Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th!

Today is the first 4th of July that we've had with our daughter away.  As she would say every year, "Happy Brittan Got Owned Day!"

Seriously, we appreciate all our Service People, both present and past, that have protected our freedoms since 1776.  I think about those first patriots signing a document that would sign their death warrants.  Some already had warrants against them for their efforts coming up to this day.  I wonder every year at this time how many of us would put our lives on the line?

The consequences of standing up for their beliefs meant losing land, family, fortunes.  They lived in hiding depending on others to keep their families safe.  Towns were burned for harboring the revolutionaries and their families.  One of the founders had a choice of signing a document disavowing the revolution to save his sons, who were held on a British prison ship, or knowing that his convictions cost both his sons their lives.  He chose his convictions.

So many of us live in fear of standing for anything today.  We have lost the respect of our children because we have mortgaged their future instead of doing what's right.  Hope in America still exists but it's dieing slowly.  Our children don't believe that many of the things we have achieved they have no hope of having.  Education is putting a burden of hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt on our sons and daughters, without any hope of using the trade they trained for.

So today, I take time to take stock of what I am doing with my life.  I thank my daughter, Elizabeth, for her service.  I renew my belief in what our Country really is.  I believe we are the shining light on the hill and we need to stop apologizing for it.  There's a reason people want to come to the United States of America and it's time we that were born here stop taking this great Country for granted.

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