Happy Birthday America!

I must say that I am so disappointed in the direction our country has taken. I went to get Em a book her age that talked about the 4th of July and why we celebrated it and kind of a kid mini-history lesson. I found almost NOTHING but books that talked about the 4th of july with hot dogs and fireworks and picnics. I found one - ONE - good book about the Declaration of Independance but that was for much older kids - not a 4 year old, albeit an extremely intelligent 4 year old. History is being rewritten and most people don't even notice or are turning a blind eye to it. Why don't those who really care speak up and do something about it before all this "one world" crap goes too far and we lose our sovereignty as citizens of the United States of America and instead are absorbed into the new age, neo-Eupoean society? Where did we start to fall apart? It is when good people did nothing to stop it.

I have one question for y'all out there? WHY DO THERE SEEM TO BE SO MANY ASHAMED OF AMERICA, when they live here, work here, have their families here? They are NOT the majority. They are the minority. But the majority is keeping silent so the minority seems to the world like the majority. If you don't like it here - move elsewhere. If you're American born and yet not proud to be American, I don't want you here anyway. You make a mockery of what patriotism is about. I will not apologize for that remark either. I am damn proud to be an American, even though I am saddened at what she has become. Liberal to the core, Christian and Judaism bashers, seems like everyone gets a fair shake, and everything is permissible and acceptable, except for those two - Christianity and Judaism.

I am proud to say that I am conservative, believe in the Bible, God and love of country, am FOR life as in PRO-LIFE NOT PRO-ABORTION b/c in reality pro-choice is saying the woman has the right to kill her child b/c she doesn’t want it for whatever reason, pro-choice is pro-abortion no ifs ands or buts about it. And as an American, I have the right to say that. And for those of you who disagree with me, have a right to disagree b/c America and those that fight for her gives you that freedom.

I am pro firearms and anti-gun control. Proponents of gun control say it is to get guns out of the hands of criminals – but really, when was the last time a criminal obeyed the law? It takes guns out of law-abiding citizens hands and makes them defenseless against the criminals who don’t surrender their weapons. Guns will ALWAYS find their way into the hands of the criminal element. There’s good money in black-market arms. It’s the law abiding Americans who will find themselves in big trouble if the gun-control lobbyists get their way. It’s like this cartoon I saw once where a thug had a gun on someone and the other person only had his thumb and index finger out pretending to hold a gun at the criminal. So sad...So true.

I am against same sex marriage, even though I have some gay friends. As the Bible says, hate the sin, love the sinner. I do NOT believe there is more than one way to heaven. All roads do not lead there. There is only one way and that was stated by Jesus himself when He said "I am the way, the Truth and the Life. No man come to the Father BUT BY ME". So I have serious issues with spiritual leaders saying otherwise. That's another reason why this country is in decline, I believe. There in no Godly fear anymore. People believe in God when there is a need, when there is a tragedy, but never when things are going good.

Here’s a good article from last year for you regarding our declining patriotism here in the USA:

Celebrating what?

By Barbara Simpson

Happy Birthday to us! Yes, us, the United States of America – 229 years old and still kicking!

Given the state of the world, politics, jealousy, philosophies, ego and human nature, it's almost a miracle we're still here and generally intact.

Not that there wasn't, and isn't, an effort – exterior and, unfortunately, interior – to change us and ultimately to destroy us. Evil hates good and whatever you think about the frailties of the United States, overall, we are a good and benevolent country.

Oh, how some people hate that. It galls them to attribute goodness to us (U.S.) in any way, shape or form. They don't want to be proud of this country even though it's the most free and generous of any on this planet, now or ever.

At a recent meeting, the discussion centered on the music to be played at a gathering this Fourth of July weekend. "God Bless America" was suggested.

It sounded appropriate to me, since the Fourth of July is Independence Day. The day celebrates our separation from the dependence of colonialism and our move into freedom.

One woman objected to using that song, saying – without a hint of awareness of what her objection really meant – that it bothered her because it made it sound as though we're better than other countries.

And?

Her ignorance appalled me. In her mind, any praise for the United States was an automatic putdown of all other countries.

And?

