June 28, 2026 • 51 mins
Join us for expert discussions and analysis on today's news, politics, the latest about the Reflecting Pool, studying and understanding the Declaration Of Independence, the role of martyrs in American history, the Faith of America's Founding Fathers and how the Bible reveals that the rights stated in the Declaration Of Independence are gifts from God.
(00:00) A look at the ongoing saga and claims being made about the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC and the way Donald Trump has made it a top priority.
(01:38) David Bobb, President & CEO of the Bill Of Rights Institute, talks about the importance and value of studying the Declaration Of Independence, the history behind the creation of the document and the ways it's misunderstood.
(12:21) Professor Gloria Browne-Marshall, Professor of Constitutional Law at John Jay College, discusses the meaning and goals of the July 5 Martyrs Day along with the role that martyrs have played throughout American history.
(23:41) Mark Burrell shares how Faith guided and inspired America's Founding Fathers.
(35:58) Chris DeBello examines how the Bible reveals that the rights stated in the Declaration Of Independence are true gifts from God.
(42:27) A reading of the Declaration Of Independence by Max McLean.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_02 (00:00):
Hello, welcome to Witch Cues and Ideas, your
algae-free radio reflectingpool.
I'm Chris DeBello.
How many stories are we up tonow about the supposed vandalism
at the reflecting pool?
I'm only keeping count becausewe may have just surpassed the
number of reasons we went to warin Iran.
Same thing with the people,number of people supposedly been
(00:22):
arrested for the allegedvandalism of the reflecting
pool.
Start off with a couple ofpeople, and it was three, five,
six, seven.
Only one actual name has everbeen told former Olympian David
Hearn.
The other names have been keptsecret until now.
I found them out.
Pat McGroin, John Doe, Bendover,Joe Mama, Jack Meehoff, and of
(00:43):
course, since there's no sexismand vandalism, April May.
So there you go.
Speaking of names, you do knowthe name of the contractor.
They uh did all the work on thereflecting pool, right?
Green Order Services.
I kid you not.
Green water services got thejob.
The owner is a big Trumpdonator, and it was a no-bid
(01:05):
setup.
Now imagine if Trump paid thismuch attention to the economy
like he's paying to thereflecting pool.
Of course, the I mean, yeah, theWhite House does try to get him
to.
I mean, look at the appearancehe did this past week in
Pennsylvania.
It said the the economy isgreat.
Look at the Dow.
Just don't look at the Trumpstock.
That's down over 60 percent ofthe baskets like seven bucks.
(01:27):
On a related note, SpaceX stockthat was expected to launch in
store.
Turns out that got stuck in thelaunch pad, too, down about 20
percent.
That's just a past week.
We are days away fromcelebrating the 250th
anniversary of the founding ofAmerica, reasons for the
establishment of America, asbeen told in, well, countless
books, all of them holdingvaluable insight, by the way.
(01:49):
But the the direct way tolearning, it's always the best
way, isn't it?
Let me ask you a question.
As we move forward here.
When was the last time you readthe Declaration of Independence?
Okay.
Have you ever read theDeclaration of Independence?
However, you answered thosequestions, the first guest joins
us to offer you a path to theunderstanding of the value, the
(02:10):
importance, through the historyof this vital document.
Thanks for being here today,David.
SPEAKER_03 (02:22):
Great to be with you.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
And learn more about the Bill of Rights Institute and
the immense amount of historichistorically accurate
information that they presentfor your learning, both for
teachers as well as individuals,Bill of Rights Institute.org,
and we have a link at ourhomepage as well.
Looking at the Declaration ofIndependence, David, what is, in
(02:47):
your opinion, the most eitheroverlooked or misunderstood
element of this document?
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Well, thanks for that question.
I think the most overlooked isprobably the idea that once uh
done, it was kind of done.
That it was a one and done kindof thing that just separated us
from the crown.
It was good for that purpose,but didn't really have anything
(03:16):
to do then with our go goingforward plan.
To me, the Declaration ofIndependence, and my co-author
Tony Williams in the book thatyou just mentioned, divided over
the Declaration, we're makingthe argument that this was one
of the most significantinnovations in the way that
people should think about humanprogress.
It's a huge step to go frombeing subjects to being
(03:38):
citizens.
The Declaration gives us thevision.
The Constitution puts together akind of mission statement, you
might say.
And the two go together.
You add the Bill of Rights in,and you have a plan for
government that fits a freepeople.
Without the Declaration as aframing, none of that subsequent
(04:03):
work can happen.
SPEAKER_02 (04:05):
I mean, I know this is a big if, but if it wasn't
for the Declaration, would therehave ever been a constitution?
SPEAKER_03 (04:14):
Exactly.
You know, there's an argumentthat links the two of them.
Uh think of it this way, right?
So you get the beautifulpreamble, the statement of human
equality.
All men are created equal.
That was a statement aboutmankind.
The purpose of government is tosecure people's rights.
(04:35):
Those rights are few.
The Declaration says among themare life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
That's a really beautiful thing.
Then the rest of the argument ofthe Declaration is hey, we have
a prince, King George III, thathas become a tyrant.
Here's 27 reasons why the thethe king has violated our
(04:57):
God-given rights.
Those 27 grievances, as theycame to be called, laid out
violations of legislativeauthority, executive authority,
and judicial authority.
That became our three uh firstarticles of the Constitution.
(05:18):
There is a link between the twothat really is clear.
And it goes back to thefundamental question of what
makes for good government.
The idea is we're not subjects,we're citizens.
I think that this wascrystallized at a moment for
Thomas Jefferson, who was thedraftsman.
He's sitting in Philadelphiaknocking this thing out in a
(05:40):
little over two weeks.
And at one point he's using, youknow, his uh uh uh quill pen and
he writes a word.
You know how if you write aword, we don't write very much
anymore, but if you write it andyou don't want anybody to see
it, you kind of scratch it out,and you scratch a little bit
more.
Well, he did that.
The word that he wrote down wassubjects.
The word he wrote over it wascitizens.
(06:00):
We didn't find out about theword subjects until they scraped
the layers of ink back at theLibrary of Congress in 2010.
That moment, I think, iseverything.
Subjects to citizens.
SPEAKER_02 (06:12):
We're fortunate too, because the boys back in the
colonial days, they wroteletters, which of course was the
only means of communication, andthey kept notes to give us the
path to their insight into whattheir intent was, what their
purpose was, what theirchallenges were.
And we we came to learn thatmaybe it's is it equally
(06:35):
important to realize what wastaken out of the Declaration as
uh as well as what is in it?
I'm referring to the slaveryclause.
SPEAKER_03 (06:44):
Yeah, this was a hard-fought debate.
You know, Americans uh uh ofthat uh period, and particularly
the the men who who signed it,two-thirds of them owned uh
slaves.
Uh the condemnation of the kingthat Jefferson included in his
draft was very clear.
And a couple of delegates, um,South Carolina and uh uh Georgia
(07:09):
were the were the where the twostates said, look, if that
condemnation of slavery is inthe is in the document, we're
out.
And so it was a politicalcompromise.
But what the document still did,despite leaving that behind, was
lay out a standard.
That standard was all men arecreated equal.
It took many years, generations,really, in fact, and that's the
(07:32):
story that we tell in the book,of making that promissory note
real.
Um suffrage, abolition, thecivil rights movement.
We all make the appeal back tothat claim about what it means
to have rights.
One other quick note right afterthe declaration was announced,
(07:53):
um enslaved people made uh whatcame to be called freedom
lawsuits.
They said, We see this document,we see that it has a kind of uh
standing in our in our newnation, this nation of citizens,
and we claim our liberty basedon that promise.
That is the kind of legacy Ithink of the Declaration.
(08:16):
It set out a standard by whichwe could judge our
contradiction, and it was acontradiction.
Slavery stood as a contradictionto the principles of mankind.
SPEAKER_02 (08:32):
Bill of Rights Institute.org, their website,
and you are listening to issuesand ideas.
Turning to the book, DividedOver the Declaration.
Does the fact that to this daythe Declaration invites study,
debate, disagreement, evenconflict, does that cement just
how important this document is?
(08:53):
Is that the qualities that animportant an important document
needs to have for it to beconsidered as valuable as we
consider it?
SPEAKER_03 (09:02):
I think that's part of it.
Uh we'd like to see it even morecentral.
You know, it used to be, andthat's part of the uh the the um
the focus of this book, which isto say at so many of our early
stages the Declaration was thetouchstone.
Uh legislative debates.
Uh I just mentioned the the themovement of um uh 72 years long,
(09:23):
uh from 1848 to uh 1920, uh theachievement of uh women gaining
the right to vote.
That used the declaration as itstouchstone.
Uh the abolitionist movement,from Frederick Douglass to
William Lloyd Garrison, all ofthe debates about uh these
principles use the Declarationas the touchstone.
(09:45):
Fast forward to even the civilrights movement, right?
Uh you have the March onWashington, uh Martin Luther
King's well-known speech, JohnLewis's less known well uh less
well-known speech, he'sappealing John Lewis's to
completing the revolution of1776.
Since, I'd say, in the last 50years, though, the Declaration
(10:07):
has been largely treated as adead letter.
That's a problem.
We think it should be restoredto the place of national
discourse.
Make it a touchstone for ourdebates.
America's a home, we're an idea,right?
We have this creed.
We have to live up to the creed.
But we're also, America has away in which it's an argument.
(10:28):
Freedom implies uh disagreement.
We're going to disagree.
We're a big, huge nation of 340million people.
Let's disagree better byfocusing on the principles in
the Declaration.
That's the real argument we makein the book.
SPEAKER_02 (10:42):
And as you said here a few moments ago, too, a lot of
people make the mistake ofsaying the Constitution replaced
the Declaration of Independence,where in fact, as you as you
described in detail, one fed theother and they are coexisting
with each other.
And real fast, too, as far asthe Bill of Rights Institute,
for someone listening right nowwho's motivated, I hope, to
(11:02):
indeed fill the void of theirknowledge about the Declaration
of Independence, what kind ofinformation and and activities
do you have on the website, Billof Rights Institute.org?
SPEAKER_03 (11:13):
6,000 free resources.
Uh it's open to everybody.
Uh there's lots of games,videos, uh instructional
materials, information forcitizens of all ages, uh, but
especially kids.
Uh the the the whole idea isaround these ideas.
How can you engage in them,become a principled, productive
citizen?
SPEAKER_02 (11:33):
And as David described here and details with
Tony Williams and divided themwith the Declaration.
