Category Archives: Patriotism

The Last Bastion of Unity

The people of America have always been opinionated and divided on issues.

We have liberals, conservatives, and an unknown number of other political attitudes. We have  Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Islamists, Wiccans, Satanists, and a wide variety of professed religions. There are Irish living in our land, English, French, Chinese, Japanese, Mexicans, Italians, Asian Indians, American Indians, Russians, Africans, South Americans, and every culture you can name.

We have entrepreneurs and minimum wage-earners, self-employed workers and government-funded jobs, employed and those on welfare, homeowners and the homeless. And let’s not forget the straights, gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, etc. But through all the years of disagreements, we’ve always had one unifying symbol – the American flag.

Now, for the first time in our history and thanks to a ridiculously tiny percentage of overindulged, self-entitled, arrogant athletes, our flag and the anthem that honors our heritage is under attack.

The flag did not fall in the heat of battle two centuries ago. Instead it provided a beacon of hope and courage to those who fought for freedom.

The flag did not fall in any of the wars that touched us, not even the World Wars when the whole world looked to the United States to save them. It provided a reminder of loved ones left behind and the reason men and women chose to stand in the way of death and danger.

The flag did not fail us in our time of shock and grief after September 11, 2001. On the contrary, it provided a rallying point for all Americans and America’s friends and neighbors. Flag sales rose more than 1,000% during that dark time, and people flew them on their homes, their cars, their bicycles. They carried them when walking, wore them on shirts, pins, scarves, and hats. We waved them proudly and with conviction.

Recently, volunteers from all over our great country hurried forth at their own expense to help the hurricane victims in Texas and Florida. The Cajun Navy, the Texas Armada, hunters from Arkansas, fishermen from the coastal states, business owners from New Mexico, churches in Georgia, communities in Alabama, firemen from Tennessee, policemen from Florida, EMTS, veterinarians, teachers, preachers – all pitched in to save lives, to help those in need. Interesting to note, a large majority of these volunteer rescue workers flew the American flag on their boats and vehicles. Because that’s who we are, Americans who help those in need.

So how did we get to today where a few spoiled athletes can stir up such a controversy? These ingrates contribute nothing of value to the country. They’re entertainers, for Pete’s sake. They perform for our pleasure, just like the actors and self-professed elites of Hollywood. Like the politicians who’ve made a career of serving themselves. And like the media whose news coverage has sunk to tabloid reporting.

Let me repeat – These are athletes (actors, politicians, media) performing for our pleasure.

If we don’t like what they do, we stop supporting them. And soon they don’t get paid! It’s as simple as the law of supply and demand.

The good news is that Americans have stepped up in mass. This past Sunday Night Football game (9/24) garnered the lowest television viewership since 2001! The proverbial line in the sand has been drawn.

Enough is enough.

Yeah, but what if I’m right?

I woke this morning to the terrible news of another shooting, this one in Dallas where law enforcement officers were targeted and killed when they answered the call to duty.

My heart broke even more when, only hours later, a ‘spontaneous’ march sprang from nowhere to parade down the streets of MY city, MY Atlanta in support of– not the fallen heroes, but the Black Lives Matter movement. Similar marches occurred all around the country.

Think about it. Spontaneous marches don’t just happen. An event of any size requires a great deal of organization and communication. While I have no doubt the vast majority of the protesters had no idea of the violence planned – yes, I said planned – going forward, they have to realize how they’re being used for nefarious purposes.

Black Lives Matter, BLM for short, is formally postured as an international activist movement originating in the African-American community to campaign against violence toward black people.

I wholeheartedly agree. Black lives do matter, but NOT MORE than Whites, Asians, Hispanics, Slavs. Males and females. Adults and children. Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists. Politicians, farmers, soldiers, stay-at-home moms, teachers, rich men, poor men, homeless men, and COPs.

The truth is …

all-lives-matter

Think about it. We have to look beyond these individual tragedies, look at the overall picture, profile what is happening in our country, ask the hard questions, and follow the money trail. These are not random acts of violence. They are too well-orchestrated. And I fear more are planned. I fear we face a summer of violence meant to further a bigger agenda.tears

Think about it. When the policemen grow tired of being set up like sitting ducks, when they refuse to step forward in your defense, when the protesters riot out of control and come for you, when the government has confiscated your guns – who’s going to protect you and your family?

As Mahatma Gandhi so eloquently stated…eye-for-an-eye

“You’re just another right-wing conspiracy nut,” some will say. Maybe so. Maybe not. But to repeat my lead in question … what if I’m right?

Wake up, America!

The news you choose to ignore, those reports coming out of Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia, South America – the killings, mutilations, rapes, beheadings, genocide, famine, pestilence, epidemics – they exist. And they’re growing in frequency. Just because you find the words and images disturbing, distressing, upsetting, bothersome, and distasteful doesn’t mean they aren’t real. Just because they upset your sensibilities, make your nose wrinkle with repugnance, and don’t touch you personally doesn’t mean they’ll go away if you ignore them.

