Be Determined to Change the Hopeless

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.  One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.”  F. Scott Fitzgerald.

This is truly the essence of the American spirit.  Wasn't it hopeless that this backwater outpost of Europe, populated by outcasts and misfits, would throw off the yoke of tyranny and establish a republic?  Wasn't it hopeless to take on imperial Japan and NAZI Germany when the rest of the world was crumbling?  Wasn't it hopeless to stare down the USSR when communism was clearly the destiny of the world?

Today we are confronting a seemingly overwhelming number of challenges - terror, stagflation, institutional collapse, corrupt and ineffective government, gridlock, a loss of faith, and others.  Hopeless indeed.  But we have proven we can overcome the challenges, so long as we are determined to do so.

For more on the spirit of America, visit Patriot Week and Americas Survival Guide.

Avoid the Siren Song...

Mr.  President, it is natural to man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be the number of those who having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it. - Patrick Henry (1775)

How little do men change.  Henry's admonition was made over 2 and a quarter centuries ago, and yet here we are, still apt to follow the siren, and to avoid the arduous struggle

of liberty.  For the last several decades we have been disarming ourselves by forgetting our founding First Principles, our roots, who we are.  The electronica bliss is dulling our senses. We do not hear, we do not see.  The siren's song is getting stronger.  Resist it.  Understand the worst, and change it.

Duty to Heaven and Country

"Should I keep back my opinions at such a time [as this] through fear of giving offense, I should consider myself as guilty as treason towards my country, and of an act of disloyalty toward the Majesty of Heaven, which I revere above all earthly kings." Patrick Henry (1775)

Henry's words are wise counsel.  We have a duty, even when we are reluctant, even at great personal risk, to share our opinions on important matters.   Our liberty, our country, and our Creator, deserve it.

Do Not Hold Back!

"This is no time for ceremony.... For my own part, I consider it as nothing less than a question of freedom or slavery; and in proportion to the magnitude of the subject ought to be the freedom of the debate. It is only in this way that we can hope to arrive at the truth, and fulfill the great responsibility to God and our country." Patrick Henry (March 23, 1775)

Patrick Henry's sentiments capture perfectly the duty of men and women to step forward in times of crisis.  Like his time, today we face many issues that require men and women of good will to shed their natural reluctance to become involved and, instead, to passionately join the debate.

In fact, Henry did much more, he literally put his life on the line for the cause of liberty.  We have a duty to the Creator and to our country to engage and not be quiet - to let our opinions be known.

Let us then, the heirs of his courage and those of generations of men and women who have sacrificed for our freedom, not be unworthy of their efforts.

For more, visit Patriot Week and America's Survival Guide.

Top 50 Core American Documents

Roger Beckett, the new Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center, has provided a most interesting list of what he considers the 50 Core American Documents.  Although one can have passionate arguments about the composition of the list, it is a wonderful starting point to understand why America is the greatest nation in world history.  Check it out at 50 Core American Documents.

For more about America's key foundational documents, visit Patriot Week and Americas Survival Guide.