The Declaration of Independenceis not an antique to be
gathering dust on the shelf.
It is still a vibrant, livedocument with value, importance,
and guidance that we need tothis day.
Learn more about the Bill ofRights Institute where you can
(11:54):
find out uh from their wealth ofinformation and education about
this and other importanthistorical documents at the Bill
of Rights Institute.org.
He is the president and CEO,David Bob.
David, thank you so much for theeducation today and the
motivation to want to learnmore.
That's always the important partof education.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_03 (12:13):
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02 (12:15):
If you're listening to us via your favorite podcast
platform, make sure you followand subscribe.
Merriam Webster Dictionarydefines martyr as a person who
sacrificed something of greatvalue and especially life itself
for the sake of a principle.
As we get ready to celebrate the250th anniversary of the
founding of America My NextGuest today is with us to share
(12:37):
how the day after is beingdedicated to what it has taken
to protect the foundation ofAmerica that our founders
created and the sacrifices thatwere made to do so.
Now, this is not an effortthat's limited to history, by
the way.
It's an effort that's very muchresponded to in the present, as
it will no doubt be in thefuture.
Hitler explained the meaning andgoals of Martyr Day, which, as I
(12:59):
referenced, is July 5th.
It's Professor of ConstitutionalLaw at John Jay College, author
of the book of Protest Historyof the United States, Professor
Gloria Brown Marshall.
How are you today, Professor?
SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
I'm doing very well.
You describe that brilliantly.
SPEAKER_02 (13:15):
Well, thank you.
And to learn more about MartyrDay, it's Martyrsday.us.
Learn about the world ofProfessor Brown Marshall, Brown
Marshall23.com.
And for the educationalopportunities of John Jay
College, it's JJ.edu.
And yes, we do have all thoselinks at our homepage, and I
(13:38):
hope you will make use of them.
You are the force behindMartyr's Day.
What was the what was theinspiration, motivation to
create what is going to beunfolding on July 5th?
SPEAKER_00 (13:49):
It was during my tour, my book tour for my book,
A Protest History of the UnitedStates, and I toured around the
country for 15 months, talked tohundreds and hundreds of people,
and they would ask me, what elsecan I do?
And then I said, Well, thinkwhere you are in the moment.
And then that stayed with me inthe hotel room on this tour.
(14:10):
What can I do?
What else can I do?
And I thought, I'm talking aboutthese martyrs, I'm talking about
protesters who have been slain.
I I am trying to research them,write about them, but there's
more.
And that's what I said.
They have been martyred in thename of social justice and civil
rights and equality to push thiscountry forward.
(14:30):
And the same way we haveMemorial Day to honor those who
fight in foreign wars.
I think about what has been donedomestically to move this
country forward, for women togain the right to vote, for
laborers to have um safe workingconditions and an eight-hour
work day.
What took uh what did thecountry have to have for that
freedom to go from paper toreality?
(14:52):
And that's where Martyr's Daywas born.
And then we decided, oh mygoodness, we can't wait.
It's the 250th anniversary.
But July 5th is also importantbecause after we do all the
celebration for the 4th of Julyabout freedom, we need to think
about what that freedom costs tocertain regular people.
Nope, not in the military,regular people going out to buy
(15:13):
milk and bread.
And how did they come to bemartyred for our freedom that we
live with, wake up with andembrace every day, but we don't
really think about them.
So I wanted to lift them up andpay tribute to those who have
been martyred for our socialjustice.
SPEAKER_02 (15:27):
And one of the very important things that you do
through the efforts, especiallywith the website martyrsday.us,
you help people realize thatmartyrdom is not a thing of the
past.
The timeline and when you youhave you feature 26 photos and
and descriptions of martyrs onthe website.
When people see that, they'llrealize that uh martyrdom, well,
(15:49):
first and foremost, it isn'talways to the death.
It's willing to sacrifice yourlife if the case need uh need
be.
But to make a difference, Iguess would be the the the thing
to say, and that would make ituh make the idea of martyrdom
seem more reachable for othersbecause you can make a
difference in a variety oflevels.
SPEAKER_00 (16:09):
Yes, and these people were many of them were
martyrd.
They didn't mean to go intobattle and lose their lives.
When we think about AndrewGoodman and James Cheney and
Michael Schmer sh um Shermer,they went down to Mississippi to
help register people to vote.
They didn't intend on beingkilled.
And and Michael um SurmerSurner, who whose family and and
(16:33):
Andrew Goodman's whose familiesare in New York City in this in
this area, um James Cheney wasfrom Mississippi, and they went
down, those two men, Michael andAndrew, as college students to
Mississippi to register peopleto vote.
When we think about people whogo into protests, and I've been
part of protests since the thirdgrade, and I'm not thinking when
(16:53):
I go out to protest that I'mgoing to lose my life in doing
so.
But we just had primary votingacross the country.
We went to our voting places andvoted.
These people, as as recent as isthe 1960s, were slaughtered just
because they went to vote.
Um Vernon Damer, one of ourmartyrs on the website, um, was
(17:16):
burned alive in his own homebecause he was paying the poll
tax.
Yes, there was a time wherepeople had to pay a tax in order
to vote.
Um for for the poorer farmers inMississippi, he was burned
alive.
And and but he had a motto ifyou don't vote, you don't count.
And that's why these people areso important.
(17:36):
They're teaching us Americanhistory, things that have been
probably covered up.
There are also people who gavetheir lives without getting any
type of veterans' pay, withoutgetting any type of special
ceremonies at their gravesites,special cemeteries.
These are regular people whowere martyrs, who were killed
just for doing basic things wetake for granted today.
(17:59):
And so I I think the least wecan do is lift up their names as
American martyrs.
And this is our first AmericanMartyrs Day coming up on July
5th.
SPEAKER_02 (18:08):
I think to contemporize it even further,
you say the names Renee Good andAlex Prody.
Those are two individuals doingwhat is what is every American's
right to do to protest, peacefulpeacefully protest, I should
say.
They weren't burning things orwaving weapons, and they lost
their lives for exercising abasic right.
(18:31):
And if someone says anythingabout that being wrong, I think
that's someone who is lacking agreat understanding of the
importance of rights in thiscountry.
SPEAKER_00 (18:40):
Well, think about the 250th anniversary is
commemorating the signing of theDeclaration of Independence,
which is a protest document.
So we began in protest, but thiscountry has this love-hate
relationship with protests.
We love the benefits that comefrom protests.
We like that eight-hour workday, we like our safe working
(19:01):
conditions, we like the factthat women have the right to
vote, we like all of thosethings, but we don't want to
respect the protests that weretaken in order for those rights
and privileges and protectionsto be reality.
And that's the love-haterelationship that we have in
this country.
We protest.
We want to have the benefits ofprotest, but we disdain the
(19:24):
protester as a troublemaker.
We malign them.
We always have this propagandaagainst protesters, and as you
pointed out, it's in ourconstitution that we are allowed
to protest, especially protestthe actions of our state, local,
and federal governments.
We can also protest the actionsof corporations and stores who
aren't treating us well.
(19:44):
But being able to protestagainst our government, that is
in our constitution.
And so many people wantconstitutional rights, but they
don't want people to exercisethose constitutional rights.
It's just against an issue thatthey care deeply about on the
other side.
SPEAKER_02 (19:58):
Oh, and Professor Gloria Brown Marshall, author of
the book A Protest History ofthe United States.
In addition to all that, thefounder of Martyrs Day coming up
on July 5th, learn more atMartyrsday.us, and you are
listening to issues and ideas.
It's fantastic with theinformation once you put it out
there for people to look at,hopefully absorb to whatever
(20:19):
degree they're they're capableof.
But what additionally do youwant to see as a result of the
planning and leading up toMartyrs Day?
What you what what are youhoping for on July 5th?
SPEAKER_00 (20:31):
Well, in uh in New York City, we're having um the
National Martyr's Day event atthe historic Riverside Church um
in Manhattan at 2 p.m.
on July 5th.
But there are also events thatare taking place around the
country, and in particular, anevent that's taking place in New
Jersey at South Orange ValesburgUnited Methodist Church, and
(20:55):
they are going to have a readingof the names of the martyrs.
They're going to have a program.
People are having programs in inMaryland.
The state of Maryland hasproclaimed July 5th as Martyrs
Day.
The city of Philadelphiaproclaimed July 5th as Martyrs
Day, as well as districts in inPittsburgh and and in Colorado.
(21:15):
So my my want, my takeaway fromfor the listener, think about
martyrs and recommit to socialjustice.
Recommit to what this Americansociety is about, moving forward
as far as social justice, civilrights, equality.
Realize the history of thiscountry means that people had to
(21:36):
fight to take words from theConstitution and make them a
reality in day to day life.
But more importantly, we want arecommitment to social justice,
a recommitment to going forwardin this country and realizing
that our rights didn't fall outof the sky.
Santa Claus didn't bring them.
They weren't left under thepillow by the two ferry.
People fought and died for this.
And we want to pay tribute tothose who fought and died, but
(21:59):
we also Want to learn and goforward as a nation, believing
in social justice as the rightpath for this country.
It's power in it.
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
And for that to come about, it's going to be People
Power.
That's you the people, as partof We the People, and learn more
about how to organize a localMartyrs Day event wherever you
are, listening on the radio,listening on the podcast,
listening on the stream,whatever the case may be.
The go to to find out moremartyrsday.us, martyrsday.us,
(22:29):
and we have that link over atour homepage, don't worry about
that.
Learn more about ProfessorGloria Brown Marshall and her
writing her work, Brown BrownMarshall23.com, and the
education opportunities of JohnJ.
College, where she is aprofessor of constitutional law,
J J A Y dot CUNY.edu.
(22:50):
All those are, again, on ourwebsite homepage.
Professor Gloria Brown Marshall.
It's great to have a 4th of Julyto help us remember, but then
you've added to that with July5th and Martyr's Day to help us
understand what we the role weplay as individuals, as active
(23:11):
citizens of the United States,protecting what is right and
what are our rights.
So thank you for the level ofawareness you're you're raising,
the motivation you're creating,and the success I know Martyrs
Day is going to be this year andmoving forward.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_00 (23:27):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (23:29):
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook.
Keep on top of all theconversations we have on there
each and every day.
You can find the link to do thatat the homepage of our website,
issues and ideasradio.com.
The Declaration of Independenceis a recognition of how all that
is a part of our liberty andfreedom comes from God.
This document also really givesa job description for every
(23:51):
American regarding their role inkeeping America faithfully
strong.
