This is part of a series called 24 Days of Thankfulness. These posts are in RANDOM order, NOT priority order. Each is something I am thankful for leading up to Thanksgiving.
DAY #11: Freedom
Today, on Veteran’s Day, I am thankful for the Freedom we enjoy in America and for those who defend it.
I am one of those Americans who cries during the National Anthem at sporting events. I am one who stops mid-sentence any time someone in uniform walks into a restaurant and I look at them in awe. I don’t care what rank they have. They have volunteered to serve and protect our Great Nation. I bring a boom box with patriot music to the fire works display on the 4th of July and I weep. And I’ve never seen a battle field. But I know how unique and incredible America is, more than most Americans. Why?
Because I have traveled to fourteen different countries on three different continents and despite those here who criticize our country, they ought to get out more. This Land is Amazing, from sea to shining sea. I have seen the fear in the eyes of people who lived with a citadel on the hillside pointing massive guns at their homes ready to blow up their house if they criticized the government. I have seen land torn by war. I have seen the poor living in cardboard boxes and digging through the garbage for a meal and relieving themselves in a hole in the ground. I have seen the poor, the hungry and the politically disadvantaged. Those who whine and complain here about “injustice” so they can live immoral or sinful lives or demonstrate to have “rights” to not work, not repay debt or not be responsible, have no idea what poverty, injustice or inequality is. They drive a car to rallies, use a cell phone to text complaints and video tape it all on expensive cam corders while celebrities, part of their hated 1%, ironically, cheer them on.
All while our soldiers are overseas giving their lives to protect those very rights. We live in a country were you are free to be a spoiled rotten selfish moron with out a clue what makes America Great – OR you are free to pursue the American Dream, by working work hard, failing, trying again, and succeeding to provide for your failing and loved ones.
All because men and women and fought and died all as volunteers time and time again on battlefields all over the world to protect the Grand Idea that it is individuals, not government, that makes this Nation Great!
We are FREE because we choose to be unshackled by the restraints of oppressive governments that hold individuals back from pursuing their God-given dreams.
That is under attack and at risk in our nation… let’s hope it changes in the next election, but in the meantime, enjoy the freedom you have, and be THANKFUL for the military we have, and those who serve and who have protected it against evil threats against our ideals from without for generations.
Today I launched a little Thanksgiving Project over on Kidology.org called “24 Days of Thanks-Giving” – basically I am providing a simpleWord doc you can download and every day from Nov. 1 until Thanksgiving add ONE thing you are thankful for.
It’s really just something I need to DO MYSELF – but I thought maybe others might want to join me, and I’d enjoy reading/seeing what others are thankful for. So you are welcome to use the Word doc, or just post in the forum what YOU are thankful for! So let me begin today, with my first post. These are NOT going to be in priority order, otherwise I’d have to go God, Family, etc. and then later on, people might judge me for putting one thing “above” or “before” another – so right out of the gate let me say, these posts will be in RANDOM ORDER of things I am THANKFUL FOR!
This was the first Memorial Day I got to hang the American Flag with my son’s help and explain to him the meaning of “Memory Day.” He asked very thoughtful questions like, “Why do we celebrate when none of our family has died?” and “Why would people die for us when they don’t even know us?”
Then we stood and recited the Pledge to the American Flag which he as learned at school. We surprised me by asking me to explain it phrase by phrase – and my tears surprised even me as I explained in language a five year old could understand:
“I pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America…”
“Luke, that means that while we love all nations and God created all nations, I am feel blessed and proud to be an American and live in this country because of how wonderful it is – and this flag is the symbol of this nation. A symbol is something that stands for something – just like you recognize cars by their symbols, people recognize our nation by this flag at world-wide sporting events, on rocket ships, and even by the flag on the moon that shows we were the first to land a space this there and have a man walk there three months after I was born. That’s why we respect this flag. Some say it is only cloth and you can do anything to it – they fail to see that it was only cloth until it was formed into the symbol or our country. Just as two sticks were just two sticks until we form them into a Cross and suddenly they remind us of what Jesus did when He died for us. Of course you can break the sticks and you don’t hurt Jesus, and you can hurt the flag without hurting our country, but we try our best to show respect to the flag to show how thankful we are for our country. Those who are mean to the flag are not reflecting a thankful heart for the blessings of this land.”
