John Kennedy Spoke for World-Wide Freedom and Independence in his 1962 Fourth of July Speech

Independence Hall

A good ceremonial speech teaches a lesson—sometimes a policy lesson, sometimes a moral lesson. In his 1962 Fourth of July speech, President John Kennedy told the nation that American independence depended on peace and independence throughout the world.  He spoke of values that implied major foreign policy decisions. 

As a decorated combat veteran of the Pacific war, Kennedy understood how injustice in one part of the world could affect us all. He taught a vital moral and political lesson. Furthermore, as the 21st Century United States becomes increasingly isolationist, it is a lesson for us to remember today.

Speaking at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, Kennedy insisted that Independence Day is not just about a historical event, but a value. That value, however, gave rise to powerful action that formed our new nation. Praising the Declaration of Independence, Kennedy said that it was a unique document because it gave:

“…the final irrevocable decision that it took to assert the independence of free states in place of colonies, and to commit to that goal their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.”

Yet, independence comes with obligations, with a place in the world. That is why Kennedy urged the United States to protect everyone’s freedom across the globe. It was, he explained, the United States’ moral obligation to do its part for world freedom. Indeed, Kennedy explained that injustice anywhere threatened all of us:

“On this fourth day of July, 1962, we who are gathered at this same hall, entrusted with the fate and future of our states and nation, declare now our vow to do our part to lift the weights from the shoulders of all, to join other men and nations in preserving both peace and freedom, and to regard any threat to the peace or freedom of one as a threat to the peace and freedom of all.”

Kennedy pledged the United States’ moral and physical strength to protect world freedom and justice:

“And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred [honor].”

So, yes, Kennedy praised the Declaration of Independence. That was his proper thesis. From that praise, however, he drew a moral lesson. He showed that the United States had world responsibilities. But moral values imply moral actions. Kennedy also gave a policy lesson. That lesson was for the United States of America to stand up for world freedom.

World War II taught us that conflict and tyranny can reach across the world to affect us. The rise of authoritarianism in the United States itself should warn us of continuing dangers from within. We do not have ceremonies like Independence Day just to make us feel good. No, we celebrate to remember what is important in our lives. The lessons of the past give us wisdom for the future.

Earlier Post: Should ceremonial speeches cause controversy?

Earlier Post: America a Dream? Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Independence Day Speech

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Research Note: Chaïm Perlman and Lucie-Olbrechts-Tyteca expounded the view that ceremonial speeches convey basic values. Their monumental book is available in academic libraries and large bookstores.

Image of Independence Hall: © William D. Harpine

Image of John Kennedy: Kennedy Library

America Is a Dream? Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Independence Day Speech

Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1965, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his audience an Independence Day dream. Americans have heard two kinds of 4th of July speeches. The first kind is unapologetically patriotic. These speakers assume that the nation is already perfect. However, the second kind challenges us, if I might echo the preamble to the United States’ Constitution, to become more perfect. Echoing his “I Have a Dream” speech of two years earlier, King compared America to a dream. He led his audience from the past’s revolutionary ideals to a future in which those ideals would come to life.

When I was a child, a patriotic speech invariably preceded the Fourth of July fireworks. The speaker discussed patriotism and war heroes, carefully quoting something or other that Thomas Jefferson said. In contrast, King gave the other kind of 4th of July speech. King asked the United States of America to live up to its revolutionary values. So, the first kind of 4th of July speech praises the United States as a perfect beacon of light. The second kind gives us ideals for which we can choose to strive.

To establish the values to which our nation strives, King quoted the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

King then emphasized the Declaration of Independence’s inclusive values. He noted that Jefferson did not say “all white men,” but instead said “all men.” King added that Jefferson did not say “all gentiles,” nor did he say “all Protestants.” (Many of us today would agree that Jefferson should have said “all persons” instead of “all men.”)

Jim Crow still dominated large swaths of the United States’ 1965 political landscape. King’s 4th of July speech argued that the Declaration of Independence stated an ideal, not an accomplished fact. It stated, King said, a dream. Indeed, the United States itself was a dream:

“I would like to discuss some of the problems that we confront in the world today, and some of the problems that we confront in our own nation by using as a subject The American Dream. I choose this subject because America is essentially a dream.”

