Address
to the Christian Coalition
Alan
Keyes
September
10, 1995
Washington,
D.C.
John Calligan: [scans several thousand
seated in the conference room] Wow! You guys look great! The tremendous
growth of this organization and this movement
We have become, in 5 or 6 years, a mature political movement with the ability
to affect the destiny of this country. That's proof that God had been
providing our nation with a wake-up call. [applause]
Yes. Our next speaker is part of that awakening. [sound of keys jingling from
the audience]
In his nationally syndicated radio program, "America's Wake-Up
Call," Dr. Alan Keyes is sounding a powerful alarm for our country,
calling not for a retreat, but for a restoration of our culture
In addition to his work on the radio, Dr. Keyes is an author, educator . . .
[the sound of keys ringing fills the auditorium, Mr. Calligan
laughs, those without keys applaud or shout, and the media cameras focus on
members of the audience ringing their keys]
. . . and former Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council
under Ronald Reagan.
In his pursuit this year of the Republican nomination for President of the
United States, Dr. Keyes' impassioned defense of the unborn
It is my great pleasure to introduce to you Dr. Alan Keyes.
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
Alan Keyes: Thank you . . . Thank you . . . Thank you very
much . . . Before I get started, I want to take a second to introduce you to
my family here, my mainstays and support. And I often tell people that once
I've introduced them, I really could go off and save you all the trouble of
listening to my speech, because you know what it's all about then. My wife
Jocelyn, my eldest, Francis
Maya: No.
Keyes: No. So, regardless, we've
got to be truthful, right? So she was not cold-cocked by Ross Perot, even
though our booth was thrown out of the convention
Now I have to tell you. I actually, I very much, in spite of the fact that
the Alan Keyes booth was thrown out of the Ross Perot Convention
[audience: No]
Keyes: You haven't?!
[audience: No]
Keyes: I can't believe that! Well,
that must be the national media doing their job again! [thunderous applause,
shouts] You know why? We got thrown out of the convention because we were
showing two pro-life videos: "I Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb" and
"The Heart of Truth," and the Ross Perot people kicked us out. And
it turned out, my friends, that I went in the afternoon and I spoke to them,
and Mr. Perot and his buddies had been doing their level best to make sure
nobody was talking about the pro-life moral issues, and the media was doing
their best to create the impression that that's because the people at United
We Stand America didn't care about these issues.
Well, I went and I gave a speech in which I talked about them, in which I hit
the pro-life issue head on, in which I talked about the relationship between
the moral and fiscal issues. And ninety-percent of them were on their feet
cheering and applauding, because . . . [wild applause and cheers] . . . don't
let the media make you believe that somehow or another the folks who are in
this room, committed to God and country in that good order, the folks who are
in this room, committed to rebuilding the family and strengthening the
character of this country represent some kind of a minority.
We are the majority in America, and we're going to prove it!
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
And the reason is very simple. The reason we are is very simple. Now, I know
there are those people like Arlen Specter and some others who will tell you .
. . [booing] . . . wait! They'll try to tell you that we can't talk about the
moral agenda, we can't talk about the pro-life issue, we can't mention the
three-letter-word in a public place because that's "divisive."
That's one of their favorite words: it's "divisive." I keep getting
this from the media, I keep getting it from news people: "How can you be
representing this pro-life issue? It's divisive."
Well, I'll tell you something. I look across this country, I look across this
audience, I see people of every race and creed and color and background that
have gathered here from all parts of the world. We are, indeed, a nation of
nations, a people of many peoples, united in this nation.
But what is it? What is it that forms the ground of our unity? What is it
that, more than anything else, brings us together as one nation? I think that
if we go back to the beginning, it is stated right there in the basic truths
that were presented to us in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold
these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights."
Now, tell me something. When I quote from that document, when I speak of the
laws of nature and nature's God, when I speak of God, the Creator, when I
speak of His divine and providential hand upon this nation, I quote from that
document which presents the principles on which we stand as a people, on
which we unite as a people
How can standing for those principles be divisive, when those principles are
the one thing that make us a nation?!
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
But now I get to the hard part. No, it is the hard part, my friends, because
I come before you today and I know that you've heard that we are in the midst
of a great struggle. It is indeed a struggle for this nation's soul and
future. It challenges us greatly. It challenges us to be sure and to be
careful. But most importantly, it challenges us to be bold and unashamed. And
we have to ask ourselves, each and every one of us, as Americans, as
Christian people, whether we are meeting that challenge.
And you see all kinds of ways you can do this. You can do it by the
calculation method and sit back there and try to figure out where the winner
is today. "I don't know who's gonna win. Is it that one, is it this one?
Is it the other one? We'll throw our support behind whoever looks like a
winner today, and that'll be that." I don't know who I'm speaking to.
Could be I'm speaking to somebody in this audience, but I've got to tell you
one thing. In election after election in this country, people have stood on
the sidelines trying to calculate which way they should go to find a winner.
And I'll tell you this: in election after election, that kind of approach has
meant one thing. It has meant that this country and its principles have lost.
