Do you know where you came from? Do you know why you are the way you are? I ask those questions because I think those are 2 basic questions that we as Americans cannot adequately answer. How many people liked history class? C'mon, raise your hands. That's what I thought-not very many. I'll admit it, I didn't like it either. However, I learned a lot from it.
You see, today in America there are children growing up who have no idea who Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, John Adams, or Adam Smith were. To them, Benjamin Franklin is the guy who flew the kite with the key on it and got hit by lightning. They have no idea he was a key player in the formation of our nation.
Why does this matter? It matters because without knowledge of your past you have no way to define your present. You just wander around making decisions on the spur of the moment and falling prey to anyone who presents any idea to you because you have no basis to defend your current stance. This is where we are in America today. We slurp up any idea or principle anyone presents to us as long as they say it in a nice way or look good while they're saying it. No matter if it is detrimental to our freedom or way of life, heck, they sounded good saying it so it must be good, right? Wrong! Hitler sounded good to a lot of people at first, so did Mussolini, Guevara & Castro. I think we all know how that turned out, or maybe not since we don't know history.
Today we have people falling prey to TV pastors who promise to heal their ailments, as long as you send them a check. We have people placing all their hope, freedom, & faith in political ideas. We have people surrendering control of their money all because somebody promises to give them more if they'll just give up what they have first. There are people that actually believe George W. Bush flew the planes into the twin towers, if they remember that event at all. There are people that deny the holocaust in the face of insurmountable evidence!
I cannot understand these people. I cannot tolerate these people. We must teach these people. They must understand the past because we are on the verge of repeating its mistakes. Those mistakes will cost people their lives. My children will know and my children will understand their past. Yes it's uncomfortable and it's not pretty but it's a story that must be told. We cannot be ignorant of what got us here, whether good or bad.
On this week of our Independence Day I urge you to go back, take a minute, and reflect on our history. Reflect on our founding fathers, their beliefs, and their sacrifices. Their sacrifices didn't involve whether or not to get a plasma tv or a luxury car. They involved lives and many of them lost theirs so that we can live in freedom. In no way, shape, or form can we allow that to be forgotten. It must be remembered, it must be honored, and it must be taught. Freedom is in my blood. It is in my soul. It is ingrained in my very being and I will die before I give it up. We've already surrended too many of our freedoms. America, let's not lose it all.
