For God and Country

Richard A. Sokerka

On Saturday, Ameri­cans will mark the 239th birthday of the United States. On July 4, 1776, our freedom-loving forefathers founded a nation that they dreamed would provide open-ended opportunity marked by strong moral values shaped by honesty, integrity and justice for all.

However, our forefathers would be aghast reading today’s headlines showing the downward trend in moral values in our nation. The maleficent slant on society that is featured in the news today points to that fact the over the years our nation’s reliance on our forefathers strong moral foundation based in religious belief is crumbling by the day. From its humble beginnings, America remained free because its citizens did what was morally correct — not politically correct — and lived their lives according to the Good News they found in their faith.

The framers of our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution knew that future liberty depended on Ameri­cans’ deep and abiding faith in God. In his farewell address, President George Washington cited the important ties religion had to the founding of the United States: “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would man claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness — these firmest props of the duties of citizens. And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. It is substantially true that virtue and morality is a necessary spring of popular government.”

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, let us remember that this nation was born with many freedoms because our forefathers put a strong emphasis on their faith in God. If we are to retain liberty for us and future generations, for the good of America, we need to reset our moral compass as a nation to what our Founding Fathers intended it to be.