Our Hopes for the New Year for America
and for the Next Generation
Hosts Rita Peters and Mark Meckler
Share Their Personal Views, Dec. 30-31, This Weekend
or Online HERE Anytime
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Words of Wisdom
“It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
(George Washington)
“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead us to political prosperity, Religion and Morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and of all citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to respect and cherish them. (George Washington, Farewell Address)
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” (John Adams)
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.” (Ronald Reagan)
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Introduction to the New Year — for Building a Better America
In reflecting on their hopes for the New Year, Crossroads host Rita Peters and co-host Mark Meckler have put their heads together to offer for us their highest hopes for building a new year in America. With that as context, they also added some thoughts on what actions we can take personally to turn those hopes into a reality.
So, to that end, attached below is a summary of their thoughts. For their full “in person” report, tune in to our Crossroads radio program this weekend. For when and where to find it on your radio, see details at the end of this summary.
A Godly Nation
Mark leads off with his thoughts on what kind of America we might want for the next generation.
— He begins with the hope in his lifetime to leave America as a godly generation that will be better than the one we inherited or the one that we have now.
— To achieve that, he wants to turn to the Bible for what we can learn today, from both the OT and the NT. He adds that “I already know that I need to strengthen my own prayer life, both personally and with my children, as well as for my public life.”
Rita: To that point, Rita agrees with Mark that we must return to an America that fears God. However, to fear Him means that we must recognize His authority and obey His word for how we are to live. He’s not just a grandma type who likes to cuddle us in His lap.
— She adds that, “As a part of that, I need to have a personal devotional time with God before the family gets up in the morning, share that time with her children when they get up, and then work together with them in service to others and to the community as the day winds on.”
— Now for the point of the entire program. Rita recognizes that, as we head into a new year, many of us already take time to set personal goals. However, she asks, what about broader goals for our families, for our community, for our state, and even for our nation?
— It may seem lofty, but she said that she too is challenged by the question, as Mark was, “What kind of America do I hope to leave to future generations?” In addition, she challenges herself to think of one thing that she can do, personally, to make that hope a reality.
— To that end, Rita paints a picture of the kind of country she wants to leave to her children and grandchildren:
First of all, she said, “It’s an America that fears God,” as she had indicated earlier. For example, she refers to King Solomon in Proverbs 9:10, when he said that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Sadly, however, she noted that people who “fear the Lord” seem to be in short supply these days.
— In addition, even among those who say they are Christians, what seems far more common than a reverent “fear” of the Lord, many of them seem to see God as a benevolent grandfather figure who, as suggested earlier, just wants us to be happy.
— Therefore, she said she longs for more of the Church in America to pray to the God as He is described in Scripture. He is loving and kind, yes, but He is equally holy, powerful, and just.
— For support, she refers to C.S. Lewis’ classic, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, in which Lucy asks whether Aslan, the lion representing Christ, was “quite safe.” Mr. Beaver’s response was, “Who said anything about safe? Of course he isn’t safe, but He’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”
— Rita continues by noting that whether we bow our knee to Him presently or not, we must recognize that God is the King. We live under His immutable moral laws just as surely as we live under His natural laws. We have no hope of being wise or living well until we acknowledge that. God’s law is the basis for good and just civil societies, and for our own personal peace and contentment.
— So, for her part in looking to the New Year, Rita says that she is committed to spending time each morning studying the Scripture, and then to challenging her own thoughts of God to ensure that they are in line with that Scripture.
Secure, Free, and Self-Governing
Mark continues along this line to suggest that he and Rita want to develop America as a self-governing nation at both the state and local levels rather than as subject to a sugar-daddy dictator who makes all of our decisions for us and on whom we become dependent.
— He emphasized that we need to defend our freedoms, our free will, and our independence from Washington handouts and executive orders. To that end, he suggested that we should consider forming a “Convention of States” as a means of achieving those goals, a proposal that he and Rita will discuss later in more detail.
— He said that they also want an America that is more secure, especially along our southern border. That includes protection from criminals, drugs, human trafficking, etc. To be clear, he said that if we don’t have secure borders, we don’t have a country.
— He added that we need to study our own history better, because it includes our core Judeo-Christian Values and Constitutional Principles, both of which place limitations on government powers at the national level.
To that end, he notes that we certainly need more emphasis on that in our schools, and then continue studying those foundational values for all of our current events and issues. He said that study should include continued reading the works of serious scholars like C. S. Lewis and sharing them with our children.
