Your family history makes your life a walking indictment of identity politics. Your story is moving and stirred my heart. I do not have a history like yours. I have lived my life taking these freedoms for granted, in many ways, not even aware of them. Perhaps it is time for us to rise out of our cradles and fight for our freedom before it is gone. Thank you for entering the battle. Your work is very valuable.
That speech has been shared quite a bit. I wonder if Ms. Birbalsngh has read your dad's book. If not, and she came up with the concept of white guilt on her own, I think that validates your dad's book and your movie project.
No, I don’t know them but will check them out. I believe she must know his work since she connected fear to white guilt. A great, concise speech. Hope to meet her one day.
Eli, another gem! Thank you for sharing your families history. Anyone who reads your writing becomes a better person because of your wisdom. Blessings to you and your family.
My grandparents struggled in the ordinary way that Greek immigrants at the turn of the last century struggled: trudging down from their mountaintop villages, riding steerage into New York Harbor, doing those jobs immigrants always do, and marrying and making ends meet -- and rearing fine kids who worked and achieved more.
It's the old ordinary story of extraordinary people who sought better lives for the children and grandchildren they would someday have.
I am grateful to them, and to you for reminding me.
My family never took our American life for granted, and today I am incredulous and at times irate at the ingratitude of so many.
Especially now in New York City with our current mayor, a smug privileged man-child masquerading as savior.
Beware that grin. It covers an age-old demented hatred and envy.
Beautifully said. One of the things I regret most about Obama, was how he amplified the victim mentality. It is easier to stay caged and blame others for your situation in life, then to take responsibility for your choices. The Declaration of Independence, which we are about to celebrate, states that we have a right to the pursuit of happiness. It never said we were guaranteed happiness, and yet, too many people believe that the government should save us from ourselves, provide for us from cradle to grave, and they are willing to sacrifice their freedom to that end.
I came from hard-core Yankees, who were fiercely independent. I have roots that go back to the Mayflower, and ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Thank God for their sacrifices that I may enjoy this amazing birthright, and may God bless this country for another 250 years.
Eli, I had not previously thought about freedom simply in terms of the right to make choices , regardless of how limited they may be. It is both amazing and sad that so many of our fellow citizens have little if any qualms about giving up.that inherent human right. And it is frightening how many seek to ask you and I to give up our human right to make choices in a variety of contexts.
I will choose to honor and celebrate my native land this weekend. Others will choose just the opposite. And while I detest their choice I nonetheless am grateful that we live in a country that affords them that opportunity, and even though they are ungrateful for their freedom and how that freedom came to be.
Happy 4th to you and all who anxiously await your next posting
I am both a cradle Catholic and a cradle American. My ancestors came in the 1600s, fleeing persecution for being Catholic in England, settled in the Catholic colony of Maryland and then moved to Kentucky in the 1780s. I weep that my children are not proud of either.
Such an apt analogy, I am both a cradle Catholic and a cradle American - never thought to link the two. Love this reflection on your heritage and America's promise. "America, America..God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!"
May God continue to bless America and may Americans thank God for the blessing of being born here.
What you've said here reminds me of armchair quarterbacks, people who have invested nothing in the game, have no proven qualifications, yet think they know better than the people playing on the field.
I am blown away!How fitting that on our 250th birthday week I would read something so profound.It was like a punch to the gut!To say thank you from us all!
Wow! That was a Solzhenitsyn-level article, like his Warning to the West. Like many of the Russians who were guilty of simply "seeing" the freedom we have in America and the West, he was sent to the Gulag.
“I do not want to be the American who was handed everything and did nothing with it.”
Love this!
Second!
Your family history makes your life a walking indictment of identity politics. Your story is moving and stirred my heart. I do not have a history like yours. I have lived my life taking these freedoms for granted, in many ways, not even aware of them. Perhaps it is time for us to rise out of our cradles and fight for our freedom before it is gone. Thank you for entering the battle. Your work is very valuable.
Thank you for this, Julie. Means much.
Are you familiar with the Center for Biblical Unity? (https://www.centerforbiblicalunity.com/) They have several YouTube channels and yesterday they featured Katharine Birbalsingh's speech at the ARC conference with some commentary. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/n9n50ZLdkCk?si=sz0cTENmLjCUYfOE
That speech has been shared quite a bit. I wonder if Ms. Birbalsngh has read your dad's book. If not, and she came up with the concept of white guilt on her own, I think that validates your dad's book and your movie project.
