Radio interview
Alan Keyes on Janet Parshall’s America
September 14, 2007
JANET PARSHALL, HOST: It is Open Phones Friday, and we certainly welcome your comments. It certainly has been a big news week. Lots of stuff out there for you and me to discuss, all from a — if I might be so bold — Bibliocentric worldview. And in the midst of the chaos and the cacophony, it's awful nice to just have a friend of mine pull up a chair and share his heart with me because, you know what, I love his heart. I love his worldview. I love the way he speaks the truth in love, and he does it with more fire and passion than anybody I have ever met.
Alan Keyes is a statesman, and there's a marked and distinct difference between a statesman and a politician. He spent eleven years in the U.S. State Department, but he is also a man who has run for the office of the United States Senate a couple of times, and also for the office of President. But, in the meantime, he continues to help mold and shape the culture so we discern and learn the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil — and there is no ambiguity in which side Alan Keyes serves.
Alan, thank you, my friend, for spending some time with us.
ALAN KEYES: Thanks for having me on, Janet. How are you doing?
PARSHALL: I am doing well, and it is so good to have you here.
Oh, there's a million questions I could ask you. Let me just ask you to give me a thought or two on the President's remark last night, and whether or not you think that, going into this election, the number one issue on everybody's heart is going to be Iraq and terrorism.
KEYES: Well, I think that, in one immediate sense, we can't get away from the truth that we are in a battle for our survival, but I think what we need to recognize clearly is that the problem we face right now on Iraq is actually a problem of morale.
Our forces are over there doing the job they need to do — confronting terrorists, making sure that the terrorists deal with our armed forces rather than come over here and try to kill our unarmed people.
And I think with that battle going on, we need to make sure we keep the resolve, the faith that is needed to support this effort, which is really an effort for the sake of the survival of liberty against forces who mean to destroy it.
But you can see that it's quavering here at home. A lot of leaders don't want to deal with this.
PARSHALL: Uh-huh.
KEYES: And some people actually think that we can just withdraw and forget about it, forgetting that we were attacked. And usually, when you withdraw from a war before your enemy stops fighting, you don't call that "withdrawal." You call it defeat and surrender.
And, in this case, defeat and surrender could mean the loss of American lives right here at home.
So, I think we need to be careful. I'm not one of those people who thinks that everything we've done is perfect. But we have got to stay the course, in terms of our willingness to understand that we're there fighting for our own survival, as well as the survival against this doctrine that, in the name of whatever, you can go around killing innocent people.
That doctrine of terror is the utter opposite of the moral principle our country is based on, that our rights come from God, and must be exercised with respect for the authority of God — beginning with the right to life, which no one, for the sake of any agenda, has the right simply to disregard, where innocent lives are concerned.
So, I think it's a moral problem. Do we really adhere to that principle, or not? And if we do, we will have the courage to defend it, and I think it's like a lot of other problems we face. As a matter of fact, just about every major challenge we deal with right now is turning on this question of the moral character, the sense of moral principles, the allegiance to our founding principle, which is the authority of God and the derivation of our rights from God, which is right there in the Declaration of Independence.
And I think one of the reasons that people, right now, are feeling a little uncomfortable — particularly among Republicans — with the discussion they've been hearing in the political arena is there's no forthright, clear, and clarion declaration that this is, in fact, a central challenge, and that every issue is a reflection of this challenge.
And I think that that's desperately needed.
PARSHALL: Yes. Alan, when you look at the field of Republican contenders, is there a standout in your mind, and who among that group of individuals can carry that banner forward that says, ultimately, this is a question of moral courage?
KEYES: Well, no, there isn't a standout, and that's not a comment about individual personalities, or my own feeling about individuals — some of whom I greatly respect, and admire, and have affection for — but I just have been watching and following and haven't heard what is needed, and I think I'm like a lot of folks, who have just looked at it and been unmoved, because they're not hearing that which is the key kernel of truth that must with courage be presented to our people.
And, some time back, I got a call. You've been talking, I'm sure, about the Values Voter Debate.
PARSHALL: Absolutely.