So what happened over the recentdecades?
Have we as a people turned awayfrom what was declared and
directed to us in theDeclaration of Independence?
Has it been diminished by thosethat we've given elected
leadership to?
(24:13):
Roadmap to Restore America isMark Garrill.
How are you doing, Mark?
SPEAKER_04 (24:19):
I'm doing great, Chris.
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (24:21):
Well, thank you for this book that really ties in
what too many people areseparating.
You put them together in a veryfluid way.
Explain the use of the wordcovenant in in your context.
SPEAKER_04 (24:45):
Yeah, so I had questions myself on this uh on
the American foundingoriginally, going back to early
the 70s and the 80s.
And and the question was if therevolution was all about
taxation without representation,in other words, they didn't want
to pay their taxes, and uh andyet Jesus said you should pay
your taxes, uh for me it was howcould the revolution have been
(25:09):
biblically justifiable?
So I started this this long-termjourney about a 20-year quest to
try and answer that question.
And I decided eventually to goand look in the Bible and just
start at the beginning and lookfor information about liberty
and justice and rights andgoverning and what does God
expect from the nations.
And that's when you first startto learn a whole lot about this
(25:31):
word covenant.
There's um a bunch of covenantsthat are clearly expressed, and
the one that pertains to thisparticular topic that's meant to
be instructive for all of thenations is what we refer to as
the Mosaic Covenant.
It was a covenant brokeredbasically through Moses to the
nation of Israel, and it was tomake good on another covenant
(25:54):
called the Abrahamic covenantthat we learn about in Genesis
12 and Genesis 15.
And in that covenant, God madean unconditional promise to
bless uh Israel, uh to bless uhAbraham, and he promised a
nation uh a great land and tobless the world through Israel,
and it was unconditional.
But when it came time to makegood on that promise about a
(26:18):
strong nation, he raised upMoses, and Moses essentially
came down and followed afour-step process, and the
four-step process was first toacknowledge God and his moral
law, so he was bringing down theTen Commandments, and basically
he was saying, Hey, listen,God's telling us if we follow
this as a nation, as uh as agroup of people living together,
(26:40):
he'll bless our nation, and ifwe don't, he'll curse us.
So what do you say?
Everyone said, We're in.
That sounds good to us.
And that's where you first seethis idea of consent.
Then they go on to uh appeal toGod for help, they offer
sacrifices, they commit to it,and they declare it by putting
(27:00):
up a monument.
This all takes place, by theway, in Exodus 19 through 24.
Uh, and and those four steps isbasically what you do when you
start a nation.
It's also what you do when youget married, which is not a
coincidence.
Because th there's a level ofseriousness in uh in a marriage
commitment.
You're exchanging vows, you'reacknowledging God, you're
(27:22):
appealing to God for help,you're committing to the to the
marriage, and and you'redeclaring it.
And that's exactly what thefounders did in 1776 in the
first couple of paragraphs.
They acknowledged God's plan fornations, they refer to the law
of nature and of nature's God,which is a direct reference to
the law, the moral law as knownthrough conscience, and also as
(27:45):
delivered through the Bible inthe Ten Commandments.
And then they summarize you knowGod's idea of rights, life,
liberty, the pursuit ofhappiness.
They're inalienable.
Powers uh are derived throughthe consent of the governed, or
you know, again referringdirectly to what happened with
Israel.
And so later on they they appealto God for help in that last
(28:06):
paragraph, they commit to it, uhoffering their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacredhonor, and then they declare it.
They had it read aloud, and ofcourse the the name of the
document is a declaration.
So I decided eventually, afteryou know, looking at all this
information, I I got a lot ofcoaching from folks because I'd
never written a book before.
(28:27):
And they all said, You've got toget clear on the main story.
What's the story you want totell?
And I realized it was about thecovenant that started our nation
and the fact that we haveforgotten it.
And so that's that's where thetitle came from.
SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
And you were listening to issues and ideas.
Life, liberty, and the pursuitof happiness.
Life and liberty, people haveconcrete ideas for happiness.
People make it more of anabstract.
With your study, with yourresearch, quantify, qualify that
that third word, happiness, inthe Declaration of Independence.
(29:07):
What was the what was the intentof that word?
SPEAKER_04 (29:11):
Yeah, and I I really appreciate you asking that
question because uh I learnedover the years that the founders
had something much different inmind when they used that term.
And in fact, I have a wholechapter on that called The
Pursuit of Happiness.
And what I learned in goingthrough there first is if you
look at the Bible and and youlook at verses that talk about
(29:31):
following God and you ask thequestion, if you follow God as
best you can, right?
We're all uh still sinners, butwe're hopefully sinning less.
And we know that if we followthe Bible for as sort of a
handbook for life, that lifewill go better for us.
And and what does that mean forus?
It means we'll be happy.
And in fact, if you look atthere's a number of verses that
(29:55):
say this directly, I put them inthe Bible.
There's one in uh Ecclesiastes,I forget the exact reference,
but you can do a concordance onit.
But another one is uh Psalm 119,the longest psalm in the Bible,
176 verses.
And essentially each section ofthat psalm says the person
(30:16):
saying that I delight in yourlaw, I meditate on your law day
and night, it's my joy anddelight.
I mean, almost every other verseis saying that.
And so what are you to concludefrom 176 verses to talk about
that?
And the answer is that you knowwhat, if you follow God's law,
not not to gain his favor orgain approval, it's to it's to
(30:37):
honor him and ultimately to havea happy life.
And and that's exactly what thefounders were referring to.
And I I have a lot of quotes inthere to uh to back that
statement up because of coursethe modern definition or the
modern point of view is thatwhat the founders meant was sort
of eat, drink, and be merry, dowhatever makes you feel good.
(30:59):
And that's not at all how theythought about it.
They saw that the only way totruly be happy is to find favor
in the mind of God.
Pardon me.
And I I show that right out ofthe uh Noah Webster dictionary
in 1828, which is a veryimportant reference, Chris,
because it shows you how thefounders defined words back then
(31:22):
when they were using them.
And uh and and that resourcealso points out that if you if
you want to be happy, follow Godas best you can, and your life
will go well.
So so, yes, a very importantdistinction versus what the
secular world uh andunfortunately many Christians
think that phrase means in ourdeclaration.
SPEAKER_02 (31:45):
And we'll get to that side of the equation too.
But when you mentioned Psalm119, I I'm drawing a blank on
which signer of the Declarationwas it was, but one of them was
actually the creator of thefirst one of the first hymnal
books taking all the Psalms andsetting it into music, including
(32:05):
uh Psalm 119, which I think wasone of the uh 60-page hymnals.
I don't know hopefully I canremember the name before we're
done here, but if not, I'll I'lllook it up and uh and I get it
to listen because I don't wantto drive too crazy like I'm
driving myself crazy right now.
As far as our role asindividuals and the uh the idea
(32:28):
of uh of Christian uhcitizenship, what are some of
the elements that maybe we'velost touch with or maybe we've
uh a detachment has brought hasbeen brought about by those
we've turned to for everythingfrom education to political
leadership, and and we we'vebeen uh we've been separated
from that idea.
SPEAKER_04 (32:48):
Yeah, and so they say all politics are local, and
so let's start with a real localconcept.
The first thing you need to doto be a good citizen is to be a
responsible individual, takeresponsibility for yourself,
seek to live in harmony with themoral law, and again, uh just
just focus on, you know, don'tmurder or hurt anybody, don't
(33:11):
steal from anybody, always dealhonestly with everybody, and
don't covet what other peoplehave.
If you can just focus on thosefour things, you will be doing
uh so much better than uh a vastmajority of Americans living
today.
But then after you sort of getyour own life under control,
then it's your family.
(33:31):
And and one of the interestingthings that I learned in this,
Chris, is that all of theprinciples for starting a nation
and for governing a nationjustly, they all apply to the
family.
I mentioned marriage a momentago.
Same is true for governingprinciples.
And so one way to think aboutall these concepts is to think
(33:52):
about how would I apply them inthe home.
In fact, I'm working on a Biblestudy for that.
I've got a couple of churchesthat are interested in that as
an approach to learn thisbecause it's a more applicable
angle to you know be able tolearn the concepts and apply
them directly to your life.
And then, of course, once yourfamily's under control, or
reasonably under control, I'mnot sure any of our families are
(34:14):
always totally under control.
I know mine's not.
But once you get to a pointwhere you know things are
somewhat stable, then yourresponsibility extends to your
local community.
How can you get involved at uhschool board, your city council?
Those are the areas where youreally should be engaged.
(34:35):
And I I look at churches, and somany of them have hundreds and
hundreds of people.
Uh there should be at least fiveto ten percent of any population
in a church that has thespiritual gifts to be able to,
you know, administration andleadership and wisdom to be able
to uh serve their fellowcitizens, ultimately to help you
(34:59):
know make sure that there'sliberty and justice for
everybody.
And that's ultimately how youlove your neighbor.
You protect their rights.
And when people see yougoverning justly, they tend to
take notice and they might tendto ask you about your faith.
And by the way, that was anevangelistic strategy God used
in the Old Testament inDeuteronomy 4.
(35:19):
Moses told the children ofIsrael that if you govern
justly, the other nations aregoing to take notice and come
out and uh and check you guysout.
So so it all fits together quitenicely if you follow the
biblical blueprint.
SPEAKER_02 (35:34):
Mark Burrell, job well done as a Christian, as a
fanatical history nut.
You've touched both areas withthe respect and the honesty that
they deserve, and the way thatthey are going to be absorbed by
everyone who reads your book isgoing to make a difference.
Thanks for doing that and forbeing here today.
SPEAKER_04 (35:54):
Thanks for having me, Chris.
Let's do it again soon.
SPEAKER_02 (35:58):
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal, that they areendowed by their creator with
certain unalienable rights thatamong these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
That's the opening sentence fromthe second paragraph of the
Declaration of Independence,which is a few days away from
celebrating its birthday, aswell as the birth of the United
(36:19):
States of America.
While the Declaration ofIndependence is a document which
served as an indictment of KingGeorge and his tyranny, it also
clearly states and directlyestablishes that all who are
present in this land have rightsgiven to them by God.
Those are, of course, life,liberty, and the pursuit of
(36:39):
happiness.
For since God is the one andonly creator, that one sentence
is indeed recognition of thetruth we read in Colossians
chapter one verses sixteen andseventeen.
For by him all things werecreated, that were in heaven and
that are on earth, visible andinvisible, whether thrones or
dominions, or principalities orpowers, all things were created
(37:03):
through him and for him, and heis before all things, and in him
all things consist.
