Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Will your child be prepared to defend godly principles in the marketplace of ideas? Tune in as Chairman Michael Farris looks at our national heritage of debate today on Home School Heartbeat.

Mike:

Our country has a great history of oratory. Americans hammer out the course of the nation in the public arena. At its core, democracy requires debate.


In 1857 two men debated an issue that would rock the country. Through seven Illinois cities, from August to October, audiences, some nearing 20,000, stood for hours to hear the debaters spar.


One man held that each State in the Union was a sovereign power, with the right to do as it pleased concerning the question of slavery and all things local or domestic.


The other declared that rather than self-government, his opponent sought to eradicate the light of reason and the love of liberty in the American people.


The debaters, of course, were Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Though Lincoln lost the race for Senate in Illinois, these debates launched him into the national spotlight. His oratory stands as a landmark of American history.


I'd like to encourage our listeners to get their kids involved in debate. Participating in formal debate prepares students to bring a Christian perspective to our current national dialogue. We need well-equipped men and women to carry the banner of liberty and truth. Our continued greatness as a nation depends on it.


I'm Mike Farris.