Thirty-one words. We learned them as kids when we were too small and too naive to
understand them. We simply committed them to memory with no regard for their
significance. We recited them morning after morning, year after year, never
realizing the price that the proud revolutionists paid to make them real and the
price our brave contemporaries would pay to keep them real. We've become so
familiar with them that we seldom stop to consider what they should mean to us
now...now that we're grown...now that we are the ones responsible for sustaining
their legacy.
Whether we were aware of it or not, these thirty-one words
carved out a place in our hearts -- in the shape of a true patriot: a lover of
liberty, a defender of faith, a promoter of unity, a champion of peace, a
protector of democracy, and a guardian of all things sacred to life.
One morning recently, I paused in the midst of my busy
routine to reflect on these thirty-one words. I was stunned at the emotions that
stirred within me as I sat in respectful contemplation of not only these
thirty-one words but of the wealth of history that lay behind them. Before I
knew it, I found myself wanting to stand with my hand over my heart and recite
them aloud with a renewed commitment to America -- past, present, and future. And I
did.
Perhaps it's time we all recommit to America -- to her values,
her traditions, her history, her heritage, her majesty, her nobility, her
compassion, her humility, and her holy awe. Regardless of our party preference
or political stance, regardless of which presidential candidate we supported or
which amendments we opposed, we are -- in all of our diversity -- one people with one
heart and one mind. We are the benefactors and beneficiaries of a powerful
democracy -- the strongest republic in the civilized world. We are the most
liberated, most prosperous, and most blessed people on the face of the earth.
And we owe it all to a sovereign God, to our American citizenship, and in part,
to these thirty-one words.
Do yourself a favor. Do all of us a favor. Take the time
right now to reflect on these thirty-one words and allow them to take root in
your mind and heart. It is highly likely that your patriotism will be reaffirmed
and your passion for this country reignited as you consider the thirty-one words
you learned in elementary school.
What thirty-one words? You know them. I'll say the first
three, and you can take it from there -- the last twenty-eight are a piece of cake!