The Wisdom Chronicle is designed to bring nuggets of wisdom from the dozens of books I read every year. I endeavor to share the best of what I have gleaned. The determination of relevance lies with you. Blessings, J. Whiddon

501. NEW NATION “It was not because it was proposed to establish a new nation, but because it was proposed to establish a nation on new principles, that July 4, 1776, has come to be regarded as one of the greatest days in history. Great ideas do not burst upon the world unannounced. They are reached by a gradual development over a length of time usually proportionate to their importance.” — Calvin Coolidge

502. WHY CONSTITUTION ERODING? “Jefferson and John Marshall argued about the role of the Court, and in the Civil War era various leaders debated the pros and cons of increased power in Washington. Later, various national leaders debated the changes of 1913 (income tax and Senators generally elected), as well as the Butler case and so many other cases, not to mention the various changes in our laws created by executive orders or treaties like the Bretton Woods Agreement of 1944 or the proposed Rome Statute of 1998.

But why did all of these happen? Why did the Constitution break down? What was supposed to stop these kinds of things from occurring?”

In all of these situations, freedom was ultimately lost for the same reason. The people let it happen. The Constitution gave them power to stop these things, but they didn’t use it. They assumed their political leaders would do it for them. They were focused on other things, like making a living and raising their families, and they just let their freedoms be written away.

There’s a special word for a society where the four groups don’t really work together on big things, where the political leaders make the governmental decisions while the business leaders focus on profit and growth, and families and influencers are content not to be involved in governance. And that word is decline.

Excerpt From: Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille. “LeaderShift”

503. “WHO” or “WHOM”? How do you decide which one to use? When in doubt, substitute him and see if that sounds right. If him is OK, then whom is OK. If the more natural substitute is he, then go with who. For example: You talked to whom? It would be incorrect to say You talked to he? but saying You talked to him? makes grammatical sense.

Source: Dictionary.com

504. PILGRIMS KNEW “We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

–John Winthrop, Deck of Arbella, 1630, off Massachusetts Coast

505. CHANGING OUR NATION “We shouldn’t forget the nation’s Founders. They had to totally overcome their culture by taking on centuries of the British caste system, a near-religious belief in the divine right of kings, and the universally accepted but false idea that men are not created equal. It was hard work, but they did it. Our task is no more difficult than theirs.”

Excerpt From: Orrin Woodward & Oliver DeMille. “LeaderShift.”

506. DREAM “There is no magic in small dreams.” –Unknown

507. COMMUNISM “Be prepared to resort to every illegal device to conceal the truth—It would not matter if ¾ of the human race perished; the important thing is that the remaining ¼ be communist.” –V. Lenin

508. EDUCATION “Education which trains in skills but does not teach values is deficient. Its emphasis today all too often does not seek to make the individual a thinking person but seeks to condition him to the generally accepted view of the common good.” –A.C. Brownfield

509. ACHIEVEMENT “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it.” – Chinese Proverb

510. REPEAT TRUTH! “The truth must be repeated again and again because error is constantly being preached round about us. And not only by isolated individuals but by the majority. In the newspapers and encyclopedias, in the schools and Universities everywhere error is dominant, securely and comfortable ensconced in public opinion which is on its side.” — Goethe, 1828