I think it's time we put aside every calculation, put aside everything but
this one thought: which way lies the right? Which way lies the Will that lies
above all other wills?
Choose that as your direction, and go for it. And we cannot go wrong, we
cannot go wrong. We shall prevail, no matter what. [applause]
If you're ready to do that, then I think I'll lay a challenge out in front of
you, because it is the challenge of our time right now
Yeah! Wait, wait, wait! Now, I want you to all hold on a second! Hold on! I
know, because I'm not saying these things. I'm about to get to the part you
don't like, so listen to the part you like. OK? I know that we all believe
this. It's got to be the priority. We know that that's the problem. We know
that it leads to the breakdown of family life, and we know that the breakdown
of the marriage-based, two-parent family is at the root of every problem
We are doing it wrong when we back away from the family system. And we have
allowed the destruction of the family system, because we are defining our
freedom in a corrupt and licentious way that destroys the loyalty and love
and sense of obligation that's needed for family life.
Now, we know it's true. And I have a question for you, then. If you know it's
true and you think it's right, then why on earth would you sit back this time
when it matters more than anything to this nation that we make that our
number one priority, and put your seal of approval behind people who put it
on the back burner and give it the back seat, and only talk about it when you
force them to?
What's the matter with you?
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
Because I'll tell you. I'll be honest. I think that we have got to make the
restoration of the moral and material foundations of the marriage-based
family the number one priority of this nation's life. Nothing is more
important. Not the budget, not the deficit, not the taxes, not the power of
the federal government or the state government.
We will rebuild our families, or we will perish
Now that doesn't mean, and don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean we don't
care about these other issues, because when you think it through, if you want
to rebuild families then you better start by rebuilding the material resource
base of the family, and that means you've got to reclaim control of the money
and the income from the government. That means you've got to abolish the
income tax, get a retail sales tax in place that puts people back in control
of their income. Make the paycheck the pay. Make the income the income. Make
our decisions the decisions that count first before the government gets its
share, and maybe we'll reclaim our material authority.
It also means that when you look at welfare . . . I'm listening to all these
folks, liberals, conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, all saying the same
thing about welfare: "Put those welfare people to work." And I'm
sitting there thinking to myself, "But most of those welfare people are
mothers." Have you realized yet that the only people who should be happy
with the wholesale agenda of putting unwed mothers to work are the feminists
who believe in the destruction of the family? Before we concentrate on
putting them to work, let's put the work in the right context, in the context
of marriage-based families where children are supposed to be reared.
Make marriage the number one objective and, in that context, work.
[applause]
And if we're going to achieve that objective, then we'd better not rely on
the bureaucrats, because I don't think bureaucrats make good matchmakers. Do
you?
[audience: No]
Keyes: And I don't believe either
with all those people who go throw up their hands and act as if you can't
force people to get married
I think that there are many people right here in this audience, there are
many churches, there are many institutions of faith, who know how to do it,
who know how to draw people into moralizing relationships, who know how to
give them counsel and guidance and prayer and support, so that they can find
decent partners and be decent husbands and wives and fathers and mothers.
I think it's time we reclaimed that responsibility from the government. Take
back the helping programs, take back the charity programs, put them back in
the hands of the non-government faith-based institutions where they belong,
so we can get on with the job.
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
And finally, how are we going to do it if we continue to allow a
government-dominated education system to take us down a brain-washed road,
toward a day when our children won't even know what the Declaration of
Independence is all about? We've got to reclaim the government's role in
education, as well, because it shouldn't be a government-lead endeavor. We
shouldn't let them treat our children as if they belonged to government. Our
children belong to God, and we as parents are responsible to Him for them
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
And if we're to find our way back to clear moral health and foundations, I
think we're going to have to confront, first and foremost, those issues that
epitomize the corrupt and licentious concept of freedom that you and I both
know is destroying this country.
At Republican gatherings and other gatherings around the country, I guess I
tend to be now the one who shows up, nobody really wants him around,
"He's gonna ruin our lunch again. There he goes, messing with
dinner." Because I feel that it is absolutely hypocritical to go
charging off up the hill against the fictional violence of Hollywood and to
go charging out and to say, "Well, you know my record. You know where I
stand." No. Because, you see, the number one thing we've got to get done
right now is not figuring out where some politician stands on the issue.
Leadership in this country right now involves standing up and forthrightly
and persuasively presenting to the American people the case of conscience for
those things we know to be right.
That's what we have to do on the abortion issue, not run away with it, not
play with it, because if we don't face it forthrightly we will never
get back to the principles that have made this country strong and great. How
can we put into the hands of women the right to determine whether their
children are human or not, for purposes of abortion, when our great founding
document says quite clearly that that determination was made by God Almighty
long before we got here?
And we have
a choice. As I put it to Wolf Blitzer the other day, he said, "Well, how
can you, a man, come here and pretend to dictate the choice of a woman?"
I'm saying, "I'm not dictating anybody's choice. I am not saying this.
