Tag / History

by Greg

D-Day: When Things Mattered

Last night we honored D-Day (June 6th) by watching an episode of Ken Burns’: The War (on Netflix). It follows the lives of four guys who lived through WWII, and specifically that day in Normandy.

It invoked so many thoughts and emotions… I certainly can not describe and share them all here.

The one prevailing thought I had, however, was that there is right and wrong.

These guys—just kids—were willing to give up their lives (literally!) in order to go over and make right what someone (or a large group of someones) made wrong… for somebody else!

That can not be emphasized enough.

The aggressors (Nazi Germany) were bent on eradicating the Jews (and just non-Aryans, right?) and were expanding their territory across sovereign nation after sovereign nation until the brave, heroic, persons of principle among the nations stood up and said, “You shall not pass!”

And they truly were brave. Heroes. Righteous. Courageous.

Not that they were flawless human beings. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Some of them were maybe even “bad” guys… but they stood up for what was right. That made them heroes.

They literally gave up their lives (I contend even the guys who didn’t die on D-Day were never the same again)… and it was for other people. Not the US. Not Americans (directly). It was not to expand our territory or influence or whatever… it was just taking a stand against evil.

Some today think that war is always wrong. They think that generations are not different. In a way that is correct: people are people. But there was something in my grandparents’ generation that was different. I’m not sure if it was a product of the circumstances of their day, or if it was that they had not yet removed God and respect and decency and morality from the general fabric of society. Maybe it was both. But whatever it was, we still owe to them (the world, not just America) an incomprehensible, inestimable debt of gratitude.

We mostly argue about ridiculous things today, things that really don’t matter. (We are free to do so in part because of the courageous choices and actions of these men.) Sometimes I think we argue for the sake of arguing. Political gaming. Blagh.

Things matter. People matter. Someday I think we (our nation, and as individuals) will be faced with a similar crisis. At that point, I wonder what that generation will do? Will their descendants someday label them the “greatest generation”? Or will that moniker forever be inexorably bound to the generation whose men bravely stormed the beaches at Normandy… until they had either given up their life, or succeeded in preserving freedom for the world?

I think we will someday find out, one way or another. Somehow we always get to decide if we’re going to stand, or stand by.

On D-Day… (and in many other battles) they chose to stand.

by Greg

A ‘Monumental’ Documentary

I recently came across this trailer, and it is intriguing to me. There is much in this two minute video that I have also wondered, pondered, questioned. (But I also have to ponder how much can one really learn from Mike Seaver? Sorry, Mr. Cameron…) 🙂

Inevitable barriers to communication aside, this really does look interesting. I’m not certain why the event will be live (rather than multiple showings) but here’s what it says on the movie makers’ website:

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012, in more than 450 major movie theaters, audiences will come together for a live, one-night only theatrical event called MONUMENTAL: IN SEARCH OF AMERICA’S NATIONAL TREASURE, hosted by Kirk Cameron.

There will always be any number of issues that can be found with the culture around us. You know, we all grow up hearing how much better everything was in our parents’ and grandparents’ generations, until we are them and then we start saying it. And we meant it. And it’s likely quite true … but it’s a cycle. It’s the human cycle.

All have turned away;
all have become useless.
No one does good,
not a single one.
(Romans 3:12)

That’s for always, not just now.

Does that mean then that we just let things go, since they’ll “always be that way”? I would strongly say a firm No! We’re told what is good and right and noble and excellent, and we’re shown it through the life of Jesus … so we know Whom to come to for our Life and what Way works best (especially dealing with how we see and treat others). There is a best way.

I’m curious to see what this particular documentary will say. I was mostly sold where he said everyone is blaming someone else. Very similar to what I have written here, here, here, and even here, and here. (Obviously, this is something I have been thinking about!)

Have you heard of this? What are your thoughts? Can you not get past the Mike Seaver and Left Behind part? (Hopefully you’re better than me at that…)

If we decide to attend, perhaps I’ll give a report here after March 27th. But, before that, if you are moved to do so, please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

by Greg

Both Sides of the Story

I’ve mentioned here many times that I am learning how crucial it is to see life from multiple angles. Getting not only information from people with opposing viewpoints, but really trying to step into their shoes; see from their perspective. It’s just so crucial to communication, to cooperation, interaction… to society in general.

And so often, we—being human, flawed, self-absorbed—we aren’t even aware that there are other legitimate perspectives!

