I would like to conclude our book reading of Simply American by asking for your support for a very important cause. This is not a charity, it does not receive donations, it has no website, nor does it reside in a building; it resides in the hearts of all true Americans. The cause that I speak of is the preservation of the American Spirit.
Now, most people do not think about the American Spirit or if they were asked, most don't even know what it is. The America Spirit was conceived when our founding fathers embraced their highest vision of what our country could be. They formed these ideals so all Americans could have a level playing field in which to pursue happiness and to find fulfillment in life. They knew all humans were created equal, in other words, as living souls, we were give the ability to dream, to think, and to act; BUT that is where equality ends and freedom begins.
Our founding fathers devised a system that recognized our creative potential and thus created an environment which provides freedom for us to express our individual talents and unique differences, and from that system the American Spirit emerged.
The American Spirit is a synthesis of our spiritual values, entrepreneurial aspirations, and patriotic loyalty. Not loyalty so much to a government or to a political party, but to our country, this land from sea to shining sea and to its people.
Freedom is what our founding fathers wanted us to have because America was founded by individuals who wanted to get away from kings, tyrants, and class struggle. Our country stands strong today because of people like my son Noah, who have fought and died for freedom. But in our modern society people are confused about the difference between equality and freedom. Political parties have aligned their ideologies along these lines with freedom being on the right and equality on the left.
Equality would be like a student studying hard to make a 4.0 average while his or her friends were out partying and playing with a 2.0. At the end of the quarter, equality would take a point from the 4.0 student and give it to the 2.0 student so everyone would have a 3.0 average because equality attempts to bring everyone down to the lowest common denominator. The problem is, equality tends to punish the achievers in our society.
Whereas with freedom, we have the opportunity to strive for excellence, to express our unique abilities, and to be rewarded for it. Freedom is the lifeblood of the American Spirit.
If we forget about the true meaning of freedom or if we take it for granted or if we forget about those who defend and protect our freedom, we will surely lose the American Spirit and we will lose our country as we have known it. We cannot let this happen. Please preserve the American Spirit in your heart.
Absolutely American
My speech today is about all of you, those Americans who possess the American Spirit. Over the years, we all have heard the Memorial Day statistics about our fallen heroes and we understand the sacrifice these heroes and their families have made in order to maintain America's freedom. For the most part, this country has always known freedom and individual liberty, thanks to the service of our brave men and women in uniform.
When thinking about a topic on which to speak today, I realized that all the people here honor our veterans and cherish our freedom, and you don't need another speech on the history of the valor and honor of America's finest. But the people out in the world do.
People come into our country and do not understand what has been sacrificed to build this country. They do not understand that we consider ourselves to be Americans first. Whatever culture we are from comes next and not the other way around.
The folks out there need to understand about the lives that have been lost defending our country against enemies both foreign and domestic. They need to understand about the lives of the families that have been forever altered because we stayed behind supporting the home front as we sent our sons and daughters, our husbands and our wives, our brothers and our sisters, our aunts and our uncles, and many of our friends into harm's way so they would defend us against the gathering darkness. They need to know about the blood that has been shed so they can properly understand and appreciate individual liberty.
In America, we have moved from a tribal or cultural mentality to a collective culture of individual souls, and through a constitutional agreement and compliance with the rule of law, we provide security and well-being for all. But we all must be Americans first.
To me, the immigrant who comes to this country and does not think of himself as an American first, is innocent. He is not rejecting the American way of life, often it is quite the contrary; but, for the immigrant to understand patriotism, he must first be educated.
A far more dangerous anti-American mindset that exists out there today was revealed to me in a small news item I happened to catch one day on the internet. The article said that Google had come out with the new calendar program that people use online. It looked like a normal calendar except this calendar did not have Memorial Day or Veteran's Day included. I believe there are many folks out there who live in a virtual world and have forgotten or rejected their national identity.
To me, these people, and many other of the pacifist types refuse to acknowledge the sacrifice it has taken to establish this country and create the American way of life. To me, these people are not innocent because they have consciously chosen to forget, devalue, and in some cases desecrate the memory of my son and all the brave men and women who gave their lives that freedom might live; and this includes the divisive and anti-American remarks made by folks like Rev, Jeremiah Wright.
I got to thinking about and counting how many people live among us who do not think of themselves as Americans. When I considered that the number of American patriots is gradually shrinking while the numbers of "unbelievers" in our country continues to grow, it occurred to me that one day I might be giving a speech entitled, "A Memorial to Our Memorial Day."
But very quickly, from my mind and heart came a resounding "NO WAY! Not on my watch." Now you know the second reason I am here giving a speech today, because as a citizen of this country, I will do what I can.
This has been a long way around the barn, but it finally led me to what I want to speak about today, and that is, the meaning of the events which exist on the American calendar. When I really started to think about it, I realized that our annual journey around the sun is about renewal. Every Spring the earth is renewed, we are renewed, and we all have the freedom to grow in our own unique way.
Our American calendar is about renewal also. Let's start with the date that should be most important, the 4th of July; this is about our patriotic renewal. This is when our hearts are lifted with joy and exuberance for the greatness of this country, "one nation under God;" and about the rule of law that guides us and protects us from the elements of society that do not understand what "for the greater good" means.
Our patriotic renewal should also require a deep appreciation for the security we have which gives us the environment for our creative endeavors. In our beautiful country, we can aspire to be whatever we are capable of being... What a blessing! Hopefully, we are passing on to the younger generation an appreciation and a love for this country.
