Posted on 07/09/2013 11:54:32 AM PDT by Kaslin
A recent Gallup poll, timed for the Fourth of July, found that while most Americans (85%) are proud to be an American, most (71%) also believe that our Founding Fathers would be disappointed in the America of today.
The numbers highlight the difference between our regard for our Constitution and for the people who make America great, on the one hand, and our collective distrust of government overreach on the other. The daily news is a patchwork story of Americas great people -- and Ill share one touching example in a moment -- as well as our very real political troubles.
Its important to realize that we owe our great national pride -- our patriotism -- to freedom itself.
Because we are Americans, we are free to disagree (and we do) about many things, including the role of government and key moral issues like abortion and homosexuality. More importantly, we are free to engage in public debate, to associate politically in order to turn our beliefs into policy, and to be secure in our inalienable rights. When government tramples those rights (for example, by IRS intimidation of conservative groups or HHS disregard for the conscience rights of religious people), its up to patriotic Americans to push back and defend our Constitution.
Perhaps not surprisingly, conservatives, who are more likely to value our Constitutional framework and the principles of limited government, are significantly more likely than liberals to express pride in our country -- a 13-point gap. Patriotism is also slightly higher in the South and the Midwest than on either coast, which reflects the general political alignment of those regions. At the same time, just 15% of conservatives (versus 41% of liberals) believe the Founders -- who built this country on the principle of limited government -- would be pleased with our countrys direction. According to Gallup, Americans cite dissatisfaction with government as the third most important problem facing the country today, after the economy and unemployment.
These are trying times for our country. But its the right time for each one of us to be -- or become -- great Americans!
Politically, this is a time for engagement, not retreat. Educate yourself. Find your fellow Patriots and work together to get the truth out to our fellow citizens. Stand up and be counted on important issues. Silence is not patriotic. We wouldnt be living in a free America if our Founding Fathers had chosen silence instead of declaring the inalienable rights of all Americans.
In addition to being politically engaged, being a great American means taking action, in our own neighborhoods and communities, for the sake of others. It means giving of ourselves -- with kindness, with our time, in whatever way we can -- to make someone elses life a bit better.
Gavin Rupp, a 13-year old Virginia boy with terminal brain cancer, knows what thats like. A baseball player, Gavins been a Washington Nationals fan for as long as he can remember. Baseball gave him a reprieve from long hours of chemotherapy and radiation and, when he could no longer play, he lived for those Nationals games. When Gavins cancer recurred for the third time in two years, his doctors could do nothing more.
But his father and the Washington Nationals could.
On July 5th, Gavin threw out the opening pitch at a baseball game at Nationals Park. But what meant even more to this young boy was the hour he spent earlier that day with Nationals star outfielder Bryce Harper. Pro athletes often make charity appearances and sign autographs. Before a game, however, they are typically focused on themselves, their routines, and their game.
For Bryce Harper, though, giving time to young Gavin mattered more. He sat with Gavin and his family for over an hour, chatting like they were longtime friends with all the time in the world. He gave Gavin his Nationals hat and a bat. But then he did something unusual. He asked Gavin to autograph a ball for him, and then promised to keep that autographed ball in his stadium locker. Gavins courage and love of baseball inspired Harper, but Harpers personal attentiveness and kindness will help Gavin carry on in difficult days ahead.
They both gave but in different ways. Because thats what great Americans do.
And thats what makes our country great. God bless America!
REAL Americans pledge to the flag since childhood ... automatically.
Undocumented al Qaeda operatives, of course, do not.
‘...while most Americans (85%) are proud to be an American, most (71%) also believe that our Founding Fathers would be disappointed in the America of today.’
The numbers are surprisingly high given the state of the nation.
America is great because it acknowledges the individual second only to God. It is a beacon to all the world of what a free society looks like. A free society tends to create in people an attitude of respect and value towards one another as seen in the free market where people voluntarily cooperate with each other for their own benefit. The only influence and role of government, generally, is to protect each of its citizens from another's interference with their liberty.
In contrast, a collectivist society values the collective values of the mass of people in the form of government over the value of the individual. Hence, the individual is devalued and eventually crushed under the iron boot of tyrannical government.
If those same citizens were given the chance to live in a free society, most of them would thrive and shed the dysfunction brought on by their enslavement and servitude, coming closer to the people they want to be. America gives people a chance to do just that.
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