By: Marc Kelley This week we will celebrate the 246th year of our independence. In 2022 it seems more important than ever to understand why we celebrate July 4th and to share with our children the path America has taken to get to the place where we stand today. America fought the War for Independence in response to not only real but perceived injustices brought about by the heavy hand of tyranny. Fighting this fight, instilled in every American the idea Freedom and Liberty are just and noble causes worthy of defense if we as a nation are to survive. America has seen many changes to its political landscape. We have argued many times over the course our nation should take, we have taken up arms against our own brothers and sisters, countless numbers of our son’s and daughter’s have died on foreign soil, and we have lost great leaders both spiritual and political to the forces of evil and hate. Our path has taken many twists and turns, and yet we remain united as one country and together as one people. America has endured many hardships and our people have both flourished and suffered, as we traveled the sands of time. With the recent rulings coming from the Supreme Court, America is once again changing its path and our people will once again be asked to decide, what kind of America do we choose to live in and is the struggle for freedom and liberty worth the end results? |
| America has seen many such paradigm shifts over the past 246 years, and once again we are witnessing a sweeping change in political ideology. The political spectrum is oftentimes described as a pendulum that swings back and forth, losing momentum as it reaches one extreme, pausing, then once again reversing course and building momentum as it crashes back in the opposite direction. Such is the nature of a system designed from the onset as a vehicle for finding compromise within confrontational groups minds. Regardless of your positions on the latest Supreme Court rulings it is undeniable, America is once again on the move, driven by a change in the political winds provided by We the People. |
 Many of you may not remember the time in which each school day began with the students reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. This American tradition has faded away, labeled as racist by a liberal, America hating academia, hell bent on turning our children into political activists. No longer does academia encourage free and open speech; but rather, teachers have come to see their goal as not teaching our children how to think, but rather what to think. It is far too easy to simply bash the America hating, self-proclaimed elites who worry not about raising a child to be respectful and loving of their country; but rather, choose to remain disconnected from reality hiding in their gated communities and protected by their 24/7 armed security. So instead of taking the easy way out, let us use this 4th of July Holiday to teach our children about America and why things change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. |
| The Pledge of Allegiance was written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy in the time period known as “The Great Awakening.” As a believer of the “Social Gospel Movement”, Bellamy believed what America needed most was “social justice” and set out to address such issues as: income inequality, high crime rates, racial tensions, and a failing school system. America had suffered a Civil War and was struggling to find a way to bring our people together, and to instill a sense of national pride in the children who had suffered at the hand of egocentric politician’s driven by partisan ideology and a profound lack of empathy for others. The original Pledge of Allegiance text was first published in a children’s magazine known as “The Youth’s Companion”, and read… “I pledge allegiance to my Flag and for the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” In 1923, following the end of WW I and the war to end all wars, a national sense of pride was sweeping across America. In response, the words to the pledge were amended to read… “ I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” Once again in 1954 in the height of the Cold War and the perceived threats of the “Godless Communist’s”, then President Dwight D. Eisenhower, asked Congress to make a formal change to the wording of the pledge which would now read as we know it today… “ I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” As strange as it may seem in 2022, Congress actually took the time to see things through the eyes of proud, God fearing Americans, and passed HJ Res. 243, which on June 14, 1954 was signed into law by President Eisenhower. The date June 14, was chosen to commemorate and honor the June 14, 1777 adoption of the Stars and Stripes as the official flag of the United States, and formalize what we have come to know as “Flag Day.” |
| In the late 1950’s and early 60’s schools began a fundamental shift in what we had always taught our children. History and more specifically, Civics was now considered “ inadequate” by the academic elite, largely because they believed the teaching promoted what they termed as “blind patriotism.” What replaced this curriculum is now referred to as the “new social studies movement.” Academia began pushing their “woke ideology” by telling parents their children required an interdisciplinary approach to better comprehend the complex social changes of desegregation of schools and political protests. This indoctrination is largely responsible for the violence sweeping across our country today. In 2020, following the killing of George Floyd many leftists rioted in the streets, burned their own neighborhoods to the ground, called for the removal of our monuments, protested against our institution’s, and outwardly stated “America was never that great”. Feeling empowered by the lack of interest shown by our Department of Justice, these very actions carried out by several fringe group’s, set into motion the winds of political change. One by one we have seen these bad actors fall from grace, crushed by their own words and actions. Yet, and as if it never happened, a corrupt media ignores reality and begins to chase the next shiny object which crosses their path. |
| Imagine if you will our founding Fathers debating the laws which would come to govern our newly formed Republic. Surly among the questions asked and topic’s argued, was the basic question…when is a government too powerful? The answer to this question can be found in what we now call the Concept of Federalism. The goal’s of federalism, while on the surface, are not difficult to grasp; yet, they are sadly unknown to many in 2022. Federalism is no longer taught in our schools because the concept in and of itself teaches, personal liberties are safeguarded through the existence of the three co-equal branches of our government, ensuring no one branch or group has the power to dominate the will of the people. It is undeniable the makeup of today’s Supreme Court represents conservative ideology. Yet history teaches us, if we will only look, the pendulum which we call political ideology is driven by the winds of political change and the voices of the American people. This reality provides the motivation to work on and improve the system, rather than burning it to the ground. For decades, the left has been trying to rewrite history to fit their narrative, and in doing so has told one lie after another. Regardless of how loud the liberals scream, America is not a democracy to be ruled over by a mob mentality, America is a Republic and the only question remaining is…can we keep it? |
