A redeemed child of God, happy husband, homeschooling dad of nine, and lifelong lover of good books.
Hi, Fellow Dads,
Is the USA an ordinary country, or is there something special about her? Does it matter? Should we care? In this episode, my firstborn joins me to discuss five misconceptions many Americans believe about our country, along with five books that answer those misconceptions.
Leaning on Jesus,
Nathan
Romans 13:1-2
1 ¶ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.
2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
“You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.”
— George Washington“Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society.”
— George Washington“The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.”
— George Washington“As England has by their King’s Proclamation and an act of their Parliament, not only declared war, but a practical war against us; why should we not declare an Independence and use the aid of any power under heaven, to repel those pirates.”
— Boston Gazette, March 1776“By a late act, all these colonies are declared to be in rebellion, and out of the protection of the British crown, our properties subjected to confiscation, our people, when captivated, compelled to join in the murder and plunder of their relation and countrymen, and all former rapine and oppression of Americans declared legal and just. Fleets and armies are raised, and the aid of foreign troops engaged to assist these destructive purposes….Wherefore, appealing to the SEARCHER OF HEARTS for the sincerity of former declarations, expressing our desire to preserve the connection with that of the nation, and that we are driven from that inclination by their wicked councils, and the eternal laws of selfpreservation [sic].”
— Resolution of the Virginia Convention Calling for Independence, May 15, 1776“American statesmen had struggled to avoid a separation; the measures of the British government, as one by one they were necessarily borne across the Atlantic—disregard of the petition [Olive Branch] of Congress by the king, his speech to Parliament, his avowed negotiations for mercenaries, the closure of the ports of all the thirteen colonies and the confiscation of all their property on the ocean [Prohibatory Act]—forced upon them the conviction that they must protet and govern themselves.”
— George Bancroft, History of the United Staes of America, IV (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1885)“In return, the white man offered metal knives, hoes, and other implements of rare value to a neolithic society; in lieu of these the Indian might ask for cloth, clothing, jewelry, and other luxuries to brighten his life. The native often took the initiative in such transactions, for he coveted the white man’s goods as keenly as the settler yearned for more land.”
— James Warren Springer, quoted in The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History“The small progress we have made after 4 or five weeks close attendance & continual reasonings with each other — our different sentiments on almost every question, several of the last producing as many noes as ays, is methinks a melancholy proof of the imperfection of the Human Understanding. We indeed seem to feel our own want of political wisdom, since we have been running about in search of it. We have gone back to ancient history for models of government, and examined the different forms of those Republics which having been formed with the seeds of their own dissolution now no longer exist. And we have viewed Modern States all round Europe, but find none of their Constitutions suitable to our circumstances.
“In this situation of this Assembly groping as it were in the dark to find political truth, and scarce able to distinguish it when presented to us, how has it happened, Sir, that we have not hitherto once thought of humbly applying to the Father of lights to illuminate our understandings? In the beginning of the contest with G. Britain, when we were sensible of danger we had daily prayer in this room for the Divine Protection. — Our prayers, Sir, were heard, and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged in the struggle must have observed frequent instances of a Superintending providence in our favor. To that kind providence we owe this happy opportunity of consulting in peace on the means of establishing our future national felicity. And have we now forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we imagine that we no longer need His assistance.
“I have lived, Sir, a long time and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth — that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without [H]is notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without [H]is aid? We have been assured, Sir, in the sacred writings that “except the Lord build they labor in vain that build it.” I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without [H]is concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the Builders of Babel: We shall be divided by our little partial local interests; our projects will be confounded, and we ourselves shall be become a reproach and a bye word down to future age. And what is worse, mankind may hereafter from this unfortunate instance, despair of establishing Governments by Human Wisdom, and leave it to chance, war, and conquest.
“I therefore beg leave to move — that henceforth prayers imploring the assistance of Heaven, and its blessings on our deliberations, be held in this Assembly every morning before we proceed to business, and that one or more of the Clergy of this City be requested to officiate in that service.”
—President (Governor) of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin, to the President of the Consitutional Convention, June 28, 1787, Philadelphia, PA
“I know that nothing will stop the eternal increase of demand from these pirates but he presence of an armed force.”
— President Thomas Jefferson, writing to Secretary of State James Madison, August 28, 1801“I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
—Thomas Jefferson, 1781“I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism. I’m enormously proud of my country and its role and history in the world….
“And if you think of our current situation, the United States remains the largest economy in the world.…And I think that we have a core set of values that are enshrined in our Constitution, in our body of law, in our democratic practices, in our belief in free speech and equality, that, though imperfect, are exceptional.”
— President Barack Obama, 04/04/2009 https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/news-conference-president-obama-4042009“Fellow-citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves. No personal significance, or insignificance, can spare one or another of us. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation….In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free – honorable alike in what we give, and what we preserve. We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth.”
— President Abraham Lincoln, December 1, 1862, in Closing Paragraph in Message to Congress https://www.nps.gov/liho/learn/historyculture/onamerica.htm“The opening sentence of the book masterfully lays out the theme of this book: ‘Coincidence alone could never explain it.’ The first paragraph concludes that certain events should cause us to ‘acknowledge weird, wonderful aspects in the rise of the Republic, and to reconsider the disconcerting old idea that God shows special tenderness toward the American experiment.’ “
—Nathan, on American Miracle, by Michael Medved“…since Thou art a God of pure eyes, and will be sanctified in all who draw nearer to Thee, who dost not regard the sacrifice of fools, nor hear sinners who tread in Thy courts, pardon I beseech Thee, my sins, remove them from Thy presence, as far as the east is from the west, and accept of me for the merits of Thy Son Jesus Christ….O most glorious God, in Jesus Christ…I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness and forgiveness of sins…”
— George Washington, in his personal field journal, in his handwriting, quoted in America’s God and Country: Encyclopedia of Quotations“‘The best of men are men at best’—and the best of men understand this.”
—Nathan
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“America” (”My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”), performed by U.S. Coast Guard Band,
public domain recording from https://www.mostfreebies.com/Music/MyCountryTisOfThee_USCoastGuardBand.mp3
Pony Express, by Aaron Paul Low
https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/pony-express
License code: ZUCYKOROVB4PRHZC
“Eternal Father, Strong to Save” (Navy Hymn)
Public domain recording
“Marines Hymn” Public domain recording
Music from #Uppbeat
https://uppbeat.io/t/roger-gabalda/patriotic-theme
License code: SPYRUQMTFGEBJHVW
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