Now comes the great year 2017, my fellow Americans. God has allowed us the privilege of living through the great and tumultuous year 2016 so that now we can be better human beings as we live out another great New Year.
We have been allowed to serve God and Country for yet another year. Those of us who are people of faith, strong faith, witnessed a political year antagonistic to our faith. We saw attacks upon our precious First Amendment rights, including Free Speech, Freedom of Religion, and the practice of Christianity and living by Christian values in so many different ways. In no way deterred, so many fellow Christians of faith stood up, resisted, counterattacked and fought the fight of faith. I am proud of them. What those defenders of the faith did was courageous, bold and inspirational. Bakers refused to bake cakes, Catholic nuns stood up when the Roman Catholic Church would not, Hobby Lobby struck a blow for freedom and so did many others. The vibrant and vital faith in Jesus Christ and Christian values showed America men and women resolved, ready to lay their all on the altar and defend the faith once given with all of their might. God bless them. And I thank them.
Then there were those, millions of them who demanded change, change back from the last eight years to a better, more promising America. One traditional, Constitutional and abiding by the Rule of Law. Those same fellow Americans of ours voted to make America great again. They voted for a revived economy deregulated. They voted for limited government, for a return to states’ rights, federalism as we were promised 240 years ago and for a Presidency which would work with and respect the Congress, appoint fair and impartial judges and justices and reinvigorate our Constitution with new energy and new thinking. We voted for Donald John Trump as President, Mike Pence as Vice President and 52 Republican Senators and 239 Republican House of Representatives with marching orders to change, change things back perhaps in a Reagan-esque way, a revived economy, new jobs, a different approach to immigration, a fundamental change in ObamaCare, the rebuilding of American defenses, a revival of American exceptionalism, a strengthened American position in the world at large, and a revival of our priority and commitment to the defense and survival of our Middle East partner Israel. We ask that Trump and Pence make all of that happen, and to do so, as they promised, in the first:
100 DAYS
Of a new administration.
Make changes, make them quickly and move American forward aggressively in the great year 2017. We the people voted for that and we expect that. We will hold Trump and Pence to their promises. WE WILL!
Watch, my fellow Americans, how Trump and Pence lead in the first 100 days. Watch carefully. Much of the foundation for new legislation has already been laid. New laws await and old legislation in the works, that with a promised veto from Obama, can now become law. Rogue agencies like IRS, the EPA, the Justice Department and others can be put on a lawful path, strangulating regulations removed, maverick secretaries replaced and the true Rule of Law, the Constitutional one, and the will of the Congress and the people can be returned to American public affairs for the good of all. That should happen and if not, we will hold Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence responsible. America is our country, not Obama’s, not Pence and Trump:
OURS!
Do what we want and not what you want. We will watch carefully in those first 100 days, will we not?
Election 2016 has shown an America more deeply divided than ever. We have seen once again in 2016 that there is no dialogue, no discussion, little of truth or fact. But rather, argumentation, angry discourse, polarities at work, and an America where one side is always right and the other wrong. The verbal anger between citizens has given rise to violence, and undoubtedly will do so even more. Protest groups arise daily, civil disobedience is more likely than ever, private citizens continue to be armed and purchase guns and a sense of lawlessness seems to prevail. Wracked with dissent, America is a tinderbox tearing at itself and threatened more than ever by foreign terrorists. We are nation at risk and more than ever we need bold citizens, the fairest and best judicial system, new laws fair and enforceable so that civil order and comity can be both protected and restored. We will indeed be thankful, give thanks and work to make these good things happen for our great country.
But do give thanks my fellow Americans, give great thanks for America. We should thank God every day for the privilege of living in this great country, and not elsewhere. Our lifestyles, opportunities and potentiality for the future are perhaps better than any other nation. We think so, we believe that, and we should be thankful for all we have and resolve, clearly resolve to be better citizens, better people of faith and more grateful than ever for the country in which we live. Resolve to be that way, my fellow Americans. It is the right thing to do.
