brennan, the Christian character of the event, and the Protestant content, flies in the face of the national value of religious diversity.

The bottom line on the religious diversity claims points to religion not being a national value at all.

I am perplexed how this squares with the rights noted in our Declaration of Independence asserted under the authority of the "Laws of Nature and Nature's God," and the appeal of the signers at the Declaration's conclusion to "the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions."

The Constitution's preamble notes its objective is to "secure the Blessings of Liberty."

The late Claremont Institute scholar Harry V. Jaffa noted, in this context, that "What is a blessing is what is good in the eyes of God."

Lincoln spoke, in his second inaugural address, to a nation that accepted God, but was no longer "one nation."

"Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other."

Today we have something very new with profound implications for our future.

Our social and political tensions are increasingly not rooted in different understandings about what God wants from us but in whether the Creator is relevant at all. True and false, good and evil, are among many different, equally legitimate, possibilities. It's all relative.

This gets back to the objections to Rededicate 250.

Our differences about religion are now increasingly partisan.

Per Gallup, in 2001 the percentage of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents who identified as having "no religion" was 11%. The percentage of Republicans/Republican-leaning independents identifying as "no religion" was 7%. This made a difference of 4 points.

By 2023, Democrat "nones" was up to 33% and Republicans 12%. The difference increased to 21 points.

Per Gallup, in 1980, among 30- to 50-year-olds, among those identifying as Republican, 84% were married, and among those identifying as Democrat, 82%. This made a difference of 2 points.

By 2024, the percent of Republicans married was 67% and of Democrats 49% -- a difference of 18 points.

Growing divergent partisan attitudes about religion translate into significantly different partisan results regarding marriage, family and children.

In 2025, Gallup reported differences in attitudes among Republicans and Democrats regarding capitalism and socialism.

Among Republicans, 74% said they have a positive view of capitalism. Among Democrats, 42% said they have a positive view of capitalism.

Among Republicans, 14% said they have a positive view of socialism. Among Democrats, 66% said they have a positive view of socialism.

The dramatically different views among Republicans and Democrats regarding capitalism and socialism flow logically from the different dispositions among the parties regarding religion.

The Eighth Commandment says "Thou shalt not steal." It recognizes private property. The Tenth Commandment says "Thou shalt not covet." It recognizes that your business is what is yours, not what your neighbor has.

Socialism is the opposite. It is secularism. It erases the sacred nature of private property and is driven by redistributing wealth -- concern with what your neighbor has.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the new progressive socialist face of the Democratic Party, exclaimed: "You can't earn a billion dollars. You just can't earn that. You can get market power, you can break rules, you can abuse labor laws, you can pay people less than their worth, but you can't earn that."

Apparently, Bill Gates did not build Microsoft, or Jeff Bezos Amazon, or Elon Musk Tesla with super hard work, creativity and risk-taking. They are all scoundrels.

Progressives think we need AOC, who can draw on her work experience as a bartender, to straighten everything out.

Never has what party rules in Washington meant so much to our country's future.

Star Parker is founder of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Her recent book, "What Is the CURE for America?" is available now. To find out more about Star Parker and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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