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July 4, 2021
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Good evening! My Evening Edition for today contains the following:

    • Daily Bible Verse
    • Celebrate Our Exceptional Nation, But Remember Them First
    • Time To Reflect On What Independence Day Really Means
    • The Story Of Sybil Ludington

Sincerely,

Mike Huckabee

DAILY BIBLE VERSE

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Matthew 28:19

 


Celebrate Our Exceptional Nation, But Remember Them First

By Mike Huckabee

On the Fourth of July, we celebrate having this exceptional nation and the freedoms it gives us, but we must always remember that we have those things because of all the soldiers who put their lives on the line to secure them for us, from Revolutionary times forward. There’s a story I love to tell that illustrates that for young people.

When I was Governor of Arkansas, I got to know an outstanding high school teacher in Little Rock named Martha Cothren. She was one of my original Huck’s Heroines, and I was always telling her it was my goal to make her one of the most famous teachers in America, because she’d be such a great example to all teachers. Here’s just one reason why.

Martha became concerned that many of her kids didn’t fully appreciate their precious American freedoms. So she prepared an unusual lesson for them. On the first day of school, the kids shuffled back into class only to discover that it was completely empty. Not a desk in sight. So they asked, “Miss Cothren, where are the desks?” She replied, “You don’t get your desk until you can tell me how you earn it.”

The kids were stunned, but they started trying to guess how they earned their desks. By getting good grades? No, that’s not the answer. By behaving in class? No, that’s not it. The first period ended with the kids leaning against the walls or sitting on the floor, but they never had figured out how they earn their desks.

Well, in trooped the second period class. They were greeted with the same empty room and the same question they couldn’t answer. This went on all day, and by lunchtime, word was circulating all over school that Miss Cothren had gone crazy.

Finally, during the last class of the day, she told the students, “Okay, nobody’s figured out how you earn your desks, so I’ll tell you.” She opened the door, and in walked 27 military veterans, each one carrying a desk. As they quietly placed them in neat rows, Martha said, “Kids, you don’t have to earn your desks because these guys earned them for you.” She said you get free desks, free books and a free education, but it wasn’t free to these veterans…or to their friends who never came home from the wars they fought to give us all that freedom. She said, “Whenever you sit in that desk, try to remember who earned it for you.”

After that lesson, Martha was approached by one of those veterans, a news photographer, with tears in his eyes. He told her that when he returned from Vietnam, he was cursed and spat on, and made to feel ashamed of his service. He said, “Today is the first day since I’ve been home that I felt like someone appreciated what I did.”

Unfortunately, there can’t be a Martha Cothren in every school. I certainly wish I could replace every America-hating “history” professor in every university with a clone of her. But other teachers and parents can make sure their kids know who earned their desks for them. And we can all make it a point to say “thank you” to current and former members of the U.S. military. Seems to me, the 4th of July would be a great time to start.


Time To Reflect On What Independence Day Really Means

By Mike Huckabee

I hope you’re having a great 4th of July weekend, but between the celebratory fireworks on one hand and the anti-American political fireworks on the other, let’s take just a moment to reflect on what Independence Day really means and how it led to the freedoms and blessings that far too many Americans fail to appreciate these days.

Most historians (not New York Times writers, but real historians) mark the beginning of America as the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. But in truth, there was still a long road to travel before America as we know it came to be. First, of course, there was the matter of fighting a bloody revolution against Great Britain, one where victory was an overwhelming longshot, and win or lose, the leaders risked their lives, honor and fortunes. Victory was followed by more heated battles over what kind of government we would have.

Our Forefathers finally agreed to a blueprint, the Constitution, that wasn’t even introduced until 1789 – over 13 years later. Today, many Americans take those hard-won freedoms very lightly and seem eager to trade them away for false promises of security. Many can’t even name the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Maybe they’d cherish them more if they knew how close they came to not having them at all.

Did you know that the Constitution very nearly got passed without the Bill of Rights? Even some of the wisest of our forefathers thought a Bill of Rights was a dangerous idea. Alexander Hamilton argued that it was risky to list the rights the government couldn’t take away because then, politicians might try to grab any and every power that wasn’t specifically prohibited to them (apparently, the ability to rap wasn’t the only way Hamilton predicted the 21st century). He and many others also felt that a Bill of Rights was unnecessary: since nobody was surrendering their God-given rights by agreeing to the Constitution, there was no need to list them, right? Hamilton wrote, “Why declare that things shall not be done which there is no power to do?”

It’s ironic that Hamilton made that argument. Later on, as the first Treasury Secretary, he cited powers that the Constitution merely implied that the government had in order to take on debt, create a federal bank and impose unpopular taxes. Over a century later, when the federal income tax was passed, some lawmakers wanted to include a 10% limit, but they were voted down. Opponents scoffed that it was absurd to think the government would ever steal as much as 10% of an American’s hard-earned wages. Flash forward just 30 years, and they were happily taxing away 94%. So just imagine how few freedoms we’d have today if they’d listened to Hamilton and decided it wasn’t necessary to put specific limits on government power.

