“Our American Values Are In Our Pockets”

As Clay has already pointed out, I was able to attend noted lecturer and talk show host Dennis Prager‘s morning presentation to Colorado’s joint House and Senate Republican Leadership Team. Dennis is heard locally on 710KNUS – to whom I am grateful for the invitation to this morning’s event – from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday to Friday.

Prager delivered a mid-legislative session pep talk to a caucus in need of revitalization. It is tough being in the minority, especially when you’re not used to it. But the nationally-syndicated radio celebrity sure did yeoman’s work in lifting the legislators’ spirits.

There is no way to effectively recreate Prager’s presentation, which was well-received by the “choir” to whom he “preached,” for his anecdotes and his delivery are inimitable. That being said, the main point of his talk was that the United States is truly exceptional for three main reasons, all of which can be found on our national currency – or “in our pockets,” if you will. The points are as follows:

1. E Pluribus Unum: “Out of many, one” – Race and ethnicity have never mattered to those who have upheld our national ideals. America is a multiethnic nation that at its core resists the dangerous poison of multiculturalism.

Dennis Prager pointed out a fact I had somehow previously missed and never fully considered:

Over the past thirty years, more Africans have come voluntarily to the United States than came during the entire era of the transatlantic slave trade, which transported an estimated half million men, women, and children to these shores.

2. Liberty: Only the world’s political Left hates liberty – they much rather love to enforce equality. He cited the example of Finland, where speeding tickets are assessed according to the income of the violator. Last year, wealthy heir Jussi Salonoja broke the record for the biggest fine paid: 170,000 euros (more than $200,000).

Thank goodness we don’t have a majority of legislators who want to emulate Finnish policy!

3. In God We Trust: The United States is unique in all of human history as the only religious country that also promotes freedom. The USA is also the only Judeo-Christian nation ever, exemplified by the fact that the President taking the inaugural oath swears on both the Old and New Testament – something taken for granted.

Prager talked about his leading role in fighting to keep the tiny cross on the Los Angeles County Seal. He made the winning remark that the ACLU likes to run around with a special “cross-seeking microscope” to remove every possible trace of the religious & historical symbol. He freely admits that his actions on behalf of the cross symbol is not a favor to Christians but in his self-interest: he wants his children to inherit a decent country.

Dennis Prager is truly inspirational as well as genial and down-to-earth. He might well win a competition among Christians for the Most Loved Living Jewish Person. Many dearly pray for his soul; still he takes no offense. What a unique and blessed character! What a privilege to be able to hear him in person for the first time. I would look forward to the opportunity to do so again.