Patriotism








Yes, it's that time of the year. Ever since I was a young whelp I've wondered about just what American culture is really all about. I was taught in school that America is synonymous with melting pot. America is everything to everyone. America is where everyone else wants to get to.

Some of that is true-to an extent. I just watched an online presentation of what I have come to know that America is all about. Check it out:

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=21689194

I've seen the bumper stickers, "Proud Parent of a ....." (fill in the blank). Recently I've read that proud could easily be replaced with 'puzzled' or 'petrified'. That probably most closely fits my feelings when I slapped that first bumper sticker on my car when my third child who I nursed, nurtured and pampered every bit I dare without spoiling him presented me with my 'trophy' bumper sticker.

The second 'trophy' I received was a little easier to put on, as my first soldier walked away with a Purple Heart-operative word is he walked away-wasn't carried on a stretcher and didn't return home in a body bag.

In this book I read, Counting Blessings by Kerry Blair, she defines my feelings probably better than I could AND she puts the blame squarely where it belongs quoting Robert C. Oaks, "In these troubled times, it is heartwarming to see sons and daughters courageously step forward to help preserve our freedom and way of life. You can be proud of the part you played in molding (your child's name here) character. Courage and patriotism do not come automatically; they are planted in the hearts of children by their parents."

When I read that I wanted to ball. For all the freedoms I enjoy every second of every day I have always felt a great depth of gratitude to my Heavenly Father and to those who have preserved my freedoms.

Kerry continues with some of her ancestry who fought in the Civil War. I have ancestry who did also. My spouse has ancestry who was an ordnance maker back in the 1770's.

Kerry's ancestor who was severely wounded in the Civil War, returned his pension payment stating, "A man does not offer his life for the honor of other men. A Christian does not take the life of a brother for silver or gold. I fought, sirs, to preserve my country. That she still stands united is payment enough for me and mine."

Wow! How much better can it be said? There was no entitlement generation on those battlefields-if there were the war would have gone much differently.

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