HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

by Bob Walsh

July 4th is the anniversary of the founding of our nation.  As far as I know it was the first time a colony had ever successfully broken away from the mother country by force of arms.  A group of very smart and far-seeing people (yes, they were adult White men pretty much exclusively) pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor in the attempt.  Only about 10% of the population of the colonies openly supported the revolution.  About another 10% openly opposed it, and also put their lives on the line.  Those men created a functional Representative Democracy, aka Republic, and a system that allowed that concept to work.  For the most part it did.  It wasn't perfect.  They people who created it were not perfect.  They were, however, bright and decent men for the most part.  

Less than 100 years after it's founding 300,000 men died trying to wipe the stain of slavery away.  Another 250,000 or so died to defend it.  The good guys won.  Another 50-odd years later America entered into a European war and was largely responsible for the good guys winning.  A tad over 30 years after that, in response to a sneak attack, America and Americans again rose up to oppose tyranny and to support freedom.  We were successful.  We saved the world.  There were problems and imperfections in the aftermath but I honestly think we did well.  

We work constantly to become better people with a better government.  We are still working on it, but hundreds of thousands of people risk death each year to sneak into our country.  How man sneak into Communist China or Cuba or North Korea or Russia for the chance of as better life?   Not that many.

America has enemies, both foreign and domestic.  Some people hate us for our success.  Some people hate us because we are an open, pluralistic society.  Some people hate us just because.  Some of those haters are our own people.  Some of them are in our own government.

Stand up for what you think is right.  Fly the flag with honor.  We are not perfect, but we are pretty damn good and we are getting better all the time.