By Stephanie
A. Walker Stradford and Eric Stradford, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired
AMWS, June 30, 2015, Main Street, USA - WE THE
PEOPLE lifted a voice last night and gave Washington a piece of our
collective mind. Under a cloud of the
latest terrorist threat, freshman Congressman Barry Loudermilk, R GA 11 listened
to faithful constituents at his first Main Street, USA Town Hall Meeting.
High on Loudermilk’s to do list is reducing an $18 trillion national debt and
increasing the embarrassing low 18% public approval of the 114th U.S. Congress. One citizen suggested that Cyber Security might
be a good place to start. Barry’s first
bill H.R.
1633 passed the House. But, this and
future bills must find enough trust in the Senate to make it to the President’s
desk. Then, The White House will
need to muster some trust before this and future bills are signed into law.
Trust, or the lack of it, continues to feed a “them
vs us” mentality between the three branches of federal government. It divides
and does not unite us as one. A Congress,
desperate to bridge a “gulf of mistrust” will need to get busy with “the will
of the people” and overcome the label, “do nothing Congress.”
This won’t be the first national debate about trust.
On February 8, 1954, Rep. Charles Oakman
(R-Mich.), introduced a bill on Capitol Hill. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill
into law on Flag Day, June 14, 1954.
Eisenhower declared, "From this day forward, the millions of our
school children will daily proclaim in every city and town, every village and
rural school house, the dedication of our nation and our people to the
Almighty.... In this way we are reaffirming the transcendence of religious
faith in America's heritage and future; in this way we shall constantly
strengthen those spiritual weapons which forever will be our country's most
powerful resource, in peace or in war."
The phrase "under God" was incorporated
into the Pledge of Allegiance on June 14, 1954, by a Joint Resolution of
Congress amending § 4 of the Flag Code enacted in 1942. The same republican president addressed trust
issues in 1954 by declaring the United States of America “One Nation Under God.”
President Eisenhower had recently been baptized a
Presbyterian. He went to church, slept
on a conversation that had taken place there, and put faith to work the next day. A Joint
Resolution, passed by the 84th Congress and approved by the President on July
30, 1956, declared IN GOD WE TRUST the national motto of the United States. Public
Law 84-140 might have reflected a Christian’s perspective on the will of God. But,
Congress
compromised again
and again.
Throughout American history, a nation’s greatest
achievements have followed one simple act.
Trust God. If the Homeland is
truly One Nation Under God (with liberty and justice for ALL), then 2.1 billion
Christians on the planet and one superhero in Heaven has our back.
Loudermilk, the elected Georgia representative, can start
#HealingAmerica where we live, learn, work and worship. “I don’t trust this president,” stated
Loudermilk. A simple change of heart and
message by this Christian might be his first step in championing Main Street’s
vision of America’s future. A problem that
seems too big for us as ordinary men and women can become a 21st
century prototype for Congressional leadership.
Each American can choose to believe “One Nation Under God” is possible as
a common vision for America’s future.
A new attitude for political leaders in One Nation
Under God follows one business example. “Feel,
Felt, Found” is one response for #HealingAmerica. “I know how you FEEL. I FELT the same way,
too. Then I FOUND.” Instead of “I don’t
trust the president,” try, “I know how you feel. I didn’t trust the president,
either. Then, I was elected by WE THE PEOPLE to go to Washington, DC. to establish
a more perfect union. I found that the
will of ALL the people impacts my will, and the will of God ultimately
impacts the
vision of our future.”
In reality, today, America is divided and does not
see the vision. Contrary to the belief
of some, too many Americans perceived a “Contract for America” as a “Contract On
America.” Too many Americans saw the “New
Deal” as a “Raw Deal.” And, too many Americans see the American Dream as
a “Dream Deferred.”
“Every day, Americans are losing more and more of
our freedoms. The Founders understood that eternal vigilance is the price of
freedom. As we approach Independence Day, it is important to be reminded that
our Founders believed trust in God and a firm commitment to the cause of
freedom is what would preserve our nation,” stated Loudermilk.
So, as one in 2.1 Billion believers in Jesus The
Christ, what is your
vision for America’s future?
