The National Purpose:

Monday - August 29, 2011

The National Purpose:

When I think of what The National Purpose means I conjure up visions of past history, the great feats of America and the accomplishments of great Americans that are known and greater Americans that are unknown who have all added to the greatness of a nation and the country’s National Purpose.

On today’s date, in 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused severe damage to the Gulf Coast killing 1,836 people who were, in the end, a part of the National Purpose in their own way. As a nation, we searched for the reason why, only to end up criticizing some and not blaming others when the National Purpose was questioned.

This weekend the country’s East Coast was ravaged by yet another Hurricane called Irene - that was downgraded into a tropical storm of immense size as it entered New York City. Lives were lost and property was damaged. Our leaders called for unity, as the National Purpose, this weekend in the wake of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 while the storm was gaining in strength.

We should not have to be reminded to search for our National Purpose in the wake of any disaster. Shouldn’t National Purpose be a part of our every day Common Purpose?

On today’s date, in 1982, George Brett got his 1,500 hit. This added to the National Purpose, as another accomplishment by another great American baseball player. This feat added to the simple landscape of what America is.

In 1968, on today’s date many unknown Democrats added to the National Purpose to change history as they nominated Hubert H. Humphrey as their presidential candidate. The convention was held in Chicago amid mass rioting and protesting all of which was a part of a changing National Purpose by unknown faces. Never the less, greatness rose to calm the day to only reaffirm the National Purpose.

On this date, in 1965, Astronauts Cooper and Conrad completed 120 Earth orbits in Gemini 5 setting a record in space travel that would further define America’s National Purpose after President Kennedy put forth an initiative to conquer space itself by going to the moon. He wouldn’t live to see it but he knew his words defined the National Purpose for generations of explorers and adventurers with dreams to come. In 1991 on this date, his son John F. Kennedy Jr. won his first court case as a young lawyer. The Kennedy family rose from obscurity to become the family that would define the nation’s version of Camelot. They defined again what the National Purpose was.

In 1966, on today’s date the Beatles performed their last public concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. The British Invasion created what the National Purpose was for millions of young admirers. Years later the National Purpose was recognized by the timeless tunes of a timeless era.

In war, our National Purpose is always questioned for the moral value, but in the end war is defined by the generals, the colonels, the majors, the sergeants and the privates who go in harms way to protect and define what our National Purpose is. On today’s date, in 1945, General MacArthur was named Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in Japan. He is known for his words that defined the National Purpose, “I shall return”, because he did. The National Purpose then was to defend the weak, by winning the war that brought our National Purpose to bear.

On today’s date, in 1862, the Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) began. The Civil War was fought to define a National Purpose over States Rights and the freedom of millions. On today’s date, almost a century later, the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was passed by Congress. This ended the question of how our National Purpose was limited to some Americans. On today’s date, in 1990, Saddam Hussein declared “America can't beat Iraq”. In the end, American soldiers beat back the forces that threatened our National Purpose.

In 1776, on today’s date the Americans withdrew from Manhattan to Westchester as our National Purpose was only beginning to be tested in ways that our enemies would only come to fear in future years. On August 29, 1786, Shays Rebellion in Springfield, Massachusetts began. Shays Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts from 1786 to 1787. The rebels, led by Daniel Shays and known as the Shaysites (or Regulators), were mostly small farmers angered by crushing debt and taxes. Any failure to repay these debts often times resulted in imprisonment in a debtor’s prison or the claiming of property by the state. A Massachusetts militia was raised as a private army to defeat the Shaysites on February 3 of 1787. However, there was a lack of an institutional response to the uprising, which energized calls to reevaluate the Articles of Confederation and gave strong impetus to hold the Constitutional Convention, which began in May of 1787.
The United States may be unique, because it was formed as a voluntary association of States based on declared moral principles. These moral principles are known today as our National Purpose. Our National Purpose was also guaranteed in a Constitution that was new to the world.
The National Purpose is all around us. We don’t have to look for it and we don’t have to wait for disaster to rekindle it. All we have to do to see it is to walk down Main Street. We see it in our grocer’s face, as he practices commerce. We see it in the mailman’s face, as he works to deliver the mail in the rain, the sleet and the snow. We see it the fireman’s face and the policeman’s face, as they bravely deliver the public service. We see it as the old are tended to and the young are nurtured. We can celebrate the National Purpose by reading the names of those who were lost in war at our town’s memorials. We see the National Purpose as we maintain a set of morals that are based on a set of laws that bring civility and peace to our town squares. If you have any doubts, you can read about the National Purpose in our nation’s founding documents.

No matter how we are tested, be it by another man’s dangerous thoughts or be it the danger that nature sometimes delivers, our National Purpose should never be doubted, should never be politicized and can never be forgotten, because history is the diary of the National Purpose. Today, take that walk down Main Street and open your eyes. The National Purpose is right in front of you.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: America’s National Purpose will sometimes be questioned. Americans have that right, because it is a part of our set of morals to do so. The best part of the National Purpose gives us the morals to know when to question them and when to use them.