Today is 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta. While tributes are going on around the
country, we thought we would highlight the tribute done by the U.S. House. Rep. Virginia Foxx led the US House in its
tribute to the Magna Carta on Friday.
Her entire speech is here. Let me highlight a few paragraphs. After reading portions of the Magna Carta,
Rep. Foxx said the following:
Let me repeat those last few
words, Mr. Speaker, "the law of the land.'' In those words, we see the idea
that the law does not come from any individual person or government. To quote
Daniel Hannan, who wrote a wonderful essay on the 800th anniversary of Magna
Carta for The Wall Street Journal last month: "It is immanent in the land
itself, the common inheritance of the people living there.''
Mr. Speaker, the language may
sound a little stilted, and folks may think, goodness, that doesn't sound like
something we would say today, but it is so important for us to understand the
direct link between Magna Carta and the
Revolution that occurred in this country in 1776.
Rep. Foxx points out that it is not just a history lesson
though. We must always be “attentive to
the freedom we inherited."
Today, I would like to
acknowledge the debt of gratitude we owe to those rebel barons with grievances
against their King, and I am reminded that we must always be attentive to the
freedom we have inherited.
Ronald Reagan said famously:
Freedom is not in our genes. It is only a
generation away from being lost. It is something we have to cherish.
And that is a good reason to celebrate and remember the 800th
anniversary of the Magna Carta.
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