George Guzzardo has become a scholar of American/English history. His insights and leadership contributions have helped LIFE Leadership become one of the fastest growing leadership companies in North America. Indeed, George has been a business associate of Orrin Woodward's for over 20 years. Here is George's thoughts on liberty.
A lot has changed with liberty since celebrating our first 4th of July in 1776. The first settlers, leaders like John Smith in Jamestown and William Bradford thirteen years later in Plymouth came to the new world looking for freedom. They started laying down the roots of liberty. Are our roots today the same roots that were laid down in the new world? How healthy are our roots today? Those leaving everything behind for the opportunity to be free had only one chance of laying down roots in the new world. They wanted to do it right. Those roots still need care today to preserve the principles of freedom. LIFE Leadership thinks we have not only an opportunity to teach the principles of freedom back into our country but we have a duty. It’s our leadership that will be the necessary element to keep our freedom and liberty into the next century.
One hundred years after the original settlements were established, the colonists learned the principles of free enterprise while they worked the new lands. They were a God fearing people with established morals. The foundation of unwavering principles built the character that fashioned the nation that we read about. During the seventeenth – century the colonists learned from reading about past leaders who championed the notion that the natural rights we possessed were endowed by our creator. They learned from reading John Milton, Algernon Sydney, and John Locke. Cato’s letters were also widely read throughout the colonies. The colonists had the mind set that Liberty was synonymous with a republican form of government. From history they knew that the word ‘Libertas’, denoted the status of a ‘Liber’ or a free man. The population was educated with the classics that made them familiar with the writings of Livy or Tacitus.
Edmund Fairfield, President of Hillsdale College wrote on July 4th 1853, “The history of liberty is the history of intelligence.” This collective intelligence in the colonies led to the Great Awakening. Foundational principles of liberty were brought into existence by the likes of George Whitfield and Jonathon Edwards during the mid 1700’s. The principles they held had long – term effects toward the founding of a nation. Jonathon Edwards who in 1742 said, “We are now engaged in a more important war.” The emphasis was on how morality and virtue led to character development. This in turn led to a stronger family life and therefore stronger marriages. Children were cultivated with a sense of right and wrong. This education led to the citizen’s who learned leadership principles to govern themselves. These social virtues ascended at the time and created a political awakening.
As time went on, Britain became deep in debt from the Seven Years War with France. King George needed to fund this war effort and found an untapped source in the American colonies. King George III and the Parliament decided to tax America. But, because of the knowledge of freedoms and liberty that came from a well educated society, there was resistance from the people. Taxation was viewed as a way of taking away liberty when it was done without representation. In those days the population stayed current with a system of pamphlets. This was when the people first became aware of the impending loss of liberty. Boston was especially hostile to government officials and formed a group called the ‘Sons of Liberty’ who became resistant to taxation. They were not disloyal but wanted to defend their freedom. Conflict erupted between the ‘Sons of Liberty’ and British soldiers when soldiers fired on a mob in what became known as the Boston Massacre. In the spring of 1775 the resistance exploded into an armed rebellion at Lexington and Concord. The Revolution had begun. When the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776, this marked an end to British rule over the American Colonies. Leaders around the colonies rose up, ready to risk their lively hood or even their lives to preserve their God given liberty. One summary describing the leadership of George Washington was written, “in nothing transcendent he became a moral rallying point, the embodiment of the purpose, passion and determination necessary for the triumph of the revolutionary cause.”
How far have we gone to get to the point where that nation is hardly recognizable today? Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in his ‘Reflections’, “My only aim was to protect ancient laws of society against innovators.” How far have we gone from the foundation of our roots? Russell Kirk wrote, “A man without principles is an unprincipled man. A nation without principles is an uncivilized nation.” With a loss of a principled centered people come the national trends that we now see:
- Teen pregnancy rates for girls 10 – 14 has increased 460% *
- Sexual activity among fifteen year – olds skyrocketing. *
- The percentage of teen births to unmarried women soared over 400%. *
- The United States now has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the industrialized world. *
- Sexually transmitted diseases now reaching previously unrecorded levels. *
- United States share of the world economy down from 50% to 25% since WWII.
- Former US comptroller David Walker reports the massive entitlement programs will go bankrupt as the baby boom generation retires.
- National debt upward from $15 trillion.
- A decrease in the US credit rating.
- Inverted morality, Hollywood style.
- All out assault on the Biblical standard of morality.
- Average child watches up to 8,000 made for T.V. murders and 100,000 acts of violence by the end of grade school.
- Supreme court justice Ruth Ginsburg published position: The traditional family concept of the husband as a bread – winner and wife as a homemaker must be eliminated.
* Source: national census bureau.
In his book ‘The Meaning of Culture’, John Powys said, “Culture is the essential quality and character of a nation, and the principle that defines it.” Charles Reich wrote in ‘The Greening of America’, “America is becoming one vast, terrifying anti – community.” According to authors Orrin Woodward and Oliver DeMille in their new best seller, ‘Leadershift’, “Once Americans knew these issues intricately. They were raised reading and absorbing this stuff. Will we continue to forget the enduring principles that our country was founded upon?” In the waning days of the Roman Republic Livy wrote, ”Trace the progress of our moral decline, to watch first the sinking of the foundations of morality as the old ways were allowed to lapse then the rapidly increasing disintegration, then the final collapse of the whole edifice, then the dark dawning of the modern day when we can neither endure our vices nor face the remedies needed to cure them.” What kind of America do we want to move toward? This year when we partake in the festivities, whether a cook out or a parade and watch the fire works lets reflect on our past and those leaders who stood for the principles of liberty and freedom. Let’s ask ourselves if we are finally ready for the call to stand up and lead? God Bless, George Guzzardo
