The Courage to be Free

ISBN: 0970368801

Author: Heston, Charlton

Condition: New

For many, just his name spoken aloud reverberates with authority and honor. Charlton Heston evokes a respect approaching reverence, even among adversaries, as a uniquely American legend who is simultaneously esteemed from afar and warmly embraced by his audiences.Michelangelo. Thomas Jefferson. Andrew Jackson. Thomas More. Cardinal Richelieu. Marc Antony. John the Baptist. And of course, Moses. He's portrayed and understood them all. Soldier. Author. Civil rights advocate. Political activist. Grandfather. Genuine patriot. He's filled all those roles, too. He hasn't just spoken the word of God, he's also spent his life defending our God-given freedoms. How to keep those freedoms is what this book is about.Charlton Heston is widely regarded as one of the most politically influential Americans never elected to public office. Since he's not a professional politician, he can't be unseated from the debate. But like a politician, he gets the airtime and ink and coverage personal freedoms depend on. That rich tradition continues in this book, where he tells the hard truths of an America vanishing into the mist of memory--and how we must muster the individual courage to bring her back. His challenge is based on a simple truth: Americans are born with more freedom than any other people in history. To keep it, we must be more courageous than any other people in history. This belief is rooted in his unimpeachable history of lobbying for civil and individual rights, most recently as president of the National Rifle Association. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963. Supporting civil rights then was about as popular as supporting gun rights now. So in these pages Heston often uses the issue of Second Amendment gun rights as a chilling example of personal freedom under attack, and harbinger of worse to come.