It's Memorial Day, May 29th, 2023.

Welcome to the Daily Article Podcast.

I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's article, written by Denison Forum co-founder and CEO, Dr. Jim Denison.

President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announced last night that they have reached an agreement to raise the nation's borrowing limit.

Congressional votes on the deal could come as early as Wednesday in the House, but critics on both sides are already lambasting it.

In the midst of our bitterly divisive partisan environment, it's worth remembering on this Memorial Day the true purpose of

government and the heroes who paid the ultimate price to fulfill that purpose. In mere Christianity,

C.S. Lewis wrote, it is easy to think that the state has a lot of different objects, military,

political, economic, and whatnot. But in a way, things are

much simpler than that. The state exists simply to promote and to protect the ordinary happiness

of human beings in this life. A husband and wife chatting over a fire. A couple of friends

having a game of darts in a pub. A man reading a book at his own room or digging in his own

garden. That is what the state is there for. And unless they are helping to increase and prolong such

moments, all the laws, parliaments, armies, courts, police, economics, etc. are simply a waste of time.

End quote.

As I write this day in security and freedom,

I am grateful for the 1.1 million men and women

who died to promote and to protect such ordinary happiness.

Each of them illustrates the wisdom of Thucchi deities,

quote, the secret of happiness is freedom and the secret of freedom, courage, end quote.

It has been well said, we don't know them all, but we owe them all.

On days like today, I often tell the story of meeting a veteran of the war in Iraq,

...