Attorneys of law after 20 years of earning your trust by assisting with your state planning and probate matters I am pleased and excited to announce a new attorney in my firm His name is Luke Johnson and he adheres to the same high standards ethics and quality you expect from me he and I will serve you well with our estate planning and probate knowledge so for your will trust power of attorney and probate means you can now call us Gordon Williams and Luke Johnson before 719300 we will review your will trust power of attorney and probate and will put the appropriate documents in place for you so please call us Gordon Williams and Luke Johnson at 471-9300 Thank you for letting us serve you Gordon Williams and Luke Johnson your family attorneys 471-9300 I there this is John Fuller inviting you to join us each weekday for Focus on the family will help encourage and equip you to build a marriage that goes the distance to raise great kids and to put Christ at the center of your home it's a half hour a day that educates edifies and uplift you and your whole family joined us right here every weekday for Focus on the family with Jim daily focus on the family weekdays at 7 am noon and 7 30 pm on 10071 points of the word of the car industry a service of Salem Media Group 100.7 the word. The assent is furnished by radio and church. To the radio ministry of radio all around the spring featuring the teaching ministry Dr Tom you can learn more about reading. Now here's Mr Tom. I do magic like Main almost everyone in this auditorium is extraordinarily grateful to be an American I've had the opportunity to travel to quite a few places in this world and I have to say to terrorists no place that I would rather live than the United States of America. America has certainly had its shortcomings and failures to mention some of the most obvious there was was severe mistreatment of the Native American Indians the awful atrocities of human slavery and the bloody civil war that brought freedom and then there was the long denial of civil rights for African-Americans also with the amazing freedoms we enjoy too often Americans have misused these freedoms yet despite these glaring sins in others and I history I still believe that we are the greatest nation in the history of the world the United States of America was the 1st nation birthed out of a belief in self governance our population has experience freedoms like no other people have ever known our Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal and though there's been a great struggle to see it like no other nation in history we continue to strive to achieve equal rights for all. We're an incredibly diverse melting pot of people with all of our wide range of races and beliefs we've been able to maintain our union as a nation our military the most powerful in the history of the world has been used not for world conquest but for liberating people from tyranny we've been a nation of great creativity research and innovation America is the land of opportunity where any person has the possibility of achieving their dreams as such we have long enjoyed the highest standard of living in the world Americans are also among the most generous people on Earth who have given more humanitarian aid and assistance to people all over the world than any other nation we're a nation built on a deep trust in God having been established on a Judeo Christian foundation yet we have provided religious liberty to all in fact our national motto is In God We Trust in becoming a great nation America's also suffered times of great challenge and I know some of these from personal experience I was born just prior to the assassination of John f. Kennedy I lived through the Cold War the Vietnam War and the Watergate I've seen serious economic downturns including the one we're now in I was in college during the national melees with the late seventy's and early eighty's I witnessed on television the attacks of 911 and lived during the wars that have followed it I'm old enough to have seen bleak times in America I'm also someone who enjoys the study of history and of some of your just like that and so I've extensively read about the Revolutionary War the Civil War the Great Depression and the 2 very difficult world wars but I haven't experienced nor vibrate of a time like the time in which we now live. I'm not sure that there's ever been a time where there is so much pessimism and concern out right fear about the future of our nation this frantic concern isn't just among extremists or those out on the fringes but it's the general opinion of the majority of Americans recent polls have discovered 4 in 10 Americans believe the current economic downturn is part of a permanent decline from which we will never recover 8 out of 10 Americans believe the u.s. Economy could collapse entirely almost half of all Americans feel the u.s. Is headed for another Great Depression 8 in 10 Americans are dissatisfied with what's going on in our country and 7 in 10 Americans believe that our country is on the wrong track and many of those who are considered experts in our nation from both the left in the right are deeply concerned a number of well respected commentators are predicting that this is the beginning of the end for America and that the end is near one conservative columnist who I greatly respect has called it midnight in America many mainstream publications are running headlines of America's decline numerous bestselling books are declaring the same and before his death in 2010 liberal professor Thomas Johnson said Roman History suggests that the short happy life of the American republic may be coming to an end now I believe that this deep concern of so many particularly those who have carefully studied the current realities are actually warranted and they really should be heeded. Now we're in the midst of economic troubles and out of control an unsustainable national debt intense political divisions international crisis moral bankruptcy