What I missed

It's been so long since my last post due to being bogged down by moving, birthdays, kids starting school, weddings, and many other time sensitive duties of life. It should calm down some in the following months, I hope at least. I was working on a follow-up to the July 4th post dealing with the controversy surrounding the founding fathers when our lives were put on hold for a few weeks. I hope to have that completed and up before I travel with my family to my younger brothers wedding in Ohio. Traveling with my kids right now is not an exciting expectation. My youngest has turned into a screamer if he is displeased in anyway shape or form. My oldest went through that phase for a few months, so hopefully we won't have to land a plane due to a disturbance in the cabin.

Since my last post on July 4th, there have been a few articles that have caught my attention, I just never had the time to comment on them. If you are interested, they can all be found on google. Newt Gingrich criticized the current administration for not protecting our own interest here in our own nation (borders and such). The South Carolina Governor (my home state) commits infidelities while globe-trotting, then holding interviews where he nonchalantly, almost condones his behavior. President Obama called a cops' actions stupid for doing his job and following procedures while arresting a friend of his (Gates), then realizing he probably inserted a big size 10 shoe in his mouth, invited him to the White House for beer, only in America. I'd love to be a fly on the wall in that room. Global warming, excuse me, climate change is still the talk of the day among Hollywood do-gooders and politicians. Every one is saving the planet and all of it's inhabitants. They have to do something to appease their consciences I guess. I recently saw nearly a 4 minute add on the polar bears, and the fact that the ice is melting and they will soon be extinct. "Sponsor a polar bear"...yeah, sign me up for that one. There was a large explosion on Jupiter, and "earth could be next". Headline read "meteor will hit earth"...millions of years from now was what the article went on to say.

I wasn't a a big fan of Bush, but he got blamed for this sort of thing all the time, painting a dark picture to apply policy and decisions. Look, every administration has it's quirks, fear mongering is at it's best when it comes to the economy and the planet. Many are whole-heartedly putting their trust into the smooth swagger of Barrack Obama and cronies And who better to lead us into our new future then the rock star, let's all unite and come together and take our planet back, socialism saves!

Well, enough pinned up sarcasm for one day. Thank God we have a hope not of this world, or that is dependent on kingdom builders.

July 4th, 2009

Tonight as my family burned the grass blue (and the dog) with pyrotechnics, and nearly started a California wild-fire, American people everywhere celebrated with fireworks and American flags, our collective independence. In every state, in every city, and in every town, our nations' history is remembered, some for heritage, most for the free booze. July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted a resolution severing all political, and religious ties from Great Britain. 

John Adams said this of that day:

"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."

Two days later, the writing of the Declaration of Independence was approved, and 56 MEN from 13 states, penned their name to one of the most famous documents in existence, the Declaration of Independence. July 4th, 1776 - what a glorious, triumphant day on mankind's scale of course. Men of worth, led by the DIVINE hand, brought this country into existence. It's one of largest, most nationally observed holidays where we celebrate lives of mortal men and women and their actions for God and country. 

In a day of texting, email, internet on your phone, mp3 players as small as your pinky finger, it's hard to imagine the actual events of that day in 1776, and how much times have indeed changed. Among all the barbecues, get-togethers and parties, and men and women who use this holiday as an occasion of the flesh to get drunk beyond repair, you wonder if people ever stop to think any more of the sacrifices that were made to ensure their rights, liberties, and freedoms. Imagine if this generation had to answer the call the patriots of 1775-1781 answered. Scarcely a few would, I imagine. What would we sacrifice today for freedom? 

One could argue the advancement of technology has attributed to the decay of human civilization. Man and all his inventions, though extraordinary, are still  flawed in the same way, as they have a tendency, if not governed, to draw us further from our Creator. It's amazing how this is the most "fast food" society ever, and no one has time for God. Every where I go, someone is texting,  waiting for the bus, talking on their cell phones, walking to the corner store talking, between church services even. I've seen people with the child training leash attached to their kids like they are a dog, so they could talk on the phone with greater ease while shopping. I've seen moms walking down the street texting, while their young girl walks two paces behind her, not on the sidewalk but actually on the busy street.

How will anyone ever hear a "still small voice", or even the echoes of history if their ear is always tuned into a "multitude of words".  It's the radio, the cd's,  texting, talking, watching, Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. It's no wonder we harbor a younger  generation that are questionably the laziest, yet most technologically proficient.

Stop to reflect on history from time to time. In  an effort not to sound philosophical, what is wrong with thinking, reflection, pondering, meditating, etc.? God designed the human brain to be a sponge, and a super computer at the same time, as it produces calculations most computers cannot even reproduce. You wonder what attributed to a society of such great men and women in past days. Those men, women and children, generations strong, had time to think, and consider their latter end. They saw America, and all its glory, whole, untouched by mans inevitable corruption.

It's often not portrayed the way it was. There were no photographs, or precise images of this era. Paintings, and few images from history tell of a proper, neatly set Independence Hall, where in reality the men who met there were weary from travel, had dust on their shoulders, were men nearly in hiding fearful for their lives, concerned about their families they left behind, wondering where British soldiers are advancing, knowing that something was about to happen that has never happened before. There was a sense of urgency, and quietness. Quite literally, the weight of the world was upon their shoulders, and the safety and security of thousands rested with their guidance and leadership. And let us not forget that their standard was God and his word. 

W.J. Wood, author of "Battles of the Revolutionary War" said:

The period from 1775 through 1781 was fraught with confusion, upheaval, uncertainty, and incredible danger to Patriot leaders and citizens alike. But it has been lost in our consciousness. The reasons for our so abandoning the Revolution are obvious: the passage of time, the paucity of reliable records, general indifference to our national heritage, and the timing of the invention of the photograph. (50 years after the Revolution) The reasons actually are not important; the fact of our neglect, at least to the historically minded, is important indeed."

"Give honor to whom honor is due."