Improve Interpersonal Relations and Communications
Rita picks up on that by suggesting that we also need to develop a higher level of communication with each other, which includes civil/honest debate. We need to listen to each other with respect for each other’s opinion.
Unfortunately, she said, TV news has become more entertainment than informed debate and discussion of serious issues. Therefore, we must learn better how to deal with others on all levels, including on controversial issues.
— Mark adds to that from his own experience by trying to assume that his opponent is being honest and respectful when they share views with each other. He suggests that we must learn to be serious and to avoid sarcasm and ridicule.
He also adds that we must spend more time on reading serious sources rather than relying just on rumor or on social media. He notes that this will also help retrain our brains to become better informed and more discerning.
In short, he believes that we need to develop an America that is capable of honest debate about serious issues. However, he also notes that there are two components there.
— First, he says we need to treat everyone respectfully and avoid demonizing our opponents. Unfortunately, rather than taking time to understand the heart of our opponents arguments, we often label them as stupid – or worse, evil – and move on. For example, we pull their words out of context in order to make them look silly. In addition, we will sometimes take advantage of an honest mistake and use it to discredit them.
— He suggests that we could be much farther ahead as a society if we really invested ourselves into understanding the other side’s viewpoint, find the real point of disagreement, and then discuss it with honesty, grace, and good faith.
American History: Serious Study and Thought
Mark continues that the second component has to do with the subjects that consume our time and energy. He wants us to be a people who spend more time on things that really matter, and less time on the trivial, the sensational, and the scandalous.
— Yes, he understands that it takes more time and energy to think about appropriate curriculum for our local public schools than to see the latest news from the Kardashians. However, what will become of us if we let ourselves be immersed in celebrity gossip and social media sensations? In short, he says that we will cease to be a self-governing people, and become a people who are ruled by those who are paying attention.
— For his part, Mark says that he is committing myself this year to spending more time reading real news than looking at social media. He also adds that he will work harder to focus on his opponent’s best argument and respond to it.
Rita adds that we also need to work toward an America that knows its history and understands its foundations, as she had discussed earlier.
— She said that she often hears older people say this, but they say it because it’s true, that the younger generations of Americans don’t seem to know much about our nation’s history. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to understand the Constitution very well either.
— However, she admits that she didn’t know it every well either until she began to study more on her own as an adult. For whatever reason, her own public school education didn’t impart much lasting knowledge to her on these topics either, even though they are so important.
— Of even greater concern to her is that many private citizens, and even many public officials as well who don’t know their history, may try things that have already been tried and failed. (Communism and socialism are clear examples.) Therefore, she emphasizes that it is important for those who do know history to start where others left off and build upon knowledge that has already been gained.
— Rita also notes that this is where knowing the Constitution comes in. We know that the men who drafted our Constitution – while not perfect – were brilliant students of government. Therefore, if we learn how and why the Constitution was created, then we can build upon the ingenious system they designed, rather than waste our time working against it or replacing it.
— For instance, she points out that if we know that our federal government is empowered only to do the tasks specifically assigned to it in the Constitution, it changes how we evaluate federal policy. That is important so that, instead of starting with the question of, “Is this a good idea,” we should start with, “Does this arm of government have the power to do this under the Constitution?”
— Therefore, to learn more herself, she said that she will spend part of this year studying Rob Natelson’s book entitled “The Original Constitution: What It actually Said and Meant” so that she can share her new found knowledge and understanding with others.
Conclusion, for a Happy New Year and a Better America
— In summary, Mark and Rita’s hope is for all of us to have a great year. To that end, as Mahatma Gandhi advised, we should not stand by and wait for others to do the work. Instead, as he said, “Let us be the change we want to see in the world.”
Therefore, for more on this, please join them this weekend on any one of the stations listed below, and then also look forward to joining them the following weekend too as they conclude this challenging conversation.
Crossroads Radio, Where Faith and Culture Meet
Our programs will air this weekend on WBTX (1470 AM and 102.1 FM) Saturday at 4:00 p.m. and again on Sunday at 7:30 a.m., followed by WSVA (550 AM and 92.1 FM) at 8:30, ESPN (1360 AM and 106.9 FM) at 9:00, and on WNLR (1150 AM) at 11:30. You can also listen online any time by clicking on the Crossroad’s menu shown on our home page at www.valleyfamilyforum.org.
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In closing, we extend to you our very best wishes for Happy, Christ-Centered Homes throughout this New Year and beyond, for God and Country.
With appreciation, from Dean, on behalf of the entire Crossroads Team.
Working and Walking Together, we can make a difference