Happy Mother’s Day From The Nixon Foundation

May 9, 2010 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Holidays, Richard Nixon | Leave a Comment 

Courtesy of Foreign Policy Magazine photo feature “Leaders and their moms:” Senator Nixon with mother Hannah Nixon at her home in 1951.

President Nixon And Arbor Day

May 1, 2010 by Robert Nedelkoff | Filed Under Environmental issues, Holidays, Presidents, Richard Nixon | Leave a Comment 

I suspect that Arbor Day, as it was when I was a child, is a holiday most familiar in the elementary schools of America, since it does not involve grownups getting the day off from work, except in Nebraska (not a state famous for its orchards and forests). On a (hopefully) sunny day at the end of April, fourth or fifth or sixth-graders go outside and either help plant a tree, or watch other people plant one. That’s the way I recall the process, anyway.

It wasn’t until recently, though, that I learned that it was President Nixon who standardized observance of Arbor Day by proclamation in 1970, fixing it on the last Friday of April. Here’s an article about the ways in which the day is observed.

A Establishment Clause For All

April 18, 2010 by David Emig | Filed Under Barack Obama, Ethics, Faith, Holidays, Islam, Politics, Religion, Supreme Court, U.S. History, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” 

Amendment One, United States Constitution.  The quoted passage is the Establishment Clause.  The intent of the Framers is to provide the American people the right to practice their own religious beliefs – but also the right of citizens to be free from religion if they so choose.  This is the foundation of one of the cornerstone of our democracy.  It was explained in a letter to the Danbery Baptist Association in 1802.  President Thomas Jefferson writes: “I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church and State.”  In 1812, John Adams wrote, “Nothing is more dreaded than the national government meddling with religion.”  Over a half a century later, Ulysses S. Grant stated, “Leave the matter of religion to the family altar, the church and the private school supported entirely by private contributions. Keep the church and state forever separate.”

The recent federal district decision in Freedom from Religion, et al. vs. Obama, et al. is an important one.  It is the reminder that the government should represent all Americans regardless of religious belief or non-belief, and that the Constitution protects everyone’s rights.  Clearly, the National Day of Prayer promotes the Judeo-Christian practices and beliefs.  It is a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment of the Constitution, and runs counter to the concept of the separation of church and state supported by Thomas Jefferson.  Over the last half century, the American legal system has endeavored to be neutral regarding endorsement of religion.  Decisions such as Freedom from Religion, are in keeping with these legal precedents established by the Court.

The National Day of Prayer was established in 1952.  Billy Graham, the most respected and popular evangelicals of his era inspired the legislation.  During a six-week evangelical crusade in Washington DC, Rev. Graham spoke about how America had “dropped our pilot, the Lord Jesus Christ, and are sailing blindly on without divine chart or compass, hoping somehow to find our desired haven.  We have certain leaders who are rank materialists, they do not recognize God nor care for Him; they spend their time in one round of parties after another.  The Capital City of our Nation can have a great spiritual awakening, thousands coming to Jesus Christ, but certain leaders have not lifted on eyebrow, nor raised a finger, nor show the slightest bit of concern….  Ladies and gentlemen, I warn you, if this state of affairs continues, the end of course is national shipwreck and ruin.”

In response to this dire religious threat, both houses of Congress introduced legislation to proclaim a National Day of Prayer.  Representative Percy Priest in introducing the legislation said that the country “had been challenged yesterday by the suggestion made on the east steps of the Capitol by Billy Graham that the Congress call the President for the proclamation of a prayer.”  The Senator introducing the bill in the Senate, Absalom Robertson (who was the father to Rev. Pat Robertson) stated that the measure was “against the corrosive forces of communism which seek simultaneously to destroy our democratic way of life and the faith in an Almighty God on which it is based.”

In 1988, Congress revisited the National Day of Prayer proclamation to specify a specific day.  This is so the faithful could better organize events.  This also placed the National Day of Prayer on another plateau, along such days as Mother’s Day, or Thomas Jefferson’s Birthday.  Senator Strom Thurmond thought having a day set for the National Day of Prayer would help because, “a date that changes each year, it is difficult for religious groups to give advance notice to the many citizens who would like to make plans for their church and community. Maximum participation in the public knowledge of this event could be achieved, if, in addition to its being proclaimed annually, it were established as a specific, annual, calendar day.”  {See Freedom of Religion v. Obama, p. 9.}  Codification of a day in federal law would then assist the legislative intent by the government sponsored opportunity of better organization and a larger turn out.

