| Peter and Helen Evans | ||||
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Visit Our BLOG Buying or Selling a Home in the DC Area? Find out More about our Friendly,Professional Service Recommended Sites American Orthodox Institute Orthodoxy Today The Conservative Voice The Institute for Liberty SITE MENU > Articles > America, the Great Experiment > Photo Essays on Washington, DC > About > Contact RESEARCH LINKS > Heritage Foundation > American Enterprise Institute > CATO Institute > Family Research Center > MORE LINKS |
Welcome We're not talking about your answer, as a child, that you were going to be a nurse or a fireman when you grew up. We're talking about the free choices that you are making every day that are cumulatively determining what your life actually is, what you're becoming and what your life means to the world around you. It's a big question, but until you pay attention to the way that you're already answering it, you won't even be able to attempt the first question. It has become common to think that America has a life of its own, and for many to be complacent about being Americans. However, President G.W. Bush reminded us, "Freedom is God's gift to humanity, not America's gift to the world." After some contemplation you may realize, as we did, that your life is not separate from America's. All of us are the lifeblood of this great nation. Each of us is the personal guardian of the perishable gift of human freedom. Without our conscious, active engagement, our liberty can be lost and America will not survive as the land of the free and the home of the brave. America is an on-going experiment in a tantalizing paradox: the structure of freedom; the government of liberty. The founders of this nation were well aware of the difficulties inherent in what they were attempting. Thomas Jefferson put the conundrum in a nutshell when he noted, "That governs best, which governs least." George Washington himself referred to this adventure in nation-building as "The Great Experiment," knowing full well that its success was by no means guaranteed. Well, almost 230 years after the Declaration of Independence, there's no question that "the flag is still there" but the paradox is still there, too. The questions of the proper balance between freedom and responsibility, between individual liberty and state power, have to be answered every day in our own lives. We have established this site to make our contribution to the cause of human freedom and understanding; to inform, motivate and inspire you to be a guardian of America as a land of maximum freedom, minimum government, growing prosperity and expanding opportunity. We have found that the city we live in, Washington DC, speaks to those who will listen, through its architecture, monuments and sculpture. We've begun learning this language and would like to share some of the history of this great city. It's more than a personal photo album. It's an album of our ancestors, of our peers, of our trials and successes, our griefs and jubilation. It's an album of good people trying to do their best within the Great Experiment called America. We invite you to enjoy this beautiful city and we invite you to become a vital, engaged and responsible part of America. "Free men must re-dedicate themselves to the cause of freedom. They must understand with a new certainty of conviction that the cause of freedom is the cause of the human individual. Human individuality is the basis of every value -- spiritual, moral, intellectual, creative -- in human life."
"Freedom is the right to one's soul; the right of each
person to approach God in his own way and by his own means. It is
a man's right to possess his mind and conscience for himself.
To those who put their trust in freedom, the state can have no
sovereignty over the mind or soul -- must be the servant of
man's reason, not the master." "And
as we renew ourselves here in our own land, we will be seen as
having greater strength throughout the world. We will again be
the exemplar of freedom and a beacon of hope for those who do not
now have freedom. To those neighbors and allies who share our
freedom, we will strengthen our historic ties and assure them of
our support and firm commitment. We will match loyalty with
loyalty. We will strive for mutually beneficial relations. We
will not use our friendship to impose on their sovereignty, for
our own sovereignty is not for sale. As for the enemies of
freedom, those who are potential adversaries, they will be
reminded that peace is the highest aspiration of the American
people. We will negotiate for it, sacrifice for it; we will not
surrender for it -- now or ever. Our forbearance should never be
misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be
misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to
preserve our national security, we will act. We will maintain
sufficient strength to prevail if need be, knowing that if we do
so we have the best chance of never having to use that strength.
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the
arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral
courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in
today's world do not have. It is a weapon that we as
Americans do have. Let that be understood by those who practice
terrorism and prey upon their neighbors." |
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