1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 The immortal words of the Declaration of Independence—We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—are etched upon the hearts of American patriots today and knit us together with patriots down through the ages.&amp;nbsp; Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is joined by Hillsdale professor Brad Birzer as they delve into the depths of this most remarkable of political texts and explore the origins of the ideas that birthed our nation. &amp;nbsp; About Brad Birzer From Hillsdale College &amp;nbsp; Dr. Brady Birzer describes himself as one of those truly odd kids who loved reading from first grade on, and begged his teachers, starting in fifth grade, to assign research papers. He believes that the purpose of higher education is to introduce every generation to the greats of the Western tradition and to remind them what it means to be human. To accomplish this goal effectively, every professor needs two things: enthusiasm and continuous learning. Our job is never to make false idols for our students but to find the excellences within each one, to encourage the honing of unique gifts, and to inspire the rising generations to love through charity. &amp;nbsp; Dr. Birzer has been teaching at Hillsdale since 1999 and has stayed because of its mission to teach the Western tradition through culture, literature, and the arts.&amp;nbsp; When he’s not teaching, Dr. Birzer spends time reading, writing, hiking, cooking, baking, and playing with his kids. &amp;nbsp; Dr. Birzer has written many books.&amp;nbsp; His latest—discussed in this episode—is The Declaration of Independence: A Radical Experiment in Liberty. &amp;nbsp; Saving Elephants | Millennials defending &amp; expressing conservative values https://www.savingelephantsblog.com/ <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/41987545/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/203853235