Aside from specific comparisons of democracy and other forms of government, aside from specific recitations of our record of support of freedom across the world, aside from our willingness to put our own lives and welfare at risk to save others from totalitarianism, aside from our willingness to literally "fight for right" and defend our own freedom and our own people, aside from the billions and billions of dollars spent rebuilding other countries, foreign aid, debts forgiven to deadbeat recipients, and aid in the form of food, medicine and manpower – ASIDE from all that, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?

We're blessed with location, climate, natural resources and the beauty and variety of nature. We've been blessed with a population that has taken advantage of the opportunities in our country, built businesses and developed inventions that changed the world. This country has encouraged an intellectual climate that has enabled ambitious people to succeed.

We have the freedoms that make it all possible – speech, assembly, press, religion. We have the ability to seek redress against the government, to have arms to protect our families and ourselves and to be safe in our courts and system of law. Our belongings, papers, homes and properties are safe from intrusion, and we have the blessings of private property and protection from government confiscation. All this and more are in the Constitution, the foundation making the United States of America unique in world history.

That woman who was embarrassed to praise the country that allows her these freedoms has no idea how much she could lose. Considering that the first thing despots do is disarm the population and eliminate private property, those words of protection in the Constitution are vital.

Has she considered what it would be like if Islamist terrorists succeed in their quest to destroy us? Would she be so quick to consider all countries and beliefs equal? For this independent, talented and successful woman, life would not be so pleasurable were she encased in a burqa and kept in her place at home, her children and her life circumscribed by what men, government and religion demand.

She and others of her ilk don't consider us at war because they don't want to admit the kind of war this is. We're in an ideological war – at its core, a religious war that crosses national boundaries.

Radical Islam has hated the West for centuries. It's a hatred everything we stand for – essentially, the fact that Western Civilization is based on Christianity and Judaism, with a reverence for life and the value of each individual. With people like that woman, it'll be an uphill battle to victory.

The latest propaganda video released by militant Muslims has the voice of terror suspect Abu Musab al Zarqawi berating President Bush as an "idiot" – funny, that's just what the liberals in this country call him – and accusing us of aiming to "humiliate Muslims and to obliterate the rituals of this religion."

No. They want to obliterate us. What we want is to stop them from terrorizing us and the rest of the free world.

Because of that difference, and because radical Islam wants the West destroyed and everyone in it converted or dead, it'll be a long, long road to victory. Which is, by the way, exactly what the president said.

But we have more insidious enemies. They're within our borders and government, working to destroy what makes this country unique. Whether they're politicians, bureaucrats, judges, the media or people with influence who have liberal, progressive, socialistic, totalitarian or communist beliefs, the result is the same: undermining our very foundations.

They've made great strides. The government is more and more intrusive, spending is out of control, taxes are arbitrarily increased, elected officials do ignore their constituencies, and the judiciary has turned the Constitution on its head, as recent decisions illustrate.

The wolves are on both sides of our doors and while we celebrate the Fourth, we'd best remember it commemorates our independence and freedom. It may still be a celebration, but unless we're careful, it could be our last hurrah.

END

Another fabulous commentary from Pat Boone - this one came out on Sunday

Are you an American patriot?
By Pat Boone

Some thoughts as we approach Independence Day. You do remember, don't you, that's why we declare July 4 a holiday and take the day off? To celebrate, and to thank God for, our precious independence – our liberty?

Oh, most of us do a lot of fun things like backyard barbecues, races and games and parties and family get-togethers. Others just ''kick back,'' rest, putter around in the yard or garage or patio, watch sports or something on TV. You know, just relax.

And that's fine. That's what liberty provides. In some ways, that's the very definition of liberty. The freedom to do anything we want, on any day we choose – that's what we're celebrating. Isn't that what our brave young men and women have fought for, many times over these past 230 years?

Well, yes. These fun things, these freedoms, are part of what we're intended to celebrate. But we're also supposed to think about, to quietly and earnestly contemplate, how these exceptional privileges became ours to enjoy. And was there a price tag? If so, who paid it? And at what cost?

I feel obligated, actually drawn, to visit some of the ones who bought and preserved these freedoms that many take for granted. Each Memorial Day, each Independence Day, each Veteran's Day, I spend some time walking slowly through the countless headstones decorating the green hillsides of the veterans cemetery in Westwood, California. Each year, the Boy Scouts do the wonderful job of placing little fluttering American flags at each marker and headstone, tens of thousands of them.