The legislative intent of the National Day of Prayer was underscored by Sen. Jesse Helms who said, “America must return to the spiritual source of her greatness and reclaim her religious heritage. Our prayer should be that—like the Old Testament nation of Israel—Americans would once again ‘humble themselves, and pray, and seek God’s face, and turn from [our] wicked ways’ so that God in heaven will hear and forgive our sins and heal our land.” {See Freedom of Religion v. Obama, p. 9.}  Obviously, the legislative effect that the Congress was seeking was the promotion of the Judeo-Christian faith exclusively. 

There were no calls to include other faiths in the legislation, or the actual implementation.  Indeed the ruling in Freedom of Religion documents several incidents of those Christians to wish to claim the National Day of Prayer as their own.   Examples like a coordinator in Bakersfield stating that “”[t]he National Day of Prayer is actually all about the Lord.  So we’re representing the Christian community.” See “The Bakersfield Californian” May 1, 2008.  Or local groups complaining in Tennessee that the National Day of Prayer “mak[es] members of minority religions feel that unless they adhere to Christianity they are unpatriotic.” See “Memphis Commercial Appeal”, May 1, 2008.  Or in Illinois, organizers of a event being criticized after saying that the event is “only about Jesus and Jesus the Savior alone”; although they had “no problems having [members of other religions] participate, though not in speaking roles.” See “Springfield State-Journal Register,” April 30, 2006. Or finally an example in Utah, where a Mormon reader “didn’t think [she] was allowed to participate” because she “pray[s} to the wrong God.” See “Deseret Morning News,” October 20, 2009. {See Freedom of Religion v. Obama, pp. 57-59 for entire list.} 

Justice Blackmum (RN appointee) might have shed some additional light on this when he wrote in a concurring opinion: “The mixing of government and religion can be a threat to free government, even if no one is forced to participate. When the government puts its imprimatur on a particular religion, it conveys a message of exclusion to all those who do not adhere to the favored beliefs.”  Lee vs. Weisman, 505 U.S. 577, at 606, (1992).  Justice O’Connor in County of Allegheny v. ACLU Greater Pittsburgh Chapter (1989) writes, “government cannot endorse the religious practices and beliefs of some citizens without sending a clear message to nonadherents that they are outsiders or less than full members of the political community.”  492 U.S. 573, at 627.  {Quoted from Freedom of Religion, p. 20.}.

For those who believe that the National Day of Prayer is merely a proclaimation without force need to heed the words of Justice Kennedy.  “[T]he lesson that in the hands of government what might begin as a tolerant expression of religious views may end in a policy to indoctrinate and coerce.”  {Lee vs. Weisman at 591-592.}  This of course begs the question…what would a less tolerate government do with a National Day of Prayer?

This ruling by Judge Crabb is only the beginning of the process, that will ultimately take the case to the halls of the United States Supreme Court. The ruling in Freedom from Religion v. Obama he should not be seen as Judeo-Christian religion being relegated to “stepchild” status — (though atheists seem to be orphans in this society.)  It shouldn’t be misinterpreted as “the arrogant absurdity of a court.”  It isn’t code to ban religion.  The ruling is enforcement of the governmental ban against favoring one religion and faith over another.  It is against government sanction or encouragement that must be the responsibility of private churches and your private point of view.  This ruling is evidence that the United States Constitution protects all of our rights, believers and non-believers alike; from the potential theocratic tyranny of a government.  As the front of the Supreme Court building states…

“Equal Justice Under Law.”

St. Patrick’s Day 1969

March 17, 2010 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Holidays | 1 Comment 

Gift exchange: Irish Ambassador to the United States William Fay pins a shamrock on RN’s lapel, while RN presents to Fay a Waterford Crystal Vase with an etching of the White House.

On St. Patrick’s Day 1969,  in a ceremony with Irish Ambassador to the United States William Fay, RN took a  look back at his Irish heritage:

“I should point out that in our family, Mrs. Nixon’s father was Irish, and on my side my mother was Irish,” he said in a ceremony in the Roosevelt Room with William P. Fay, then-Ireland’s Ambassador to the U.S.

Year after year, St. Patrick’s Day gives American and Irish leaders a chance to hail the longstanding friendship between their two countries and peoples.