The Declaration says it. And the Declaration says that it was God's choice
that made us human, and God's choice that gave us rights, and between God's
choice and the woman's choice, I know where I stand, I know where we must
stand as a nation." [applause]
And finally, I know I'm coming in for some criticism, because I . . . Wait!
Wait! Really! . . . Because, am I bringing religion into politics, do you
think? Am I crossing that wall, so called, of separation between church and
state? They tell that me this is terrible. There are people who believe that
you can't be a preacher in politics, this is all awful, we've got to
concentrate on other things. What country are they living in? This is a
nation that was built on certain moral premises. The main premise is very
simple: our rights come from God.
Now, will somebody tell me, explain to me, if we deny God's existence and
reject His authority, what happens to our claim to be respected in our human
rights? I don't believe it can stand because, like everything else in this
universe, but mostly like those things attested to by our great Declaration,
our rights, our sense of justice, our sense of principle cannot stand except
on the solid foundation of God's creative power and God's authority. That's
what they said in the beginning. There is no substitute for it. That is our
politics. That is our American creed. And I say nothing and do nothing that
is not consistent with it in every iota.
So, tell me something. If that's the case, how come we're sitting back
shamefaced trying to explain why it is that we bring our deep convictions
into political life? As we are good Christians, so we are good Americans, and
we bring our Christian principles to a table that is wrought in the image of
those Christian principles. Politics is where we belong, because in America,
politics is founded on the solid foundation of God Almighty.
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
But you
have a choice. I don't want anybody to be able to accuse me, unhappily, of
politicking from here, so I won't. But I do want to say this. As I go around
the country these days, I am finding all kinds of audiences
I'll tell you something. It's about time we had some leaders who aren't
looking to find out what they want to be or what the people want them to be.
I want them to look and ask what it is that this nation requires, what it is
that its principles require, what it is that the Creator, God, who is the foundation
of all our rights, requires. Be what God wants you to be, and you will be
what America needs.
[applause, cheering, standing ovation, etc.]
And so, I'd ask you only one thing, only one thing, look around you, and if
you hear the sound of that quite certain trumpet which sounds our call to
battle in this day, a call not in a spirit of self-righteousness and anger
but in a spirit of healing love, in a spirit of grief over what is happening
to what ought to be the decent heart of our land.
If you hear that call somewhere, then I don't care who raises it
And we don't need to be ashamed of it, either. I'm tired of people who stand
forth talking about this nation's great principles like they're things we
ought to be ashamed of. Because, you know, I think this nation does indeed
have a special purpose and a special destiny. It's not for nothing that we
have had in various ways attracted or brought to these shores the seeds of
every race and every creed of human kind. We are a people marked out, it
seems to me, to shape a special destiny before the eyes of the world.
When human beings ask whether there is hope, when they look into the eyes of
hunger and war and grief and ask whether there shall ever be peace, ask
whether there shall ever be justice. I think it is our mission in this
country to suggest that, yes indeed, there is a common ground on which we can
each and all of us stand as human beings. It is the common ground of that principle
articulated in our great Declaration that each and every human being has an
intrinsic worth, determined not by our choice, but by the choice of God. On
that ground we can stand. On that ground we have indeed built the most mighty
the most prosperous nation in the history of the world
Let this not be the generation that betrays that hope in pursuit of a
delusory understanding of freedom that denies the principle of God's
authority on which that hope is grounded. Let this be the generation that
instead stands up to all those issues as our forbears did in the Revolution
and in the Civil War, stands up to those great issues that challenge us to be
a people of the Declaration, and through being a people of the Declaration
become again a people of God. Let us stand up and show to the world that
there is indeed still that certain trumpet of hope, and it sounds in America,
as our lamp shines before the world to show them all the better destiny that
He in His great mind still has marked out for us if we receive His grace, if
we respect His will.
That is our mission. That is our destiny as a nation and as a people. I think
sometimes we ought to put aside all the other talk and all the other chatter,
and realize that all the material abundance, all the military power, counts
for nothing against that mission to vindicate the God-given dignity of
humankind.
This is a mission for the sake of which people have died on battlefields at
home and abroad. This is a mission that can lift the eyes of our children to
a nobler hope and a nobler destiny, to a nobler understanding of what it
means to be Americans, to be human, to be Christian. Let us reach out for
that nobler hope, and let us not stand back now in the moment of trial, for
the great crisis of character is upon us. And it will not be decided by me or
other leaders on this platform. It will be decided by you all, in the privacy
of your consciences and your hearts. Will you choose thereto to be a people
that stand with the Declaration, stand with its noble principles of right and
justice, stand with its promise of justice from Almighty God?
In this election year, I'd say let that be the question before you. And if
you answer it rightly then let that answer, and not any calculation be your
guide.
Because, you know, Lincoln was right. We can nobly save or meanly lose this
last best hope. Let's save it in the only way that we know how, by putting
our hand in one other's hand and our faith and trust in the will and
authority of God, move forward to a future based upon His will, upon the
principles that make us one, to go forth into the 21st century, not on the
false materialistic hopes of science and technology, but on the true hopes of
those moral principles that extend through us a hope to all humankind.
Thank you very much.