We're reminded today of those who fought and died that Anglo-American liberties might survive and thrive. We also remember that the rights they defended are not universal human rights, but rights developed, granted, and won over centuries in Anglo-American culture, out of tribal custom, documents like Magna Carta, and English Common Law. Patrick Buchanan writes in opposition to the idea that we are a propositional or creedal nation:
"To traditional conservatives, this 'creedal nation' exists in the minds of men of words. It is an intellectual construct, to which men can render neither love nor loyalty. For two centuries, men have died for America. Who would lay down his life for the UN, the EU, or a 'North American Union'?
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, college students stood beside sharecropper sons to enlist. These men were not volunteering to defend abstract ideas. For democracy was not attacked. Equality was not attacked. America was attacked. Many had likely never read Jefferson, Hamilton, or Madison, and some would die never having read them. They were patriots united by nationality. They were Americans, and they fought, bled, and died as Americans, no matter what they believed."
The full essay is called Nation or Notion?
Today you should read or listen to the Declaration of Independence, if you have not done so already this week. You should remember that we are a nation not of abstract ideals, but of blood and culture, accepting of all people who love liberty, but based on Anglo-American traditions and customs and nationality.
May God bless these United States of America.
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