and spiritual confusion Americans may be facing the greatest challenge it's ever known maybe most troubling is that much of the American church is compromised in fearful weak and apathetic it seems that we've forgotten who we are and what we're called to be is there a way out of this crisis is there is still hope for our nation as a nation what do we need to do from here and what is it we can and should do as individuals and as the Church of Jesus Christ here in America well today we're launching a new series of we're calling America the land the forgot that's the title because I believe that the key to national revitalization or at least a very significant part of that is remembering remembering is so important throughout the Old Testament God would tell us backslidden downtrodden people there was hope to revival in renewal if they would remember their history if they would remember his promises and if they would remember his faithfulness in Revelation Chapter 2 The Lord Jesus Christ told the declining churches of ethicists to return to their 1st love and to do so they need to remember from where they had fallen to experience revitalisation is the nation America and particularly the church in America needs to remember our Forgotten sacrifices to remember our Forgotten heritage and to remember our Forgotten calling and that's what we're going to be doing over the next 3 weeks and I truly encourage you to be a part of this series because I think we are in a pivotal time a significant time. In our nation and I think because of that we have to be very vigilant in simply thinking through where we're at and what it is that we need to do and today we begin by looking at our nation's forgotten sacrifice America could have never become the great country it is if it were not for the sacrifices that have been made we must remember the sacrifices of our founding fathers the level of the commitment of our founding fathers and their willingness to sacrifice to secure liberty under God's law is evident in the final words of the Declaration of Independence Let me read them to you and for the support of this declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence we mutually pledge to each other our lives our fortunes and our sacred honor $56.00 men signed the Declaration of Independence their convictions resulted in untold suffering from themselves and for their families of the 56 men 5 were captured by the British and tortured before they died 12 had their homes ransacked and burned to lost their sons in the revolutionary army another had 2 sons captured 9 of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the war Carter Braxton of Virginia a wealthy planner and traders saw his ships sunk by the British Navy he sold his home and properties to pay his debts and then he died in poverty at the Battle of Yorktown the British General Cornwallis had taken over Thomas Nelson's home and made it his headquarters Nelson quietly ordered General George Washington to open fire on the Nelson home his home was destroyed and elfin ended up dying bankrupt John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives his field and his mill were destroyed for over a year he lived in forests and caves returning home only to find his wife dead and his children vanished a few weeks later he died from exhaustion in our generation the sacrifices people have made to make America great must be remembered recognized and honored and some of those who pay the greatest price for our freedoms and liberties are America's fine military men and women and today we're going to take time to honor our warriors who allowed us to join our freedoms here in America in honoring our warriors It's not our intention in any way to glorify war yet war is a reality of human existence moon is twice the human race since Cain killed his brother Abel Jesus said as long as the Earth exists there's going to be wars there's going to be rumors of war and nations will rise against nation someone has calculated that in the 5600 years of recorded human history mankind has fought over 14500 wars disgusted with the boastings of the glories of War Civil War General William t. Sherman said I'm sick and tired of war its glory is all moonshine it is only those who have neither fired a shot nor heard the shrieks and groans of the wounded who cry aloud for blood for vengeance and for desolation he went on to say War is hell president and at the time General Dwight d. Eisenhower said I have come to hate war with settles nothing yet sometimes. War is absolutely necessary please he asked these 38 says there is the time for war and there is a time for peace Romans 1218 gives us an important principle when it says this if it's possible as much as depends on you live he's a bully with all men the Bible's very realistic sometimes peace isn't possible and sometimes is justified and necessary and exit is Chapter 22 Verse 2 God told the people of Israel that they had a right to protect their homes even if the thief was killed in doing so and the same is true for a nation defending his homeland in fact in numbers 3223 God told them not to fight against an aggressor was actually sin Church Father Augustine said war should be fought to restore peace in obtaining justice love does not exclude wars of mercy waged by the good and I love a quote from John Stuart Mill I think he says it well a man who has nothing which is willing to fight for nothing which he cares about more than his own personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free the Biblical doctrine of just war tells us there are 3 times when it's right to enter into war 1st of all in order to preserve freedom 2nd of all in order to protect innocent people and finally in order to stop the spread of evil there is a time when war is necessary and due to our American military men and women we've been able to enjoy peace safety and freedom let me ask you what price would you put on your liberty. If it weren't for World War 2 veterans