Week 5 countdown - Our Preamble - A New Birth of Freedom

 Dear Friends,
Today is 9/17/2025, and it is Constitution Day in honor of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on 9/17/1787.  The Constitution is a fitting subject for our 52 week "Rebirth of Freedom" project.  For week 5 of our effort, our goal is to memorize the preamble to the U.S. Constitution.  Here it is:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Isn't this beautiful?  It is succinct.  What else do you really want from a government?  Here's my secret.  I remember a lot of things, but memorizing something word-for-word is hard for me.  So I will tell you what I have done to memorize the preamble.  I have noticed that it has six bullet points and I count with my fingers as I recite it to ensure I have six bullet points.  Here it is written with the bullet points enumerated:

We the People of the United States,
      (1) in Order to form a more perfect Union,
      (2) establish Justice,
      (3) insure domestic Tranquility,
      (4) provide for the common defense,
      (5) promote the general Welfare, and
      (6) secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,
do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

I have a pocket Constitution handy and opened to the preamble.  I look at it after I recite the preamble to see if I got it right.  Did I jumble the order?  Did I get the words precisely correct?  This is a little work, but it is an important part of the Constitution.  

Take some time to think about each item on the list of six.

You might explore this website about Constitution:  https://www.constitutionday.com/

You might have heard this already.  We have the oldest written constitution in the world.  After the 3rd French Republic, I quit counting how many Constitutions France has had.  What is called the "British Constitution" is not a written document, but a collection of traditions that they call a constitution.  What our founding fathers did was unique and remains one-of-a-kind.  

We have a lot to be proud of.

This counts as week 5 in our 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026.  We will be doing two-a-week for a while to catch up, but they are not hard. Try to finish this by Saturday 9/20.

Thank you,
Robert

Week 4 countdown - Charlie Kirk and 911 - A New Birth of Freedom

Dear Friends, 

We are doing a 52 week countdown to July 4, 2026, the 250 anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.  We missed a few weeks because of political distractions, but we will catch up.  This installment will be special because so much has happened recently.  I emailed this on 9/15/25.  Charlie Kirk was murdered on 9/10/25 and we had the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers the day after.  I think it is really important to talk now about all of these issues because they are related.  This email will have 4 sections:  (1) The American Dream, (2) The Murder of Charlie Kirk, (3) the 24th anniversary of 9/11/2001, and (4) recognizing a pillar of American culture.  These are all important.

The American Dream

We must realize that America is a great country with a great culture.  There are so many things that make America great, but I will focus now on something surprisingly simple:  the 60th anniversary of The Sound of Music.

Joy and hope and idealism are at the heart of the American Dream.  Rodgers and Hammerstein created a work of fiction, based very loosely on history, and after success on Broadway made it into the highest grossing film at its time.  Sixty years later and we are still enjoying it , inspired by the beauty of the Alps and the idealism, joy and hope expressed in the show.

Americans have joy in their hearts!  That is one of the things that makes us great.  And we have the freedom to create a work of fiction like "The Sound of Music."  People following their dreams led to the Wright Brothers creating manned flight and changing history.  We have changed the world by pursuing our dreams, made possible by the liberty we enjoy from our Constitution.

The Murder of Charlie Kirk

Accounts say that the young man who murdered Charlie Kirk came from a good family, but somehow this young man was persuaded that Charlie Kirk was evil and needed to be killed.  There are left wing teachers who go into the schools in order to change the world by indoctrinating our children.  And there are left wing activists who use fear and hatred to manipulate young people in order to create political converts.

The left has been doing this for decades.  Whittaker Chambers described in his 1952 memoir, "Witness," how his brother was told by his college instructors that the world was horrible, so the young man killed himself.  Young people today are fed the same lies and you hear young people say that the world is so bad that they don't want to bring children into this world.  Add to that an unspoken epidemic of mental illness sweeping through the youth of America and it is no wonder we have a crisis.  

Back in 2022 I started a Bible Class called "Christian Awareness" to teach young people to recognize the deception and manipulation used to mislead them.  But tactical politics consumed my time.  Our young people are going into the world defenseless.  They are not coached on how to spot the snares of wicked people.  We need to fix that.

The 9/11 Attack on the Twin Towers

We just had the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attack and after 24 years it seems that our leaders are still refusing to understand what happened back then.    Remember that before 9/11 there were other attacks on the Twin Towers.  The refusal of our leaders to face the problems are documented in books like "Willful Blindness, a Memoir of the Jihad" by Federal Persecutor Andrew C. McCarthy (https://www.amazon.com/Willful-Blindness-Andrew-C-Mccarthy/dp/1594032130/) and in "Catastrophic Failure" by Stephen Coughlin (https://www.amazon.com/Catastrophic-Failure-Blindfolding-America-Jihad/dp/1511617500/).

If you think that it sounds absurd to say that highly educated and successful people turn their backs on reality, let me remind you of Bernie Madoff and the financial collapse he created in spite of numerous warnings, as documented in the book, "No One Would Listen" by Harry Markopolis (https://www.amazon.com/No-One-Would-Listen-Financial/dp/0470919000/).  Maybe by the time the 25th anniversary of 9/11 happens President Trump will get rid of the gatekeepers and manipulators that are stopping him from seeing the unresolved threats from 9/11.  We can only pray and hope.

The Battle Hymn of the Republic - A Pillar of American Culture

On September 14, 2001, in St  Paul's Cathedral in London, the British sang the The Battle Hymn of the Republic in a memorial service to honor the Americans killed on 9/11.  Here it is:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmpo0csiIMs

I was driving home from work and when I heard this on the radio -- the British singing this song -- I had to pull off the road, stop and cry.  All the emotions from the 9/11 attack came pouring out in my tears.

Your Assignment for this Week

Here are the lyrics to the Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Sing it to yourself!  The deadline is this coming Saturday,

1 Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

Refrain:
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
Glory! Glory! Hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

2 I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read the righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps;
His day is marching on. [Refrain]

3 He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of all before His judgment seat;
O be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on. [Refrain]

4 In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make us holy, let us die to make men free,
while God is marching on. [Refrain]

Here are Revelation 14:19 - 20

19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

A lot of politicians forget about the wrath of God.

We have a great county and a great culture, but we are under relentless pressure by people who hate the freedoms and liberties God has intended for us, because they hate God as much as they hate the blessing of liberty God has bestowed upon us.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

Our hope is in God.

Thank you,

Robert

As a reminder of our previous countdown weeks, I have posted them on the internet:

Week 1 - A New Birth of Freedom
https://texasascendant.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-1-new-birth-of-freedom.html

Week 2 countdown -- A New Birth of Freedom
https://texasascendant.blogspot.com/2025/09/week-2-countdown-new-birth-of-freedom.html

Week 2 and 3 countdown - the Pilgrims- 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?"  

 

This Week - the Mayflower Compact

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?"  

 

Next Week - More on the Pilgrims

Let's investigate the Pilgrims 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 a future week 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