President Trump gave his best speech ever at Mt. Rushmore, kicking off the 4th of July weekend. However, the left did not see it that way. The Washington Post reported “At Mt. Rushmore, Trump exploits social divisions, warns of ‘left wing cultural revolution’ in dark speech ahead of Independence Day”. The Los Angeles Times wrote “At Mt. Rushmore, Trump uses Fourth of July celebration to stoke a cultural war”. The New York Times said “Trump uses Mt. Rushmore speech to deliver divisive culture war message”. The Associated Press also weighed in with “Trump pushes racial division, flouts virus rules at Rushmore”. Looks like there is some colluding here, don’t you think?
The actual speech was a wonderful compilation of what America has meant to individual liberty. It was a speech that highlighted American achievement and how that achievement improved not only American lives but the lives of all that live on our planet. He said “No nation has done more to advance the human condition than the United States of America, and no people have done more to promote human progress than the citizens of our great nation”.
The media of course reported this differently, and as expected weaved a narrative that was totally false. The President actually described America as a nation that embraces equality and diversity, citing the Declaration of Independence with this quote: “all men are created equal”. He indicated then that “these immortal words set in motion the unstoppable march of freedom”. This included the end of slavery and woman’s suffrage.
He also brought Martin Luther King Jr. and Fredrick Douglass into his speech, indicating that they also believed in the “American Dream”. He brought other American notables of all backgrounds into the speech, pointing out how they have contributed to American progress and improvement.
The President praised our system for being formed with Judaeo-Christian values. This statement could not be truer, but once again that was taken as an assault on “separation of church and state”. Not only was the statement taken out of context, but was assaulted by the left when he said “We do not kneel to anyone, but Almighty God”. This statement caused quite a stir, but there seems to be an interesting disconnect. The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but no where in the Constitution does it guarantee freedom from religion. That is a relatively recent construct that has no basis in the Constitution, but has been legislated from the bench of the Supreme Court. It also does not negate the absolute fact that our Constitution is based on Judaeo-Christian tenets.
The media excoriated the President for giving this speech in front of Mt. Rushmore. The contention is that Teddy Roosevelt, Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Tom Jefferson were all imperfect people. That they, when put up to the 2020 microscope, are judged not for mores of their times, but with today’s values. All of this unfair and anti-intellectual comparisons as progressive mobs attempt to eliminate their names and their statues from American life. The President, in the minds of “progressives” was guilty of defending the legacies of these past Presidents, in the face of their assaults. In fact, the opposite is true. He is stalwartly defending our history, our very heritage, and he made that a big point when he announced that he was going to produce an executive order to install a “national garden of American heroes”.! The garden will be “a vast outdoor park that will feature the statues of the greatest Americans to ever live,” Trump promised to a supportive crowd at the celebration. Further he said “In the face of such acts of destruction, it is our responsibility as Americans to stand strong against this violence and to peacefully transmit our great national story to future generations through newly commissioned monuments to American heroes.”
“This outdoor park is to be opened no later than July 4th, 2026. A committee is forming that includes the following: “(i) the Administrator of General Services (Administrator);
(ii) the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA);
(iii) the Chairperson of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH);
(iv) the Chairman of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP); and
(v) any officers or employees of any executive department or agency (agency) designated by the President or the Secretary.” This committee will decide what persons will be depicted in this park.” Some persons have already been identified. “ The National Garden should be composed of statues, including statues of John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolly Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, and Orville and Wilbur Wright.” This is quite an inclusive group of “heroes”, and the newly formed committee will be adding to that list.
The division in our country is not from our President, but from the progressive counter culture that seeks to re-write history, and in effect, fundamentally change our country. Yes, the President warned of this, and rightfully so. They seek to tear down the Constitution, but show no vision on what they would replace it with, other than an eventual promise of a fair and equitable socialism and global governance. This is now what is being taught in some form in thousands of primary and secondary schools, with the New York Times “1619 project”. This discounts America’s founding in 1776, and instead uses the year 1619 as the actual founding of a country that is racist to the core and only deserving of destruction. It also excoriates capitalism, presenting socialism as the logical alternative.
We are inheritors of what is the greatest country on the face of the earth. We have this inheritance due to the wisdom of imperfect men. These imperfect men put together both the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution to ensure that we live as free men, free to embrace “our unalienable rights, the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, and they risked everything from fortune to their very lives to make this happen. Our Constitution is the envy of the world, and guarantees our freedom. Our citizens of all stripes should embrace this quote from the Declaration of Independence: “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes”. Our system of government has always allowed for positive change within the confines of our Constitution. If America is to be fundamentally changed, it has to be because there is an overriding vision that rings true in all citizens hearts. It is foolhardy to destroy what is working for an idea that has no consensus and not proven beyond doubt to be better.