we'd probably all be speaking German or Japanese if it weren't for those who sacrificed in war we wouldn't enjoy the freedom of speech and we would enjoy the freedom of religion these gifts were preserved for us by the military men and women and the veterans among us Romans Chapter 13 verse 7 Paul says Render therefore to all their due goes on to say that we're to give honor to DOE's who deserve honor in our society those serving in the military are those who deserve on or and they deserve respect when you look at the great heroes of the faith in Hebrews chapter 11 there's the Hall of Fame of faith that names all of these great people of the Old Testament and there you're going to find Joshua David Gideon and Samson these guys were all warriors the nation of Israel honored their warriors over in 2nd Samuel chapter one verse of 17 to 27 now I know in your notes some of you have 1st Samuel but it actually is 2nd Samuel chapter one verse is 17 to 27 David shows us how to honor Warriors when we honor Saul and Jonathan who were killed in battle and so we're going to find 3 keys to honoring Warriors The 1st key is to respect their sacrifice let's read it here in 2nd Samuel chapter one beginning verse 17 then David lamented with this lamb in Taishan over Saul and over Jonathan his son and he told them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow indeed is written the book of Jasher the beauty of Israel is slain on your high places how the mighty have fallen tell it not in Gath for claim it not in the streets of ask alone least the daughters of the Philistines rejoiced least the daughters of the uncircumcised try and solid been the king of the nation and commander in chief of the military. So had many faults but David overlooks all these balls to honor him and to honor his son Jonathan sacrifice and that is what he said tell it not in Gath or proclaim it not in the streets of asco on in other words let's silence the critics Let's don't get the rumor mill going out there and that is a way of honoring the fallen is the David could have been critical of King Saul King Saul had a whole lotta issues and I understand there are those in our media who like to criticize our military they have contempt or discussed over what happened on the battlefield but Scripturally it's not our place you see we need to honor our warriors for what they've done and our nation violated this important truth when our warriors returned from Korea and from Vietnam let me stress again we aren't to glorify war but we're to honor those who have purchased our freedom and who in return have really asked for so very little Instead many silently carry with them the physical and emotional scars of war the most decorated American soldier World War 2 was Audie Murphy 22 years after his last combat experience he still slept with the lights on and a 45 next to his bed and even though this chain paean earned the Congressional Medal of Honor the post traumatic stress had left him of praying that the dark this is the kind of price many pay and it needs to be honored. You know the Vietnam War was a tragedy for many who served in it and it was absolutely devastating for our nation for those who fought 58200 people lost their lives and many were maimed for life even more tragic is that 160000 Vietnam vets have taken their own lives by the mid 1990 s. One 3rd of all the prisoners in American prisons were Vietnam vets the divorce rate among Vietnam veterans is 90 percent still today we're told $800000.00 suffer the symptoms of post-traumatic syndrome in retrospect there are many things that were wrong about the Vietnam War the what was even more wrong was the disgusting way that some Americans treated the returning soldiers and hopefully And it seems so our nation has learned our lesson on this you know being a pastor in a military town I get to see this firsthand I see families that are ripped apart when someone is returned for more I see. People suffering in such a way that they are a completely different person when they return for more than the person who left and went there it's a horrible thing there is a tremendous price that is paid and we need to show respect in on or to those who paid the price and more will respect the sacrifice and 2nd of all will to remember their valor in 2nd Samuel chapter $1.00 vs $21.00 to $23.00 David says oh mountains of the boa let there be no do and Wayne upon you nor fields of offerings for the shield of the mighty is cast away there this shield of saw not anointed with oil from the blood of the slain from the fat of the mighty. The bow of Jonathan did not turn back and the sword of Saul did not return empty Saul and Jonathan were beloved into pleasant in their lives and in their death they were not divided they were swifter than eagles they were stronger than lines we are to remember them the Mountain of the bow a here is cursed to serve as a memorial for those who have fallen as soldiers now I want you to understand that that is what war memorials are all about I've had the privilege of going to the Vietnam War Memorial in the Arlington Cemetery which is $3000.00 graves and I found both to be extremely sobering and moving experiences and we need these kind of memorials to remember the sacrifices and the valor that is secured our freedoms. David said Sellon Jonathan were swifter than eagles and they were stronger than lions he is remembering their abilities and their valor as I have read war stories as I've watched films depicting what happened in war and I've seen what some men and women have done in combat there are some men that have accomplished things that are absolutely extraordinary and their courage is certainly amazing General George Patton said this war has made the father with weapons but they are won by men and honoring the worrier were to respect their sacrifice and remember their valor were also to reflect on their contribution look at verse $24.00 David goes on to say oh daughters of Israel weep over song Who