By Allen Hamrick
July the 4th is upon us once again, and the sounds of fireworks will be splitting atoms in the sky to the cheers and empty wallets of July 4th fans everywhere. Cookouts, camping, boating and whatever else people do to entertain themselves will come and go. It is a part of our nature and right to enjoy the fruits of our labor for just a little while and possibly take a few seconds to remember what, where and how our great country got underway. Many articles will be written on the subject with different opinions that go hand and hand with the politics of the time we live in. However, depending on the history you have been taught or read, it all boils down to everyday people who had a dream to live free however they wanted in a land that flowed with milk and honey; a land where the difference of opinion between friends or neighbors didn’t turn to all out war or the constant fear of revenge. We still have the freedom to do it, right? Let’s face it, America’s life since its conception has never been a normal one. The journey has been through political upheaval, wars, famine and drought; only a select few families have ever made it from the cradle to the grave with no problems. From the beginning, the back bone of any country is its people, not its political powers. Without taxpaying, hard working individuals who braved harsh working conditions and fought wars in an attempt to tame this land, there would be no Independence Day.
At the end of the day, this country has survived. People were working, people were homeless, people were getting rich, people were getting by, people were living and people were dying – the usual. Politics were still politics or poly ticks, a self coined bipartisan term that simply means they shine things up real good then suck the life out of us. When the rubber meets the road, like it or not, most all the trouble in our country is caused by greed and power and the desire for more of each. It’s in all the older history books – check it out. Other than that, it has been country as usual, we are still a country where by working hard you may just may get a shot at living a decent life and have your dreams become a reality.
The 4th of July represents our freedom from a tyrannical country that tried to push their agenda on a freedom loving people as greed set in when they realized just how resource rich this new land was. Those that were here already were a threat to progress and the ability to make dreams come true…they had to go and that started the landslide to where we are now. Computers took over the country in the 1970’s, and the normal life for families changed when cell phones emerged. Phones seem to have taken over the lives of anyone who has one; everything from calling someone to starting your washing machine is possible with the touch of a button. There is no longer the need for thought or physical action when an app will do it for you. Our ability to think for ourselves and problem solve is now at the touch of a button, excuse me touch of a screen. Many have become their own AI, a biological specimen controlled by a computer the size of the palm of your hand. The country has swelled with financial success as an electronics business became the need.
Society in our country has changed since Independence Day in 1776. Social media has taken over and friends who were friends all their life suddenly stop visiting and now base all friendship on computer based media. We, as a country, began with hard work and determination to own our own piece of the pie, the idea of working hard and succeeding was taught at home and in the schools. Now much of our great land is owned by other countries and continues to be lost acre by acre. People are selling homes and properties in rural areas and lands are being posted daily to stay out. There is a sense of panic and doom over the land as the media paints political and global disasters further dividing the people of this country like we haven’t seen since the War Between the States.
The truth is this – our country began by revolving around the agendas of who was in control at the time. Once the War for Independence was over, greed once again set in as great as it ever was, proving it was a war for the political powers that was preached as a fight for the freedom of a people. In reality, nothing changed. All we had was more taxes and a government by and for the people.
It’s now 2024, and a half of a year into it. This country seems to have fallen apart at the seams. People have become sheep as led to the slaughter with no mind to see that the wolves who are leading them. Has America’s people changed so much that Independence Day means no more than the spittoon in the corner? The truth is not a subject to debate or dependent on interpretation; it is what it is. There are too many heads buried in the sand, unprepared and ready to make a run for the future of this country. Do we actually deserve an Independence Day? The politicians, Republican and Democrat, continue to argue about how to stop the bleeding while we, the people, look on in disbelief as our country spirals out of control. The average American, black, white, yellow or brown, looks at this country as opportunity and does their best to live and communicate with each other because it is the right thing to do. A country divided will not stand. So the question is why. Why are people still protesting? How can small groups get away with dictating the rules for the rest of the country? Why are politicians waging war against each other while America burns? Are we headed for another war between cultures? Do we actually deserve an Independence Day?
Bottom line, this country was founded on the principles of freedom. It has been fought for by individuals, not politicians or the media, since the beginning. All people are welcome to exist and raise their families in peace. This country is multicultural and is the greatest because of it. We are a people set apart, and other countries hate us for it – it’s just fact. We are to be governed by a political process fair to all people, no matter the culture, and to do the right thing for the country as a whole based on what the people want not what a select few want. Change is inevitable, and that change doesn’t have to be the end of life as we know it.
This country is still one of the greatest countries to live in, and there are many families raising their children hoping they will have the same great opportunities as we now have. Babies are born everyday to hopeful parents that only want to raise their families and have a normal life full of the wonders that life offers. If we don’t stop the chaos, there will be no future for the generations to come other than a dictated one with no room for creativity or thought. The generations of old made it because they worked together to make life bearable and better for future generations.
This 4th of July, remember what the fireworks are for, as our national anthem proclaims, “And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.” I can’t tell you in this article the entire history of the USA and what it took to get to that song. The history of this country started long before 1776 and continues to evolve every day, sometimes good and sometimes not so good. We are Patriots, after all, and the war was a victory for people who could now find their place in society, and that they did. So, do we still deserve an Independence Day? I say, of course we do. There have been many rights and a ton of wrongs done, but this is our home as we know it. Our destiny and fate lies within our control; let somebody else do it and we are doomed. Don’t forget the fireworks display and all the goings on that will be part of the Clay County Fourth of July celebration which is on Saturday, July 6.
“Oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
