"Independence...................."

”America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” ~Abraham Lincoln

” If you want a symbolic gesture, don't burn the flag; wash it”. ~Norman Thomas

My exposure to any celebration of the Fourth was minimal this year. Beth and I left the house only for an early breakfast, shopping for a few groceries afterwards and knowing very little of the usual fireworks that accompanies the occasion. Our neighbors did supply a few minor explosions, along with a couple of whistling rockets shot into the darkness; but, for the most part, the evening hours were calm. The closest we came to any act of patriotism was watching Megan Kelly on Fox News. She was interviewing Bill Ayers, the leader of an anti-government 1960s terrorist group that bombed both the Capitol Building and the Pentagon. While I hold no allegiance at all with the methods they embraced in their protests of the Viet Nam War, his complaints now being registered on this show were not all that different from my own political perspectives. We separated somewhat on the idea that the corporate rich who have benefited from Capitalism owe me a slice of their profits; but at the same time fail to understand billions of dollars given to other nations when our own economic state of affairs is killing the middle class. Am I proud to be an American? My heart is rooted in all that our declaration of democracy proclaims. If our history is tainted, somewhat, its record stained with questionable actions along the way, it yet remains that, through it all, the ideals of freedom, liberty, and a man’s right to live his own life have continued to draw others. Humanity, however, has always been humanity. Set it in office and its nature tends to corrupt even more as it is invested with power. Let it fester on the other end of the scale, though, and violence erupts. If our peace is not anchored in something greater than ourselves, foundations crumble. It’s true of individuals, and countries as well. A man’s soul was created to know balance in Him. His Spirit was meant to tether us, giving us grace in our stumble down the path. More than ever, as a people, “from sea to shining sea”, what we need today is a prayer closet……