It's important to see too howwhen Thomas Jefferson wrote the
Declaration of Independence andCongress made their additions
and deletions, that they placeGod before and over government.
That is establishing thatwithout the former there can't
(37:24):
be the latter.
Romans chapter eleven, versethirty six establishes this as
well, for of him and throughhim, and to him are all things
to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
For us to receive the blessingsand gifts God creates for us, we
need to, of course, acknowledgeGod, his might, his love, just
as Hebrews chapter eleven, versesix teaches.
(37:45):
But without faith it isimpossible to please him, for he
who comes to God must believethat he is and that he is a
rewarder of those who diligentlyseek him.
Now let's look at these giftsthat the Declaration of
Independence establishes comesto us all from God.
Let's start with life.
As we all know, all life isprecious to God.
(38:08):
Psalm 121 verses 7 and 8 tellsus that.
The Lord shall preserve yourcoming out and your coming in,
from this time forth and evenforevermore.
In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10,God in his own words gives us
this promise Fear not, for I amwith you, be not dismayed, for I
(38:31):
am your God, I will strengthenyou, yes, I will help you, I
will uphold you with myrighteous right hand.
While God's gift of life to usis his perfect creation, as all
of his are, we are not perfect.
Obviously, and if we stray fromhis word, we can damage and
dirty this great gift that Godgives to us all.
All throughout the Bible wereceive the instructions that we
(38:54):
need.
We read this, for example, inGalatians chapter five, verse
twenty five.
If we live in the Spirit, let usalso walk in the Spirit.
There's this in sight we find infirst Peter chapter three,
verses ten and eleven.
For he who would love life andsee good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil and hislips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil anddo good, let him seek peace and
(39:16):
pursue it.
Now let's move on to liberty.
Liberty is a gift from God whichbrings us closer to God.
This is revealed to us in SecondCorinthians chapter three verse
seventeen.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, andwith the Spirit of the Lord is
there is liberty.
Just as Jefferson wrote that thecolony sought freedom from
(39:37):
tyranny, the gift of freedomoffers that to all of us.
As Paul writes in Galatianschapter five, verse one, stand
fast therefore in the liberty bywhich Christ has made us free,
and do not be entangled againwith a yoke of bondage.
How we respond to liberty is oneof our important decisions.
Again, God's Word gives us thetruthful guidance that we need.
(40:01):
Let's turn to James chapter oneverse twenty five.
But he who looks into theperfect law of liberty and
continues in it and is not aforgetful hearer but a doer of
the work, this one will beblessed in what he does.
Further instruction comes to usin first Peter chapter two
verses fifteen and sixteen.
For this is the will of God thatby doing good you may put to
(40:23):
silence the ignorance of foolishmen, as free, yet not using
liberty as a cloak for vice, butas bond servants of God.
Finally we have the pursuit ofhappiness.
Some find happiness with theirchildren, others find happiness
with hobbies, travelling,learning, sports, movies, things
like that.
Now those are certainly someways to find happiness.
(40:45):
As God's word makes abundantlyclear though, all will find
happiness with God.
He gives us a gift of happinessbecause he wants us to be happy.
When you read the words ofJesus, in John chapter fifteen,
verses nine through eleven,there is absolutely no question
about this.
As the Father loved me, I alsohave loved you.
Abide in my love.
(41:06):
If you keep my commandments, youwill abide in my love just as I
have kept my father'scommandments and abide in his
love.
These things I have spoken toyou, that my joy may remain in
you, and that your joy may befull.
The words from Jesus actuallymagnify what Solomon observes
and shares in Ecclesiasteschapter three verses ten through
(41:27):
thirteen.
I have seen the God given taskwith which the sons of men are
to be occupied.
He has made everything beautifulin its time.
Also he has put eternity intheir hearts, except that no one
can find out the work that Goddoes from beginning to end.
I know that nothing is betterfor them than to rejoice and to
(41:47):
do good in their lives, and alsothat every man should eat and
drink and enjoy the good of allhis labor.
It is the gift of God.
As we approach the two hundredand fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence andthe founding of America, as the
last sentence declares what wasto be done moving forward with
America, let's all promise to dothe same as we move forward as
(42:10):
God's children in America.
And for the support of thisdeclaration with a firm reliance
on the protection of divineprovidence, we mutually pledge
to each other our lives, ourfortunes, and our sacred honor.
SPEAKER_01 (42:26):
In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous declaration of the13 United States of America.
When in the course of humanevents it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve thepolitical bands which have
connected them with another, andto assume among the powers of
the earth a separate and equalstation to which the laws of
(42:48):
nature and of nature's godentitle them.
A decent respect to the opinionsof mankind requires that they
should declare the causes whichimpel them to be separated.
We hold these truth, to beself-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they areendowed by their creator with
(43:11):
certain unalienable rights.
That among these are life,liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
That to secure these rights,governments are instituted among
men deriving their just powersfrom the consent of the
government.
That whenever any form ofgovernment becomes destructive
of these, it is the right of thepeople to alter or to abolish it
(43:35):
and to institute newgovernments.
Lay its foundation of such anorganizing itself such as the
most likely to affect 60 and 50.
According to the U.S.
(44:00):
While evils are sufferable, thanto right themselves by
abolishing the forms to whichthey are accustomed.
But when a long train of abusesand usurpations pursuing
invariably the same objectevinces a design to reduce them
under absolute despotism, it istheir right, it is their duty to
throw off such government and toprovide new guards for their
(44:24):
future security.
Such has been the patientsufferance of these colonies.
And such is now the necessitywhich constrains them to alter
their former systems ofgovernment.
The history of the present kingof Great Britain is a history of
repeated injuries andusurpations, all having in
direct object the establishmentof an absolute tyranny over
(44:46):
these states.
To prove this, let facts besubmitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent tolaws, the most wholesome and
necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governorsto pass laws of immediate and
pressing importance unlesssuspended in their operation
(45:06):
till his assent should beobtained.
And when so suspended, he hasutterly neglected to attend to
them.
He has refused to pass otherlaws for the accommodation of
large districts of people,unless those people would
relinquish the right ofrepresentation in the
legislature, a right inestimableto them and formidable to
tyrants only.
(45:27):
He has called togetherlegislative bodies at places
unusual, uncomfortable, anddistant from the depository of
their public records for thesole purpose of fatiguing them
into compliance with hismeasures.
He has dissolved representativehouses repeatedly for opposing
with manly firmness hisinvasions on the rights of the
people.
(45:48):
He has refused for a long timeafter such desolutions to cause
others to be elected, wherebythe legislative powers,
incapable of annihilation, havereturned to the people at large
for their exercise, the stateremaining in the meantime
exposed to all the dangers ofinvasion from without and
convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent thepopulation of these states.
(46:11):
For that purpose, obstructingthe laws of naturalization of
foreigners, refusing to passothers to encourage their
migrations hither, and raisingthe conditions of new
appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed theadministration of justice by
refusing his assent to laws forestablishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent onhis will alone for the tenure of
(46:34):
their offices and the amount andpayment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude ofnew offices and sent hither
swarms of officers to harass ourpeople and eat out their
substance.
He has kept among us in times ofpeace standing armies without
the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render themilitary independent of and
(46:56):
superior to the civil power.
He has combined with others tosubject us to a jurisdiction
foreign to our constitution andunacknowledged by our laws,
giving his assent to their actsof pretended legislation, for
quartering large bodies of armedtroops among us, for protecting
them by a mock trial, frompunishment for any murders which
(47:16):
they should commit on theinhabitants of these states, for
cutting off our trade with allparts of the world, for imposing
taxes on us without our consent,for depriving us in many cases
of the benefits of trial byjury, for transporting us beyond
seas to be tried for pretendedoffenses, for abolishing the
(47:37):
free system of English laws in aneighboring province,
establishing therein anarbitrary government, and
enlarging its boundaries so asto render it at once an example
and fit instrument forintroducing the same absolute
rule into these colonies, fortaking away our charters,
abolishing our most valuablelaws, and altering fundamentally
(47:58):
the forms of our governments,for suspending our own
legislatures and declaringthemselves invested with power
to legislate for us in all caseswhatsoever.
He has abdicated government hereby declaring us out of his
protection and waging waragainst us.
He has plundered our seas,ravaged our coasts, burnt our
towns, and destroyed the livesof our people.
(48:21):
He is at this time transportinglarge armies of foreign
mercenaries to complete theworks of death, desolation, and
tyranny, already begun withcircumstances of cruelty and
perfidy scarcely paralleled inthe most barbarous ages, and
totally unworthy the head of acivilized nation.
He has constrained our fellowcitizens taken captive on the
(48:44):
high seas to bear arms againsttheir country, to become the
executioners of their friendsand brethren, or to fall
themselves by their hands.
He has excited domesticinsurrections among us, and has
endeavored to bring on theinhabitants of our frontiers,
the merciless Indian savages,whose known rule of warfare is
(49:06):
an undistinguished destructionof all ages, sexes, and
conditions.
In every stage of theseoppressions, we have petitioned
for redress in the most humbleterms.
Our repeated petitions have beenanswered only by repeated
injury.
A prince, whose character isthus marked by every act which
(49:30):
may define a tyrant is unfit tobe the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting anattention to our British
brethren.
We have warned them from time totime of attempts by their
legislature to extend anunwarrantable jurisdiction over
us.
We have reminded them of thecircumstances of our emigration
and settlement here.
(49:51):
We have appealed to their nativejustice and magnanimity, and we
have conjured them by the tiesof our common kindred to disavow
these usurpations, which wouldinevitably interrupt our
connections and correspondence.
They too have been deaf to thevoice of justice and of
consanguinity.
We must therefore acquiesce inthe necessity which denounces
(50:15):
our separation and hold them aswe hold the rest of mankind,
enemies in war, in peace,friends.
We therefore, therepresentatives of the United
States of America, in GeneralCongress, assembled, appealing
to the Supreme Judge of theWorld for the rectitude of our
intentions, do, in the name andby the authority of the good
(50:39):
people of these colonies,solemnly publish and declare
that these United Colonies areand of right ought to be free
and independent states, thatthey are absolved from all
allegiance to the British crown,and that all political
connection between them and thestate of Great Britain is and
ought to be totally dissolved,and that as free and independent
(51:01):
states they have full power tolevy war, conclude peace,
contract alliances, establishcommerce, and to do all other
acts and things whichindependent states may of right
do.
