America the Beautiful: Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great (24 page)

Why do we enjoy all of these and many more blessings? It is largely because we have a representative government that respects the rights of its citizens and protects the life and property of its citizens, and because we have a military powerful enough to defend us against intruders. It is because we have a free market economy that, when unfettered, acts as an economic engine more powerful than any the world has ever seen. Most importantly, we have a nation of faith so bold that we are willing to proclaim “In God We Trust” on every coin in our pockets and every bill in our wallets. We have enjoyed the blessings of the Almighty from the time when he aided a fledgling group of militiamen in defeating the most powerful empire on earth up until the present, as he protects us from unimaginable terrorist threats. There never has been and probably never will be again another place like America the Beautiful.

A
SUCCESSFUL YOUNG BUSINESSMAN
loved to buy exotic gifts for his mother on Mother’s Day, but he was running out of ideas one year when he encountered some amazing birds with the ability to dance, sing, and talk. He was so happy that he purchased two of them and couldn’t wait to ship them off to his mother. On Mother’s Day, he called her excitedly and asked, “Mother, what did you think of those birds?”

“Mmm,” she answered, “they were good.”

“Mother, you didn’t eat those birds!” he said, unable to contain his shock. “Those birds cost five thousand dollars apiece. They could dance, they could sing, and they could talk!”

“Well,” she calmly replied, “then they should’ve said something.”

This funny story points out how important it is for us to speak up when confronted with danger. If we see our freedoms eroding around us and are afraid to stand up for what we value, we too will ultimately end up in the stew like those birds. Most Germans did not agree with Hitler’s insane agenda, but their collective silence permitted an unimaginable human tragedy that stained world history known as the Holocaust. How might their nation’s history and our world’s history have played out differently if those who saw what was happening had taken a stand for what they believed?

When rights and freedoms are not exercised, they become meaningless. If America is to remain the land of the free and home of the brave,
we must have the courage to say what we mean unequivocally. If we allow our speech to be stifled by the PC police, we will be unable to have honest conversations in the struggle to resolve political differences. The founders of this nation were well aware of what happens when free speech is stifled.

Of all the wonderful freedoms that characterize life here in America, freedom of speech is one of the most important. This was most dramatically demonstrated in a recent Supreme Court decision, which upheld the rights of members of the Westboro Baptist Church to display extremely offensive signs and shout obscenities during funeral services for veterans. They are an intolerant hate group that despises homosexuality and are angry with the military because gays are allowed to serve. There is almost no one who agrees with the Westboro Church, but because of the Supreme Court’s decision to strictly interpret the Constitution, the rights of the church members could not be denied. Can you imagine how quickly this group would be executed in many other countries for doing such a thing, but ironically the very military they are criticizing provides them with the freedom to be so obnoxious.

I actually have some doubts about that legal decision, because the signs, obscenity, and noise infringe upon the rights of other Americans to assemble peacefully for the burial of one of their loved ones. If my right to free speech causes you actual harm, it becomes time to curtail my speech. (Obviously the preferable option would be for me to care enough about you not to hurt you by exercising my rights.) But interestingly, as a society we go to great lengths to protect the legal rights of fringe elements while at the same time imposing massive social restrictions on speech through political correctness. The real question is, will we as Americans, accustomed to freedom, continue to sheepishly submit to the purveyors of political correctness without recognizing its erosive effects on our freedom?

What each one of us says and does — and what our actions are collectively as a nation — is born out of what we believe. But if we never act on our beliefs, can we say that we truly value them? Can we say that we truly
believe
? And if we
do
believe enough to act, what is it that we as a nation feel passionately enough to sacrifice for? In other words, what is it that we stand for?

A symbol points to a reality beyond itself — a wedding ring representing the circle of unending, unconditional love between a husband and wife, for example, or the Christian cross turning the ancient Roman instrument of
humiliation and torture into a symbol for the abundant life found through the sacrificial death of Christ. Symbolism abounds when it comes to our United States government, but I’d like to look at three important ones, beginning with our flag.

Few things give me greater joy than watching color guards marching into an assembly with our country’s distinctive flag held high. Everyone knows that there are thirteen stripes to represent the original thirteen colonies and fifty stars, each representing one of the fifty states. But what you may not know is that red represents hardness and valor. White represents purity and innocence. And blue represents perseverance, vigilance, and justice.
¹
One of the largest American flags ever constructed was at the behest of General Armistead during the War of 1812. The British Royal Navy had launched a fierce bombardment on Baltimore’s Fort McHenry, and they clearly had the upper hand. Their capture of Baltimore, which seemed imminent, would solidify a series of victories that had included massive destruction in Washington, DC, including the White House. The commander of the British fleet had sent word to the Americans at Fort McHenry that he did not want to utterly destroy them and that he would cease bombing them as soon as they lowered the American flag in surrender.

Francis Scott Key was an amateur poet on an official government mission approved by President James Madison to try to rescue some captives being held by the British. Key was being held on one of the British ships engaged in the battle since he had overheard some of the war strategy and the British did not want him to tip off the Americans. His heart was broken as he heard the British missiles streaming through the air, destroying one of the last American bastions of safety. There was so much smoke and debris from the fighting that he was unable to determine whether the flag was still flying until early the next day, when “by the dawn’s early light” he witnessed the most beautiful sight he had ever seen: the torn and tattered stars and stripes of our flag, still proudly waving. Many historians feel that America’s ability to repel that fierce attack was the turning point in the War of 1812, which eventually led to our triumph.

