Dear Friends,
Our next step in counting down to July 4, 2026, week 5 in our countdown, is to watch the film, "The American Miracle." I mentioned it in the email for week 2, so you had time to order it.
If you have not ordered it, you can catch up by ordering it now and watching it when you can. It is a great movie about the American Revolution.
When you watch this film, pay attention to George Washington. Think about how indispensable he was for the success of our Revolution.
To prepare for a future assignment, order a copy of "Miracle At Philadelphia: The Story of the Constitutional Convention" by Catherine Bowen
I have to make a reading plan. We will nibble our way through this book.
Our history is amazing. We just do not think about it.
Now let's think about last week's assignment, to memorize the preamble to our constitution.
I really had to pound the preamble into my memory. But I love it. Think about it. What else do we really need or want from our government? Here it is again in bullet form:
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 defence,
(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.
(1) in Order to form a more perfect Union,
(2) establish Justice,
(3) insure domestic Tranquility,
(4) provide for the common defence,
(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 used the following ideas to frame the logic of the preamble. Yes, it has a logical layout.
Look at the sequence of verbs:
form -> establish -> insure -> provide -> promote -> secure
Look at the sequence of objects and how one leads to another
Union -> Justice -> domestic Tranquility -> common defence -> general Welfare -> Liberty
Notice that "United States" is mentioned twice: once at the beginning and again at the end.
In the beginning it is "of the United States". At the end it is "for the United States of America."
There is a lot of logic in this statement.
At our Republican meetings we say the pledge of allegiance. How often do we recite the preamble to our Constitution? Maybe we should recite it occasionally to remember why we are involved in Republican politics. Our goal is good governance, not machine politics. That is why our state party has a set of principles in our platform.
Lincoln asked for a new birth of freedom. Lincoln founded our party and died for his principles. We need a spiritual reformation. We need to become the Americans our forefathers envisioned. I hope our 52 week journey will help us reach that end, to fulfill Lincoln's challenge in his Gettysburg Address. Here is the conclusion of his speech:
we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that 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—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
Thank you,
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