Abraham Lincoln famously compared America to “apples of gold in pictures of silver.”
The universal principles of freedom and equality under law and under God were the apples of gold, and the Constitution and the country were the pictures of silver. In this formulation he certainly meant that these universal principles were in some way superior and prior to the particulars of this country. But he also denied that we should abstract the principles from the country–the soil, the people, the history, the language, the civic rites–or treat the country as an afterthought.
The universal principles and the country are spirit and flesh, joined into one body, one America. God will that their union be inseparable.
Today will be a sad 4th of july because of the very disturbing news about what happened to the two sister missionaries in South Africa today. They need your prayers.
Maybe now LDS and other good people everywhere will take a stronger position in knocking down the ography media that advocates such heineous treatment of young women.
First of all, it’s not the ‘Fourth of July’. It’s ‘Independence Day’.
Second, I think that there’s no direct correlation between this holiday and the deplorable violent act against the sister missionaries in South Africa. That is a tragic experience, yes, but should not dampen our spirits on this holiday of holidays. My prayers are with these sisters, and I hope all is well, but I also take this opportunity to stand high and celebrate our nation’s and our personal independence.
I was over on http://www.timesandseasons.org/?p=3267 and discovered that comments were closed, which seemed to call for a new declaration of independence on July 4th …
“They are spirit and flesh, joined into one body, one America. God will that their union be inseparable.”
Thanks Adam, and amen to that.
“First of all, it’s not the ‘Fourth of July’. It’s ‘Independence Day’.”
Did it fall on the 3d this year? Didn’t know that. Oh well, anything to make a three-day weekend….
150 years ago, Brigham Young wrote to Charles C. Rich of the Saints’ celebrations:
“The Fourth was celebrated with much ethusiasm, ceremony, and harmony, and in the evening there was a pleasant ball in the Social Hall at which I indulged in more dancing than I have for a long time previous and I think that it did me good.” I ran across this in some of my old archival notes and thought I’d share it.
BY to CCR, 10 July 1856, MS 889, Box 2, Fd 6, LDS Archives
I believe the ultimate, and apparently relatively unknown, Latter-day Saint Independence Day story is the July 4, 1839 escape of Parley Pratt et al. from an indefinite imprisonment without trial in Richmond, Missouri.
[Apologies to those to whom I have quoted parts of this before:]
You can read the rest of the story here:
http://mldb.byu.edu/ppprat31.htm
If you were as clueless as I was about what happened to the sister missionaries in South Africa, here is a link to a story: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=340149
Mr. Greenwood,
I’m surprised at you. With your love for our country and space travel you made no mention of the space flight today. Does anyone know the purpose of the mission?
I think the shuttle launch was to show the North Koreans, who launched their failed missle, that we still have superiority over the heavens. Or perhaps I’ve just been off my meds too long.
“Did it fall on the 3d this year? Didn’t know that.”
Thanks, Jeremy. I was biting my tongue.
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Constanza and Mark Butler,
Great excerpts, folks. Especially this:
“These lines were sung several times over, with the spirit and with the understanding also, and very loud and distinct–being heard by the old apostate and his wife, and by the keepers of the prison; but the doctrine of spiritualizing had become so prevalent that neither this, nor the flag of liberty, nor any other Scripture seemed to them to have any literal meaning, till they found too late the true interpretation by the fulfillment.”
I laughed pretty hard at that.
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Thanks to all who are sharing information about the sisters with your fellow Saints. I hope everyone here has poured out their heart to God for the sisters’ well-being and for justice to be done to their attackers.
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Diebold,
Launching on the fourth was a fine gesture. From the fine old tradition of letting the eagle scream.
…and for justice to be done to their attackers.
It is justice we espouse?
…or the transformation of repentance and forgivness?
Both, Greenfrog. Justice does not rob mercy, nor mercy justice, etc. But it would show gross indifference to the sisters if one were to start calling today for forgiveness for their rapists.
