In an attempt to promote the Independence Day Tea Party I posted a short invitation on an Internet forum dedicated to Lincoln County, NC. I received the following reply from an anonymous respondent:
“Sorry, I was so busy that day and could not attend. I have a family, and a life to live and enjoy. Due the real purpose of the 4th of July Celebration, I can do that. Unlike your fan club of supporters, it has nothing to do with the real meaning of Independence Day.”
Really? Actually, you've missed the entire point. Everything in your post points to you. "I" was too busy. "I" could not attend. "I" have a family. "I" have a life to live. You have 364 days to do exactly what you want to do, thanks to what the Founding Fathers accomplished in Philadelphia in 1776 and on through Yorktown in 1781. Yet you can't spare a few minutes to take a stand for liberty, if indeed you understand the term?
You, and others like you, may someday find that you have “zero” days to do what you want to do, and no private property or wealth to do it on or with.
Just so you'll know, here's what a guy like me did on Independence Day. A guy who--you apparently believe--has neither a life nor a purpose, and therefore plenty of time to “waste” on such an event.
I spent nearly three hours at my church, at a project I helped create, praying to Almighty God for the present and future condition of America. Or, if you prefer, I prayed to He whom Thomas Jefferson referred to as “Our Creator.” I asked His divine guidance, that we will shun dependence on government, defined as the odd view that freedom means the opportunity to appoint rulers who will take from one American the fruits of their labor and grant them to another. I asked that He will grant Americans the spirit of liberty that burned so brightly in our Founders.
With that task complete I went to a small cemetery at the intersection of Brevard Place Road and Old Plank Road in eastern Lincoln County. Major General Joseph Graham is buried there. He served the Colonial Army during the American Revolution and was wounded in battle near Charlotte, NC in defense of the “grounds first consecrated by the glorious Declaration of American Independence.” Those words, barely legible 173 years after his death in 1836, are engraved on his stone.
I don’t know that God allows knowledge of such things in His glorious kingdom. But in case He does, I think I can spare a few minutes of my time to remember what Major General Graham did to establish this nation. If, in his eternal rest, Gen. Graham is allowed some degree of satisfaction in one obscure man’s remembrance it is certainly no waste of my time.
After visiting the General--and offering an apology for what an apathetic, selfish people have done with what he fought to attain--I went to the Charlotte Tea Party. While there I spoke to several people who are interested in returning America to its Constitutional principles. I agreed with some, debated with others and discovered both strength and flaw in the purpose, which is to be expected with anything touched by man’s hand. What we do will never be perfect.
Overall, the mood at the Tea Party was somewhat subdued, perhaps more so that I would have liked. A little more revolutionary spirit would’ve been welcome. But above all the crowd was quite respectful. I saw no vulgar slogans on T-shirts and heard little profanity. What did occur was tame compared to what you’ll hear on Comedy Central. The participants didn’t trash the park. There were no drunks in evidence and I saw no one hauled away in handcuffs, which is par for the course at a Leftist oriented rally.
After leaving the Tea Party I still found time to go swimming with my boys and have my family over for barbeque.
Yes, I think I have a pretty fair understanding of Independence Day. I realize that it isn’t all about me, just as I realize that other American holidays aren’t about me. Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Pearl Harbor Day, Thanksgiving Day; they aren’t about me. Christmas and Easter surely aren’t about me.
Independence Day is about a group of people determined to be free from tyranny. In that pursuit they declared independence from the mightiest empire that existed in their world. They fought in faith and valor and established a new direction for mankind. One in which a citizen has the expressed right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
If I can’t surrender a few hours of my time to reinforce those principles, even in some small way, then I have no one to blame but myself when I watch those principles continue to decline.
From your comment I doubt that you have an understanding of liberty, or the purpose for which America was born. May the God of our Creation instill in you the message of freedom and independence He placed in our Founding Fathers. Indeed may He instill that message in all of us, before it’s too late.
“Sorry, I was so busy that day and could not attend. I have a family, and a life to live and enjoy. Due the real purpose of the 4th of July Celebration, I can do that. Unlike your fan club of supporters, it has nothing to do with the real meaning of Independence Day.”
Really? Actually, you've missed the entire point. Everything in your post points to you. "I" was too busy. "I" could not attend. "I" have a family. "I" have a life to live. You have 364 days to do exactly what you want to do, thanks to what the Founding Fathers accomplished in Philadelphia in 1776 and on through Yorktown in 1781. Yet you can't spare a few minutes to take a stand for liberty, if indeed you understand the term?
You, and others like you, may someday find that you have “zero” days to do what you want to do, and no private property or wealth to do it on or with.
Just so you'll know, here's what a guy like me did on Independence Day. A guy who--you apparently believe--has neither a life nor a purpose, and therefore plenty of time to “waste” on such an event.
I spent nearly three hours at my church, at a project I helped create, praying to Almighty God for the present and future condition of America. Or, if you prefer, I prayed to He whom Thomas Jefferson referred to as “Our Creator.” I asked His divine guidance, that we will shun dependence on government, defined as the odd view that freedom means the opportunity to appoint rulers who will take from one American the fruits of their labor and grant them to another. I asked that He will grant Americans the spirit of liberty that burned so brightly in our Founders.
With that task complete I went to a small cemetery at the intersection of Brevard Place Road and Old Plank Road in eastern Lincoln County. Major General Joseph Graham is buried there. He served the Colonial Army during the American Revolution and was wounded in battle near Charlotte, NC in defense of the “grounds first consecrated by the glorious Declaration of American Independence.” Those words, barely legible 173 years after his death in 1836, are engraved on his stone.
I don’t know that God allows knowledge of such things in His glorious kingdom. But in case He does, I think I can spare a few minutes of my time to remember what Major General Graham did to establish this nation. If, in his eternal rest, Gen. Graham is allowed some degree of satisfaction in one obscure man’s remembrance it is certainly no waste of my time.
After visiting the General--and offering an apology for what an apathetic, selfish people have done with what he fought to attain--I went to the Charlotte Tea Party. While there I spoke to several people who are interested in returning America to its Constitutional principles. I agreed with some, debated with others and discovered both strength and flaw in the purpose, which is to be expected with anything touched by man’s hand. What we do will never be perfect.
Overall, the mood at the Tea Party was somewhat subdued, perhaps more so that I would have liked. A little more revolutionary spirit would’ve been welcome. But above all the crowd was quite respectful. I saw no vulgar slogans on T-shirts and heard little profanity. What did occur was tame compared to what you’ll hear on Comedy Central. The participants didn’t trash the park. There were no drunks in evidence and I saw no one hauled away in handcuffs, which is par for the course at a Leftist oriented rally.
After leaving the Tea Party I still found time to go swimming with my boys and have my family over for barbeque.
Yes, I think I have a pretty fair understanding of Independence Day. I realize that it isn’t all about me, just as I realize that other American holidays aren’t about me. Veteran’s Day, Memorial Day, Pearl Harbor Day, Thanksgiving Day; they aren’t about me. Christmas and Easter surely aren’t about me.
Independence Day is about a group of people determined to be free from tyranny. In that pursuit they declared independence from the mightiest empire that existed in their world. They fought in faith and valor and established a new direction for mankind. One in which a citizen has the expressed right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
If I can’t surrender a few hours of my time to reinforce those principles, even in some small way, then I have no one to blame but myself when I watch those principles continue to decline.
From your comment I doubt that you have an understanding of liberty, or the purpose for which America was born. May the God of our Creation instill in you the message of freedom and independence He placed in our Founding Fathers. Indeed may He instill that message in all of us, before it’s too late.
