Happy 4th of July
?America is advanced citizenship. You?ve got to want it bad.?
-Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas), The American President
I love this country.
At the same time, I?m troubled by the road we?re walking these days. We forget that we?re a young nation. We?re like a rebellious 14-year-old who hasn?t yet learned the painful lesson that we don?t know everything after all. When you learn that lesson is when you become an adult. We?re not there yet.
We forget that it?s called ?Independence Day,? and not ?Loyalty Day.? I fear that we?re in danger of losing that independence that so many fought and died for. Independence means questioning the status quo, sticking up for ourselves and our values, and not blindly following what we?re told, especially by the government. Where is that spirit today?
I?m disturbed that real freedom and consideration of issues that shape our lives have given way to bumper stickers, saber-rattling songs on the radio, and ?United We Stand? paperweights on QVC. When did blind acceptance become the most important virtue in our society? It seems to me that spirit of acceptance and unquestioning loyalty goes against everything upon which this nation was founded.
I say these things because I love America. And I can say them because I live in America. We have to wake up and think about what this country really means, or one day we?ll lose the freedoms we thought we would never have to fight for again.
I am getting tired of needing to defend my patriotism every time I question our “leadership.” I hope that this phase in our history passes quickly.
Ditto!
What nation would you consider “mature?”