A Nation of Cowards????

Our current Attorney General, Eric Holder, has been quoted as saying that America is a "nation of cowards when it comes to race."  

One of the bright spots in this early "WTH" moment has been the focus by some on the true history of race in our country.  First Glenn Beck brought David Barton to his show to give some true history of the contributions of black Americans (I refuse to hyphenate, we are all Americans) to the revolution.  One of my favorite segments was about James Armistead who was one of our country's first and most important spies.  He was one of many black patriots whose story was taught in American history classes, until Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive movement decided to remove their story from history in order to create a repressed class of citizens dependent on, or "owed" by the government.

I won't go into a rehash of Mr. Barton's biographies, but will mention two of my favorites from Texas history.  The first is the basis of a character in my favorite book, Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.  In the novel, the two former Texas Rangers, Gus and Call, depend on a former slave who has worked with and for them since their ranger days, Deets.  In the opening scene of the book, Deets is returning from a three day trip to San Antonio after making their bank deposits.  They send Deets because they trust him, and who would expect a black cowboy to be carrying that much cash?  Deets is based on a real hero of the old west, Bose Ikard.  Ikard was a hired hand, and former slave, who worked with and for Oliver Loving, and after Loving's death, Loving's partner, Charles Goodnight.  Gus and Call are partially based on Loving and Goodnight.    Goodnight said of Ikard, "he was my detective, banker, and everything else in Colorado, New Mexico, and any other wild country I was in."  When Ikard died, Goodnight had a granite marker engraved with the following epitaph, which will seem very familiar to Lonesome Dove fans:  "Bose Ikard served with me four years on the Goodnight-Loving Trail, never shirked a duty or disobeyed an order, rode with me in many stampedes, participated in three engagements with Comanches, splendid behavior."

Could anyone, black or white, ask for a better memorial?  Sounds like the rampant racism we were taught in history classes?  Hardly, and this was in Texas, shortly after the Civil War.  

The other story comes from a historical marker less than five miles from my parent's house in Young County, Texas.

 After reading this marker on one of my trips home, I did some research on Britt Johnson.  (Once again, thank you Al Gore for the internet!  You deserve a massage!)  Johnson was a former slave who became a respected and much sought after scout and mule driver.  While away on a trail drive, his brother and son were killed by raiding Kiowas and Comanches.  They also kidnapped his younger son and wife.  Johnson trailed the kidnappers until he found them.  He lived with them for a winter and negotiated the release of his family.  This act made him famous in the area where such raids and kidnappings were common.  He tracked down and either negotiated the release, or rescued victims of at least two other raids.  Unfortunately, this did not endear him to the Comanches and Kiowas.  As the marker above relates, the Kiowas eventually got their revenge on Johnson and two other black men who were accompanying him in Young County.  Johnson's exploits in the Elm Creek Raid, where Goodnight was also a major participant, were the basis for John Ford's movie, The Searchers, starring John Wayne as a character based on Britt Johnson.   

As these two stories illustrate, even in Texas, shortly after the Civil War, Americans "judged (others) based on the content of their character, not the color of their skin."  Just as Dr. Martin King dreamed.  Why is our current department of justice not living up to this heritage?  Is it possible that Mr. Holder and President Obama are cowards when it comes to the issue of race in America.  What would happen to their agenda if the race card were removed from their playbook?  I guess we can dream too.

Glenn Beck and Al Sharpton --BFF!!??

I saw David Barton on Glenn Beck's show about a month ago and he had him on for the full hour today.  He is an American historian/author whose book, Original Intent, looks very interesting.  He is also the owner of the largest collection of pre-1812 American letters and documents.  Coincidentally, he was also part of the commission that rolled back some of the progressive changes to American history in Texas' history curriculum.

He owns one of the twenty-two surviving copies of the Bible actually published by Congress, with a note on the cover page that states that this Bible is published specifically to be used in schools.  Our founders wanted freedom from a "national religion," not separation of church and state as it has been twisted today.   They founded our country on Christian principles, not a specific denomination, but basic Christian principles.  They had no problem with individual states choosing a "state religion," as Massachusetts did until the early 1820's.  The federal government was prohibited from supporting a specific religion, but it was a right reserved to the states.  Like many other areas, the founders were willing to let citizens vote with their feet.  If Pennsylvania wanted to support the beliefs of Quakers; New York, Judaism; Rhode Island, Puritanism; Georgia, Baptist; and California, worship of the endangered fruitfly; the states had the right to do so.  And citizens were free to move from one state to another in pursuit of their happiness.  

Mr. Barton has the hand-written sermons from ministers from many denominations who led church services held in the House of Representatives, founded and attended by Thomas Jefferson.  Obviously his interpretation of "church and state" was much different than that voiced today.  He also encouraged services that were held in the chambers of the Supreme Court!


Another interesting story he told about Jefferson involved his relationship with John Adams.  He and Adams were close during the revolution and in the very early days of the republic.  They had a falling out over differing ideas about the government.  Jefferson felt that Adams was destroying the nation and defeated Adams in the election to become the third president.  The two did not speak for years.  A mutual friend named Benjamin Rusk, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, told Adams about a dream.  He said that in the dream that he, Rusk, was holding a book of letters between Adams and Jefferson and he felt that it was a message from God.  Adams said that he too, believed that it must be a message from God and he made the first move to re-connect with Jefferson.  Mr. Barton now owns the letters between Adams and Jefferson, many of them about the role of religion in government.  One other cool, or maybe spooky point in the letter, Rusk also said that in the dream he saw both Adams and Jefferson would die on the anniversary of the founding of the nation.  Both Adams and Jefferson died on the 4th of July 1826.


The point of his appearance was again how progressives have changed history to meet their points of view.  He went founder by founder from a painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and showed letters and documents written by the men showing their views on religion.  They believed that America should not have a federally mandated religion; that Americans should be free to choose their own religion, or no religion at all.  It seems that today, the only choice the liberals/progressives want Americans to have is whether to let their baby live.


When you get down to principles, America does have a strong, common foundation.  And yes, it is based in Christianity - the Ten Commandments.  We need to get away from the specifics that keep us divided and get to the foundation that we have in common.   Don't let the people at the opposite ends of the spectrum tear the country apart, but allow the strong middle hold it together.  Unfortunately right now our government and media is way to the left or progressive end of the spectrum and is trying to drag the rest of us their direction.   Yesterday the Reverend Al Sharpton was on Glenn Beck's show.  They both admitted that they do not agree on many, if any specifics, but they do have a common belief in the basics or foundation.  They just disagree in how to get down to the foundation, or where to build from the foundation.  That's where the founders' belief in state's rights comes in.  Let each state decide what services to provide, what taxes to collect, what recreational drugs to outlaw, whether to mandate health insurance and even whether women have the right to kill their babies.  Then let the citizens vote with their feet.  But keep the federal government out of it.  If Al Sharpton and Glenn Beck can find a common ground, maybe there is some hope for the rest of the country.