furnace of affliction

Alas, it is the last day of July, and the end of my patriotic quote month. I must say I will miss it, it's been fun diving into old documents and searching the web for good words from our Founding Fathers. (i'm a nerd!)

This last quote I think is really relevant to Americans today. I'd say we are going through a furnace of affliction right now. Fears of the economy, gas prices, presidential election, failed & corrupted Congress...all these things could make us afraid, could make us lose faith in America.

But we need this time as a nation. We need to go through the furnace every now and then. When we emerge from the other side, we will only be a stronger, better nation. I only hope that the furnace does not break us, and that we look at this time as opportunity to go back to our Founding Fathers' beliefs and virtues.


The furnace of affliction produces refinement in states as well as individuals. And the new Governments we are assuming in every part will require a purification from our vices, and an augmentation of our virtues, or they will be no blessings.

John Adams
Letter to Abigail Adams
July 3, 1776

ron paul - back & better than ever

So yesterday I bought a couple more books: Power to the People (Laura Ingraham), Confessions of St. Augustine (St. Augustine), and Our Sacred Honor (Bill Bennett). I've actually been reading Our Sacred Honor, checked it out from the church library. It is so good though - excerpts from the Founding Fathers that give their thoughts on topics ranging from courage to education to courtship. Maybe I will start sharing a daily quote from it.

Anyway, today I see that Ron Paul has a book that has skyrocketed to #1 on Amazon. Intrigued, I had to check it out. Here's what I read in the "Surprise Me" excerpt off Amazon:

In a country with a political debate as restricted as ours, it is revolutionary to ask whether we need troops in 130 countries and whether the noninterventionist foreign policy recommended by our Founding Fathers might not be better. It is revolutionary to ask whether the accumulation of more and more power in Washington has been good for us. It is revolutionary to ask fundamental questions about privacy, police-state measures, taxation, social policy, and countless other matters.

This revolution, though, is not altogether new. It is a peaceful continuation of the American Revolution and the principles of our Founding Fathers: liberty: self-government, the Consitituion, and a noninterventionist foreign policy. That is what they taught us, and that is what we now defend.


It's called The Revolution: A Manifesto. I wish I had known about this book earlier, then I would have lumped it in to my book order from Amazon yesterday. But I am so intrigued and so excited about what I've read so far, that I think I will just have to buy it today. I hope Barnes & Noble has it!

I find Ron Paul so refreshing. I may not agree with his views on Iraq, but maybe he will change my mind.