Moran Minute: Freedom Edition

Friends,

On July 4^th, 1776, our Founding Fathers took a stand against the oppressive rule of a tyrant and declared the American colonies’ independence from Great Britain. Because of that brave decision, today we are blessed to live under the God-given liberties enshrined in our Constitution. But two hundred forty-seven years later, I fear that many of us have grown so comfortable with these freedoms that we now take them for granted.

In April, East Texas welcomed the Mayflower Church to our community. This body of believers finally found refuge after seven years of persecution at the hands of the Chinese Government – facing imprisonment and even death – all because of their desire to freely practice their faith.

In June, I was honored with the opportunity to lead – as a freshman Congressman – a ten-person Delegation to Stockholm, Sweden, where we met with members of the European Parliament and Swedish Government officials to discuss a variety of topics, including Sweden’s historic petition to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)’s critical military alliance. After over 200 years of committed neutrality – the Swedes took this courageous step because they understood the threat that power-hungry tyrants pose to liberty worldwide. I commend them for taking a stand for the future of their country.

We should thank our Heavenly Father every day for the freedoms we enjoy, and we should never stop working to preserve these freedoms at home and promote them abroad. In 1967, then-Governor Ronald Reagan rightly said: “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people.  And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”

As we celebrate the Fourth of July, let us heed the wise words of President Reagan and preserve these principles while taking a stand against those who seek to take the freedom of others around the world, such as the Uyghur people and the Mayflower Church.