Constitution Day

“Dedicated to the coming generation of Americans, with the prayer that they will:
 1)restore the Constitutional principles we have abandoned,
 2)protect the freedoms we have neglected, and
 3)preserve the Republic we have almost lost,”

 Larry McDonald thus introduced the 1976 reprinting of his insightful commentary on the U.S. Constitution, We Hold These Truths.

Re-read the US Constitution today and purchase a copy of this insightful book. Our future depends on an informed electorate.

LPMcD & KAL 007

30 years ago early in the morning I was awakened by a frantic phone call from a friend who as wondering if I'd heard the news?

Was it for real?

Larry McDonald was on a plane that had been shot down by the Russians?

I had known the congressman all my life, campaigned for him as a teenager, worked for him as a young adult, and admired his dedication.

So, I commend to you this weekend Rescue 007 detailing the horrific act when 269 innocent civilians died.

Here's a link to a CCN article citing the 30th anniversary of the event as well.

Here's a link to my earlier posts about Larry.

Larry McDonald Memorial Highway

All we need do is return to the fine highway we were once on.

There is a stretch of Interstate Highway 75 from the Chattahoochee River northward to the Tennessee state line that I have traveled all my life, but that I want to call to your attention today.

In 1998, the Georgia General Assembly designated this thoroughfare,
the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway.

Thousands of people pass this sign daily.

I suspect that most ignore it.

Today, on the 28th anniversary of his death, do I especially remember
this family friend, former employer, and dedicated American
by calling attention to the principles he dedicated his life to teaching and preserving.

The above quote comes from the first chapter of his book,
We Hold These Truths: A Reverent Review of the U.S. Constitution,
and tells us how to reclaim our freedoms. 

The complexity of social organization does change.

 Our technologically sophisticated industrial society is more complex than the agrarian society
 of the eighteenth century. In this regard, that was a "simpler world."

But the complexities of politics (politics here meaning the science of governing)

  do not change much.

The basic political problems confronting the Framers of our Constitution

  were as complex as our political problems today -
 perhaps more so, because they were striking off into the dangerous unknown, whereas

all we need do is return to the fine highway we were once on.

Skip watching the Republican Presidential Debate next week.

Read Larry McDonald's book and use it as a guide to assess
a political candidate's worthiness of your support.

He explains the *free way*.

The Thinking Conservative

The Thinker (Le Penseur) is an easily recognizable icon for intellectual activity and that's how I'm using it today.

Most schools and colleges are back in session which means that many of us have abandoned our summertime routines in favor of more rigorous schedules involving academics.

I followed suit by listening to George Grant challenge a crowd to don their thinking caps.




The enthusiasm is catching!

Which in turn made me ponder the characteristics and convictions of the citizens who would ideally comprise civilized society.

And one of my favorite authors, Russell Kirk, neatly defined the model with this short list of ten principles.


From this essay found at The Kirk Center

1)   The conservative believes that there exists an enduring moral order.

2)   The conservative adheres to custom, convention, and continuity.

3)   Conservatives believe in what may be called the principle of prescription.

4)   Conservatives are guided by their principle of prudence.

5)   Conservatives pay attention to the principle of variety.

6)   Conservatives are chastened by their principle of imperfectability.

7)   Conservatives are persuaded that freedom and property are closely linked.

8)   Conservatives uphold voluntary community, quite as the oppose involuntary collectivism.

9)  The conservative perceives the need for prudent restraints upon power and upon human passions.

10)The thinking conservative understands that permanence and change must be recognized and reconciled in a vigorous society.

One of my favorite conservatives was Larry McDonald.  I always think of him in September because that's when he died and that's when Constitution Day is celebrated.

What about you?

Do you have a favorite conservative?

Memorial Highway - Larry McDonald

 

	HR 1098 - Larry McDonald Memorial Highway; designate

First Reader Summary

A RESOLUTION designating the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway; and for other purposes.

Franklin, Jr., Robert L (39th)		Coan, Michael T (82nd)		Hammontree, James A (4th)
Lewis, Walter Jeffrey (14th)		Mann, Harold M (5th)		Scheid, III, Charles F (17th)
Status Summary	HC: Trans	SC:	LA: 02/26/98	H - Favorably Reported

Page Numbers - 1/ 2

House	Action	Senate
2/18/98	Read 1st Time
2/19/98	Read 2nd Time
2/26/98	Favorably Reported

HR 1098                                             LC 9 9628 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                             A RESOLUTION 
 
  1- 1  Designating the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway; and for 
  1- 2  other purposes. 
 
  1- 3  WHEREAS, Honorable Lawrence Patton McDonald was born in 
  1- 4  DeKalb County, Georgia, on April 1, 1935; and 
 
  1- 5  WHEREAS, he was educated in the schools of Georgia, received 
  1- 6  a doctorate in medicine from Emory University in 1957, and 
  1- 7  completed his residency at Grady Memorial Hospital; and 
 
  1- 8  WHEREAS, he served his country with dedication and ability 
  1- 9  as a U. S. Navy overseas flight surgeon from 1959 to 1961; 
  1-10  and 
 
  1-11  WHEREAS, for many years he made his home in Cobb County, 
  1-12  where he practiced medicine and served in many positions of 
  1-13  honor and trust, including membership on the State Medical 
  1-14  Education Board, the National Historical Society, and the 
  1-15  Cobb County Chamber of Commerce; and 
 
  1-16  WHEREAS, from January 1, 1975, until his untimely death 
  1-17  aboard Korean Airlines Flight 007 on September 1, 1983, 
  1-18  Honorable Larry McDonald served as a Representative from the 
  1-19  Seventh United States Congressional District, and as such he 
  1-20  eloquently articulated the concerns of his fellow citizens; 
  1-21  and 
 
  1-22  WHEREAS, he dedicated his political life to the defense of 
  1-23  the United States Constitution; and 
 
  1-24  WHEREAS, Representative McDonald's tragic death as a victim 
  1-25  of the cold war deprived the State of Georgia of one of its 
  1-26  most outstanding native sons; and 
 
  1-27  WHEREAS, on the occasion of the fifteenth anniversary of his 
  1-28  untimely death, the State of Georgia wishes to preserve the 
  1-29  memory of the sacrifice and service of this able and 
  1-30  outstanding Georgian and recognize his service to the people 
  1-31  of his district. 
 
  1-32  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 
  1-33  GEORGIA that Interstate Highway 75 from the Chattahoochee 
  1-34  River northward to the Tennessee state line is designated as 
  1-35  the Larry McDonald Memorial Highway. 
 
 
                                 -1- 
 
 
 
  2- 1  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation 
  2- 2  is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate 
  2- 3  signs at appropriate locations to reflect the designation 
  2- 4  provided in this resolution. 
 
  2- 5  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of 
  2- 6  Representatives is authorized and directed to transmit 
  2- 7  appropriate copies of this resolution to the family of 
  2- 8  Honorable Larry McDonald and the commissioner of 
  2- 9  transportation. 

The Power of a Letter














The United States Postal Service is highlighting letter writing in the months of February and March, 2008. For my Fine Art Friday entry at my Xanga site, I posted Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter.

Here is picture of the well-addressed envelope of one of the most special letters I have ever received. I often think of this person whom I'd known all my life, but whose life was tragically cut short at the age of forty-eight. That was in 1983.

I learned many lessons from him. Lately I am disappointed to realize that I have no pictures of the two of us. However, it's not like I need one to validate that we knew each other.

I have one other from LPMcD, postmarked just thirty days before his untimely death.

It will provide a little window into the past....for someone else....some day.

Perhaps there will be a book....based on his letters.