O, Say, Can You See?

Happy Independence Day! At a mere 233 years old, our country owns a short but spectacular history. We desperately need to revisit that history and take to heart why we have freedom, how we have freedom, from whom we have freedom, and when that freedom really and for true lies in jeopardy.

Our government appears to have made itself its own worst enemy. Our modern times have caused our people to spend themselves down to the last dime and borrow more. Our media has spun tangled webs of freedom pictured as better and pricier automobiles and material possessions that usually fall short of pleasing us. All we need do, according to the spin placed on our short-sighted lives, is buy something new to cheer ourselves.

Statistics rule. We should feel companionship in knowing that a large percentage of our population holds more than $10,000 in debt. More than half of marriages fail, so do not feel discouraged should you come upon actual difficulties in your marriage ... you need only bail out of it, right? From this, we learn that children are resilient, and that they're learning to handle life's disappointments, yet we learn of more children going to school with concealed weapons, more children using illegal drugs, and more children feeling the harsh effects of bullying than ever before in our history. Seek comfort in the fact that you probably fall into a percentile category that makes you less lonely in your grief and ills.

Traditionally, Independence Day served as a day to honor our country for the accomplishments of our forefathers and the success of our democratic form of government in a republic of the people, by the people and for the people. In recent years, "the Fourth of July" has moved in on the independence, focusing on picnicking, a day off at the office, vacation time, and wariness of other drivers on the street who may have celebrated their freedom to imbibe several alcoholic drinks without care and without any relation to the freedom this day originally represented -- for "freedom" means "do what you want" to many people.

When Francis Scott Key scribed the words to "The Star-Spangled Banner", he could not have known what the future held a few centuries later. He would never have imagined that the American flag could mean so little to so many, right here in this land of the free. He would not think for one second that his heartfelt words would pose a hindrance to so many simple-minded folks who refuse to learn it because "it's too hard." He wouldn't dream that rather than stand proudly during a rendition of the song, that American people shuffle their feet, leave on their hats, hold conversations, answer cell phones, and most of all, wait for the song to end so they may get to the sporting event the song precedes.

Shocking. Unnerving. Irritating. Sad.

Mr. Key penned those words in a moment of uncertainty, yet with a heart full of hope. He had hope for his country, faith that it would win the fight for justice and right, that it would not fail, that it would outlast the foe.

The American people have become our own worst enemy. Apologetic, regretful, backward-looking, thrill-seeking, star-gazing, wasteful and wanting. We want what we had, but too many believe that what we had was built on something that we should no longer have: faith.

Can you see the slipping of faith and trust in God in everyday life? This experiment called "democracy" might appear as a glaring error to our forefathers if they could catch a glimpse of their plan in action ... deteriorating and struggling to survive in a world that prefers we do not honor one true Creator of all. The world wants us to follow after its trifles and beg for its mercy by joining in the fray that has no end, but joining mindlessly, rather than taking a moment to think and to know that one wrong move will prove our undoing for longer than a moment.

Each of us that joins this movement toward "anything goes" one by one leads to the trickle-down disintegration of our nation. Once someone leans to the side that has no wrong, no right and no faith, the struggle to come back to the narrow path ensues. The wide path offers an easier landing ... with plenty of other followers to carry a person along. The narrow path offers hope, but the followers on that path remain few.

As always.