An American Homework Assignment

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Yes, I know that school is out for the summer. Sorry, Alice Cooper, I just had to use your line. However, that does not mean we should not continue our learning, especially in this, our 250th year of American independence. I even learned something last week that I did not know about our road to independence. It is the story of the British schooner, the HMS Gaspee, and its fate in 1772.

I was visiting throughout New England, supporting veterans running for political office, when the good people of Rhode Island shared with me an event that predated that of Lexington, Concord, and Breed's (Bunker) Hill. HMS Gaspee was a Royal Navy revenue vessel that was patrolling the waters of Narragansett Bay, enforcing maritime trade laws and preventing smuggling activities. In essence, it was preventing colonial free trade that sought to avoid onerous British regulation, sound familiar? The schooner ran aground on June 9, 1772, while chasing a colonial ship. Nothing like home-field advantage. It was a local merchant, John Brown, no relation to the fella who raided Harpers Ferry, who organized a raiding party of Patriots that went out on longboats to attack, burn, and destroy the Gaspee. The raiding party of some sixty was led by Captain Abraham Whipple. They took Lieutenant William Dudingston and his crew prisoner, then set the HMS Gaspee ablaze.

The HMS Gaspee event was two years after the Boston Massacre and about three years before the Battle of Lexington. When you speak to the Rhode Islanders, they feel the claim of the "first shot" for American independence should belong to them. Oh, the British were never able to find out the perpetrators of the Gaspee raid. The folks in Rhode Island were very tight-lipped.

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I found it interesting that in the month of June, leading to our 250th anniversary of independence, I saw more rainbow flags in New England than American. The acts of rebellion in Rhode Island, June 9, 1772, and at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts, on April 19, 1775, are REAL reasons for pride. This is why I believe we need an American homework assignment.

The story of America does not begin on July 4, 1776. I believe that it began on October 31, 1517. That was the day a Germanic professor and theologian, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 theses, statements of protest, on the door of the church in Wittenberg. Luther presented his officially titled Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences as a challenge to this practice of some Catholic clergy "charging" for absolution of sins. It was Luther's premise that Jesus Christ had gone to the cross and His sacrifice absolved us of our sins. It was not necessary to have any intercessor, as we have a natural relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and our Heavenly Father, who sent His only begotten Son, John 3:16. Luther's efforts set ablaze the understanding of individual spiritual liberty and freedom, codifying the words of 2 Corinthians 3:17, "The Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

It would be almost 200 years later that an English political philosopher would challenge another standing premise of his day. John Locke in his Second Treatise of Government, 1689, would argue that it was not just our spiritual freedom, but also our earthly freedoms that were endowed to us from the Judeo-Christian faith heritage of the Creator God. Locke presented this as his Natural Rights theory that was in opposition to the prevailing Divine Rights theory of ruling elites, royalty. Much as Luther, Locke presented the case that we did not need any entity as an intercessor when it comes to our rights of life, liberty, and property.

It would be on July 4, 1776, that a nation would be born based upon the Natural Rights theory of John Locke, something unique in the world. Jefferson would begin by invoking Locke, the father of classical liberalism, the advocate of the rights and freedoms of the individual, and their sovereignty over the institution of government. Much the same, Luther and Locke set the conditions for Jefferson, as did the acts of rebellion with HMS Gaspee and Lexington of June 9, 1772, and April 19, 1775, respectively. The question is, how many Americans know this history and its relationship to our founding? Certainly not the folks who voted for open Marxists this last Tuesday in New York, certainly not those who voted for Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Consider, 250 years ago, General George Washington and the Continental Army were fighting in and around New York against the British Army. Now, a new crop of Redcoats rules in New York City.

Your American homework assignment for this week is simple: read the entire Declaration of Independence. It is imperative to realize that it is a document similar to that of Martin Luther in that it lists protests and grievances against King George, just as Luther listed his grievances. As you read the Declaration of Independence, you may see a resemblance of some of the listed usurpations to today. Here we are, 250 years later, still contending with an ideology that masks "taxation without representation" under the modern guise of "paying your fair share." More onerous regulations and restrictions on our freedoms and liberties. Undermining our Judeo-Christian faith heritage. And no, you will not find Separation of Church and State in the Declaration of Independence. We have sitting U.S. senators, like Tim Kaine, who say our rights do not come from God, but from the government. We have candidates for congressional office possessing membership in groups that seek to eradicate Western civilization, and even the eradication of America. Sadly, they fail to understand that Western civilization gave us Martin Luther and John Locke, along with great Christian theologians who enabled our first Great Spiritual Awakening, figures like Reverend George Whitefield.

As we march toward America 250 at the end of this week, think about America 200 and what has transpired over the past 50 years. Ask yourself, have we continued to honor our founding principles and fundamentals? Heck, in 50 years, we have lost the understanding of what a woman is! Maybe we should have been doing our American homework assignment each year over the past 50 years? I was around for America 200, and I have seen what has happened in the longest-running Constitutional Republic that the world has ever known in the last 50 years. I will not be here for America 300, but my daughters may; certainly, my grandsons will. We must do our homework assignment and instill in them the tradition of doing the same as we go forward.

Lest we become victims of Alexander Fraser Tytler's cycle, "A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage."

Spiritual faith brings forth great courage, and from that courage comes liberty. However, ask yourselves, where is America 250 in this cycle? Let us not revert from independence to dependence and ultimately back into bondage, which is what the Marxists and their Islamist allies seek.

Happy Independence Day, America, now and forevermore!

May we always be Steadfast and Loyal.

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