closed you in scarlet with luxury who put ornaments of gold on your apparel David in Jonathan's contribution and battle it provided Israel with fine clothing gold and luxury and in the same way our military men and women have given us the opportunity for life liberty and the pursuit of happiness father Dennis Edward O'Brien of the United States Marine Corps put it really well he wrote this It is the soldier not the reporter who's given us freedom of the press it's the soldier not the poet who's given us freedom of speech it is the soldier not the organizer who's given us the freedom to demonstrate is the soldier who salutes the flag who serves beneath the flag and whose confidence draped by the flag who allows the protester to burn the flag in honor in the Warrior were to respect their sacrifice remember their valor and reflect on their contribution. Living here in Colorado Springs with all of its military installations we have a unique opportunity and privilege to do that and this morning what I'm going to ask is that all of you that are currently serving in our military all of you men and women as well as those that are veterans among us I'm going to ask that you would stand at this time and remain standing for just a minute and I want to give these men and women an ovation today we want to lecture know that we honor you. Respect. And we honor your day. And I'd like to take just a moment to pray for these individuals so as you remain standing the rest of us are going to stretch our hand out to you and and let's pray for the. Heavenly Father we thank you for our military men and women and the way that they have protected our liberties and freedoms we pray you would demonstrate your love and mercy to them in a tangible way thank you for their selfless sacrifices their courageous valor and their individual contributions made you grant them your protection your wisdom in your peace may those now serving have the courage to move forward the patience to persist the faith to trust you and the grace to resist temptation and the authority the name of Jesus we break any curse that has been spoken over their lives. And in the words of William Temple made those who fight do so without hatred may they resist without bitterness and in the end if God grants victory may they triumphed without indictive ness and we pray today they would know we honor and appreciate them and we ask this in Jesus' name amen. Amen let's give them another ovation as. 100 points. 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This is Jim daily focus on the family when you get in touch please let us know the call letters of this great radio station this Independence Day and we're celebrating the birth of America but as we do so are you celebrating for the right reasons Here's a perspective and I wonder if you can relate to. In our generation since the sixty's we have begun to stop thinking about the greatness of America the great heroes Nathan Hale Paul Revere where we started to focus more on the anti-heroes on the villains on the shortcomings on the things we've gotten wrong as you just said it is utterly important to know those things so that we don't repeat them to understand that we have not been perfect We've done all these things wrong but if you get to a point where you're only focusing on that it's exactly the same as if you're saying I will not hear one negative thing said about my country it's America love or leave it get out both are wrong. That's a Texas a and he's an author a speaker a radio host he truly loves this country but he also recognizes that there have been mistakes in our nation over the past 240 years and you'll hear his perspective and why he loves America so much on today's focus on the family your host is focused president Jim Daly And I'm John Fuller John when you think about it we don't have a lot of heroes in the culture today we don't trust institutions we just don't trust generally people maybe some people we should trust that are doing a good thing in this country today we want to talk about that concept of heroism and what it should mean to us as believers as Christians certainly our faith is filled with those types of people that we still look up to and I'm grateful for that but I still believe after traveling to 70 countries in my international days with focus that the United States is an exceptional nation it is and I remember the 1st time I returned from a trip I really literally got down on my hands and knees and kiss that tarmac because it is we have something incredible and I wish every high school student every college student could go abroad for one year which I did I studied in Japan for a year but to come back after that experience we would so much more deeply appreciate what the founding fathers have done what this country is even with its mistakes and to explore some of these themes we have Metaxas as I said he's an author a speaker a radio host and he has written a book called If You Can Keep it the forgotten promise of American liberty and we'll have details about that book at Focus on the Family dot com slash radio Welcome back to focus on the family I love being here thanks for having me Eric we're talking about your wonderful wonderful book if you can keep it let's start where that title comes from because it was a phrase that was used as. Statement by one of the framers Yeah yeah I don't want to forget to say this I have never ever written a book where I have gotten so much positive feedback it's almost funny to me because I think it's because there haven't been books like this written recently but the feedback just like on Amazon or whatever has been own believable is a hunger for I would say a renewed healthy sense of patriotism I say healthy because it needs to have balance but anyway to give an example of what I'm talking about all answer your question the title of the book is if you can keep it if you can keep it as a famous phrase Benjamin Franklin he was exiting through Delfi is famous