Noteworthy

Personal insights and notes while I “Do the work.”

Noteworthy: Jefferson’s Thoughts on Religious Freedom

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Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone

Thomas Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence are in the foremost of my thoughts this week as I take a moment to exhale and pause to note the change of seasons.  I want my home to reflect the important occasion – our nation’s birthday on the 4th of July – and so I have purposely delayed the inevitable daily deluge of tasks to “spruce up” our place.  (More details forthcoming).

Doing so allows my mind to wander, think, and reflect.  How fitting it is that this week, in particular, the Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold the right of “closely held” companies to religious liberty would come down.  Most tout the decision as good for religious freedom – and rightly so.  But I can’t help but wonder why just “closely held” companies?  Is America not founded on the proposition that all men are created equal – their equality existing in each’s equal, natural rights bestowed by The Creator?  If this is the case, why would the “number” of equal souls matter?  Is the right of religious freedom contingent on a number – an “if-then” scenario?  If so, who gets to determine the threshold – “the number”?

Worth noting are the three accomplishments for which Jefferson wished to be remembered on his tombstone:  (1) author of the Declaration of Independence; (2) father of the University of Virginia; and (3) author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.  Conspicuously absent was his service as the 3rd President of the United States.  Drafted in 1777 yet not adopted until 1787, the law states:  “That to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical; . . . the opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction;”

In response to a query about the Declaration of Independence near the end of his life, Jefferson wrote:  “This was the object of the Declaration . . . to place before mankind the common sense of the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent . . . it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion.”

Perhaps the foundational principles of civil and religious liberty are still an expression of the American mind.

 

 

 

Personal Note: Epilogue on Mother’s Day (just sharing)

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The following are a couple of paragraphs I wrote as part of my Mother’s Day tribute to “Super Moms”, which unfortunately is still a work in progress.  They didn’t make the ‘final cut’ but I thought I’d share them nonetheless, in the hopes they might make you laugh:

When my children were small, I jokingly dubbed myself “Super Mom.” It is one of those family traditions that assumed a life of its own. It began when I’d locate a missing article of clothing, bring the homework left behind to school, have the correct clothing washed and ready to go on the appointed day, or cook a favorite meal; But mostly it centered around meeting an endless stream of demands simultaneously and successfully – with relative ease (not!). I would prod the children into calling me “Super Mom” in the spirit of the Ghostbuster’s jingle: “Me: who ya’ gonna call – Them: ‘Ghostbusters!'” Initially my prompting was met with the grudgingly, monotonous chorus of “thank you Super Mom.” But over time the kids voluntarily conferred the honor when the occasion necessitated it. They even adopted the moniker themselves, erupting in triumphant shouts of “Super _” – followed by their respective names – when they prevailed over a formidable challenge with relative ease. Super Dad even got in on the action!

Super Anne & Super Ty in superhero stance!

Super Anne & Super Ty in superhero pose!

Several years ago, my kids found the perfect Mother’s Day gift – a “pajama-gram” containing a set of Super Mom pajamas, complete with the requisite blue and white starry bottoms and a red top with a Super Mom emblem emblazoned across the chest. Since my husband was working on this occasion, the kids and I thought it would be funny to text him a picture of me ‘in cameo’ – complete with ‘bed head’, no makeup, and in characteristic, super hero stance. Basking in a self-congratulatory coup of our own cleverness, we fired off the text to my husband. Almost instantaneously my daughter got a horrified look on her face when she realized our message was sent to the wrong recipient – my older son’s baseball coach! As we fumbled around helplessly trying to “recall” the text, the response was signalled by a melodious ringtone and the words: “Any mom that keeps the team’s books is a ‘Super Mom’ to me!” Much to my kids’ angst, I have relayed this story countless times over the years because the coach’s response was classic. The following Mother’s Day I sent the coach a reassuring text, noting his undoubted relief at learning I had received flip-flops instead of pajamas as a gift!

Personal Note: An Early and Unexpected Mother’s Day Gift

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Screen Shot 2014-05-08 at 4.16.57 PMAfter a quick trip through the grocery store for a few items, I did the customary scan for the shortest checkout line. I wound up behind a pregnant mom and her toddler. The toddler was making a concerted effort to get the shopper’s attention at the head of line, who was in the process of writing a check. I began to interact with the boy, never noticing his mom’s frantic search through her backpack. The toddler’s actions were such that it looked as though he was wanting to grab the check in order to pay the bill. So I made the comment: “Hey, Mom, he wants to ‘pick up the tab.'” She offhandedly responded: “he may have to!” Then she looked up at me and embarrassingly confessed about having to go to the car for her wallet. She only had a handful of items so I said I’d buy them for her. She had the most heartfelt reaction and her face said it all. Naturally, she initially resisted then asked for my name and number so she could repay me. She even reached to remove a few greeting cards from her items to lessen the tab but I rebuffed her, commenting she’d only have to return for them before the upcoming holiday. Then she began to cry, noting that she was very emotional not only due to her pregnancy but because this was the first Mother’s Day without her mom. “Well this is my Mother’s Day gift to you”, I said, “in the future, when an opportunity presents itself, ‘pass it on!'”
The gift of giving is as beneficial to the giver as it is to the receiver. It was an early and unexpected gift to myself!

