Blog Celebrations Don't Have to Be Big or Loud

Photo by Jingming Pan on Unsplash

Monday was Independence Day or as we usually call it, the 4th of July." Over the years we've celebrated in many ways. When there was a big firework show at the fairgrounds, we attended with good friends Jeff & Gloria Geiselamn and our families. They had a pickup and we'd get into the back and settle in with snacks to watch the show.

When the Fredrickson family had reunions over the 4th, we'd watch fireworks or do some family activity, which included grilling and eating picnic-style--whether in the Black Hills or Manitou Springs. One year the Arch held its own fireworks show and we attended with brother and SIL, Paul and Lorene.

One of my fondest memories was the year we planned to go to the fairgrounds but didn't quite make it. Keith usually didn't get home from work until 9. Our family was hurrying north when we went over the overpass on H. We looked up and had an excellent view of the fireworks show that had already begun.

Keith parked our car at the bottom. Keith and I, our kids Chris and Cassie walked up, and settled on top to watch the show. Not much later, Paul and Lorene, also late, drove onto the overpass. They saw and slowed. Instead of heading north, they parked and joined us. We had a great time together watching the fireworks without any of the hassle.

Some years when our kids were growing up, we bought our own fireworks and shot them off.

This year we were alone. No kids or grandkids. We celebrated quietly and together. I touched base with Facebook friends and family. We enjoyed our food and chose to watch a movie instead of watching fireworks. Unlike many who don't seem to understand or care what the celebration is all about anymore, we know the why of July 4th.

While not all is well with America, we are thankful for the country of freedom, faith, and family our parents and others fought for. It is also up to us not let falsehoods about our founding take the place of truth.

We need to share the truth about the founders and the founding of America so that, however, we celebrate, we'll still have a reason to celebrate our freedom, faith, and families.

(c) 2022 Carolyn R Scheidies

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Blog What is the American Dream?

Today we have those who seek to tear down America’s heritage by vandalizing and destroying memorials to those who went before. But while some have torn down statues memorializing those who fought in the South during the Civil War, now what is coming down are memorials to President Lincoln who ended slavery.

These thugs and American-born terrorists are also destroying statues to African American heroes. Many committing these crimes want to destroy America, others are simply ignorant of American history and what the American Dream is all about.

Before America, there were individuals and groups who wanted to live and worship without undue government influence. Those who held views that differed from the “approved” government religion often found their families broken up when members of the family were jailed or even hung or burned at the stake.

Then they heard about a land across the ocean and they began to dream. These persecuted people groups felt called to the new land. Groups pooled resources, others sold all they had for passage to the new world known only to sailors and merchants. Pilgrims and Puritans and others came and settled into the new world.

Regardless of the work involved, regardless of losing loved ones, they built homes in the new world where they worshipped in peace, accepted personal responsibility for their choices, and were involved in the governance of their settlement. While some of the settlers did not get along with the natives found in America, others such as the Pilgrims hashed out a mutually beneficial treaty that lasted 50 years.

Other settlers followed, dreaming of freedom of choice and faith, dreaming of a place to build homes and a future. While many early and later immigrants came to worship in freedom, others simply wanted new opportunities or to escape dictatorial governments.

When the American government became a reality, the core of the America Dream was “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The Dream was about faith, freedom, and family on a solid foundation of Judeo-Christian ethics and principles of honesty, morality, and hard work.

The American government system turned the usual method of governing on its head, making citizens the masters who chose their own leaders and the right to get rid of those leaders who did not govern for “the will of the people.” As citizens got comfortable and the government grew, those in government accumulated more power, leaving less for citizens. Still, we vote for our local, state, and federal representatives, senators, and presidents.

In the 1950’s the American Dream became owning a house (not a mansion) with a white picket fence in a nice neighborhood with a church and school. Citizens could find a place safe for raising a family, and where a person could have a job to support the family.

Even though America is no longer the “land of the free and the home of the brave” it once was, even with all the turmoil, mainly from those whose hatred and/or ignorance of the truth about America’s past—and some of these work in the media or in government jobs, America still offers more individual freedom and opportunities than most other countries. This is why so many still seek to come to these shores—to make their own American Dream come true.

By those we support and vote for we choose to destroy the American Dream or keep it alive. Please do your research beyond the media agenda.

(C) 2020 Carolyn R Scheidies
Kearney Hub column 9/15/2020
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