August 2011
Faith and Freedom Newsletter
So profoundly had the spirit of the protest become a part of the people's lives that sometimes they even preferred to walk when a ride was available. The act of walking, for many, had become of symbolic importance. Once a pool driver stopped beside an elderly woman who was trudging along with obvious difficulty.
"Jump in, grandmother," he said. "You don't need to walk."As was the case more than 200 years ago when this nation was founded—as it was nearly 50 years ago during the height of the black struggle for civil rights—freedom remains the burning issue of our day. It is at the heart of almost every debate being played out on the national stage right now, from health care reform and the skyrocketing national debt to biometric Social Security cards and the war on terror. On the surface, these issues may appear unrelated, but when you drill down to the fundamentals, a common refrain emerges, and that is: in this place and time, what does freedom really mean to us as Americans and how far are we willing to go to preserve it?
She waved him on. "I'm not walking for myself," she explained. "I'm walking for my children and my grandchildren." And she continued toward home on foot.—Martin Luther King Jr., Stride Toward Freedom
Our political, judicial and legislative landscapes might look a lot different today had we asked those questions more often in recent years, but as this issue of Faith and Freedom makes clear, it’s never too late to start looking at the world through freedom-colored glasses. Indeed, you may find that it becomes much easier to articulate your concerns and stand your ground once you begin conceptualizing issues in terms of their impact on your constitutional freedoms.
Still not sure where to begin? Let John Whitehead be your guide. He’s a pro at zeroing in on the freedom question at the heart of an issue. For example, in his most recent commentaries (“Television News: Are We Amusing Ourselves to Death?” and “The Plight of Marco Sauceda and the Loss of Our Freedoms”), Whitehead raises concerns over the impact of television news on the political process and our national psyche and the dismantling of the Fourth Amendment by law enforcement officials and the judiciary.
Before you can stand for freedom, however, you need to stay informed on threats to your freedoms. And this Faith and Freedom is another good place to start. It’s teeming with commentaries, news alerts and legal updates. Even more can be found here.
There is no easy solution to the problems that plague our nation. Indeed, we who take part in the struggle for freedom today do so with the understanding that we’re in this for the long haul. It promises to be an uphill journey, fraught with its own peculiar perils, and we’re bound to get frustrated, tired and discouraged. Yet trudge on we must. We may well find that freedom is about more than a destination. It is the journey itself. And it is a pilgrimage that each of us must make, whether or not you think these issues have any bearing on your life.
As the elderly woman in Martin Luther King Jr.’s memoir about the Montgomery bus boycotts admonished someone who suggested she didn’t need to walk, “I’m not walking for myself. I’m walking for my children and my grandchildren.”
Fifty years later, this old woman has been relegated to an anecdote in a memoir. She is not even a footnote in history. We don’t know her name. We don’t know if she lived to see the end of segregation. All we know is that she stood her ground and continued walking toward home on foot.
Yet it is her spirit—that of the intrepid, tireless freedom fighter—that lives on. This is the type of spirit that is essential for us to maintain in the days ahead. If there is to be any chance of preserving freedom for our children and our children’s children, we’re going to need to embody the same sacrificial spirit as shown by those who fought for equality during those tough years for the civil rights movement. They prevailed for one reason: they were willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause of freedom. They were willing to give of themselves even while knowing that they, themselves, might never see the so-called promised land.
They persevered and eventually prevailed. So we, too, must press on in our quest for freedom. There is much to be done. Let us begin.
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Citing Concern for Religious Freedom, Rutherford Institute Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Defer to Church’s Discretion in Employment Decisions
U.S. Supreme Court Declares California Law Restricting Sales of Violent Video Games to Minors an Unconstitutional Violation of Free Speech
Rutherford Institute Urges U.S. Supreme Court to Protect Parents’ Right to Religious Freedom in Directing Well-being of Children
Rutherford News
Rutherford Institute Files Free Speech Lawsuit in Defense of Maryland Street Performer’s Right to Artistic Expression on the BoardwalkAcceding to Rutherford Institute’s Demands, Ohio Dept. of Education Removes Letter of Admonishment from John Freshwater Record
Victory: Environmental Activist Found Not Guilty of Trespassing While Protesting Mountaintop Mining by Dominion Virginia Power
The Rutherford Institute Asks Appeals Court to Protect University of Minnesota Student’s First Amendment Right to Academic Freedom
TRI in the News
Proposed Interfaith Retreat Center in Virginia Tests Founder, CommunityJudge Dismisses Three Claims in Confederate Flag Lawsuit
Rutherford Claims Victory as Man Acquitted in Boar’s Head Protest
Embattled Ex-Teacher John Freshwater Tells His Story to Mansfield Tea Party
Attorney General: Fluco Blog Can Use County Seal
'Unfortunate’ Mistake by Officers Makes Lufkin the Shame of America
Commentaries by John W. Whitehead
Television News: Are We Amusing Ourselves to Death?The Plight of Marco Sauceda and the Loss of Our Freedoms
The Military Industrial Complex: The Enemy from Within
VIPR Searches and the American Citizen: 'Dominate. Intimidate. Control.'
The New FBI Powers: Cointelpro on Steroids
SWAT Team Mania: The War Against the American Citizen
More commentaries available HERE.
On Target with John Whitehead® Video Blog
VIPR Searches and the American Citizen: 'Dominate. Intimidate. Control.Updated weekly, the On Target vodcast provides viewers with Whitehead’s insightful, relevant and provocative take on popular culture and constitutional issues. Click here to SIGN UP!
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Legal Feature
Joyner Undermines the Constitutionality of Legislative PrayerBook Review: Unknown Justices of the United States Supreme Court
2010 Case Summary Report
Oldspeak
Money on TrialPROVIDE FOR THE FUTURE OF FREEDOM
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