And for the support of thisdeclaration, with a firm
reliance on the protection ofdivine providence, we mutually
(51:24):
pledge to each other our lives,our fortunes, and our sacred
honor.
Hello, welcome to Witch Cues and Ideas, your
algae-free radio reflectingpool.
I'm Chris DeBello.
How many stories are we up tonow about the supposed vandalism
at the reflecting pool?
I'm only keeping count becausewe may have just surpassed the
number of reasons we went to warin Iran.
Same thing with the people,number of people supposedly been
(00:22):
arrested for the allegedvandalism of the reflecting
pool.
Start off with a couple ofpeople, and it was three, five,
six, seven.
Only one actual name has everbeen told former Olympian David
Hearn.
The other names have been keptsecret until now.
I found them out.
Pat McGroin, John Doe, Bendover,Joe Mama, Jack Meehoff, and of
(00:43):
course, since there's no sexismand vandalism, April May.
So there you go.
Speaking of names, you do knowthe name of the contractor.
They uh did all the work on thereflecting pool, right?
Green Order Services.
I kid you not.
Green water services got thejob.
The owner is a big Trumpdonator, and it was a no-bid
(01:05):
setup.
Now imagine if Trump paid thismuch attention to the economy
like he's paying to thereflecting pool.
Of course, the I mean, yeah, theWhite House does try to get him
to.
I mean, look at the appearancehe did this past week in
Pennsylvania.
It said the the economy isgreat.
Look at the Dow.
Just don't look at the Trumpstock.
That's down over 60 percent ofthe baskets like seven bucks.
(01:27):
On a related note, SpaceX stockthat was expected to launch in
store.
Turns out that got stuck in thelaunch pad, too, down about 20
percent.
That's just a past week.
We are days away fromcelebrating the 250th
anniversary of the founding ofAmerica, reasons for the
establishment of America, asbeen told in, well, countless
books, all of them holdingvaluable insight, by the way.
(01:49):
But the the direct way tolearning, it's always the best
way, isn't it?
Let me ask you a question.
As we move forward here.
When was the last time you readthe Declaration of Independence?
Okay.
Have you ever read theDeclaration of Independence?
However, you answered thosequestions, the first guest joins
us to offer you a path to theunderstanding of the value, the
(02:10):
importance, through the historyof this vital document.
Thanks for being here today,David.
SPEAKER_03 (02:22):
Great to be with you.
SPEAKER_02 (02:23):
And learn more about the Bill of Rights Institute and
the immense amount of historichistorically accurate
information that they presentfor your learning, both for
teachers as well as individuals,Bill of Rights Institute.org,
and we have a link at ourhomepage as well.
Looking at the Declaration ofIndependence, David, what is, in
(02:47):
your opinion, the most eitheroverlooked or misunderstood
element of this document?
SPEAKER_03 (02:54):
Well, thanks for that question.
I think the most overlooked isprobably the idea that once uh
done, it was kind of done.
That it was a one and done kindof thing that just separated us
from the crown.
It was good for that purpose,but didn't really have anything
(03:16):
to do then with our go goingforward plan.
To me, the Declaration ofIndependence, and my co-author
Tony Williams in the book thatyou just mentioned, divided over
the Declaration, we're makingthe argument that this was one
of the most significantinnovations in the way that
people should think about humanprogress.
It's a huge step to go frombeing subjects to being
(03:38):
citizens.
The Declaration gives us thevision.
The Constitution puts together akind of mission statement, you
might say.
And the two go together.
You add the Bill of Rights in,and you have a plan for
government that fits a freepeople.
Without the Declaration as aframing, none of that subsequent
(04:03):
work can happen.
SPEAKER_02 (04:05):
I mean, I know this is a big if, but if it wasn't
for the Declaration, would therehave ever been a constitution?
SPEAKER_03 (04:14):
Exactly.
You know, there's an argumentthat links the two of them.
Uh think of it this way, right?
So you get the beautifulpreamble, the statement of human
equality.
All men are created equal.
That was a statement aboutmankind.
The purpose of government is tosecure people's rights.
(04:35):
Those rights are few.
The Declaration says among themare life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
That's a really beautiful thing.
Then the rest of the argument ofthe Declaration is hey, we have
a prince, King George III, thathas become a tyrant.
Here's 27 reasons why the thethe king has violated our
(04:57):
God-given rights.
Those 27 grievances, as theycame to be called, laid out
violations of legislativeauthority, executive authority,
and judicial authority.
That became our three uh firstarticles of the Constitution.
(05:18):
There is a link between the twothat really is clear.
And it goes back to thefundamental question of what
makes for good government.
The idea is we're not subjects,we're citizens.
I think that this wascrystallized at a moment for
Thomas Jefferson, who was thedraftsman.
He's sitting in Philadelphiaknocking this thing out in a
(05:40):
little over two weeks.
And at one point he's using, youknow, his uh uh uh quill pen and
he writes a word.
You know how if you write aword, we don't write very much
anymore, but if you write it andyou don't want anybody to see
it, you kind of scratch it out,and you scratch a little bit
more.
Well, he did that.
The word that he wrote down wassubjects.
The word he wrote over it wascitizens.
(06:00):
We didn't find out about theword subjects until they scraped
the layers of ink back at theLibrary of Congress in 2010.
That moment, I think, iseverything.
Subjects to citizens.
SPEAKER_02 (06:12):
We're fortunate too, because the boys back in the
colonial days, they wroteletters, which of course was the
only means of communication, andthey kept notes to give us the
path to their insight into whattheir intent was, what their
purpose was, what theirchallenges were.
And we we came to learn thatmaybe it's is it equally
(06:35):
important to realize what wastaken out of the Declaration as
uh as well as what is in it?
I'm referring to the slaveryclause.
SPEAKER_03 (06:44):
Yeah, this was a hard-fought debate.
You know, Americans uh uh ofthat uh period, and particularly
the the men who who signed it,two-thirds of them owned uh
slaves.
Uh the condemnation of the kingthat Jefferson included in his
draft was very clear.
And a couple of delegates, um,South Carolina and uh uh Georgia
(07:09):
were the were the where the twostates said, look, if that
condemnation of slavery is inthe is in the document, we're
out.
And so it was a politicalcompromise.
But what the document still did,despite leaving that behind, was
lay out a standard.
That standard was all men arecreated equal.
It took many years, generations,really, in fact, and that's the
(07:32):
story that we tell in the book,of making that promissory note
real.
Um suffrage, abolition, thecivil rights movement.
We all make the appeal back tothat claim about what it means
to have rights.
One other quick note right afterthe declaration was announced,
(07:53):
um enslaved people made uh whatcame to be called freedom
lawsuits.
They said, We see this document,we see that it has a kind of uh
standing in our in our newnation, this nation of citizens,
and we claim our liberty basedon that promise.
That is the kind of legacy Ithink of the Declaration.
(08:16):
It set out a standard by whichwe could judge our
contradiction, and it was acontradiction.
Slavery stood as a contradictionto the principles of mankind.
SPEAKER_02 (08:32):
Bill of Rights Institute.org, their website,
and you are listening to issuesand ideas.
Turning to the book, DividedOver the Declaration.
Does the fact that to this daythe Declaration invites study,
debate, disagreement, evenconflict, does that cement just
how important this document is?
(08:53):
Is that the qualities that animportant an important document
needs to have for it to beconsidered as valuable as we
consider it?
SPEAKER_03 (09:02):
I think that's part of it.
Uh we'd like to see it even morecentral.
You know, it used to be, andthat's part of the uh the the um
the focus of this book, which isto say at so many of our early
stages the Declaration was thetouchstone.
Uh legislative debates.
Uh I just mentioned the the themovement of um uh 72 years long,
(09:23):
uh from 1848 to uh 1920, uh theachievement of uh women gaining
the right to vote.
That used the declaration as itstouchstone.
Uh the abolitionist movement,from Frederick Douglass to
William Lloyd Garrison, all ofthe debates about uh these
principles use the Declarationas the touchstone.
(09:45):
Fast forward to even the civilrights movement, right?
Uh you have the March onWashington, uh Martin Luther
King's well-known speech, JohnLewis's less known well uh less
well-known speech, he'sappealing John Lewis's to
completing the revolution of1776.
Since, I'd say, in the last 50years, though, the Declaration
(10:07):
has been largely treated as adead letter.
That's a problem.
We think it should be restoredto the place of national
discourse.
Make it a touchstone for ourdebates.
America's a home, we're an idea,right?
We have this creed.
We have to live up to the creed.
But we're also, America has away in which it's an argument.
(10:28):
Freedom implies uh disagreement.
We're going to disagree.
We're a big, huge nation of 340million people.
Let's disagree better byfocusing on the principles in
the Declaration.
That's the real argument we makein the book.
SPEAKER_02 (10:42):
And as you said here a few moments ago, too, a lot of
people make the mistake ofsaying the Constitution replaced
the Declaration of Independence,where in fact, as you as you
described in detail, one fed theother and they are coexisting
with each other.
And real fast, too, as far asthe Bill of Rights Institute,
for someone listening right nowwho's motivated, I hope, to
(11:02):
indeed fill the void of theirknowledge about the Declaration
of Independence, what kind ofinformation and and activities
do you have on the website, Billof Rights Institute.org?
SPEAKER_03 (11:13):
6,000 free resources.
Uh it's open to everybody.
Uh there's lots of games,videos, uh instructional
materials, information forcitizens of all ages, uh, but
especially kids.
Uh the the the whole idea isaround these ideas.
How can you engage in them,become a principled, productive
citizen?
SPEAKER_02 (11:33):
And as David described here and details with
Tony Williams and divided themwith the Declaration.
The Declaration of Independenceis not an antique to be
gathering dust on the shelf.
It is still a vibrant, livedocument with value, importance,
and guidance that we need tothis day.
Learn more about the Bill ofRights Institute where you can
(11:54):
find out uh from their wealth ofinformation and education about
this and other importanthistorical documents at the Bill
of Rights Institute.org.
He is the president and CEO,David Bob.
David, thank you so much for theeducation today and the
motivation to want to learnmore.
That's always the important partof education.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_03 (12:13):
Thank you so much.
Appreciate it.
SPEAKER_02 (12:15):
If you're listening to us via your favorite podcast
platform, make sure you followand subscribe.
Merriam Webster Dictionarydefines martyr as a person who
sacrificed something of greatvalue and especially life itself
for the sake of a principle.
