What is a Founding Father?

Illinois Review ^ | July 4, 2011 A.D. | John F. Di Leo

[jfd1776]

Every year for two centuries plus, the American people have celebrated the events of June and July, 1776… those fiery weeks when the Continental Congress debated changing their focus from improving our relationship with the King and Parliament who ruled them, to terminating that relationship once and for all.

On a broader scale, on Independence Day, we champion the Founding Fathers, those wise and courageous patriots who managed this transition, who won us our independence and set these United States on the course to greatness. In addition to celebrating these actions, it might also be worthwhile to ponder who these people were – what made America’s greatest generation so different from our own.

The Framers are clearly definable: The Framers are the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, those careful and principled organizers who spent the summer of 1787 designing our government. But they are just a small subset of the Founding Fathers to whom we owe our nation’s independence and success.

[jfd1776]

As we celebrate the anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, let's also celebrate the men and women, young and old, who made it happen... America's greatest generations: our Founding Fathers.

Why aren't today's politicians as visionary as they were? Well, my thoughts on the matter are in my Illinois Review column today, if you're interested...

[bgill]

Thanks and cheers to them all.

[EagleUSA]

“Why aren’t today’s politicians as visionary as they were?”

:::::::::::::::::

Lots of reasons, but mainly because they do not have to be. They only do what THEY want, not what the people want. They do not even obey the law much of the time -— zero accountability. They steal, they lie, they cheat, and they keep thier jobs and do not go to prison where many of them should be. And now we have reached the zenith of thug rule in Washington — God help us, look at what is in our Oval Office and what his agenda for America is....a total horror story.

I blame the electorate and the unthinking and selfish people of this country for letting this sad state of affairs develop and persist. And that is the way the liberals want it.....

[RetSignman]

[What is a Founding Father?]

Ask that question on the ‘street’ you might get:

“Yeah, uh , is it a father who finds stuff?”

[DoctorBulldog]

I'm glad you thought enough to include a young John Quincy Adams and Abigail Adams as Founding Fathers!

By the way, our Founding Fathers were educated using a Trivium based education which stresses critical thinking---unlike today's schools which are nothing more than government controlled indoctrination centers.

Cheers

[humblegunner]

Founding Fathers would never excerpt a blog in order to get hits.

[jfd1776]

Thanks for the comments, folks!

Humblegunner, I must disagree with you, though...

I usually include hyperlinks, bullets, and the use of boldface and underlining in my articles. I lose these when I post them in full in Free Republic.

I love Free Republic... absolutely love it... but I prefer to use the excerpt approach when I repost here, because that way the article is always read the way I intended it to be read. I don’t do it “to get hits”... I don’t get any financial remuneration for doing so...

Although if I did, a real conservative would respect that desire and honor the approach. Some of our founders wrote for free (the federalist papers, for example), while others wrote for a living (Franklin and Paine were self-publishers; they lived on the sale of their written work).

Don’t fault writers who earn their living by writing; respect them!

Cheers,
JFD

[humblegunner]

I usually include hyperlinks

Understandable, as those will never work here. Like this one: HTML Tutorial

bullets

• Nope, those don't work here either.

and the use of boldface and underlining in my articles.

Ditto those, they are impossible at Free Republic.

a real conservative would respect that desire and honor the approach

You're right, we should all be pleased that you utilize our forum to advertise your blog.

How could I have been so wrong.

[freedumb2003]

Is there a better word than “excellent?”

This piece motivates me to go back and reread The Federalist Papers and other documents from the founders. And I think the mention of the less-known players is very important: these were living, breathing men of great conviction, all of who pledged themselves and all they were and had to the cause of forming a country conceived in Liberty.

Thanks for posting this — it should be above the fold on every newspaper in the country.

[freedumb2003]

>>Ask that question on the ‘street’ you might get:

“Yeah, uh , is it a father who finds stuff?”<<

Close — how about “when my baby daddy finds stuff”...?

[ApplegateRanch]

[What is a Founding Father?]

Ask that question on the ‘street’ you might get:

“Yeah, uh , is it a father who finds stuff?”

---

Uhhh, duh; everbody knows it be the DADDY of da baby in da basket FOUND on da church doorsteps!

[Talisker]

How could I have been so wrong.

Well for one thing, you practice at it - a lot.

Get this: it doesn't matter. Clicks are irrelevent, easy and often highly educational. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill, and disrupting countless threads with your trivial obsession.

Free Republic shines for two things: its Comments, and as a spectacular Hub for any and all real news. Neither of those things are threatened by clicking. No money is lost, no users go away.

So drop it already.

[Talisker]

We know that America’s founding was a miracle, one blessed by Providence at a time when all the right people were present – the authors, the diplomats, the military minds, the political philosophers, the economists – all the right people were ready to rise to the occasion; it would never have worked without them.

And the Tea Party movement is a sign that it is happening again.

[humblegunner]

Get this: it doesn't matter.

Know this: It matters.
Pimps abusing the forum as an advertising platform are scummy and need to be called on it.

So drop it already.

I think not, but your opinion has been noted.

[Eaker]

So drop it already.

Shouldn't you log out and log back in as a Moderator before giving orders?

Well I guess since you are a n00bie it can be forgiven this once.

[Lazamataz]

It’s perfectly okay to post blog material here. Just don’t excerpt, and we won’t think you are trying to get hits using FR. Deal?

[Allegra]

Free Republic shines for two things: its Comments, and as a spectacular Hub for any and all real news. Neither of those things are threatened by clicking. No money is lost, no users go away.

So drop it already.

You must not have been around here very long if you think you can just go around issuing commands to established FReepers.

Blog pimps are generally frowned upon around here.

Get used to it.

[humblegunner]

[Larry Lucido]

I don’t go to random sites until I’ve been given a reason to trust them. Just post your text and then invite folks to go over and see the links if they choose. What you are doing is “teasing” your site which is far from cool. If you have something to say, just say it.

Also, some surf on their handhelds. FR is far, far friendlier to handhelds than most of these other flash-laden sites.

It’s a matter of respect. Are you contributing, or not?

[thackney]

Make sure you explain that reasoning to the owner of Free Republic.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/2636843/posts?page=552#552

I have no complaint if a good conservative blogger posts his own material to FR, not as an excerpt to drive hits and discussion back to his blog, but rather to impart useful information to OUR readers and to promote and join in on the discussion and conservative activism HERE on FR.

If a blogger can’t or refuses do that, and if he constantly complains or fights with our participants over it, then I’d just as soon he doesn’t post here. It’s not my job to make his content or his presentation or cooperation acceptable to our readers. That’s his job. And if he cannot do it or refuses to do it and continues posting brief excerpts only and obviously attempting to draw away our participants while loudly complaining about it, then I have no sympathy for his complaints and the more apt I am to ban his account and blog.