Continuing, King reminded his audience that human rights are not the government’s gift. Instead, they are basic rights that heaven grants to all of us. The United States’ founding ideal was to recognize everyone’s fundamental worth:

“It says that each individual has certain inherent rights that are neither derived from or conferred by the state. They are gifts from the hands of the almighty God. Very seldom, if ever, in the history of the world has a socio-political document expressed in such profound, eloquent, and unequivocal language, the dignity and the worth of human personality.”

No, the United States of 1965 did not recognize everyone’s rights. In 1965, most public schools and institutions were de facto segregated. Even today, in 2022, many people justly question whether women, poor persons, and ethnic minorities enjoy equal rights. However, can the dream become true? King had devoted his rhetorical life to a dream: equal opportunity for everyone.

Maybe the “more perfect union” gives us an ideal that we can strive for it but never reach, something like a physics problem. To the end of his life, however, King expressed his deep faith that United States could fulfill the dream. In a torrent of metaphors, he spoke of an emerging freedom:

“And so, with this faith in the future, we will be able to adjourn the counsels of the staff, rise from the fatigue of darkness, to the buoyancy of hope. And we will be able to bring into being this new society and realize the American dream.”

Ending, King repeated the same hymn verse that concluded “I Have a Dream:”

“Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last!”

Yes, on the one hand, we have heard 4th of July speeches that praised American freedom as unquestionable fact. How dare you question America! On the other hand, King’s searing language promised that the dream of American liberty of which Jefferson spoke would become real. King cited the past but looked to the future. If one loses hope, what could our values possibly mean?

In more recent years, 4th of July speeches have all but disappeared. To all my fellow Americans, happy Independence Day! Enjoy your fireworks and your hot dogs, but never forget our ideals.

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Frederick Douglass’ 1852 Fourth of July Speech and the Christian Right

Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Speech, "Love, Law, and Civil Disobedience:" The Civil Rights Movement’s Philosophical Foundation

Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" Made Biblical Morality a Public Imperative

Thanks once again to rev.com for creating these historically vital transcripts.

Senator Graham and the Word Mystery of Entitlement Reform

During the Fox News debate between Vermont's liberal Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and South Carolina republican Lindsey Graham, Graham repeated a common conservative talking point about "entitlement reform." Well, it wasn’t really a talking point; it was just a word game, a silly phrase that conservatives love to parrot. The trick was to use a word to mean the opposite of what people think it means. One simple word, "entitlement," creates a fog of rhetorical smoke:

“Entitlement reform is a must for us to not become Greece.”

As we’ll see, the idea is that entitlements are not entitlements. Of course, that makes no sense at all. Graham quickly slipped in that “entitlement reform” meant addressing Medicare and Social Security spending. Graham correctly pointed out that we cannot balance the federal budget merely by making cuts in so-called discretionary spending. Graham, like many conservatives, pictures entitlement reform as a good thing that will appeal to his conservative supporters.

We all the time play with political words. We're not anti-abortion, no, we're pro-life. We're not pro-abortion, we're pro-choice. Anything to hide our intent. Republicans aren't against Social Security; no, they are for entitlement reform. 

But—here is the problem. You probably couldn't find twenty republican voters who actually want to cut Medicare and Social Security. Many Republicans, however, strongly support “entitlement reform.” All the same, Graham let it slip during the debate that we need to cut Medicare and Social Security so we don't turn into Greece. Whatever. 

Comparing the United States to Greece is obviously silly. The United States is an economic powerhouse, while the United States dollar is the world's reserve currency. Greece does not even have its own currency and does not control their own monetary policy (they use the Euro).

Passing over that, however, let's look at that nasty word—"entitlement.” The word “entitlement” brings up all kinds of nasty images: self-entitled welfare moochers, self-entitled high school students who think the world owes them straight A's, lazy, self-entitled government workers who sleep on the job. Plenty of stereotypes.

Instead, however, what “entitlement” actually means is that you are legally entitled to get something. I am entitled to withdraw money from my bank account. Retired people pay into Medicare and Social Security during their working years, and they are entitled to draw on them when they are no longer working. Yet, if I talk with one of my many Republican friends about “entitlements,” they angrily explain that Social Security is not an entitlement because they paid into Social Security and they are fully entitled to withdraw the money when they retire. We have heard that a lot, don't we? It doesn’t make a bit of sense, does it? Social Security is not an entitlement because, drum roll, we are entitled to receive it? As if “entitlement” and “entitled” mean opposite things. Huh?

