The fireworks displays are now just faint smoke wafting through the air, and the once red hot coals in the Bar-B-Que grills have turned to ashes. The American flags are neatly folded and placed on the top shelf of the closet where they’ll remain, in many cases until next year when the dust will be shaken off and they’ll once again be put out on display to confirm to the neighbors how patriotic we all are.
I sometimes have the sense, the feeling that not just in our own country, but in other countries around the world as well, the glory of America is a thing of the past. After all, Barack Obama once commented that American exceptionalism was no different than any other country’s exceptionalism. His bowing in subservience to other world leaders aside, it seems that Barack Obama just didn’t think very much of the country he claimed to be his own.
Clearly, American patriotism has been on the decline in some quarters since at least the Vietnam era. Anyone who lived through that period of our nation’s history remembers how divided our nation had become over our military involvement in that Southeast Asian nation. The civil unrest and mass protests across America had a great deal to do with influencing our government to try to find a way, any way out of that conflict.
Then-President Nixon called it “peace with honor”. Certainly, the members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served there mostly did so with honor and distinction, contrary to how they were portrayed by Hollywood. But the Vietnam War was literally tearing our country apart at the seams, leading to our ‘official’ withdrawal in 1975.
Even though we had won all the battles, and many believe we would have ultimately won the war with North Vietnam, America had lost its resolve and will to win. Much of that was based on the lies and disinformation our senior leadership told us about our involvement there.
To find another time of such division in our country one would have to look back to the time leading up to and including the American War Between the States, in the 1850s and 1860s. During the Civil War Americans actually went to war against themselves and fought major land battles and sea engagements. Leaving 620,000 Americans dead on the field of battle, and many who died later of wounds received. Repairing the wounds to our national psyche took many more years after the memories of battles won and lost subsided, and the hostilities had ended.
So is the glory of America a thing of the past? Are the divisions and unrest we are now almost daily experiencing going to lead to our nation’s downfall? The short answer is NO! Absolutely not! No matter how much money and covert influence our enemies try to pump into America, there are millions of American veterans who once took an oath to protect and defend America that has no expiration date. Our enemies, both foreign and especially domestic would do well to understand that. You can push them so far, and eventually, you’ll reach the point where they push back. They’ve remained quietly on the sidelines, for now, observing and taking note of what’s going on in our country.
But they are reaching a tipping point in America right now. A sleeping giant is being woken up, and those who would try to “fundamentally transform” our nation would be well advised to proceed with caution.. Their little band of misfits and miscreants won’t stand a chance if they continue to try to destroy our nation from within. The silent majority of Americans, led by her military veterans will stand up and say “enough”, in a firm and determined voice.
So even though the fireworks displays are over for another year, the festivals and community celebrations have finished, those of us who cherish our heritage, our flag, our National Anthem, and our having been born in the greatest nation on earth “will not go quietly into the night.” We solemnly pledge that we will once again celebrate our American Independence Day, but this time our independence from the forces within who would try to destroy our nation.
God bless and continue to protect the United States of America, and forever may her flag proudly wave over the land of the free, and the home of the brave.