Top 30 TV Shows in 1965

1 Bonanza

2 Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.

3 The Lucy Show

4 The Red Skelton Hour

5 Batman (Thurs.)

6 The Andy Griffith Show

7 Bewitched

8 The Beverly Hillbillies

9 Hogan's Heroes

10 Batman (Wed.)

11 Green Acres

12 Get Smart

13 The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

14 Daktari

15 My Three Sons

16 The Dick Van Dyke Show

17 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

18 The Ed Sullivan Show

19 The Lawrence Welk Show

20 I've Got a Secret

21 Petticoat Junction

22 Gilligan's Island

23 The Wild Wild West

24 The Jackie Gleason Show

25 The Virginian

26 Daniel Boone

27 Lassie

28 I Dream of Jeannie

29 Flipper

30 Gunsmoke

"The Charter of Our Liberties"

The Declaration of Independence, that proclamation for the ages, that Abraham Lincoln called “the charter of our liberties,” is a document whose meaning, and function today are different from what they were in 1776. In fact, in the years following the end of the Revolutionary War, the Declaration of Independence was almost dismissed from the thoughts of early Americans, as if the document had accomplished its one and only purpose. 

But that all changed following the War of 1812. The Declaration of Independence took upon new meaning in a nation that had just been rudely reminded of the fragility of its republic. A new generation of Americans had come of age and they made preservation of the nation’s revolutionary history their mission. Those efforts, and their reverential attitude toward the revolutionaries and their works, helped establish the Declaration of Independence as an important icon of American identity.

Lee and Longstreet at Gettysburg

Growing up in the South in the 60's, the "Lost Cause" theory was generally treated as fact. To embrace the Southern mythology was to perceive the romantic and discard the reality. Though that is clearer now, back in my childhood, and seeing that General Robert E. Lee and I shared the same last name, my pride and affection rested in the shadow of my hero. Also, a major component of the "LC" theory was that if the Confederates had possessed anywhere near the resources and manpower of the Union, the war would have been over by 1863. The belief being that the South had superior military commanders, better soldiers, who fought with  passion and valor, (in great part because they were fighting on their home soil), and the majority of their citizens were embedded with the fire of the righteous. That is still up for debate. But what is not up for debate is the fact that the South could have won the war in 1863, if not for the horrific mistakes by Southern commanders at Gettysburg.  

Jeremiah 29 - The Promise

I have had a recurring dream throughout my life, I am grasping a rope that seems to have no beginning or end, it is totally dark, and slowly my fingers  start to lose their grip. I drop my backpack, and even wiggle off my shoes in the hope of jettisoning some of my weight, but to no avail. I'm eventually left clinging to the rope with just one hand, and then just three fingers, desperately trying to maintain my position and prevent my fall. The dream always mercifully ends before my grip gives way . . .

Over the years I've come to believe that in my dream my grip on that rope represents my belief about the character of God. And while there are a lot of things that I can jettison while still holding onto the rope, I cannot let go of the only thing that stands between me and death, my belief in the goodness of God. 

When so many of us find ourselves in that position, navigating waters that are getting deeper and deeper, who (or what) do we turn to? Or away from? (John 6:68)