Week 2 countdown -- A New Birth of Freedom

Dear Friends,

If we are going to do a 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026, then tomorrow, July 19, is week 2 in the countdown.  I propose that the next thing we do is to read the Mayflower Compact and think about it.

Last week we read the Declaration of Independence and gave that some thought.  Here is a statement from the Declaration:  "Nor have we been wanting in Attentions to our British Brethren.... We have reminded them of the Circumstances of our Emigration and Settlement here."  So we can ask, "what are the circumstances of their emigration?" 

Our task for this week is to read the Mayflower Compact and think about its implications regarding the "circumstances of their emigration."  Here is the text of the compact, quoted from this article,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayflower_Compact

IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN. We, whose names are underwritten, the Loyal Subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. Having undertaken for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith, and the Honour of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the first Colony in the northern Parts of Virginia; Do by these Presents, solemnly and mutually, in the Presence of God and one another, covenant and combine ourselves together into a civil Body Politick, for our better Ordering and Preservation, and Furtherance of the Ends aforesaid: And by Virtue hereof do enact, constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions, and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general Good of the Colony; unto which we promise all due Submission and Obedience. IN WITNESS whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names at Cape-Cod the eleventh of November, in the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France, and Ireland, the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth, Anno Domini; 1620

Notice that in the preamble to this groundbreaking example of self-government they say that the purpose of their trip is "for the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith?"  Let's investigate this more.  For the next week, order and watch the film named "Monumental."

https://www.amazon.com/Monumental-Search-Americas-National-Treasure/dp/B0085Z6ZHE/

I remember that when I watched this documentary years ago I was surprised by how much I did not know about the plight of the Pilgrims in England.  I learned much from this documentary.  If you have Amazon Prime, you can stream the film.  You can look at the resellers; one promises delivery by Monday.  So if you want to see "Monumental" by next Saturday, 7/26, you can see that shipping delays can interfere with our schedule.

To minimize the impact of delays, you should order now a film for week 4 in our countdown.  To appreciate the fight for our independence, please order now the film entitled, "The American Miracle"

I saw it at the theater but I have ordered it and will watch it again.  Here is the website for the film:  https://americanmiraclemovie.com/

These are excellent films that connect us to our heritage.  I hope that you will enjoy our walk together through our history. 

Robert Canright

Week 1 - A New Birth of Freedom

 Dear Friends,

I planned 52 weeks of activities to prepare for the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence on Saturday July 4, 2026.  Week 1 was July 12, 2025.  Below is the email used to initiate this 52 week observation.  I believe I need to put this series of activities on the internet.  Below is the email used to start this series of activities.  You can join in now.  You can pick and choose the activities that appeal to you.  You can catch up if you have not started.

Here is the initiating email:

We are approaching the 250th anniversary of the 4th of July, 1776, marking the signing of our Declaration of Independence.  Many of us were around during the 200th anniversary in 1976, when Jerry Ford was President.  I was 22 years old and in college. I did not notice it.  There might have been extra fireworks and maybe a tall ship flotilla, like the one planned for July 4, 2026.  But the celebration did not change my life.

Maybe we should make some effort to have the 250th anniversary change our lives.  We celebrate our freedoms, but we must also remember the sacrifices over hundreds of years by countless men and women who have died for our liberty, starting with the Battle of Concord, April 19, 1775, between American Minutemen and the British Army.  The "shot heard round the world" was immortalized in the Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emmerson.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45870/concord-hymn

Remember these words by Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg:  "... we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom..."

Soldiers don't want to die in vain, they ask us to remember them, to carry the torch and not break faith with them.  Here is what John McCrae wrote after WWI, "In Flanders Fields,"

To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47380/in-flanders-fields

I think the most beautiful reading of this short poem is by the poet and singer Leonard Cohen:
https://youtu.be/cKoJvHcMLfc?si=v3GD1THRZH-S3BsC

In 2020 Antifa was burning cities in America and rioting.  Is this keeping faith with our fallen countrymen?  The 200th anniversary of the 4th of July did not make any impact on our county.  What can we do to make the 250th anniversary more effective, giving us a "new birth of freedom," held out as a goal by Abraham Lincoln?

The prophet Ezekiel in 36:26 said, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."  Evangelical Christians think of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit after repentance and baptism as the way to get a new spirit and a new heart.  Let's borrow this idea and ask ourselves how can we get a new heart as a patriotic American, how can we impart a new spirit of Americanism to spark a new birth of freedom?

I propose doing a little bit each week to remember our history and think about what makes America unique.  If we do a 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026, which is a Saturday, then we are already off by one week.  We should have accomplished something by July 12, 2025, yesterday.  I have been given work assignments that were behind schedule right from the start, so I am not deterred and I can propose a simple task that you can do today in order to check off week 1 in our 52 week countdown:  Read aloud the Declaration of Independence.  It takes less than 15 minutes.  Then if there is a word you do not know, look it up.  I had to look up "consanguinity."  Think about each of the grievances listed.  Do you know what each one means?  We should give these some thought.  There is something special about reading aloud.  Give it a try.

I hope to email soon a suggestion for the week ending in Saturday July 19.  I have never sent weekly emails, so this is a change for me and a challenge to figure out 52 things we can do to rejuvenate our sense of American exceptionalism.  I'm taking a chance of failing because I think we need to try to make our 250th anniversary of America truly meaningful, making a new birth of freedom in our hearts.  If you join me, I hope it will be a good experience.

Thank you for your patience,
Robert Canright