"To all Americans, I desire to offer my personal perspective of how so very privileged it is to be an American."
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America is Calling by Philip Staggs Trafford Publishing
book review by Priscilla Estes
"Are we willing to hold onto our sacred fire of liberty?" Staggs asks all Americans. Like many before him, Staggs maintains that America is calling out for her freedom, for a return to her Founding Fathers' principles, which are being eroded by big government. But unlike some stark diatribes of unrelenting right-winged conservatism, Staggs makes balanced, well-documented and compassionate arguments for a return to the Judeo-Christian philosophy that underpinned America's origins.
Through his personal lens, Staggs makes us aware of the political, philosophical, and geographical shaping of the nation from George Washington through Barack Obama. A political conservative and stalwart Christian, Staggs' explanations of the two religions (theism and non-theism) and the four political types (Libertarians, conservatives, traditionalists, and SoComs) are refreshingly unique and reasonable. Even more fascinating is his cogent correlation of geology to Genesis through the tectonic plate theory of how America was formed.
We may not accept that the Founding Fathers of America are descendants of the Lost Tribes of Israel. We may not share the belief that America was purposefully planned into existence by a Creator. And Muslims may be upset by the chapter on Islam. But Staggs makes his points well and sincerely and could hold forth safely and unobjectionably at any bipartisan soiree.
Many quotes and historical sources support Staggs' respectful and logically constructed central theme: America is at a critical point in its ability to continue as a Republic because the crucial tenants of religion and family values are being undermined and personal responsibility is being abandoned. Staggs' views are worth contemplating, no matter your individual beliefs.