I've been dwelling on some of the posts today.
I take a long view of history. Our story today is not much different that any other across the centuries. What is different is that God so obviously blessed and gave us a chance. We had in our first president an example unlike any other to follow--he had no children so we weren't dependent on his family line to rule us --we had to figure that out ourselves. The ideas of liberty took hold in a mostly unoccupied and undeveloped land--ideas that have largely had a difficult time flowering in other places with centuries of history.
The history of the United States didn't start with the War of Independence. It began earlier--events in Europe began occuring in the 15th century that culminated in what became the United States...lacking some of those things and the outcome may have been different.
All those self-evident truths and inalienable rights have been safe guarded by the United States. And many were happy to hand them over to someone else to watch. It seemed as if the perfect place had been found. Yet the United States have never been perfect because man is not perfect. So those ideas have been bastardized until we now know those in charge didn't have those ideas at heart and they've convinced so many others that it was all nonsense anyway.
Yes, The United States is "the last, best place on earth" but if that changes those ideas that made this country will reside in the hearts of those who understand that liberty is owned by no one.
So I will fight and teach my children those ideas. Because whether I end my days in a country I recognize or not I will have to answer at judgment day for my actions.
Though I'm no fan of Teddy Roosevelt I read this passage in Charleton Heston's autobiography and it pretty much sums up my attitude and how I've raised my kids:
To the Man in the Arena
It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly...who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
Theodore Roosevelt, 1910
