Facebook has become part of the American way. People are serious addicts and post every single detail of their lives on it. So it’s odd when statuses actually make me inspired enough to blog.
“On this Independence Day, remember...The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it. The American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who has died protecting it. American soldiers don't fight because they hate what's in front of them...they fight because they love what's behind them." Re-Post this if you support our troops!
The people that asserted our independence were not military. They were farmers, politicians, plantation owners, lawyers, doctors, businessmen, pacifists, husbands, and fathers. These were people that knew we were at a stalemate and could no longer continue on the path that our country was on. Well, not all of them felt that way. To be honest, no one really wants war. The loss of life, the causalities, and the despair that come from war should ALWAYS be a last resort. These things did weigh heavily on the minds of our founders. After the Boston Massacre, the Edenton Tea Party and the Boston Tea Party, the invasions into our homes, the taxation, the overall oppression of a monarch that was going insane.
Some felt that we could still reach a reasonable agreement, but how could we when our Parliament representatives had no power and stood there like helpless children. How could a country treat its so called citizens like they were nothing? Now there will be those of you who will want to respond that we are going through the same thing. I will happily disagree. You have something that the colonists never had…rights. If you, the person reading this, chooses not to exercise your rights, then that is your choice. American colonists had no rights. It was brave men such as Richard Henry Lee, John Adams, Josiah Bartlett, Samuel Chase, and Edward Rutledge that made a difference. It was the men and woman that watched their homes, farms, businesses; plantations get burned to the ground or taken from them that made a difference. It was a man of Native American and African American decent that made a difference. His name was Crispus Attucks and he died a free man fighting for his beliefs.
Our military, what little we had, did what they always do. They followed orders. They brought their families to the frontlines to protect them. Some deserted because of the harsh winters, sickness, lack of food, and clothing, while some took up arms to protect their homes. Battles were fought in Massachusetts to Virginia and beyond, and people, plain, ordinary people sacrificed it all. I celebrate that. I am the embodiment of freedom. I am an American citizen that stands up for our people, and I celebrate the sacrifices that were made by all.
The flag flies because I put it up on a flagpole. It is a beautiful symbol, but it is not one that means as much to me as the people of this country do. Would you not raise a militia in defense of this nation? I know I would! Would you not protect this country? I would! What are the sacrifices that you have made for this nation? I have sacrificed greatly for this nation and I will continue to until this nation no longer needs my sacrifice. You want freedom, then stop looking for someone else to provide it. Ensure your freedom by being an active citizen. The flag is a piece of cloth, but this nation, and its citizens…well, that’s something worth fighting for. That’s something all of us should be proud of.
There will be some of you who read this and think that I don't support our military. Go ahead and think something that insane. In case you don't know, my husband is in Afghanistan. However, I feel that it is incorrect to think that the military was one that secured our freedom. They maintain our freedom now. They did secure it, but it was all colonists, all Americans that helped to secure our freedom.
So my challenge to you, dear reader is this: Learn to be an active citizen. Be what our founders wanted. Be the best American you can be. Be the dream that people have died for in protection. Be a good person and know that you are freedom. “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”