No, I don’t know them but will check them out. I believe she must know his work since she connected fear to white guilt. A great, concise speech. Hope to meet her one day.
That would be amazing if you could meet her. I hope it happens.
The inspiring story of your grandparents immediately reminded me of Invictus by William Ernest Henley:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.
I love this! Thank you for the reminder!
Wonderful, thank you!
Eli, another gem! Thank you for sharing your families history. Anyone who reads your writing becomes a better person because of your wisdom. Blessings to you and your family.
🙏🙏🇺🇸
I love this essay. Thank you.
My grandparents struggled in the ordinary way that Greek immigrants at the turn of the last century struggled: trudging down from their mountaintop villages, riding steerage into New York Harbor, doing those jobs immigrants always do, and marrying and making ends meet -- and rearing fine kids who worked and achieved more.
It's the old ordinary story of extraordinary people who sought better lives for the children and grandchildren they would someday have.
I am grateful to them, and to you for reminding me.
My family never took our American life for granted, and today I am incredulous and at times irate at the ingratitude of so many.
Especially now in New York City with our current mayor, a smug privileged man-child masquerading as savior.
Beware that grin. It covers an age-old demented hatred and envy.
Mamdani is demonic, a term I never use, by the way; but somehow he manages to camouflage the rot inside him.
Yes, although some of us have seen it from the get go and wonder how on earth other people could fall for it. He is absolutely sinister.
Beautifully said. One of the things I regret most about Obama, was how he amplified the victim mentality. It is easier to stay caged and blame others for your situation in life, then to take responsibility for your choices. The Declaration of Independence, which we are about to celebrate, states that we have a right to the pursuit of happiness. It never said we were guaranteed happiness, and yet, too many people believe that the government should save us from ourselves, provide for us from cradle to grave, and they are willing to sacrifice their freedom to that end.
I came from hard-core Yankees, who were fiercely independent. I have roots that go back to the Mayflower, and ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Thank God for their sacrifices that I may enjoy this amazing birthright, and may God bless this country for another 250 years.
Thank you, Diana!
Eli, I had not previously thought about freedom simply in terms of the right to make choices , regardless of how limited they may be. It is both amazing and sad that so many of our fellow citizens have little if any qualms about giving up.that inherent human right. And it is frightening how many seek to ask you and I to give up our human right to make choices in a variety of contexts.
I will choose to honor and celebrate my native land this weekend. Others will choose just the opposite. And while I detest their choice I nonetheless am grateful that we live in a country that affords them that opportunity, and even though they are ungrateful for their freedom and how that freedom came to be.
Happy 4th to you and all who anxiously await your next posting
Thank you! And Happy 4th of July to you!
You, Eli, are the kind of person who is using our country’s freedom and honoring it. Thank you for your courage and steadfastness.
Thank you, Kiki, for that.
I am both a cradle Catholic and a cradle American. My ancestors came in the 1600s, fleeing persecution for being Catholic in England, settled in the Catholic colony of Maryland and then moved to Kentucky in the 1780s. I weep that my children are not proud of either.
Your best yet, Eli. Truly thought provoking and magical on our 250th birthday. I am grateful for you!
Thank you, Meredith, and I hope you had a good 4th.
As one who was able to leave from behind the Iron Curtain, everyday in America is for me July 4th. Be proud y’all! 🇺🇸
Such an apt analogy, I am both a cradle Catholic and a cradle American - never thought to link the two. Love this reflection on your heritage and America's promise. "America, America..God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self-control, thy liberty in law!"
May God continue to bless America and may Americans thank God for the blessing of being born here.
Thank you, Eli.
Thank you.
Thank you for all your support. Means much.
What you've said here reminds me of armchair quarterbacks, people who have invested nothing in the game, have no proven qualifications, yet think they know better than the people playing on the field.
I am blown away!How fitting that on our 250th birthday week I would read something so profound.It was like a punch to the gut!To say thank you from us all!
Happy 4th to you!
Wow! That was a Solzhenitsyn-level article, like his Warning to the West. Like many of the Russians who were guilty of simply "seeing" the freedom we have in America and the West, he was sent to the Gulag.
🙏🇺🇸