“…and to the Republic for which it stands,”
“Luke, a Republic is a land that is ruled by the people instead of the government. We have a government, but unlike most of the world, and unlike most of human history – we the people ARE the government, and we CHOOSE our leaders. You won’t understand who wonderful this is until you are older, but it means every four years we get to choose our President. If we don’t him or her, we can pick a new one. We pick the leader of our city, our state, and even our neighborhood. That is why we love our flag so much, because each of those stars stands for one of those states that all are part of the One Republic for which it stands.”
“…one nation under God,”
“Luke, under God means that our nation, when it was started was planned as a nation that would follow God’s Laws – in a minute we’ll talk about Liberty and Justice – but those needed limits, and they needed to be limited by God’s Laws, otherwise anyone could do anything they wanted and the world would be a crazy place. Someone has to decide what is right and wrong, and there is no better Person to do that than God. So our founders (the men and women who started our nation) said all our laws would be based on God’s Laws so things would never get too crazy. Anything in our culture that is crazy, is usually because our laws are going against God’s Laws – you remember that.”
“…indivisible,”
“Luke, I’m sad to say, our nation tried to split once. It was a long and terrible battle you will learn about in school someday called the Civil War. We weren’t at war with another country, but with ourselves. It was a war between the North of America and the South of America and whether we would divide and become two countries or one, and whether all people would have Freedom and Liberty and Justice for all, but you’ll more about that too when you get older. But we have decided to be One Nation from now on.”
“…with Liberty and Justice for all.”
“Luke, I’ve been to fourteen different countries around the world, and while every country has wonderful and beautiful things and the people are special and love their land and are equally loved by God – every time I came back to America I could tell how blessed and lucky I was to have been born and live here. Liberty is the freedom to live your own life the way you want to without anyone (especially the government) telling you how to live your life. It is something constantly under attack, and something we need to defend always, even here in America. But Liberty is something that is rare around the world. For many people around the world what they will do, how much money they will make, who they will marry or other things are determined the day they are born – but in America we have something we call The American Dream. Some think the American Dream is that if you are an American you should get this or that – nope. The American Dream means if you are willing to work hard, you have the opportunity to have whatever you dream. There is no one telling you “no” except you. Dream it – and work toward it!
Justice means that no matter who you are, the Justice System is available to you. In many places around the world, only the rich or famous or powerful get Justice, the unknown, poor or unconnected can only hope for justice. Here, if you can’t afford a lawyer, one is given to you. You are assumed innocent until proven guilty, not the other way around!”
(I was starting to lose him by now, he is only five, after all! But he was listening intently!)
“But Luke, a nation like America isn’t just something that happens easily – it has to be fought for. There have been evil nations that have sought to destroy us – and while many nations make their young men become soldiers, our soldier are all volunteers! That means they all sign up on their own! They just love America so much, they sign up so go and fight for America. They go to far away places to defend our Liberties, to free people who are in trouble – America is the Super Hero of the world, and our flag is like the S on Superman’s chest – when people in trouble see the USA is coming they know help is on the way. And when we win, we don’t conquer or take over, we help rebuilt and leave!
And Luke, we even help rebuilt our enemies and become their friends. Many of our friends today, Japan, Germany, Russia – were once mortal enemies – but we are a Good Nation, we stand for what is Good, so we win, and then we hold out our hand and help those who were trying to kill us, unlike any nation in World History.
That is why your dad is proud to be an American, and that is why I want to raise you to be a Patriot and why today we Remember those who died so that we might be free.”
February 23, 2011 at 12:00 pm · Filed under Humor, Politics
No matter what side of the AISLE you’re on, THIS is FUNNY and VERY telling!
It just all depends on how you look at some things…
Judy Wallman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California , was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Congressman Harry Reid’s great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.
The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory:
On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: ‘Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.’
So Judy recently e-mailed Congressman Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.
Harry Reid:
Believe it or not, Harry Reid’s staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:
“Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed.”
NOW THAT’s how it’s done, Folks! That’s real POLITICAL SPIN!
