Freedom

It is the 4th of July holiday weekend. It is a time for festive events, picnics, family reunions, fireworks, and parades. I think it should be a time also for sober reflection on just what it means to be free. 

In America we have the freedom to hold any opinion about the government that we want to hold and we can shout it to the rooftops if we want to!  

In America we can elect any citizen to any office based on what they say and we can hold them accountable and even demand a recall election if they seriously fail in their job. 

In America we have the right to be free of government interference in our life and concurrently we have the right to give the government authority to do things for us and in our name, We the People!

In America we have an absolute right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

In America we are guaranteed the right to worship God in the way that we want to and to follow our conscience using the light that God sends to us. 

In America we can be what and who we want to be. We can be a garbage collector or a doctor, it is our choice what we become and what we work towards.

In America we have citizen soldiers, volunteers to protect us and our country. We have a duty to see to their welfare during and after the service that the give to us. 

In America we unite with our brothers and sisters in our neighborhood, in out towns and cities and try to live in peace and in harmony with each other. 

In America, law is master over might.

In America in modern times we have lost the ability to discuss things with one another, the word compromise has lost its meaning with our elected representatives. 

In America, we have lost confidence in our senate, in our congress, in our executive and legal branches because they no longer want to work together for the common good. 

In America, we move ever closer to having a state instead of a government. 

In America, our freedom of religion is being rescinded little bit by little bit. 

In America, the president now issues decrees called executive orders that have the force of law. 

In America, the Supreme Court issues decrees called decisions that have the force of law. 

In America, our Congress and Senate are deadlocked because party politics have become more important than the good of the citizens that sent them to Washington. Those entrusted to define the law do nothing. 

In America, you have the right to live unless you are in the womb and then you have no rights at all. 

In America, there is good, there is bad. But the only other form over government that is worse than ours is any other. 

God bless this country I call home, my Lord protect us, speak more loudly that we may hear your voice.  We pray oh Lord that never take for granted the freedoms that come from you. May America be a shining light to all the world of what can be.  Amen.