Some of this may be familiar to you, but it's worth repeating.
When the original Pilgrims left Europe for the New World, they came for one reason: the right to worship God according to their own consciences.
On the Mayflower, in 1620, they composed a document to explain what they wanted to accomplish – it explained how they intended to conduct themselves when they arrived. They used an old-fashioned word for this agreement & called it the “Mayflower Compact.”
I want to quote the part that explains why they came:
"In the name of God, Amen. … Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith … a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia; do by these presents, solemnly and mutually in the Presence of God and one of another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid …”
It says they came to the New World for the glory of God, and for the advancement of the Christian faith. Historians don’t mention it anymore – the media don’t mention it at all – hardly anyone remembers it. But this is why they came.
Sure, they made mistakes – we all do. But they were products of their time, and we cannot expect 17th century Europeans to behave like 21st century Americans. They did the best they could, with what they knew at the time.
But they knew enough to trust God, and to write the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of The United States of America, and the Bill of Rights. They trusted God for wisdom, just as we must. They gave us the greatest nation in the history of this planet, and it’s our job to preserve it.
They’ve given us a great vantage point. As Sir Isaac Newton said, "If I have seen a little farther than others, it's because I stood on the shoulders of giants." All of history is available to us, and you already know George Santayana's words: "Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it.
One other document our forefathers had the wisdom to write is the Pledge of Allegiance. Even as the liberal, political activist judges are trying to tear it apart, we need to more closely understand what it means.
Here’s what it means:
I - - Me; an individual; a committee of one.
Pledge - - Dedicate all of my worldly goods, to give without self-pity.
Allegiance - - My love and my devotion.
To the Flag - - Our standard; Old Glory ; a symbol of Freedom; wherever she waves there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, “Freedom is everybody's job.”
United - - That means that we have all come together.
States - - Individual communities that have united into fifty great states. Fifty individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose. All divided with imaginary boundaries, yet united in a common purpose, and that is love for country.
And to the Republic - - Republic--a state in which sovereign power is invested in representatives chosen by the people to govern. And government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands - - it is our chosen symbol, to represent that which we are.
One Nation, under God - - Our Nation, so blessed by God, which exists by and through His favor.
Indivisible - - Incapable of being divided.
With Liberty - - Which is Freedom; the right of power to live one's own life, without threats, fear, or some sort of retaliation.
And Justice - - The principle, or qualities, of dealing fairly with others.
For All - - “All”-- which means, men and women, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine. All of us, together, in common purpose.
The "indivisible" clause may be tested again someday soon, but I hope it isn't. It wasn't pretty, the first time.
All the same, please remember this: God, guns and guts made America the greatest nation on earth. When we pull together, united in common cause, we are at our strongest.
And we forget all this at our peril.