3.17.1969

March 17, 2010 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Holidays | Leave a Comment 

RN’s St. Patrick’s Day message:

IT HAS been said that on Saint Patrick’s Day everyone is an Irishman. As one whose ancestors came to America from Ireland, I wish all the Irish–including those who are Irish for only today–a happy and memorable Saint Patrick’s Day.

The life of this national hero and great saint is filled with the power of love. Having been a slave for 6 years, he knew what it was to love liberty. He loved his country and its people. And he devoted his life to bringing God’s word to the Irish.

These three loves–of liberty, of country, and of God have been the heritage of the Irish people wherever they have been. This heritage has enriched the world, but it has particularly enriched the United States of America. In labor, in politics, in industry, in religion, in law, in military service, the Irish who have made this country their home have contributed greatly to the building of a strong and free nation.

Not to be forgotten is the great cleansing gift of Irish laughter, a gift needed today more than ever before. Recently Father Theodore Hesburgh, president of Notre Dame University, suggested that we in the United States should not be afraid to laugh at ourselves and at our troubles. The Irish have shown through the centuries that a people can be strengthened and sustained by the gift of laughter. They have shown the world that men can be serious without always being solemn.

Saint Patrick has long been recognized as representing the spirit of the Irish people. It is in this spirit, in the spirit of liberty and laughter and love of country and of God, I say to all Irishmen today, whatever their country, Eireann Go Bragh.

1.1.10

January 1, 2010 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays | 1 Comment 

12.25.09

December 25, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays | Leave a Comment 

12.25.52

December 25, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Nixon family, Pat Nixon, Richard Nixon | Leave a Comment 

‘Twas the night before Christmas: this photograph of PN (holding Checkers), six-year-old Tricia, four-year-old Julie, and the thirty-eight year old Vice President- Elect was actually taken on 20 December at their home in Washington.

The Pardon In The Rose Garden

November 26, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Presidents, Richard Nixon, U.S. History | Leave a Comment 

President Obama’s pardon yesterday of a turkey named Courage was the latest exercise of a clemency that may (or may not) have first been extended by President Truman in 1947.  Because it’s Thanksgiving and children may be reading —and because the l-tryptophan is already kicking in—  we will illustrate rather than examine what is really going on.

President Obama attributed his pardon to the pleas of his daughters Sasha and Malia.  He said, “I was planning to eat this sucker.”

There is doubt and controversy about whether HST was pardoning the turkey or receiving it from the National Turkey Foundation for the next day’s dinner.

On 19 November 1969, Wally McNamee photographed RN pardoning that year’s bird.

November 1969 — Giving Thanks

November 26, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Nixon family, Pat Nixon, Richard Nixon, U.S. History, White House | Leave a Comment 

A Nixon Family portrait from 1969 — their first year in the White House.

On Thanksgiving Day 1969 —their first year in the White House— the Nixons invited more than two hundred residents without any families from nineteen DC area old age homes to join them at the White House for a traditional meal including fruit salad, turkey and all the trimmings, and pumpkin pie.  The guests, ranging in age from 58 to 93, arrived in busses and were greeted in a presidential receiving line.

The Nixon family —RN, PN and Tricia, Julie and David, and Mamie Eisenhower and David’s sister, her 17-year old granddaughter Susan— welcomed the guests, who were divided between the East Room and the State Dining Room.  Everyone was seated at round tables of ten decorated with centerpieces of  fall flowers and fruit.  Music was supplied by the Army’s Old Guard Fife and Drum Band and the Marine Corps Band Orchestra; entertainment was provided by the Beers Family folk singers and a balladeer from Colonial Williamsburg.

Several guests responded when RN asked for anyone over 90 to raise their hands.   One of them was 93-year-old John W. Graves of Neosho, MO who lived in the National Lutheren Home for the Aged in DC.  The irrepressible nonagenarian rose three times — first to tell RN that he was born in Missouri (RN replied: “I know President Truman will be glad we had a Missourian here today.”); then to inform POTUS that “I’ve never had a sick day in my life.” (RN: “I’m going to have the Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare come and talk to you and get your formula so we can pass it around the country.”); and, finally, to observe that “My father lived to 93; my sister lived to 94; and there were 10 children, five of us still alive.” (RN: “I want to get your formula too.”)

The New York Times‘ headline for the story of the event:  ”Nixon Is Outtalked by Holiday Dinner Guest, 93.”