How did that poor word get so twisted? Well, we have heard people use “entitlement” as a dirty word for so many years that we now think it is bad to be entitled to something. It's reached the point that many people think, like my Republican friends, that they are somehow not entitled to receive entitlements. They are, however, they say, entitled to receive Social Security. Or something like that. Doesn’t make much sense, but there we are.

If we look at the federal budget, there are basically five sections: Medicare, Social Security, National Defense, Medicaid, and everything else. If we want to balance the budget by making cuts, where do we go? That’s a problem. No Republican will vote to cut National Defense. That leaves “entitlements:” especially Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Those are top targets. But why? For the Republican Party's electoral support comes mostly from elderly voters who depend on Medicare and Social Security to survive. Of course, elderly voters want to cut neither Social Security or Medicare. Worse, attempts to cut Medicaid only appeal to elderly, conservative voters until they figure out that Medicaid keeps the nursing homes open. As soon as elderly voters figure out that Graham wants to balance the budget by cutting benefits for elderly voters, his political career will crash to the ground. As long as he talks about entitlement reform, however, he can pretend to be fiscally responsible. It's all about words. 

What's going on there? The Republican Party depends heavily on elderly voters. Elderly voters are not stupid. If Republicans are foolish enough to vote huge cuts in Medicare and Social Security, their political movement will disappear into the history books. Members of Congress know this. So what can they say? What is their alternative? 

That's easy. Smoke and mirrors gave Graham his only logical alternative. It all comes down to a word. Yes, the word “entitlement” is the rhetorical equivalent of the smoke and mirrors used by stage magicians. When he said “entitlement reform,” Graham stirred up all the negative images about self-entitled goof-offs and moochers. Did he have a serious policy proposal in mind? Of course not. He talked like a fiscally conservative person who wants to stop spending money on undeserving people. In real life, the numbers don't support any policy like that. “Entitlement reform,” which really means “cut Social Security and Medicare,” would be a political disaster for Republicans if they ever enact it. Which they obviously won’t.

Instead of producing actual policy proposals, Graham, like many other Republicans, simply reversed the meaning of the word “entitlement” to create a fog of non-existent public policy. Are we really entitled to receive Social Security because it’s not an entitlement? Honestly, how can anyone twist language into a knot like that? And how can voters fail to see through it? For conservatives make no secret of their wish to cut Social Security and Medicare. 

Anyway, Republicans have been fearmongering about Social Security’s supposed impending collapse ever since I took my first summer job in 1970. They’ve been wrong for more than 50 years, and silly word games don’t help. 

Words Matter: Trump's Announcement Speech Promised Not to Cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security

Image: CBO

Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the January 6, 2021, Committee, Spoke from Tradition

January 6 hearing

As conservative fundraisers Richard Viguerie and David Franke pointed out, the idea of being a conservative is to preserve what is best from the past. That was the point that Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the January 6, 2021, Committee, made in his opening statement on June 9, 2022. speaking in a calm, quiet voice, Thompson reminded the United States that we had a long-standing history of peaceful transfer of power—until 2016, when Republican President Donald Trump cited transparently bogus claims that the election had been stolen, leading to a riot in the Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes. Thompson did not merely make good arguments: he used the conservative movement's top moral premise against them. He showed that Donald Trump had broken with tradition. This was not merely a factual speech: Thompson drove a stake through the heart of the Republican Party’s central value system.

Yes, tradition should be a conservative’s strong point. Ironically, it was the liberal Representative Thompson who cited tradition. He especially emphasized the tradition set by Abraham Lincoln. Thompson reminded us that the first Republican president insisted on a peaceful transition, even in the dire circumstances of the Civil War. Indeed, Thompson literally turned the Republican Party's entire history against them. Nevertheless, we all needed to hear it.

First, Thompson reminded us that, although Lincoln expected to lose the 1864 election, Thompson's speech insisted on respecting the voters’ judgment. Thompson explained:

“Thinking back again to the Civil War, in the summer of 1864, the President of the United States believed he would be a doomed bid for reelection. He believed his opponent, General George McClellan, would wave the white flag when it came to preserving the Union. But even with that grim fate hanging in the balance, President Lincoln was ready to accept the will of the voters, come what may.”

Next, Thompson explained that Lincoln considered that it was his duty, his solemn responsibility, to turn the White House over to the next president and to cooperate with the next president during the transition:

“He made a quiet pledge.