As we get ready to celebrate the250th anniversary of the
founding of America My NextGuest today is with us to share
(12:37):
how the day after is beingdedicated to what it has taken
to protect the foundation ofAmerica that our founders
created and the sacrifices thatwere made to do so.
Now, this is not an effortthat's limited to history, by
the way.
It's an effort that's very muchresponded to in the present, as
it will no doubt be in thefuture.
Hitler explained the meaning andgoals of Martyr Day, which, as I
(12:59):
referenced, is July 5th.
It's Professor of ConstitutionalLaw at John Jay College, author
of the book of Protest Historyof the United States, Professor
Gloria Brown Marshall.
How are you today, Professor?
SPEAKER_00 (13:11):
I'm doing very well.
You describe that brilliantly.
SPEAKER_02 (13:15):
Well, thank you.
And to learn more about MartyrDay, it's Martyrsday.us.
Learn about the world ofProfessor Brown Marshall, Brown
Marshall23.com.
And for the educationalopportunities of John Jay
College, it's JJ.edu.
And yes, we do have all thoselinks at our homepage, and I
(13:38):
hope you will make use of them.
You are the force behindMartyr's Day.
What was the what was theinspiration, motivation to
create what is going to beunfolding on July 5th?
SPEAKER_00 (13:49):
It was during my tour, my book tour for my book,
A Protest History of the UnitedStates, and I toured around the
country for 15 months, talked tohundreds and hundreds of people,
and they would ask me, what elsecan I do?
And then I said, Well, thinkwhere you are in the moment.
And then that stayed with me inthe hotel room on this tour.
(14:10):
What can I do?
What else can I do?
And I thought, I'm talking aboutthese martyrs, I'm talking about
protesters who have been slain.
I I am trying to research them,write about them, but there's
more.
And that's what I said.
They have been martyred in thename of social justice and civil
rights and equality to push thiscountry forward.
(14:30):
And the same way we haveMemorial Day to honor those who
fight in foreign wars.
I think about what has been donedomestically to move this
country forward, for women togain the right to vote, for
laborers to have um safe workingconditions and an eight-hour
work day.
What took uh what did thecountry have to have for that
freedom to go from paper toreality?
(14:52):
And that's where Martyr's Daywas born.
And then we decided, oh mygoodness, we can't wait.
It's the 250th anniversary.
But July 5th is also importantbecause after we do all the
celebration for the 4th of Julyabout freedom, we need to think
about what that freedom costs tocertain regular people.
Nope, not in the military,regular people going out to buy
(15:13):
milk and bread.
And how did they come to bemartyred for our freedom that we
live with, wake up with andembrace every day, but we don't
really think about them.
So I wanted to lift them up andpay tribute to those who have
been martyred for our socialjustice.
SPEAKER_02 (15:27):
And one of the very important things that you do
through the efforts, especiallywith the website martyrsday.us,
you help people realize thatmartyrdom is not a thing of the
past.
The timeline and when you youhave you feature 26 photos and
and descriptions of martyrs onthe website.
When people see that, they'llrealize that uh martyrdom, well,
(15:49):
first and foremost, it isn'talways to the death.
It's willing to sacrifice yourlife if the case need uh need
be.
But to make a difference, Iguess would be the the the thing
to say, and that would make ituh make the idea of martyrdom
seem more reachable for othersbecause you can make a
difference in a variety oflevels.
SPEAKER_00 (16:09):
Yes, and these people were many of them were
martyrd.
They didn't mean to go intobattle and lose their lives.
When we think about AndrewGoodman and James Cheney and
Michael Schmer sh um Shermer,they went down to Mississippi to
help register people to vote.
They didn't intend on beingkilled.
And and Michael um SurmerSurner, who whose family and and
(16:33):
Andrew Goodman's whose familiesare in New York City in this in
this area, um James Cheney wasfrom Mississippi, and they went
down, those two men, Michael andAndrew, as college students to
Mississippi to register peopleto vote.
When we think about people whogo into protests, and I've been
part of protests since the thirdgrade, and I'm not thinking when
(16:53):
I go out to protest that I'mgoing to lose my life in doing
so.
But we just had primary votingacross the country.
We went to our voting places andvoted.
These people, as as recent as isthe 1960s, were slaughtered just
because they went to vote.
Um Vernon Damer, one of ourmartyrs on the website, um, was
(17:16):
burned alive in his own homebecause he was paying the poll
tax.
Yes, there was a time wherepeople had to pay a tax in order
to vote.
Um for for the poorer farmers inMississippi, he was burned
alive.
And and but he had a motto ifyou don't vote, you don't count.
And that's why these people areso important.
(17:36):
They're teaching us Americanhistory, things that have been
probably covered up.
There are also people who gavetheir lives without getting any
type of veterans' pay, withoutgetting any type of special
ceremonies at their gravesites,special cemeteries.
These are regular people whowere martyrs, who were killed
just for doing basic things wetake for granted today.
(17:59):
And so I I think the least wecan do is lift up their names as
American martyrs.
And this is our first AmericanMartyrs Day coming up on July
5th.
SPEAKER_02 (18:08):
I think to contemporize it even further,
you say the names Renee Good andAlex Prody.
Those are two individuals doingwhat is what is every American's
right to do to protest, peacefulpeacefully protest, I should
say.
They weren't burning things orwaving weapons, and they lost
their lives for exercising abasic right.
(18:31):
And if someone says anythingabout that being wrong, I think
that's someone who is lacking agreat understanding of the
importance of rights in thiscountry.
SPEAKER_00 (18:40):
Well, think about the 250th anniversary is
commemorating the signing of theDeclaration of Independence,
which is a protest document.
So we began in protest, but thiscountry has this love-hate
relationship with protests.
We love the benefits that comefrom protests.
We like that eight-hour workday, we like our safe working
(19:01):
conditions, we like the factthat women have the right to
vote, we like all of thosethings, but we don't want to
respect the protests that weretaken in order for those rights
and privileges and protectionsto be reality.
And that's the love-haterelationship that we have in
this country.
We protest.
We want to have the benefits ofprotest, but we disdain the
(19:24):
protester as a troublemaker.
We malign them.
We always have this propagandaagainst protesters, and as you
pointed out, it's in ourconstitution that we are allowed
to protest, especially protestthe actions of our state, local,
and federal governments.
We can also protest the actionsof corporations and stores who
aren't treating us well.
(19:44):
But being able to protestagainst our government, that is
in our constitution.
And so many people wantconstitutional rights, but they
don't want people to exercisethose constitutional rights.
It's just against an issue thatthey care deeply about on the
other side.
SPEAKER_02 (19:58):
Oh, and Professor Gloria Brown Marshall, author of
the book A Protest History ofthe United States.
In addition to all that, thefounder of Martyrs Day coming up
on July 5th, learn more atMartyrsday.us, and you are
listening to issues and ideas.
It's fantastic with theinformation once you put it out
there for people to look at,hopefully absorb to whatever
(20:19):
degree they're they're capableof.
But what additionally do youwant to see as a result of the
planning and leading up toMartyrs Day?
What you what what are youhoping for on July 5th?
SPEAKER_00 (20:31):
Well, in uh in New York City, we're having um the
National Martyr's Day event atthe historic Riverside Church um
in Manhattan at 2 p.m.
on July 5th.
But there are also events thatare taking place around the
country, and in particular, anevent that's taking place in New
Jersey at South Orange ValesburgUnited Methodist Church, and
(20:55):
they are going to have a readingof the names of the martyrs.
They're going to have a program.
People are having programs in inMaryland.
The state of Maryland hasproclaimed July 5th as Martyrs
Day.
The city of Philadelphiaproclaimed July 5th as Martyrs
Day, as well as districts in inPittsburgh and and in Colorado.
(21:15):
So my my want, my takeaway fromfor the listener, think about
martyrs and recommit to socialjustice.
Recommit to what this Americansociety is about, moving forward
as far as social justice, civilrights, equality.
Realize the history of thiscountry means that people had to
(21:36):
fight to take words from theConstitution and make them a
reality in day to day life.
But more importantly, we want arecommitment to social justice,
a recommitment to going forwardin this country and realizing
that our rights didn't fall outof the sky.
Santa Claus didn't bring them.
They weren't left under thepillow by the two ferry.
People fought and died for this.
And we want to pay tribute tothose who fought and died, but
(21:59):
we also Want to learn and goforward as a nation, believing
in social justice as the rightpath for this country.
It's power in it.
SPEAKER_02 (22:09):
And for that to come about, it's going to be People
Power.
That's you the people, as partof We the People, and learn more
about how to organize a localMartyrs Day event wherever you
are, listening on the radio,listening on the podcast,
listening on the stream,whatever the case may be.
The go to to find out moremartyrsday.us, martyrsday.us,
(22:29):
and we have that link over atour homepage, don't worry about
that.
Learn more about ProfessorGloria Brown Marshall and her
writing her work, Brown BrownMarshall23.com, and the
education opportunities of JohnJ.
College, where she is aprofessor of constitutional law,
J J A Y dot CUNY.edu.
(22:50):
All those are, again, on ourwebsite homepage.
Professor Gloria Brown Marshall.
It's great to have a 4th of Julyto help us remember, but then
you've added to that with July5th and Martyr's Day to help us
understand what we the role weplay as individuals, as active
(23:11):
citizens of the United States,protecting what is right and
what are our rights.
So thank you for the level ofawareness you're you're raising,
the motivation you're creating,and the success I know Martyrs
Day is going to be this year andmoving forward.
Thanks for being here today.
SPEAKER_00 (23:27):
Thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (23:29):
Don't forget to follow us on Facebook.
Keep on top of all theconversations we have on there
each and every day.
You can find the link to do thatat the homepage of our website,
issues and ideasradio.com.
The Declaration of Independenceis a recognition of how all that
is a part of our liberty andfreedom comes from God.
This document also really givesa job description for every
(23:51):
American regarding their role inkeeping America faithfully
strong.
So what happened over the recentdecades?
Have we as a people turned awayfrom what was declared and
directed to us in theDeclaration of Independence?
Has it been diminished by thosethat we've given elected
leadership to?
(24:13):
Roadmap to Restore America isMark Garrill.
How are you doing, Mark?
SPEAKER_04 (24:19):
I'm doing great, Chris.
Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_02 (24:21):
Well, thank you for this book that really ties in
what too many people areseparating.
You put them together in a veryfluid way.
Explain the use of the wordcovenant in in your context.
SPEAKER_04 (24:45):
Yeah, so I had questions myself on this uh on
the American foundingoriginally, going back to early
the 70s and the 80s.