Julie Nixon Eisenhower told the guests that the grace she would say was one that had been used in the Nixon family since she and Tricia were little: “Thank you for the earth so sweet; thank you for the food we eat….”

Forty Years Ago: Thanksgiving Proclaimed

November 26, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Richard Nixon, U.S. History | Leave a Comment 

Proclamation 3944 – Thanksgiving Day, 1969

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION

On October 3, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln invited his fellow citizens to “set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of Thanksgiving..” This was the year of the battle of Gettysburg and of other major battles between Americans on American soil. To many, this call for a national day of Thanksgiving must have seemed strange, coming as it did at a time of war and bitterness.

Yet Lincoln knew that the act of thanksgiving should not be limited to time of peace and serenity. He knew that it is precisely at those times of hardship when men most need to recognize that the Source of all good constantly bestows His blessings on mankind.

Today, despite our material wealth and well-being, Americans face complex problems unknown before in our nation’s history. In giving thanks today, we express gratitude for past bounty and we also confidently face the challenges confronting our own nation and the world because we know we can rely on a strength greater than ourselves.

This year, let us especially seek to rekindle in our respective hearts and minds the spirit of our first settlers who valued freedom above all else, and who found much for which to be thankful when material comforts were meager. We are, indeed, a most fortunate people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICHARD NIXON, President of the United States of America, in consonance with Section 6103 of Title 5 of the United States Code designating the fourth Thursday of November in each year as Thanksgiving Day, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 27, 1969, as a day of national thanksgiving.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred sixty-nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred ninety-fourth.

RICHARD NIXON.

And, because America was at war, the President issued a separate message to the Armed Forces:

Thanksgiving Day Message to the Armed Forces.

THE PILGRIMS at Plymouth had good reason to express their gratitude to God on that first Thanksgiving Day nearly three and a half centuries ago. Those who enjoyed the abundance of that first harvest had survived in a wilderness where suffering and want were their constant companions. Their faith in God’s mercy was strengthened and sustained in spite of hardship.

Throughout our history, Americans have celebrated this day in both a spiritual and festive fashion, rejoicing in the blessings bestowed upon them by our Creator. Among these, for which we are indeed grateful, is our precious heritage of freedom which you today protect and defend wherever you may serve. Your admirable contribution to our national security insures that this heritage will be preserved.

This Thanksgiving Day provides an ideal occasion for all Americans to acknowledge and give thanks for the courage, devotion to duty, and the loyalty you have demonstrated in service to our nation.

RICHARD NIXON

11.26.1789

November 26, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Presidents, U.S. History | Leave a Comment 

George Washington Issued the First Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation

The Proclamation, signed on 3 October, named 26 November as a day “to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks…”

By the President of the United States of America, a Proclamation.

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.

Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be– That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.

and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions– to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually–to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed–to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord–To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us–and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand at the City of New York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.

Go: Washington

Everybody Knows The Bird Is The Word

November 25, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Nixon family, Pat Nixon, TV, U.S. History, White House | Leave a Comment 

A couple of months ago the First Lady made a guest appearance on the opening episode of the 40th anniversary season of Sesame Street.   (And last month I saluted the charming PSA that resulted.)

Sesame Street premiered in November 1969, and a year later — on 12 December 1970 — PN invited the cast to a children’s Christmas party at the White House.

PN was Big Bird’s friend through fair times and fowl, and on 28 January 1981, she introduced her fine feathered friend to another generation of Nixon family fans.  As The New York Times reported:

The great-granddaughter of one President and her cousin, the grandson of another President, had their chance Wednesday to look in awe upon Big Bird and his friends in person.

A visit to the ”Sesame Street” TV studio, at Broadway and 81st Street, was arranged ”just like any other grandmother would,” said a studio spokesman, by Pat Nixon, wife of the former President, for Jennie Eisenhower and Christopher Cox.

Jennie, who is almost 2 1/2 years old, is the daughter of the former Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower, grandson of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Christopher’s parents are the former Tricia Nixon and Edward M. Cox, a New York lawyer.

The children were accompanied to the TV studio by their grandmother and Mrs. Cox. When Big Bird stepped forward to greet them, Jennie Eisenhower gurgled gleefully and said to Mrs. Nixon, ”Look, grandma, he’s just like Big Bird in the picture over my bed.”

