Dear Mr. Abraham,

I recognize that your time is worth millions. I'm asking for 5 minutes of your time, knowing it's worth thousands of dollars.

I'm not seeking your marketing genius to help sell a shallow product to gullible people. My product has profound depth. My product will save lives. People who try my product are immensely satisfied. I am confident that every single person who signed America's Declaration of Independence would agree that my product rises to the high moral standards of "The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God."

Yet most people initially think my product is illegal or immoral. I have to admit that because of my commitment to sell my product, the California State Bar refused to issue me a license to practice law even though I passed the California Bar Exam and was otherwise qualified to practice law.

People who know me and my character are willing to try my product, but total strangers will almost slam the door in my face.

I want to convince you that I have an idea which can change the world if skilled and creative Internet Marketers were to get behind it. I believe you know those people. Not necessarily those who are already occupied in your employ, but perhaps graduates of your seminars.

From what I've read of your material, and some of your clients, you have feelings which might be called "compassion," "patriotism," or "humanitarianism." I'm hoping you agree with me that being born in America is one of the greatest gifts a human being can receive. I hope you're worried as I am about the ability of American ideals to withstand the current attacks on them. I appeal to those feelings in you.

Your livelihood depends on the freedom of entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams and succeed in their business. I depend on them as well, and enjoy the choices available to me in every Wal-Mart aisle. I do not want to live in the colorless bureaucratic world of atheistic socialism. But that's where America seems headed.

America's Founding Fathers did not ignite the American Revolution in order to make blockbuster profits. In fact, they were willing to risk "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to abolish a colonial government which only demanded 3-5% of their income in taxes. I'm willing to risk a little, and I hope you are too.

If they could see today's government, America's Founding Fathers would be momentarily staggered, then angry, then outraged and furious. "What has happened to the America we fought for?!" they would demand to know. I've done a lot of research on that question. I could tell them exactly what has happened, step by step. But then they would ask me, "If you know so much, what are you doing about it?"

I want to start doing something.

America's Founding Fathers had at least two tools to end the "establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States." The first was Samuel Adams' "Committees of Correspondence." This network informed the Colonists of their rights and of threats to those rights, and encouraged action. There was no real "consumer demand" for the "Committees of Correspondence" when Sam Adams first formed them. The Committees were formed to create that demand.

The second tool was a musket.

Mr. Abraham, I strongly and unwaveringly oppose the taking up of arms against the government. Go ahead, call me a "pacifist." I don't own a gun of any kind. I'm on the opposite side of the spectrum from those who advocate armed revolution. The revolution I advocate begins in the heart and in the home. From there it revolutionizes businesses and the media. Government shrinks because there is little demand for its "services," and government employees continuously resign and move to the private sector. The "American Dream" does not come out of the barrel of a gun.  http://start.at/July4th1776

Even though I repudiate all violence, there is a sense in which my proposal is extraordinarily revolutionary. The word "radical" comes from the Latin word for "root." The root of America's greatness can be described as "Liberty Under God." America had a radical beginning, because our Founders went back to this root.

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, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

I've been reading a great deal about marketing, and I'm thoroughly confused. I can't understand how the American Revolution succeeded. Most Americans believed that overthrowing the British government over the colonies was not a good idea. How were people made willing to risk "our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor" to abolish a colonial government which only demanded 3-5% of their income in taxes? Why do Americans still believe they live in the "land of the free?" Why do they seem to be so unwilling to risk anything to preserve freedom?

Professor Harry Stout of Yale University has suggested that faith in God was the most important factor contributing to the creation of America. I agree, and I've created a website with hundreds of pages and links to thousands of historical documents which show that faith was pervasive in 1776.

LIBERTYUNDERGOD.ORG

America's Founders often quoted the vision of the Old Testament Prophet Micah:

Then they will hammer their
     swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation
And never again will they train for war.

And each of them will sit under his
Vine and under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid.

If you go to Amazon.com and search for "second American revolution" you'll find scores of books describing events and even marketing campaigns which the authors claim was nearly as monumental as the First American Revolution. I believe Micah's "Vine & Fig Tree" vision is the foundation for the LAST American Revolution.

