Posted by Tina
Garry Senise took a few moments during the Grammy awards to honor the men and women serving in our military. He’s been a humble steadfast supporter who’s not only taken time to entertain the troops but also has founded the Gary Senise Foundation:
At the Gary Sinise Foundation, we serve our nation by honoring our defenders, veterans, first responders, their families, and those in need.
We do this by creating and supporting unique programs designed to entertain, educate, inspire, strengthen, and build communities.
Please visit the website to discover the wonderful work done by this organization. Senise donates all of the proceeds from the Lt. Dan Band to serve the troops. Please consider donating to support the work being done by The Senise Foundation on behalf of our great military and first responders.
Had the opportunity to attend LDW4 – The Lt. Dan Weekend – in Charleston, SC. Sinese is a consummate gentleman and does stellar work for our Vets.
And if you ever get the opportunity to hear The Lt. Dan Band in person, don’t miss it!
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Sorry, off topic but had to share.
Wow, look what I found from our own gov’t site in the Library of Congress. Scroll down in the link to see the original documents.
Religion and the Founding of the American Republic
“This exhibition demonstrates that many of the colonies that in 1776 became the United States of America were settled by men and women of deep religious convictions who in the seventeenth century crossed the Atlantic Ocean to practice their faith freely. That the religious intensity of the original settlers would diminish to some extent over time was perhaps to be expected, but new waves of eighteenth century immigrants brought their own religious fervor across the Atlantic and the nation’s first major religious revival in the middle of the eighteenth century injected new vigor into American religion. The result was that a religious people rose in rebellion against Great Britain in 1776, and that most American statesmen, when they began to form new governments at the state and national levels, shared the convictions of most of their constituents that religion was, to quote Alexis de Tocqueville’s observation, indispensable to the maintenance of republican institutions. The efforts of the Founders of the American nation to define the role of religious faith in public life and the degree to which it could be supported by public officials that was not inconsistent with the revolutionary imperatives of the equality and freedom of all citizens is the central question which this exhibition explores.”
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/
Religion and the Congress of the Confederation:
“The Continental-Confederation Congress, a legislative body that governed the United States from 1774 to 1789, contained an extraordinary number of deeply religious men. The amount of energy that Congress invested in encouraging the practice of religion in the new nation exceeded that expended by any subsequent American national government. Although the Articles of Confederation did not officially authorize Congress to concern itself with religion, the citizenry did not object to such activities. This lack of objection suggests that both the legislators and the public considered it appropriate for the national government to promote a nondenominational, nonpolemical Christianity.
Congress appointed chaplains for itself and the armed forces, sponsored the publication of a Bible, imposed Christian morality on the armed forces, and granted public lands to promote Christianity among the Indians. National days of thanksgiving and of “humiliation, fasting, and prayer” were proclaimed by Congress at least twice a year throughout the war. Congress was guided by “covenant theology,” a Reformation doctrine especially dear to New England Puritans, which held that God bound himself in an agreement with a nation and its people. This agreement stipulated that they “should be prosperous or afflicted, according as their general Obedience or Disobedience thereto appears.” Wars and revolutions were, accordingly, considered afflictions, as divine punishments for sin, from which a nation could rescue itself by repentance and reformation.
The first national government of the United States, was convinced that the “public prosperity” of a society depended on the vitality of its religion. Nothing less than a “spirit of universal reformation among all ranks and degrees of our citizens,” Congress declared to the American people, would “make us a holy, that so we may be a happy people.”
https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/religion/rel04.html
The Library of Congress Home Page:
https://www.loc.gov/
Thanks for sharing Peggy. Anyone with an open mind understands and recognizes the religious underpinnings of the founders as essential to the government that was formed. The notions of individual responsibility and freedom work only when the people adhere to the strong moral values that can be found in the Bible (and commandments). Having escaped the tyranny of the crown, both in terms of religion and as citizens bound by class structures, they longed for a form of government that would guarantee its citizens the space to follow their dreams and reach their goals.
I wish the young people would have an opportunity to learn more about the founding so they could appreciate the amazing document and it’s value in their personal lives. It isn’t being taught adequately anymore.
I spent all morning on the Library of Congress site this morning writing a response to Chris and had to stop or I would have gotten nothing else done today. It’s an amazing site with every click a whole new world of information opens up. And with the inclusion of the original documents it’s truthfulness can’t be disputed. You can actually see the Founders writings. Amazing.
It’s not as good of course as actually being at the library, but it sure comes close and with the added bonus of going there from the comfort of my own home on the other side of the US.