11.10.1775

November 10, 2009 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under History, Holidays, Military | Leave a Comment 

From the Halls of Montezuma,
To the shores of Tripoli;
We fight our country’s battles
In the air, on land, and sea;
First to fight for right and freedom
And to keep our honor clean;
We are proud to claim the title
Of United States Marine.

Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun;
In the snow of far-off Northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes;
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.

Here’s health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we’ve fought for life
And never lost our nerve;
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven’s scenes;
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines.

Columbus Day

October 12, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under History, Holidays, Richard Nixon | Leave a Comment 

A Columbus Day Parade float on Fifth Avenue in New York City.  (Photograph by Sean Unruh.)

On 8 October, a few days before Columbus Day in 1972, RN spoke —without text or notes— to a dinner at the Sheraton Park Hotel sponsored by Amerito (a federation of Italian-American organizations in the Washington D.C. area) and the Knights of Columbus.

Here are some excerpts from his recorded remarks:

Now, ladies and gentlemen, if I may take just a little of your time to pay my own special tribute to the organizations that are represented here, and also to the day that will be celebrated all day tomorrow, Columbus Day. May I speak of what that day means to America. May I speak also of what the Italian heritage means to America.

In speaking to you on this occasion, I, of course, could mention a number of areas in which people of Italian background have contributed to the greatness of this country. For example, in the field of government, the man on my right, Secretary Volpe. There are others. We have honored one of the top labor leaders of America, he, of course, of Italian background.

But whatever area you pick, whether in the area of business or politics or labor, you will find that those of Italian background have made their way to the top, and they are justly honored. It seemed to me quite appropriate that your program last year was at the Kennedy Center and that opera stars from all over the world were brought there, because everyone knows not only of the Italian contribution to America but to the world, in the field of music.

John Volpe suggested that perhaps some of you in this great audience might not know that that band that you have heard tonight is also one that we owe to our Italian background. When Thomas Jefferson was first trying to get an appropriate band for the White House, he found that there were not enough good musicians in the then new Capital of the United States, and so he, who had traveled much in the world, sent people to Italy. They recruited Italians to come to join the Marines, and the Marine Band came from Italy. Now, if any of you think that that story is apocryphal just for this occasion, I can tell you something that I know has been checked historically, as has that story, and that is that over one-half of all of the leaders of this distinguished band, which is called the President’s Band–it is the one that always plays in the White House–over one-half of them, over 180 years, have been men of Italian background. So it is the President’s Band.

But when we describe professions, the profession of politics, labor leaders, business, music, and the like, we could, of course, describe various groups who have contributed to the greatness of America. Let me indicate to you some other factors that I think more closely touch the subject in which we are all interested tonight, what those of Italian background have contributed to this country over the years.

….We see one of those factors very clearly, and that is, putting it quite bluntly, hard work. Italian immigrants came to this country by the hundreds of thousands, and then by the millions. They came here not asking for something, asking only for the opportunity to work. They have worked and they have built.

I think it can truly be said that they, along with many other groups who have come from all over the world to America, have helped to build this country. They are the builders of America, and, consequently, we owe a debt to this group for what they have done in building America, for what they have done in teaching us all that the dignity of work is what made this country what it is and that we must always respect the dignity of work and the dignity of those who lead the workers of America….

There is a second feature which is represented by this head table tonight. Those of Italian background bring with them a very deep religious faith. We in America have varying religious backgrounds, but the day when America loses its religious faith, this will cease to be a great country. Those of Italian background, with their deep religious faith, have helped to sustain the strength of America, the moral strength, which is more important than all the military strength and the economic strength in the world…..

There is another factor that this evening reminds us of. Those of Italian background have a deep love of family….. But most important of all is the fact that those of Italian background, along with so many other immigrant groups who have come to this country, are proud of where they came from, where their parents or grandparents came from, but they are prouder still to be Americans.

As we think of that particular fact, I would like to put it in terms of what we really owe to so many groups who have come to America from abroad and have added character and strength and fiber to this country’s idealism, to the love of country which sustains us through difficult times and other times as well…..

Let me say, as one who came not from an Italian background, but from a not very affluent background, that I always feel very grateful that I was born in America. But also, I always recall that in the term I have been President the moments that perhaps have touched me the most have been those when I have attended citizenship ceremonies–one in Chicago, one in New York, one in Washington– and new citizens have come by, just getting their American citizenship for the first time. Whether they happened to be from Poland or Italy or Germany or the Orient or wherever they were, more often than not tears would be in their eyes when they said, “I am so proud now to be an American citizen.”