Our son Ian has been very interested in the World War II time period of history. He’s been learning every bit he can not just about the battles, but the people—the leaders in particular—involved in the story. Winston Churchill and FDR, as well as Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin. He’s previously read about Woodrow Wilson and WWI… definitely has a serious passion for history and biographies!

So much so that Mom (Jen) has even recently taken up a book about Roosevelt titled, “FDR’s Splendid Deception”, about the fact that President Roosevelt was never seen public in his wheelchair, so as to not appear weak. From all accounts, it’s a fascinating story.

Somehow all of this brought to mind a movie I had seen some time back. I posted a mini-review on that movie, Letters from Iwo Jima, and it’s counterpart, Flags of our Fathers, here on this site in 2007. Please go ahead and click the link and read that story. (That’s actually the main reason for this post: that you’d re-read that older post!)

The fascinating thing was, Flags was released first, and then Iwo Jima. They depicted the exact same story from history, but from opposite sides of the battle.

How much better off we’d be if we could do that with nearly every conflict or disagreement!

For a long time now, Jen and I and I have been reading through a modern translation of the Federalist Papers called The Original Argument. In Federalist #1, Alexander Hamilton addresses this subject (in an atmosphere where there were passionate arguments for and against the proposed Constitution):

Since the motives behind each of the opinions are so strong, it is certain that wise and good people will be found on both sides of the issues. This fact should remind us all to remain modest in our opinion—no matter how right we think we are.

I think that is still my favorite quote from all the papers we’ve examined so far. And again, how different would our political climate be today if that were the way everyone approached every issue, whether controversial or relatively benign?

Forget politics. What if we all treated each other that way? What if we presumed that we were not smarter, better, right-er than everyone else around us.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

That’s where it starts. You can’t really even care about the perpective of your adversary or opponent—or anyone—if you know you are in some way (or all ways) superior.

I’d really encourage you to read that post about Letters from Iwo Jima, and as I recommended now almost five years ago, if you haven’t seen it… do.

The more we can see things from other view points, other perspectives, the more we can live at peace with others around us. (Which is what Paul says we need to do in the verse just before what I quoted above.)

So I encourage you to take a walk in someone else’s shoes today. You might be surprised what you see.

Scripture quote is Philippians 2:3-4, from the New Living Translation

by Greg

Gotta Be In The Same Room

Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they do not know each other; they do not know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated. —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I’ve been meaning to write this post many times over. It’s changed from time to time, focusing on one particular story or detail or another. But the core of it has remained the same: we are really not listening to each other.

Worse yet, we aren’t even trying. Worse still, we might not even know how!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.The quote above is from a book I am reading written by Dr. King about his years in Montgomery, Alabama—the heart of the “Deep South”. And since today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day… it seemed the perfect time to write out these thoughts!

Incredibly, in the 1950s—nearly 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, and almost 150 years since the slave trade had been abolished (see here and here)—the people of Montgomery still lived as two very separate groups of people.

You’ve heard the stories. “Whites” and “Negroes” or “Coloreds” were separated on buses, restaurants, drinking fountains, even churches. Montgomery was one of the more segregated cities in America.

Feeling like this was his home (the South), the current state of race relations understandably troubled King very much. Enough that he did something about it.

So much that he has his own holiday.

But one of the things he did was not political, nor legislative, nor even “activist”.

He just got people together.

He said in his book, early in the story, that one certain committee of people—the Montgomery Council—was vital to the health of his city, Montgomery, because it was the only place where both sides who were (more than) very polarized were actually together in the same room. Otherwise, there was no communication at all.

And when there’s no communication, there’s no understanding, and that leads to fear and hate as King said.

Isn’t that where we are today? It’s mostly not race-related*. (Though that reality certainly persists, even if lessened, and will to the end of time.) Today our divisions are social, political, idealogical. But they are just as divisive, and we are just as un-hearing of the “other” side. We are still “separated”.

Those of us who read the Huffington Post already know what the rest who get their news from The Blaze or Fox News think, and even what they will do. Those of us who vote Republican and identify with the Tea Party may have a bit more tolerance for other opinions (due to a love for individual freedoms), but often know with certitude what the CNN/MSNBC crowd think, and again, what they “will do”.

And so the incessant banter continues, without either side listening much past the first thing they think they heard the other side say.

We’ve gotta be in the same room. If not physically, then at least in spirit.

It is extremely rare to find anyone who is truly open enough to sit in the same room with a person who has equally deep convictions on any given subject or subjects, just in the opposing camp. We tend to congregate with people of like mind. And that can certainly be good, helpful, encouraging in a way, but it is most certainly not helpful towards a more united community, local or on a larger scale.

