Proud to Be an American?
W.
Clifford
I
am sure that I am not the only one who has noticed the overabundance
of
American flags flying around since the fall of the WTC. How strange
it
is that it takes such a catastrophe to wake us from our daily routine.
Yet
has it? Being one who attends church on a regular basis, I know about
how
many people normally attend weekend services. Had anyone passed the
church
on the Sunday following the tragic events of September 11, they
would
think that it was Christmas or Easter; the number of people in the
congregation
was overflowing. It was a beautiful sight to see so many
turn
their hearts and souls to God, praying for those who perished and
for
those who must live on in the aftermath.
However,
stop by that same church the week after that and it would appear
that
all was back to normal; that nothing had happened. Faith was a
matter
of convenience, and now that things were on the mend, it was no
longer
necessary.
My
feelings are similar on all those flags flying about. Where was all
this
patriotism hiding? Why is it that all of a sudden it is a good thing
to
be an American? Wasn't it always? Aren't a lot of these people the
same
ones who would toss their neighbors "back on the raft that brought
them
here"? All of a sudden we're all brothers again.
What
hypocrites we are. We mourn the loss of life, yet there's a guy on
every
corner trying to sell flags and turn a profit off of the tragedy
that
caused that loss of life. We - a nation founded on Judaic-Christian
beliefs
- seek the utter destruction of those who would so recklessly
destroy
life. Furthermore, who are we to be the soldiers for life? Where
are
our ethics - we that carve up a human being up until the point of birth
and
call it "woman's choice", or that pull the plug on someone who, though
terminally
ill, still has their faculties and call it "death with dignity"?
Where
are our ethics when we have a president who, regardless of his ways
of
"bending" the truth, lies blatantly under oath? Where is our show of
unity
when all we hear is the common banter and rhetoric flowing forth
from
the bowels of this country known as capitol hill? Why is it that our
elected
officials care more about lining their pockets instead of the
people
who voted them into office in the first place? It is no wonder why
the
fanatics love to point their fingers at us - we give them so much to
point
at!
Now,
before I get written off as a pessimist and a non-American, hear me
out.
I am all for America and the beliefs upon which this country was
founded.
My point is this - we need to return to those beliefs. Yes, we
should
be proud of our country - but let us also make it something to be
proud
of. We need to get rid of our prejudices and our lack of morality
and
return to what made this country great in the first place. We need to
return
to He who created each of us. We need to return to God.
It
does not matter what faith you profess or what religion you practice.
Very
simply, practice well and stand firm for what you believe in. Give
others
the respect they deserve as being fellow human beings - born, unborn,
young,
old, and everywhere in between. We wonder why God let such a tragedy
happen.
The answer is simple - how, and furthermore, why, would He help
us
when everything we seem to do attempts to chase Him from the country
and
people we want Him to protect! We are supposed to be "one nation under
God",
are we not? Or have the liberals stricken that too from our pledge
of
allegiance, as they have disallowed prayer in school?
The
time has come for us to truly awaken from our slumber - not as a nation
hell-bent
on war and vengeance, but as a nation seeking some serious
introspection.
There are many things we need to make right amongst ourselves.
We
need to stop drawing boxes around ourselves saying that we are Jew,
Christian,
Muslim, Buddhist, atheist, or whatever we are. Doing so separates
us
from one another whether we realize it or not. We are all God's children.
ALL
of us. The sooner we realize this and start to act accordingly, the
sooner
we will begin to prosper as a nation once more.
We
have always been the beacon of freedom, calling forth the oppressed from
distant
shores to come and build a better life on ours. I fear that beacon
is
fading. It is time to rekindle that fire - that which America truly is.
We
are the land of the free and the home of the brave. We are the land of
opportunity.
Let us, therefore, wage war - not on terrorism or nations -
on
injustice, hunger, poverty, and sickness. Let us take care of our less
fortunate
brothers and sisters and help them to help themselves and others.
Share your bread with the hungry.
Shelter the lost and the homeless.
Clothe the naked in your midst.
Care for the ill and the dying.
Bring justice to the oppressed.
Do these things, and your light shall break
forth like the rising of the dawn.
You will shine like a beacon to the nations;
all shall see the good that you do and
give glory to your Father in heaven.
This
is the America I believe in and wish to see around me. Not just in the
wake
of catastrophe, but each and every day. God bless us all.