Independence Hall in 1787 they had just created the Constitution which really means they had just created the United States of America I mean we think of 776 but the reality is that we won the war 7083 we kind of bumbled around under the Articles of Confederation trying to be a country but we didn't really have a federal government that was very strong we didn't know if it was going to work so they had to go back to the drawing board and create our government and they said it's not working let's go back let's figure it out so all the you know important guys get together ninepence Hall the same place where they signed the Declaration of Independence and July 4th 776 and now they're there to create a constitution and when it's all over Benjamin Franklin walks out of the building and this woman Mrs Powell of Philadelphia says to him Dr Franklin What have you given us a monarchy or a republic now she wasn't joking around they had no idea what was going on inside that building for all they knew the founders of get together say you know what let's be honest this isn't working no one in the history of the world has ever had this kind of a government ever it's never worked why should we think it's going to work they might have gone in there and said we have to have some kind of a soft. Well have a good king will be like King George the 3rd it will be King George Washington will be great but we can't do what we wanted to do so when the woman said What have you given us a monarchy a republic she actually didn't know she was wondering what have you created so he says a republic madam if you can keep it and when he said if you can keep it we kind of think of Franklin as kind of jokey like he thought hey it's a republic if you can keep it you know try but he was not joking he was serious in the sense that he and all of those in the room who had created this constitution who had created this new government understood that the only way it would work the only way it would work is if the people kept the republic if the people actually govern themselves you cannot have self-government if the people don't step up that's you and me and everybody listening if the people don't step up understand what's necessary and govern themselves so when Franklin said this he was only a few years from his own death 3 years he was an older man he had no idea if 50 years 100 years in the future this government would exist so when he said this if you can keep it it was a charge to every future American if you don't keep it by definition it goes away it's not that it might go away it will go away you have a role to play you need to understand what it means to govern yourself that's what the book is about and what I basically say is that in the last 40 or so years we have forgotten what it means to live as free Americans we have forgotten what our role is and we've basically abdicated our role and unless we remember what this is and begin to do the work that we have been doing for these 40 years it goes away we are in a not in a great place let me ask you this question because when you look at world history or u.s. History I actually love history we read. A lot of history reading Jackson's biography right now very good book but you read even that and it seems like there's just chaos you think of the Civil War And will we be able to keep it that must have been frightening at the time you have the citizens watching what was happening between north and south there's been episodes in our history which have created fear that it's not going to last it's popping seems that our republic that's right so when we look at the last 40 years why is it different why should we be more concerned in these 40 years than we were the previous 100 and say well I would say that we should be more concerned than we were say of the Civil War But we should be as concerned why because anybody who thinks that our country just bumbles along and continues to exist doesn't have any clue of what America is this country is fragile our form of government is not supposed to work it's supposed to fall apart unless you have a citizenry that takes a solid active role in governing themselves now how does that happen 1st of all you have to teach people what does it mean to govern yourself you have to teach people what does it mean to be an American for 200 years we were doing that we were teaching young people and we ourselves older people knew what does it mean to be an American how are we different from other countries what is wonderful about what we have and why is it worth a great effort to keep it and by the way we're not keeping it just for ourselves we're keeping it for the whole world because we actually want the whole world to both of these ideas to steal these ideas to live out the liberty that we have to have the freedom we have religious freedom and economic freedom and opportunity all of this stuff was not given to us by God just for us it was given to us to be really a shining beacon to the whole world that's where you get this image of the Statue of Liberty we exist for others it's a fundamentally Christian idea the shining city on a hill that if we shine the light of liberty which is very connected to Christian faith and to virtue. The whole world will say hey I want to piece of that can I be like that and so this is something that we have basically stopped teaching in schools for 40 years you don't get these messages on t.v. On the t.v. Programs you don't get these messages in films we have adopted since the sixty's a kind of anti American narrative or ROIC narrative if you hear about George Washington instead of hearing about the infinity of heroic things he did here all he was a slave owner we have done a profound disservice to this generation and even to our generation us growing up in the seventy's or whatever that we have not taught these things if you have a couple of generations that doesn't understand this stuff and that is not living it out that is I'm not being hyperbolic