And so we continue in hate, produced by fear, produced by lack of knowledge, produced by a lack of communication (meaning when both sides are spoken, and heard) …

And we get nowhere. Only further apart. More polarized. Less of a Union.

An interesting piece for a future post is that when we were first forming our Constitution, one of the arguments for the forming of a stronger union was that the larger and more diverse the Union, the less power would be given to factions of any sort. Factions were defined as homogenous groups of people united on the things they hold in common (in contrast to other people or groups of people). So if the Union was comprised of people from all classes, faiths, backgrounds, cultures, etc, then no one group could ever get a majority power of any other minority group. (And again, I’m not mainly talking “races”.)

But in the end, we have to listen to each other. Really listen. (I’ve been talking about this for a while. Re-read this article when you can, along with the links within to two other articles.)

And finally, more than just listen… we need to do. That was what set MLK apart. He acted on his beliefs and convictions.

And the world was changed.

If you want some more reading for MLK Jr. Day, please check out my post from last year, or find a copy of Stride Towards Freedom somewhere. Or I’m also reading The Life and Death of Martin Luther King, Jr (though definitely not far enough in to recommend it, or not recommend), and you can just read his own words in his speeches online!

He was a great man of conviction, courage, principles, and above all he loved God and the people he made, regardless of skin color, or anything else external. He fought for that dream, and paid for that deep conviction with his life.

No greater love than this… to lay down his life for a friend.

His love for others brought people together, an we are better for it today.

Note: I agree with Ken Ham from Answers in Genesis who contends that there are no races… we are all one race. Since God made us all from two people, that would seem to follow. But this article is most certainly NOT about creationism! 🙂

by Greg

Decision Points

George Bush - Decision PointsWhen I first heard of the book that President George W. Bush recently published, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever need to read it. I had an inkling that it might be interesting, historically speaking, but I figured I wouldn’t probably spend my money on it.

But, as my choices dwindled for books to download with my collection of Audible.com credits, I decided to take a chance and made Decision Points one of my late 2010 selections.

I gotta say, it was definitely not a wasted credit.

For all the (undue) criticism this man took over his eight years in the Oval Office (and really, still today!) he really did accomplish quite a lot during his two terms.

Beyond reliving the list of things he accomplished, what I also really enjoyed was the first-person perspective on all the stories that were the big news makers of the day: 9-11, TARP, No Child Left Behind, Iraq, and much more in the Middle East. It really was a tumultuous time, and his book reminded me of two things. First, we who are “on the sidelines” really do not have the full picture. Second, the voices we listen to (the national media) think that they most certainly do!

(Reminds me of the Jim Mora press conference where he was obviously fed up with the sports reporters who thought they knew what was wrong with the team but in Mora’s opinion were wrong. Dead wrong. “You think you know … but you just don’t know. And you never will! OK?”)

Also I really appreciated getting to know more about how Bush began living his life with Jesus. I wasn’t aware that it was very much the direct influence of the famous preacher man, Billy Graham. There were many events and people in Bush’s early life that led him to the place where he decided to trust Jesus with his whole life, but Graham helped Bush make a decision regarding what he really believed and wanted to be: an early “decision point”.

The book also begins with reference after reference to how much young George Bush loved his liquor. I was kind of surprised as it was enough to make me start thinking, Does he really want us to think he’s such a boozer? (I can’t recall if, in my thoughts, I really used the word ‘boozer’ or not…) But it all makes more sense as the story continues to unfold, and he reveals how deciding to stop drinking was not just an early decision point, but a major and an important one.

One sort of minor story that stuck out to me was where he addressed the Bush Tax Cuts and specifically the unemployment rates. Speaking from memory here (writing?), I believe the unemployment rate was near 8% when he took office in 2001, and then following the the implementation of the tax cuts (and subsequent moves to pick up the pace of their taking effect) the rates dropped into the 5% range, hitting for months and years to follow, going as low as 5.2% or maybe 5.1%. And this was sustained for the whole 8 years of his presidency. The current rate (that keeps rising) is above 9%. I guess in the end, you can do whatever you want with numbers (interpret them however you please) but somehow that particular one jumped out at me.

Whether you are a fan of George W. Bush or not, the book is a pretty interesting read, and I do definitely recommend. Especially if you are into history, biographies, current events and the like. It was packed full of very interesting stories to be sure.

If you are NOT a fan… I really would encourage you to read the book with an open mind, and see if your thoughts on the man (and even what he did as President of the United States) might change at least a little.