January 9, 2011 at 2:25 am · Filed under Life, Politics
I consider myself the most patriot person I know. I love this country passionately. Today my emotions are a mixture of deep sadness and anger – I don’t even know where to put them. Sadness for the families impacted today. My heart and prayers go out to everyone who is personally touched by the tragic events that unfolded in Arizona – I am simply stunned.
And anger at the way so many are politicizing this event. While politically I may have disagreed with Rep. Gifford on some issues, I had never heard her name before today, and I applaud her for being a politician who was holding a “Congress on the Corner” event. Being one who was desiring to listen to the people. I hope this doesn’t discourage our public officials from being accessible. Regardless of where anyone is on the political spectrum, what makes America Great is that we fight our political battles at the polls and not with guns. Whether it be the dramatic shift of 2008 that brought us Obama and his gang and the swing to the Left or the big swing back that just occurred with past November to the Right. Either way – we’ll swing back and forth again as we are a diverse nation and hopefully get some things done in the meantime.
What makes me angry is the people who politicize this horrible tragedy even before the blood of the victims has even dried and we even know the motives of this shooter. Too many are quick to be blaming Sarah Palin of all people instead of the young man with the gun when there were uses of the words “target” and “cross-hairs” and “reload” on both sides of the political spectrum during the election. (Already clearly documented today before websites were purged, which I researched and saw myself.) In hindsight, of course, everyone regrets this, and I’m sure in light of this, such language will be avoided in the future for sure. I was disgusted and shocked to read the tweets and comments on facebook and blogs!
In our shock and agony, why people jump to try and exploit this for political gain is both sad and sickening. Instead, we ought to be simply praying for the families involved and seeking justice against those who perpetrated it not attacking those who had nothing to do with it and are equally outraged by it. I’m sure many of those making such outrageous claims, had a Republican been shot, they would not be making the same claims about their own leaders being at fault. This blame game in America needs to stop.
It starts with us no longer blaming others for our own mistakes and failures. This disease of pointing the figure away from the one who did it to anyone else other than the one who did it has escalated to a national level and was on full display today in our nation.
Let’s make sure its not on display in our own life and homes too. It’s contagious.
Regardless of whether you love this guy and think he’s the best thing since sliced bread, or think he’s bankrupting us into socialism… chill out and enjoy this video: (in other words, I’m not trying to start an argument… just relax and learn to laugh if you get bent out of shape by anything political, please!)
June 9, 2009 at 1:50 pm · Filed under Humor, Politics
For those who are enjoying our new President’s transformation of America, (or those informed and concerned with the long term impact of what he is doing) I thought you’d enjoy a humorous look at what experts are predicting as the Obamamobile of the future!
GM’s New Signature Car!
“The new GM (Government Motors) proudly introduces the 2010 Obama! This car runs on hot air and broken promises. It has three wheels that speed the vehicle through nauseating left turns. It comes complete with two Teleprompters programmed to help the occupants talk their way out of any taxes. The transparent canopy reveals the naive smiles still on the faces of all the happy owners.” (shamelessly copied from an e-mail forward)
Hope you enjoyed the laugh. Don’t take it too seriously people, but do think seriously about the impact of one president spending more in 100 days than ALL previous presidents combined. You can’t blame that on your predecessor.
January 20, 2009 at 2:02 pm · Filed under Politics
I thought Rick Warren did a wonderful job with the inauguration prayer. He included the English version of the Jewish Sh’ma at the start and recited the name of Jesus in Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish, as well as in English at the end. I wish those who get so vile in their attacks on him and other Americans would heed his prayer. I disagree sharply with President Obama on many issues, but as an American raising a child in American, I pray for his success and that he will actually do the lofty things he states so well and perhaps be more influenced by Godly people like Rick Warren than by those who try to move the tide of culture through hate and mean-spiritedness. President Obama gets a pass on many things a Republican would be attacked on (and no, I won’t mention them) but I hope that the optimism and hope he has inspired will lead him to listen and learn and govern wisely and with restraint and with an openness that may only come because of the weight that is now upon him. It’s one thing to want the job – it’s entirely different thing to have the job. And I am committed to praying for him and our nation in the months and years ahead. I’m hoping he surprises me and lives up to at least of little of the hype.