“He wrote down the words, ‘This morning, as for some days past, it seems exceedingly probable that this Administration will not be re-elected. And it will be my duty to so co-operate with the President elect.’ ‘It will be my duty.’”

Thompson’s story did not stop there. He showed that Lincoln made no empty promise to accept the election. Instead, Thompson explained, Lincoln asked his top advisors to make the same pledge:

“Lincoln sealed that memo and asked his cabinet secretaries to sign it, sight unseen. He asked them to make the same commitment he did. To accept defeat if indeed defeat was the will of the people. To uphold the rule of law. To do what every President who came before him did… and what every President who followed him would do. Until Donald Trump.”

“Until Donald Trump:” an unbroken line of presidents willingly accepted the people’s will, until Donald Trump came along with his transparent lies and nonsensical conspiracy theories to inspire a revolt against the constitutional process.

With that, Thompson had come full circle. He had reminded his audience that tradition required presidents to follow the constitutional and legal processes. He demonstrated, beyond any possible dispute, that it was a Republican president who broke the tradition. He used the Republicans’ premise against them: the principal contention of republican politicians and voters is that they, and they alone, stand for the nation's traditions. Thompson demonstrated that, in contrast, it was the Republican Party who had abandoned tradition. They and the former president refused to follow Lincoln's example.

This was the debate technique called “turning the tables.” That is, Thompson took the Republicans’ own premise, which was the importance of tradition, and use it to condemn President Trump's actions. What were the Republicans going to do? Were they going to tell Thompson that he was wrong, and the tradition should be ignored? Of course not! How could any conservative say that tradition is bad? To argue with Thompson, a Republican would need to repudiate the very idea of conservativism.

To date, Republicans have protested that the hearings are a distraction from pressing issues like gasoline prices or that it is a witch hunt. what they cannot do—what they cannot possibly do—is to argue with Chairman Thompson’s argument from tradition. He did not merely show that they were wrong. He quietly ripped away their entire philosophical foundation. Thompson’s speech was not flashy, but it was devastating.


PS: Was it absurd for Trump to say the election was stolen? Absolutely. As I finish this post, I am also watching the hearing’s second day, with Trump’s own advisors saying that they repeatedly told Trump that the claims were false and unsupported.

Image: US Congress

Joe Biden's Emotional Gun Control Plea: "Enough!"

Joe Biden Speaking from Cross Hall 

In the wake of the horrible school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which took the lives of nineteen children and two teachers, President Joe Biden made an emotional plea for gun control: “Enough!” Over and over, he said “enough.” Biden's rhetorical tactic was to repeat: “enough,” “enough,” “enough.” This was a trope of language, not of logic. The speech was not so much a rational argument as an emotional pounding.

So, speaking from Cross Hall, the White House’s entrance hallway, Biden said less about the cold, hard data that Democrats adore, and instead appealed to people’s hearts:

“For God’s sake, how much more carnage are we willing to accept? How many more innocent American lives must be taken before we say “enough”? Enough.”

Although Biden offered arguments to support his position, the linguistic trope - “enough” - drove his speech. “Enough” conveyed his frustration and impatience. For, how can we persuade people who resist persuasion? By calling “enough” Biden moved away from his usual tactic of reason and compromise toward a rhetoric of pleading. “Enough” is what we say to a child who won’t stop misbehaving. It usually works. “Enough is what we say when we are tired of giving reasons and try to appeal to people's conscience. That might work—if people have a conscience. But Biden’s trope evolved during the speech: enough gun violence. Enough bad pro-gun arguments. Enough delay. Enough waiting for people to vote for gun control. One step led to the next.

After memorializing the Uvalde massacre and commemorating the victims, President Biden reminded us how far we have traveled as the nation transitions from a peaceful state to a coast-to-coast armed camp:

“A few years ago, the family of the inventor of the AR-15 said he would have been horrified to know that its design was being used to slaughter children and other innocent lives instead of being used as a military weapon on the battlefields, as it was designed — that’s what it was designed for.

“Enough. Enough.”

Biden then pointed out what he saw as the absurdity that ordinary people would need to carry powerful rifles with large-capacity magazines:

“The damage was so devastating in Uvalde, parents had to do DNA swabs to identify the remains of their children — 9- and 10-year-old children.

“Enough.”

Biden continued the trope of “enough” as he refuted a common pro-gun argument:

“Look, I know some folks will say, “18-year-olds can serve in the military and fire those weapons.” But that’s with training and supervision by the best-trained experts in the world. Don’t tell me raising the age won’t make a difference.