Personal Note: “Harassed” like John Adams!

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Ugh!  I can’t believe it’s been two months since my last post.  So much for my New Year’s resolution of chronicling the daily trials of rebuilding “the original American brand”!   Today I had hoped to capitalize on a rare occasion of uninterrupted time (between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., of course, while my kids are at school) – to compose a thoughtful editorial/essay on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing.  If my essay was succinct and insightful then hopefully it would land on the editorial pages of a newspaper or two . . . ok, I’d settle for the local newspaper, The Waco Tribune-Herald; After all, you gotta start somewhere, right?!  (This was the fate of my first attempt – a tribute to Lincoln on President’s Day – something I’d felt compelled to write about for a couple of years . . . so much for efficiency).  Not so fast!  On the way to school, my fourteen year old son had a meltdown and begged to skip school, which is unusual for him.  Mother’s intuition kicked into overdrive.  After dropping the younger two kids at school, I fired off a cautionary email that was met with record response by a respected coach on the other end of my phone line.  A lengthy conversation ensued – with me doing my fair share of the talking – and a game plan was adopted to resolve the simmering crisis.  Having averted the aforementioned teenager crisis, I rushed to complete a few other morning chores like (1) pinning the horses in their stalls so they don’t gorge themselves on the fresh green “spring” grass and “founder” (like last spring), (2) releasing the chickens from their coop so they can “free range”, and (3) feeding Carl, our pet pig, who in actuality is a feral hog that we’ve raised for the last year and a half.  Another topic for another day!

All this reminds me of a letter John Adams penned to his wife Abigail in 1780 while he was our French diplomat.  Adams described his life as “harassed” because he’s terribly busy and had to spend all his time studying ‘government and administration’ so that he could fulfill his duty during the Revolutionary War.  It’s apparent in the letter that Adams felt he had a vital and particular role and that he had to get it right.  His work as a statesman was for something – a higher purpose.  That higher purpose is called “the laws of nature and of natures God” in the Declaration of Independence.  Knowledge of these things, available in the great works of literature and philosophy (and by simply looking around you once you know what to look for), is highly desirable and necessary to securing and maintaining our freedom in America, according to our Founders.  Knowledge of Natural Law is all but absent in America today.  I certainly had no knowledge of it until I began creating The Liberty Brand.

My point is that I, too, feel like I have a particular role to play today in addition to being a mother.  Perhaps because I am a mother.  I don’t presume that I’ll have the impact Adams had, after all, he more than anyone else provoked the writing of the Declaration, recommended Thomas Jefferson author it, and secured France’s alliance in the Revolutionary War.  Tall shoes to fill!  But I love America and I love my children and want nothing more than for both to grow and prosper.  My hope is that The Liberty Brand can successfully capture and showcase the history and meaning of America, thereby making a ‘visual appeal’ for the founding.

The Liberty Brand is a worthy pursuit – the founders would argue, the ultimate pursuit – and I’ll doggedly pursue it . . . all the while being “harassed”!

Personal Note: What is “Lincoln Sense?”

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Screen Shot 2014-02-14 at 10.58.42 PMTwo hundred thirty-eight years ago today, a plainspoken pamphlet entitled “Common Sense” by Thomas Paine was a “call-to-arms” for the American Revolution.  It made the case for the necessity of declaring independence from Great Britain.  A mere six months spanned from the publication’s debut until the colonists declared their independence in the summer of 1776, affirming the adage “the pen is mightier than the sword.”  In a nod to this pamphlet I’ve entitled a special President’s Day post:  “Lincoln Sense:  A penny for Abe’s thoughts.”  I pay tribute to our 16th president, largely through his own words (can anyone say it better than he?).  Lincoln eloquently and successfully made the case for returning to the founders’ model of self-government grounded in transcendent moral truth, which guided the nation though its most serious existential crisis since the Revolution.  And he can do it again, if Americans have the common sense to apply “Lincoln Sense.”