Truth

Hence, let us place there, carved high, as close to heaven as we can, the words of our leaders, their faces, to show posterity what manner of men they were. Then breathe a prayer that these records will endure until the wind and the rain alone shall wear them away.

Gutzon Borglum

Carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota is one of America’s most recognizable monuments. The Mount Rushmore National Memorial, known as the Shrine of Democracy, features the iconic faces of four former presidents of the United States: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

The Shrine of Democracy is the crowning achievement of its celebrated sculptor, Gutzon Borglum. Borglum began working on the monument in 1927, devoting the next 14 years, the remainder of his life, to its completion. Over 400 workers assisted on the project, which was completed by his son Lincoln following Borglum’s death.

Although conceived as a tourist attraction by its original promoters, Mount Rushmore has become much more than a commercial gimmick. In Borglum’s words:

The purpose of the memorial is to communicate the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the United States with colossal statues of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

The speech given by President Calvin Coolidge at the cornerstone dedication ceremony typifies America’s official liturgy of worship at this glorious open air shrine:

We have come here to dedicate a cornerstone that was laid by the hand of the Almighty. On this towering wall of Rushmore, in the heart of the Black Hills, is to be inscribed a memorial which will represent some of the outstanding features of four of our Presidents, laid on by the hand of a great artist in sculpture. This memorial will crown the height of land between the Rocky Mountains and the Atlantic seaboard, where coming generations may view it for all time.

It is but natural that such a design should begin with George Washington, for with him begins that which is truly characteristic of America. He represents our independence, our Constitution, our liberty. He formed the highest aspirations that were entertained by any people into the permanent institutions of our Government. He stands as the foremost disciple of ordered liberty, a statesman with an inspired vision who is not outranked by any mortal greatness.

Next to him will come Thomas Jefferson, whose wisdom insured that the Government which Washington had formed should be entrusted to the administration of the people. He emphasized the element of self-government which had been enshrined in American institutions in such a way as to demonstrate that it was practical and would be permanent. In him, likewise, embodied the spirit of expansion. Recognizing the destiny of this Country, he added to its territory. By removing the possibility of any powerful opposition from a neighboring state, he gave new guaranties to the rule of the people.

After our country had been established, enlarged from sea to sea, and was dedicated to popular government, the next great task was to demonstrate the permanency of our Union and to extend the principle of freedom to all inhabitants of our land. The master of this supreme accomplishment was Abraham Lincoln. Above all other national figures, he holds the love of his fellow countrymen. The work which Washington and Jefferson began, he extended to its logical conclusion.

That the principles for which these three men stood might be still more firmly established destiny raised up Theodore Roosevelt. To political freedom he strove to add economic freedom. By building the Panama Canal he brought into closer relationship the east and the west and realized the vision that inspired Columbus in his search for a new passage to the Orient.

To me the Shrine of Democracy created by Borglum at Mount Rushmore has always represented the fundamental truths on which this nation was founded, truths expressed by the inspiring words that Thomas Jefferson wrote into the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Standing in awe before Borglum’s magnificent sculpture, one can easily believe that, as President Coolidge said, the Almighty Himself had laid the cornerstone and placed America’s self-evident truths in the vault next to those four iconic presidential busts, declaring for the entire world to hear:

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

John 8:32 KJV

From Chapter 1 of No More Patriots

Copyright © 2015 by Howard T. Uhal

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