KEYES: And that's happening on Monday. And, some time back, I got a call about some kind of participation in it, and I expressed some reluctance, because I didn't want to be giving credence to a process that, I think, isn't really offering a choice to the people of this country. And Janet Folger, who I was talking to, is one of the folks who has really been instrumental in putting this together.
She said to me, "Wow! I'm, you know — what do you want? If you want, I'll build you a podium." And I said, "What do you mean by that?"
She said, "We are building these podiums for candidates. If you want, I'll build you a podium."
And I was really taken aback at this, at first. You all know I've been out on the hustings a number of times, and been pretty well beaten up. It has an effect on you, after a while, and it did on me, to be sure.
But the more I thought about it and prayed over it, the more it seemed to me that the one thing I've always been called to do is just raise the standard — not to worry about anything else, but to make sure that, clearly articulated, there is the sense of this national standard of our allegiance to God and His authority that has been the foundation stone of our nation's life. And so I finally called her back and said, "Build me a podium."
And so, I will be participating in the Values Voter Debate on Monday as a candidate, and I will be trying my best — as I forever have, in the course of the years that I have been involved at this level in politics — simply to state, without regard for anything else, that which raises the standard of our allegiance to our Creator, God, and challenges people, in every area where we must make decisions, to understand and apply that, and also challenges our people of faith and challenges our citizens.
I'm sure, in your audience, there are a lot of people who have prayed for revival in America, for a return to the standards of the Declaration, our allegiance to God, our acknowledgment of His existence and authority. I think the mistake that a lot of folks have been making is thinking that somebody else is going to do this, and so we're putting together an effort that's not going to be like anything before, because it's going to be entirely based on citizen action.
We're going to be challenging people at our website, alankeyes.com, we're going to be challenging folks to take a pledge for America's revival. It's a pledge that they will start out by giving $5, and promise, pledge, to find five other people who will join in this effort. And that will be the seed corn, as we're calling it — the mustard seed for what needs to be built in the way of a true grassroots effort around this country, so that we won't look at polls, we won't look at media, we won't look at all the phony stuff that is being done to manipulate us into different conclusions that have nothing to do with our faith, our real sense of values.
We are going to be asking that people rely on the reality of their own efforts to build the number, as I am calling it, which will be posted on our website, and show clearly around the country who has stepped forward to take this challenge.
And as that number builds, that becomes the reality that can influence this country, that can determine this nation, for change.
PARSHALL: Now, let me ask you a couple of quick questions, so there's no ambiguity in the hearts and minds of our listeners. You are officially declaring, today, your candidacy for President of the United States?
KEYES: I am. I just got through sending the form in to the FEC — Form 2, that it's called — and I am standing forward. I will raise this banner. And I'll challenge people to step forward and understand that this is not something that I can do.
That's where we've gone wrong. We've been brainwashed into thinking that politics is something we watch on TV, while other people put together campaigns, and so forth.
You know what that's about? I've seen these surveys — you've probably seen them, Janet — that tell us that ninety percent of the people in the media don't think that God has anything to do with morality.
PARSHALL: That's right.
KEYES: That means that we are dealing with a godless media. What does the Psalm tell us about that? The Psalm says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly." The Greek word for that, boule, means "counsel," it means "advice," it means "information," it means all the things in the way of opinion and facts that we now get from this media.
People need to realize that they can't rely on the godless media and expect to come to conclusions that are consistent with God's authority.
So, put that out of your mind. That's all a manipulated, virtual reality intended to herd us toward results that are bad for this country. How could they be anything else, when you're dealing with people who, by ninety percent, think God is irrelevant to morality, think that traditional marriage can just be thrown away?
We can't do this anymore. But how do we deal with it, then?
We must create a reality that reflects what our people have on their hearts. And, as that number at our website builds, people can go there and see exactly what's happening. They won't have to listen to the commentators or polls.
But the most important thing is, they'll be able to sign up and themselves, in their own life, make this change.
PARSHALL: Yes. Alan, let me ask you. In a Keyes presidency, what would the top three issues from your White House be?
