Tuesday marked another Halloween . Across the country, children (and adults) dressed in costumes, collected and gave out candy , and marked the day in various other manners.
For Christians , Halloween marks the “eve” of “All Saints Day” on Nov. 1. The next day is known to many as “All Souls Day.” The first commemorates those members of the church exemplary for their faith in God and service to His people. The second remembers all those who have departed in the faith.
JOB OPENINGS UNEXPECTEDLY ROSE IN SEPTEMBER AMID HIGH INTEREST RATES
Americans would do well to emulate the principle informing these days. First, like “All Saints Day,” we should take time and effort to commemorate the great men and women who formed and sustained our country. We certainly should not call them saints, as some of them did not even adhere to Christianity or join a church. But we can call them “founders,” “patriots,” and “statesmen.”
In recalling our Washingtons, our Madisons, and our Lincolns, we focus on why we should keep their memory alive. We thus consider what virtues republics need to start, remain, and even thrive. We need to restore these men’s understanding of justice, one grounded in the equality of all human beings and the recognition of their inalienable rights, given at their creation by God. We need to revive their courage in the face of challenges to these principles, as well as their prudence in wisely guiding our country through the stormy waters we faced in the Revolutionary War, the debate over the Constitution, and the Civil War. And we must find anew their virtue of temperance and self-control that is the ground for a self-government dedicated to the common good, not sectarian interest.
The parallel to “All Souls Day” would be remembering all of our fellow citizens no longer living. For Christians, the day helps to see the unity of the church across the ages. For Americans, a comparable commemoration would see how America is more than this moment and this set of citizens. Instead, we are knit together with our framers and with our ancestors who settled the West and who fought against fascism as well as communism. We are bound not by time and less by place than by our common history and our common purposes.
Here, we must celebrate the common man. America did not start nor grow only because of the great leaders who served in the presidency, Congress, or other positions of high repute. Instead, America became what it is with the mighty contribution of people anonymous to us. Though their names are not known, we stand on their shoulders in the goods we now experience. In large part through their efforts, we live in religious and political freedom. We have economic prosperity unheard of in human history.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
We sorely need these remembrances for our country. We live in a day that does not rightly see its own history. Some do not know it at all. Some reject our heritage, tearing down what they should be protecting and enhancing. This combination of ignorance and misinformation undermines our ability to perpetuate our republic. It does so because it leaves us without a proper understanding of who we are and what guides us to maintain the good and reform the ill in ourselves as well as our society.
Let us, as Americans, take a cue from All Saints and All Souls Days. Let us remember the greatness and goodness of our past, even with its imperfections. Thereby, we might better know who we are and what we should be. It is a necessary education for our republic to last and to thrive for generations to come.
Adam Carrington is an associate professor of politics at Hillsdale College.
What the public can learn from All Saints and All Souls Days
5
0
02.11.2023
Tuesday marked another Halloween . Across the country, children (and adults) dressed in costumes, collected and gave out candy , and marked the day in various other manners.
For Christians , Halloween marks the “eve” of “All Saints Day” on Nov. 1. The next day is known to many as “All Souls Day.” The first commemorates those members of the church exemplary for their faith in God and service to His people. The second remembers all those who have departed in the faith.
JOB OPENINGS UNEXPECTEDLY ROSE IN SEPTEMBER AMID HIGH INTEREST RATES
Americans would do well to emulate the principle informing these days. First, like “All Saints Day,” we should take time and effort to commemorate the great men and women who formed and sustained our country. We certainly should not call them saints, as some of them did not even adhere to Christianity or join a church. But we........
© Washington Examiner
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
