Friday, July 4, 2008
Independence Day Wisdom
We the people of the United States have much to be thankful for this Independence Day 2008. To be citizens of the world's oldest constitutional republic is worth some reflection on this day. We should also marvel how it came to be that a group of men so singular and brilliant in their understanding of government, law, politics and philosophy - along with a profound and real honor for God and his blessings - all lived in 18th Century America. It seems to reason that men like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, Madison and Hamilton are normally sprinkled throughout the nations and centuries one at a time, here and there, to lend that rare fountain of wisdom to humanity and its civilizations - yet America had them all at once and at its founding no less.
We celebrate this Independence Day amidst a protracted presidential campaign and two wars; we also celebrate alongside fellow citizens who seem tired (if not embarrassed) of its founding fathers, its shining accomplishments and its long-cherished belief that we are separate, set apart and certainly the world's "Last Best Hope."
Former Secretary of Education, Dr. William J. Bennett, has written a charming two-volume American history entitled, America: The Last Best Hope. In the first volume he chooses wonderful bits of wisdom from our founding fathers to flesh our nation's tale.
Hamilton, the country's first Secretary of the Treasury under Washington, and author of many of the articles in the Federalist Papers, has this to say about the origin of our rights as men. And his thoughts below help us to appreciate the Constitution of the United States in a particular way, reminding us that the rights of men don't spring originally from the Constitution (though this is absolutely necessary for a just and democratic society to govern itself effectively), but from their unique status as creations of a good and loving God. He writes:
"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchment or musty
records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the
hand of the Divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power."
President Washington has this to say to us:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are
indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should
labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of
men and citizens."
Something for all Americans - as well as free men everywhere - to ponder.
We celebrate this Independence Day amidst a protracted presidential campaign and two wars; we also celebrate alongside fellow citizens who seem tired (if not embarrassed) of its founding fathers, its shining accomplishments and its long-cherished belief that we are separate, set apart and certainly the world's "Last Best Hope."
Former Secretary of Education, Dr. William J. Bennett, has written a charming two-volume American history entitled, America: The Last Best Hope. In the first volume he chooses wonderful bits of wisdom from our founding fathers to flesh our nation's tale.
Hamilton, the country's first Secretary of the Treasury under Washington, and author of many of the articles in the Federalist Papers, has this to say about the origin of our rights as men. And his thoughts below help us to appreciate the Constitution of the United States in a particular way, reminding us that the rights of men don't spring originally from the Constitution (though this is absolutely necessary for a just and democratic society to govern itself effectively), but from their unique status as creations of a good and loving God. He writes:
"The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchment or musty
records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the
hand of the Divinity itself and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power."
President Washington has this to say to us:
"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are
indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should
labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of
men and citizens."
Something for all Americans - as well as free men everywhere - to ponder.
Labels: 4th Of July
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