Luckily for us all, Thomas Jefferson won the argument, and the Bill of Rights was added. They even included the 9th amendment, which I’ll bet most people can’t even describe. Here’s what it says:

“The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”

It means that just because some God-given rights aren’t specifically listed, that doesn’t mean the people cede them to the government. Maybe because so many of the framers were also farmers, they understood that like weeds, government tends to grow and grow, choking out the productive crops -- and like a bull, it will trample you if you don’t corral it. (Also, it produces the same thing a bull does.)

So if we want to preserve our freedoms, and keep government limited, maybe we should send more farmers to Washington -- and fewer lawyers.


The Story Of Sybil Ludington

By Mike Huckabee

I’ve been astounded recently by the way the left has been so successful at using the phrase “hate speech” and the fear of school shootings to convince young people to demand that their own First and Second Amendment rights be taken away.

Somehow, they have managed to bamboozle a large slice of the young generation into simultaneously believing that they are wise and mature enough to start voting and even writing laws at 16; yet they are so childish and irresponsible, they can’t be trusted to touch a firearm until they’re 21, or to hear an opposing opinion without rushing to a safe space to cuddle a puppy and schmoosh Play-Doh.

When young people don’t know their rights, where those rights came from, and how much was sacrificed to secure them, it’s easy to convince them to trade them away for empty promises of comfort and security. This is the basis of all those quotes warning not to sell your birthright for a mess of pottage, a bit of advice so ancient and universal that it dates back to Esau in Genesis 25: 29-34. But leftists are still counting on young people not knowing it (no wonder they want to ban the Bible from schools.)

These days, students are taught an ugly, twisted and totally negative perversion of American history. They’re taught to hate their own magnificent heritage, and they don’t learn the most basic facts (or even what the word “pottage” means), let alone all the great stories you discover when you dig into real American history. This seems like the perfect week for a lesson in how America came to be born. And I’ll try to put it into terms they can relate to.

Maybe – possibly – today’s students vaguely recognize the name Paul Revere (although they might believe he was a slave trader. I certainly doubt they had to memorize the poem, the way we did.) But how many know there was another heroic midnight rider who warned that the British were coming, only this one was a teenage girl from Duchess County, New York?

She’s just one of many American heroes that kids don’t learn about because modern textbooks scrub history of everything interesting or inspiring in favor of leftist social and political agendas that downgrade America. They depict it as a land of nothing but racism and oppression, not as a land where people of goodwill have struggled and sacrificed for generations, constantly working to improve things by establishing justice, securing the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity and creating a “more perfect union” (in the original foundational document, the writers made it clear that nothing’s perfect, but we would strive always to keep working together toward perfection.)

Kids, American history is not a list of personal grievances against people who’ve been dead for 200 years. It’s everything that ever happened to everyone before you came on the scene. Seek it out. Trust me: it can be pretty interesting, and you can actually learn things from it.

For instance: listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of…Sybil Ludington? As the oldest of 11 children, Sybil had to take on a lot of responsibility at a young age. She was barely 16 on the night of April 26, 1777. She had just tucked all her siblings into bed when, suddenly, there came an urgent knock at the door. It was a messenger, coming to warn her father, Col. Henry Ludington, that British troops were invading.

His troops weren’t expecting an attack and were scattered all over the countryside. Gathering them meant a dangerous ride over pitch-black roads, through enemy soldiers, wild animals, and hostile Indians (sorry: “Indigenous Peoples.”) Understandably, the messenger refused an order to go. But Sybil volunteered. Her father protested, but she pointed out that only she knew where all his men lived. As any father of a strong-willed daughter (especially one named Sybil!) will recognize, he’d long since learned that arguing with her was futile. So Sybil mounted up and rode off.

It was a rainy night. The British had already set nearby Danbury, Connecticut, on fire, and the flames cast an eerie, red glow on the fog. It spurred Sybil on as she galloped from house to house, banging on doors and shouting that the British were coming. According to legend, at one point, a highway robber tried to intercept Sybil, but she raised her father’s musket and sent him running. Yet another reason why teenagers should think twice before demanding that the Second Amendment be taken away from them.

By dawn, Sybil and her horse were cold, wet and exhausted. She’d roused over 400 troops, who joined the Battle of Ridgefield and helped drive the British all the way back to Long Island Sound. Gen. Washington personally honored Sybil for her heroism.

Today, there are historic markers all along her route, and statues of her in New York and Washington (if they haven’t been torn down by historical illiterates.) But I’ll bet most young people never even heard of Sybil Ludington, a teenager much like them, except she knew what really happened during the American Revolution. Maybe it’s because nobody wrote a famous poem about her midnight ride -- even though her ride was over twice as long as Paul Revere’s. Let’s hope someone turns her story into a hip-hop musical.


