Proud to Be an American
This Memorial Day, celebrations will be a bit more reserved than they have been in the last 49 years since the holiday’s inception, but the feelings and reason for remembrance have never been greater.
Lee Greenwood, in his song, “God Bless the USA,” hits a chord of positive patriotism as he sings:
And I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free…
Looking over America’s recent history, our desire to be free has been a costly one, not only in dollars, but lives. We Americans are a tough and resilient lot, formed from the offspring of many countries throughout the world. A brief look back at how we got here is as important as why we got here. Lee’s words “I’m proud to be an American” are not new and were first felt and penned many years ago.
Written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was conceived and written to give us freedom from the suppression of the British Empire. Eleven years later, during the summer of 1787 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jefferson again (with 11 other founding fathers) penned: “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union”… and the Constitution of the United States of America was created. The Constitution was designed to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility for the colonies, but, most important, to secure the “blessings of liberty” and freedom for ourselves and future generations.
Freedom is not free. And the concept that all men are created equal finally hit a boiling point and divided our great nation on April 12, 1861, as the Civil War broke out between the North and the South over the enslavement of black people. War painfully raged on for four long years until Ulysses Grant surrendered to the North on April 9, 1865, after 620,000 soldiers lost their lives, each fighting for their sides of freedom.
In May, 1868, General John Logan - commander-in-chief of the Union veteran group, the Grand Army of the Republic - decreed a nationwide holiday on May 30th to commemorate these fallen soldiers of the Civil War. He went on to name the day “Decoration Day” because he felt Americans should lay flowers and decorate the graves of fallen soldiers. Interestingly, Logan chose May 30th because it was a rare day that didn’t fall on the anniversary of a Civil War battle. It wasn’t until 1971 - with America deeply embroiled in the Vietnam War - that this day of remembrance was expanded to include those killed in any war. At this point, the holiday’s name was changed to Memorial Day.
Lee Greenwood goes on in his song… to thank his “lucky stars to be living here today.”
I feel we need to thank all the brave men and woman who fought in two world wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East, and smaller arenas today. These are the individuals who paid the ultimate price for our precious freedom!
I differ with Lee in his song when he writes, “the flag stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.”
If we don’t pay attention to our government and the policies being made, vote properly when given the chance, and get off the couch and stand up for our freedom, I feel it not only can, but will be taken away!
Since the Civil War, we have been spared bloodshed on our own soil defending our freedom. But it was not too long ago that we failed to stop three planes that were hellbent on destroying our freedom and that, I feel, was a wake-up call!
Today, we are battling a virus that has significantly reduced our freedom, and many lives have been lost due to poor preparation and oversights. We are a great country founded on the courage and passion of skilled laborers - guided through the creative visions of the likes of Carnegie, Steinbrenner, and Ford - and we made trains, ships and cars. Today, we struggle to make masks and PPEs! We need to bring manufacturing back to this country and develop the infrastructure on this side of the pond that was once at the root of our greatness.
We need to show by example to our children that our veterans fought for our freedom to live the way we want and to be successful in what we do because of a strong work ethic and moral responsibility.
I personally take my hat off and thank God for our veterans who gave a damn when it was needed and pray for eternal peace for those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
I’d like to close with Lee’s ending to his song that says it best:
And I won't forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me
'Cause there ain't no doubt
I love this land
God Bless the U.S.A.
From all of us at Pfister Orthodontics, have a happy and healthy Memorial day!
- Dr. P