In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility - I welcome it.
- President John F. Kennedy
The United States of America is the greatest country on earth. What I want you to consider for a moment is - why? We are not special just by virtue of the fact that we exist. We are not special by default. So what is so special about this country? How could we have risen so far in our first 150 years?
It happened because we, all of us, shared the overriding love of one principle. That principle is freedom. And it is our love of freedom and our determination to preserve it that distinguishes this country from all others.
On one side of the aisle, there are those American Citizens who see freedom as something that is granted and enabled by man. They spend much of their time attempting to grant freedom through government. They generally seek to enable freedom through legislation and by protecting people from each other. Representative government is seen as the collective will of the people and the righteous tool of the citizenry to right the wrongs of society. Equivalency is the goal. And so no legislative effort is too small. To the contrary, legislation is almost always criticized as “not going far enough”. No expense is seen as unwarranted in the never-ending pursuit of the oppressors, and in the effort to even the score amongst the Citizens.
On the other side of the aisle, there are those American Citizens who see freedom as a natural right granted by God, and frequently suppressed by man. They spend much of their time fighting against the intrusion of government into the private lives of its Citizens. They generally view freedom as the absence of the compelling force of government, and personal liberty as the physical practice of individual freedom. Representative government is an annoying but practical necessity. Legislation and control, as practiced by a central government, is burdensome and largely unnecessary. The Citizens are generally better off physically, emotionally and spiritually when the government sets down some basic rules, gets out of the way and leaves the people alone.
But now consider that one thing that we all still share - our mutual love of freedom. It is our love and pursuit of freedom that built this country. It is our love and pursuit of freedom that sustains this Country today. And it is our love and pursuit of freedom that can lead us forward. It is our common ground. If we are to honestly claim that the future of our children will be brighter than our own, we must find that common ground, reclaim it, and embrace it again.
