America the Strong!
America the Proud!
Where did this country with a flag that has stripes that represent the blood of the fallen go? Where did it come from? It was built on the hard work of great men and women. Men like my grandfather who left high school early and lied about their age to enlist, so that they could go fight for it. This country invested so much of itself into World War II that it went bankrupt for a time. Perhaps you have heard of it, the great depression. After it was over, and we had annihilated our enemies, what did we do? Did we move into Japan and teach them how to police themselves? Did we go to Germany and teach them the finer points of democracy? Hell no we did not! We jumped on the global market as one of the only remaining super powers with an intact industrial structure and got ourselves established.
In those days returning from war, having served one’s country was a badge of honor to be worn proudly. What badges of honor do our youth strive for now? The media glamorizes men wearing oversized jewelry. It is now socially acceptable, even expected, for successful business men to have their nails manicured! How about famous people being proud of being on welfare? Anyone remember when “Ol Dirty Bastard” (ODB) went to collect his welfare check in a limousine? They shot that live and plastered it all over MTV. Why the only thing classier than that would have to be the glorification of being a drug addict and advocating date rape, SURELY no one in this great country would get rich and famous from that, unless your name happens to be Marshall Mathers. If that happens to be the case your career might just net you 13 Grammy awards and enough money to buy your own record label. Even land a sponsorship for a car manufacturer in your hometown to be played during the Super Bowl.
Well the media is just a show, right? All that stuff is pretend you say? Let’s talk about something more real and current. You may remember Terry Jones, a minister from Gainesville, Florida. Terry wanted to burn a stack of copies of the Koran to commemorate the anniversary of 9-11. Certainly, in a country that endorses individuals who rap about illicit drug use and murdering your daughter’s mother would be okay with something like this. It is constitutionally safe to burn the flag as a symbol of protest, why not some books? Terry Jones was crucified in the public media. Terry even received several calls from White House staff and a four star general in our great army, warning him that his actions would put our troops “in harm’s way.” I’m sorry, I thought that driving a Humvee over an improvised explosive device was deadly whether your enemy was angry with you or if they were happy with your country’s stance on religious tolerance.
Now before you go out and boot up your copy of Word to write to me in all capital letters, indented and in 56 pt. font, I would like you to consider the following; what exactly would our nation’s response be to a National Bible Burning day in Iraq or Afghanistan?
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