In case you missed it, here is Rick Warren’s prayer followed by a video:
Let us pray.
Almighty God — our Father. Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory. History is your story. The Scripture tells us, ‘Hear, Oh Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.’ And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.
Now today we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge-point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King, and a great cloud of witnesses, are shouting in heaven.
Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice-President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.
Help us, oh God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom, and justice for all.
When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us.
And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes — even when we differ.
Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation, and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day, all nations and all people will stand accountable before you.
We now commit our new president, and his wife Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.
I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life — Yeshua, Isa, Jesús, Jesus — who taught us to pray:
Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. – Amen.
First of all, congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama.
I won’t even pretend to imagine the significance and impact of Obama’s election to my African American friends and all those who never thought they’d see the election of an African American to the highest political office in world. It is a great testimony to the progress of America and especially to the color blindness of young Americans who, if they do consider race, lean more toward supporting minorities than fearing or resisting the progress of fellow Americans who are different than they are. I sincerely am happy for our nation in the sense that the election of Barack Obama proves that indeed any one can become President of the United States no matter their race or background, and that, in and of itself, is a good thing – and I am proud to live in a country where the People choose their leader and the transfer of power, even in a fiercely fought election, is peaceful. America continues to be the grandest experiment in human history.
Indeed, Obama was unstopable in this election. While I never gave up hope, and did my little part to support Senator McCain, I felt in my gut that Obama’s election was inevitable. His combination of his political skill, the nations appetite for “change” and the fear brought on by the financial crisis came together to bring about not only a historic election because of his race, but an incredible rise to power of a very unknown man whose many weakness were largely considered irrelvant by a nation blinded by a message they wanted to hear. The reasons Obama won are varied. On one hand, I think race was a huge factor. For a some what positive reason: America was eager to ease its collective conscience by electing a black president. On the negative side, Obama out-spent McCain and that was possible in large part due to him breaking his promise to accept public funds, but I’m not sure that really made the difference. There are many reasons and explanations, but I think at the end Obama won for ONE REASON: His Message of Change. That message was more important than the facts. The concept of “Change” was more important than even the details of what kind of change he would bring. Our nation wanted change at any cost. No one knows what they cost will be, or whether it will be a welcome cost or not.
For all the things that concern me about Obama, what he did best was set himself up as the American Hero – the Right Man at the Right Time. He was eloquent. His sweeping themes and wonderful sounding generalities were music to American ears. Unfortunately, he was never specific, but ironically, even when he was, no one cared. When he slipped and alluded to “spreading the wealth” people didn’t care. When he admitted he wants energy costs to “skyrocket” people didn’t care. When his associations and mentors were shown to be radical and even anti-American, people didn’t care. They liked the Message of Change without little consideration of what that “change” would be. It’s actually quite puzzling or impressive depending on how you look at it.
What I like about Barack Obama is his claim to be open to new ideas and to working with both parties to find solutions. I will pray it is true. I live in his home state of Illinois which is riddled with coruption. Our last goverenor is in jail, and our current one appears to be headed toward being in the next cell over. Obama has never even spoken against Illinois coruption, let alone done anything about it. He has never gone “across the aisle” to accomplish anything, and voted “present” often when a bill was contraversial. He has no executive experience, and now has the highest executive office in the country. It’s really rather amazing. I have to admit, as a campaign “executive”, he got it done. But I do hope that he has painted himself into a corner where he has to live up to the retoric and perhaps he actually will do some of the things he has so eloquently promised. If he does, he’ll earn my respect as a leader. Right now, my respect is limited to what he accomplished for his race and his party. As President, there is much more to accomplish.
One of the things that concerns me about Obama is that no one seems to know this guy. Even Democratic political pundits are now saying they have no idea how he will lead. Will he lead as the most liberal President ever? (He was the most liberal senator.) Will he lead center-left since he has a democratic majority who will want to finally push its agenda. Or will he lead center-right, which is how he campaigned stealing many Repiblican themes – many of which he and his party were against before he was a presidential candidate. I find it amazing that even those who supported him, don’t know how he will lead. Yet they voted for him. Even Obama, in his own book, described himself as a “blank page” upon which people can write whatever they want to believe about him. You got to hand it to him, he is a master of being, not whatever he thinks people want to be, but being vague enough that you can think of him being whatever YOU want. Only time will tell what he actually does. You can’t vote “present” when you are President. He will have to take some stands.