KEYES: Top three issues, I think, at the moment, are clear. We have got to restore our respect for Declaration principle by defending life, and making it clear that life begins at conception and must be respected, from that moment, as the will of the Creator, God, because that's what the Declaration establishes as our principle, and what the Constitution says we owe to our "posterity." That has to be clearly done, and clearly established.
Number two would be the restoration of our allegiance to and respect for God's authority, especially when it comes to clear moral decisions like marriage, where we need to restore the sense that the God-given family is an unalienable right. I wrote about this, in articles that I've done over the last several weeks, trying to restore a sense of what our principles really mean, when it come to decisions like this.
And finally, across the board, I would be trying to restore the moral character and morale and sense of our commitment to our basic moral values, starting in the area of national sovereignty, both in terms of our security from terrorism, and especially the security of our borders, and our assertion of the sovereignty of the American people, which our elites have been betraying and trying to throw away.
PARSHALL: Alan, let me ask you, also. I know that there are people listening who are saying, "Alan, you might not have much of a chance." What I heard you say is, the outcome is not your concern. Raising the standard is.
KEYES: Two things are true. We must raise the standard, or the outcome can't be a good one. Washington said that it is the leader's job to "raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair, and leave the rest to God." That's what we must do.
But, when he said that, and when we take that seriously, people out there have to understand, the challenge is for them. Right?
PARSHALL: Right.
KEYES: Are you going to sit there and pretend this is somebody else's business, or will you go to alankeyes.com, or call our 800 number, 1-800-727-6142, if you don't have access to the Internet. 1-800-727-6142.
Look at what we are doing. Read the Pledge, and see if that's your heart. And if it is, don't say to yourself, "Oh, that's great. I'm a spectator. I think that's wonderful, Alan. Good luck." That's not going to do us any good. Resolve to take the Pledge and keep the Pledge. Give your $5, find your five people — five people who will give the five dollars and find five more, and find five more, and find five more, until we have built up Gideon's army, to retake this nation's decent life.
PARSHALL: Alan, I want to thank you very much for coming and being with us today. And, obviously, this is going to be welcome news to a lot of our listeners. It is now official. Alan Keyes has declared his candidacy for President of the United States. He will be a part of the Values Voter Debate that's going to take place on Monday. Alankeyes.com is the website. Alankeyes.com. My heartfelt thanks, as always, to Alan Keyes. We'll be watching this with great interest. We'll take a break. We'll be right back.
Alan Keyes is a statesman, and there's a marked and distinct difference between a statesman and a politician. He spent eleven years in the U.S. State Department, but he is also a man who has run for the office of the United States Senate a couple of times, and also for the office of President. But, in the meantime, he continues to help mold and shape the culture so we discern and learn the difference between right and wrong, and good and evil — and there is no ambiguity in which side Alan Keyes serves.
Alan, thank you, my friend, for spending some time with us.
ALAN KEYES: Thanks for having me on, Janet. How are you doing?
PARSHALL: I am doing well, and it is so good to have you here.
Oh, there's a million questions I could ask you. Let me just ask you to give me a thought or two on the President's remark last night, and whether or not you think that, going into this election, the number one issue on everybody's heart is going to be Iraq and terrorism.
KEYES: Well, I think that, in one immediate sense, we can't get away from the truth that we are in a battle for our survival, but I think what we need to recognize clearly is that the problem we face right now on Iraq is actually a problem of morale.
Our forces are over there doing the job they need to do — confronting terrorists, making sure that the terrorists deal with our armed forces rather than come over here and try to kill our unarmed people.
And I think with that battle going on, we need to make sure we keep the resolve, the faith that is needed to support this effort, which is really an effort for the sake of the survival of liberty against forces who mean to destroy it.
But you can see that it's quavering here at home. A lot of leaders don't want to deal with this.
PARSHALL: Uh-huh.
KEYES: And some people actually think that we can just withdraw and forget about it, forgetting that we were attacked. And usually, when you withdraw from a war before your enemy stops fighting, you don't call that "withdrawal." You call it defeat and surrender.
And, in this case, defeat and surrender could mean the loss of American lives right here at home.
