Welcome to Day Two of American Ground Radio's 10th Annual Fourth of July Special — What Makes America Great — with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. We're continuing our celebration of America's 250th birthday with some of the most compelling voices in the country.

We open with Kirk Cameron, who escaped California for Tennessee and is spending the Fourth leading See You at the Library events in all 50 states — reading books of virtue to children as an answer to the drag queen storytime movement that swept public libraries during COVID. Kirk shares the Alexis de Tocqueville quote that he says captures everything: I searched America's harbors and rivers and farmlands and halls of Congress for the secret to her genius and power, and it wasn't until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness that I found it. America is great because she is good. And if she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. He also tells us about the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts — hidden in a residential neighborhood, unknown to most Americans — and the documentary he made about it called Monumental.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise joins us from Louisiana — and when we ask him when he first realized this country was exceptional, he tells us about lying in a hospital bed for three and a half months after being shot on a baseball field by a man who came to kill every Republican present. He talks about receiving calls from Benjamin Netanyahu and the King of Jordan — not because he was the president, but because they understood that an assassination attempt on a member of Congress was a threat to democracy itself. And he talks about returning to the House floor to a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle — and what that moment told him about what this country still is.

Navy SEAL and New York Times number one bestselling author Jack Carr — creator of The Terminal List, now in its seventh book with Red Sky Morning — talks about winning the lottery the moment you're born in this country, about taking his daughter to Normandy to sit across the table from D-Day veterans before it's too late, and about why the main difference between his generation and today's is a small device in a pocket that creates addiction with very few benefits. His prescription: read books, get outside, talk to people, and do exactly what he did in fifth grade when his parents took him to Revolutionary War battlefields.

Tommy Lahren of Fox News and OutKick tells us she was in fourth grade in South Dakota on September 11th — New York City felt like another world — and it was watching the country come together in the aftermath that first showed her there was something genuinely exceptional about being an American. She says September 12th, as horrible as its predecessor was, was one of the most beautiful days in American history. She also makes the case she's dedicated her career to — free speech absolutism — arguing that if you need to cancel someone else's voice to win the argument, your argument probably isn't very good.

Eric Metaxas joins us with his brand new book Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World — and delivers what may be the most historically grounded answer we've ever gotten on this show. He takes us back to Samuel Adams addressing Congress on August 1st, 1776 — the day before they signed the official copy of the Declaration — saying, we have this day restored the Sovereign. Capital S. Not King George III. The actual King. God. Metaxas explains that what the founders were doing was unprecedented in all of world history — reaching back to the Sinai covenant where the Israelites said they could govern themselves without a king — and that this is why America succeeded where the French Revolution collapsed into terror and dictatorship. His mother grew up in Nazi Germany. His father grew up in Greece. He was raised knowing this country is not normal.

Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee — now running for governor — shares the lesson that stuck with her from selling books door to door for 80 hours a week on straight commission in college: the harder and smarter you work, the more successful you will be. She connects faith directly to the founding documents — the Declaration's reference to a Creator as the source of unalienable rights is not incidental, she says. It is the whole point.

And for the first time in the history of this special, we welcome a former member of the British Parliament — Douglas Carswell, now president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy — who moved from Britain to Mississippi in his late 40s and felt, in his words, like he was coming home for the first time in his life. He describes attending his first Friday Night Lights game in a small Mississippi town and watching every kid in school — athletes and non-athletes alike — playing some role in the evening, and seeing in that moment exactly what de Tocqueville saw: a society of many parts coming together to solve problems without direction from government. His answer to what makes America great — you look to each other to fix your problems. Not to government. That's why Elon Musk could only have happened here.

We close by reflecting on the two days of conversations, the idea of America as a nation founded not just on laws but on self-evident truths, and the core principle that runs through every interview in this special — America doesn't promise equal outcomes. It promises equal dignity, the freedom to pursue your own dreams, and the chance for ordinary people to discover the extraordinary greatness that God placed inside them. The greatness of America comes from the greatness within you. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy.

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!

