It is so easy to take the liberty we enjoy for granted; or it has been. It is not so easy any longer. I will always cherish the journey this book took me through to arrive at my current and profound appreciation for what we've been so freely given.
Of the 110 or so billion people who have lived on this planet only about four percent have lived under any privilege resembling the freedom we currently enjoy. The rest, the great majority, have languished under oppression so appalling as to make me wonder how it could possibly be. How could human beings be so cruel, thoughtless, greedy? Speaking of the privileged and abusive few. Or, how could the masses be so passive, in their squalor, deprivation and subjection? Then you are forced to realize that for millennia, no one knew of or thought of life any other way.
I was amazed at how Stewart and Stewart made such a profound case for such obscure moments in world history. I was amazed at how few were the brave souls who stood against oppression to give us what we now enjoy. Clearly, the blessing of liberty was not the norm. Clearly, it took thousands of years to prepare the earth for what we currently seem to take for granted. Certainly, the hand of God was in those pivotal moments when, against overwhelming odds, a few brave men and women stood against forces that would have prevented progress toward this glorious age of abundance and emancipation.
This book is an interesting read; full of stories, miracles, inspiration and awe. I could hardly put it down. It filled my heart with gratitude and hope; while it reminded me how fragile and temporary our freedom might be, should we lose track of its value and lose courage for the constant battle that is required to maintain it. Left to itself, the natural tendency is toward decay and so it is with individual liberty.
I will never again look at my blessed freedom with such careless disregard. The depth of my gratitude, as I write this, amazes me. How could one little book make such a profound difference?
Somehow, as I read the book I realized that freedom doesn't emerge on a national or global scale before it emerges in individual lives and hearts. Many of those to whom we owe so much had personally climbed out of the captivity of ignorance, fear, doubt, excess and depravity long before they gave that gift to their fellow citizens. So it must also be, with us.
Five Stars!
2 comments:
interesting . . . I see they've retitled the book since its first publication
Kaye, you may be thinking of their other book called Seven Miracles That Saved America.
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