'Merica!

Putting together two things I wrote some notes about over the late summer/fall. Both are podcast episodes recorded specifically for the Fourth of July. I didn't listen to either of them until way after the 4th but it doesn't matter, this is stuff worth hearing anytime of year. 

First one is an episode from Mike Rowe's podcast, "The Way I Heard It," which I highly recommend in it's own right. But Episode 162 is Mike doing a dramatic reading of Patrick Henry's "Liberty or Death" speech at the Second Virginia Convention in 1775. It helped bring many wavering Americans to the side of Independence. It stirred the hearts of men then and it stirred my own heart so that I was in tears at the end of Mike's reading. You can listen here. 

The second one is from Spencer Klavan's Podcast "Young Heretics" which I also highly recommend in it's own right as well. Spencer is heroically saving Western civilization single-handedly by sharing Classical literature, Western Philosophy, and History. It's the education kids aren't getting anymore these days. His July 4th tribute also stirred my heart. You can catch Young Heretics on YouTube (or listen on Apple, Spotify, wherever) but this episode, as far as I can tell, was only voice recorded. It covers Cicero and John Adams, and how they relate, so you know it's awesome. You can listen to it here.  I'm sure I'll talk about Spencer in more notes again later. 

I will close with the words of this great American, Dave Morris, owner of D&R Daily Grind in Michigan: "Wake up, stand up, this is America. Be free!"