4th of July Celebration
As an armed forces veteran, celebrating the 4th of July rings a loud bell of how many of our people have become so idealistic, disoriented and disconnected about many of our celebrations, but especially the 4th of July.
Think about it – The events of our independence and what was the start of the celebration in 1776, was started and ended as an armed conflict that would not have been possible in today’s terms because of the present controversy about ownership of weapons. Think about it. Would America get the deserved protection without the ownership of weapons? Sadly, I have to say I doubt it, but saddest even more is the fact many just don’t care to look back at the root cause of the conflict back in April of 1775.
The Stamp Act, The Townshend Act, The Boston Massacre, The Boston Tea Party – in short, the Revolution began with a shot from Lexington, Virginia over the no longer tolerated abuse of power, and taxes being demanded by the controlling government. You see, “The Government”, as was so brilliantly explained and delineated in our Constitution cannot be in-charge. The Constitution gave all the citizens power over the government, with laws and articles to make it a fair agreement, but it is the decision of the people that governs. By present terms, the Founding Fathers must be disappointed by how the country they released to the people has been squandered, mismanaged, abused and basically destroyed, along with its history, because of idiotic idealism that has been brought over by people who have no idea of what they are destroying. Weapons are not the problem, just the excuse for not caring enough to be a good citizen. Weapons are the tools that keep runaway power in check, and reason why governments dislike armed citizens.
For me, on a personal note, I happen to be a foreign-born U.S. Citizen, and like many others who arrived in American soil, either by choice or by young age, and that have come to appreciate the bounty we have enjoyed, none of us are in favor of seeing it go away because of ignorance, greed, ego, and misguided control. As many like me that have dual-citizenship, our love and respect for the U.S. is measured by the respect we devote to it by knowing its history and protecting with respect its culture – our culture.
On this 4th of July, let’s take few moments and think of how we can make the nation proud of who we are and what we all represent in this magnificent piece of territory – From the mountains to the prairies, from sea to shining sea… It is ours to protect today for the many generations still to be born.
Problem solver with 23-years experience in team/organizational leadership, project/program management, and strategic planning.
10moNearly ten years later Eisenhower’s administration would add “under god” to the pledge, which had previously stood for over a half century with no reference to religion. I distinctly remember having to recite this revisionist version of the pledge, choosing to remain silent for the inserted line, and subsequently being ostracized by students and even some faculty for not sharing their religious beliefs. So neat to experience first hand the effects of government endorsed religion at such a young age. This experience, along with numerous others incurred in the Bible Belt, have remained with me as a constant reminder for necessity of impartiality in leadership.