This country has an undeniable religious foundation and heritage. From the act of forming the country to its continuation today we acknowledge a divine creator and we proclaim to be One Nation Under God. The enabling documents of every one of our fifty states recognize the existence of a divine being. Forty states use the name God and the other ten range from Author of Existence to Supreme Ruler of the Universe. Throughout our history our Presidents have called upon God and invoked his blessing on our country. One of the four essential human freedoms articulated by Franklin D. Roosevelt was the "freedom of every person to worship God, in his own way, everywhere in the world."

And yet today there are those in the world who would deny even life itself to anyone who does not accept a single concept of God. Radical Islam, which is estimated to consist of 75 million to 100 million individuals (5 to 7 percent of the 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide), represents nothing less than the destruction of the world as we know it and the greatest threat to freedom for generations.

Committed to putting to death all "non-believers" and freely accepting that this may be a hundred-year battle, this movement threatens the very existence of our nation. The threat is real. It must be confronted.

Our prayer this July 4th is that "We the People" have the will, the courage and the leadership to continue the fight against "tyranny over the mind of man." We are the beneficiaries of the sacrifices of hundreds of thousands who went before us. Dare we do less for those who follow?

In appreciation of your friendship,

H. Herchiel Sims, Jr