And and the question was if therevolution was all about
taxation without representation,in other words, they didn't want
to pay their taxes, and uh andyet Jesus said you should pay
your taxes, uh for me it was howcould the revolution have been
(25:09):
biblically justifiable?
So I started this this long-termjourney about a 20-year quest to
try and answer that question.
And I decided eventually to goand look in the Bible and just
start at the beginning and lookfor information about liberty
and justice and rights andgoverning and what does God
expect from the nations.
And that's when you first startto learn a whole lot about this
(25:31):
word covenant.
There's um a bunch of covenantsthat are clearly expressed, and
the one that pertains to thisparticular topic that's meant to
be instructive for all of thenations is what we refer to as
the Mosaic Covenant.
It was a covenant brokeredbasically through Moses to the
nation of Israel, and it was tomake good on another covenant
(25:54):
called the Abrahamic covenantthat we learn about in Genesis
12 and Genesis 15.
And in that covenant, God madean unconditional promise to
bless uh Israel, uh to bless uhAbraham, and he promised a
nation uh a great land and tobless the world through Israel,
and it was unconditional.
But when it came time to makegood on that promise about a
(26:18):
strong nation, he raised upMoses, and Moses essentially
came down and followed afour-step process, and the
four-step process was first toacknowledge God and his moral
law, so he was bringing down theTen Commandments, and basically
he was saying, Hey, listen,God's telling us if we follow
this as a nation, as uh as agroup of people living together,
(26:40):
he'll bless our nation, and ifwe don't, he'll curse us.
So what do you say?
Everyone said, We're in.
That sounds good to us.
And that's where you first seethis idea of consent.
Then they go on to uh appeal toGod for help, they offer
sacrifices, they commit to it,and they declare it by putting
(27:00):
up a monument.
This all takes place, by theway, in Exodus 19 through 24.
Uh, and and those four steps isbasically what you do when you
start a nation.
It's also what you do when youget married, which is not a
coincidence.
Because th there's a level ofseriousness in uh in a marriage
commitment.
You're exchanging vows, you'reacknowledging God, you're
(27:22):
appealing to God for help,you're committing to the to the
marriage, and and you'redeclaring it.
And that's exactly what thefounders did in 1776 in the
first couple of paragraphs.
They acknowledged God's plan fornations, they refer to the law
of nature and of nature's God,which is a direct reference to
the law, the moral law as knownthrough conscience, and also as
(27:45):
delivered through the Bible inthe Ten Commandments.
And then they summarize you knowGod's idea of rights, life,
liberty, the pursuit ofhappiness.
They're inalienable.
Powers uh are derived throughthe consent of the governed, or
you know, again referringdirectly to what happened with
Israel.
And so later on they they appealto God for help in that last
(28:06):
paragraph, they commit to it, uhoffering their lives, their
fortunes, and their sacredhonor, and then they declare it.
They had it read aloud, and ofcourse the the name of the
document is a declaration.
So I decided eventually, afteryou know, looking at all this
information, I I got a lot ofcoaching from folks because I'd
never written a book before.
(28:27):
And they all said, You've got toget clear on the main story.
What's the story you want totell?
And I realized it was about thecovenant that started our nation
and the fact that we haveforgotten it.
And so that's that's where thetitle came from.
SPEAKER_02 (28:44):
And you were listening to issues and ideas.
Life, liberty, and the pursuitof happiness.
Life and liberty, people haveconcrete ideas for happiness.
People make it more of anabstract.
With your study, with yourresearch, quantify, qualify that
that third word, happiness, inthe Declaration of Independence.
(29:07):
What was the what was the intentof that word?
SPEAKER_04 (29:11):
Yeah, and I I really appreciate you asking that
question because uh I learnedover the years that the founders
had something much different inmind when they used that term.
And in fact, I have a wholechapter on that called The
Pursuit of Happiness.
And what I learned in goingthrough there first is if you
look at the Bible and and youlook at verses that talk about
(29:31):
following God and you ask thequestion, if you follow God as
best you can, right?
We're all uh still sinners, butwe're hopefully sinning less.
And we know that if we followthe Bible for as sort of a
handbook for life, that lifewill go better for us.
And and what does that mean forus?
It means we'll be happy.
And in fact, if you look atthere's a number of verses that
(29:55):
say this directly, I put them inthe Bible.
There's one in uh Ecclesiastes,I forget the exact reference,
but you can do a concordance onit.
But another one is uh Psalm 119,the longest psalm in the Bible,
176 verses.
And essentially each section ofthat psalm says the person
(30:16):
saying that I delight in yourlaw, I meditate on your law day
and night, it's my joy anddelight.
I mean, almost every other verseis saying that.
And so what are you to concludefrom 176 verses to talk about
that?
And the answer is that you knowwhat, if you follow God's law,
not not to gain his favor orgain approval, it's to it's to
(30:37):
honor him and ultimately to havea happy life.
And and that's exactly what thefounders were referring to.
And I I have a lot of quotes inthere to uh to back that
statement up because of coursethe modern definition or the
modern point of view is thatwhat the founders meant was sort
of eat, drink, and be merry, dowhatever makes you feel good.
(30:59):
And that's not at all how theythought about it.
They saw that the only way totruly be happy is to find favor
in the mind of God.
Pardon me.
And I I show that right out ofthe uh Noah Webster dictionary
in 1828, which is a veryimportant reference, Chris,
because it shows you how thefounders defined words back then
(31:22):
when they were using them.
And uh and and that resourcealso points out that if you if
you want to be happy, follow Godas best you can, and your life
will go well.
So so, yes, a very importantdistinction versus what the
secular world uh andunfortunately many Christians
think that phrase means in ourdeclaration.
SPEAKER_02 (31:45):
And we'll get to that side of the equation too.
But when you mentioned Psalm119, I I'm drawing a blank on
which signer of the Declarationwas it was, but one of them was
actually the creator of thefirst one of the first hymnal
books taking all the Psalms andsetting it into music, including
(32:05):
uh Psalm 119, which I think wasone of the uh 60-page hymnals.
I don't know hopefully I canremember the name before we're
done here, but if not, I'll I'lllook it up and uh and I get it
to listen because I don't wantto drive too crazy like I'm
driving myself crazy right now.
As far as our role asindividuals and the uh the idea
(32:28):
of uh of Christian uhcitizenship, what are some of
the elements that maybe we'velost touch with or maybe we've
uh a detachment has brought hasbeen brought about by those
we've turned to for everythingfrom education to political
leadership, and and we we'vebeen uh we've been separated
from that idea.
SPEAKER_04 (32:48):
Yeah, and so they say all politics are local, and
so let's start with a real localconcept.
The first thing you need to doto be a good citizen is to be a
responsible individual, takeresponsibility for yourself,
seek to live in harmony with themoral law, and again, uh just
just focus on, you know, don'tmurder or hurt anybody, don't
(33:11):
steal from anybody, always dealhonestly with everybody, and
don't covet what other peoplehave.
If you can just focus on thosefour things, you will be doing
uh so much better than uh a vastmajority of Americans living
today.
But then after you sort of getyour own life under control,
then it's your family.
(33:31):
And and one of the interestingthings that I learned in this,
Chris, is that all of theprinciples for starting a nation
and for governing a nationjustly, they all apply to the
family.
I mentioned marriage a momentago.
Same is true for governingprinciples.
And so one way to think aboutall these concepts is to think
(33:52):
about how would I apply them inthe home.
In fact, I'm working on a Biblestudy for that.
I've got a couple of churchesthat are interested in that as
an approach to learn thisbecause it's a more applicable
angle to you know be able tolearn the concepts and apply
them directly to your life.
And then, of course, once yourfamily's under control, or
reasonably under control, I'mnot sure any of our families are
(34:14):
always totally under control.
I know mine's not.
But once you get to a pointwhere you know things are
somewhat stable, then yourresponsibility extends to your
local community.
How can you get involved at uhschool board, your city council?
Those are the areas where youreally should be engaged.
(34:35):
And I I look at churches, and somany of them have hundreds and
hundreds of people.
Uh there should be at least fiveto ten percent of any population
in a church that has thespiritual gifts to be able to,
you know, administration andleadership and wisdom to be able
to uh serve their fellowcitizens, ultimately to help you
(34:59):
know make sure that there'sliberty and justice for
everybody.
And that's ultimately how youlove your neighbor.
You protect their rights.
And when people see yougoverning justly, they tend to
take notice and they might tendto ask you about your faith.
And by the way, that was anevangelistic strategy God used
in the Old Testament inDeuteronomy 4.
(35:19):
Moses told the children ofIsrael that if you govern
justly, the other nations aregoing to take notice and come
out and uh and check you guysout.
So so it all fits together quitenicely if you follow the
biblical blueprint.
SPEAKER_02 (35:34):
Mark Burrell, job well done as a Christian, as a
fanatical history nut.
You've touched both areas withthe respect and the honesty that
they deserve, and the way thatthey are going to be absorbed by
everyone who reads your book isgoing to make a difference.
Thanks for doing that and forbeing here today.
SPEAKER_04 (35:54):
Thanks for having me, Chris.
Let's do it again soon.
SPEAKER_02 (35:58):
We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men
are created equal, that they areendowed by their creator with
certain unalienable rights thatamong these are life, liberty,
and the pursuit of happiness.
That's the opening sentence fromthe second paragraph of the
Declaration of Independence,which is a few days away from
celebrating its birthday, aswell as the birth of the United
(36:19):
States of America.
While the Declaration ofIndependence is a document which
served as an indictment of KingGeorge and his tyranny, it also
clearly states and directlyestablishes that all who are
present in this land have rightsgiven to them by God.
Those are, of course, life,liberty, and the pursuit of
(36:39):
happiness.
For since God is the one andonly creator, that one sentence
is indeed recognition of thetruth we read in Colossians
chapter one verses sixteen andseventeen.
For by him all things werecreated, that were in heaven and
that are on earth, visible andinvisible, whether thrones or
dominions, or principalities orpowers, all things were created
(37:03):
through him and for him, and heis before all things, and in him
all things consist.
It's important to see too howwhen Thomas Jefferson wrote the
Declaration of Independence andCongress made their additions
and deletions, that they placeGod before and over government.
That is establishing thatwithout the former there can't
(37:24):
be the latter.
Romans chapter eleven, versethirty six establishes this as
well, for of him and throughhim, and to him are all things
to whom be glory forever.
Amen.
