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Captain-America.US
American Dreams
At the time of this
writing, I'm just waking up to the Fourth of July. I suppose that
puts me in a more patriotic and thoughtful frame of mind than usual.
So, I hope you enjoy my thoughts on this time of year and what America
means to me personally.
I have a lot
of fun memories of this time of year. Back in the 1980's, my town
would be filled with celebration. There would be a hot rod show, a
parade, food vendors, boat races, maybe a few rides, a whole
section of video games and pool tables set out just for the Fourth.
They would block off the road next to the river just for all the
activities. Then that night, a massive fireworks display would
brighten up the sky with the whole county in attendance.
The 1980's
was a great decade to grow up in. Patriotism was at an all time high,
much in part due to our leader at the time, President Ronald Reagan.
He wasn't ashamed to show his love for this country and it seemed to
rub off on everyone else. Even comic book stories seemed to take on
a more patriotic tone, especially Captain America comics. Here's an
example. Below is a segment from What If # 44. The story is
about Captain America being revived twenty years later than he
originally was, to a world where another Captain America has helped
take America down the wrong path. After defeating the fake Cap, he
faces a large crowd and they all begin to sing " For purple
mountains majesty above the fruited plains...America, America, God
shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood from sea
to shining sea!"
No one probably thought anything of it then, but
I'm starting to wonder now. How long before someone would be afraid
to print the words of this song in a comic book or sing it aloud on
a TV show or movie?
A heard a sound byte from Red Skelton that has
probably been quoted many times, especially during the recent controversy
over the Pledge of Allegiance.
"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said that is a prayer, and that would be eliminated from schools, too?"
- Red Skelton Read Listen
to entire segment.
The prophetic nature of this statement is almost
enough to send cold chills down your spine. In America we shouldn't
be ashamed of our heritage or our religion. The Supreme Court ruled
to take the Ten Commandments down in some places if it is
placed there for religious reasons. I really don't see the necessity of
removing religious displays from public places. It's clear that our
founding fathers only wanted to allow the freedom to express
religion and that the government not suppress this right in any way
shape or form. The government's job was only to protect the people's
rights not block any expression whatsoever of free religious speech
from it's halls. How after all can it protect a right or freedom
that it no longer understands itself.
It is my belief that the basic fundamental
principle of the Constitution is that no one be forced to worship. A
display doesn't enforce religious participation, it only encourages
it. It encourages free thought and the exercise of our fundamental
rights. A public prayer doesn't enforce the bowing of the head. It
may make some uncomfortable, but the freedom from the feeling of
being in an uncomfortable situation was not listed in the
Constitution.
There are pushes to halt free speech as well under
the guise of the so-called elimination of "Hate Speech".
This is the most dangerous thing to our liberty to come along since
Adolf and his gang. Pastors and preachers are already being
threatened with jail in other countries because they say aloud their
beliefs in contrast to other religions or by declaring certain acts
sinful. It is one of the greatest fundamental principles of America
to protect free speech whether you agree with it or not.
More liberties are lost slowly over time than
those that are attempted to be taken away immediately by monsters
like Hitler. Americans have to be diligent and never be afraid to
rethink where they are heading. There's no danger in much
thought and discussion, only in the lack thereof.
We are familiar with Patrick Henry the man who said,
"Give me liberty or give me death." I wonder what he would
say if he were alive today. He made some pretty strong statements
back in his time.
"Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is impossible that a nation of infidels or idolaters should be a nation of free men.
It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience are incompatible with
freedom."
- Patrick Henry
"It can not be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!
For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded
asylum, prosperity, and the freedom of worship here. - Patrick Henry
Pretty strong statements don't you think? A guy would get declared
all sorts of bad things for saying that today. But consider this, by
following Patrick Henry's line of reasoning further then that, by
the taking away of our Christian heritage we may more and more be
taking away from the total sum of liberty in general, thereby
leaving a government that resembles more and more a communistic or
fascist state. If you take away the foundations or the very reasons
liberty exists in the first place, what are you left with? Think
about this - How many schools, hospitals, or shelters do you know
opened in the name of atheism?
So how did I get from fireworks and Captain
America comics to potentially divisive political commentary. Well
you see what makes Captain America so fun is putting a face or shape
to our deeply held ideals. A hero who would fight to the death so we
can all express our own opinions. Of course, Cap's ideals are
probably slightly different depending on the writer and no one fan
would see him fighting for the exact same causes, but basically it's
just part of the dream. We Americans love to shout hurray for a hero
even if he's just part of our imagination. Perhaps Cap is just the
imaginary embodiment of the very real heroes who go out there
everyday to protect our freedoms. The soldiers who leave mom and
apple pie behind to face the terrorist threat overseas, the
policemen, firemen, and others who brave the dangers and the worst
society has to breed to protect our way of life.
The question is - Can we continue to hold fast to
our dreams if we stray to far from our very foundations? Is America
pushing God aside, and if so can we hold our heads up as high and
continue to hope and dream without a basic fundamental core of
morality that a belief in God as a nation gives? Did our founding
fathers risk their very lives so we can enjoy Big Macs, major league
baseball, and satellite TV? I don't they would have a problem with
our great prosperity. In fact, it was probably part of their dream,
but they wouldn't have given their lives for just the freedom to
play baseball. I think they risked their lives for greater ideals
than that.
You know some people say our founding fathers
didn't even believe in God. Well you know if our founding
fathers didn't believe in God, they sure did throw His name around a
lot.
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