When talking with a friend of mine, I mentioned how I really appreciated the “other side of the story” since so much of what we heard of these major events that took place our country and across the globe were reported with a (now more obvious) bias or slant. He questioned how I might consider the book, written by the man who was the subject of the biased and slanted reports to be not biased or slanted. I responded that the difference was in the amount of eye-witness, first-hand information. Unless he was flat-out lying (and some are 100% certain that he always does) then the stories within Decision Points will help broaden your perspective on all the key moments from 2000-2009. Many vantage points always helps.

It really was fascinating to take the journey of the entire span of his life in politics (and even before) as though we were living through the events with him. Whether you agree with his choices, his policies, or even his actions (and many times, Bush expressed how he wished he could have done a thing or two differently) I do believe that you’ll grow to understand why we did what we did (America) and have an appreciation for this tough, (incredibly) patient/enduring, spiritual and principled man; the 43rd president of the United States of America.

Lastly, I strongly believe that time and history will not only soften the harsh (and I believe unfair, unwarranted) way that this man was and still is viewed and treated, I really think that his legacy will be more correctly viewed as one of the more positive presidential terms in the first couple centuries of our nation. Much like I am learning about the legacy/reputation of Calvin Coolidge. He was nearly demonized during and shortly following his presidency until decades later when Ronald Reagan claimed him as his favorite US President. Once Reagan lent credence to Coolidge’s time as President, more people began investigating the truth of what he did as president, the things he accomplished and oversaw. I’d imagine a similar thing will occur for Mr. Bush.

If you have read the book, I’d love to know what you thought about it. Or, if you will not read the book, I’d love to hear why. Comment below!

by Greg

Two Spaces, Or One?

Being one who has loved writing for as much of his life as he can remember, you’d think that the basics of grammar and punctuation would be the proverbial “old hat” by now, right? Well, sadly, I must admit to a(n incorrect) habit that I just CAN NOT break.

ONE space, Greg… NOT TWO!

It’s not something I made up. I was definitely instructed to do so. TWO spaces after a sentence. That’s how you do it.

But apparently, it’s not.

One day I needed to get to the bottom of this conundrum, so I turned to trusty Google for the answers. And of course, it did not disappoint.

I found an article published about one year ago now cleverly titled, “Space Invaders“ The author not only unequivocally states that the proper spacing is ONE space, he also points out some of the reasons we have used—and were taught to use—two spaces.

For example, he explains:

Every modern typographer agrees on the one-space rule. It’s one of the canonical rules of the profession, in the same way that waiters know that the salad fork goes to the left of the dinner fork and fashion designers know to put men’s shirt buttons on the right and women’s on the left. Every major style guide—including the Modern Language Association Style Manual and the Chicago Manual of Style—prescribes a single space after a period. (The Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association, used widely in the social sciences, allows for two spaces in draft manuscripts but recommends one space in published work.) Most ordinary people would know the one-space rule, too, if it weren’t for a quirk of history. In the middle of the last century, a now-outmoded technology—the manual typewriter—invaded the American workplace. To accommodate that machine’s shortcomings, everyone began to type wrong. And even though we no longer use typewriters, we all still type like we do. (Also see the persistence of the dreaded Caps Lock key.)

I miss my typewriter … but I guess it got me into this bad habit!

The problem with typewriters was that they used monospaced type—that is, every character occupied an equal amount of horizontal space. This bucked a long tradition of proportional typesetting, in which skinny characters (like I or 1) were given less space than fat ones (like W or M). Monospaced type gives you text that looks “loose” and uneven; there’s a lot of white space between characters and words, so it’s more difficult to spot the spaces between sentences immediately. Hence the adoption of the two-space rule—on a typewriter, an extra space after a sentence makes text easier to read. Here’s the thing, though: Monospaced fonts went out in the 1970s. First electric typewriters and then computers began to offer people ways to create text using proportional fonts. Today nearly every font on your PC is proportional. (Courier is the one major exception.) Because we’ve all switched to modern fonts, adding two spaces after a period no longer enhances readability, typographers say. It diminishes it.

So there you have it, folks. From now on I will aspire to present my elocutions in properly punctuated form: one space, not two.