Let us be proud to be Americans tonight.

RN’s Labor Day Message

September 7, 2009 by Jonathan Movroydis | Filed Under Holidays | Leave a Comment 

Issued from San Clemente on August 31, 1973:

AMERICA is a great nation because of the strength and character of the American people. Without the full-hearted support of an intelligent, energetic labor force, all of our technological and theoretical breakthroughs would have been wasted; with that support, they have made America the most prosperous, progressive nation in the world.

On Labor Day we pay tribute to the working men and women to whom America owes so much. On this day, we also give thanks for the fact that in our free society–more than anywhere else on earth–the laborer can enjoy’ the results of his labor and the freedom to choose where and how he will apply his skills. By working together, labor, management and government in America have achieved a standard of living and a climate of opportunity and individual rights unequalled in the history of man.

But in a competitive world, no matter how great our past achievements, we must not fall victim to complacency. The soul and sinew of American labor must continue to be a force for progress and productivity. The continuing vitality of our economy and, through it, of our entire way of life, rests in large measure on the willingness, understanding and cooperation of the working men and women of America. They have not failed us before and they will not fail us now.

For all of us, then, Labor Day 1973 should be a time of rededication as well as thanksgiving a time when we renew our dedication to preserving an abundant America, free and secure, for this and future generations.

37’s 4ths

July 4, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays, Nixon Administration, Nixon in the News, Pat Nixon, Richard Nixon | Leave a Comment 

The Philippine Republic and the USA share July Fourth as their Independence Day.  On 4 July 1956, Vice President and Mrs. Nixon joined President Ramon Magsaysay  and First Lady Luz Magsaysay in Manila to celebrate the Philippines’ 10th and America’s 180th birthdays.   (Photo for LIFE magazine by John Dominis.)

July Fourth was always a meaningful day for RN throughout his presidency:

1969- RN spends the holiday weekend in Key Biscayne, Fla., where he attends a
parade and exchanges messages with anthropologist Thor Heyerdawl, who is on the boat ”Expedition Ra” on his way across the Atlantic.

1970- RN is at the Western White House in San Clemente, California, meeting with Vietnam peace talks envoy David K.E. Bruce.

1971- The official Fourth celebration occurs on the 5th this year and RN witnesses the certification of the 26th Amendment to the Constitution —which added eleven million new voters to the rolls by lowering the voting age to 18— in the East Room of the White House. RN’s extended remarks were particularly significant.

1972- RN gives a Fouth of July radio address from San Clemente, Calif., and reveals his plans for the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976.

1973- RN issues his Independence Day Statement from the Western White House in San Clemente: “Independence Day is a day to secure our moorings, to consider how far we have come as a nation, and to understand where we must yet go. It is a day of solemnity, for the birth of our nation was a momentous event for all mankind. But it is also a day of great joy as we celebrate the wondrous blessings of liberty and freedom.”

1974- President Nixon is at Key Biscayne, Florida after having returned from the Soviet Summit in Moscow on the previous evening.  In his Independence Day Statement, he says: “The Fourth of July is a uniquely American holiday. But it is also a holiday that echoes the hopes and aspirations of people throughout the world. In each of my-trips abroad, I have seen tangible evidence of people’s basic belief in the value of the principles that underlie our Republic, and outpouring of affection and respect for the Nation that Abraham Lincoln called “the last, best hope of earth.”

On 4 July 1970, RN recorded a message to be played for the crowd on the Mall waiting for the Honor America Day ceremony followed by the annual fireworks at the Washington Monument:

WE AMERICANS are known throughout the world as a forward-looking people. The United States of America is in fact a symbol of progress, of hope, and of just and orderly growth.

Yet, on one day each year we turn and look back at our past. We look back today over almost 200 years to a group of men meeting in Philadelphia and we look back in pride and in wonder, for what they did on this day is the single greatest political achievement in the history of man.

And we are the beneficiaries of that achievement.

To those of you who have gathered on this day to honor America, I send my best wishes for an enjoyable, memorable Fourth of July celebration. I know that the sponsors of this event, from every walk of life and from both major parties, have done everything they can to make this day a very special one for all of you.

