MM#140--Happy Independence Day 🇺🇸

Welcome to the theory to action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time to help you take action immediately, and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now, here's your host, David Kaiser.


Hello, I am David and Happy Independence Day. America, today is America's birthday July 4. And so we wish her a very, very happy birthday at age 246. She is Aging Gracefully. When measured against countries in some of the greatest empires in the world, she is still very, very young. Yet, if we do the math, we measure her years since the true founding of the country on July 4 1776, don't let others tell you differently. That's when the United States declared her independence from Great Britain. And there was a famous document called the Declaration of Independence, we ask, perhaps, if you could read that today, I try and read it every year. And I have already read it this year. It makes for great reading because it gives you a sense of your country's history of our American history. 

We here at the Mojo Academy still believe America's best days are in front of her. Yes, we know the radicals have taken over the levers of power pretty much everywhere throughout the national government and in some states. But we hold on to that eternal hope that the founders of our exceptional, exceptional country that realized in creating this great country, when you create power among the three branches of government, here's the real key. They took that almighty power. And then they diffused it and spread that power among those three branches in even more to the states. So no one branch of government could ultimately take over and grab all the power. Because that is what human nature does, doesn't it? 

Human nature will lust for power, especially when it gets close to it. Human beings have always wanted to roll other human beings since the dawn of time. It's in the DNA of most Americans of most humans to lust after that power. Now the why is this folks about us around us talk about that. To help understand that lust for power is a counterfeit, it will not satisfy any human being. Smart people understand that and philosophy books have centered their teachings around that yet still human beings. Still grab and still lust with rabid intensity after that power. You watch whole families get into the political system only to enrich themselves. And it's it shameful, but it's somewhat understandable, because we watch it happen everywhere around the world. So America is not immune from fallen men trying to Governor. And the best and most humble way to help America to not fall from the representative Republic we are right now to a dictatorship is actually quite easy. Study, study, study, learn the country's documents, learn her history. Learn how great a country you are living in. And if you're an American citizen, you should treasure that don't take that for granted. It is a grace to live in the United States of America. It's a grace to be a US citizen. And surely, it's a grace from God. 

But it is also a physical grace because if you're lucky enough to live in and be an American citizen, you should want to learn her documents in her history. That's part of the assimilation process. So to do that, we're going to help us help you and I help us to study those documents. And right now we're going to turn to a relatively unknown fragment in our American history. But first let us set the stage. The time was January of 1861. Abraham Lincoln had been elected 16th President of the United States in November. of 1860 he was preparing for his first inaugural address, which was to be given in March of 1861. Remember at that time, presidents took the oath of office for the President see, in March, not in January like we're accustomed to now.

That change happened with the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. And FDR, I believe FDR in 1937, was the first president sworn into office in January. And getting back to this fragment, because that literally is what it is a fragment. According to the collected works of Abraham Lincoln, volume four historians, quote, believe this fragment may have been written earlier than January of 1861. And the only clue is the context as to a date in Lincoln's allusion to a metaphor in Proverbs 2511, which Alexander Stevens had used in a letter to Lincoln on December 30 1860, unquote. So proverbs 2511 says, from the King James translation, a translation that Lincoln would have had easy access to easy access to during this period in the country. Proverbs 2511 tells us, quote, a word, fit the spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Unquote. So let's reflect on Lincoln's meditation on those words and his application of that reflection to our founding document. In fact, our founding documents will have to include the Constitution as well. Now, a little side note here, if you want some more goodness, be sure to check out our membership community, which just launched earlier today, you will get a free, full audio Academy Review of Lincoln on the verge by Ted Widmer, it's fantastic book covers the 13 day train trip, Abraham Lincoln took to get to Washington, DC to assume the presidency. It's a riveting account of that journey. At every turn, Lincoln was challenged again, check out the membership page, in the top right of Team Mojo academy.com. For more of those those details, we think you're gonna love it. And let's go to our book of the day for this Mojo minute. 

Again, our book of the day is Abraham Lincoln, the fragment of the Constitution and the union, January 1861, from the collected works of Abraham Lincoln, volume four, quote, all this is not the result of accident. It has a philosophical cause. Without the Constitution and the Union, we could not have attained the result. But even these are not the primary cause of our great prosperity. There is something back of these and twining itself more closely about the human heart. That's something is the Principle of Liberty to all. The principle that clears the path for all gives hope to all. And by consequence, enterprise and industry to all the expression of that principle is in our Declaration of Independence, was most happy and fortunate. Without this, as well as with it. We could have declared our independence of Great Britain. But without it we could not, I think have secured our free government and consequent prosperity. No oppressed people will fight and endure as our fathers did without the promise of something better than the mere change of masters. The assertion of the of that principle, at that time, was the word fitly. Spoken, which had proved an apple of gold to us. The Union and the Constitution are not are the picture of silver subsequently framed around it. The picture was made not to conceal or destroy the apple but to adore, adorn and preserve it. The picture was made for the Apple, not the apple for the picture. So let us act that neither picture nor Apple shall ever be blurred or bruised. We just were broken, that we may so act, we must study and understand the points of danger
and end of quote, 

So we must act and study to understand the points of danger says Abraham Lincoln said that in January of 1861, we believe so in today's Mojo minute as we celebrate our country's birthday, Let us wish her a glorious, wonderful, happy birthday and then Lincoln's words, let us also act to quote, study and understand the points of danger so that our founding documents will never be blurred, or bruised, or broken. Unquote. Amen. Happy Birthday America. May God continue to shed His grace on thee.

Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this theory to action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at T Mojo academy.com where we have everything we discussed in this podcast as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on