What is Best in Americans

For all of my grumping, I know how truly blessed I am to have been born in these United States.  As frustrated as I get with the state of the nation, the people themselves never cease to amaze me.

You did me the courtesy of listening to my grumblings about high taxes, high prices and the increasing presence of the "entitled" masses, and had the grace to realize that I was just letting off a little steam.  Thank you for that.  You are what is best in Americans.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for offering to send your boxes of clothing to our family rather than an impersonal thrift store!  I am humbled beyond measure.  We are so alike, you and I.  I would by far rather help someone personally than send my money to be disseminated by "the machine" that is our government.

Even when the darkness threatens to engulf us all, there are glimmers of light.  You.  Thank you.

Homegoing

Independence Day means different things to different people.  When I think of our forefathers declaring their independence, I think their motivations were far greater than casting off the constraints of a distant monarch.  I believe they were answering the call buried deep in the heart of every man - the call of home.

The patriarchs of this nation longed for a place in this world.  They dreamt of fertile fields and the familiarity of hearth and home.  They wanted a legacy to leave to their posterity and they were willing to sacrifice their lives to ensure a homeland for future generations.  Because of the vision of these wise men, we became countrymen rather than colonists.  We became a people with a home.

To celebrate Independence Day, Sir Knight, the kids and I went home.  These are the mountains that Sir Knight and I would love to call home (actually, we do call them home - our house just isn't there).  We marveled at the beauty all around us and considered the men whose vision gave us a country to call home.  We spent our time in fellowship with our parents, riding 4-wheelers, breaking bread and just being together.  Immersed in God's great creation, we where home.....

Flowers reflected in our slow moving creek

My guys preparing their First Line gear

The patriarch "barking" out orders

My crew

Leaders of our clan

Getting ready to rumble

Surveying our location

Checking out an alpine pond

Our back yard

Part of the clan

Sir Knight getting a better look at the terrain

Oops, a little high-centered
Miss Serenity hooking up the winch cable

The Matriarch with her treasures

Not only did our forefathers fight for our independence, they fought for a place to call home.  Let us be ever vigilant in our defense of all that we hold dear.  Let us make sure that our children have a place to call home.

The Making of an American

I have been pondering what it means to be American.  From the time I could think in a cognitive fashion, I have been proud to be an American.  I knew in the core of my being that I lived in the greatest country on earth.  My countrymen where honorable and true and our leaders were fearless and just.  Americans were the "knights in shining armor" of two world wars and they conducted themselves in a manner befitting our princely nation.  My heart swelled with pride and thanksgiving knowing I was a child of the great United States.

What is it that I loved about my native country?  I loved that our citizens were fiercely independent.  I loved that we were willing to sacrifice personal comfort in order to do the right thing.  I loved that we were a country of principle and character.  I loved that we could make do with anything and thrive in any circumstance.  I loved that we would rather go without than burden someone else with our problems.  I loved the fact that we made a stand for right and hated wrong.  I loved the fact that we cared about our fellow man more than we cared about ourselves.  I loved the fact that we were more concerned with disciplining ourselves than policing everyone else.  I loved the fact that we rewarded achievement and punished evil.  I loved the fact that we were willing to work hard for what we wanted.  I loved the fact that we had the strength of character to succeed when the odds were against us.  I loved being an American.

I am still proud to be an American.  I still see the best in us.  But I see the worst too.  I see people who would rather take than give.  I see leaders who would rather be served than to serve.  I see good being called evil and evil being called good.  I see a people who have lost their dignity, willing to accept handouts rather than resolutely making their own way.  Americans are being replaced.  We are being replaced by impostors - haters of the American way.

It's not too late.  We can reclaim our heritage - our country.  It starts with you.  It starts with me.  It starts by throwing off the shackles of an over-reaching government.  Get off welfare, get off WIC - be too proud to accept the state's handouts and be bound by their chains.  Do the hard things.  Be willing to suffer, work hard and make your own way.  Don't blame the economy, the government or your parents.  Find that inner strength and rebuilt your nation.  Embrace good and shun evil.  Stand up for what you believe in, no matter what the cost.

It starts with you.  It starts with me.   We are the making of an American.