A Heritage of Liberty
The great orator, Patrick Henry cried, “Give me liberty, or give me death”. The devotion to liberty found in those men and women who proudly dared to call themselves “Americans” can neither be denied nor forgotten. “Liberty” was doubtless among the words to pass the dying lips of 140 patriots who died at Bunker Hill. It was the vision of six brave Marines as they raised Old Glory over the island of Iwo Jima. It was the zeal of men like Sergeant Anthony Jones who gave his life for the cause of liberty in Iraq. These and countless other Americans have given to you and me a heritage which can never be replaced if it is lost. A heritage of liberty.
It is no coincidence that America is both free and founded in God’s word. It was the firm conviction of our founding fathers that apart from God’s Word, liberty is not possible. George Washington expressed that “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible.” It is God who has authored liberty and without His guidance liberty fades in the twilight of failed ambition.
The enemies of liberty are vigilant. Thomas Jefferson asked, “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?” How may we continue to enjoy liberty’s blessings while we disregard the Father of liberty?
The enemies of liberty are persistent, socialist philosophies seek to replace personal liberty with social dependence, rewarding idleness with the prosperity of the diligent. Humanist philosophies deny the very God by whose hands America enjoys her prosperity.
Of course, the gravest of enemies facing liberty is not in the camps of the socialist, nor among the numbers of humanists. Liberty’s greatest enemy is the idleness of the free. Edmund Burke warned “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” When those who feast at the table of liberty chose apathy over vigilance, liberty ceases.
If liberty is to continue, it will because those who enjoy its blessings strive for its existence. Is liberty so dear that it cannot be replaced? So rare that it must be fought for? So fragile that it must be held close to our hearts? Most certainly, it is! Liberty was planned in the hearts of those who pledged their lives for her cause, and who quenched the fires of tyranny with their own blood.
Liberty can and should be defended. Who, you may ask, is capable of such a daunting task? Perhaps Ronald Reagan spoke best when he said that “No arsenal…is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” To enjoy the graces of liberty is to accept the responsibility of her defense.
- Josh S.
It is no coincidence that America is both free and founded in God’s word. It was the firm conviction of our founding fathers that apart from God’s Word, liberty is not possible. George Washington expressed that “It is impossible to govern the world without God and the Bible.” It is God who has authored liberty and without His guidance liberty fades in the twilight of failed ambition.
The enemies of liberty are vigilant. Thomas Jefferson asked, “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?” How may we continue to enjoy liberty’s blessings while we disregard the Father of liberty?
The enemies of liberty are persistent, socialist philosophies seek to replace personal liberty with social dependence, rewarding idleness with the prosperity of the diligent. Humanist philosophies deny the very God by whose hands America enjoys her prosperity.
Of course, the gravest of enemies facing liberty is not in the camps of the socialist, nor among the numbers of humanists. Liberty’s greatest enemy is the idleness of the free. Edmund Burke warned “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” When those who feast at the table of liberty chose apathy over vigilance, liberty ceases.
If liberty is to continue, it will because those who enjoy its blessings strive for its existence. Is liberty so dear that it cannot be replaced? So rare that it must be fought for? So fragile that it must be held close to our hearts? Most certainly, it is! Liberty was planned in the hearts of those who pledged their lives for her cause, and who quenched the fires of tyranny with their own blood.
Liberty can and should be defended. Who, you may ask, is capable of such a daunting task? Perhaps Ronald Reagan spoke best when he said that “No arsenal…is as formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.” To enjoy the graces of liberty is to accept the responsibility of her defense.
- Josh S.
