It Ain’t About Hot Dogs and Fireworks
We have two more days to the 233rd anniversary of our Independence Day. I know this is a day that is commonly associated with fireworks, good old fashioned hot dog and burger barbecues, heavenly kegs of beer, picnics, and baseball.
I know many recognize this day as the anniversary of the American Colonies’ announcement declaring themselves as free and independent states, separated from allegiance to Great Britain. However this day is far more than just that. This day marked our nation’s definition of legitimate government and the proclamation of a political system under the sovereignty of the people. Thus, this is an occasion calling for more than hot dogs and fireworks. This should be an occasion to reflect upon where we are today, to take a hard look at the current state of our liberty and the rights we were fortunate to inherit, and to renew our pledge to revive and defend those precious principles of liberty and justice.
On this anniversary of our liberties let us put aside our blinding pride; let us remove our tainted patriotism spectacles; let us free ourselves from the irrational leech of fear; let us strip ourselves from the gown of denial worn for way too long, and reflect…
Pay special attention to our current national security apparatus, and remember the last time you found yourself within its control: whether when you encountered it while being stripped and searched at the airport, or paused in the middle of a sentence during a phone call due to the ‘others’’ present danger, or hesitated to sign a petition due to fear of inclusion on one of ‘their’ lists. I know you remember such encounters; as do I. Next, read and truly register a few words of wisdom by the fathers of our nation’s liberties, such as this: ‘Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.’ Let us ask ourselves whether we deserve either. The answer should not matter in the least, since it seems that today we have neither.
Engage in a bit of nostalgia on this great day, and remember the long-gone days when those in our government were called ‘public servants.’ Then ask yourself when and how that morphed into such ostentatious forms as the now popular bureaucratic ‘Czar.’ More
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