Another thing I do like about him, is that he does seem to move slowly. Hopefully very slowly. But he has really painted himself as a centralist while his opponents have created a lot of fear around him. (and I think the fear is fair) I already think he is smart, if he is wise he will realize that his opponents are eager for some “I told you so” moments, and the best thing he can do for long term success is rob them of those moments, and live up to his retoric and promises to work together, to lower taxes, to reduce energy dependance, to win the war in Iraq, etc. If he does that, it will be good for America. If those were campaign talk and he leads as he used to vote (or not vote) and as his Democratic party used to vote, it will hurt our country.
Obama revealed a lot about America. His election shows just how badly our country wants change – and a lot of that desired change is change away from Christian ideals. How are we going to deal with that? In a godly way? I think this election, and how we deal with defeat, will tell a lot about us to a watching world.
Let’s be godly in how we handle the fears that Obama stirs up in Christians. Let’s be honest, when we’ve had Presidents we liked, it has never helped the cause of Christ as much as we hoped or thought it would. Lives are only changed when they encounter Jesus Christ, and that can happen in any country, in any political climate, and under any President. Amen?
SOMETHING TO BELIEVE IN?
A lot of people “believe” in Obama… or believe in the “Change” he promises to bring. My biggest concern with Obama is not his belief babies born alive in a failed abortion should be killed or left to die. (and he does, don’t buy the rewriting of history going on). It isn’t his economic philosophies, though they are scary. It isn’t his anti-American statements and associations. (I think being President will cure him of his anti-American setiments.) It isn’t higher taxes, even though they are coming. (I won’t enjoy saying ‘I told you so’ but its inevitable now.)
My greatest concern is actually a secret hope. The concern is that too many people are looking to government to solve their personal issues so they will give too much power and control to the government that in turn will end up choking our economy and undermining our freedom even as it sincerely tries to help Americans. In the end, Democratic policies tend to hurt the very ones they are seeking to help by creating dependency, stiffling freedom, frustrating entrepreneurial spirit, burdening small business, and growing bureaucracy and with it taxes.
Why is this concern also a secret hope? Because I hope that more and more people (Christians included) will finally realize that our hope can’t be in government, it must be in God. Government can’t create the security it so often promises, God can. Govenment can’t create opportunity, God can. Govenment can’t solve the problems that ail our world, God can. Government can’t meet our needs, God can. Government can’t provide our financial needs, God can. Government can’t give us purpose, God can. Government can’t give us Hope, but God can.
And finally, no government or president can bring Real Change, or “Change you can Believe in” but God can.
While I still believe that Christians MUST stay engaged and ought to be the voice of Truth, morality and for the unborn, our energies most be primarily engaged in building the Kingdom, not our nation. Christians ought to vote – and I know many did. Now we must vote with our feet by going where God calls us to go. Vote with are hands by helping our neighbors. Vote with our mouths by sharing the Gospel. Vote with our wallets by financially supporting our church, missionaries and any ministry we can that is helping to reach the lost or further the Cause of Christ.
Best case scenario – Obama surprises those of us who opposed him, and things get better and the resulting econompic growth will help churches and the Great Commission.
Worst case scenario – things get worse, but as a result more people turn to God. After all, the Church has always grown more during times of distress and persecution.
Anything in the middle – keep your main focus on your walk with God, your family, being a light for Truth in our world, and praying for our nation.
Obama will soon be walking into the White House. As Christians we will need to stay engaged to seek to protect our freedom and help keep America a place where God is honored and glorified and where “In God we Trust” still rings true.
But more important is who sits in the ‘Oval Office’ our our heart and our homes.
Does OUR LIFE reflect, “In God We Trust?” Does our life honor God, honor life, and reflect the Truth we claim to believe in?
Let’s pray for our nation and pray for President Obama. He certainly needs it.
May God Bless America… but may we bless God in how we live for Him.