I thank you in advance for a good measure of grace while I form my new habit. 😉

by Greg

Incredible People: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I know that because my in-laws are visiting (since they don’t have to drive their school busses today). I am not a very good observer of holidays in general. My thinking is that we should honor whomever we are honoring more than just one day per year. (And anything can become meaningless when you just do it out of habit…)

But today I was reminded of a post that I started last September. (Yes, I have really neglected writing over the past six months or so…)

I began writing about MLK’s “Dream” speech. The famous one… you’ve heard it. What happened was… well, read on below…

Last summer, Glenn Beck hosted a gigantic rally in Washington, DC on August 28th at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial—the day and location of the historic Martin Luther King Jr. speech, “I Have A Dream”

There was a “backlash” in the news, and even a “counter rally”. Accusations were tossed around of trying to co-opt the day… hogwash. The notion that Martin Luther King Jr. belongs to any one group of people is nearly flat-out denying the substance of all that he said.

As I was listening to all this talk about MLK—who he was, what he thought, what he said, what he stood for—I decided that I really didn’t know a lot about him first hand, so, I began investigating. I began, of course, with his most famous speech, “I Have A Dream”. It’s famous for a reason.

I found his speech online and we read it together as a family back in early September last year. It was shorter than I imagined, actually … but very to the point. The dream he spoke of was that one day there would be no colors, no division. One day, all of us would live together as equals. I think his courageous efforts to stand against injustice—leading other people to do the same—went a long way toward improving that in our country, but there are still so many “us” vs. “them” divisions (not necessarily, or at all, based on skin color) that sadly, I’d say we have a long way to go still. Perhaps we’ll never fully realize his dream this side of heaven, but it doesn’t hurt to keep trying, keep encouraging each other toward it.

The text this speech can be found here, and I will quote most of it below, highlighting some of the spots we thought were the most interesting/thought-provoking/great.

The speech begins with historical context. They were gathered at the feet of the Lincoln memorial. At the symbolic feet of the man who ended slavery. But the segregation had not ended. King said, “[the Negro] finds himself an exile in his own land.”

Then he said:

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

All men. I believe that the people who founded our country believed that. There are many stories and evidences to show that, though for hundreds of years there had been a culture of slavery that was more than abhorrent, many (perhaps most) did not support it, or even opposed it. But that’s not what I want to highlight here… I think it’s great that MLK was an American. Not an African-American, but an American… this was his “land”. And he took the words of our founders literally: That all men would be guaranteed—equally—these inalienable rights.

So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

I don’t think most of us today realize how important these two things are. We all live in relative freedom, purchased by many who have come before us. Perhaps many of us have known injustice. But in general, we think of riches more as material things rather than these more basic, more fundamental rights.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

This was an amazing paragraph. How strong is the dark power of bitterness and hatred. It clouds our judgment, fills our heart with darkness. It is definitely powerful, and in a bad way. King was right to acknowledge it, but emphasize that those who were perhaps justified in feeling it must not remain in it, or allow it to remain in them.

In another speech King said, “So this morning, as I look into your eyes, and into the eyes of all of my brothers in Alabama and all over America and over the world, I say to you, ‘I love you. I would rather die than hate you.’ And I’m foolish enough to believe that through the power of this love somewhere, men of the most recalcitrant bent will be transformed.” He was right.

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

King saw the true American dream. Self-evident truth: all men are created equal. The founders knew it. They may not have fully lived it out, but they knew it. MLK knew that those rights were given to each person by God. It didn’t matter what your skin color was or what country you were from or how much money you had… those are all external things. If we could all get past those things then we would be an oasis of freedom and justice. We would be a nation who judges “not by the color of [our] skin but by the content of [our] character.”

Incredible people are definitely uniquely gifted by God in some ways, but more often, they are just regular people who believe in something, and whose convictions (and usually their deeply rooted faith in God) allow them—perhaps require them—to stand up for what is right. To do what is right. Martin Luther King, Jr. was another incredible person, and definitely worthy of a place of honor in our nation and around the world.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, “Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk

(note: Today, 1/17/11, the server was overloaded on that I Have a Dream link above! You can find the text of the speech (and that page) via the archive.org Way Back Machine here.)

by Greg

Currently: ReValue America Lecture Tour

ReValue America - NY - Self, Marriage, Family, Community.This past weekend, Jen & I were hosts to one stop on the ReValue America lecture series tour. Dr. Shanon Brooks is giving a series of free, two-hour lectures across NY State (as well as California, Colorado, and his home state of Utah, I believe) intended to inspire a new generation of American Founders.

And inspire he does.

