antoniusrex

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

--The Preamble to The U.S. Constitution

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--From the Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson, and signed by 56 members of Congress

Most people don't know that I have always considered myself a patriot. A hardcore, heartfelt patriot. I love this country, through right and wrong, through up and down, this is the land that is the home of my birth, my life, and most likely, the land that will cleave me to its bosom when I breathe my last gasps of air.

What does patriotism mean? It means that I will fight for the sanctity and heart of my country, both at home and abroad, through my words, through my actions (and inactions) and by raising my voice to tyranny domestic and abroad. It means that I have the right--no--duty to question those that I, as a voting adult (or non-voting, obstaining adult)put into power as the voice of my country. We, as a republic trust that our leaders will speak for us, and we give them the power and trust to do right by us. And when they do not, we call them on their bull shit. We are *supposed* to call them on their bull shit. That's *our* job as patriots.

A patriot fights for his country. Fights for the right for the country's way of life to continue, to improve that way of life, and to destroy, alter and change those things that do not uphold the idea that we are a land of those who are created equal by their creator (Diety, or big bang) with the inherent right to fight for our existence, to be able to be free and continue that freedom, and to strive to find happiness without robbing those around us of those same rights. We fight to live.

Today is a day where we celebrate the birth of our country, the United States of America. And in that celebration, we must remember not only those who rebelled against a leader who no longer held the best interests of those it ruled. Those men who decided to call bull shit on good King George (wow... deja vu) set precident for the way that we live now. How we should live.

But it is also a day in which we should remember those who not only took the first steps, but those who have fought, died, and continue to fight and die for our freedoms, for our way of life. It is a day to celebrate those who are still fighting here, at home, both for their very lives as the wounded soldiers and for those who fight wrongs as they see them in our government, in our society and on our streets.

Today, we celebrate The Good Fight, the fight against Fear and our constant battle to keep oursleves independent from letting it ruling our lives.

Happy Independence Day.

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"The world has never had a good definition of the word 'liberty.' The American people just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty. But in using the same word, we do not all mean the same thing.

"What constitutes the bulwark of our liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling seacoasts -- these are not our reliance against tyranny. Our reliance is in the love of liberty, which God has planted in our bosom. Our defence is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men in all lands, everywhere. Destroy this spirit and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own door.

"At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow?

"Never.

"All the armies of Europe, Asia and Africa combined, could not, by force, take a drink from the Ohio, or make a track on the Blue Ridge, in a trial of a thousand years. At what point then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer that if it ever reach us, it must spring from amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we ourselves must be the authors and finishers.

"As a nation of free men, we must live through our times or die by suicide. Let reverence for the law be breathed by every American mother to the lisping babe that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in the schools, in the seminaries and in the colleges; let it be written in primers, in spelling books and almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in courts of justice; and in short, let it become the political religion of the nation. And let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly at its altar. And let us strive to deserve, as far as mortals may, the continued care of Divine Providence, trusting that in future national emergencies, He will not fail to provide us the instruments of safety and security.

"Let us not be slandered from our duty by false accusations against us, nor frightened from it by menaces of destruction to the government, nor of dungeons to ourselves.

"Let us have faith that right makes might, and in that faith, let us, to the end, dare to do our duty as we understand it."

--Abraham Lincoln, as spoken in Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln at Disneyland. Words are Lincoln's, as given in various speeches throughout his lifetime.