"The thing that sets the American Christian apart from all other people in the world is that he will die on his feet rather before he will live on his knees."
-George Washington.
It is an easy thing for a husband to step in front of his wife and children in times of extreme danger – that is easily recognized in that split second of it happening. But what about the incrementally slow creep that can go unseen and unrecognized?
Are we still the same people, the same Americans, that will live up to that credo as our forefathers did? Are we willing to value freedom over servitude? The answer from those that are serving, and many that have served, the answer is an unqualified "YES!"; the same from many more who have not doffed the uniform of our military forces as well.
Sadly, many others are quietly saying "no", not understanding that servitude is not merely an aquiescence to a foreign power – it can be a willingness to submit to anything that incrementaly requires an incremental abdication of our responsibilities and of our liberties as idealized by the writers of our founding documents. I am afraid that many in our society have truly forgotten what real freedom is – the willingness to be alone, to stand alone, to rely on oneself. Instead, as government has grown ever larger during the last few decades, the enemies of this philosophy, this singularly American expression of freedom, have not just been those far from our shores but also those from within. That wispy cotton cocoon of the ever enlargening and enveloping government can be one such entity as it portends a slow yielding of one’s spirit of self-resolve and independence to the security "Mommy" of the bureaucracy. The failure is in not recognizing that this siren song, that allure of "don’t worry, we’ll take care of you and your family" is much more costly than any financial consideration meted out in gold. What Faustian compact is it to be protected from all of life’s risk and viccitudes and to have lost that most precious of gifts from our Founding Fathers – individual liberty for an over-reliance on government to provide for every need.
The video that quotes George Washington above can be seen here. It is about 11 minutes long.
The Star Spangled Banner, like you've never heard it
