I remember a time when I believed in the kind of “rah rah patriotism” of an innocent bygone era.
Then I began to examine everything a bit more critically.
I look upon the land of my birth and see a mixed bag. Sure, we’ve got a ton to answer for.
We’re an in a death spiral masquerading as a federal republic. We’ve murdered babies in the womb by the tens of millions. We export sodomy to the rest of the world.
The things we all used to be truly proud of like our greatest achievements (moon landing) we cannot even be sure really happened. It is most certain that our own government murdered one of our presidents (JFK), and the whole world witnessed last week what many of us have known for a long time – that the man with the nuclear codes is an impaired dementia patient.
And yet it’s hard for me to abandon my patriotism. I spent a little time on Sunday hanging red, white, and blue bunting from the front porch and sticking little American flags throughout the garden bed. I still well up a bit when I hear the Star Spangled Banner. And I still love to watch my small town’s Independence Day parade with its floats carrying the winners of the library’s dog/human lookalike contest and the local chapter of the Future Farmers of America. That’s one float, by the way. I will still watch the director’s cut of 1776 because… “Sit Down, John!”
I look upon this time of year as an opportunity to pray more intensely for this land. Objectively, this is the greatest land on earth and God blessed those of us who call it home with greater natural riches and opportunities than any other group of men in history. True, we’ve used all that to our detriment and the detriment of the world and it will all be gone quicker than the Roman collapse. But I can pray that Our Lord turns it around for us.
Regardless of all that, this Thursday I will celebrate what I always do on the Fourth of July – the day my native New Jersey declared Her independence from Great Britain.
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 