So, I think we need to be careful. I'm not one of those people who thinks that everything we've done is perfect. But we have got to stay the course, in terms of our willingness to understand that we're there fighting for our own survival, as well as the survival against this doctrine that, in the name of whatever, you can go around killing innocent people.
That doctrine of terror is the utter opposite of the moral principle our country is based on, that our rights come from God, and must be exercised with respect for the authority of God — beginning with the right to life, which no one, for the sake of any agenda, has the right simply to disregard, where innocent lives are concerned.
So, I think it's a moral problem. Do we really adhere to that principle, or not? And if we do, we will have the courage to defend it, and I think it's like a lot of other problems we face. As a matter of fact, just about every major challenge we deal with right now is turning on this question of the moral character, the sense of moral principles, the allegiance to our founding principle, which is the authority of God and the derivation of our rights from God, which is right there in the Declaration of Independence.
And I think one of the reasons that people, right now, are feeling a little uncomfortable — particularly among Republicans — with the discussion they've been hearing in the political arena is there's no forthright, clear, and clarion declaration that this is, in fact, a central challenge, and that every issue is a reflection of this challenge.
And I think that that's desperately needed.
PARSHALL: Yes. Alan, when you look at the field of Republican contenders, is there a standout in your mind, and who among that group of individuals can carry that banner forward that says, ultimately, this is a question of moral courage?
KEYES: Well, no, there isn't a standout, and that's not a comment about individual personalities, or my own feeling about individuals — some of whom I greatly respect, and admire, and have affection for — but I just have been watching and following and haven't heard what is needed, and I think I'm like a lot of folks, who have just looked at it and been unmoved, because they're not hearing that which is the key kernel of truth that must with courage be presented to our people.
And, some time back, I got a call. You've been talking, I'm sure, about the Values Voter Debate.
PARSHALL: Absolutely.
KEYES: And that's happening on Monday. And, some time back, I got a call about some kind of participation in it, and I expressed some reluctance, because I didn't want to be giving credence to a process that, I think, isn't really offering a choice to the people of this country. And Janet Folger, who I was talking to, is one of the folks who has really been instrumental in putting this together.
She said to me, "Wow! I'm, you know — what do you want? If you want, I'll build you a podium." And I said, "What do you mean by that?"
She said, "We are building these podiums for candidates. If you want, I'll build you a podium."
And I was really taken aback at this, at first. You all know I've been out on the hustings a number of times, and been pretty well beaten up. It has an effect on you, after a while, and it did on me, to be sure.
But the more I thought about it and prayed over it, the more it seemed to me that the one thing I've always been called to do is just raise the standard — not to worry about anything else, but to make sure that, clearly articulated, there is the sense of this national standard of our allegiance to God and His authority that has been the foundation stone of our nation's life. And so I finally called her back and said, "Build me a podium."
And so, I will be participating in the Values Voter Debate on Monday as a candidate, and I will be trying my best — as I forever have, in the course of the years that I have been involved at this level in politics — simply to state, without regard for anything else, that which raises the standard of our allegiance to our Creator, God, and challenges people, in every area where we must make decisions, to understand and apply that, and also challenges our people of faith and challenges our citizens.
I'm sure, in your audience, there are a lot of people who have prayed for revival in America, for a return to the standards of the Declaration, our allegiance to God, our acknowledgment of His existence and authority. I think the mistake that a lot of folks have been making is thinking that somebody else is going to do this, and so we're putting together an effort that's not going to be like anything before, because it's going to be entirely based on citizen action.
We're going to be challenging people at our website, alankeyes.com, we're going to be challenging folks to take a pledge for America's revival. It's a pledge that they will start out by giving $5, and promise, pledge, to find five other people who will join in this effort. And that will be the seed corn, as we're calling it — the mustard seed for what needs to be built in the way of a true grassroots effort around this country, so that we won't look at polls, we won't look at media, we won't look at all the phony stuff that is being done to manipulate us into different conclusions that have nothing to do with our faith, our real sense of values.
We are going to be asking that people rely on the reality of their own efforts to build the number, as I am calling it, which will be posted on our website, and show clearly around the country who has stepped forward to take this challenge.
And as that number builds, that becomes the reality that can influence this country, that can determine this nation, for change.
