"Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again."
Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States. First Inaugural Message as Governor of California, January 5, 1967.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God
Your playing small doesn’t serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we’re liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa, from 1994 Inaugural Address
"God who gave us life gave us liberty. And 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 of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever."
Thomas Jefferson, Third President of the United States
“A primary object should be the education of our youth in the science of government. In a republic, what species of knowledge can be equally important? And what duty more pressing … than … communicating it to those who are to be the future guardians of the liberties of the country.â€
George Washington, First President of the United States. Quoted on National Center for Constitutional Studies website.
"Obedience to God can be the very highest expression of independence. Just think of giving to Him the one thing, the one gift, that He would never take. Obedience — that which God will never take by force — He will accept when freely given. He will then return to you freedom that you can hardly dream of — the freedom to feel and to know, the freedom to do, and the freedom to be, at least a thousand fold more than we offer him. Strangely enough, the key to freedom is obedience."
Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. BYU Speeches of the Year, Provo, 7 Dec. 1971, p. 4, Quoted by Janet G. Lee, “Look Both Waysâ€, New Era, February 1994.
In the last 24 hours, I have heard a former President of the United States say that all those of us who attended a Tea Party and disagree with President Obama are racist, and read scathing, hateful letters sent to my congressional representative, Jeff Flake (R – Arizona), because he broke ranks with the Republican Party and voted to reprimand Representative Joe Wilson for calling President Obama a liar.
Where has civil discourse gone?
I am very much opposed to most of the political policies being fostered by President Obama and the Democratic Party, but why can’t we debate these issues in a civilized manner? Why can’t we seek to find common ground and then with passion, fervor and logic, state our respective cases without sinking to vitriol and hate?
Certainly not all attendees at tea parties are racist any more than all Democrats are communist. Why do politicians, pundits and ordinary people too often espouse those broad, vindictive generalities? Can we not can find a way to disagree with our President without decorating a picture of him with a Hitler moustache or a Joker blackface? Can we not express a difference of opinion with folks in a Tea Party protest without labeling them as a racist mob?
In his book Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes, Gordon B. Hinckley wrote:
“Civility carries with it the essence of courtesy, politeness, and consideration of others. All the education and accomplishments in the world will not count for much unless they are accompanied by marks of gentility, of respect for others, of going the extra mile.â€
We are fellow citizens of the greatest nation in the world. One of the most precious freedoms we enjoy is the freedom of expression. We always have and always will have wide differences of opinion. But I sincerely hope will we dig deep within ourselves, recognize each other as the brothers and sisters we truly are, and learn how to restore civility to our society.
Today I attended my first ever political rally, with my daughter Angie. Located in front of the Arizona State Capitol building, about 2,000 people gathered in a peaceful rally to celebrate freedom and express mutual resolve to work together to protect the freedoms we enjoy. The participants were certainly not radical mobsters as some in the press would have us believe. We certainly didn’t have as many participants as the big gathering in Washington, DC, but the folks who gathered in Phoenix were enthusiastic and vocal in support of freedom.
We listened to some patriotic, inspiring speeches. My favorite was a fellow in the character of Patrick Henry repeating parts of speeches he had given in support of the Revolutionary War and later, in support of the Bill of Rights.
Here’s a shot looking forward from where we stood, facing the speaker platform.
Another shot of the folks behind us.
Of course, many people carried signs. My favorite:
All in all, it was a great experience. I look forward to participating in the future. But next time, I’ll bring a chair – and maybe my own sign!
“Men may fail in this country, earthquakes may come, seas may heave beyond their bounds, there may be great drought, disaster, and hardship, but this nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail. … This is the place that the Lord said is favored above all. I plead with you not to preach pessimism. Preach that this is the greatest country in all the world. This is the favored land. This is the land of our forefathers. It is the nation that will stand despite whatever trials or crises it may yet have to pass through.†(Ye Are the Light of the World, p. 350-351)
Harold B. Lee, 11th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
"We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in."
Thomas Paine, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States
The Constitutional Sources Project (ConSource) was founded in 2005 to “facilitate research, increase understanding, and encourage discussion of the U.S. Constitution by creating and maintaining the first, free, fully-indexed, comprehensive online library of constitutional sources.â€
The primary objective of this project is to:
“connect ‘We The People’ with the thoughts and ideas of the Framers. High-resolution original images give users the opportunity to see exactly what the readers of the late 1780’s saw. The advanced search capabilities of transcribed text, scholarly certification standards, and constitutional cross-referencing of each document ensure that everyone, from the sixth-grader to The Supreme Court Justice, has direct access to the ideas that helped forge a nation.â€
The site includes a treasure trove of source documents related to the Constitution. For example, while browsing through the Federalist Papers, I found this bit of wisdom in The Federalist, No. II, written by John Jay, who became first Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court:
“This country and this people seem to have been made for each other, and it appears as if it was the design of Providence, that an inheritance so proper and convenient for a band of brethren, united to each other by the strongest ties, should never be split into a number of unsocial, jealous and alien sovereignties.â€
I hope that our study of the Constitution will strengthen our union and the freedoms we enjoy.