Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The America I Love

As we near Independence Day, I feel compelled by the time and the situation to pen some thoughts on our country, its flag and the concept of American Exceptionalism.
It is becoming more apparent to me that people in this country, especially my generation, are very apathetic regarding respecting our country and the flag. Several people I have talked to, don't quite understand why the flag is such a big deal. Its just a material thing, they say. To me though, its more than a material thing that we proudly display at our homes, offices and other public places, its something bigger than that. Its what it represents. The history, the blood that has been spilled in defense of our country, and the God that we serve are all symbolized by that flag hanging outside your door. The flag of our country is something that is deeply important to me, especially when it comes to respecting it. The disrespecting of our nations flag is just something I cannot tolerate.
Our country is something great, something that has never happened before and may never happen again in the history of the world. If you don't believe that God orchestrated that and has blessed us tremendously by allowing us to be here, then maybe my words will fall flat. Patriotism is a word that has been tossed around frequently these days. Patriotism is when people are proud of what their country is and what it stands for: One Nation, Under God, Indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for All.
To me, thats what our flag stands for and I hope that all of you will think about that as we reach our Forth of July weekend.