that is the end of America and we have not been doing this and we need to get there a busy Well I appreciate that we're celebrating 4th of July in the creation of our country there was a personality you really highlighted in your book and that's Nathan Hale most people won't even know who Nathan Hale is who was the and what was he doing and how did he contribute to the nation Well I want to say this that one of the reasons I wrote the book is to explain all this stuff but also to put the stories in the book that I think are the seminal stories that if you read this stuff you'll get a sense of the heroism there's much more than is in the book but these are the basic stories that 100 years ago every single American what do these stories I would even say 50 years ago every American knew these stories Nathan Hale Paul Revere George Washington why with a great what did they do if we don't know these stories we can't really be Americans I mean let's put it this way America is an experiment in ordered liberty America is an idea when an ethnic group there's no such thing as an ethnic group we are from my parents or from Greece and Germany and people are from Mexico and China and from all around the world and they. Become Americans My parents are as American as George Washington because they bought into an idea to become an American is to buy into an idea so if people don't know what those ideas are we now become America in name only we become Americans in quotes and the whole thing goes away so I said one of the most important things is to know your stories to know the history and the Horowitz stories of people like Nathan Hale because these stories inspire you every nation and every culture has heroes and you say you know as Greeks celebrate every year their own independence day they celebrate these heroes they're not ashamed they don't say oh Greece has its faults whatever they say of course we are false but let's celebrate our heroes in America Nathan Hale stands as one of the great heroes of the revolution he was 1st of all profound Christian he went to Yale University he graduated in 1774 I think it was in the early seventies his dorm is still there today you can see it this young man decided to enroll as a Christian and as an American patriot he wanted to fight for his country and then George Washington needed some spies because the British their intelligence efforts you know were really beyond our own we needed some Americans willing to go behind enemy lines and to do the brave work of being a spy Nathan Hale volunteered he was eventually caught by the British and hanged he was 21 years old he was hanged about. 3 quarters of a mile from where we're sitting in an orchard on the East Side of Manhattan it was an orchard it was a farm he was hanged he was 21 years old the people who hanged him were moved by his character they knew that this is an uncommon man and when he was hanged he said My only regret is that I have but one life to give for my country he was paraphrasing something from one of the I think the Romans had said I forget who it was but this was what he said when he was being hanged 21 years old my only regret is that I have one life to give for my country this man's death was celebrated among all of the the the revolutionary soldiers they said this is our hero we are going to fight for him he was 21 he was young he was Christian and he was a great man and so his name was they wrote a couple of ballads about him and over the decades and the centuries we've celebrated Nathan Hale So you said he's a great man but he was executed at 21 so there's a contradiction there in perspective for in what he did well it's his willingness to say I'm willing to die for my country and when I say he's a great man I mean this was not a man who ran away from danger or who ran away from any trouble he basically said what can I do for my nation young people need to be inspired that to give yourself for your country is a noble thing we've all we hear about as examples of how it was killed in a war that didn't mean anything or whatever that's not right it doesn't mean we shouldn't mention those examples but if you only mention those examples you do a profound disservice because thousands and even millions of people have died for Noble Causes and if we don't tell people is such a thing as a noble cause that nothing matters look out for yourself you're creating a general. Ration and a whole world of selfish people who by the way will implode we cannot be a great nation or a great world we cannot have peace unless we aspire to these noble ideas and so one of the great stories from our own history is this young man named Nathan Hill Well thanks for leveraging on that our guest today on focus on the family with Jim Daly is Eric Metaxas and you can find out more about Eric's book if you can keep it at our website focus on the Family dot com slash radio Eric you mentioned the last 40 years these stories have not been shared generally prior to that most of us I'm 55 in the early days of school I got a lot of the history and understood her George Washington was I don't think we caught Nathan Hale which is what unfortunate but that was the beginning of that history where you and I can actually on the tail end we're right on the cusp of getting some of but not all well right and some people in different parts of the country in the south they were much better about this but generally speaking the sixty's changed the heroism of people people weren't talking about heroes they start talking about anti heroes they start celebrating the dark side they start talking about the negative narrative of what we did to the indigenous populations of the Americas they talk about slavery by the way it's important to talk about that stuff but if that's the only stuff you talk about you do a profound disservice to history because we as a nation abolished slavery we repented of our sins of racism we abolished Jim Crow laws most of that by the way came out