Are You Proud to Be an American?

The above quote symbolizes Americans today. We have no concept of what being an American represents. The lines have been drawn in the country between political parties. Republican vs. Democrat is as good a delineation as any other label to divide us. The people who do not fall into one of these two “camps” will not have a say in a civil war if history is repeated.

Let’s start with a message from the Bible concerning pride:

Proverbs 16:18

Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

Since today is the 4th of July, let’s also understand what this day represents:

July 2nd, July 4th or August 2

One of the most widely held misconceptions about the Declaration of Independence is that it was signed on July 4, 1776. In fact, independence was formally declared on July 2, 1776, a date that John Adams believed would be “the most memorable epocha in the history of America.” On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the final text of the Declaration. It wasn’t signed until August 2, 1776.

I personally celebrate July 2nd as our country’s true Independence Day. I doubt most “Americans” have read the Declaration of Independence so how can they understand the reasons for open insurrection against their country’s rulers. Putting aside the issue of pride for a moment, let’s reclassify the question of if you are proud of being American as one of the following questions:

1. Are you proud of being a citizen of the United States of America?
2. Are you proud of your government?
3. Are you proud of your political affiliation?
4. Are you proud of your identity politics?
5. Are you proud of your country?

Based on the founding principles of our founding fathers, let’s address each one:

1. It was clear that our country was designed to be a confederacy with a weak federal government and strong state governments in the Constitution. The concept of national citizenship was mandated by the illegal ratified 14th Amendment. Our founding fathers would have been proud to be citizens of their individual states but they did not envision a national pride on a federal level.

2. I believe Thomas Jefferson stated this succinctly in his letter to William Smith:

Paris Nov. 13. 1787.

persevering lying. the British ministry have so long hired their gazetteers to repeat and model into every form lies about our being in anarchy, that the world has at length believed them, the English nation has believed them, the ministers themselves have come to believe them, & what is more wonderful, we have believed them ourselves. yet where does this anarchy exist? where did it ever exist, except in the single instance of Massachussets? and can history produce an instance of a rebellion so honourably conducted? I say nothing of its motives. they were founded in ignorance, not wickedness. god forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion. the people cannot be all, & always, well informed. the past which is wrong will be discontented in proportion to the importance of the facts they misconceive; if they remain quiet under such misconceptions it is a lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. we have had 13. states independent 11. years. there has been one rebellion. that comes to one rebellion in a century & a half for each state. what country before ever existed a century & half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve it’s liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms. the remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon & pacify them. what signify a few lives lost in a century or two? the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants. it is its natural manure. our Convention has been too much impressed by. . .

I doubt anyone is proud of a government that overtaxes its people with so little representation. Our forefathers would not be proud of what their great experiment has become. Would they be proud of a government which interferes with other nations’ elections, illegally spies on its people, weaponizes its bloated agencies against certain factions and illegally seizes property through “asset forfeiture”?

     3. Let’s remember George Washington’s admonition:

Avoid political parties; they will cause divisive factions and unscrupulous men will use them to undermine the government.

   As I stated above, the country is divided by political affiliation. While some will argue the point, Washington’s warning was prescient.

4. Since national pride is anathema to identify politics, there is no need for further discussion.

5. Do I have pride in my country? The personal pronoun gives this away. If I do not want to be in a particular geographic region or country, I can move (in most cases). If I do not move, as a sentient being, it is my duty to improve and maintain my natural law rights to the best of my ability. Remember “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor”? This means it is my duty to oppose an oppressive government in order to have Liberty in the country. Our forefathers fought and sacrificed everything for a free country, not a tyrannical government defined by political parties. Do I have pride in my country? I will when we stand up and recognize our duty as free people. Let us hope that time is close.

David DeGerolamo

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