News Flash: Terrorism has already come to the United States. Terrorists have breached our defenses. Heinous acts are being perpetrated on our own soil, and we’re playing the stupid, foolish game of political correctness.

Look at this list of terrorism acts that occurred inside our borders since 9/11, all of them with ties to Islamic extremists. Remember the headlines? Note also the deaths reported DON’T include the even larger number of victims injured in these attacks.

September 2001 – New York City, Washington, DC – terrorists attack the Twin Towers and Pentagon killing 2, 974; July 2002 – Los Angeles – gunman kills 2 at LAX airport; June 2009 – Little Rock – gunman kills 1 in attack at military recruiting center; August 2009 – Fort Hood – gunman kills 13 on military base; April 2013 – Boston – bombers kill 3 at Boston Marathon; July 2015 – Chattanooga – gunman kills 5 servicemen at military recruiting center;  December 2015 – two gunmen kill 14 at office Christmas party; and the latest,  June 2016 – Orlando – gunman kills 49 at nightclub.

This list is far from inclusive. Many more attacks than those listed above have occurred on U.S. soil, but didn’t quite make headlines because the impact value didn’t measure up to the news media’s drama quotient. You see, Shock & Awe sells. The problem with this tactic is that after a while, Shock & Awe no longer shocks. Or awes. After repeated exposure, it loses its impact, becomes mundane, commonplace, ho-hum. Which means the news outlets have to up the ante, raise the bar in a constant search for the sensational, the higher death tolls, worse atrocities, more depravity, evil and wickedness that assaults our hardened senses. Anything to achieve enough outrage to draw viewers and readers.

Where does it all end? Well, the end may be closer than you think. Ever hear of The Tytler Cycle? It dates back to the 1700s.

Tytler Cycle

I’m afraid, so very afraid. Our forefathers in 1776 paid a precious price in blood, paid with their lives to leave bondage behind and live in freedom. The Roman Empire lasted 1,400 years from rise to fall. Today, in 2016, in just over 200 years, the United States is about to come full circle. We’re staring in the face of a government bondage, one of our own making because of lethargy, indifference, and laziness. We’re already well down that path, a slippery slope that will be nearly impossible to reverse.

Christians have claimed forever that “The End Times” are here, so why hasn’t this God of Judgment zapped us by now?

Let me put it in a way you can relate. Don’t we want the best for our children? Don’t we love them and forgive them over and over? Don’t we give them every chance to do right? To conform? To obey?

God the Father does, too. God is patient and long-suffering, far beyond what our flawed human minds can comprehend. He wants no one to perish – not the murderer, the terrorist, the rapist, the liar, the thief; not the Jew, the Christian, or the Muslim; not even the “good.” For the same reason He promised in the Old Testament to give Abraham’s descendants the land of Canaan forever … but said they would have to wait for 400 years.  Why?

“For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.” Genesis 15:16.

(The Amorites, who no longer exist, were a wicked people who occupied the land at the time of God’s promise to Abraham.)

God wants no one to perish, but there is a Day of Reckoning. At some point, a time only He knows, enough is enough.

 

Crosses and Stars of David

Have you ever noticed the gravesites of our brave and courageous American soldiers are marked by crosses, or by the Star of David?

These fine men and women lie in honor all around the world. They fought against oppression and for freedom, under the banner of a Christian nation. That’s what those crosses and stars symbolize.

WWII American Cemetery, Rhone, France

WWII American Cemetery, Rhone, France

This week, leading into the first of three American holidays that honor patriotism and patriots, I find myself meditating on Memorial Day and why we celebrate it.

Memorial Day was originally proclaimed as Decoration Day on May 5, 1868 by General John Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. It was borne out of the devastation of the Civil War in a desire to honor those who lost their lives during this terrible time in our history. The tradition has carried forth through the years and now encompasses all of the wars that have touched our nation.

Today we pay tribute in remembrance of those who died in service to the United States of America. “Yeah,” you say. “But what does this mean?”

Lives. Men and women who died. Take a look at the following numbers. Let them overwhelm you. And keep in mind these are only the verifiable numbers – which makes me wonder how many were missed in the final count.

Mem Day - War StatisticsIn Flanders Field, a poem by Major John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

During my research for this blog, I ran across this notice: The “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed on Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans “To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to ‘Taps.”

So, I wonder, why don’t we hear anything about this moment of silence anymore? I challenge you. On Monday, May 30, 2016, at precisely 3:00pm your time – STOP. Ask yourself where you and yours would be without the sacrifices made by those who believed in and fought on behalf of our country? Remember them. Thank them. And pray for their families.