On our calendar of events, appropriately, the next important holiday is Veteran's Day: a renewal of faith. What an awesome day it is in its symbolism... 11hr, 11day, 11 month, representing the courage and honor of those brave souls who place their precious lives in harm's way to protect us and the American way of life from darkness and despair.
This is a time to honor those brave veterans who have preserved our freedom over these many years. This is a time to have faith that as this war continues with Islamic extremism, our younger generation will step up and fight the good fight. It is only by the continued service and sacrifice of these brave military personnel that we are allowed to celelbrate our next holiday on the calendar, Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving is a time for family and cultural renewal: this is a unique holiday, a time of joy and exuberance, mixed with the sounds of minor bickering, shouting kids, and followed later in the day with alka-seltzer. This is truly a special time to remember how lonely we would be without one another. It is my firm belief that we all love one another more than we are able to fully comprehend or express.
Thanksgiving is for appreciating the freedom that allows for us to gather, to express ourselves openly, and to display our cultural uniqueness without fear of persecution. Our American families are the building blocks that establish the foundation upon which this country is built. We truly have so much to be thankful for.
Next on our American calendar is the holiday we celebrate today, Memorial Day: this is a time of spiritual renewal. This is the time when we look to the heavens and see our sons and daughters, our husbands and wives, our brothers and sisters, our aunts and uncles, and our many friends looking down on us. We know that their light and love shine down encouragement and hope upon us. It is a time to remember that we are "one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all."
This is the day when, by common consent, we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it. Since 1868, we have come together in our communities, towns, and villages, to place flowers and flags on the graves of those who have given their last full measure of devotion to our country.
Memorial Day represents a day of national awareness and reverence, honoring those Americans who died defending our Nation and its values. And while we should honor these heroes everyday for the profound contribution they have made securing our Nation's freedom, we should honor them most especially on this day.
Memorial Day solemnly reaffirms from year to year a national act of faith, determination, and will of the American people. It embodies in the most impressive form our belief that to act with strength, courage, and faith is the condition for acting with greatness.
As I said earlier, the condition of the American family is the condition of our country, just as the health of our individual cells determines the health of our bodies. I can remember when there was a time in our family discussions to talk about our country, "the land of the free and the home of the brave" and that patriotic spirit would be passed along to young and enthusiastic listeners.
Today our families are bombarded with the distractions of modern life: 24/7 media coverage, internet, cell phones, games, cable TV, and the constant challenge and pressure of living. If we consider all the things Americans do in this modern life, with all the gadgets, and all of these distractions, we are living a life style that tends to make us self-centered, self-indulgent, and materialistic. It is hard to deny this when we see the popularity and Hollywood mentality of shows like "Orange County Housewives."
Here's the problem folks: it is only in the American family that the spirit of America lives. We are in it and it is in us. When we start to count how many people live among us who do not think of themselves as Americans, and we add to that batch, all the families who have never learned to love this country, and all the families who have gotten so busy that they have forgotten about patriotism and all the self-centered people who don't want to be bothered, it doesn't leave very many people.
Yet, everyone who lives here benefits daily from the American way of life, but they do not contribute to the American spirit. In the case of the American spirit, the few carry and support the many. I can't say at what point the patriot support will crumble and fall or be marginalized by the vast numbers of people who don't care about America.
It seems that for many people, the only way they can truly appreciate their freedom is if it were taken from them. There is a story I tell to young people about a fish swimming in the ocean. Now imagine that we go up to this fish and say, "Hey, Mr. Fish, how's the water?" The fish looks at us with a puzzled expression and says, "What water?" We lift him out of the water and into the fresh air and then drop him back in and he says, "Oh, the water is fine." This is what freedom is like for many people... they live, they move, and they have their being in freedom everyday but they don't even recognize it or think about it or appreciate it. For them, freedom is like air; they just expect it to always be there.
If we do not pass on to the younger generation an understanding and appreciation for the principles upon which America was founded, we might eventually lose our country. America could end up slowly sinking, and that is the stated goal of our enemies.
To me, as I look to the future, I want to serve the spirit of America. I want to know the spiritual intent of our founding fathers ad understand the values and principles they used to construct the Constitution. They knew the value of personal freedom and felt that humans were endowed by God with certain rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
But God did not give us freedom so we could shop more, eat more, watch more TV, or play more games. If you believe in the great documents upon which this nation was founded, we are in this life to brighten our souls, to develop our talents, and to live a life that matters, just like my son Noah did.
We can learn a lesson from Noah about being a servant leader for our family, friends, community, and country. A servant leader is one who takes full responsibility for his or her life and who directs their energy toward a cause, purpose, or service that will benefit others.
This is the kind of service that for a time causes us to stop thinking about ourselves and our individual desires. It causes us to think about the greater good of all people, about the blessings of freedom, and about the greatness of our country. It is this kind of selfless service that has built America and created the spirit of America. We are not perfect, but we are the best and most free nation on the planet today.
True service is living a life that matters by caring for others and doing what we can to improve everything around us in some small way...every day...for the rest of our lives. God smiles upon that, and personally, I feel that we need to do as much as possible to have God smile down upon this wonderful country and upon those American citizens who are upholding the true values of this country.
Goodness, truth, courage, light, dedication, and service, these are the characteristics of the American spirit because these are the characteristics of the American people who uphold this spirit. My message today is that we Americans must not lose our identity or we will lose our country. We must not allow for the American spirit to be overrun, to be marginalized, to be forgotten, or to die. As American citizens we must do what we can to keep the spirit of America alive!
