Just A Thought

Do you ever wonder how many people remember this simple declaration:

I pledge allegiance, to the flag, of the United States of America
And to the republic for which it stands
One nation, under God
Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all

I was re-reading a book last night (non-fiction) where the author asked an openly liberal man - who claimed to be a patriot through and through - to recite the pledge and the guy simply couldn't do it.

The fact the most simple act of patriotism has fallen so far to the wayside is saddening. I have to ask how our country has been pushed so far into the crap hole of politically correct behavior. Were a country founded on principles of religious freedom; a country who the British feared at sea for sailors who fought like wild dogs; a nation whose Marines demoralized the Japanese in the WW II Pacific through the trademark Marine relentlessness.

When did so many of us become pansies?

Oh, to be sure, there are still plenty of real fighters out there - obviously the police, EMTs, firefighters & military are all fine examples of that - but have we really become so comfortable with this great liberty of ours to believe that it is not a breath away from extinction? Do we
really believe that our God-given rights are guaranteed without people to defend them? As Ronald Reagan said in 1964: "...[If] we lose this precious of freedom of ours, history will record, with the greatest astonishment, that those who stood to lose the most did the least to prevent its
happening". If you haven't seen the speech "A Time for Choosing", check it out on an earlier post.

At some point, a few of us decided "courage" should be replaced with "convenience", "morality" replaced with "me, me, me" and "love of country" substituted by "love of self". I remember a conversation in college with a particularly self-serving individual. We were discussing the draft concept. While I agreed the draft is a bad thing as a whole - I don't like the idea of a person being forced into service for one's country - I DO believe that if your country has need, there is an obligation to serve. He simply stated that he'd run to Canada. When I mentioned the (glaringly obvious) fact of someone having to go in his place, what was his reply?

"Better them than me."

Yes, this person was so self-serving of a coward that he 1) thought freedom was great, so long as he could enjoy it without having to defend it; and 2) he'd let someone take the risk of fighting while he ducked and ran to Canada - just to weasel his way back to the country later, no doubt. Keep in mind I don't agree with a draft but I do have enough sense of honor that I'd go when called. I might disagree with the cause - Heaven knows many of our men and women fighting right now may feel that same way about Iraq (BUT, they're still serving) - and I'd still go where my country needed me.

My response to Skippy McCoward was simply, "What if it was your brother?" Strangely, he didn't have an answer for that. I guess you can't see more than two feet in front of your face when you focus on only yourself. It's probably better for us that people like the one mentioned above don't know the pledge: If they don't believe in it - which is pretty obvious - we're better off knowing just how ignorant they are.