Every time I see our magnificent Stars and Stripes, I think of the fortitude of those Americans at Fort McHenry who, although outnumbered and outgunned, never allowed that flag to lower in surrender. That should remind us of who we are: a people who never surrender, who never give up, who are historically rooted in a faith in God rather than in the vicissitudes of man, who believe in freedom, and who would rather die than abandon our beliefs in equality and justice for everyone.

Another of our proud symbols is the bald eagle. Some wanted a turkey as our national emblem, while others favored the golden eagle, but after much deliberation, the bald eagle was chosen because it symbolizes strength, courage, and freedom.

In
The 5000 Year Leap
, W. Cleon Skousen writes that the founders had many other symbolic reasons for choosing the eagle. But the reason that impressed me most is that in order for the eagle to fly straight, its two wings must be balanced. If either the left wing or the right wing is too heavy, the bird will veer off to one side and crash. The liberals represent the left wing and the conservatives represent the right wing. The liberals tend to have lots of great ideas that cost a great deal of money and, if left unchecked, would quickly bankrupt the nation. The conservatives simply want to maintain the status quo and are not very adventurous, and if our nation were left solely to their ideas, stagnation would occur. However, when you balance the right and left wings evenly, the eagle is able to fly high and straight, and the potential for progress is tremendous. Of course this is an oversimplification, and currently the conservative wing is putting forth some fairly bold ideas about how to maintain the fiscal responsibility of a nation, but ultimately that means they are trying to conserve the American dream for future generations.

As a nation, we need to understand that there are valid functions for people of all political persuasions. No party has a monopoly on truth and justice. What is called for is mutual respect and a willingness to make decisions based on facts and empirical data rather than philosophical tenets. If we can remember these things, then the majestic nature symbolized by the bald eagle will be a rightful representation of our wise nation.

When I was in high school, I determined to learn as much as I possibly could about everything. When I began studying European art and classical music, however, I received a significant amount of criticism from classmates. Some told me that those areas were not culturally relevant to me as an African-American. But if the United States of America is the diverse conglomeration of people from all kinds of cultural and ethnic backgrounds, what does the term
culturally relevant
mean to its citizens?

To answer that question, take a trip to Ellis Island, the resting place of our Statue of Liberty, which has become a widely recognized symbol of
freedom and opportunity throughout the world. Walk through the museum where pictures of immigrants from every part of the world are displayed on the walls. Look at the determination in their eyes, many of whom brought to this country only what they could carry in their hands. These people were willing to work not just eight hours a day, but twelve, sixteen, or even twenty hours a day. They worked not five days a week, but six or even seven days to make their way in the “New World.” At that time, there was no such thing as a minimum wage, but they didn’t care. They were not working for themselves, but rather to provide an opportunity for their sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, to prosper in this new land. It is the
hard work
of all those people from all those places that is culturally relevant to every American.

Long before the Statue of Liberty landed in America, however, other immigrants came here in the bottom of slave ships who worked even harder for no wages, but they too had a dream that one day their great-grandsons and great-granddaughters might pursue freedom and prosperity in this land.

Of all the nations in the world, the United States of America was the only one big enough and great enough to allow all those people from all those backgrounds to fulfill their dreams. It required the dreams and talents of all those people to create the quilt that is America. Every single one of us is culturally relevant to every other one of us — and that is why we are called the
United
States of America! Is the rapid rise of the United States really all that amazing considering the unprecedented freedom its citizens had? When citizens and, indeed, entire communities recognized that they would be the primary beneficiaries of their own hard work, there was no stopping them. It’s like giving someone access to a vault full of money with two different scenarios. In the first instance, they are told that they can have the vast majority of the money that they are able to carry out over the next ten hours. In the second instance, they are told to work on behalf of the overseer who will make sure that they are treated fairly. Which scenario do you think will generate the greatest intensity of work? That’s a no-brainer, of course, and until recent decades, it was a no-brainer that hard work and innovation here could vastly improve your personal circumstances and those of your family. This belief was and should continue to be a basic part of the American dream. If you truly believe this, you should resist any attempts to establish the government as your overseer rather than your facilitator. It was no accident that this philosophy accelerated the rise of America. If we abandon it — even by accident because we are sleeping — our fall will be just as rapid as was our rise.

Traditionally, America has been a God-fearing nation. Evidence of that can be found in our mottos, in many of our songs, in many of our national documents, and carved into many monuments and buildings.
²
It has traditionally distinguished us from many other nations of the world, and it is one of the reasons we are always first in line when it comes to humanitarian aid for others. It is also why we have not used our great might to conquer other nations of the world. We pay attention to the issues of morality and ethics because our nation was founded on principles revealed to us in the Bible by a righteous and just God.

Have you ever stopped to think about what money represents? It represents wealth and power. As we have recently seen, when you lack money and incur great debt, your influence and power decrease. Considering what your money says about you, it is really quite amazing that our nation has chosen to inscribe the phrase “In God We Trust” on all of our money. By doing so, we proclaim to the world that godly principles are essential to our way of life, that we trust not in our money, not in the power that comes from having money — but in our God. Having declared that for the world to see, it is essential that we allow our lives to speak as loudly as our money.

We have been favored by God because we have acknowledged him, but as the forces of political correctness attempt to push God out of our lives, we must have courage to resist them. That does not mean that we should retaliate or manifest the same intolerance they have shown. It does mean, however, that we must stand up and be counted. If they do not wish to accept the godly principles that we choose to live by, we should make no attempt to force them, but by no stretch of the imagination should we allow them to force their beliefs on us. For the God in whom we place our trust has entrusted each one of us with the freedom to choose our beliefs — as well as the mind to speak up for what we believe to be right.