One of the last acts of the previous administration was the creation of the 1776 Commission, an historic look back at the founding of America including the ideals that the courageous men included in the Declaration and the Constitution. You can read the 1776 Commission here. And I highly recommend you do.

For those that like history and for those that like to know ‘why’ America was founded and what has changed since then, this is actually a really great review. From the beginning of America, the founders wanted a place of religious freedom and self government. They wanted a place where we acknowledge that ALL men and women are created equal and thus treated equal. This is from God not from government. The Declaration and the following Constitution are unlike any other document or governing system in history because they are based on this fact and not based on blood lines or caste system or ruling class.

Sadly, the incoming administration removed this history on the very first day. Why? I can’t say for sure, but it makes me sad that history and truth are so terrifying to some. I always believe that MORE truth covers over lies, not less truth. If you are in the business of removing the words and thoughts that you don’t like, then you are in a dangerous place of possibly missing the real truth. Instead, we should be interested in keeping a platform for more truth in the knowledge that, in time, the truth will rise to the top and the lies will be found out.

I have saved a copy of this document so that I can read it and share it. Not because I don’t have other history books with the information in them, but because this is a somewhat brief compilation of both history and current culture. It is important to live in both worlds. We cannot and must not live only in the past but we also cannot and must not forget where we have come from. There are those that believe the past was much worse than the present and we are much better now. For the believer in Christ we know that the past had its struggles because it was full of broken people, but we are also broken people and we can learn from the mistakes and celebrate the victories in an ever present struggle to be better today than we were yesterday. That should be both our personal goal and the goal of the society we exist in and influence.

So remember, the founders were not perfect, and neither are you. We can learn from them and grow in our own character and from there we can go out into the world and make a difference if we don’t give up.