"If You Can Keep It" - A Challenge from the Pen of Eric Metaxas

I want to share with you about the most recent book written by Eric Metaxas.  You might remember that he is the author of probably the most definitive biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy.  His new book is titled, If You Can Keep It: The Forgotten Promise of American Liberty.  This is a book that I highly recommend each high school and college student read. What the author shares in this book is the premise that America's liberties are slipping away and, unless we take action, they will be lost forever.


The book's title is taken from an incident in the life of Benjamin Franklin.  As he was leaving that famous building in Philadelphia in 1787 following the adoption of the United States Constitution, he was approached by a woman named Mrs. Powell who asked, "Well, doctor, what have we got?  A republic or a monarchy?"  To which Dr. Franklin responded: "A republic, madam - if you can keep it."  Now what was Dr. Franklin actually saying?  This Constitution that was newly created derived its strength not from the power of a ruling family, as with the monarchies that dotted the political landscapes of Europe at the time.  No, the strength of the Constitution was derived from the will and consent of the people.  The Constitution was a venture into a new form of government that the world had not witnessed in a long time - not since the days of ancient Greece.  Would it work?  Would a government "of the people, by the people, for the people," as Lincoln spoke so succinctly in his Gettysburg Address so many years later, really hold a nation together as diverse as America was?  Franklin's reply would be: "Yes, but only if the American people worked on it."


The underlying premise of Metaxas's book is the concept developed by Os Guinness and called The Golden Triangle of Freedom: "The Golden Triangle of Freedom is, when reduced to its most basic form, that freedom requires virtue; virtue requires faith; and faith required freedom.  The three go round and round, supporting one another ad infinitum.  If any one of the three legs of the triangle is removed, the whole structure ceases to exist" (page 54).  


The first leg is virtue or morality.  You are aware as am I of how our moral foundations in America are eroding away; sadly, at an alarming rate these past several years.  We murder innocent babies almost without impunity.  We celebrate sexual perversions with public parades.  We have become immune to the almost daily slaughter that occurs on the streets of our cities.  Truth, if it has not been negated, certainly has been compromised.  Alexis de Tocqueville wrote: "Liberty cannot be established without morality" (page 60).  Friends, if our liberties are eroding it is due in part to the eroding of our moral foundations.


The second leg is faith.  That our Founding Fathers were religious men cannot be called into question.  George Washington, in his Farewell Address as President in 1796 wrote: "Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.  Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principles" (page 65).  And the words of Thomas Jefferson, who was to be our third President, should alarm us, for he wrote in 1785: "Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people, that those liberties are the gift of God?  That they are violated but with his wrath?  I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep for ever" (page 66).  Friends, our Founding Fathers attributed the victories in the War of Independence to the intervention of a Divine Providence.  Yet, today, our nation's leaders have tried to isolate God from our history, both its past as well as its present.  Is it any wonder that our liberties are eroding away.


Perhaps the strength of this book are the many stories that the author relates.  The story of the great influence a smallish British preacher by the name of George Whitefield had upon the birth of our nation.  The story of Nathan Hale and his ultimate sacrifice for his nation.  The story of Paul Revere and his famous ride and the famous poem about his ride that helped a nation during the days of the Civil War.  Stories of real life men and women committed to truth and to the ideals that would grow this new nation's liberties. 


Is America perfect?  No and it never will be!  Can America rediscover those foundations upon which its greatness was built?  Yes, I believe it can, but time is running out.  As Metaxas brings out in his book, to re-experience what made America great, it will take all of us working toward that common goal.  It will mean that we will have to repent of America's wrongs, but then move on.  We cannot camp in the shadow of those images of slavery, or of Wounded Knee, or of My Lai.  Why is it that Americans pull together when there is a crisis?  September 11, 2001 brought Americans together.  Suddenly we were not Hispanic Americans or black Americans or Chinese Americans - we were simply Americans.  Those were Americans who entered into those Twin Towers in an heroic attempt to rescue as many as possible.  When Hurricane Katrina wrecked its destructive powers in Louisiana, it was Americans who came to the rescue.  Can America be saved once again?  We need to look past ourselves.  We are not Hispanic Americans - we are Americans who happen to be of Latin descent.  We are not black Americans - we are Americans who happen to be of African descent.  We are not white Americans - we are Americans of basically European descent.  We are not Baptist Americans - but Americans who happen to attend a Baptist Church.  We are not Muslim Americans - but Americans who happen to attend a mosque.  We are Americans first!  Our heart swells with pride when this nation excels.  Our hearts feel the pain when this nation experiences hurt.  We still get that strange feeling when we sing the national anthem or watch the American Legion Post delegation parade the flag down the streets during a community celebration.  We stand in hushed silence at the row upon row of white gravestones in an Arlington National Cemetery or at Fort Snelling Military Cemetery or countless other places.  That is what makes us Americans.  That is the intent our Founding Fathers attempted to create with their Constitution.  That was their vision of America. 


I highly recommend this book.  I have one word of caution, however: you will need a dictionary as you read for the author's vocabulary is not our usual one.  But, that aside, you will be stirred as you read to better understand why our nation is as it is today.  Dr. Franklin's words are a challenge to us: "If you can keep it."