A Heritage of Freedom

WHY I BELIEVE

America’s founding documents are the culmination of centuries of progress. In their formation, they represent the consolidation of eternal truths for the universal blessing of the human family. Paving the way for civil and religious liberties, they are the common connection through which all the inhabitants of Earth will be blessed.

At the heart of the American system are two vital principles: liberty and justice. In support of these ideals, in an idea that was revolutionary at the time, the Founding Fathers insisted that the new government put the welfare of the population before their own. To accomplish this aim, they established specific economic policies and governing standards. They firmly believed that the key ingredient in wealth creation, the pursuit of happiness, and maintaining moral virtue was man’s creative or productive power, made possible by his being made in the image of the Creator.

Flowing from the vision of our Founding Fathers, the American identity is built around a constellation of ideas–namely, education, equality, love of God and neighbor, hard work, the Golden Rule, the rule of law, individualism, and teamwork. Springing from these values, each of us have something deep within, the big idea of freedom!

Encouraged by the Founding Fathers, Americans internalized the lofty idea that freedom is best served as we learn to master our emotions and actions. Right behavior results from harmony and control of our reason, passion, and appetites. The habits we develop make all the difference. Practice brings self-control. Unhappiness and personal distress come into our lives when we fail to control our tempers, appetites, and passions.

Emphasizing the importance of true knowledge, the Framers saw moral education as training the heart and mind toward that which is good. Stated by Emerson, “If a man’s eye is on the eternal, his intellect will grow.”

In today’s world, where much has been pushed out of our lives, or lost, we may wonder: where do we find the materials, the moral literacy, that will aid us in our quest to live and teach the virtues of self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, friendship, work, courage, perseverance, honesty, loyalty, and faith? How do we discover the ideals by which we wish our children and grandchildren to live out their lives? How do we create and maintain the kind of nation we hope to be?

Certainly, the Bible, the Classics, intellectual pursuits, worship services, and the historical narrative provide a rich quarry of information. In their pages and themes, we find a moral anchor for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, our culture, our history, and our traditions.

Across this nation we have had, and continue to have, men and women committed to the proposition of teaching moral literacy as it relates to personal conduct and the formation of character. Without hesitation, equivocation, or embarrassment, parents, teachers, neighbors, friends, visionary leaders, and a host of others speak to the inner part of the individual, to the moral sense. We better understand the great purposes of Earth and the potential of individuals and nations when we link classical literacy, world history, American history, and commonsense principles. Reminding us of eternal truths and moral verities, they counter the distortions of the times in which we live.

Education, knowledge, and literacy are the foundations for intellectual and moral development. Freedom is not a license to ignore the requirements of moral integrity. We do not progress by making our own rules, by turning our backs on the Almighty, or by creating a golden calf of our egos. It is impossible to build a sustainable society in this manner.

Moral education teaches good habits; it involves rules, precepts, standards, and discipline. It teaches that life has purpose, that it is a necessary thing to be honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, to do good to all men and women, to have a country to love, and to be willing to seek after that which is praiseworthy and of good report. God will patiently and tenderly lead His children in their pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.

Benjamin Franklin declared, “To pour forth benefits for the common good is divine. Every thought which genius and piety throws into the world alters the world.” Americans are blessed with a heritage of freedom and the opportunity to chase away darkness, to enlighten nations, and to renovate the world and cover it with light, truth, unity, peace, and love.

This is why I believe.