Yet, there is something remaining to be done in order to make Honor America Day the kind of special occasion we all want it to be. It is my hope that each of us will take away not only our proud memories of this day, but also the living spirit of the Fourth of July as well, a spirit that created a free and strong and prosperous nation.

That is the spirit that can truly honor America, not only today but always. Let us all look back today so that we will be reminded of what great sacrifices have been made to make this day possible, and then let us turn once more to the future, inspired by what this day means to us and to all those who love freedom throughout the world.

A tip o’the Liberty Cap to James Heintze.

7.4.09

July 4, 2009 by Frank Gannon | Filed Under Holidays | Leave a Comment 

Which Revolution?

July 3, 2009 by David R. Stokes | Filed Under American Politics, Book Review, Europe, History, Holidays, Religion, U.S. History | Leave a Comment 

In my opinion, the best part of John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address on January 20, 1961, had nothing to do with asking anyone anything. The moment to remember was when he said:

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe – the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution.

It is interesting, even sadly ironic that what is going on in our nation right now does resemble an old revolutionary spirit, but not necessarily that of Lexington, Concord, or Philadelphia. In fact, a case can be made – if one looks closely – that the spirit of 2009 is more like the spirit of 1789 than 1776.

The American and French Revolutions are linked in our minds because of chronology; but they were vastly different affairs. One led to a new birth of freedom; the other to terror and tyranny. That one also became the model for horrors to come.

As our nation morphs its way along, en route to becoming what some liberal diehards very much want it to be, a significant number of people would seemingly prefer “Liberty – Equality – Fraternity” over “Life – Liberty – and the Pursuit of Happiness.” And it is in the parsing of those vitally important words that we find the keys to understanding where we came from, where we are, and where we are going.

One revolution was about individual rights and dreams. The other was about “the people” as a group and the highest virtue being “the greater good.” Can you guess which one is which?

When Thomas Jefferson wrote about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence, he was borrowing from 17th century English philosopher, John Locke, whose triad was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of property.” Jefferson’s use of this language was clearly designed to describe the rights of individual people to live free, be free, and freely pursue their dreams in a free marketplace. Those thoughts were very much in presence in that Philadelphia birthing room.

The French Revolution, on the other hand – though similar to what happened here in the sense of changing things and breaking free from an old order – had little to do with individual rights. It was all about collectivism. And in many ways, the French Revolution is the ancestor of all totalitarian systems to follow. Hitler, Mussolini, Pol Pot Lenin, and all other political gangsters were heirs of Robespierre and later, Napoleon. Those tyrannical manifestations were not misguided aberrations – distortions of something that started out good (like Lenin was cool, too bad Stalin messed it all up) – the seeds of the horror were present at the beginning.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau, 18th century Enlightenment philosopher, had written about volonté générale or “general will” and the Jacobins, followed by others, ran with it insisting that voice of “the people” could best, actually only, be expressed by so-called enlightened leaders.

Our revolution indeed drew a measure of strength from the Enlightenment, but it was of the earlier Locke variety. And America’s use of Enlightenment concepts was tempered by something else; something that set it apart from what happened in France – a spiritual foundation.

Vive la revolution – Vive la difference.

The French not only declared war on the monarchy, they also attacked Christianity, replacing it with a religion of the state, introducing the worship of secularism. Sound familiar?

In America, it was very different. Now, I am not one of those who spends a lot of time trying to prove the Christian bona fides of our founding fathers, but I do believe that the influence of The Great Awakening, which ended about 20 years before the shot heard around the world was fired, was still very much a part of our national fabric at the time. And another such movement, usually referred to as The Second Great Awakening began while the French were unsuccessfully trying to figure out how to be free. To ignore those religious and cultural movements in America is to miss an important piece of the puzzle.

You see, the very concepts of liberty, equality, and fraternity sound nice and make for great propaganda. But in the end, without virtue born of something deeper and greater, it all ends up looking the same. This is why all totalitarian regimes like to call their realms The Peoples’ this or that – like The Peoples Republic of China, or Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or The Peoples Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Fast-forward 200 plus years and here we are remembering our revolutionary beginning. As we do so, let us beware of those who share our vocabulary, but use a different dictionary.

Are we still about the individual, personal, hard-fought-for rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, or does the cry: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity seem to increasingly be the spirit of this age?

