On the 241st anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Americans are set to commemorate the day with barbecues, parades, pool parties, and family gatherings. And fireworks. (And hopefully, neither the Emergency Rooms nor the firefighters and paramedics across the nation will be overtaxed today by injured or sunstroke-suffering revelers.)
When I began writing, I wanted to comment on the state of America’s unique history to unite diverse people into an economic power that changed the world in the last half of the Twentieth Century. If you believe what passes for facts by journalists, lobbying groups and the discontented masses, our nation in crisis. And much of that is true but not in the manner some intend. With the politicization of colleges, education has become more about indoctrination than encouraging ideas and dialogue. While people are elected to represent the voters, with every election, it still is about lobbying groups and power, rather than truth and what is best for the nation. When I was a child, we learned a foreign language to broaden our understanding, but a nation’s common language bound people together; learning history, however flawed, was accepted not scrubbed by race, gender, or political lenses and sometimes painful lessons were learned from it. Today, we have instead cultural sensitivity, sexual identity, and coexistence theory but no requirement for a shared tongue. God has been dismissed though science is elevated to the status of religion.
In nearly sixty years, I have seen a lot to be proud of as an American. I have been to many parts of the world, and have seen many urgently trying to come to the United States. The world has never produced a better system of governance and economic advancement than what has been seen embodied in the United States. And yet there are those who have tried and would continue to make “fundamental changes”.
And to those who enjoy the benefits but do not know what the cost has been, as we all celebrate Independence Day, ask a veteran what the day means to him or her. Civil wars, genocide, dictatorship, poverty, rampant starvation, and environmental devastation have all been witnessed by veterans living today. And for all her flaws and failings, the United States has endured and may it continue to endure.
God continue to bless the United States.
Truths, Half-truths, and Sea Stories 