"Ideas have consequences"(Weaver).
The ideas of 1776 came out of a set of ideas consistent with liberty.
We tend to forget, or have never considered, that many world views existed then, as now.
Unless today's citizens rediscover the ideas of liberty existing in what Jefferson called "the American mind" of 1776, we risk going back to the "Old World" ideas which preceded the "Miracle of America."
There are those who call themselves "progressives," when, in fact, their ideas are regressive and enslaving, and as old as the history of civilization.
Would suggest to any who wish an authentic history of the ideas underlying American's founding a visit to this web site, at which Richard Frothingham's outstanding 1872 "History of the Rise of the Republic of the United States" can be read on line.
This 600+-page history traces the ideas which gave birth to the American founding. Throughout, Richard Frothingham, the historian, develops the idea that it is "the Christian idea of man" which allowed the philosophy underlying the Declaration of Independence and Constitution to become a reality--an idea which recognizes the individual and the Source of his/her "Creator"-endowed life, liberty and law.
Is there any wonder that the enemies of freedom, the so-called "progressives," do not promote such authentic histories of America? Their philosophy puts something called "the state," or "global interests" as being superior to individuals and requires a political elitist group to decide what role individuals are to play.
In other words, they must turn the Founders' ideas upside-down in order to achieve a common mediocrity for individuals and power for themselves.
"Why have we let such a small number of people dictate to us about this?"
Perhaps it is because, like termites, they worked at times behind the scenes and within organizations and institutions which were not suspected to be subversive to the ideas of liberty, such as the so-called "public" education system.
The following is excerpted from a series entitled, "Lessons on Liberty," by La Vaughn G. Lewis, Co-Editor, "Our Ageless Constitution" & "Rediscovering the Ideas of Liberty." The "Lesson" contrasts the Founders' Ideas of Liberty" to be taught to rising generations, with the Counterfeit Ideas being promoted in the so-called "public schools" of America for decades.
The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them. (Jefferson - 1774)
Statesmen may plan and speculate for Liberty, but it is Religion and Morality alone which can establish the principles upon which Freedom can securely stand. (John Adams - 1775)
The Sacred Rights of Mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the Hand of the Divinity itself, and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power. (Alexander Hamilton)
Without God, there could be no American form of government, nor an American way of life. Recognition of the Supreme Being is the first and the most basic expression of Americanism. Thus the founding fathers saw it, and thus, with Gods help, it will continue to be. (Dwight Eisenhower)
The same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe, the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. (John F. Kennedy - 1961 Inaugural)
it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor .(George Washington)
Now the virtue which had been infused into the Constitution and was to give it the stability and duration to which it was destined, was no other than those abstract principles proclaimed in the Declaration of Independencenamely, the self-evident truths of the unalienable rights of man the sovereignty of the people, always subordinate to a rule of right and wrong, and always responsible to the Supreme Ruler of the universe for the rightful exercise of that sovereign power. (John Quincy Adams, on the occasion of The Jubilee of the Constitution - 1839)
"Today, across our nation, we see consequences of decades of gross neglect and outright censorship of the Founders ideas from textbooks and from our public discourse. We have allowed counterfeit ideas to dominate the public square, and the Founders principles have been crowded out. Unwittingly, many teachers and other unknowing officials have participated in the agenda of an unelected mind-controlling elite whose tyrannical actions have robbed generations of Americans from reading or studying the ideas that made America free. Like termites, they have eroded our foundations as effectively as if they had burned the books. Yet, not once have they been willing to call it by its rightful namecensorship. Once, in America, stifling ideas about the Creator and Creator-endowed liberty was considered unthinkable. . . .
"The ideas of liberty must be passed on from generation to generation if liberty is to survive. These ideas, when they are allowed to be examined freely, will prevail, because their appeal is to reason and to the love for liberty that is deep in the human heart. John Adams warned: The people of America now have the best opportunity and the greatest trust in their hands, that Providence ever committed to so small a number if they betray their trust, their guilt will merit even greater punishment than other nations have suffered, and the indignation of Heaven.
The idea of God is the keystone of a perverted society. The true root of liberty, equality and culture is atheism. (Karl Marx)
Our thinking is enlightened in the degree in which we cease to depend upon belief in the supernatural. (John Dewey, father of progressive education and 1st President of American Humanist Society)
democracy is a human faith and movement, unencumbered by supernatural preconceptions. (John Childs, a protégé of John Dewey at Columbia)
the majority of our youth still hold the values of their parents, and if we do not alter this pattern, if we do not resocialize ourselves to accept change, our society may decay. (John Goodlad, 1971 Report to President, Schooling for the Future)
As in 1933, humanists still believe that traditional theism, especially a faith in the prayer-hearing God, who is assumed to love and care for persons, to hear and understand their prayers, and be able to do something about them, is an unproved and outmoded faith. (Humanist Manifesto II, 1973)
the most important factor moving us toward a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is sixteen tends to lead toward elimination of religious superstition. (Paul Blanshard, The Humanist, March-April, 1976)
It [the Natl. Education Associations publication list] includes the delegitimizing of all authority save that of the state, the degradation of traditional morality and the encouragement of citizens in general and children in particular to despise the rules and customs that make their society a functional democracy. The NEA is drifting into exceedingly dangerous waters, and probably carrying more than a few teachers and pupils with it. (Chester E. Finn, Jr., Asst. Sec. Of Education & Prof. Of Education & Public Policy, Vanderbilt Univ., 1982)
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Now, my countrymen, if you have been taught doctrines which conflict with the great landmarks of the Declaration of Independence
let me entreat you to come back. Return to the fountains whose waters spring close to the blood of the Revolution. (Abraham Lincoln)
We’ve foolishly allowed the left to capture most of the institutions here. We’re now paying the price.