When I was a young boy, this day was called Decoration Day. It wasn’t hurry down to the shore and rent a bungalow day; or, a get away weekend. It was a little more somber, especially during World War II. There were very few cars on the road and very little gasoline to fuel them. Almost all towns were small then and each one had a small parade. Just as today there were family gatherings and picnics.
We had a tradition, in our family; we cooked inside and ate at a large table outside in my grandparent’s yard. After the food had been laid out on the table, a designated person would offer a prayer over the meal. Then someone else would stand, raise a glass and shout “To the flag”.
My Grandfather would then rise and hold his glass in the toast position and recite the following poem he learned as a boy. Its author is unknown.
“There’s no such red in a budding rose, in falling leaves or sparkling wine.
There’s no such white in April’s blossoms, in crescent moons or in mountain snows.
There’s no such blue in a woman’s eyes, in ocean depths and heaven’s dome.
There’s no such pageantry in clustering stars, in streaming lights, in all the spectrums of the sea and skies.
And as a token of love, I present you with our flag.
May you ever love, honor and defend it.”
At the conclusion of his recitation, Gramps would always say “The 4th of July is a day of great celebration and a day to party in the greatest country in the world. But, today is a day to remember the price we paid for that party and the people who made it possible.
Freedom is not free.
For three quarters of a century, I have enjoyed the bounties of this land and the freedoms and opportunities it has provided. Oh, we’ve had some ups and downs during that time and millions of us have been asked to sacrifice our time and put our lives on hold in order to secure our land for the greater good. We did it with faith in our God and faith in the Constitution He inspired. We have held the ship of state upright. The inalienable rights bestowed upon us by our Creator have enabled us to advance ourselves and our nation in a free and open society. The American people have been able to attain unimaginable goals making us the leader of the free world; the greatest and most generous nation on earth and we have become that shining city on the hill.
But, somewhere along the way we have made a few wrong turns. This country of 120 million people in 1940, took on the Axis powers of Europe and Japan, fought battles in theatres all over the world, built the greatest military force in history, then fed and equipped our Allies when they could not do so. With shear perseverance on the battle fronts and the home front, that world war was brought to an end in Tokyo Bay 3 years, 8 months and 26 days from the day Pearl Harbor was bombed.
Now , with a nation of over 300 Million people, we hear quibbling from our leaders and their followers saying that we cannot support two wars; the combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. As I see it we have only one war and that is against the terrorist organizations bound on destroying us. Our President and his administration do not see this war for the importance that it is. He wants to pacify and apologize to the rest of the world for our actions. He equivocates on the method to contain, try and punish those who have been captured as enemy combatants; bent on killing Americans. He has even announced the time of withdrawal from the war theatres and divulged our anticipated tactics to the world; just what Al Quida and the Taliban would like to know. Instead of securing the nation, we have been thrown into an abyss of debt for programs that push us in the direction of European Socialism. Our Government suffers from the disease of being constitutionally and ethically challenged from the top down and our National Banner has been soiled.
God has been slapped in the face. Once by the removal of prayer from our schools, second by the mocking of the Ten Commandments, Third by the President’s recent snubbing of the National Day of Prayer and by preventing Franklin Graham, the co-chairman of the National Day of Prayer from attending the service in the Pentagon. And, fourth in the name of diversity, an assault has been mounted on anything invoking the name of God, including our money. Jesus said that when we are slapped in the face, to turn the other cheek, but even Jesus had only two cheeks.
We have become so politically correct that American boys can’t wear shirts bearing the American Flag into an American school in California for fear of offending Hispanic students. But, yet it is alright for students in California to raise a Mexican flag above an upside down American Flag at a public school paid for and supported by American Taxpayers. A girl’s basketball team from the Chicago area was denied permission to go to Arizona and play in a tournament because the Assistant Administrator felt the new Arizona immigration law was not consistent with the school’s values.
We have lost our industries, the source of our wealth and good paying jobs, because of taxes and over bearing regulations. And, there is still more to come in energy regulation and the global warming fiasco.
I am asking you today to pay the price again to recapture this community, this State and this Nation from those who would attempt to turn us into a European state. We don’t have to land troops from Higgins Boats along the shores of the Potomac, or drop an Airborne division on the National Mall to achieve that goal. Through the privacy of the voting booth you can ad luster to those stars in the field of blue, cleanse the white stripes and refresh the red to a brilliant hue. As Benjamin Franklin said at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, “A new race has been created; The American race.” We are not Europeans. We are all Americans. If we return to the principals upon which this Nation was founded and pray to our God for forgiveness; He will do as He promised and heal our land. Thank you. God Bless us and God Bless America.
Richard A. Pender 5/31/2010