The reason it has all worked and endured so well in this land is because we are a nation “under God.” There I said it. There is no real liberty without that. All attempts at actual freedom end up moving toward tyranny without some sense of higher purpose and power. I believe firmly in the separation of church and state. But minus positive religious influence, a nation cannot long remain free.

Thomas Paine’s story should be a cautionary tale. He, of course, wrote Common Sense in early 1776, and it was by all accounts vital to shaping public opinion in support of our patriotic ancestors. He was a revolutionary. In fact, there is a new book out by Glenn Beck, bearing the title Common Sense, using Mr. Paine’s ideas as a springboard for his own thoughts about what is wrong with America and how to fix it. I have read Beck’s book and like it. But I certainly hope he doesn’t write a sequel, or at least delve further into Thomas Paine’s bag of literary tricks to make future points about saving America.

Mr. Paine helped us early on, but as he moved on and shared more of his thinking via his acerbic pen, he expressed ideas that, while probably resonating with some today, would in no way mesh with the spirit of 1776.

While Common Sense supported the ideas of freedom, small government, and even low taxes – all very much part of that old revolutionary spirit – by the time the French were acting out his writings became increasingly more radical. When parts one and two of his work, The Rights of Man, appeared in 1791 and 1792, he became a pariah in England and fled to France like where he was treated like a hero, being made an honorary citizen of the republic. But by this time, his writings advocated a progressive income tax, public works for the unemployed, and guaranteed minimum incomes.

And don’t even get me started on his next bestseller, The Age Of Reason; a rant against revealed religion. Paine died virtually alone and penniless in 1809. Only six people attended his funeral.

This of course, brings us back full circle to the thesis of this article – that concepts of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, expressed individually (the intent of our founders), can only keep from drifting toward collectivism when there is a spiritual impulse – or at least a spiritual pulse.

C. S. Lewis said it very well in The Screwtape Letters more than 65 years ago:

Hidden in the heart of this striving for Liberty there was also a deep hatred of personal freedom. That invaluable man Rousseau first revealed it. In his perfect democracy, only the state religion is permitted, slavery is restored, and the individual is told that he has really willed (though he didn’t know it) whatever the Government tells him to do. From that starting point, via Hegel (another indispensable propagandist on our side), we easily contrived both the Nazi and the Communist state. Even in England we were pretty successful. I heard the other day that in that country a man could not, without a permit, cut down his own tree with his own axe, make it into planks with his own saw, and use the planks to build a tool shed in his own garden.

Father’s Day At The White House

June 20, 2009 by Robert Nedelkoff | Filed Under Barack Obama, Holidays, Obama family, Presidents, Richard Nixon | Leave a Comment 

Sunday is Father’s Day, and this year marks a century since Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington, came up with the idea of making it a permanent holiday. There had been a commemoration of American fatherhood on July 5, 1908, at a church in Fairmont, West Virginia, but this was apparently not undertaken with the idea of making it an annual occurence. It was left to Mrs. Dodd to decide, during a ceremony marking the recently popularized Mother’s Day holiday in 1909, that fathers should be celebrated in the same way. She approached a group of ministers in Spokane and suggested that Father’s Day be held on the birthday of her own father, a Civil War veteran. The ministers decided to make it the third Sunday in June instead. The first celebration of the day was held in 1910, and from Spokane, the idea gradually spread across the nation.

Presidents became involved with Father’s Day at an early stage. In 1916, Woodrow Wilson, during a visit to Spokane, took part in Father’s Day celebrations. In 1924, Calvin Coolidge recommended making it a national holiday. In 1966, Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation designating the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day, and in 1972 Richard Nixon signed the law making it a permanent national holiday (as I recounted in a TNN post last year).

Father’s Day is sometimes taken for granted. This is not the case at the White House, especially where the current occupant is concerned. As he told millions of readers in his book Dreams Of My Father, President Obama grew up without a father, for all practical purposes; Barack Sr. left Hawaii for Harvard, and then Kenya, when his son was hardly a toddler, and except for a Christmastime visit when the future President was ten, never saw his son again.

This year the President, in a magazine article and in interviews, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of fathers being involved in the lives of his children. To demonstrate that point, today he took his daughters across the Potomac to Alexandria to buy ice cream. It may seem like an ordinary kind of treat, but where parenting is concerned, those are sometimes among the most cherished memories when a child grows up. And undoubtedly, the President is grateful to get the chance to spend the kind of time with his daughters that his father never spent with him.

Next Page »