"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of patriotism, who should labor to subvert these great pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of men and citizens." —George Washington (1796)

Between 2020 and 2025, our First Amendment freedom of speech was subjected to a collaborative suppression conspiracy between the Democrat Party leaders and their Leftmedia and social media propagandists. It was the most aggressive redlining of free speech in our nation's history.

It started with the mass suppression of conservative speech by Big Tech platforms ahead of the 2020 election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

It was, and remains, the Democrats' primary strategy for controlling public opinion in order to perpetuate their political dynasty. Central to that objective is dispelling the notion that American Liberty is the gift of God rather than of government.

Fortunately, this year, when we celebrated 250 years of American Liberty under a second Trump administration, most of that speech suppression has been vanquished — at least for the moment.

Recently, I have had the privilege of writing several columns about some Americans who have boldly stepped into the light and spoken freely on faith and family, despite being at risk of getting "canceled."

The first of those columns was devoted to remarks delivered by Dr. Rick Rigsby on fatherhood and hope for the fatherless, and the current cultural problems across our nation. Rick's remarks to graduates of the Maritime Academy of California Polytechnic State University were devoted to faith and his father, as outlined in "Father's Day Lessons From a Third-Grade Dropout."

The second of those was the best commencement speech this year, delivered to the graduates of the University of North Carolina by country music superstar Eric Church, a singer-songwriter with deeply faithful roots. That column, "Six Strings and the Chord Your Life Makes," was centered on his analogy of the strings of his guitar and their corresponding life lessons. Eric's speech became the most widely viewed commencement speech this year. A runner-up would be the remarks delivered by Harvard professor Arthur Brooks at Vanderbilt University — a speech thematically similar to the one delivered by Church.

The third profile was of the most favorably viewed person on the planet, Dolly Parton, who is now at perfect peace with her Creator. In "Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors," I covered her life and career, all spent not far from our family home here in East Tennessee. Bucking the celebrity trend, Dolly consistently declared: "I was brought up believing that through God all things are possible and that Jesus loves me. That's embedded in me. It follows me through everything that I do."

Today, amid the din of all the pre-midterm political rancor, allow me to offer the advice given by another high-profile influencer for good, who is fearless about his faith, just as Dolly was.

Our Emmy Griffin mentioned A-list actor Denzel Washington last year, noting:

Washington was recently baptized and received his minister's license. At age 70, Washington's moviemaking days are coming to a close. While he has long been a Christian and a man of integrity, this shift away from Hollywood to live the rest of his life serving the Lord and ministering to His people is a very bold step.

Griffin added, "Leftists who are anti-Christian — which is most of them — attack these enlightened individuals..." It is for this reason — especially given the surge of cancel culture over the last five years, which Washington loathes — that this man is truly fearless.

I have followed Denzel's films since seeing him first in "Glory" (1989). He has been in many great films since, including other favorites like "Remember the Titans" (2000) and "The Book of Eli" (2010). But perhaps none were better, in my opinion, than "The Equalizer" trilogy (2014–2023). At the core of most of his films is the quest for justice and human dignity — core tenets of his Christian faith.

Denzel, now 71, is a native of the New York City suburb of Mount Vernon. His mother, Lynne, a Georgia native, owned a beauty salon, and his father, Denzel Sr., was an ordained Pentecostal pastor from Buckingham County, Virginia. Denzel attended a private prep school, Oakland Military Academy, and later expressed his gratitude for that opportunity: "That decision changed my life because I wouldn't have survived in the direction I was going. The guys I was hanging out with at the time, my running buddies, have now done maybe 40 years combined in the penitentiary. They were nice guys, but the streets got them."

He graduated from Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida, and then earned a BA in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977, where he also excelled on the basketball team. That was the launch of his acting career, which was mostly on stage and off-Broadway until "Glory."

Over the last two decades, he has spoken consistently about his faith. In his 2011 commencement address to graduates at the University of Pennsylvania, he declared:

I'm sure people have told you to make sure you have something to fall back on. Make sure you got something to fall back on. But I never understood that concept — having something to fall back on. If I'm going to fall, I don't want to fall back on anything except my faith. I want to fall forward. I figure at least this way, I'll see what I'm going to hit. Fall forward. This is what I mean. Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times in his career, the most in the history of baseball, but you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs. Fall forward. Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn't know that. Because the 1001st was the light bulb. Fall forward.