For us to receive the blessingsand gifts God creates for us, we
need to, of course, acknowledgeGod, his might, his love, just
as Hebrews chapter eleven, versesix teaches.
(37:45):
But without faith it isimpossible to please him, for he
who comes to God must believethat he is and that he is a
rewarder of those who diligentlyseek him.
Now let's look at these giftsthat the Declaration of
Independence establishes comesto us all from God.
Let's start with life.
As we all know, all life isprecious to God.
(38:08):
Psalm 121 verses 7 and 8 tellsus that.
The Lord shall preserve yourcoming out and your coming in,
from this time forth and evenforevermore.
In Isaiah chapter 41, verse 10,God in his own words gives us
this promise Fear not, for I amwith you, be not dismayed, for I
(38:31):
am your God, I will strengthenyou, yes, I will help you, I
will uphold you with myrighteous right hand.
While God's gift of life to usis his perfect creation, as all
of his are, we are not perfect.
Obviously, and if we stray fromhis word, we can damage and
dirty this great gift that Godgives to us all.
All throughout the Bible wereceive the instructions that we
(38:54):
need.
We read this, for example, inGalatians chapter five, verse
twenty five.
If we live in the Spirit, let usalso walk in the Spirit.
There's this in sight we find infirst Peter chapter three,
verses ten and eleven.
For he who would love life andsee good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil and hislips from speaking deceit.
Let him turn away from evil anddo good, let him seek peace and
(39:16):
pursue it.
Now let's move on to liberty.
Liberty is a gift from God whichbrings us closer to God.
This is revealed to us in SecondCorinthians chapter three verse
seventeen.
Now the Lord is the Spirit, andwith the Spirit of the Lord is
there is liberty.
Just as Jefferson wrote that thecolony sought freedom from
(39:37):
tyranny, the gift of freedomoffers that to all of us.
As Paul writes in Galatianschapter five, verse one, stand
fast therefore in the liberty bywhich Christ has made us free,
and do not be entangled againwith a yoke of bondage.
How we respond to liberty is oneof our important decisions.
Again, God's Word gives us thetruthful guidance that we need.
(40:01):
Let's turn to James chapter oneverse twenty five.
But he who looks into theperfect law of liberty and
continues in it and is not aforgetful hearer but a doer of
the work, this one will beblessed in what he does.
Further instruction comes to usin first Peter chapter two
verses fifteen and sixteen.
For this is the will of God thatby doing good you may put to
(40:23):
silence the ignorance of foolishmen, as free, yet not using
liberty as a cloak for vice, butas bond servants of God.
Finally we have the pursuit ofhappiness.
Some find happiness with theirchildren, others find happiness
with hobbies, travelling,learning, sports, movies, things
like that.
Now those are certainly someways to find happiness.
(40:45):
As God's word makes abundantlyclear though, all will find
happiness with God.
He gives us a gift of happinessbecause he wants us to be happy.
When you read the words ofJesus, in John chapter fifteen,
verses nine through eleven,there is absolutely no question
about this.
As the Father loved me, I alsohave loved you.
Abide in my love.
(41:06):
If you keep my commandments, youwill abide in my love just as I
have kept my father'scommandments and abide in his
love.
These things I have spoken toyou, that my joy may remain in
you, and that your joy may befull.
The words from Jesus actuallymagnify what Solomon observes
and shares in Ecclesiasteschapter three verses ten through
(41:27):
thirteen.
I have seen the God given taskwith which the sons of men are
to be occupied.
He has made everything beautifulin its time.
Also he has put eternity intheir hearts, except that no one
can find out the work that Goddoes from beginning to end.
I know that nothing is betterfor them than to rejoice and to
(41:47):
do good in their lives, and alsothat every man should eat and
drink and enjoy the good of allhis labor.
It is the gift of God.
As we approach the two hundredand fiftieth anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence andthe founding of America, as the
last sentence declares what wasto be done moving forward with
America, let's all promise to dothe same as we move forward as
(42:10):
God's children in America.
And for the support of thisdeclaration with a firm reliance
on the protection of divineprovidence, we mutually pledge
to each other our lives, ourfortunes, and our sacred honor.
SPEAKER_01 (42:26):
In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous declaration of the13 United States of America.
When in the course of humanevents it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve thepolitical bands which have
connected them with another, andto assume among the powers of
the earth a separate and equalstation to which the laws of
(42:48):
nature and of nature's godentitle them.
A decent respect to the opinionsof mankind requires that they
should declare the causes whichimpel them to be separated.
We hold these truth, to beself-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they areendowed by their creator with
(43:11):
certain unalienable rights.
That among these are life,liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
That to secure these rights,governments are instituted among
men deriving their just powersfrom the consent of the
government.
That whenever any form ofgovernment becomes destructive
of these, it is the right of thepeople to alter or to abolish it
(43:35):
and to institute newgovernments.
Lay its foundation of such anorganizing itself such as the
most likely to affect 60 and 50.
According to the U.S.
(44:00):
While evils are sufferable, thanto right themselves by
abolishing the forms to whichthey are accustomed.
But when a long train of abusesand usurpations pursuing
invariably the same objectevinces a design to reduce them
under absolute despotism, it istheir right, it is their duty to
throw off such government and toprovide new guards for their
(44:24):
future security.
Such has been the patientsufferance of these colonies.
And such is now the necessitywhich constrains them to alter
their former systems ofgovernment.
The history of the present kingof Great Britain is a history of
repeated injuries andusurpations, all having in
direct object the establishmentof an absolute tyranny over
(44:46):
these states.
To prove this, let facts besubmitted to a candid world.
He has refused his assent tolaws, the most wholesome and
necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his governorsto pass laws of immediate and
pressing importance unlesssuspended in their operation
(45:06):
till his assent should beobtained.
And when so suspended, he hasutterly neglected to attend to
them.
He has refused to pass otherlaws for the accommodation of
large districts of people,unless those people would
relinquish the right ofrepresentation in the
legislature, a right inestimableto them and formidable to
tyrants only.
(45:27):
He has called togetherlegislative bodies at places
unusual, uncomfortable, anddistant from the depository of
their public records for thesole purpose of fatiguing them
into compliance with hismeasures.
He has dissolved representativehouses repeatedly for opposing
with manly firmness hisinvasions on the rights of the
people.
(45:48):
He has refused for a long timeafter such desolutions to cause
others to be elected, wherebythe legislative powers,
incapable of annihilation, havereturned to the people at large
for their exercise, the stateremaining in the meantime
exposed to all the dangers ofinvasion from without and
convulsions within.
He has endeavored to prevent thepopulation of these states.
(46:11):
For that purpose, obstructingthe laws of naturalization of
foreigners, refusing to passothers to encourage their
migrations hither, and raisingthe conditions of new
appropriations of lands.
He has obstructed theadministration of justice by
refusing his assent to laws forestablishing judiciary powers.
He has made judges dependent onhis will alone for the tenure of
(46:34):
their offices and the amount andpayment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude ofnew offices and sent hither
swarms of officers to harass ourpeople and eat out their
substance.
He has kept among us in times ofpeace standing armies without
the consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render themilitary independent of and
(46:56):
superior to the civil power.
He has combined with others tosubject us to a jurisdiction
foreign to our constitution andunacknowledged by our laws,
giving his assent to their actsof pretended legislation, for
quartering large bodies of armedtroops among us, for protecting
them by a mock trial, frompunishment for any murders which
(47:16):
they should commit on theinhabitants of these states, for
cutting off our trade with allparts of the world, for imposing
taxes on us without our consent,for depriving us in many cases
of the benefits of trial byjury, for transporting us beyond
seas to be tried for pretendedoffenses, for abolishing the
(47:37):
free system of English laws in aneighboring province,
establishing therein anarbitrary government, and
enlarging its boundaries so asto render it at once an example
and fit instrument forintroducing the same absolute
rule into these colonies, fortaking away our charters,
abolishing our most valuablelaws, and altering fundamentally
(47:58):
the forms of our governments,for suspending our own
legislatures and declaringthemselves invested with power
to legislate for us in all caseswhatsoever.
He has abdicated government hereby declaring us out of his
protection and waging waragainst us.
He has plundered our seas,ravaged our coasts, burnt our
towns, and destroyed the livesof our people.
(48:21):
He is at this time transportinglarge armies of foreign
mercenaries to complete theworks of death, desolation, and
tyranny, already begun withcircumstances of cruelty and
perfidy scarcely paralleled inthe most barbarous ages, and
totally unworthy the head of acivilized nation.
He has constrained our fellowcitizens taken captive on the
(48:44):
high seas to bear arms againsttheir country, to become the
executioners of their friendsand brethren, or to fall
themselves by their hands.
He has excited domesticinsurrections among us, and has
endeavored to bring on theinhabitants of our frontiers,
the merciless Indian savages,whose known rule of warfare is
(49:06):
an undistinguished destructionof all ages, sexes, and
conditions.
In every stage of theseoppressions, we have petitioned
for redress in the most humbleterms.
Our repeated petitions have beenanswered only by repeated
injury.
A prince, whose character isthus marked by every act which
(49:30):
may define a tyrant is unfit tobe the ruler of a free people.
Nor have we been wanting anattention to our British
brethren.
We have warned them from time totime of attempts by their
legislature to extend anunwarrantable jurisdiction over
us.
We have reminded them of thecircumstances of our emigration
and settlement here.
(49:51):
We have appealed to their nativejustice and magnanimity, and we
have conjured them by the tiesof our common kindred to disavow
these usurpations, which wouldinevitably interrupt our
connections and correspondence.
They too have been deaf to thevoice of justice and of
consanguinity.
We must therefore acquiesce inthe necessity which denounces
(50:15):
our separation and hold them aswe hold the rest of mankind,
enemies in war, in peace,friends.
We therefore, therepresentatives of the United
States of America, in GeneralCongress, assembled, appealing
to the Supreme Judge of theWorld for the rectitude of our
intentions, do, in the name andby the authority of the good
(50:39):
people of these colonies,solemnly publish and declare
that these United Colonies areand of right ought to be free
and independent states, thatthey are absolved from all
allegiance to the British crown,and that all political
connection between them and thestate of Great Britain is and
ought to be totally dissolved,and that as free and independent
(51:01):
states they have full power tolevy war, conclude peace,
contract alliances, establishcommerce, and to do all other
acts and things whichindependent states may of right
do.
And for the support of thisdeclaration, with a firm
reliance on the protection ofdivine providence, we mutually
(51:24):
pledge to each other our lives,our fortunes, and our sacred
honor.
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