Governing Ourselves

We have staked the whole future on American civilization, not upon the power of government, far from it.  We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon the capacity of each all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God. – President James Madison

James Madison, chief architect of the Constitution and 4th President, was known to regularly lead his household in family devotions and was an adamant defender of religious liberty.  His strong position of defender of religious freedom began when, as a youth, he stood with his father outside a jail and listened to several Baptists preacher from their cell windows, having  been imprisoned for their religious opinions.

Some of you readers my wonder why we post so many quotes or stories about dead people on this blog.  Why does the past matter so much, isn’t the present just as important?  Our goal at FPP is to preserve the history of America that many Americans don’t know.  Innocently, we cannot know the doings of the past, but in this information age we can look back at times gone by and learn the lessons our ancestors learned and avoid their same mistakes.  There is a stirring in the hearts of many Americans at present to change the direction of our nation.  This country was founded by a group of people, banded together, in pursuit of freedom – particularly religious freedom.  We must never forget that we still have a voice and that we have the right to be heard.  Let us look to the foundations of this country and the people ordained to lead and shape it.  May we learn by their example and restore America for generations yet to come.