The Origins
Freedom of Speech series - part 4 of 4 - The Origins of Freedom of Speech
Today, February 20th, 2021, we mark the 78th anniversary of the creation of the Freedom of Speech painting by Norman Rockwell. The painting, along with three others that he created in 1943 appeared in the Saturday Evening Post in four successive editions. Collectively, they supported the U.S. war effort during World War ll, and reminded the nation of its most cherished values, values that we were fighting, and dying, to defend.
The freedom of speech that has been among our most precious values throughout our national history finds its articulation in the first Amendment to our Constitution, better known as the Bill of Rights. It states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
My own journey into understanding this important value first found its roots in the patriotism imparted to me by my father, and his deep love for our country. Later, as a young adult, it found its fulfillment in my own journey under the tutelage of Dr. John Brabner-Smith. He was the first to open my eyes to the role of Biblical theology that was central to the creation of our form of government.
Long ago, the founders of our nation affirmed the radical concept that government should not be based on the whims of a king, nor by parliament thousands of miles away, but on the foundation that God is the ultimate source of rights and all freedoms. A concept not only born through much deliberation, debate, and prayer, but also spoken by the founding generation and inscribed in our most fundamental founding documents.
On July 4th, 1776, 56 men risked all that they held dear in this life when they signed a declaration that ended with the words “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
It is one of my greatest joys to help others visit our national monuments and memorials to see the evidence for themselves where these values were forged, fought for, and are forever enshrined.
Take time today to thank God for this amazing yet imperfect land in which we live, and the values that have stood the test of time, from the foundation of our nation, till today, including the freedom of speech.
If you have missed any of my posts in this series, review the past four days to check out all four parts and the links that I have included. You won’t regret that you did. Join me also tomorrow, for the next part in my series on Isaiah 40.
As this series concludes, I hope you have a deeper understanding of why Norman Rockwell’s painting, Freedom of Speech, is so inspirational to me. I also hope that you will join me to look for ways to cherish and protect this most sacred value with the hopes of passing it on to future generations.
The Painting, the Artist, and a Dissenting Voice
Freedom of Speech series part 3 of 4 -
In the Spring of 1942, Norman Rockwell had recently completed a commissioned work of art depicting a United States machine gunner in desperate need of ammunition. However, he knew that he wanted to do much more to use his abilities as an artist to help support efforts to inspire our nation during its most critical hour.
After much thought, he decided on the idea of painting the four freedoms (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear) that had been presented by President Roosevelt only a year earlier. He wanted to take the ideals that FDR had articulated and put them to canvas. His hope was to aid the President’s war efforts to remind Americans of the ideals that we as a nation were then fighting to defend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lzC67TgTpM
I have included a link to a wonderful 22 minute video created by the Norman Rockwell Museum explaining the history of Rockwell’s Four Freedoms paintings.
As Rockwell began the project, he struggled through various concepts on how to capture the lofty ideal of freedom of speech. Commenting on his struggles, he stated, "It was so darn high blown sometimes I could not just get my mind around it."
He finally decided to depict an event that he had witnessed during a town meeting in Arlington, Vermont, where he lived. His neighbor, Jim Edgerton spoke during the meeting, sharing ideas that were the opposite of most others in attendance. However, as Edgerton spoke, everyone listened respectfully, and no one shouted him down, even though his dissenting views were the opposite of theirs.
Rockwell's depiction of that scene has since become my favorite painting produced by any American artist, as it represents one of our most foundational and cherished values.
With the struggles we have had in recent years as a nation to live up to this ideal, it is wise for all of us to take a moment this weekend to celebrate the 78th anniversary of this amazing work of art. At the same time, it is my hope that all of us will renew and rededicate our own individual, community, and national efforts, to live up to the ideal that it represents.