“Enough.”

A basic principle of persuasion teaches that people will only act if they think the problem has a solution. Biden's solution was the ballot box. Since polls frequently show that most Americans favor some degree of gun control, Biden recommends the ballot box as the solution to the mass killings:

“I’ve been in this fight for a long time. I know how hard it is, but I’ll never give up. And if Congress fails, I believe this time a majority of the American people won’t give up either. I believe the majority of you will act to turn your outrage into making this issue central to your vote.

“Enough. Enough. Enough.”

With that in mind, “enough” no longer only meant that we have tolerated the violence too long. “Enough” meant that Biden has tired of the gun lobby's unwillingness to compromise. It means more than that, as well. “Enough,” at the end of Biden's speech, also said that it was time for every voter to stand up and vote for candidates who will address the gun problem. it meant that we have waited too long:

“My fellow Americans, enough. Enough. It’s time for each of us to do our part. It’s time to act.”

Biden said “enough” more than a dozen times during the short speech. Yes, he also presented evidence and reasoning. However, cold, hard facts don't always persuade people. Every parent learns that sometimes you need to pound a point home. Likewise, sometimes a speaker needs to pound a point home. One word, “enough,” repeated, to drive home the enormity of mass murder, the horror of school shootings, and the need to act. Biden uttered a rhetorical pounding. Did we listen?

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Earlier Posts about Gun Control Rhetoric: 

Donald Trump's 2018 Speech Supporting Gun Control

Mark Robinson: A Citizen Stands for the Second Amendment

Second Amendment's Ambiguous (and Rhetorical) Wording

Second Amendment's Creative Ambiguity

Wayne LaPierre's Dark Gun Control Vision 

Joe Biden's 2022 University of Delaware Commencement Speech Reminds Americans that Our Nation Was Founded on an Idea

Biden at University of Delaware

Americans have been losing track of their values, and President Biden reminded us of what those values are. In his May 28, 2022 commencement speech at the University of Delaware, his alma mater, President Joe Biden appealed to a sense of national unity. He reminded his audience that the United States was founded on an idea, not “on ethnicity, religion, geography.” That idea was “the flame of liberty,” as Biden called it, “The right to determine our own destinies.”

This was a ceremonial speech, a graduation celebration. Ceremonial speeches like this (public speaking specialists call this “epideictic speech”) reinforce people’s values. Biden urged his audience to move forward toward liberty and justice. Most centrally, however, he urged the audience to place their faith in the nation's institutions. Unlike some of his earlier speeches, which too often ignored the nation's divisions, Biden asked the audience to confront those conflicts. He talked about:

“A crisis of faith in the institutions that have — however flawed they may be — serve as the infrastructure for the American experiment in liberty and self-government.” [italics added]

Biden reminded the students that, for the first time in American history, we did not have a peaceful transfer of power. Instead, a huge, violent mob ransacked the United States Capitol building to install the losing candidate in office. The assault arose from the bald-faced lie that the 2020 election was stolen. There are, however, no such things as “alternative facts.” To Biden, truth was an underlying value:

“Truth is truth. Lies are lies. And the truth is: We have a solemn duty to keep the flame of liberty burning. This is not about blue and red, rural, and urban. It’s about America. The right to govern ourselves. The right to determine our own destinies, to overcome division and despair, and to meet the challenges of our time with grit and, maybe equally important, with some grace. To press ahead determined, resolved, and full of hope.”

Instead of taking the easy route, Biden said that we must stand by our founding ideas:

“It’s not easy. It’s never been. But it’s who we are — people united by a [an] idea — by an idea, unbending in the face of adversity, and devoted to creating and sustaining [this] beloved nation of ours.” [italics added] 

So, Biden asked the public to trust the institutions of constitutional governance. Politics is not just about who wins an election, or which group benefits from which laws. Politics means to represent what the entire nation needs. To stand behind our values. As we celebrate Memorial Day, let us remember why our nation is worth defending. In our troubled times, what better reason can there be to give a speech?

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Dolly Parton's 2009 Commencement Speech: Lively, Extemporaneous, Specific, Detailed

The Themes of Savannah Guthrie's 2019 Commencement Speech at George Washington University

Oprah Winfrey at Skidmore College, May 20, 2017

In His 2020 HBCU Commencement Speech, Barack Obama Reminds Us That the People at the Top Don't Always Know What They're Doing

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Research note: Chaïm Perelman and Lucie Olbrechts-Tyteca developed the idea that epideictic speeches reinforce social values in their groundbreaking book, The New Rhetoric: A Treatise on Argumentation.

