My son and grandson called last week to ask me what the meaning of the song "American Pie" by Don McClean meant. That inspired me to republish this little article I wrote back in 2009, in a time when it seemed the world was turned upside down. It has gone so much farther than that since then, that I felt it timely to post this again. Take some time to listen to American Pie, the prophetical song, by Don McClean. And then read on.
On Building Patriots
What picture comes to mind when you picture a Patriot? Does your mind conjure up pictures of men
marching carrying the Flag? Do your
thoughts turn to the pictures we have seen of our soldiers coming home from
Iraq? Is the only thought you have of a
Patriot that of someone wearing a uniform and shouldering their duty off to
war? What about the picture of a woman
standing at a machine in her house dress, taking the place of her husband, so he
could go off to fight? How about images
of teachers who stand up for what is right and have their careers crucified
because of it? How about that single
mother struggling to feed, clothe and educate her brood, rather than going on
welfare? Or a father teaching his
children to say the pledge of allegiance with “One Nation under God” reverently
spoken?
Growing up in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, being a patriot was
not something that was talked about much.
It was something that most of us thought little about, sort of like
breathing or sleeping. It had somehow
been instilled in us by some unseen hand.
Doing what was right was the thing that most people strove for, however,
when it came to service to their country, the only thing that was considered
patriotic was serving in the military. Perhaps, to some extent, that is still
the case. However, I wish to present an
answer to these questions that perhaps you have never thought of. What if being a Patriot only means loving
your country and living what is right before your family and your community?
Ah, but you may say that being a Patriot requires
sacrifice. Yes, that is true, however,
who has sacrificed more than one of us who has worked 50 years at the same
thankless job, but managed to pay his debt, raise his children to be good
citizens and stewards of our land, without notice and without thanks? What of the grandparent raising their
grandchild with old fashioned, family values, to be a man of his word, and of
honor? Yes, Sacrifice is a requirement
of being a patriot, but there is more.
Being a patriot requires not only loving your country, but
your fellow citizens, and doing what is right not just for yourself, but also
for others. This is not always an easy
thing to do, since many of our citizens have turned aside from the values that
made this nation great. Many of our
elected officials either never had these values or have forsaken them long ago
to pursue the very opposite of being a Patriot, that of being traitors. Values like honor and integrity,
selflessness and prudence are often misconstrued by some of us, or perhaps
these values mean nothing at all. It was
not always so. America was a strong
country, full of love for each other, and concern for our fellow man, not only
here but also in the entire world. We
were a country of people who fed the hungry, housed the homeless, fought for
those living under tyranny, and died for the freedom of all who longed for it.
We gave of ourselves, not only to our fellow citizens, but also to the
world.
How did this all start, this downhill slide from our core
values? Well, for one, I believe it
started with each and every one of us, when we chose to let actions that were
selfish take hold and set selfishness up on a pedestal to worship it. Those of us who did not participate, turned a
blind eye and went on our way, married to our lifestyles. We pronounced that the new wealth was getting
what you cannot afford with what you did not have, and keeping it all to
yourself. When things were bad, we chose
to shop, rather than to give to someone in need. But there is something far worse that we did,
that is at the root of all of this.
Our country caved in on itself, simply because we were not
watching as our principles and values slipped away. And that all started at home, when we began
choosing to have our children read to by tape recorders and radios, rather than
spending the time with them to read, and tell stories. We parked our children in front of the TV and
allowed the commentators, game show hosts, and Barney the dinosaur to baby-sit
our children, rather than take them to the park or play games with them. We allowed the schools to teach our children
who God was or wasn’t, and turned over the most important aspect of their lives
to school boards who do not know us or what we believe, and do not care about
our children. We abandoned our children
to technology and people who we do not know.
There was a man back during the great depression named Vash
Young, who became highly popular because of what he taught. That being that our greatest wealth lies in
what we give, not what we get.
He touted the man who would give his brother a hand up as
the wealthiest on earth. That used to be
the picture of America. Now it is
gravely different.
We drive past the homeless and are afraid to talk to them,
much less give them a hand up. Our children see us, and believe that everyone
that is homeless is bad. We live next
door to people who are spiritually and financially bereft and we cannot even
give them a word of encouragement. Our
children see how we relate to others and disconnect themselves from their
communities. We watch the old and frail,
buying their $40.00 a month worth of groceries, and cannot even pitch in $2.89
to buy them some milk. Our children see
us, and learn that people who are struggling are not valuable. We rush them off to bed so that we can have
our “quiet” time, without kisses without hugs, without prayers. Worse yet, we find it impossible to take time
for other children who come into our lives because of a lack of parental
guidance, telling ourselves we are protecting our own from bad influence,
rather than involving ourselves with
them to make a difference in their lives.
Our children see us, and learn that they too, as children, have limited
value in this world.
And many have grown up not knowing what values are needed in
their lives to succeed. Some of them may
be able to make vast amounts of money, but squander it on foolish things. Some of them might become leaders with great
power and no greatness in them to handle that power. Some of them may become the ones who are
tossed away under bridges. Some of them
may live in poverty, spiritual and financial, all of their lives because we
never gave them a chance for a different life.
In short, the real wealth of our lives, our children have been led
astray by our own foolishness and lack of interest.
But not all of our children, not all. There are those
parents out there who still hold honor, integrity, love and all of the things
important to life, with strength, and teach them to their children. There are
those who know that our future lies in those tiny hands. There are those who understand that in order
for this country to survive, we must raise up to ourselves those individuals
who will lead our nation through trying times, and back to greatness. Those people are patriots. They do what they do for love of their
children. This is at the core of
patriotism, love for our God, our families, our freedom, and love for one
another.
Some may say it is too late to turn this thing around. Some say, and I agree that we have hard times
coming upon us and wonder how we will survive.
I say it will take a band of Patriots to turn this thing around. People who are willing to speak up against
what is wrong, live what is right, and stand in the face of the enemy that we
have become to ourselves. It is not too
late. We all have it in us to spend a
little time with someone who is sick, take care of someone who is old, and read
a book to a child once a week. It will
take little sacrifice, but it will take sacrifice.
Do you love your children?
Do you love your fellow man? Do
you honor the sacrifices that were made so we could be free? I believe most of you do. Now the crisis is upon us, now is the time to
give of ourselves for our country. Stand
up, speak what is right, do what is right, and let your children see it and be
involved in it. You will be building a
nation of Patriots.