God bless those kids, and their leaders.

I hope each one feels some of the same emotions I do. Every time.

I stand in front of each marker, as many as I possibly can, and read the names out loud. I feel it's important that each person in one of those grassy beds have his or her name pronounced loudly and gratefully, perhaps for the first time in many years. And so I do, and I cry. I don't intend to, but as I try to picture that patriot and what he or she imagined life held after the war, and how all those dreams were abruptly erased, and how the loved ones back home gave up their hopes and plans, too; I feel the very least I can do is thank them, from my heart and soul, out loud.

I'm heartened to read the results of a survey on national pride conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. It found that of thirty four countries surveyed, Americans exhibit more outspoken pride in our institutions, our democracy, our way of life, and yes, our military, than any other country. By the way, Venezuela runs a close second.

What is it that evokes this national pride?

Is it just the freedom to run in our parks and cook in our backyards and watch whatever we want on TV? Is this what prompted some our finest young men and women to forfeit their lives and surrender their personal hopes and dreams?

Oh friend, it has to be more than that, much more. And it is.

It's a heritage, a history; it's a consciousness, a shared sense of identity, of purpose, of sacrifice and daring and vision and accomplishment. There's justified pride in our industrial and economic innovation, our centuries of leadership in world affairs, our military victories and our even greater humanitarian aid to virtually every other country on Earth in times of crises and needs. These attributes and activities, a simple matter of history, have become so commonplace, so expected of us, that the whole world takes us for granted, and credits us little. After all, that's just who America is, and what a big blessed country does.

And they're right.

But the world, and to an alarming degree now, we ourselves, are losing sight of the most important and bedrock source of the unique pride that has motivated all of our patriots, those living and those heroes in the lovely quiet graves across our land.

It's our sense, our conviction, that the hand of God Almighty is upon us.

We, most of us, believe that we matter to our Creator, that He somehow ordained our existence, that He has had purposes for us and has personally seen us through many grave perils and strifes. No other country has ever, to my knowledge, put God's name on its currency, as a testament to our faith in Him! For two hundred-plus years, we've believed in the words of Thomas Jefferson in his majestic Declaration of Independence, that every American citizen is directly ''endowed with certain inalienable rights, among these Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness'' ... by God. No other country in human history has made such a declaration.

American pride in its institutions is rooted and grounded in this fundamental belief. George Washington believed it. Ben Franklin believed it. Thomas Jefferson declared it. John Adams and James Monroe and all the signers of the Constitution devoutly believed it. The first Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Jay, stated on October 12, 1816: ''Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers!''

This faith, this ingrained sense of who and what we are, has made us the greatest nation in the world. It has emboldened millions of young American patriots to enlist and train and put their personal goals aside to risk, and too often,to sacrifice, their very lives, to protect and perpetuate our way of life. Under God.

And now, today, comes an annoying, selfish gnat on the national windshield like Michael Newdow, trying, in opposing ''under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance, to erase the very basis of our identity. And foolish, loud musicians and entertainers who present themselves as ''patriots'' while they deride and denigrate our president and commander in chief, in time of war, very publicly ridicule and demean what our brave soldiers are doing to defend them against the evil, announced, and determined schemes of maniacal terrorists!

Are you an American patriot? Will you while away the long weekend just having fun, relaxing and catching up on hobbies and neglected pursuits? Or might you spend at least a few minutes, or hours, talking with your kids about how this republic came to be, and why we should manifest outspoken pride in who we've been, and what we ought to be?

What a beautiful way to honor those patriots sleeping in the grassy graves in our veterans' cemeteries. What a fitting tribute to the young Americans from Bunker Hill to Gettysburg to Normandy to Iwo Jima—to Korea and Afghanistan and Iraq. It's important, it's necessary, it's required, if we expect to hang on to this precious dream, still so young and precious in the world's tortured history.

Hear the directive of God Himself, through Moses: ''Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.''

Remember. Consider. Ask, show, tell. And defend.

Next week, in this space, I'll give my considered definition of an American patriot. Meanwhile, have a great and meaningful Independence Day.

And may God bless us still.