But here is our only hope of keeping her that way.
“She’s battered.
She’s broken.
Even her own people are afraid to take pride in her.
She gets the most hate, but that’s exactly what happens when you’re the best. They seek to destroy.
Despite the above, she’s still the land of the free because of the brave.
Happy 4th!”
-Ray Zingler on Twitter
September 12, 2001.
I remember the togetherness that was brought about via the aftermath of one of the greatest tragedies in American history.
The world felt like it stopped spinning.
People were shocked, heartbroken, and didn’t know where to turn, so naturally they turned to each other.
They put away their personal grudges, political opinions, sexual orientation, race, color, and creeds, and focused on the one commonality between all of us here in America which is simply the fact that we are ALL Americans.
I remember the sense of pride when I walked off the school bus in the coming weeks to the American flags hanging off the houses of every house I walked by on my way home.
I remember the sense of security I felt from my neighbors warm embraces as I road my bike down the street.
I don’t know that I understood it then, but I understand it now, it took great tragedy to bring people together, even for a short time.
Another recent example of this was the Devin Hamlin incident that took place this past football season. There was a sense of togetherness, not only within the “sport” community, but on a nationwide level, praying for his recovery and by the grace of God and the power of prayer, Devin was healed.
In our newly digitized, anti-social, social world, we have lost a lot of personal touch. We’ve lost a lot of connection. We have mental and physical ailments plaguing our citizens on a scale the world has never seen before and as they say, “if you can’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of others.”
Our problems in America are internal. They stem from a lack of personal pride and fragile egos.
Our problems are rooted in jealously, greed, and (often false) judgement of our neighbors because we feel their lifestyles are direct threats to our own interpretation of the American dream.
If we want to get America back to being America, we have to get back to the foundational principles that made her the greatest nation in the world.
It shouldn’t take tragedy, either.
Happy Independence Day.
