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We'll keep her, troubles and all
Published Thursday, July 3, 2008
If George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were alive today, we wonder what they’d be doing to celebrate Independence Day.
Would they crack open a cold one and listen to Sweet Home Alabama as the burgers cook?
Would they go shopping for some amazing deals at the Natchez Mall?
Or would they trek over to Lake St. John for the annual flotilla?
It’s an interesting visual: White wigs flapping in the wind and funny hats being clutched to the heads.
But the point in our bringing up the issue isn’t to make fun of the Founding Fathers, but rather to get us all thinking about the state of our nation.
When they walked the dusty streets of colonial America, the place was little more than a burgeoning colony, mostly settled along the east coast.
Today, some 232 years later, some of America’s cities dwarf the population of colonial America, estimated to be approximately 2.5 million people.
And with that growth came problems.
Our nation has problems, big problems.
From a shrinking position in the global economy and terrorist threats to poverty and a decline in morals, America isn’t what it used to be. But then again, there’s also no other place like it.
Tomorrow, we’ll celebrate the moment in which a scrappy group of dreamers decided to break free and turn their scruffy colony into the greatest nation ever conceived.
Happy Fourth of July!
Comments
Posted by fire39212 (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 9:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well we will be celebrating our daughters birthday....
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. (Suggest removal)
fire, A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the girls. I know you will enjoy the celebrations. How old are they?
Posted by destiny (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
N.D. good article and great insight on what our fore fathers would do today, after seeing the mess we've made of things. But like you said, would not live anywhere else in the world. It's still the greatest nation on earth and I feel both humbled and honored to be part of it.
Posted by Krogers (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't think there is such a big mess
I'm proud of our country
We're free as possible, we just have to stand up for what is right and quit expecting others to do it for us. There are no problems we cannot solve with strong leadership, and responsible citizens. That is our biggest problem, so many citizens don't want to be bothered with taking action when they are needed.
Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
God Bless America
Posted by Idefinitelymight (Tom Scarborough) on July 3, 2008 at 12:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I'm pretty sure they would be sitting around with a couple of brewskies and saying to each other, "What in the hell were we thinking when we wrote the Second Amendment?"
Posted by southernbelle (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 1:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
America 1st !
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 2:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
That question would not have occured to them at all Tom. They were well aware, and took pains to say so, that the right to keep and bear arms is a natural, god given right common to all men. They likely would have wondered why the point should come into question at all, because they left explicit instructions that whenever the meaning of the Constitution was questioned those questioning were to refer back to the times and thoughts of the men who wrote the Constitution.
Except for the right to keep and bear arms and the exercise of that right there would be no America. A right is called a right because it is opposed to wrong; it is right path of action to defend oneself and by extension the land on which one lives. A right is what they judged to be that type of action most calculated to bring about the real happiness of mankind.
Washington, Jefferson and Madison would perhaps have been moved to sue the Federal Reserve for putting their images on bills of credit forbidden by the Constitution, and Adams would surely have taken their case on contingency and won. The grounds would be libel and false advertising.
They may have taken the Fourth off to celebrate Independence, but on the Fifth they would have been in Washington before the House with a thing or two to say.
I wish they could come back.
Posted by Kaintuck (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Our Founding Fathers would probably be impressed, and somewhat alarmed, at contemporary America. Upon leaving office, George Washington warned our Congress to "Beware of foreign entanglements". Thomas Jefferson would be taken aback at how his bill to abolish the taxation of every citizen for use by the Church of England - thus insuring freedom of denomination and religion for all Americans - has been usurped by atheistic reconstructionists to mean that God has no place in public life. Of the 55 most prominent Framers, Benjamin Franklin would probably enjoy modern America the most. We have much to be thankful for: Happy Independence Day Natchez!
Posted by sobeit (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 4:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Land of the free BECAUSE of the brave!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA
Posted by Idefinitelymight (Tom Scarborough) on July 3, 2008 at 5:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Come down off your soapbox Enki--you don't have to be didactic all the time. I was just having a little fun.
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 6:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
As President George and his colleagues in both Parties of Congress stand poised to perpertrate thirteen of the same grievances against Iran perpertrated by King George against America, the very grievances we celebrate our opposition to on Independence Day I see no humor in your post.
Further, expect that at every turn when I see such total lack of understanding displayed I will correct it in the hope that gentle reminders will rouse the people from their slumber regarding what Liberty really is.
Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Madison and Franklin and the others did not risk their lives so America could continue the offenses of England.
in a newspaper featuring editorials beginning "Lions and tigers and bears, Oh My!" the editorial board cannot be depended on to handle sacred matters in a sacred manner; instead of investigation into the minds of these men and what actions they took to make America great we get speculations on whether or not they would "break open brewskies", :"shop for amazing deals at the mall", or "trek over to Lake St. John for the annual flotilla" while human life is held in such diisregard by our current Congress and President.
Burned, limbless babies and children; the bloated corpses of mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters; irradiated fields and bombed out factories, power plants, roads and bridges; all these things deserve a little more respect.
And support for all these violations of rights would be far less if we had a more thinking and independent establishment of journalism.
Posted by Idefinitelymight (Tom Scarborough) on July 3, 2008 at 7:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are really becoming a pompous, self-important, insufferable ass.
Posted by sammohon (anonymous) on July 3, 2008 at 9:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Tom...while I caught your humor about the second amendment, it might have been funnier if you had substituted the first...LOL.
EnK...Tom is right, you don't have to be didactic ALL of the time...lighten up, both of you and have a great USA BIRTHDAY!
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on July 4, 2008 at 12:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Thank you Tom. Name calling seems to be the forte of so many of the ND commenters and you are now a member in good standing.
As you know Sam, I intend to continue to say what I wish when I wish to say it.
Perhaps we should just have Miss South Carolina give this year's Independence benedictions. I don't know why Boone hasn't hired her yet.
Posted by EnKiKur (anonymous) on July 4, 2008 at 1:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
She has big knockers too. That is something widely understood.
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