Monday, November 15, 2010
Heartland USA
Back to the basics that make this nation great!
A week spent in the Heartland of America was delightful and revealing. Here there were people practicing their patriotism to the fullest, and their rights under the Constitution to the fullest as well. There were no namby pambys afraid of guns there: guns were visible in gun racks downtown, and were being carried into the fields for hunting, including pistols openly carried in holsters. On Veteran’s Day, many of the citizens turned out in Legion hats or even old army hats; and a few were wearing their full dress uniforms from WWII, or Korea, or Vietnam.
There were speeches at the town square, which was decorated with bunting and flags on the light poles. Men that were sincere and genuinely proud of their service rose up one at a time to tell something of their war experiences, and to affirm their love for this nation in strong and emotional terms. After six or seven ex-servicemen had spoken with such feeling, you could sense that the crowd around the square was joining in the emotion and clapping and cheering louder and louder, and waving their flags in agreement and sympathy with the speakers.
The master of ceremonies, I believe he was the mayor, introduced the local representative to the state government, and he spoke in the same terms and with the same fervor of the sacrifices many had made over the years in far-away, desolate and impoverished lands in the service of their country. He was a veteran too, and had served in Vietnam. That the crowd knew, respected, and approved of this man was apparent; he had their full trust that they would be looked after in the state capitol to the best of his abilities. “He is a good man”, I heard over and over as I walked through the crowd.
It would be a wonderful thing if we could feel that way about all of our legislators, instead of believing that many of them are actually acting against our best interests and our desires every day.
Labels: American Culture, Patriotism
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