Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
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Posted on 05/27/2007 6:32:51 PM PDT by K-oneTexas
I Remember By Fred Thompson
Friday, May 25, 2007
I remember when I was a kid; one thing was clear to me. The more I learned about the rest of the world, the luckier I felt just having been born in America. The more I learned about America, the more I appreciated what those who came before us built; and how exceptional they were.
Not that there aren't other great places to live, but America is unique. It's not just that we are the freest and most prosperous country the world has ever seen. America has also freed more people than any other nation in history.
A lot of people have done their part to see that we are blessed with the advantages we enjoy -- from hardworking pioneer mothers to the Framers of the Constitution. Memorial Day is coming up, though, and I'm thinking more about American soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice -- those who died to protect our way of life and make the world safe for democracy.
There are some people, though, who don't think that's such a good idea. Some people even want to use Memorial Day to protest our military's presence in Iraq. The irony is that their right to protest was paid for by people willing to risk everything to keep the forces of tyranny at bay -- here as well as Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Korea, Burma, Vietnam, the Philippines and dozens of other countries.
Over the years, a lot of people have tried to talk us out of feeling about America the way we do. Instead of pride in what America has done, they want us to feel guilty -- generally because we have so much more than rest of the world. Of course, it wouldn't help the rest of the world one whit if we had less -- either of freedom or of prosperity. On the contrary, it’s our liberties that have made us prosperous and there's no reason the rest of the world couldn't be just as well-off -- if they embraced freedom as well.
Almost always, when I talk to people who see America as the problem, their arguments are based on ignorance or an outright tangling of history. What they thought they knew about America and the world came second- and third-hand through people with axes to grind.
That's why I was troubled recently when I came across a report by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. The report's conclusion was that American colleges and universities are failing to increase their students' knowledge of America's history and institutions.
Students polled in a wide range of colleges and universities showed no real improvement in their historical knowledge. Some actually forgot part of what they'd learned in high school by the time they graduated -- and I'm talking about some of our best-known Ivy League schools.
Less than half of college seniors knew that, "We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal" is from the Declaration of Independence. Less than half knew basic facts about the First Amendment. Half didn't know that the Federalist Papers were written in support of the Constitution's ratification. Only a quarter of seniors knew the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine.
This is our quandary. Memorial Day is about remembering. It’s about remembering those who died for our country; but it's also about remembering why they believed it was worth dying for. Too many Americans, though, have never been taught our own history and heritage. How can you remember something that you’ve never learned?
Fred Thompson is an actor and former Senator. His radio commentary airs on the ABC Radio Network and be blogs on The Fred Thompson Report.
LOL........
Looks like Cake_Crumb has you pegged.
Fredipedia: The Definitive Fred Thompson Reference
Please FReepmail jellybean if you want on/off this list. WARNING: This ping list is EXTREMELY active.
Hey, Jim, this guy says we have to get off of FR if we support Fred Thompson. What do you say?
Run, FRed, Run!!
GNATS!! (You gotta come see this one....)
Most of what is in those posts is a whole lot of nothing. A lot of whining over a bill that was never even passed into law and who voted for what amendment.
It’ll take a more dedicated man than I to go back and read an 11 year old dead bill and all of it’s amendments to find dirt on Fred Thompson.
I’ll tell you this though: From what I have read of the bill and it’s amendments, the research there is sloppy.
If Fred did something back then that wasn’t right, he should answer for it and he’s the kind of man that will own up to mistakes.
If you think his supporters think he’s God, perhaps YOU are the one on the wrong forum. That sounds a lot more like the kind of thing a DUer would say. Maybe you’d feel more at home over there. I’m sure they don’t like Thompson either.
I must say, I ‘ve never felt so much at home with people as I do with all of you FR’s (FR’ers?)
I wish you all well. I only wish you were my meighbors up here in New England, and we could talk one on one.
It gets lonely up here in the Blue states.
“I will never trust you to save my country.”
I see you fly a Panamanian flag on your “About” page. Exactly what country IS your country? And can you still make a call for a dime in Panama?
So true. Many have only learned the version of American History written by those who have been trashing America since Vietnam.
Go elsewhere? We don’t need you?
First, who is “we”? If you like another candidate, fine, but it just may be that others have a different view. It sounds like you are the only and fortunate trustee of the truth. God must speak directly to you.
We first started homeschooling our two younger kids when they were in middle school. I took them on a field trip to the Battle Road, between Lexington and Concord. The guides were terrific, giving lots of background info about the struggle of the colonials. One of the more interesting things they did was have the kids take part in a mock battle at the North Bridge, taking the parts of different people who were actually involved in the fighting that day. It made the struggle much more immediate for all of them.
“You are so Latin in your mentality. “
hmmm
Gnats! everywhere:) Am preparing for them to come out of the woodwork!
Like the song Says “ You can live on the plains or the mountains, or down where the sea breezes blow. Your are still in beautiful Texas, the most beautiful State that I know.”
barbra ann
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