Category: Politics & Culture

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George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

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[New York, 3 October 1789] By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation. Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor–and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to … Continue reading George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

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Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

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The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.  To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.  In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, … Continue reading Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

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Why Did President Obama Omit ‘Under God’ from the Gettysburg Address When 63 Other Prominent Americans Included It?

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For the 150th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, Ken Burns asked a number of prominent Americans to recite the Gettysburg Address on camera. You may or may not know that there are five extant copies of the address in Lincoln’s hand—the so-called Nicolay, Hay, Everett, Bancroft, and Bliss copies (listed in chronological order of production). The Nicolay copy was the first draft of the speech, prepared before Lincoln delivered it. The Hay, Everett, Bancroft, and Bliss copies were prepared after he delivered it. There are a variety of differences between these copies. For our purposes, the most important difference is … Continue reading Why Did President Obama Omit ‘Under God’ from the Gettysburg Address When 63 Other Prominent Americans Included It?

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Obama Leaves Out ‘Under God’ in His Recitation of the Gettysburg Address [UPDATED]

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Ken Burns has posted a video of President Barack Obama reciting the Gettysburg Address. Amazingly, the president fails to recite the words under God in the phrase, “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” I’m not sure why President Obama deleted this phrase. (I’ll leave that to conspiracy mongers.) There are five copies of the Gettysburg Address from Lincoln’s lifetime, known as the Bliss, Nicolay, Hay, Everett, and Bancroft copies. The Bliss copy–the only one with Lincoln’s signature on it–is generally considered authoritative. It and the Everett and Bancroft copies contain the words under God, while the … Continue reading Obama Leaves Out ‘Under God’ in His Recitation of the Gettysburg Address [UPDATED]

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Starbucks Goes Political with Petition

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This morning, I received an email from Starbucks, encouraging me to sign its “Come Together Petition.” I doubt many people would have trouble signing the petition, given how anodyne it seems. Nevertheless, to my mind, it contains two questionable assumptions. “Reopen our government to serve the people.” This assumes that the government has closed, which which is misleading. Parts of the government have shut down, but according to one estimate, 83 percent of the government is still operating. “Pay our debts on time to avoid another financial crisis.” This is sage advice, but it fails to note that the partial government … Continue reading Starbucks Goes Political with Petition

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Is Shutting Down the Government Unbiblical?

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According to Jim Wallis, shutting down the United States government is “unbiblical.” In other words, he argues that the current crisis in Washington DC is not merely a political problem; it is a theological problem. Furthermore, he lays the blame squarely on “extremists” whom, he says, “don’t believe in government per se” and are therefore “against the poor.” Some conservative evangelicals might dismiss Wallis out of hand as a Democratic partisan and left-wing activist. Such an automatic dismissal is ad hominem and untoward. Yes, Wallis’s politics trend Left, and while he often makes common cause with Democrats, I have no … Continue reading Is Shutting Down the Government Unbiblical?

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Sic Transit: Interesting Posts That Caught My Eye This Morning (July 26, 2013)

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Robert P. George and Katrina Lantos Swett, “Religious Freedom Is About More Than Religion” (Wall Street Journal) Religious faith by its nature must be free. A coerced “faith” is no faith at all. Compulsion can cause a person to manifest the outward signs of belief or unbelief. It cannot produce the interior acts of intellect and will that constitute genuine faith. Coercion in the cause of belief, whether religious or secular, produces not genuine conviction, but pretense and inauthenticity. It is therefore essential that religious freedom include the right to change one’s beliefs and religious affiliation. It also includes the … Continue reading Sic Transit: Interesting Posts That Caught My Eye This Morning (July 26, 2013)

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George F. Will Offers a “Nones” Perspective on “Religion and the American Republic”

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George F. Will pens a typically insightful essay in the most recent issue of National Affairs: “Religion and the American Republic.” The unique “angle” on this essay is Will’s identification with the 20 percent of Americans who are religiously unaffiliated, i.e., the “nones.” From his conclusion: Alexis de Tocqueville wrote Democracy in America just two generations after the American founding — two generations after Madison identified tyranny of the majority as the distinctively worst political outcome that democracy could produce. Tocqueville had a different answer to the question of what kind of despotism democratic nations should fear most. His warning is justly famous and more pertinent … Continue reading George F. Will Offers a “Nones” Perspective on “Religion and the American Republic”