TOS Weekly - 250 Years of America the Rational
Celebrating the principles and the people that shaped the greatest country on Earth.
Welcome to TOS Weekly!
Two hundred and fifty years ago this week, a small group of men set out the principles according to which the United States of America would be governed. These men were geniuses and polymaths, each extraordinarily well versed in history, philosophy, statecraft, and more. Between them, they created the first nation on Earth to be founded by principles—the principles of liberty, rights, and the pursuit of happiness.
Since that time, America has flourished to the extent that Americans have stayed true to those rational principles. Although it has departed from the Founders’ vision in a great many ways, it still remains in many respects the freest country on Earth. This week, we celebrate a quarter century of America, tip our hats to the heroes who made this life-empowering nation possible, and remind ourselves of the values and ideals that Americans must rediscover and hold dear if the country is to survive and flourish in the centuries to come.
I hope you enjoy this week’s articles,
Thomas F. Walker
Managing Editor
Celebrating America the Rational
What to Celebrate on Independence Day
On the Fourth of July, celebrate not the rights-violating, crony-enabling welfare state that America has become, but what America once virtually was and factually ought to be: the Land of Liberty.
America the Rational
America is beautiful. But why? What makes it beautiful? And what could make it even more beautiful?
Understanding the Declaration of Independence
By “created equal,” the Declaration of Indepedence does not mean that people are equal in terms of talents, skills, or character, or that they should be made equal through the redistribution of wealth or by compelling some to labor for others. It means that nobody is entitled to dictate how others may live.
Ten Poems on America the Beautiful
Featuring works by Lord Byron, Thomas Paine, Emma Lazarus, Walt Whitman, Henry Van Dyke, Minna Irving, Charles Eugene Banks, Jonathan Mitchell Sewall, and Katharine Lee Bates.
Ayn Rand’s American Morality
To the extent that we Americans come to understand Rand’s morality and integrate it with the founders’ political ideas and a sound understanding of history, we will be better equipped to defend America, to live the American way, and to refute the lies that enemies of America tell in their effort to destroy this great country.
Honoring the Founders
“I believe that the work TOS is doing is imperative to the future of our nation and those who support reason around the world.” —Miguel