I am a Christian and a very conservative and patriotic American. If any of that offends you, now might be the time to close the blog window. When did everything in life become offensive anyway? While I may not support a varying point of view, that doesn’t mean that I need to be offended by it. I am soooo over “political correctness”. Can we all just pull up our big girl panties and stop being so sensitive to every little thing?
There is a huge amount of irony that I find in this too. It has become such a big thing to protest the American flag because a person feels offended by something that they feel the flag represents. Here’s the part I find funny about that. The rights and privileges that allow you to kneel during the pledge or disrespect the flag in any other fashion were fought for by people who waved that flag proudly. You are allowed to throw your temper tantrum because people fought and died to give you that right. Try that behavior in another country and see how well it works out for you. You want the rights of an American, but want to disrespect the colors that represent it. My grandfather was a United States Marine. He was proud of that and proud of the American flag. We were taught at a young age what the flag stood for and what sacrifices were made so that we could have the freedoms that this country offers. I knew at a very young age how to properly fold and care for the flag and that you should never let it touch the ground. I would wager to say that most kids have no idea how to properly fold a flag these days. A year or so ago I was outside of the elementary building after school hours and saw a couple of men taking down the flag. They wadded it into a ball and one of the men shoved it under his arm to carry it into the school and left it on a shelf that way for the night. I wanted to cry having seen this. It made me miss my grandfather dearly and broke my heart to think how seeing this would have made him feel. He served in the Korean war and had friends and family who served in the military as well. He would have been shocked by the blatant disregard for the importance of those stars and stripes.
The same goes for what role we allow God to play in our society. The pledge says, “One nation under God”. This country was founded on these fundamentals and beliefs. Perhaps kicking God out of so many things including our schools could be the simplest of explanations as to where things are going these days. Why is it that in the last forty or so years, violence in schools has become so extreme and sadly common? “I’ll pray for you” has become a generic statement with no sincerity behind it for so many. Christmas is celebrated as a Santa day instead of “Christ”mas, the birthday of Christ. The thing is that even as a Christian I am not going to slam anyone in the head with my bible. I firmly believe that my faith and the word of God speak for themselves. I am happy to share what God has done for my life and what He can do in anyone else’s. Honestly, I firmly believe that the problem that so many people have with faith and God is accountability. In today’s society, the focus seems to always be on making yourself happy. If you don’t like something, you just don’t do it or even better you protest it to the highest degree until you get your way. Belief in God holds us to higher standards than just what makes us happy though. It requires us to get past ourselves and consider each other. You don’t have to agree with everything your neighbor does or says to still “love them as you love yourself”. Can we just get back to simple gestures of kindness and teaching our children to respect each other? Teach them to handle disappointment without the need to harm others in retaliation. Teach them love and teach them discipline. Let’s actually pray for each other when we say we will.
These concepts seem so simple and basic, but maybe a nice reset is what our country could use. I say that to my kids when they are misbehaving, mouthing off, or in a mood. “Reset”. They know that mom has had enough at that point and they better check their nonsense at the door. So, here is my challenge to anyone reading this. “Reset”. Take pride in the country you live in. Love your neighbors as yourself. Be the good that this country so desperately needs. Do something nice for someone without acknowledgement or expecting anything in return. Be an example to your children. And if you need encouragement or prayers come find me. I’ll be the one clutching my bible and proudly waving my flag;)