It’s time for that day again, the Fourth of July – more correctly, Independence Day – the birthday of our nation.
Aside from it being a holiday, what does it mean? And, does anyone really care?
It is a date that gets attention. It’s a day off from work. There are fireworks, picnics, BBQs, music, sports, family, vacation and fun. It’s a time for holiday festivities.
Yes, all that – and flags? Patriotism?
Well, those too. But in fact, they should be the cores of the “celebration.” However, for too many people, flags and patriotism are the least of the holiday and are probably the last things they think about.
To many Americans, with the watering down of pride of country in our schools and in the mainstream media, the Fourth of July is just that – the fourth day of the seventh month, and it’s a holiday, a day off and a time to party. For them, the reason for the day and its importance is lost.
That’s not only sad, it’s dangerous. If we don’t appreciate what we have, we won’t properly treasure and protect it. If we don’t appreciate what we have, we’ll lose it and not even notice it’s gone.
Judging by the headlines and the pontificating of too many politicians and wanna-be pundits, the country is nothing to be proud of, has done nothing but evil, is responsible for all bad things that other nations endure, and is, ultimately, causing the total decline of the planet.
To them, we’re the bad guys and deserve to suffer.
Whether or not they realize the real damage they’re doing by their constant drumbeat of negativity, it’s no excuse for the doing of it.
Those people – Kennedy, Pelosi, Boxer, Kerry, Murtha, et al. – aren’t stupid, but they are selfish. They’re elitists and fully believe they “know” better and “are” better than anyone else. They speak with arrogant impunity, freely criticize everything and everyone they disagree with, and propose solutions to problems they fully believe they’re anointed to correct.
For a country based on the equality of all citizens, it’s quite astonishing to see what the arrogance of power has wrought. These people and hundreds of others in Washington and in cities across the country fully believe they know best for all of us.
The people complain about the growth of government, and they’re legitimate concerns. We have more elected officials, more incumbents, more government agencies, more government employees and more laws on the books than ever in our history. Local, state and federal budgets are at all-time highs, and there are constant proposals for more taxes, bond issues, parcel taxes and any other scheme they can come up with to take money out of our pockets and put it in the hands of the politicians who know exactly how they’ll spend it.
Yes, indeed, there’s a lot wrong in this country, but that’s different than there being a lot wrong with this country. In reality, there isn’t anything wrong with the country, because the United States is based on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
As far as forms of government, it is the most perfect format devised by man because it is based on equality, it is based on individual freedoms, it is based on property rights, it is based on the rights of man to be left alone to grow to the fullest of each individual’s abilities and desires.
We have a lot to be grateful for as citizens of the United States of America.
We have more freedoms than any other country in the world.
We have a sense that we’re safe in our daily routines of life and plan our lives with relative confidence things will work out as we hope.
Despite the travails of the world, American citizens are secure in our freedoms.
Or are we? What does “safe” mean? In fact, is it really possible for anyone to be truly safe, if by that we mean free of danger? The real answer is no, of course not. Even if our form of government presents us with the freedoms of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights and within that framework protection from government, there’s always the possibility we could lose everything.
Outright military attack has historically been the means of a country being destroyed, but it can also happen gradually, almost without anyone noticing. That’s the most insidious way to lose to the enemy, because by the time it’s seen, it’s too late.
The worldwide battle today is between freedom and terrorism. Militant Islam and what it stands for is the threat to freedom. It presents a new and devious enemy, and unless we’re prepared to face it directly and rid ourselves of the moral relativism that has permeated our culture, it’s a battle we could easily lose. The terrorists know it and aim for our soft underbelly. We had best protect ourselves, or one of these July 4ths, there really will be no fireworks or flags – or at least not our flag.
On March 30, 1981, in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster, John W. Hinckley Jr. shot President Ronald Reagan. The president did his best to cover the fact he was badly injured, and the public didn’t know until much later that he nearly died.
As he was recuperating in April, the president was reminded he’d promised to write a July 4th message for Parade Magazine. As Richard Reeves recounted in his book “President Reagan,” he did, beginning with a nostalgic look at the Independence Day holidays of his childhood. But then he got to his core message:
Enough of the nostalgia. Somewhere in our growing up we began to be aware of the birthday of our nation. I believed then and even more so today – the greatest nation on earth. That day [is] more than just the birthday of a nation. It commemorates the only true philosophical revolution in all history. Oh, there have been revolutions before and since. But [they have] exchanged one set of rulers for another. Ours changed the very concept of government. In this land, it was decided that man is born with certain God-given rights, that government is only a convenience. Happy 4th of July.
Thank you, President Reagan.
In his memory, let’s win this one – this war – for the Gipper!
Related special offer:
“In the Face of Evil: Reagan’s War in Word and Deed”