Welcome to Day Two of American Ground Radio's 10th Annual Fourth of July Special &mdash; What Makes America Great &mdash; with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. We're continuing our celebration of America's 250th birthday with some of the most compelling voices in the country.
We open with Kirk Cameron, who escaped California for Tennessee and is spending the Fourth leading See You at the Library events in all 50 states &mdash; reading books of virtue to children as an answer to the drag queen storytime movement that swept public libraries during COVID. Kirk shares the Alexis de Tocqueville quote that he says captures everything: I searched America's harbors and rivers and farmlands and halls of Congress for the secret to her genius and power, and it wasn't until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness that I found it. America is great because she is good. And if she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. He also tells us about the National Monument to the Forefathers in Plymouth, Massachusetts &mdash; hidden in a residential neighborhood, unknown to most Americans &mdash; and the documentary he made about it called Monumental.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise joins us from Louisiana &mdash; and when we ask him when he first realized this country was exceptional, he tells us about lying in a hospital bed for three and a half months after being shot on a baseball field by a man who came to kill every Republican present. He talks about receiving calls from Benjamin Netanyahu and the King of Jordan &mdash; not because he was the president, but because they understood that an assassination attempt on a member of Congress was a threat to democracy itself. And he talks about returning to the House floor to a standing ovation from both sides of the aisle &mdash; and what that moment told him about what this country still is.
Navy SEAL and New York Times number one bestselling author Jack Carr &mdash; creator of The Terminal List, now in its seventh book with Red Sky Morning &mdash; talks about winning the lottery the moment you're born in this country, about taking his daughter to Normandy to sit across the table from D-Day veterans before it's too late, and about why the main difference between his generation and today's is a small device in a pocket that creates addiction with very few benefits. His prescription: read books, get outside, talk to people, and do exactly what he did in fifth grade when his parents took him to Revolutionary War battlefields.
Tommy Lahren of Fox News and OutKick tells us she was in fourth grade in South Dakota on September 11th &mdash; New York City felt like another world &mdash; and it was watching the country come together in the aftermath that first showed her there was something genuinely exceptional about being an American. She says September 12th, as horrible as its predecessor was, was one of the most beautiful days in American history. She also makes the case she's dedicated her career to &mdash; free speech absolutism &mdash; arguing that if you need to cancel someone else's voice to win the argument, your argument probably isn't very good.
Eric Metaxas joins us with his brand new book Revolution: The Birth of the Greatest Nation in the History of the World &mdash; and delivers what may be the most historically grounded answer we've ever gotten on this show. He takes us back to Samuel Adams addressing Congress on August 1st, 1776 &mdash; the day before they signed the official copy of the Declaration &mdash; saying, we have this day restored the Sovereign. Capital S. Not King George III. The actual King. God. Metaxas explains that what the founders were doing was unprecedented in all of world history &mdash; reaching back to the Sinai covenant where the Israelites said they could govern themselves without a king &mdash; and that this is why America succeeded where the French Revolution collapsed into terror and dictatorship. His mother grew up in Nazi Germany. His father grew up in Greece. He was raised knowing this country is not normal.
Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee &mdash; now running for governor &mdash; shares the lesson that stuck with her from selling books door to door for 80 hours a week on straight commission in college: the harder and smarter you work, the more successful you will be. She connects faith directly to the founding documents &mdash; the Declaration's reference to a Creator as the source of unalienable rights is not incidental, she says. It is the whole point.
And for the first time in the history of this special, we welcome a former member of the British Parliament &mdash; Douglas Carswell, now president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy &mdash; who moved from Britain to Mississippi in his late 40s and felt, in his words, like he was coming home for the first time in his life. He describes attending his first Friday Night Lights game in a small Mississippi town and watching every kid in school &mdash; athletes and non-athletes alike &mdash; playing some role in the evening, and seeing in that moment exactly what de Tocqueville saw: a society of many parts coming together to solve problems without direction from government. His answer to what makes America great &mdash; you look to each other to fix your problems. Not to government. That's why Elon Musk could only have happened here.
We close by reflecting on the two days of conversations, the idea of America as a nation founded not just on laws but on self-evident truths, and the core principle that runs through every interview in this special &mdash; America doesn't promise equal outcomes. It promises equal dignity, the freedom to pursue your own dreams, and the chance for ordinary people to discover the extraordinary greatness that God placed inside them. The greatness of America comes from the greatness within you. May your pursuit of happiness bring you joy.
Listen now wherever you get your podcasts, visit AmericanGroundRadio.com, and join the conversation at 866-AGR-1776!

Conservative talk is the last beacon of Free Speech in America. Here on AGR, we believe the Greatness of America comes from the Greatness within you! If you're not ready to give up on your country, then this is the podcast for you!

American Ground Radio

Conservative talk is the last beacon of Free Speech in America. Here on AGR, we believe the Greatness of America comes from the Greatness within you! If you're not ready to give up on your country, then this is the podcast for you!

What Makes America Great: 10th Annual Fourth of July Special — America at 250 - Part 2

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/5e27a451-e6e6-4c51-aa03-a7370003783c/clips/d6ac7216-5bd0-4ece-8906-b47b0147c379/transcript