Maybe people don’t think that much about losing statues, but it is pretty important, as it tells our history, both the good and the bad. They help us remember our founding ideals and the struggles we went through to achieve them and what we still have to do. That helps point us to where we need to go. With no history, heritage, or stories, we have no direction or future. They are destroying not just statues, but America and the good she has brought to the world. And if the light of America goes out, what happens to the rest of the world? They are destroying the future, not just for America but for everybody.
It is wholly inappropriate and destructive of our nation, to tear down or deface statues of prominent figures from our history. I am thinking of the following statues that have met this fate at the hand of violent thugs: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, Francis Scott Key, Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Stonewall Jackson, prominent abolitionists of the 1800s, and there may be more. No one would suggest these are perfect people, or everything they did was perfect, but they have qualities and did some things that we can admire, look up to, and aspire to today. They were a force for good for our nation and helped make America the great place to live that it is today.
We should not judge them by the place we are in, and by our understanding we have today. We should have enough humility to think we might be wrong. We should examine their actions, both good and bad, with a humble heart and realize we have committed both good and bad actions as well. We need to remember that we are standing on their shoulders. They have brought us to the place where we are, not the other way around. Instead, we should appreciate them and thank God that He has allowed us to follow them and stand in such a privileged place. With humility, we can both be grateful for the past and learn from the past. Because we are in this privileged place, we can go forward into the future building upon the heritage we have received and striving to better adhere to our Founders’ vision and values.
The appreciation we show toward prominent figures in history is the same appreciation and gratitude we show to those who have died for our country on Memorial Day or for our veterans on Veterans Day.
These terrorists that damaged and tore down these statues, not even discriminating in favor of abolitionists and others who fought to free slaves, demonstrate that racial equality is not their goal. Rather, the destruction of America is their goal. To further illustrate that goal, some of these terrorists call for the annihilation of museums and memorials like Mt. Rushmore-no history, no America.
With these thoughts in mind, I want to list the things that are right about America:
We were founded on believing in the God-given value of each individual. That’s why individual rights are protected.
We were founded on believing a “self-evident truth” that all “are endowed by their Creator” with the “rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The first-ever nation founded on freedom.
We were founded on believing that these rights are “inalienable,” which means that since God gave them, no government can take them away. The government is not God. The government is limited.
We were founded on believing another “self-evident truth” that “all men are created equal.” Not equal outcomes, but equal under the law.
We were founded on believing that the purpose of government is to “secure these rights.” To serve, not to dominate.
We were founded on believing that the source of government power is “the consent of the governed.” The source of our government’s power comes from the bottom-up, not the top down.
We were founded on the principle of religious freedom, where all are free to speak, live, and work according to their faith without fear of punishment by the government.
We were founded on the principle of free speech, free peaceable assembly, free press, and free association, again without fear of punishment by the government.
We were founded on the principles of economic opportunity and free enterprise and, from the beginning, rejected socialism.
We were founded on a hard work ethic, private property rights, and the right to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
We were founded on believing in the rule of law. The Constitution is the Supreme Law of the land, not a man.
We were founded on self-government, and now voting rights extend to all.
We were founded on believing in education as a means of maintaining a free and just society.
Does a communist government believe these ideas? Or a socialist government? Or a fascist government? Or a totalitarian government?
What has been the result? The freest, safest, strongest, and most prosperous nation in history! And we are blessed to live here!
We have used our military strength both to defeat oppressive and tyrannical empires and as a force for peace and stability among nations.
We have influenced other nations toward freedom, protection of their people’s rights, and the provision of economic and educational opportunity.
We have brought to the world the greatest ever advances in science, medicine, agriculture, food chains, water systems, sewer and sanitation systems, technology, communications, transportation, etc.
We have used our wealth to bring comfort and aid in times of disaster and crisis all over the world.
We have demonstrated a capacity to learn from our mistakes and make corrections that better live up to American ideals.
And now for the most politically incorrect truth of all, I’ll let the communists say it for me: The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences concluded in 2011 after a 20-year study of Western society and what is ultimately responsible for its unprecedented success. A communist official of the academy said: “We studied everything we could from the historical, political, economic, and cultural perspective. At first, we thought it was because you had more powerful guns than we had. Then we thought it was because you had the best political system. Next, we focused on your economic system. But in the past 20 years, we have realized the heart of your culture is your religion: Christianity. That is why the West is so powerful. The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don’t have any doubt about this.”
This does not come from a religious leader but from an atheistic communist official from an agency that is an instrument of the Chinese communist government. And they are not alone. Alexis de Tocqueville, a Frenchman, came to America in the 1830s to conduct his investigation and came to the same conclusion saying, “Christianity is the companion of liberty, the cradle of its infancy, and the divine source of its claims.”
Anyone can think of plenty of things that are wrong about America, but they should never eclipse the things that are good about America!
Instead, with humility of heart and mind, we should allow our gratitude to God for America to spur us on to more closely devote ourselves to the founding principles and values of America.
We should be grateful for these things and thank God that we are so blessed to be able to live in a nation with this heritage! No wonder everyone wants to try to get here!