Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council shares with us this holiday message:Since my childhood, the Fourth of July has been one of my favorite holidays. There are parades, family picnics, cookouts, and homemade ice cream. It's a time for softball games, fireworks, and patriotic songs. It's a time to celebrate freedom; it's a day to once again proclaim our liberty.
This year, it has greater poignancy.
For there are those who, in the course of their duty to our nation, have willingly paid the ultimate price to preserve our liberty. Too often we neglect liberty and take freedom for granted, thinking both are synonymous with America. It is important that we understand that America did not create the blessing of freedom and liberty--freedom and liberty created America.
There is a basis for that liberty and it is reflected in the words of many of our nation's founders and subsequent leaders. As Thomas Jefferson said, "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are the gift of God?"
This Fourth of July weekend, take a moment in the midst of your celebration to reflect on how God has blessed this nation, how the founders pursued that blessing, and how we have been entrusted with the responsibility to maintain it and pass it on to the next generation.
And here are a few other Fourth of July posts I think may help enrich your holiday:
some terrific information about the Declaration of Independence (including, of course, the text of the document itself) from ushistory.org
A nifty Michael Medved column featuring remarks from John Adams;"Why We Fight: A Gathering of Patriots" from a distinguished panel over at NRO;
Ben Shapiro's commentary on "Stars and Stripes Forever";
a lengthy but very worthwhile essay by Harry Jaffa over at the Claremont Institute;
Michael Barone's history lesson about the "revolution" before the Revolution;
Armstrong Williams' best birthday wishes to the United States of America;
four splendid poems (including "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae and "Ragged Old Flag" by Johnny Cash) over at The Book Den;
this stirring video/music soundtrack posted by Blog for Cuba;
and this very nice 9-minute video example of an American Fourth of July fireworks display.
Happy Fourth! May God bless America!
