It's so hard sometimes to see past all the politics and the debate and the problems and find the America that you read about in history books. The America where mothers and fathers stayed together, where homosexuality was illegal, where children could go to the movies and see things that weren't filled up with garbage, where dating was limited to drugstore dates and walks home from school and pregnancy wasn't the result of most relationships. Where girls wore dresses and boys wore button-up shirts. Where parents were treated with respect and children were brought up in solid, moral homes. Sometimes, I wonder if a time like that even existed, because we've spiraled so out-of-control. I want that America back. The America where an age of innocence lasted at least until highschool. Where girls were innocent enough to blush and boys treated them with respect. Where going to church was something everyone did and schooling was important. Where the radio was the main source of entertainment and tv shows and movies like we have now would have shocked the nation. Is it possible to get that America back?
I believe, with the exception of a few things like radios and dresses (I assume most people wouldn't go for that), a journey back to our morals is possible. And I find that assurance in 2 Chronicles 7:14: "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins and will heal their land."
The promise is there and we can do it if we get out of our safe corners and live the example of Christ in everything we do, wherever we go.
It's also encouraging to me to go to one of those parades on the 4th and to see the people, solid, decent people who love their country and are proud to be called an American, cheer for the veterans, salute the flag and sing along to the national anthem. Seeing that helps me put my concern in perspective. The people who are destroying the moral, Christian base of our country, little by little, are not in the majority. As Clarissa Saunders says in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington: That kind just throw big shadows. And it's true. The real backbone of America is still made up of these solid families. We just need to get out and let the minority know who we are and what we stand for.
I'll get off my soapbox now (feels a bit wobbly) and finish off with some quotes from the movie we watched last night -- one of my favorites -- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. That movie captures what I'm trying to say dead on. This is what every one of us should remember every day of our lives:
"You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be men they forget even more. Liberty's too precious a thing to be buried in books, Miss Saunders. Men should hold it up in front of them every single day of their lives and say: I'm free to think and to speak. My ancestors couldn't, I can, and my children will. Boys ought to grow up remembering that."
"Just get up off the ground, that's all I ask. Get up there with that lady that's up on top of this Capitol dome, that lady that stands for liberty. Take a look at this country through her eyes if you really want to see something. And you won't just see scenery; you'll see the whole parade of what Man's carved out for himself, after centuries of fighting. Fighting for something better than just jungle law, fighting so's he can stand on his own two feet, free and decent, like he was created, no matter what his race, color, or creed. That's what you'd see. There's no place out there for graft, or greed, or lies, or compromise with human liberties. And, if that's what the grownups have done with this world that was given to them, then we'd better get those boys' camps started fast and see what the kids can do. And it's not too late, because this country is bigger than the Taylors, or you, or me, or anything else. Great principles don't get lost once they come to light. They're right here; you just have to see them again!"
"Your friend, Mr. Lincoln had his Taylors and Paines. So did every other man who ever tried to lift his thought up off the ground. Odds against them didn't stop those men. They were fools that way. All the good that ever came into this world came from fools with faith like that. You know that, Jeff. You can't quit now. Not you. They aren't all Taylors and Paines in Washington. That kind just throw big shadows, that's all. You didn't just have faith in Paine or any other living man. You had faith in something bigger than that. You had plain, decent, everyday, common rightness, and this country could use some of that. Yeah, so could the whole cockeyed world, a lot of it. Remember the first day you got here? Remember what you said about Mr. Lincoln? You said he was sitting up there, waiting for someone to come along. You were right. He was waiting for a man who could see his job and sail into it, that's what he was waiting for. A man who could tear into the Taylors and root them out into the open. I think he was waiting for you, Jeff. He knows you can do it, so do I."
And, here are some pictures to commemorate the day:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Unites States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. (Thank you, President Eisenhower, for pressing Congress to add "under God" -- it means so much more.)
'Till next time,
-- Jamie
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