American Kid
By Tammy Derouin
I remember a time when the school day began by reciting the
Pledge of Allegiance. We were taught what the colors stood for, what the stars
and stripes represented, the proper way to raise and lower the flag, how to
handle it and above all, never, ever let it touch the ground.
Schools began to teach American History in the elementary
grades. We knew and understood such
phrases as, “One if by land, two if by sea;” and “Don’t shoot until you see the
whites of their eyes.” We were taught why the original Tea Party took place and
therefore understand the important symbolism it represents for a grass-roots
political party today. We knew what the shot heard around the world meant and where
it took place. We learned why the American Revolution was an important, world
changing event.
Do you remember when patriotic songs were part of elementary
music class? Music class and music
programs once included such songs as America the Beautiful, My Country ‘Tis of
Thee (America) and God Bless America. The
Star Spangled Banner, our National Anthem, tells a story, through it all, our
flag was still there.
We also learned songs which were unique to particular times,
wars and struggles. Yankee Doodle,
Dixieland, Don’t Sit under the Apple Tree and many others helped to tie
American history together. Maybe we
didn’t realize it at the time but through music we learned a few things.
Remember School House Rock? I learned
the preamble to the Constitution and had fun learning how a bill is supposed to
become a law by watching School House Rock.
For me, this was all part of the experience of being blessed to be an
American Kid.
By learning our history, we understood that we were exceptional
among nations; we were free. American
History also taught us many aspects of world history. As we aged, the history
advanced and went a little deeper. History isn’t always pretty. In fact, it can be done right
horrifying. Learning how other nations
governed their people, many with an iron fist, made it much easier to
understand why so many risked everything to live in the land of the free.
Learning our history and how the Constitution separates the
branches of our government, as well as acknowledging our God given rights, had
a huge impact on my life. The United States was a country like no other, built
on the idea that man should live free and was capable of controlling his own
destiny. Because our God given rights are
stated in the Bill of Rights and protected under the Constitution, we are able
to forge our own path. We the people
should not be enslaved by our government. It isn’t supposed to interfere in our
personal lives, dictate our future or determine our wants and needs. If it did, the government would be bestowing
our rights upon us. It would give what
it determined we should have and remove what it felt we no longer needed. We would become a land of men rather than a
land of laws. Our exceptionalism would
cease.
Limited government means we are supposed to be self-reliant. The government is not supposed to provide us
with our daily needs. That’s for us to
determine. We have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Success and happiness is up to each
individual. There are no guarantees. Life is what you make it.
The sacrifices of those who came before us either by helping
to establish our freedom during the Revolutionary War or by maintaining our
freedom throughout the course of our history is what has kept us free. We must defend our country from our enemies
both foreign and domestic.
The United States has been involved in many wars and
struggles throughout our history. Our
enemies have, for the most part, been a foreign entity. It wasn’t until 2008 that the true meaning of
a domestic enemy became so real. The
founding fathers knew that it was possible that we would have internal
struggles. When our Constitution is
ignored by the executive and he assumes the role of another branch of
government or writes orders like a king, our enemy has become domestic.
When our executive doesn’t uphold the Constitution by
protecting our homeland, turns a blind eye to foreign invaders, helps to arm
our enemies, vilifies our police and every action appears to be a willful act
to create chaos and collapse our government, we have created a tyrant.
I remember a time when the government protected the people
and didn’t try to destroy it from within.
I remember a time when the day began by pledging allegiance to the
Republic for which the flag represented.
“The time is near at hand which must determine whether
Americans are to be free men or slaves.”
George Washington
Let’s correct that oversight, to help the President understand why moral equivalence is the dim refuge of lazy minds, and equating American troops with the Axis forces they defeated is an outrage.
