Here we are, then, on Independence Day, all too often feeling the need to salve our conscience for any assertion of our sovereignty and to justify our glorious independence.
WASHINGTON — Warning that President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has barely put a dent in his chemical weapons stockpile, President Obama's new envoy to the United Nations said on Friday that a failure to intervene in Syria would "give a green light to outrages that will threaten our security and haunt our conscience" for decades to come.
Pity these poor rulers of our conscience, for they are now considered responsible for saving not just us but the NHS too, since the utter, brilliant madness of those who founded it on the basis that medicine makes people well has finally been exposed for the con it always was.
Richard Nixon announced that his administration would "answer to God, to history and to our conscience for the way in which we use these years", which was giving a serious hostage to fortune, for the impending Watergate scandal meant there would soon be plenty of answering to be done.
"We have voted with our principle and our conscience for all these years, and where has it gotten us?
Obama paid tribute to the Pope for "shak[ing] our conscience from slumber" in a warm welcome that made clear the personal bond between the two men and imbued the sunny south lawn with a greater than usual mood of bonhomie.
Whether the separation of church and states renders you nauseous or relieved, it is undeniable that for the past two millennia, the basic declarations of the Decalogue have served as a source code for our collective conscience, for our fundamental notion of right and wrong.
It comes down to, I guess, how strong our conscience is for the well-being of our nation and for our descendants, and how willing we are to engage in the messy institution called democracy.
More than anything, Schultz wants to become America's conciliator-in-chief. He's troubled by the angry tone in politics and everyday discourse, which makes him think that, as a country, we've " lost our conscience". Searching for inspiration, he's traveled everywhere from veterans' hospitals to an Indian ashram in the past year, asking people to share their stories and their beliefs.
We, the Piecemakers, have chosen to obey God rather than man and will continue to do His will, not only for our conscience's sake, but for the good of our country — long may she live after we have left her, and with God's help may she become once more the example to the world that the God we profess to worship is indeed, a God of mercy, righteousness and peace toward all.
Whether the host broadcaster, the arbiter of our national conscience for the past fortnight, elevates boxing alongside the lesser deeds of the divers and horsey folk, the wonderful cyclists and the rowers, well, that is doubtful given the marginalisation of the sport in the BBC's main bulletins.
