The Freeman 1972 - The Ludwig von Mises Institute

590 THE FREEMAN Octobertrusted their lives to God, theymust have had faith in themselvesas God's earthly tools. They recognizedthat, like all men, theywere special creatures in the sightofGod. They were men of individualworth and dignity. And theyacted as such! Throughout thecolonization and settlement ofAmerica, their posterity exhibitedthe same individualism and selfrespect.They sweated over theplow, toiled with the harvest,hacked roads through the wilderness,trudged thousands of milesacross the desert, and prayedandthey built a land of freedomand human dignity.None of this progress was distributedon golden saucers for theasking; it wasn't accomplishedovernight by blissful theorizing;and it was not masterminded byany politician who wanted to administerwelfare tonics and pablumto the American populace.Signs of DespairToo many of our fellow citizensare quitting in despair. They havelost faith in themselves, forgottenour heritage, refuse to trust theindividual to make his own choice,and lack faith in God. This sullenapathy and mood of defeatism islike a cancer on America, deadlyif not removed.Most folks still believe in thefoundations of our Faith, but theyare woefully short on physical,mental, and spiritual enthusiasm.They lack the enthusiastic commitmentto give that faith meaning.To believe in freedom is admirable,but faith without worksis dead. The optimistic attitude isa part of faith, a key to successfulpractice.Our personal commitment to theeternal ideals of our Faith mustbe contagious. The demand of thishour in history is for men whowill respond to that trust in God,freedom, the individual, our heritage,and ourselves. Today weread a dateless, ageless "want ad"for men who will be articulate,sincere, dedicated, forthright, andvibrant in expressing that Faith.The fire of human endeavor iscontinually subjected to water andoil- the water poured on it bythose who through ignorance ordesign seek to extinguish humandignity - and the oil of·Faith ofthose who have dedicated themselvesto replenishing the fire ofman's, integrity through confidencein individualism, freedom, theirheritage, and God. ~