As we approach the celebration of our 237th birthday as a Nation I plan to celebrate this great Nation as we do every year. However, this year I feel something different than I have in the past.
From the time I was 7 and my parents, grandparents family and friends went to see the Forth of July Parade in the little town of Somerdale New Jersey, I have celebrated this day with great pride. we had much to celebrate:
I have been honored to be a part of of a Nation that always had Pride and Dignity.
We celebrated our common heritage of religious freedom even though it was dominated by Christian beliefs. We knew that our Constitution was the fulfillment of the earlier Mayflower Compact. We knew, without question that we were safe and secure, and had little fear of war or death or intimidation by others around us. We trusted our Government to secure these rights and freedoms. We were proud of our military and all they had done to secure our religious and political freedoms. At this time in our Nation's History we had just defeated overwhelming Tyrannical powers in Europe, and the far East. We were feeling good and proud. We had defeated tyrants and ISM's that shook the foundations of the entire world. Yet we did not "Conquer" like Caesar or Alexander the Great. We won victory over tyrants who suppressed all we believed in, and hated all that America stood for, and we had compassion for these defeated nations.
At the end of the World War, America stood out as the strongest nation on the planet. Yet we did not "invade" and occupy the nations we defeated. We did something quite alarming . We helped them rebuild their war ravaged nations. Because of our core Christian beliefs, we helped our enemy regain his strength.
This is what we believed our maker would have s do, and we did it.
Therefore, during the celebration of our Nations Birthday we did not parade POW's in front of jeering mobs; we paraded our heroes who won a battles against Tyrants who would have humiliate us as their POW's had they won. It was acts such as this that gave America the status as a loving and Caring nation. We were strong, and the whole world knew it, yet we were compassionate unlike any other conquering nation in the history of the world.
So the Fourth of July for me and my family was a celebration of greatness and honor, not a tribute to force and conquest. Yes we showed our strength, but with honor and dignity. People were not ashamed of their nation. We celebrated with a show of the power which gave us the ability , at the same time to be compassionate. We marched our troops and our Veterans through the streets. We enjoyed with great pride The Blue Angels, The Thunderbird s and a vast array of military superiority fly overhead loudly announcing the mighty power of a great and Compassionate Nation. Some saw our nations Naval Power displayed and our troops exercising the latest tactics of our current military operations. These were proud moments for all Americans. Our Congressmen and and women and our Presidents always took part and made speeches of encouragement and pride about our American Heritage.
My sadness comes when I realized that most of this ceased a few years ago. The Fourth of July Celebrations now are mearly "Light Shows" The parades are dwindling, and are sometimes used a s a means of promoting other agenda's. Agenda's that had they taken place when I was 7 would have created a riot; not a Patriotic Celebration of a Strong and proud nation.
Today you will not see a show of our Military pride. Most notably, this year the Thuderbirds and the Blue Angels have been grounded and are not allowed to participate in any events which display our national pride. This is sad, becasue it is a lie that these teams cost the taxpayer too much.
National Pride should have no price tag.
An additional loss for the USA is the neutering of our NASA program. NASA and all that it accomplished and stood for over the years was a great source of national pride for Americans, yet it has been unfunded and neglected. America once proudly launched manned rockets into Space from Cape Kennedy Florida. Now our astronauts must go to Russia to hitch a ride to the very Space station America paid to build with some international help. Further, the reduction of resources at NASA will weaken our nation's power by reducing and diluting our technology by sharing it with other nations who are not as benevolent as America. It is a national disgrace.
There is a reason for all of these changes, and it is not a good one. We are in an era of the deliberate destruction of our National pride, and greatness.
I continue to celebrate the greatness of America, but this year I am saddened by the direction in which we are being led.