of people of serious Christian faith which is another very important part of the American story and a part of my book if you can keep it is that all of the founders every single one of them even Benjamin Franklin Thomas Jefferson understood that without virtue and robust faith America cannot exist America cannot function that has not been taught in schools for over 40 years we took prayer out of the public schools we need to understand that what we have our form of self-government real liberty cannot exist without a people of virtue and most of. That comes out of faith all of the founders got that but you know our generation we have completely forgotten as we don't teach it and by the way because it's true even if you don't like it we ought to be teaching this in the schools public schools and there are some people that are beginning to talk in that way secular snow and that are saying these things that it would be very positive for us to do that but I want to get to the divide that was the 2nd half of the question and we do have this great divide in the culture today yeah where it is only the dark side it's only the negative the embarrassment of it very little about the positive than you have those are very positive who want to sometimes negate the negative Yeah and not address it oh you look right but the bigger question is how do we begin to pull this back together for that our republic can survive I Ok 1st of all in the book I talk about how I believe we are obliged to love our country now as Christians how do we define love that's the other thing love doesn't mean I agree with everything but if I have a son or a daughter who is not behaving the way I like what does it mean to love that child do I just say hey keep on doing bad stuff no but do I want to curse this kid and saying you'll never amount to anything you're a bum you've always been this way you're just like your mother or you're just like your father that's to curse rather than to love that's to judge and through judgment to curse and so to love is to call someone higher so to love your country doesn't mean to agree with all the bad stuff but it means to praise it for the good stuff when you praise a kid for what he does well or what she does well you're calling them higher and you're saying that at the bottom of everything I love you I want you to be better I think that in this country something happened around the forty's this narrative took hold that I'm always going to be you know kind of nagging negative I'm going to focus on that I'm never going to praise because I praise it means I agree with all the bad stuff I agree with Vietnam and I agree with every bad thing no no no we have to have a healthy view of what is. I mean to love your country and if we do not love our country we killer country just like a kid if you refuse to praise a kid you're so mad at that kid that you will never praise Him you will never look at him you will never say you did a good thing because I don't want you to ever forget all the bad stuff you did if you do that we know that that cripples the soul of that kid I would argue that we have done that at the larger culture has done that to this nation that if you do not celebrate what is good and beautiful true in America 1st of all you're telling a lie because those things happened and they need to be celebrated but secondly you're limiting America you're basically destroying America even though you claim you're not you're destroying it and I think that that is what is happening that the voices in the culture that want to focus on how everybody is racist and we haven't dealt with this and we haven't dealt with this we have always had problems but I would say to our credit as a nation we have always tried to get it right and when you start saying this is not good enough it's not good enough it really is like telling a kid you'll never be good enough you'll never be good enough you crush that kid in one kid eventually says well you know what I'm not going to even try anymore I really think that there's a lot to celebrate in America and by the way if you don't teach kids what is great about this country they really can't even know who we are as a people we have done great things in the world and I would argue as they said earlier that the greatest thing about America is that we have been a nation for others it's a Christian idea to Bonhoeffer's a Jesus is the man for others we want to help the whole world we have been generous in all kinds of ways with blood and treasure but even with trying to export our ideas of liberty to say this is our idea we love to bring economic freedom and religious freedom all around the world but if we're not taking care of it keeping it you know here then we don't have any to give away but I really sure it's important you know one of the tough questions Erick and I've talked with African-American. Leaders in this country about this you know when you look at the founding fathers they didn't deal with slavery at that moment and there's a deep wound in that community that they didn't yeah Radek and that is a very real Absolutely I would suggest interesting way enough and you know somebody will jump on that and say Well that was culturally acceptable it was the economic engine all those things to try to justify it but I would also suggest that they at least created the framework that over time and that that's hard but it would be remedied do you think they understood that the Constitution would eventually some of them varied and some of them definitely did and some of them didn't I mean again this is one of these things that it's so complicated you can talk on one side of it or on the other side of it I think you have to talk on both sides that sin is sin I mean slavery is sin but when you look at it historically the entire world was filled with slavery until the 1900 century I mean Wilberforce abolished it in 833 in Great Britain it's not like America was the only place in the world with this is existed