PARSHALL: Now, let me ask you a couple of quick questions, so there's no ambiguity in the hearts and minds of our listeners. You are officially declaring, today, your candidacy for President of the United States?
KEYES: I am. I just got through sending the form in to the FEC — Form 2, that it's called — and I am standing forward. I will raise this banner. And I'll challenge people to step forward and understand that this is not something that I can do.
That's where we've gone wrong. We've been brainwashed into thinking that politics is something we watch on TV, while other people put together campaigns, and so forth.
You know what that's about? I've seen these surveys — you've probably seen them, Janet — that tell us that ninety percent of the people in the media don't think that God has anything to do with morality.
PARSHALL: That's right.
KEYES: That means that we are dealing with a godless media. What does the Psalm tell us about that? The Psalm says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly." The Greek word for that, boule, means "counsel," it means "advice," it means "information," it means all the things in the way of opinion and facts that we now get from this media.
People need to realize that they can't rely on the godless media and expect to come to conclusions that are consistent with God's authority.
So, put that out of your mind. That's all a manipulated, virtual reality intended to herd us toward results that are bad for this country. How could they be anything else, when you're dealing with people who, by ninety percent, think God is irrelevant to morality, think that traditional marriage can just be thrown away?
We can't do this anymore. But how do we deal with it, then?
We must create a reality that reflects what our people have on their hearts. And, as that number at our website builds, people can go there and see exactly what's happening. They won't have to listen to the commentators or polls.
But the most important thing is, they'll be able to sign up and themselves, in their own life, make this change.
PARSHALL: Yes. Alan, let me ask you. In a Keyes presidency, what would the top three issues from your White House be?
KEYES: Top three issues, I think, at the moment, are clear. We have got to restore our respect for Declaration principle by defending life, and making it clear that life begins at conception and must be respected, from that moment, as the will of the Creator, God, because that's what the Declaration establishes as our principle, and what the Constitution says we owe to our "posterity." That has to be clearly done, and clearly established.
Number two would be the restoration of our allegiance to and respect for God's authority, especially when it comes to clear moral decisions like marriage, where we need to restore the sense that the God-given family is an unalienable right. I wrote about this, in articles that I've done over the last several weeks, trying to restore a sense of what our principles really mean, when it come to decisions like this.
And finally, across the board, I would be trying to restore the moral character and morale and sense of our commitment to our basic moral values, starting in the area of national sovereignty, both in terms of our security from terrorism, and especially the security of our borders, and our assertion of the sovereignty of the American people, which our elites have been betraying and trying to throw away.
PARSHALL: Alan, let me ask you, also. I know that there are people listening who are saying, "Alan, you might not have much of a chance." What I heard you say is, the outcome is not your concern. Raising the standard is.
KEYES: Two things are true. We must raise the standard, or the outcome can't be a good one. Washington said that it is the leader's job to "raise a standard to which the wise and honest can repair, and leave the rest to God." That's what we must do.
But, when he said that, and when we take that seriously, people out there have to understand, the challenge is for them. Right?
PARSHALL: Right.
KEYES: Are you going to sit there and pretend this is somebody else's business, or will you go to alankeyes.com, or call our 800 number, 1-800-727-6142, if you don't have access to the Internet. 1-800-727-6142.
Look at what we are doing. Read the Pledge, and see if that's your heart. And if it is, don't say to yourself, "Oh, that's great. I'm a spectator. I think that's wonderful, Alan. Good luck." That's not going to do us any good. Resolve to take the Pledge and keep the Pledge. Give your $5, find your five people — five people who will give the five dollars and find five more, and find five more, and find five more, until we have built up Gideon's army, to retake this nation's decent life.
PARSHALL: Alan, I want to thank you very much for coming and being with us today. And, obviously, this is going to be welcome news to a lot of our listeners. It is now official. Alan Keyes has declared his candidacy for President of the United States. He will be a part of the Values Voter Debate that's going to take place on Monday. Alankeyes.com is the website. Alankeyes.com. My heartfelt thanks, as always, to Alan Keyes. We'll be watching this with great interest. We'll take a break. We'll be right back.