Lately we've heard a lot of self serving chin-wagging about the Founding Fathers intent and America's role in the world.
"A knowledge of history is, above all, a means of responsibility – of responsibility to the past and of responsibility to the future . . . of responsibility to those who came before us and struggled and sacrificed to pass on to us our precious inheritance of freedom . . . and of responsibility to those who will come after us and to whom we must pass on that inheritance with what new strength and substance it is within our power to add." – John F. Kennedy
"The two sides of the Great Seal were carefully designed to symbolize the United States – to the world and to the future. It is America's vision statement, created between 1776 and 1782.The full significance of the Great Seal has been overlooked by educators and historians. Most Americans know very little about their national emblem – and what they do know is often incorrect.
When given the attention it deserves, the Great Seal connects us with the people who gave us our freedom. It communicates their vision of America, and realigns us with the original spirit that gave birth to the United States." -John D. MacArthur