Putting aside my disdain for the president and our congressional leaders just for one weekend I'm going to take a moment to boast about my great country. Because it is a great country and we are so self-critical in America that it has almost become so rare to state unabashedly that America is great and that one is proud to be called an American. Progressives and liberals are so quick to point out America's flaws and mistakes. There's a disease in the progressive establishment that seeks to always villify America. You won't have to go far on the internet to find YouTube videos and websites dedicated to all of America's "atrocities". You can even find videos describing what the world might look like without America. Of course it's always a eutopia. But I, and the truth, beg to differ. The world would be a horrific place without the influence of the United States.
From America has come, if not the concept of the vaccination itself (that belongs to France), the vaccines that we use today. From America has come countless technological advances that have allowed science to discover the workings of life on earth. From America has come the Space Shuttle. From America has come fetal surgery. Voicemail. Spreadsheets. The laser. Medical advancements too many to number but which, I argue, would never have come about under a system other than a free and capitalist society. The camera. The automobile. The airplane. The internet. The computer. The optical fiber. The circular saw. The suspension bridge. Dental floss for pity's sake! It's all American. That a whole lot more. Look on wikipedia for American inventions. The list is staggering.
But as important as these things are for the advancement of humanity the most important thing that America brought to the planet was individual liberty. In the 1700s the world was most likely headed in the direction of increased freedom. But for this divine plan to be realized a new land was required. A virgin land where God could establish anew the principles of liberty and freedom to their fullest extent. He needed to gather to this land a people who were specially set aside for the very act of establishing a new freedom. These great men acted under the inspiration of God to put down in words the simple fact that individual liberty comes from God and that, as such, it CANNOT be restricted by government without that government become oppressive and removing from itself any authority that it once claimed over its citizens. When a government takes upon itself powers that do not belong to it, the people are no longer under obligation to be obedient to that government. That is the idea of the revolution. That was the spirit of '76. That is the heritage of America.
America has done more for the advancement of the human race, more for the good of humankind, and more to promote freedom and liberty than any other nation in history. We have had the help of good allies along the way but America has always been at the forefront. It is to America that the world turns in time of crisis. We are a great nation because we have been a good people. We fear God. We love liberty. And so far as we continue to fear God and love liberty we will always be a great nation. America has a unique role to play in the world. I don't think God is done with America yet. I hope that America isn't done with God. And I hope that America hasn't forgotten how tenuous our liberties are. Freedom doesn't survive a people who don't also feel a deep sense of great responsbility to keep that freedom safeguarded.
So on the fourth I'm glad to be living in the USA. I'm proud to be American and I'm very proud of our rich history. For the amazing things that God has used America for in such a short period of time.
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"Isn’t our choice really not one of left or right, but of up or down? Down through the welfare state to statism, to more and more government largesse accompanied always by more government authority, less individual liberty, and ultimately, totalitarianism, always advanced as for our own good. The alternative is the dream conceived by our Founding Fathers, up to the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with an orderly society. We don’t celebrate dependence day on the Fourth of July. We celebrate Independence Day.” –Ronald Reagan
ReplyDeleteI love that phrase "always advanced as for our own good." How true. All of the infringements on personal liberties are always, in the words of those who enact those measures, for our benefit and necessary to avoid some kind of crisis.
Beware the crisis. Always beware the crisis. What government will do to solve the crisis will always do more damage than the crisis (if there even really was one) itself.
ReplyDeleteTroy, you have inspired me. Your language was beautiful and the premise true. Thanks for you individual spin on such a truly important topic.
ReplyDeleteGOD BLESS AMERICA.