Words From Our Founders: George Mason

Words From Our Founders, , ,

Today we continue our Words From Our Founders series examining the Founding Fathers’ own words on religion, religious liberty, and virtue.

On June 12, 1776, just a few weeks before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Fifth Virginia Convention unanimously ratified the Virginia Declaration of Rights. The chief author of the declaration was George Mason. Below are the final two enumerations of the declaration — pertaining to morality and religious liberty — as written by George Mason and edited by the Convention. In addition to the Virginia Declaration of Rights, Mason’s work was influential in the adoption of the U.S. Bill of Rights.

Made by the Representatives of the good People of Virginia, assembled in full and free Convention, which rights to pertain to them and their posterity as the basis and foundation of government. …

XV. That no free government, or the blessing of liberty, can be preserved to any people, but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality and virtue, and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles.

XVI. That religion, or the duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it, can be directed only by reason and conviction, not by force or violence; and therefore all men are equally entitled to the free exercise of religion, according to the dictates of conscience; and that it is the duty of all to practice Christian forbearance, love and charity towards each other.

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Veterans Administration Turned Away Christmas Cards, Censored Choir

Christmas,

Christmas may be over, but, as we’ve already reported once this year, the War on Christmas isn’t.

Last December, Kelly Shackelford, President and CEO of Liberty Institute in Texas, wrote an opinion-editorial titled, “Yes, Virginia, there really is a war on Christmas.”

In it Shackelford outlined examples of attempts to censor Christmas celebrations around the country. Most of this censorship involves removing the religious elements from Christmas.

Now Todd Starnes and the American Family Association are reporting some disturbing news related to the Veterans Administration. According to Starnes, last month the VA

  • Censored a school choir who came to sing at the VA hospital in Augusta, Georgia, because their Christmas songs included the words “Christmas” and “Jesus;”
  • Told American Legion volunteers they could not hand out gifts to veterans if the wrapping paper included the words “Merry Christmas;”
  • Turned away at least one Alabama woman distributing Christmas gifts to veterans because the wrapping paper she used included the words “Merry Christmas;” and
  • Rejected handwritten Christmas cards from Dallas schoolchildren because the cards contained phrases like “Merry Christmas” and “God Bless You.”

This situation is just bizarre. As we have written over and over again, Christmas is a federal holiday; our state and federal governments recognize it; our courts have ruled time and again there is nothing wrong with that.

With that in mind, why turn away schoolchildren who want to honor our veterans with Christmas songs or cards? Why reject Christmas gifts? It simply does not make sense.

Read more from AFA here.

Read Starnes’ column here.

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Those Troubling New Year’s Resolutions

Just for Fun

Most people make them.  Few people keep them.  Whether kept or not, those New Yea’rs resolutions are, well, troubling.

Lose weight!  Get organized!  Save money!  Eat healthy!  Will someone please tell me why resolutions have to be so unpleasant!  So troubling!  Even happy ones like having more fun, getting more rest, and spending more time with friends still seem like another item tacked onto our growing to-do lists.

A few years ago someone wrote a book about “margin.”  The author argued most Americans book their lives at 120% of what they have time for. Instead, he proposed that we operate at 80% and have time and energy to spare. Not a bad idea!  In fact, maybe, I’ll make that my New Year’s resolution for 2014.  On second thought, figuring out how to do 40% less and still get everything done might be more trouble that it’s worth.

I suppose that brings me back to my point: New Year’s resolutions really are troubling.

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