![]() ![]() The Bill of Rights-those early amendments to the Constitution-were fought over by the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Americans must never take that freedom for granted. Those many words-in my coming novel, on those library shelves, or in devices and on screens-have been given the freedom to be born into our world, to live in readers’ minds or speakers’ speeches. It is speech that is protected by those waving stars and stripes (that some won’t honor), a flag welcoming those silenced by tyranny. It is speech that must freely tell the American story accurately, with balance, with pride, and with love, a story told to unify and not divide. It speaks about the free speech that Americans take for granted-the speech that runs through the sentences and pages of our books that live on the shelves of our libraries, books available to all. It speaks freely as to definitions of who we are and who we are meant to be as human beings, considering evolutionary theories and genetics. We want you, the reader, to keep turning those pages.Īngel Mountain is about the Holocaust, a hermit, happiness, and Heaven. Angel Mountain is now with my local editor who will help me polish it-add here, explain there, pay off the set-ups, develop the characters, sharpen the plot. Both have given me enthusiastic and encouraging endorsements for the novel. Determined to finish that first draft, I finished it and sent it off to a few experts (a theologian and a hermit) for feedback. The first challenge was my current novel-in-progress, Angel Mountain. Why so long? I found that when I prayed (again and again like the nagging Psalmist) for God’s will to be done in my life, many challenges suddenly arose, many commitments demanded my time. This July 2019, I realized that I had not posted on these pages for a year-since July 2018. Today, we call that depression and one is medicated. Without a blazing desire to live my life within the realm of God’s will, I would withdraw into myself. For I know I am flawed, prone to sin, and without confession and absolution, these sins would rule my heart and mind. Otherwise, the responsibility would be overwhelming. This is a hopeful record for all of us.įor if one person can indeed make a difference, then each of us must do just that.Īs a Christian, I turn to God to help me with this life challenge. McClay! Our national history is one of flawed men and women rising to greatness, or at least achieving great things in spite of their failings. And it is the complexity of the historical characters and the civility of the debates (compared to today) that gives me hope as an American. ![]() It is so refreshing to read a balanced history, one that shows the founders and other figures in our past as real people, with flaws, just like all of us, but whose passion sought that necessary balance of liberty and law, truth and freedom. Wilfred McClay’s recent book on the history of America, Land of Hope: An Invitation to the Great American Story (Encounter, 2019). ![]()
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