A Call to Honor

I had the great opportunity and pleasure to attend the Restoring Honor Event in Washington, DC, this past Saturday.

Now I don’t consider myself to be a Glenn Beck fan, so those people who would claim that I am a just a blind follower of the man are just plain wrong. I’ve perhaps listened to his show 4 or 5 times. On the flip side, neither am I saying that I disagree with him all the time. I generally hear about his comments from others. As a result, I’m sure there are things we have in common and agree upon, while at the same time, we would hold differing views on other subjects.

But essentially that means I went to Saturday’s rally not really knowing what to expect. Would it be a great event to encourage our soldiers? Would it become a political arena loaded with accusations, insults, and childish name-calling? Would it be a boring waste of time? I really didn’t know.

It's hard to describe what happened there, but I truly believe it was something special. I can assuredly say that it wasn’t what I had been expecting. And perhaps that’s why so many people are angry about this event, people who don’t know what to say because there wasn’t any name-calling, there weren’t any diatribes on political figures, and there definitely wasn’t any fear mongering, hate-filled speeches, or racism.

So what was it? Well, where do you start? It was a time to honor those men and women who have served our country in the military. It was a chance to recognize people who exemplified hope, faith, and charity. It was an opportunity to choose to focus on the good in America rather than the bad. And it was a call to put God first.

But you won’t hear about that from the liberal media. You won’t hear about the three veterans honored for their bravery in battle. You won’t hear about the civilians who have shown love and support for their fellow man. You won’t hear about the speech given by Martin Luther King, Jr.’s niece. You won’t hear about the call for this nation to once again become that nation filled with love and charity, particularly by tithing to your church. You won’t hear about the people standing on the Mall and lifting their voices to sing Amazing Grace. And you certainly won’t hear about the closing prayer that thanked God for our president and our Congress and called Jesus “the best and most wonderful gift to the human race.”

Instead, you’ll hear something completely different from people like Bill Press, former chairman of the California Democratic Party, who presents arguments like this: The Lincoln Memorial is not the place to hold a religious gathering because “it is a sacred spot.” He didn’t think “it should be turned over to be a political or a religious rally.” In fact, he compared the rally to “a camp meeting, an old-fashioned, religious camp meeting,” and something of that nature is not “appropriate on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.” (Watch it here.)

But I guess they failed to read the inscriptions on the walls inside the Lincoln Memorial, two well-known orations. On the northern wall is Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which mentions God, the Almighty, or the Lord at least eight times. Facing south, you can read his most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address, which he ended with the resolution ”that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

That’s my prayer, too.