Happy 4th of July!

I ran across this prayer for George Washington's army, written by Abiel Leonard, A.M., Chaplain to General Putnam's Regiment in 1775. Give thanks for our men and women in arms as you read it (Calling Michael Steele):

O my God, in obedience to the call of thy providence, I have engaged myself, and plighted my faith, to jeopardy my life in the high places of the field in the defense of my dear country and the liberties of it acknowledging thy people to be my people, their interest my interest, and their God to be my God. … And I desire now to make solemn dedication of myself to thee in it through Jesus Christ presenting myself to thy Divine Majesty to be disposed of by thee to thy glory and the good of America. O do thou, I most fervently entreat, wash away mine iniquities, blot them out of thy remembrance, purify and cleanse my soul in the blood of the great Captain of my salvation—accept of—own and bless me!

Teach, I pray thee, my hands to war, and my fingers to fight in the defense of America, and the rights and liberties of it! Impress upon my mind a true sense of my duty, and the obligation I am under to my country! … but may I live to do further service to my country—to the church and the people of God, and interest of Jesus Christ, and see peace and tranquility restored to this land…

Hear me, O my God, and accept of those my petitions through Jesus Christ, to whom with thee, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, be glory, honor and praise, forever and ever. AMEN.

Hat tip: Human Events

Happy Thanksgiving

Abe Lincoln gets the credit for Thanksgiving, especially in the Era of the Obama Team of Rivals Transition. I prefer to go back to the real source for the holiday: George Washington.

If this post resembles last year's Thanksgiving post, so does my dinner menu. Some things are timeless, including the words of the Father of Our Country and pumpkin pie. Drive safely and try not to fight too much with the relatives.

Political correctness has undercut the meaning of Thanksgiving for some small children and historically-challenged adults. As a result, there is some confusion about to whom the Pilgrims gave thanks that First Thanksgiving.

Though the Pilgrims invited the Indians (or Native Americans, if you prefer) to their feast, in gratitude for the Indians' kindness, the point of the feast was to worship and thank the Lord -- not the Indians.

George Washington understood that distinction and amplified it in his Thanksgiving Proclamation of 1789. Our first president reminded us that "it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor."

America's exceptionalism is a direct blessing that flows from the faith of Washington and many of our other Founders.

In addition to gutting the reason for our most sacred holidays, political correctness also teaches us that we should dismiss the Founding Fathers as a bunch of "dead white guys." And any time a public official refers to the Lord, we are warned that the "religious right" stands ready to impose a theocracy.Washington's Proclamation reminds us, however, that we are a country founded upon Judeo-Christian values. The Pilgrims sought freedom of religion -- not freedom from religion.

Our first president's directive speaks to us as forcefully today as it did to our new country in 1789: we are to give thanks to the "great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be."