This video was published on the Internet on July 7, 2012.
Alan Sears: As an American, as a Christian, as a father, as a husband, one of the things I’ve been taught from my earliest days is that we have a duty to leave a better country than the one which we were born into. We have a legacy and what we do in this lifetime is going to make a difference for those that come behind us. And I’m committed that our children and our children’s children have a better America than even the one that we were born into.
Former Attorney General Edwin Meese on May 20, 1985: Today I am pleased to announce the formation of the Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography. The members of this commission are concerned about the quality life of our democracy, but this is not to say that they have come to their tasks with minds made up.
Edwin Meese: I’ve known Alan a little over 20 years, from his days in the Department of Justice from, his excellent work as executive director of the Commission on Pornography. Alan is, I think, one of the foremost leaders in the legal profession today and has done an excellent job.
Alan Sears: You know it’s an amazing thing how God prepares you for what He calls you to do. And I had experience with both the political part of the system, dealing with legislation, dealing with executive offices. And then I had quite extensive experience in prosecuting federal crimes.
When I was in law school, I never imagined I would be exposed to so many different opportunities—working in a major law firm, that I’d serve as a local prosecutor and city attorney, that I’d testify before the Congress and 22 state legislatures, or teach over at Scotland Yard, or serve as an associate solicitor for the secretary of the Interior.
It’s always been tough to work with the media to try and convey to them the facts about the issues that we’re concerned about. One of the big differences today is that we have so many other options in the media than we had in the back in the 1980s.
In those days, a talk show host might dedicate a lengthy segment of the show to an in-depth interview about an issue like pornography. Now hosts like Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs really prefer a 16-second soundbite. That’s a challenge in some of these complex legal issues. And media interviews can quickly turn into a battlefield, especially when Constitutional law meets the culture war.
Alan Sears on Lou Dobbs’s program: Lou, the ACLU is the number one religious censor in America and let’s go back and talk about the original…
Alan Sears: Arguing these issues effectively in the court room of public opinion has become an important part of my work in the ministry. One of the things that happened when I was working on photography commission is I worked very closely with a number of the people who later became involved in founding Alliance Defending Freedom. Dr. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, served on the commission.
Dr James Dobson: Alan Sears is a national resource. He knows more about some of these areas, especially pornography, but some of these legal areas, than anybody I know; and I was delighted to hear that Alan was going to accept this responsibility.
Alan Sears: Dr. D James Kennedy begin to cover our work on his Coral Ridge Hour on television. I got to know several of the other people that were involved in forming the organization through my work with the commission. When I was talking to the founders about leading the ministry, I asked them one key question—Are we serious about winning?—and they said yes.
What the founders of Alliance Defending Freedom knew was that we had to have adequate supplies and funding in order to win. We had have enough lawyers, we had to have enough resources to be able to get in fight, stay in the fight, and persevere until we won.
Larry Burkett: I was working on a new book. In the process I was doing some work on the more extreme groups in American today—ACLU, People for the American Way, Act Up, Queer Nation, and many of the others. When I finished doing the research I was significantly impressed, not with the people, and not with their agenda because I disagree with their agenda—but I was significantly impressed with the commitment that they have to their agenda. And nothing you can do can dissuade them from what they’re committed to.
Alan Sears: The way we lost most of the ground in America was not by fighting and losing; it was failing to show up for the fight at all.
There are three issues of vital concern to Alliance Defending Freedom that caused our founders to come together in unity to form this alliance: religious freedom, the sanctity of human life, and preserving marriage and the family.
I think the loss of prayer in the public schools, the court orders that said that no longer could children publicly pray for each other, for their parents, has had an adverse impact. I remember when I was very small and we prayed for the graham crackers and the milk that was distributed. We prayed for our fellow students and for teacher, for our parents. I can’t imagine anything but positive that came from that. The perspective was that there was Somebody out there that could help you. There was hope. It wasn’t just you alone, and I think the loss of that has been very significant to students across this land.
Of course, one of the worst decisions of all time was Roe v. Wade, which has led to the slaughter of over 54 million children.
The legal definition of marriage as between one man and one woman is also under attack. We must fight this battle everywhere, every time the attacks come.
We only have two choices. We can either saddle up and fight, or we can sit back and surrender. What we’ve learned is that we can win, we are winning, and the key to winning is engagement and perseverance. The leader of any army knows that in order to win you have to have well-trained troops, and we have a plan to win:
- 100 full-time litigation lawyers,
- 300 Blackstone Fellowship interns every summer, and
- 5,000 trained and well equipped allied lawyers.
Edwin Meese: ADF has been the leader in this country in protecting religious liberty, in protecting a proper interpretation of the Constitution, particularly as it pertains to religion and morality.
Alan Sears: The theme verse of Alliance Defending Freedom is John 15:5, which tells us without Christ we can do nothing. But we also know that with Christ we can do everything He has called us to do. On her knees in prayer, we will win.
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