Shade Tree Wisdom 7/3/12

          Here is a paragraph describing the kind of people who made our country strong. It says, "The Hatfields knew who they are, they know what they believe in, their kind will last. Other kinds of people will come and go; the glib and confident, the whiners and complainers, and the people loyal only to themselves, they will disappear. But the Hatfields will be here, plowing the land, tending and harvesting crops, doing the hard work of the world because it is there to be done. Consider yourself fortunate if you know such.”

          And here are some words from an article in the WSJ titled, “What is the American Creed". In summary is says right now our culture is mostly being formed by intellectuals, unfortunately with high IQ and low common sense whose answer to the best break America ever got -use of a common language to unite an uncommon people -, the response of intellectualism, being bi-lingual.

          “America’s creed is blessedly simple. Freedom, equality, democracy and America is the promised land, as Jefferson said, ‘the favor of the Almighty in whose hands we are, who led our fathers, as Israel of old, and planted them in a land flowing with all the necessities and comforts of life’. Here we can live, as Lincoln said, “with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right ad God gives us to see the right.”.” That is who we are. A people striving to live that creed.

          Years ago there was a minster named Peter Marshall. I quote from a sermon he delivered one Mother’s Day. He said, “No nation has ever made any progress in a downward direction. No people ever became great by lowering standards. No people ever became good by adopting looser morality. It is not progress when the moral tone is lower than it was; it is not progress when purity is not sweet; it is not progress when womanhood has lost its fragrances. Whatever else it is, it is not progress.”

          Surely, the shape of our world must open our eyes to see how far we have come since the Fathers planted their feet on this land of Freedom. “God bless our native land, firm, may she ever stand, through storm and strife.”

GPD 7/3/12