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A minister friend, himself a Dr. of Divinity quotes Ronald Reagan in tomorrow's sermon:
It’s finally over. Some of us are relieved. Others of us are disappointed. Still others of us are full of encouragement and hope. All of us are aware that a new day has dawned in this nation.
"Someone once said that the difference between an American and any other kind of person is that an American lives in anticipation of the future because [the American] knows it will be a great place." Ronald Reagan spoke those words in 1979 when he announced his bid to be his party’s candidate for president of the United States. Reagan went on to say, "There remains the greatness of our people, our capacity for dreaming up fantastic deeds and bringing them off to the surprise of an unbelieving world. When Washington’s men were freezing at Valley Forge, Tom Paine told his fellow Americans: ‘We have it in our power to begin the world over again.’ We still have that power.”
On Tuesday, we mark the anniversary of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 (90 years ago!) when the First World War finally ground to a halt with Germany signing an armistice with the Allies. That long “war to end all wars” was also known as the Great War and the “war to make the world safe for democracy.” Now we know it only as World War I, because that is all that it was, despite its 40 million casualties. President Wilson first marked Armistice Day on 11/11/1919. In 1938 Congress established an annual Armistice Day as a legal holiday, “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.” In 1954 the holiday became Veterans Day, a time to honor the service of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines from all wars, since by then it was apparent that the “war to end all wars” had not done its job. I propose that we dust off the seventy-year old idea of Congress that Tuesday should be “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.” The words of Revolutionary leader Thomas Paine are worth repeating on Tuesday as well: “We have it in our power to begin the world again.” And “We still have that power." (Reagan)
Last Tuesday, for the first time, a member of the United Church of Christ was elected president of the United States of America. Every two years, this democracy begins the world again through the election of a new congress, and every four years, we vote for a president. It was a great day on Tuesday, as citizens stood in long lines from early morning until night. It was a great day as Senator McCain peacefully and graciously conceded to his Senate colleague from Illinois. It was a great day as thousands assembled peacefully in Grant Park, where my chopper pilot veteran brother in law remembers delivering tear gas, riot gear and barricades forty years ago. We have come a long way as a nation, keeping the future before us in hopeful anticipation, knowing the future is a great place. We begin the world again.
On Tuesday, we mark the anniversary of the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918 (90 years ago!) when the First World War finally ground to a halt with Germany signing an armistice with the Allies. That long “war to end all wars” was also known as the Great War and the “war to make the world safe for democracy.” Now we know it only as World War I, because that is all that it was, despite its 40 million casualties. President Wilson first marked Armistice Day on 11/11/1919. In 1938 Congress established an annual Armistice Day as a legal holiday, “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.” In 1954 the holiday became Veterans Day, a time to honor the service of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines from all wars, since by then it was apparent that the “war to end all wars” had not done its job. I propose that we dust off the seventy-year old idea of Congress that Tuesday should be “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.” The words of Revolutionary leader Thomas Paine are worth repeating on Tuesday as well: “We have it in our power to begin the world again.” And “We still have that power." (Reagan)
Last Tuesday, for the first time, a member of the United Church of Christ was elected president of the United States of America. Every two years, this democracy begins the world again through the election of a new congress, and every four years, we vote for a president. It was a great day on Tuesday, as citizens stood in long lines from early morning until night. It was a great day as Senator McCain peacefully and graciously conceded to his Senate colleague from Illinois. It was a great day as thousands assembled peacefully in Grant Park, where my chopper pilot veteran brother in law remembers delivering tear gas, riot gear and barricades forty years ago. We have come a long way as a nation, keeping the future before us in hopeful anticipation, knowing the future is a great place. We begin the world again.
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(page 2, sorry about the scale change)
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