TO READ THE REST OF TODAY'S NEWS, GO TO MY WEBSITE HERE.


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Comments 1-10 of 23

  • Marie Brown

    07/07/2021 11:40 AM

    Thank you for this inspiring story about America's beginnings and the heroism, both male and female.

  • Gladys J Edakattil

    07/07/2021 03:19 AM

    Thanking God every day for those who fought in the Revolutionary War and all other wars to keep our freedom and the leaders of this nation with guts to declare independence and write the “Declaration of Independence” and all the framers from the 13 Colonies who formulated our “Constitution” and the “Bill of Rights”. It is God who gave them the vision and wisdom to formulate such an incredible document by the prayers of Christian Believers who bombarded the Throne of God/ Grace with their prayers for this nation and its leaders. The reason why this nation hasn’t perished yet is because of their prayers asking God to honor the Covenant the Pilgrims made with the Lord of Creation and the prayers of God’s people for the nation since then and now. The Lord God is a Covenant-keeping and promise-keeping God in Christ Jesus!!

  • Stephen Russell

    07/06/2021 09:28 AM

    Sybils Ride: was subject on AHC on Patriots Rising about Joe & Jane colonist doing amazing things in the Rev War.
    On AHC Channel, Prime Video ( TV), FYI

  • Jerry

    07/06/2021 08:43 AM

    Social Security being taxed by the Fed and State has been tough for me to understand I have commented about the unfair practice for years nobody really gives much thought about it as retirees are left on this island. biden does not care about our elderly biden does not care about the citizens security or small business as cyber hacks are holding everyone hostage biden has to look at cards in his pocket to know what is happening while his 6 year old mentally gets an ice cream cone many thanks to the biden supporters for delivering high transportation, food and clothing , and continued hate America school indoctrination you have selected a wonderful choice to destroy yourself and anything good.

  • Beth Mitchell

    07/06/2021 12:22 AM

    Thank you for all your history lessons today! I really enjoyed the story about the teacher, Martha Cothren! We do need more teachers like her in all school grades. Thank you again and God bless you, your family, and staff.

  • Joyce Kanlan

    07/05/2021 11:21 PM

    Sybil. What an outstanding piece of history! Come on America! WAKE UP,GET UP, get involved in school, the teacher,the subjects whether you have kids or not! YOUR’E a TAX PAYER! This IS GOOD STUFF&since when do we sit idly by while the British(democrat bussed in Antifa& Marxist trained BLM) TORCH,DESTROY, loot riot & murder& DO, SAY NOTHING? For crying out loud America!! Defend our land! Stand beside her! This land, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, our life,liberty&the pursuit of happiness IS WORTH YOUR TIME&ENERGY!! FIGHT BACK! Call, write email visit bombard your representative&DEMAND THEY support defend protect our????& her people!

  • Joyce Kanlan

    07/05/2021 11:08 PM

    Time to reflect. America, we are LONG over due to demanding, insisting, not backing down from TERM LIMITS! NO retirement insurance benefits or clearances after one or two terms. IF he/she doesn’t DO the work of the people, by the people after ONE term, they don’t qualify for a second. GET RID OF in our face left wing traitors like Waters, Schumer, Pelosi to name a few! GET THEM OUT! Unite America! Vote IN PERSON I.D. IN HAND& clean out long over do trash in our government!

  • William Gaudette

    07/05/2021 10:52 PM

    As we become more divided as a nation and as all this socialism is causing us to become more divided and surely more raciest, what is wrong with thoughts of dividing the USA into 2 nations, one conservative and one socialist? It's the way the globe has matured since ancient times; there is no way the right is going to become left and the left is surely not moving toward the right in fact they are moving further away. Let the US Flag be our flag, the national anthem be ours and let them fly whatever makes them happy. We will never again find a middle ground, we've grown too far apart. What do you think?

  • Joyce Kanlan

    07/05/2021 10:47 PM

    Remember them first. Excellent story, excellent example of HOW TO teach! THIS should be done coast to coast all through grammar school & high-school IF they still haven’t figured it out! Today’s lazy, incompetent gimme generation doesn’t know their xxx from a hole in the ground! They don’t appreciate the millions of Men&Women before them who FOUGHT&some DIED FOR THEIR Right to speak like a moron, act like a moron &don’t understand you DON’T HAVE TO, it’s your choice. REMEMBER, all gave some, SOME GAVE ALL.????

  • Joan Kugler

    07/05/2021 10:15 PM

    I, as a 78 year old, enjoyed hearing the story of Sybil. Even though I grew up in the days of what a real education was all about, don't believe I have ever heard this story so thanks for sharing with us.