This Tuesday (July 4th), marks 241 years, since a ragged group of colonists decided to stand up, and take their lives in their own hands. Against impossible odds, and the most powerful empire the world had seen up to that point, they fought for their freedom and won.
America was born from fire and blood, to be the "shining beacon of liberty and justice". Our people have always had a fiercely independent spirit, and a great sense of pride in who we are, and what we can accomplish.
We don't always get it right (no country on Earth ever has), but we have always found a way to make it work, and learn from our mistakes.
America was founded, and has held on to the belief that a person is (and always should be) in charge of their own destiny, and that people should be free to govern themselves, with very little interference from politicians and rulers. This is why ideologies and concepts like Socialism fly in the face of the average citizen.
Until recently in our history, the thought of a large, powerful government micto-managing our lives, was not only a nightmare, but a grave insult.
Two hundred forty-one years ago, we fought against a king and tyrannical government that tried to dictate how we live our lives. We stood against the common belief of the time, that our rights and freedoms came from, and were granted by our leaders. We were not/are not servants or subjects. We're citizens, and our freely elected leaders are "public servants" who are supposed to be subject to us (We the People).
Abraham Lincoln wasn't just making small talk, when he said "A government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth." He was talking about one of the very core foundations of our way of life, and our great nation.
Somehow, we are trying hard to forget this important historical fact now. There is a growing part of our population that actually seems to resent our freedoms, and believes the answers to all our problems (which were created by politicians) is more government.
I'm tired of hearing how We're really "not free" by the very same people calling for more government intervention in our lives. I'm sick of people claiming to want to "level the playing field" and "spread the wealth" through historically proven wealth destroying Socialism. And, I'm done with able-bodied citizens living off government hand outs and entitlements, while our leaders pat themselves on the back and say how "wonderful" it is those programs exist.
I still love this country very deeply, and I still believe it's worth fighting for. I keep the hope that we can turn things around, back to how they were supposed to be.
However, this is never going to happen, until we start using a little common sense, and remembering what made us truly great in the first place.
We don't need to be like any other country out there, because we aren't like any other country out there. We are America. We don't follow, we lead. It's who we are, and what we've always done. That's who we are.
And, if we don't start remembering this, it's not an exaggeration to say that we're doomed as a nation, and the world will follow shortly thereafter.
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