Lincoln and Washington on freedom under God:
http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=296
But it would show gross indifference to the sisters if one were to start calling today for forgiveness for their rapists.
In what season does forgiveness ripen?
I pray for the sisters’ healing. By all means and at all times we should extend our love and assistance to the victims of wrongdoing.
The world, though, doesn’t materially improve when the innocent sympathize with the innocent, nor when the innocent retailiate against the guilty — it improves when the innocent convert the guilty to innocence.
I honor the sisters’ decisions to continue in their efforts to that end.
“and for justice to be done to their attackers.” Amen, Adam.
I still think it unfeeling to talk about the need for forgiving their attackers while the sisters are still bleeding internally, so instead of responding to specific points (such as the notion that material improvement is the measure of the propriety of our sentiments), I instead am asking for this debate to shut down. Thanks for your thoughts, Greenfrog, and for your support, Costanza. Let’s leave it at that.
Had a ward breakfast yesterday, and they asked one of the priests, a teenager targeting a military career, an opportunity to express his feelings about America. He stood on the picnic table wearing full fatigues and talked about how July 4th is more of a Memorial Day for him, and he spoke about honoring the soldiers and how those who opposed them needed a lesson in patriotism. It was “this close” (holding fingers together) to being a “if you don’t like it, you can leave” talk.
Afterwards, I mentioned to the activities committee chairsister that I would be happy to provide a testimony of our civil liberties (including the right of free speech and dissent, the right to practice my religion as I wish, etc.) at next year’s breakfast, and bear a testimony to my thanks to those who help support those civil liberties, which include the military *and* the ACLU.
The shuttle launch was to further the completion and maintenance of the “International Space Station.”
I’m not sure how germane this is to the topic, but I felt like sharing.
My favorite story of the American Revolution is actually at the end, after the British have gone home and the Americans are left to decide what their nation will be.
As history buffs will know, payment of George Washington’s professional “Continental Army” was a constant problem. The Continental Congress had consistently failed to appreciate the sacrifice of the brave soldiers in Washington’s army or pay their salaries throughout the war. Finally, the soldiers had had enough. Many started calling that the army march on Philadelphia, take custody of the representatives, and demand payment for their sacrifices. Head officers in the army planned to lead the action.
At this point, public opinion of General Washington couldn’t be higher. He was a victorious general and with an exemplary reputation. He commanded almost absolute loyalty of his soldiers. The Congress, by contrast, was divided and fractious, with each of its members almost solely concerned with his own colonial constituency. If ever he wanted to seize power, he couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity. If he had been any of countless military figures throughout history, who found themselves in a similar situation of opportunity, he would have led the march on Philadelphia, coerced the Congress into submission, and taken sole charge of the nation’s future.
Yet Washington, himself, was adamantly opposed to any military action against the Congress.
One evening, he met with a large gathering of officers and enlisted soldiers. That evening, the soldiers intended to vote for coercive action against the Continental Congress. Washington stood before the assembly and urged moderation and forebearance on the part of the soldiers. He said that generations of Americans would revere their names, and praise their memory if they would foregive and forbear. He asked them not to march.
At one point in his speech, Washington paused and reached inside his waistcoat. He withdrew a pair of reading spectacles. He said (and I paraphrase):
“I beg your forgiveness gentlemen. But I have not only worn out my health, but also my eyesight, in your service.”
Many grown men wept openly. Washington finished his address and withdrew.
Subsequently, the Continental Army voted not to march against Congress.
Personally, I think it was Washington’s finest moment. It showed him to be cut from a different mold than countless other of the “noble and great ones” of world history and events. It was also the birth of a new sort of nation.
We have relatively precious-little national history. Let us not forget it.
That story about Washington is a very important one. It is repeated early on in 1794: America, Its Army, and the Birth of the Nation by Retired Lt. Gen. Dave R. Palmer, an excellent book on the establishment of the U.S. Army under the Constitution and how we avoided rule by a man on horseback.