An American on the Fourth of July

An American on the Fourth of July
By Ellen Williams

Once I thought Captain John Smith authored the statement, “If you don’t work, you don’t eat,” when he gave that order to the English “gentlemen” who settled Jamestown. However, I later found that the Apostle Paul had said it a long time before Capt. Smith in the book of II Thessalonians. Therefore, if I work hard, the fruits of my work are mine, and should not be taken from me to benefit those who won’t work. I am an American.

In the late 18th century, the Founders hammered out a Constitution which gave us a Republic; the most noble experiment in self-government, the world has ever seen. That Republic has liberated nations, and sent tons of food, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid to lesser developed countries. I do not apologize for capitalism and the profit system for giving to United States citizens’ a standard of living which is the envy of the world; nor for supplying the needs of poorer nations. America is a wealthy nation, but she has been generous with the less fortunate. I am an American.

My history, United States History, tells me that my country was colonized and settled by Spanish, French, Portuguese, Dutch, Italian and English. The British won, and English became the national language. English is my native tongue, made even more charming by those of us possessing a soft Southern draw! Therefore, I do not want to press one for English or two for some other language, because English is my language and I am an American.

History also tells me that my country’s military has fought in four foreign wars and many other conflicts to keep me safe. Therefore, I do not want the northern border with Canada dissolved nor the southern border with Mexico. I want to keep my country’s boundaries intact. I want to keep my national identity, for I am an American.

Not too long ago, the state schools, supported by tax dollars, had daily prayer and Bible reading in classrooms; and chapel services on Fridays to honor the Christian God. My history textbook showed George Washington kneeling to pray in the snow at Valley Forge; I assume he prayed to the Christian God. The Congress of the United States had a chaplain who led in public prayer to the Christian God. Our national motto is “In God we Trust.” I see it on all my money and I assume it means the Christian God. I am an American.

I grew up believing we had a value system of absolutes in America. As an elementary school child, my ruler had the “Golden Rule” imprinted at the bottom edge, and often the same words were on the walls of my classroom. In the same system, I was led to understand that some things are right and some are wrong. Lying, stealing, cheating are wrong; sharing, helping and forgiving are right. I learned this value system in America. I am an American.

America is not Wall Street, nor a nanny-state nor the world’s policeman. She is not Democrats or Republicans. She is not Social Security or Medicaid or a bureaucratic entitlement system. America is not the IRS nor the Federal Reserve. America is not the intrusive regulator of the smallest detail of its citizens’ lives. America is not the Interstate Highway System nor the Space Program.

America is the “Spirit of ‘76” when a rag-tag army of Colonials took on the world’s greatest power and won! America is the pen of Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson and the sword of George Washington. America waited with Colonel Andy Jackson in New Orleans behind cotton bails to see the “whites” of British eyes before firing. America is the sacrifice of Colonel William Travis and Davie Crockett and James Bowie and others at the Alamo. America stormed the beaches of Normandy and waded the swamps of Vietnam.

America is my 5th great grandfather, Thomas Davis, of South Carolina, a Patriot, in the Revolutionary War. America is Thomas’s son Elias, a veteran in the War of 1812 who served with the South Carolina Militia. And America is James Davis, son of Elias, who died at Vicksburg. America is generation after generation of people who believe the Founders left us something worth dying for.

I am not a global citizen. I am not a world citizen; I am not even a citizen of North America. I hold no allegiance to the United Nations nor do I wish to be governed by their treaties and dictates. I do not wish to be part of a North American Union. And I don’t want to spend a North American currency. I do not wish to drive upon a Trans-Texas Corridor running from Mexico through the United States into Canada. You see, my citizenship lies in these United States of America, particularly a section called “Dixie,” in a state named Alabama and a County named Washington.

And so this Fourth of July I remember those brave men who “…pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.” And who knew that they must “…all hang together or else they would surely hang separately,” who made me an American. And I especially recall the words of Benjamin Franklin: “We have given them a Republic, let’s see if they can keep it.”