Although I’ve had the privilege of serving in five of the ten active US
Army Divisions, I was never in the one with the best motto. The 101st
Airborne Division has an awesome motto – “Rendezvous
with Destiny.” The Division was activated
in preparation for our expanding involvement in World War II. The first commander, Major General William C.
Lee, in his initial address to the newly constituted unit, read General Order
Number 5 dated 19 August 1942 that begins:
“The 101st Airborne Division, activated at Camp Claiborne,
Louisiana, has no history, but it has a rendezvous with destiny. Like the early
American pioneers whose invincible courage was the foundation stone of this
nation, we have broken with the past and its traditions in order to establish
our claim to the future…”
The same could be said of our
fledgling nation in the early 1770’s -- no history but lots of destiny. What faith our Founding Fathers had to have in
order to risk their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor for an unknown and uncertain
future. Even before they had penned their
proverbial John Hancock’s to the parchment that proclaimed our liberty, they
had a presupposition of what it would take to be a lasting success. On June 21, 1776, John Adams wrote:
“Statesmen, my dear sir, may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is
Religion and Morality alone, which can establish the Principles upon which
Freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure
Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People in a greater Measure,
than they have it now, they may change their Rulers and the forms of
Government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty.”
A national survey of 1,000 adults was conducted late
last year by Rasmussen Reports. The
question they sought to answer, “If
America’s founders came back today, would they be impressed or disappointed?” A plurality of 46% believes the Founders -
a group that typically includes George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and
John Adams - would view the nation as a failure. Second to that number is the 36% of American adults
who think the Founders would consider the United States a success. The other 18% aren’t sure. Think about
that, nearly half of us think the Founders would find us a failure.
For John Adams, it was “virtue” that would be the foundation for a lasting liberty. Perhaps the half that thought they’d deem us
a failure has recognized our country is virtually devoid of virtue. Most students in our schools today would
probably be hard pressed to define virtue, let alone demonstrate it to the
satisfaction of the founders. For Adams,
it was pure virtue that held the key;
for Thomas Jefferson, it was a right understanding of God that was the firm
basis for our future success.
In 1789, while the Governor of
Virginia, Jefferson put it this way, “God
who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought
secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of
the people that these liberties are the Gift of God? That they are not to be
violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect
that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever…”
The destiny with
which MG Lee predicted they’d soon rendezvous ultimately included the harrowing
parachute drops on D-Day into Normandy, the battle at Bastogne and the Battle of
the Bulge. For their valor during WWII, this
Band of Brothers, the 101st Airborne Division, was awarded four
campaign streamers and two Presidential Unit Citations. They suffered 1,766 Killed in Action; 6,388
Wounded in Action; and 324 Died of Wounds during WWII. Those figures alone make clear the high cost
of successfully obtaining the liberation of Europe.
This piece is not
intended to solely lament the vapid state of virtue in our United States
today. More importantly, it is not
implying an increased volume of virtue in our Republic can be mandated or
legislated. No, it will only occur if,
and when, as Jefferson well said, the people’s minds can connect our liberty
with the Giver of life; when they connect the Creator of life with the creation
of our Constitution. Now that would be a
great class for a government school to give.
Like Jefferson, I too tremble that we’ll not wake up before God’s
justice does.
No comments:
Post a Comment