that matter, as spelled out in the First Amend-
ment (http://www.usconstitution.net). Today
we have in our society unparalleled freedom
to go where we want to worship when we
want to worship.
and the yet unveiled horrors of the Holocaust.
Patrick Henry, famous for declaring "Give me
liberty or give me death" when urging Virgin-
ia's House of Burgesses to deliver troops to the
Revolutionary War, was firm in his support of
religious freedom: "That religion, or the duty
which we owe our Creator, and the manner of
discharging it, can be directed only by reason
and conviction, not by force or violence; and
therefore all men are equally entitled to the
free exercise of religion, according to the
dictates of conscience; and that it is the duty of
all to practice Christian forbearance, love and
charity towards each other."
first Thanksgiving. During the previous winter
45 of the 102 settlers had died of hunger and
disease. The founders of the country knew that
the insertion in the Declaration of Indepen-
dence of the clause "life liberty, and the pursuit
of happiness" meant an opportunity for people
to prosper.
hunger and want in this country. It is a free-
dom that is perhaps transient at best. Senator
Adlai Stevenson said, "A hungry man is not a
free man. As we search in our hearts about how
to share freedom with others we do well to heed
Mother Teresa's words: "If you can't feed a
hundred people, then just feed one."
the nation went beyond thoughts for mortal