Where Are We Going?

For as long as I can remember I have believed that there are certain things that hold us together as a country, and as a united people. My “list” of these things may differ from some of yours either in order or content but, I imagine, some of my points will mirror yours to some extent. If you feel I am way off, please let me know, that’s what the comment section it there for.

My list is God, family, country, rule of law. 

God: I put God first because he is first with me in everything I do. I do not insist anyone agree with me. I have many close friends who don’t. I believe we are on earth to earn our way into heaven, and if God is not first in our life, that will be much more difficult.

As a young man in my 20’s I remember telling a friend that I could easily go into a gangster lifestyle and grab some of that “easy money” if I didn’t fear God. I explained that I felt I could beat the law and, if the law were to get the better of me once or twice, I could do my time and get right back to it. Mind you, I was in my 20’s. In my mind I was 6 feet tall and bullet proof. I know now that I was only right about the height.

Family: I came from a good, supportive, family. I would not do anything to bring disgrace to them. As a child I feared the punishment, as an adult I feared letting down the people who loved me and would gladly give to me until the had nothing left. My mother died after my father and had plenty of money left when she passed, but we could not get her to go on vacations with her friends, who often invited her. She wanted to save her money for visits to her children and for an inheritance for us. 

Country: As a child, I remember sitting in history class and listening to the tales of the brave men and women who founded this country. They fought knowing they faced being hung as traitors, death on the battlefield, imprisonment and/or loss of all assets if they pursued their dreams of liberty. They were the first to have this dream and act on it successfully. I have heard that the history of the US currently taught in our schools is not as favorable. I accept that what I was taught could have been more evenly balanced, but I have been told that many current teachers are stressing the negatives to such a point that our younger “citizens” have little respect for the country that has given them so much.

I am nearing the end of an 800+ page biography of George Washington written by Ron Chernov appropriately titled, “Washington”. Near the middle of the book Chernov expounds on the early stages of our government, after we had won our independence. He documents that when the founding fathers were dealing with the Constitutional Convention public interest was high and delegates were regularly stopped on the street and asked for updates. In one such instance a woman stopped Benjamin Franklin and asked, “What do we have?” Franklin’s reply was, “A republic. If you can keep it.” I now wonder, can we?

I recently had the opportunity to watch Ronald Reagan’s speech at the 1964 Republican National Convention. One story he told was of a Cuban refugee who met two of Reagan’s friends on the street. The Cuban spoke of the wonders of America and how he loved it and risked death to get here. One American, upon hearing this, said to the other, “We don’t know how good we have it here.” The refugee interjected, “You don’t know how good you have it? You don’t know how good I had it! I had a place to come to!” 

That is my view of America. We have a republic worth dying for, and worth risking death to get to.

If America is just a country with no history. No heroes. No Pilgrims or Mayflower. No first Thanksgiving. No Valley Forge, National Anthem (without kneeling) Appomattox, Henry Ford, Kitty Hawk, Teddy Roosevelt, Women’s Rights Movement, WWI, Pearl Harbor, WWII, It’s A Wonderful Life, JFK, The Space Race, Viet Nam, Viet Nam Protests, National Anthem (with kneeling). All of these things and more, to me, make America. I love this country. I love what it offers, I love that we can protest our faults, I love that we have the right to openly ask for improvements. 

Rule of Law: My belief in God was my main thrust towards a life of crime prevention. The other influence was logical thinking.

As a child I did not have much.  My parents both worked (An oddity for the 1960’s). We lived in a middle class neighborhood but, we were lower middle class. Our home was a modest 2 bedroom ranch where my parents raised 6 kids. My dad turned the designed walk through dining room into the “boys room.” Later he finished the basement and turned that into one or two bedrooms (depending on the need at the time). My friend Scotty had a motorized car and a “Stingray” bicycle while I had a hand me down bike. We got “goodwill boxes” from relatives. I remember when the Beatles broke onto the scene. My cousin Mark had gotten Beatle Boots (Pointed toes, tops covered the ankles). They were a size too big for me when I inherited them, and they weren’t what the suburbanites were wearing, but I wore them for awhile. I think a brother or sister heard me getting teased and told my mother it was time for new shoes. 

I say all this only to point out that. as a child, I was tempted to go over the line and “procure” items for which I could not provide receipts. My reasons for not doing so were that God was watching me. I felt that I could get away with grabbing things, but I didn’t want someone grabbing my things, logical? Even as a child, I knew law and order were necessary.

This leads me to a worry I would like to share and ask your opinion about.

Where do you think we are going now?

God and The Ten Commandments are  being forced out of courthouses, capitol buildings etc. even though about 70% of the population still professes to be Christian. We are overly concerned about not offending some communities, gay, lesbian, trans while we are attacking other communities. Christian beliefs are targeted or ignored with laws demanding tax funded abortions and medical plans that “MUST” include birth control coverage- even The Little Sisters of the Poor (A congregation of Catholic Nuns) had to go to court and fight for the “right” not to be forced to pay for contraceptive coverage (A practice contrary to Catholic teaching). Does this sound like the land of the free?

The nuclear family has been attacked directly by groups such as BLM. It is also attacked subliminally in commercials and TV shows where the gay/transgendered community is represented in much greater numbers than they actually represent, while, typically, the father in a nuclear family is a bumbling idiot.

I’m concerned about reported “peaceful” protests in which buildings are burned, people are injured, looting is rampant and police orders to disperse are ignored. I have seen TV news people standing in front of large buildings that are fully engulfed in flame explaining how the demonstrations are “mostly peaceful.” That’s almost like saying, “Mrs. Lincoln, besides that how did you enjoy the play?” Which used to be a joke, but is now reality.

I am scared to death of “Defund The Police” movements. Beyond being crazy talk there have been actual bills to defund the police that have passed in major cities. I have heard politicians speaking seriously about sending social workers in place of police to calls involving mental health issues. Mental Health calls are some of the most dangerous I have answered. They can, and often do, go from cordial to all out attack on police and paramedics in that blink of an eye.

I have, on more than one occasion, been present on calls with people who have calmly explained to me that the voices in their heads have told them to attack, therefore, it’s not their fault. I was out with an autistic patient who calmly talked to me for five minutes and then ran towards his mother screaming that he was going to kill her. After she was removed from the area the subject was calm again. When he ran towards his mother it took two police officers and a paramedic to restrain him. A lone social worker would have been, at best, a casualty. A worst case scenario would have been both the mother and social worker killed.

I believe the church, the family, the constitution and police are what preserve our freedoms. These entities give us strength along with a form and function of liberty. I see these being attacked on a regular basis. It seems to me, as a whole, we have become numb to the slow erosion of patriotism, religion and the nuclear family. History tells us that prior to taking freedoms governments have first attacked the church and the family.

These institutions are now being minimalized in our modern society. Could all religious services ever be cancelled without resistance? It was ordered in March and we (In Illinois) are just being allowed back in churches now (with many restrictions), however, protesting is not only allowed, but encouraged. What about our history? We will always stand for America, Right? Currently there are riots in the streets in which statues of our heroes are being pulled down, churches police buildings are being burnt. Very scary to me!

Well, if our freedoms were threatened we would revolt! Have you heard any of the political speeches calling for restrictions on firearms? How do you think sticks and rocks will do against an army?

Oh well, I guess it could never happen here, could it?

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