Even as we are thankful for all that we have, we should resolve in 2017 to do more for others. It is both our duty and our privilege as human beings, as Americans, to help others. We should resolve to think more about investing our time, our efforts and work, our money or our expertise for the benefit of mankind, for the society in which we live and for others less fortunate. Do something, anything and resolve to do what you can all year long. Nothing is better than giving.
Resolve, my fellow Americans, to be more politically active. Each of us has our civic duty, each of us has God-given talents and abilities. There is no one, NO ONE who can not do something, anything for a better America, for a better church and for a better world at large. No matter how busy, occupied in the affairs of your lifestyle and life, do your civic duty however you see it. Volunteer. Educate. Write. Attend meetings. Become active in your community. Attend local, county and state meetings and events. Get others to do the same.
DO SOMETHING.
Anything for America, anything.
Resolve to do that.
Resolve to take time, my fellow Americans. To think, reflect, meditate and pray. We live in a world so fast, so demanding, so changing, dominated by technology. We live in the day and age of the iPhone, texting where Facebook and Twitter rule. Where interruptions occur at all times. We live in a world where the cell phone sets our priorities, not we the people. We are constantly connected, over connected, always connected with our lives seemingly driven by the priorities of others. Let the emails wait and get to know yourself better than ever. Nothing but nothing is better than one-on-one. Nothing is better than looking another human being in the eye, listening to real words in real time, real human beings interacting without the cell phone. Resolve to slow down, my fellow Americans, slow down, sit back and as they say:
SMELL THE ROSES
There is nothing better than the smell of the rose. Don’t let Facebook prevent you from doing that. With that resolve, you will be a better person 2017.
What the world needs now is love, says the old song, sweet love. Does it ever. One who is CHRISTIAN or a real disciple of any other faith is one who knows love. It is the greatest force, the greatest. Nothing is better for mankind. Perhaps we all should resolve to learn how to turn the other cheek. We are constantly assaulted, more than ever defensive, anger in the waiting, tempted and tried at every turn. Only love, real love can reverse the tide. Pursue and practice real love, my fellow Americans. Resolve to do that 2017 and always.
Love makes us do good, as one said the constant practice of random acts of kindness. They are lasting, permanent, infectious, catalysts for the doing of more good for your family, and your spouse especially, your friends and for all mankind. Do good for good will always triumph over evil, always. The little things you do each day no matter who you are, are so necessary for America. DO THEM, in love.
So, this last week of the great year 2017, I come to you in behalf of the Crawford Broadcasting Company, thankful for all that you have done for us. I thank you for listening to our stations, for our involvement, and I especially thank you for your support of our Christian programs, our conservative talk programs, our advertisers who have so faithfully and regularly supported our efforts and brought benefit to you. I thank you, my fellow Americans, for seeing our good company as something different, something better and in some cases, a company with radio product indispensable for your day. Our ultimate reward is to give you something which makes you a better person and the life you live more meaningful. We have tried our best to do that in 2016 and you can be sure that we will RESOLVE to do even better in the year 2017.
Our mission is to serve:
GOD AND COUNTRY
We will protect and defend the Christian faith, and in fact the right to worship in any faith. We intend to offer programming which strengthens faith and offers that faith to others. We intend to educate, enlighten, evangelize and entertain as well as we can, better in 2017. Help us do that with your constructive criticisms and suggestions and do stay involved in the lives of our various stations. I and my company, some 260 employees who work with me for our common purposes, resolve to do better for you, and for God and Country in the great year 2017. It is our privilege to serve you and once again, I most sincerely thank you for all that you have done for us.
May God richly bless you, your family and friends and all with whom you come in contact with HIS very own and special blessings and may you spread and share those blessings with others throughout this great year.
We together, in prayer, with hard work, with dedication, with bold courage, and with the constant pursuit of what is right and what is true:
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
Resolve to do that my fellow Americans. We can and we will accomplish those objectives 2017.
May God richly bless you with health and happiness in the New Year and perhaps the admonition of a very special Bible verse can be motto 2017:
YOU can do all things through faith in Christ who strengthens you!