Quick Thoughts on the Fourth - Honor - Granite Grok

Quick Thoughts on the Fourth – Honor

Independence.  Freedom.  Liberty.  Patriots.

Danger.  Rebellion.  Fear.  Excitement.  Determination.

Honor.

The above words that are often said on this Day of Remembrance when those intrepid Patriots that were the Fathers birthing a new nation.  They, of the conviction that their Vision was a new one, a far better one under which a People could live and thrive and be Free, were willing to sacrifice all of what they had – their families, their fortune, and their sacred honor, sacrifice their all for this country.  How many of us, today, would really join that group of intellectual and spiritual Band of Brothers?

July 4th – "…our sacred honor".  Honor – a word that has become abused and  disused the last few decades.  How many of our politicians could really and truthfully say they have led and governed from positions of "honor" as meant by our Founding Fathers?  How many could rightfully say that in each and every vote and in each and every written bill (or even a majority of the time) that they have acted and voted solely based on their principles and not from "the act of the deal"?  How many have consistently put their country ahead of their own careers, pet projects, or their favorite special interests?

VERY few, I’m afraid. 

Why?  Why do they act thusly?  We, those who are governed only by giving our consent, have stopped demanding it. WE have forgotten the true…


… meaning of honor and what it really means – principle, selflessness, and sacrifice are all components.  How much have we seen of that lately – but how little do we expect?  How much even smaller do we demand?

WE, the people who are governed, have failed in OUR responsibility and have thoughtlessly given up the idea of "consent" for "it just is".  Can we, can this Republic, thrive and grow without requiring two attributes?  Can we even long survive as a nation? 

No, we cannot.  But, yes, we can change and hope plays no role in that calculus.  We CAN succeed, we can thrive, we can take up that original mantle laid down by the Founding Fathers but ONLY if we carefully consider something that we have to do and not expect others to do it for us. 

We can no longer outsource our civic duty, we can no longer ignore who makes decisions that govern and regulate our lives.  We can no longer expect democracy to work without self-responsibility and involvement.  We can no longer believe that others will carefully guard our Freedom and Liberty, for truly there are those that will trade that Freedom for their own security and control – without our knowledge nor our consent.  It is no longer a time when we can put Government on auto-pilot and expect it to "just work".

Fourth of July.  A day when we celebrate our Independence with parades, fireworks, and gatherings with family and friends.  Yet, how often do we dare to reflect on what really this day means, the sacrifices willingly given over the centuries, and the honor that it took to stand up for something more than each of us individually?

There is only a single solution – We the People can and HAVE to pick that responsibility up off the ground just as the original Patriots picked up their muskets in the fight for Freedom.

WE, the people, in the Spirit of the original Fourth of July, need to take up the spirit of that original Revolution, those original Tea Partiers, and return to the original ideas of Freedom & Liberty of those political geniuses.  We can no longer rest of the achievements of those long past – as Ronald Reagan reminded us, we are only a single generation away from losing that Freedom.  We must return to the fray for Freedom, for it is never ending.  We do not always fight with guns, but the fight is always against the passions and ideas of those that believe that the concepts of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are passe and need to be replaced.  Progressives believe in every fiber of their being that trading security of the State is a worthwhile tradeoff for individual Freedom.  They must be stopped.

Honor.  Courage.  Conviction. 

Do YOU have the Honor, this day, to change?  To take up the mantle of Patriot, of a Revolutionary, and follow in the steps of those that originally gave us Freedom and Liberty by the sweat of their brow and the blood lost from their veins?  Do you have the belief that "I and *I* alone, can make a difference, that I am called to fight to restore this Country back to the principles of our Founders?

Where is your honor, this day?  

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