In light of the debate that continues about the status of health care in the United States, I’ve been considering some of the thoughts of our Founding Fathers. They founded this nation on freedom, self-reliance, and accountability. Those are character traits that were important to them. Now we are considering how everyone can have adequate health care at the cost of the whole citizenry.
In my reading this week I came across an article that was printed around 1950. I found it astonishing in light of our current debates. I thought you might enjoy the feelings of our patriots in the 1950’s.
Lincoln was an avid reader. He always kept a book nearby. He read the newspapers voraciously. He loved books. His favorite books included the Bible and books about his beloved George Washington, especially the biography by Reverend Mason Locke “Parson” Weems.
Why did the Colonists win the Revolutionary War? America was not at the center of the world at the time. England was. Great Britain was slow to understand the nature of the threat of war with America and its colonies.
The Founding Fathers of our nation established a republic, a democracy that turned the power to the people. It was a new nation that said that the citizens, the people, would come first and would therefore choose their own leaders for the new nation.
George Washington became known as “The Father of Our Country”. Such a fine title for someone who had no children of his own. The country was his child. He was the Indispensible Man.
Fathers Day having just passed, I have been thinking a little bit about the man we call “The Father of the Constitution”. The anniversary of his death is coming soon. He died on June 28, 1836, at the age of 85. He lived the last several years at his home, Montpelier, Virginia. His home wasn’t too far from Monticello, the home of his beloved friend, Thomas Jefferson.
In his youth, George Washington developed faith. He was very private about his faith. During the Revolutionary War his soldiers Knew he often went into the trees to be alone in prayer, or sometimes he knelt in his officers quarters. But George was private about his beliefs, usually referring to “the hand of Providence” when he knew he had been protected by God.
Benjamin Franklin was a religious man, but he didn’t much care for organized religion. At least not as it was presented to him. But he did believe in God. And he had some things to say about our Constitution.
On top of that I received some treasured gifts from my wife and from my daughters. I won’t tell you which are from which one lest the others feel slighted. But I got a See’s candy gift card, and four different good books. “First Freedom, a Fight for Religious Liberty” by Randall Balmer, Lee Groberg, and Mark Mabry (full of beautiful pictures in addition to the words). “America in the Last Days, The Constitution and the Signs of the Times” by Morris Harmor. “John Quincy Adams” by Harlow Giles Unger. And “Dreamers and Deceivers, True Stories of the Heroes and Villains Who Mad America”, by Best Selling Author, Glenn Beck.