Image: White House YouTube channel 

"Do We Want to Be Healed?" A Sermon of Hope and Promise by Father Gabriel Bilas

Do we even want to be healed?

• Gun violence wracks the United States of America.
• On January 6, 2021, a violent crowd tried to overthrow the presidential election.
• Bizarre conspiracy theories obstruct basic public health measures.
• Indeed, people around the world suffer from problems that are, often, easily solved.

In the face of these sorrows, do we want to be healed? That is the question that Father Gabriel Bilas of Saint Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church of Fenton, Michigan wants us to answer.

In his May 18, 2022 sermon, Father Gabriel recounts the story of a paralyzed man who, according to the Gospel of John (5: 1-15), sat next to a miraculous pool at Bethsaida (Bethesda) in Jerusalem, waiting for someone to put him in the water and heal him:

“Before this incredible miracle, we hear a rather strange question escape our Savior’s lips. It is one that should leave us all a little puzzled. Christ goes up to this man, who has spent 38 years at this miracle working pool, trying to persuade a passer-by to help him into the waters when they are stirred by the angels, and asks: ‘Do you want to be healed?’”

The question should, Father Gabriel comments, puzzle us. Of course the man wants to be healed! He's been sitting there for years waiting to be healed! Why does the question even come up? Maybe, Father Gabriel wonders, the man has given up. Maybe he has grown so accustomed to his misery that he no longer tries to change:

“He may have become invalid in spirit as well as body, finding satisfaction when others catered to him. He may have just wanted to settle for the existence and the way of life that he had become accustomed to.”

Father Gabriel points out that, in many ways, we, too, often give up in our personal lives. We often forget to feed our own spirits. This leads him to ask:

“Do we want to be made well, brothers and sisters?”

He continues:

“What earthly comforts, or illogical doubts, or anger, or malice, or passion is holding my arms back from taking the outstretched hand of God?”

The question goes however, far beyond even that worthy point. Human beings are social creatures. We live in communities, nations, churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples. We live in businesses, schools, and farms. No matter what our secular ideas tell us, no one—no one—succeeds alone. Are we to be healed of the divisions that threaten to tear the United States of America to pieces? Do we choose to be healed? For the first step in healing is to desire it. The paralyzed man could (according to the Gospel story) be healed easily if only someone would put him in the pool. Indeed, many of today’s problems could be solved—easily—if we would only help one another. Therefore, we ask the simple, surprising question: “do we want to be healed?” We must decide whether our “earthly comforts, or illogical doubts, or anger, or malice, or passion” can reach such depths that we neglect to accept healing.

For, as Father Gabriel reminds us, we must want to be healed. We must choose healing. Yes, surely, we should feel puzzled that the question even arises. Maybe we fail to answer it because of our “illogical doubts.” Worse, maybe we answer “no” because it is more important to win, to triumph at someone else’s expense, than to heal ourselves. Maybe we have indeed become so comfortable with our divisions and our vindictive sicknesses that healing may seem like too much of a change. Healing may be more than we can contemplate. Or so we think. Indeed, we sometimes choose failure because healing seems like too much to expect.

Father Gabriel offers a message of hope and resolution. From a local preacher at a small-town church, the basic question for our times: “Do we want to be healed?” Can we make the right choices? I think we can. What do you think?

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Do you have suggestions? This post is part of a series about sermons from various eras and religious traditions. Some were famous; others not. All pose challenging moral questions. I'd love to hear your suggestions for sermons to write about. I especially want to write more about sermons by women, as well as sermons from other nations or additional traditions. Peace to all! 

Earlier posts:

John Wesley’s Sermon against Bigotry

“Somebody Must Have Sense Enough To Dim The Lights:” Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Sermon about the Power of Love

Rabbi Michael Z. Cahana’s Sermon about the Summer of Love: Is Love the Answer to Nazism?

“What, They Demand, Is Your Christianity?" Rev. Theodore S. Wright’s 1837 Speech against Racial Prejudice

Pope Francis' Sermon for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees

Rev. Witherspoon and the Christian Right in the Revolutionary War

Father Ioann Burdin Cited Christian Values to Oppose the Invasion of Ukraine