It is a small national conceit that Freedom is an American idea. Nor does Freedom owe its origins to the Greeks, either. Freedom is a singular Christian idea. I can say Christian because the roots of Christianity reach far back into the lives of the patriarchs of the Bible. And the idea of freedom, that lies deep in the desires of every man, was the will of God for mankind.

The Declaration of Independence, the founding document of these United States, acknowledged that the idea of Freedom originated with the Creator. We do hold these truths to be self evident: That all men were created equal and were endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.

What may dawn on us as we think our way through this is that freedom creates democracy. It is not the other way around. But can you have freedom without democracy? That’s what I need to explain next…