Vine & Fig Tree
A 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization

Years ago I formed a non-profit publishing organization to advance the true "American Dream." I have researched and written over 1500 web pages describing this ideal and defending it against its enemies ( www.LibertyUnderGod.com ). My passion is writing. I need the help of someone whose passion is marketing and whose skills are in the creation of an Internet infrastructure to advance the ideals of this organization.

Ambition:
Vine & Fig Tree will one day be a publishing empire larger than Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen's "Chicken Soup for the Soul"® empire.
Mission:
Our goal is not to make millions of people feel good about themselves. Millions of people can read Chicken Soup books and feel great, even as their standard of living declines under increasing socialist bureaucracy. Our goal is to foment "The LAST American Revolution." The name "Vine & Fig Tree" comes from the fourth chapter of the Old Testament Prophet Micah, who gave us a vision of mankind beating "swords into plowshares" and everyone dwelling safely under his own "Vine & Fig Tree."
Endorsements:
We are confident that if the leaders of the First American Revolution were alive today, they would heartily endorse "The LAST American Revolution." Micah's "Vine & Fig Tree" prophecy was frequently mentioned in their letters and addresses.

If alive today, America's Founding Fathers would conclude that the United States federal government is unquestionably the greatest force for destruction of life, liberty and property on the planet today. This is not an exaggerated claim made solely to provoke emotion. Our website contains comprehensive documentation.

We need the animating ideals of America's Founders. We need their worldview, which gave them the ability to see and resist tyranny before it was too late.

Doctors, lawyers, and other professionals are required to take "Continuing Education" classes to remain up-to-date and fully qualified to practice their profession. We should all be professional Americans. We need classes and seminars in "Continuing American Education." We should attend some such seminar at least once a year, every year. Vine & Fig Tree is a continuing online seminar in Continuing American Education.

We are all receiving "continuing education" whether we want it or not. "Liberal" politicians and their secular schools and the "liberal" media have trained us all to recoil in horror at the idea of a nation being "Under God." On the other hand, "conservative" politicians often believe that faith can be imposed by law; they oppose "Liberty" and other "extremist" ideas. America's Founding Fathers envisioned an America with more liberty than the liberals, and a purer religion than the Religious Right.

Christians claim to care about the Bible. Americans claim to care about liberty. America's Founding Fathers would question the sincerity of those claims. Pollster George Barna reports an abysmal ignorance of the Bible among those calling themselves "Christians." And by every measure, America has far less liberty than the Framers of the Constitution intended. Those who are sincerely attracted to the idea of "Liberty Under God" will be attracted to Vine & Fig Tree.

To the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.
— General George Washington, General Orders, May 2, 1778.

All Men are created equal . . . they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights . . . among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness - whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. . . . it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future Security.

The Rights of the Colonists as Christians . . . may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the institutes of the great Law Giver and Head of the Christian Church, which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New Testament.

Samuel Adams, "The Rights of the Colonists," The Report of the Committee of Correspondence to the Boston Town Meeting, Nov. 20, 1772
Hanover Historical Texts Project

The First American Revolution was undertaken by a minority of dedicated Americans, not the majority. Vine & Fig Tree will at first reach only a "niche" market. But these ideals are what make us truly human. They were controversial in 1776, but subsequently received near-universal acclaim. Vine & Fig Tree is a more consistently Christian, more consistently libertarian revolution. It is a non-violent revolution. But no revolution is more radical than this one.

The premises are simple, but together they lead relentlessly to a tumultuous conclusion:

About the Author

Vine & Fig Tree was founded by Kevin Craig. His résumé does not contain the words "Harvard" or "Ph.D.," but his life shows academic dedication to the foundations of the movement, and personal dedication to people as individuals.

The intellectual foundations -- or "Institutes" as Sam Adams and John Calvin called them -- will continually be added to, but enough has been laid to begin the work of informing, equipping, and motivating the "Minutemen" of "The LAST American Revolution."

In 1775, the British government:
  • levied tax-rates of 3-5%
  • sought to impose Anglican Bishops on America (few Americans today are aware of the centrality of this threat to religious liberty in the First American Revolution)
 In 2005, the U.S. federal government
  • imposes taxes ten-times greater than provoked the First American Revolution
  • has declared itself to be greater than God (few Americans today are aware of the extent of this threat to religious liberty and its implications for our society)