Happy Birthday America!!!!

Happy 235th Birthday America!!!! 

Thirty-five years ago this week we America's celebrated America's 200th birthday with parades, concerts, picnics, and many other activities. I know, I remember at least  two school productions I was in that spring, and singing in at least one school concert. Red, white & blue were the colors of the day for everyone, whether you were born here or had become a naturalized citizen. Today you will see flags flying, parades, picnics, and people dressed in red, white & blue. 

But are our hearts really in the celebration? Maybe we should remember our past, remember what the flag stands for, remember that NOT all of our soldiers are spending time with their loved ones this day. Many are stationed in places with names we can not pronounce, in places where they are a target because they choose to wear a uniform with an American flag on it. Maybe I am placing too much emphasis on the flag and not enough on what this day truly is about. But our flag, is a symbol, it is a symbol of the country where everyone around the world longs to live. 

Forget about the politicians, bad economy, sky high unemployment rates, oh and yes the deficit for one moment; think about it where else in the world can you display your nationality, you religious beliefs, your body, without being arrested for it? You got it, America. Okay so we have a place called Washington D.C. where the so called rules are made only to be broken by the people who make them. (Yes, I could go on about that forever, however this isn't what this blog is about.) Look around Washington, there are memorials to the men who made this nation great: Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson; and the men and women who served our nation Iwo Jima, Viet Nam, & WWII memorials all inscribed with names of HEROES who gave their life for the flag we proudly call "The Stars & Stripes". 

So today as we celebrate the 4th with cookouts, picnics, parades, fireworks, watermelon, ice cream, popsicles, hot dogs, baseball games, and a host of other activities, take a moment to pray for OUR armed forces who are not with us, but doing their duty. Happy Birthday America, may you live on forever!!!