NEVER TOLERATE TYRANNY!....Conservative voices from the GRASSROOTS.

Reflections...

So many thousands there are, working very hard to unravel the mysteries of Obama's health care plan. And, they are doing one heck of a job! As one of the many who have read HR 3200, the health care bill in the House, I find so much to be anxious about; so much to be afraid of. However, with anger and dismay roiling inside me, I had to take a break, and just think of other things for a minute. Not that the bill itself is a travesty waiting to happen, and perhaps I should stay the course, and inform the public further regarding the dirty details, I simply had to catch my breath. So, I went to my front porch and sat and watched nature unfolding before me.

Occasionally, while watching the birds flitting about, and the leaves of the trees shaking as if to break the tethers holding them to their assigned places on the branches above me, I would hear another sound. This sound was not of natures making, rather, of natures urging. It was different, and seemed out of place, but it persisted none the less. I leaned forward and looked up, and there I saw "old Glory", securely fastened to the overhanging roof. It was she who had been snapping, almost snarling, as if trying to waken me from a slumber. I gazed at this symbol of America, and thought of the days when I carried her on the parade grounds of Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Gordon, Georgia, and even in Frankfurt, West Germany. I was proud to have been selected to carry the "colors", and did so with the greatest of reverence.

A car passed by, and I wondered if the occupant inside ever thought for a minute about our flag, and the storied history associated with it's inception into the public consciousness of America. Fourth of July parades, Independence day celebrations came into my mind, and I thought of my grandsons, and their learning how to properly show respect for the flag of their country.At first, they would uncover, removing their caps, and place their right hands over their hearts, somewhat in awe, and somewhat in confusion too.

Time has passed, and they now understand why it is they pause in honor, and the same pride I always feel, courses through their minds and hearts also. They know of the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution in an abstract way, but it is the flag itself that provokes their sense of wonderment, their pride in their country. The flag is beautiful to see any time at all, but especially moreso, when carried by men or women in the uniforms of our country's military. They are these same men and women who are at times called upon to defend their country from the intentions of evil throughout the world. An evil which cares not; an evil which threatens; and an evil these men and women know must be defeated. This lesson too, has been impressed upon these young minds, and they carry the message with them at all times.

Old Glory, has always been a source of pride, and a constant warning to those same people harboring evil thoughts about America. She flies high, and proudly so, a reminder that it is we who are embraced of her, and we, who embrace her willingly, as have many others throughtout the last 233 years of this country's history.

Yet, her travels have not always been the easiest kind, nor have her many victories come without a cost in human life. Freedom, we are told, comes not easily, and certainly not without a price to pay. Those best understanding this simple concept would tell you so, and someday, in God's Heaven above, we shall have the opportunity to meet these patriots, and ask them this simple question: Why did you sacrifice all? Their answers will surprise you, and humble you, still, we will know what they say, and why they answer us this way.

I urge you to read the famous american comedian, Red Skelton's recounting of how his grade school teacher explained the Pledge of Allegiance to he and his fellow students: I--me, a committee of one, PLEDGE--dedicate all my worldly goods to give without self-pity, ALLEGIANCE--My love and my devotion, TO THE FLAG--Our standard, Old Glory; a symbol of freedom, wherever she waves, there is respect because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts, Freedom is everybody's job!

Further along, Red said, " Since I was a small boy, two stars have been added to the flag, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: "Under God." Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools too?"

Old Glory's name derives from one Captain William Driver, who was a shipmaster from Salem, Massachusetts, in 1831. He flew a brand new flag of twenty four stars from the Charles Doggett, a brig, and upon first raising her, proclaimed: Old Glory! Captain Driver's flag was recovered by Union soldiers in 1862, from his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He, and they took his beloved "Old Glory" and hoisted it over the capitol building in Nashville, replacing a smaller standard raised first by Union soldiers. They cheered together.

And what of Francis Scott key? The flag he saw by the dawn's early light was a flag constructed by Mary Young Pickersgill, "a maker of colors". This flag was commissioned by Major George Armistead, commander of Fort McHenry. He wanted a flag large enough to be seen by the attacking British, and he got exactly what he wanted. The flag sewn together by Mary and her 13 year old daughter, Caroline, measured 30 by 42 feet and cost a whopping $405.92. The British could not miss this flag, and neither did Francis Scott Key, either. When dawn broke, the "flag was still there!" So too, was Key's place in American history.

As the health care debate rages on, and may we savor victory soon, I leave you with two things to ponder over:

First, from Ruth Apperson Rous, and her work titled: "I Am The Flag", "... Americans, I am the sacred emblem of your country. I symbolize your birthright, your heritage of liberty purchased with blood and sorrow...Eternal vigilance is your price of freedom...Guard me well, lest your freedom perish from the earth...Dedicate your lives to those principles for which I stand " One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Ms. Rous' admonitions are well taken, and keenly timely, aren't they?

Second, "The American's Creed" This was penned by William Tyler Page, a descendant of John Page, of Virginia, who had come to America in 1650. Another ancestor, Carter Braxton, had signed the Declaration of Independence. Yet another ancestor was John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States. The Creed is as follows:

"I believe in the united States of America as a government of the people, by the people, for the people, whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes
I therefore believe it is my duty to love it; to support it's Constitution; to obey it's laws; to respect it's flag, and to defend it against all enemies."

This American Creed, written in 1918, is the summary of the fundamental principles of the American political faith. We must advance, not retard these precepts, and remember why they were written at all. You won't be hearing any of the preceeding at any of the next scheduled "apology tours", and you certainly won't be hearing them during the contentious debates(?) in our Congress, either.

Those are my thoughts this fine day, as my flag unfurled above my head, snaps and snarls. It warns me, and us, that we, as red Skelton warned, must not allow God to be taken from us and our Pledge. It beckons that we also see, as francis Scott Key saw, that the flag will still be there, not just there, but there in all it's glory. It cautions us too, that our government is comprised of people just like us, and we are the ones who are the authorizing power in America. We have nothing to be ashamed of, lest we lose our will and our determination.

None of that will happen any time soon, will it?.