Blessings of Liberty

Recently, I have heard many people spouting off opinions about standing or kneeling during our National Anthem, and it caused me to wonder, how often have you looked at or actually read through the Constitution of the United States? (Other than when you were forced to memorize the Preamble in the 8th grade).  It really is a brilliant piece of writing, and despite our best efforts to the contrary, remains absolute in its simplicity to outline what it means to be a citizen of the United States.  For those who have long forgotten or intentionally blocked out the civics classes of their youth, here is a quick reminder.

Following the Preamble (see below), the Constitution is broken down into 7 Articles.  The first three outline the three branches of government; Article 4 lays out States’ relations to one another; and the last three deal mostly with procedure.  Following the articles are the Amendments, which articulately discuss the rights of the people.  The End.

There is a single word that appears 18 times through the whole of the Constitution, and notably not once in any of the Amendments.  That word is Should.  It is a word of suggestion, and in no way conveys the absolute resolution of individual rights that our founding fathers intended.  It is also the word I hear the most when people talk about other people’s actions, projecting one's own values and experience onto strangers, telling them what they should or shouldn’t do as an American.

The First Amendment states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”  That is the whole of the First Amendment, and it is not overly complicated.  

While the Constitution is simple in its language, it is by no means easy.  Everything I value and hold dear screams at me to stand in respect to our flag.  Hell, I stand during the Anthem when I am alone because I believe we all should.  Do I wish people would stand for the National Anthem? Absolutely.  I am proud to live in a county that allows me freedom, that by the grace of God I was born into.  And that is what makes our advanced citizenship hard: As an individual, I have a deep belief in an ideal, that I think others should also value.  

Aaron Sorkin, who wrote such films as A Few Good Men, Charlie Wilson’s War, and the West Wing, wrote in The American President, “America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You've gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours." You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cannot just be a flag. The symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Now show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms.  Then you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.”

That speech has stuck with me for a number of years now.  I don’t know if it is because I found the words to be so direct, or because they continually make me question so much of what I see daily all across this County?  The rights set forth in the Constitution pertain to the individual, and for the most part, individuals are rational and are able to understand the concept of free speech.  However, when a group gets together, a peaceful assembly has a tendency to act with its own intentions, void of the individual, and becomes something else entirely.  The message is lost, and the result is chaos and division.  

Our founding fathers clearly state what the intentions were in writing the Constitution of the United States:  “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

Did you notice which words they intentionally chose to capitalize? Union, Justice, Tranquility, Welfare, Blessings of Liberty, and Posterity.  Now tell me, when we as citizens choose division, are we United?  When we take to violence, can that really be called justice?  When rioters flood the streets, are we Tranquil?  Who among us is truly advocating for the welfare of others?  Where are our blessings of liberty?  Where is our posterity?

I do not pretend to have the answers to these hard asked question, and I apologize if you the reader feels like I am saying that you should be doing something.  It just seems to me that simple written words that have stood for nearly two and and a half centuries, have become complicated by those fancying themselves experts in constitutional law.  Having a keyboard does not give you a voice, and anonymity does not make you an expert.  Before spouting off some regurgitated rhetoric from something you read on Facebook, please just take a moment to consider what it is you are actually doing and what your intentions are.  Are your words meant to unite people, to inspire justice and challenge active thought responsibly?  Or are you just angry and looking for someone to blame?

Prescott to Cheyenne

He’ll be heading out on the 4th, Prescott to Cheyenne

Eight hundred and sixty eight, miles of open land.

His trip won't be that fast however, as there ain't no easy ride
He’ll be holding tight with a leather fist, fighting through both pain and pride.

 

Praying he’ll make that next go round, no guarantees in this game

He’d give his life to get there, for just 8 seconds worth of fame.

He may never really know, the countless tears his mamma will cry

With the knowing deep in her heart, that her baby boy could die.

And each ride his dad will hold his breath, until he hears that buzzer sound,

Secretly a little jealous, of the freedom that his son has found.

