The Winds Of Freedom
It is a beautiful day; the spring winds are whipping and furling the flag of our country and the sunshine is bright, bright with hope. The long days of winter are finally over. The various shades of gray that have wrapped winter in its grasp have been removed with the first sounds of robins and the blooming of the Easter lilies. I love spring for it always brings renewed visions of life...and the liberation of the human soul from the lifeless clutches of winter.
I am an American and refuse to be placed in the prison of titles like conservative or liberal; Republican or Democrat. I say that I am an American unashamedly...I am humbled and grateful that I have been raised in this great nation, a nation that has offered freedom and hope for so many.
As a pastor I am limited by law from trying to influence people to vote for one side or another. However, but I am not limited to help people appreciate the fact that this nation was founded by men and women who understood and appreciated the love of freedom and saw it as a gift not from the government but from God. Countless times I have stood at attention with my hand over my heart and repeated these words, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
I went today to vote at my local precinct and as I did I thought about this great privilege of freedom. I can go behind the white cotton screen and vote for whoever I wish. I can vote, I can choose, I can participate in government, a government of the people.
Abraham Lincoln said in his moving speech at Gettysburg that freedom didn't come cheap, it cost the lives of many brave sons and daughters. He stood overlooking that field which thousands had died, their blood staining the grass, and then spoke these noble words, "from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
I am not sure what the future of these United States will be in the coming days and years. I am, for the first time in my life, pessimistic about what my sons, daughters and grandchildren will face. The great America, the proud America, that accomplished so much and has given so much to so many, does not appear to be the same one that I grew up loving as a child and as a young adult. It seems that to be proud of America is almost sinful in many people's eyes. Instead of building up our nation there are many now who wish to disembowel it of the virtues that have so ennobled it. From the history books of my school years I was taught about the achievements and strengths of our nation. Now the books have rewritten history, casting a dark soiled stain on the garment of the one who stands guard over the harbor of New York where my forefathers came seeking freedom and opportunity
I recently read the farewell speech of President Ronald Reagan. During his years in office he tried to once again inspire people with patriotism; with love and devotion for country. Let me remind you of a few words he spoke on his final day in office, January 11, 1989 at 9:02 P.M.
"Well, back in 1980, when I was running for President, it was all so different. Some pundits said our programs would result in catastrophe. Our views on foreign affairs would cause war. Our plans for the economy would cause inflation to soar and bring about economic collapse. I even remember one highly respected economist saying, back in 1982, that "The engines of economic growth have shut down here, and they're likely to stay that way for years to come." Well, he and the other opinion leaders were wrong. The fact is what they call "radical" was really "right." What they called "dangerous" was just "desperately needed."
"...I never thought it was my style or the words I used that made a difference: it was the content. I wasn't a great communicator, but I communicated great things, and they didn't spring full bloom from my brow, they came from the heart of a great nation--from our experience, our wisdom, and our belief in the principles that have guided us for two centuries. They called it the Reagan revolution. Well, I'll accept that, but for me it always seemed more like the great rediscovery, a rediscovery of our values and our common sense."
"Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will produce less of it. So, we cut the people's tax rates, and the people produced more than ever before. The economy bloomed like a plant that had been cut back and could now grow quicker and stronger. Our economic program brought about the longest peacetime expansion in our history: real family income up, the poverty rate down, entrepreneurship booming, and an explosion in research and new technology. We're exporting more than ever because American industry became more competitive..."
"Common sense also told us that to preserve the peace, we'd have to become strong again after years of weakness and confusion. So, we rebuilt our defenses..."
"The lesson of all this was, of course, that because we're a great nation, our challenges seem complex. It will always be this way. But as long as we remember our first principles and believe in ourselves, the future will always be ours. And something else we learned: Once you begin a great movement, there's no telling where it will end. We meant to change a nation, and instead, we changed a world..."
"Ours was the first revolution in the history of mankind that truly reversed the course of government, and with three little words: "We the People." "We the People" tell the government what to do; it doesn't tell us. "We the People" are the driver; the government is the car. And we decide where it should go, and by what route, and how fast. Almost all the world's constitutions are documents in which governments tell the people what their privileges are. Our Constitution is a document in which "We the People" tell the government what it is allowed to do. "We the People" are free. This belief has been the underlying basis for everything I've tried to do these past 8 years."
"But back in the 1960's, when I began, it seemed to me that we'd begun reversing the order of things--that through more and more rules and regulations and confiscatory taxes, the government was taking more of our money, more of our options, and more of our freedom. I went into politics in part to put up my hand and say, "Stop." I was a citizen politician, and it seemed the right thing for a citizen to do."
"I think we have stopped a lot of what needed stopping. And I hope we have once again reminded people that man is not free unless government is limited. There's a clear cause and effect here that is as neat and predictable as a law of physics: As government expands, liberty contracts."
"An informed patriotism is what we want. And are we doing a good enough job teaching our children what America is and what she represents in the long history of the world? Those of us who are over 35 or so years of age grew up in a different America. We were taught, very directly, what it means to be an American. And we absorbed, almost in the air, a love of country and an appreciation of its institutions. If you didn't get these things from your family, you got them from the neighborhood, from the father down the street who fought in Korea or the family who lost someone at Anzio. Or you could get a sense of patriotism from school. And if all else failed, you could get a sense of patriotism from the popular culture. The movies celebrated democratic values and implicitly reinforced the idea that America was special. TV was like that, too, through the mid-sixties."
"But now, we're about to enter the nineties, and some things have changed. Younger parents aren't sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style. Our spirit is back, but we haven't reinstitutionalized it. We've got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom--freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It's fragile; it needs [protection]."
"So, we've got to teach history based not on what's in fashion but what's important--why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those 30 seconds over Tokyo meant...If we forget what we did, we won't know who we are. I'm warning of an eradication of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. Let's start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual."
"And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen, I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know and nail 'em on it. That would be a very American thing to do."
"And that's about all I have to say tonight, except for one thing. The past few days when I've been at that window upstairs, I've thought a bit of the "shining city upon a hill." The phrase comes from John Winthrop, who wrote it to describe the America he imagined. What he imagined was important because he was an early Pilgrim, an early freedom man. He journeyed here on what today we'd call a little wooden boat; and like the other Pilgrims, he was looking for a home that would be free. I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still."
"And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was 8 years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home....And so, goodbye, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America."
I love the America that President Reagan spoke about. I want that nation back. I want back a nation that was founded on the eternal principals of freedom and the values of human dignity and worth. I want back a government "of the people, by the people and for the people". I want that nation back for my children and grandchildren. I want that nation back...I want our nation to once more be seen and spoken of with honor and respect. I refuse to point a finger in blame; I just ask that those who lead, lead us back into the future.
May those spring winds of freedom blow once again across our nation.
Comments
- -- Posted by BonScott on Tue, Apr 6, 2010, at 3:01 PM
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