There were about 130 people at our event on Saturday night. And nearly everyone that I spoke to there left feeling inspired to educate themselves both in regards to the foundations of our country—its forms of government, the documents that were created by its founders, and the people who were its founders—and the people, books and other classic works and thinking that formed the foundation of these “founders” lives, and their values. In essence, to get for ourselves, the same education that these people—ordinary people, just like us—had and drew from to establish the most free nation in the history of mankind.

(That’s a pretty lofty goal, don’t you say?)

Even more lofty, perhaps, is Brooks’ goal to get a library of books (I think it’s 5 or 6 books) into one million American homes. The books are about American government and foundational principals and education. (We’ve read a couple of them, and they are good reads presenting some challenging and worthy ideas.)

There are a few remaining dates on this part of the tour, which will end this Sunday night in Rochester, NY. If you visit the ReValue NY website (revalueny.com) you can see a schedule of the remaining lectures. If you live in NY State and can attend one, we do feel it is very much worth the time and effort.

You may just be inspired.

The follow up to this event is more intensive. Dr. Brooks will be leading interested participants in much more in-depth constitutional studies, American history, and then other great classic works which were the foundations of our own founding documents (Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Federalist Papers, etc.) You’ll read/study on your own and then attend a monthly lecture day with other fellow students. He calls this series the Foundations of Liberty course. (There is no official “credit” given for this course, only the education you receive from reading and studying these things together.)

Over the next couple days I will be posting a few thoughts inspired by the event we attended. Till then, I wanted to be sure to let you know this is happening, in case you might be able to attend and be inspired to educate yourself and to preserve freedom and virtues for yourself, your family, your community, and even our country. Are there other ways to do that? Of course! But this is one way to spend two hours that I am nearly certain will accomplish that end.

So click the link and head out to a lecture near you!

For further information:

by Greg

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Bonhoeffer by Eric MetaxasI heard of a book the other day simply called, “Bonhoeffer”. It was highly recommended, and my interest was piqued when I heard who wrote the book: Eric Metaxas. “Eric Mah-who-huh?” you say? Indeed. However, you may recall that I highly recommended his previous book, “Amazing Grace” (the story of William Wilberforce) and wrote a couple long posts (here, and here) after following Metaxas through Wilberforce’s life. An inspiring man, with an equally inspiring story, masterfully told by Metaxas.

So you can imagine that I am eager to get a copy of this book and learn of the life of another inspiring man. I really think that walking through life alongside great people as they face choices and make decisions helps motivate, challenge, and inspire us to do the same in our lives. So I look foward to getting to know Dietrich Bonhoeffer, through the eyes and prose of Eric Metaxas.

Amazon has a preview video available. Just a two minute overview of who this man was, and why his story was an interesting one. Watch below. (Then go get the book!)

by Greg

Restoring Honor Rally in DC: Not About Politics

You’ll hear a lot of different stories regarding today’s “political” rally in Washington, DC. You’ll hear things like “Thousands gather for rally” (Washington Post) or, “Glenn Beck Rally Has People Seeing Red” (NPR) or, “Glenn Beck Rally “Blatantly Political,” Says Top Democrat” (CBS News). There are some media reporting tens of thousands, but many are simply saying that “thousands” gathered for this event.

Interesting…

As you’ll see from the photos below, there were upwards of 100,000 computers tuned into the rally via UStream, and crowd estimates from people who were there were in the hundreds of thousands, not just thousands.

The main point is that the two-day event was much more a Christian convention (minus the exhibitors) than anything political. And not just Christian (though that was the primary viewpoint expressed) but all “brands” of Christians, Jews, Muslims … anyone who places their faith and trust in God as a core of who they are, and how they live.

There were three main emphases: Faith, Hope, and Charity. Awards were given to three Americans who exemplified those three attributes. The call to everyone (in attendance, or watching, and just to all Americans in general) was to restore honor to our country by first turning to God and getting ourselves right with him (faith, hope) – then living that out in our charity toward others.

Not sure that’s how it will be reported, but that’s how I saw it (admittedly, only via the UStream feed, not in person).

Someday I hope we can stop immediately discrediting people based on political party affiliation, or religion, economic status, skin color, and whatever else we categorize and judge each other by. Then we can listen to a people who are different than us, and find our commonality, rather than exaggerate our differences.

Perhaps that falls under the “I have a dream” category? Appropriate on the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr’s speech…

Perhaps someday the dream will be reality. We live in a broken world, so I don’t know that it ever will be, but Beck is right: it starts with a heart changed by the grace of God. He is our source of peace, and joy, and hope.

Not any man, or political party or ideology.

PHOTOS FROM RESTORING HONOR RALLY
(screen shots of Ustream feed)
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