His 2015 address to graduates of Dillard University, a historically black school in New Orleans, was centered on faith and captured his message to young people — people of all ages, actually — since then. He declared:

Number one: Put God first. Put God first in everything you do. Everything that you think you see in me. Everything that I’ve accomplished, everything that you think I have – and I have a few things. Everything that I have is by the grace of God. Understand that. It’s a gift. ... I’ve been protected, I’ve been directed, I’ve been corrected, I’ve kept God in my life, and it’s kept me humble. I didn’t always stick with Him, but He always stuck with me. So, stick with Him in everything you do. If you think you want to do what you think I’ve done, then do what I’ve done. And stick with God. ... I pray that you put your slippers way under the bed tonight, so that when you wake up in the morning you have to get on your knees to reach them. And while you’re down there, say thank you for grace, thank you for mercy, thank you for understanding, thank you for wisdom, thank you for parents, thank you for love, thank you for kindness, thank you for humility, thank you for peace, thank you for prosperity. Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours.

He added:

So that’s how I live my life; that’s why I am where I am today. Say thank you in advance for what is already yours. True desire in the heart for anything good is God’s proof to you sent beforehand to indicate that it’s yours already. I’ll say it again: True desire in the heart — that itch that you have, whatever it is you want to do, that thing that you want to do to help others and to grow and to make money, that desire, that itch — that’s God’s proof to you, sent beforehand, already to indicate that it’s yours.

That speech was after he had overcome a 15-year battle with alcohol abuse.

Ahead of his 2024 renewal baptism in a Harlem church, he had been sober for a decade. That day he told the congregation gathered: "If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing He can’t do for you. The sky literally is the limit."

Reflecting on his address to students at Dillard, he said: "Through my work, I have spoken to millions of people. In 2015, I said I’m no longer just going to speak through my work. I’m going to make a conscious effort to get up and speak about what God has done for me."

Of his mission moving forward, he added: "Anything I can do, I will do for this church, the Almighty. I just want to be in that number when the saints go marching in. I want more than anything else in my life to be in that number."

He advised:

"If you want to talk to someone, talk to the one that can do something about it. ... First thing I do is pray every morning. I read my Bible. I read my Daily Word every day. I get in my half-an-hour of quiet time. I try to wake up now and sit there first, put my feet on the floor, and sit, and be quiet. It’s hard."

Last year, Dr. Russell Levenson interviewed Washington for his upcoming book, Witness to Belief: Conversations on Faith and Meaning. After three decades in ministry, Levenson said Denzel taught him much in their conversation. The Academy Award- and Golden Globe-winning actor said: "The older I get, the simpler life gets. I don’t want to make more money ... don’t care about winning Oscars ... don’t want more things ... I don’t even need those things. I want God to be in charge of everything and to take me where He wants me to go."

When Levenson asked Denzel how he would like to be remembered, he responded: "A man of God. Just as important as saying a man of God is the process, the development that comes from God, that does not come from wealth, fame, through the church, the pastor. It comes from personal conversation with God; it comes from your encounters with God."

Denzel and his wife Paulette have four children. In 1991, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Fordham University, and was later endowed with a chair in the school’s theater department. Since 1993, he has served as the national spokesman for Boys & Girls Clubs of America. In 2006, on the organization's 100th anniversary, he authored a book, A Hand to Guide Me, with Daniel Paisner, which underscores the lesson: "If you want to change the world, start by changing the life of a child."

He has also promoted veteran support efforts, and in 2021 he was made an Honorary Sergeant Major of the Army at the Annual Association of the U.S. Army conference. They recognized him for his work with the Fisher House Foundation, which provides living quarters for injured military personnel and their families during recovery.

In 2025, Denzel was a fitting recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And, like Dolly Parton, he does not make his political views public.

Godspeed on the next phase of your life, Denzel!

Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis
Pro Deo et Libertate — 1776

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