Ghosts and memories go with him now, of all those who came before

Over a hundred years of cowboys - all riding for that perfect score.

Chris is sitting shotgun, singing through the summer rain,

And in the Frost of winter, he’ll keep warm with the memory of Lane

And back in ‘89, ‘neath that Cheyenne sun, every cowboy bore witness,

When Lane himself rode the 8, then died Taking Care of Business.

Yeah Beau laid his father there, making it hallowed ground,

Ol’ Chris performs in heaven now, singing for a sold out crowd.

Frontier days is in his blood, he grew up in a rodeo town

The world's oldest, there in Prescott, a legacy to which he’s bound

Now looking down that barrel and road, he’ll point to another town far away,

Cuz the world's biggest, it can wait, Cheyenne will be there for another day.

Countless highways he will travel, countless bars he’ll buy a drink.

Countless cold nights he’ll lay awake, countless times to tired to think.

Waking up in no name motels, in towns he’ll never really know

with buckle bunnies, who love buckle winners, and live for that next show.

So she’ll wave goodbye at first light, and hope to see him his next pass through,

Knowing all the while he’s going to leave, no matter what it is she’d do,

To keep him there, to keep him safe, to realize her own dreams come true,

His are north, up a winding road, beneath that big ol sky so blue.

Cheyenne pulls to Prescott's son, Eight hundred sixty eight miles in all

He’ll ride each one and many more, For every cowboy hears that call.

What are you willing to die for?

On July 14th, 1861, Maj. Sullivan Ballou wrote a letter addressed to his wife Sarah. Maj. Ballou was killed in battle a week later. A portion of this letter reads:
“I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing — perfectly willing — to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt …”
I share this in order to better ask a question. What are you willing to die for? Reading the news, it seems people in general have developed an inaccurate and unhealthy perspective of history. In Charlottesville, people have now died over a statue. Let us ask ourselves a serious question, what is the importance of keeping monuments of the Confederacy? What is it that they are commemorating? A statue of General Lee, should be recognize as a lifeless peace of stone depicting a man who long ago surrendered his army in defeat. Monuments to the Confederacy and Union alike do not stand to inspire new generations to take up arms against one another. Monuments to the American Civil war stand to remind us of the 620,000 Americans who lost their lives in battle on American soil. To aid in perspective, consider that 644,000 American Soldiers have died in every other war fought by the United States, combined.
On November 19th, 1863, President Lincoln stood before a crowd in Gettysburg, PA, to dedicate a National Cemetery; where less than 6 month prior, 50,000 casualties occurred during a battle that lasted just 3 days. President Lincoln said, “we cannot dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain.”
I do not believe that these men died in vain. I have however begun to question what they would think of our current state of affairs if they had the opportunity to witness what it is we have become. For that matter, what would my grandfather’s think about the events of the recent past? I have seen people drawing swastikas and hanging Nazi flags, proudly displaying the salute of Nazi Germany. These symbols are in no conceivable way displayed in remembrance of a time brave Americans fought and died for this County; men and women who gave their lives in the name of preservation and protection of the ideals that make the American experiment great. No, these symbols are those of cowards who spit at the very freedoms that protect their right to display those symbols of hate in the first place. We as a nation should be ashamed to call these people American.
I believe whole heartedly in the Constitution of the United States, and like so many others, have sworn an oath to protect it against all enemy’s, both foreign and domestic. Make no mistake, those that would stand in defense of hatred and division, are a direct threat to the Constitution of the United States. We must protect our heritage, remember where we came from, and protect our homes, cities, states, and country, against all those who would cause us harm.
Please understand that I am not advocating violence. I am advocating thought. Once again, I ask you to consider what it is you are willing to die for? Maybe then you might better understand what it is that you truly value. What we as a nation valued in the past, is what provided us independence; is what provided for the preservation of the Union; is what provided victory through world war. What do you value now? Whatever it is will dictate where we go from here.