all over the world and 1900 centuries humanity finally battles for this so it's very easy to say oh George Washington is a hypocrite and Jefferson is a hypocrite whatever well by the way you're a hypocrite and I'm a hypocrite if you're a Christian you understand you're not perfect you get stuff wrong so it's easy for us to point the finger is the fact of the matter is that they did as you just said create a framework whereby we went to war and a half a 1000000 people bled to death to defeat slavery I mean God would prefer that we didn't have to go that route but we did I mean these are things sins that needed to be repented of but if we can't ever celebrate that I mean isn't there a time when you say Praise Jesus we abolished slavery it's not like a foreign power. Aim in and force us to abolish slavery we of our own accord bollixed slavery we abolished Jim Crow laws in America if you can't celebrate that something's wrong with you you have to be able to celebrate the good stuff if you want the right to criticize the bad stuff yeah as if your parents were Greek immigrants into this country Kamal Green My dad came from Greece and my mom came from Germany and today they are Americans and in that process you were born here raised in New York 911 happens had to be a profound moment for you for your family what does it mean now to be attacked in that way what were your thoughts on that day I actually write about that in the book because it was as a result of 911 that I fell in love with my country I realized that I didn't really love America because I was and I went to Yale and that whole world of academia it's kind of a liberal culture it really teaches you that patriotism is something for you know Hicks it's something for the past when we were more mature and sophisticated and we don't go around America is great and I think we carried that way way way too far and I remember and again I write about this in my book if you can keep that but there was some months after the attack it was a very weird time in New York very somber time and I was on a speed ferry going to New Jersey with my wife and our 2 year old at the time to visit our in-laws and we passed the Statue of Liberty and it was a glorious day and I looked at the Statue of Liberty and I suddenly got choked up. And for the 1st time in my life I got choked up about my country and about the liberty and I thought to myself Look at that statue facing outward welcoming the people that spat on our face welcoming the whole world to come to our shores as we can let them in as we can afford to assimilate them we look outward and we say Give me your tired your poor when people say we're a nation of immigrants that's the whole point is that we've always been outward focused and we've always said. No matter what we're not here for ourselves but after this attack on 911 to see the statue still standing you know like very close to where the attack happened holding this a just got to me I just got choked up and it made me think that I have not loved my country and I have not presented what this country is and I thought about my parents passing the Statue of Liberty I write about that in the book too that they when they were in their twenty's my dad on a ship my mom on another ship they saw this statue and they didn't go off as a nice idea what a bunch of hypocrites no no no they said. Thank god I get to come to America I get to have an opportunity I get to raise my children as Americans and to have sons and grandchildren that will be Americans and that will live the American dream I get to do that I my parents passed that on to me and I think sometimes if you live in America it's easy for us to take it for granted but at 911 it just it hit me and that's a powerful and that's the way I think that kind of an event as dark and as evil as that was that is the silver lining that comes from that to everybody was what are we have and for a lot of people it's been great to have you with us once again thank you for the biographies that you have written in the ones that you're writing it's just it is a real encouragement for all of us so thanks for the labor of love that you go through with each of those books and thank you for being with us it is truly my privilege thank you and as you've heard today you'll be able to read some biographies Nathan Hale included in Eric's book if you can keep it the forgotten promise of American liberty it's available for you at Focus on the Family dot com slash radio now while you're there be sure to look for a special treat for your family it's a free download of our adventures in Odyssey radio program this is something you can do practically as a family listen to the day independents came which features the stories of Nathan Hale and Paul Revere. Here that's a good episode it is yeah and you'll get that again it's a free download and Eric spoke and other resources and focus on the Family dot com slash radio John let me also encourage people get the resource to focus on the family when you buy that resource or for profit company online it just helps them you know profit the dollars that come into focus when you buy resource helps to save a marriage save a baby's life I hope you'd be encouraged by that and you when you purchase a resource all of the dollars that come in above the cost of the resource go right back into ministry so I I would hope that you would do that I don't might be easier just one click that thing you've set up for the discount and all but I challenge you to think about supporting ministry and letting your dollars work for the Lord and that's a great reminder Jim and we do have exclusives like that free download of the adventures and I was the drama and and other programs with Eric as well all and focus on the Family dot com slash radio long behalf of Jim Daly in the entire team here thanks for listening I'm John Fuller inviting you back next time as we once again help you and your family through. A pretty fair focus on the family and.