The Essay and the Two Young Men
Freedom of Speech series part 2 of 4 -
On February 20th, 1943, The front cover of the Saturday Evening Post featured “Freedom of Speech,” one of Norman Rockwell's most famous paintings. In honor of the 78th anniversary of this important moment in history, this is my second article of a four part series dedicated to the freedom of speech.
To review, as I mentioned yesterday, Rockwell’s painting was the first in a four part series dedicated to taking the concepts mentioned in FDR’s 1941 State of the Union, better known as his “four freedoms speech” and putting them to canvas.
To accompany Rockwell’s amazing artwork, the magazine also asked Pulitzer Prize winner Booth Tarkington to craft an essay to accompany the freedom of speech painting. At the time when the mass production of colorful magazine covers was the dominant form of media of the day, both the painting and the essay had a profound impact on our nation.
Tarkington’s essay recounted a chance encounter between two ambitious young men that had taken place in a small mountain chalet in the Alps in 1912. One of the men was described as a writer, perhaps a journalist, and the other as an artist. Throughout their dialog they shared their ideas and their common disdain for the freedom of speech. They also talked about what they would do should they come to power in their respective countries. This is an excerpt from their dialog:
“Yes, my friend. Like everything else, it is simple. In America or England, so long as governments actually exist by means of freedom of speech, you and I could not even get started; and when we shall have become masters of our own countries, we shall not be able to last a day unless we destroy freedom of speech. The answer is this: We do destroy it.”
Not until the end of the article is the reader made aware that the meeting was between two future dictators, Hitler and Mussolini. At the time, right in the middle of World War ll, we were fighting these two leaders and their horrendous ideas throughout the battlefields of Europe.
Although the essay was fictional, it presented to the reader one of the most important reasons we were fighting, in contrast with how that value was trampled on and despised by dictators.
https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/.../booth.../...
If you have never done so before, take time today to read the essay. I have included a link to it above. Please also take a moment to pray that the freedom of speech remains as important to our nation today as it was in 1943. Join me tomorrow for part three, and ponder the closing of the famous essay and the clever way in which the identity of the two men is revealed:
The painter spoke to the landlord: “That fellow seems to be some sort of shady character, rather a weak one. Do you know him?”
“Yes and no,” the landlord replied. “He’s in and out, mainly after dark. One meets all sorts of people in the Brenner Pass. You might run across him here again, yourself, someday. I don’t know his whole name, but I have heard him called ‘Benito,’ my dear young Herr Hitler.”
The President and the Moral Imperative
Freedom of Speech series part 1 of 4 -
Starting today, and for the next four days, I invite you to join me on a journey. We will step back in time with the hopes of finding inspiration to remind us of some of the greatest attributes of our nation.
Our expedition will begin, 80 years ago, on January 6, 1941, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt stood before a joint session of Congress to deliver his 8th, and perhaps most important State of the Union Address.
Just 11 months later, America would be forced to enter World War II after Japan’s horrific attack on Pearl Harbor. In the midst of an increasing global conflict and soon to be all-out fight for our national survival, the President reminded the nation of the ‘moral imperatives’ that we stood for.
In the final paragraphs of the speech, FDR explained that America as a nation wanted to see a world that was based on “four freedoms.” The freedom of speech, the freedom of worship, the freedom from want, and the freedom from fear. Values that not only found their origins in the hearts and minds of America’s founding generation, but were also articulated in the amazing documents that created our unique form of government.
Later on in the midst of the war, this 1943 painting, which will be the focus of the rest of my writings this week, took the Presidents words and set them to canvas. This famous painting reminded us, in the midst of the growing number of deaths of American soldiers overseas, and the supreme sacrifices that we were making as a nation at home, of the collective and deepest values that bind us together.
The values that we were fighting for back then remain vital for our survival today. Join me for the next four days as we explore all four parts of this series on freedom of speech.
I have two links listed below, where you can read FDR’s State of the Union or even choose to listen to it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD32o5zqe7M
https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=70...
May God bless you with a super day today & check in tomorrow for part II.