Opinion Editorial
By Eric Horton
July 4, 1776, was a great day for the thirteen colonies. The United States was becoming a real nation, autonomous and sovereign from the tyrannical monarchy of King George III of Great Britain. That July day was 247 years ago, and the United States of America continues to hold somewhat strong.
I’ve heard over and over again, “The US is an experiment” and “We’ve come a long way with this experiment!” And so on and so on.
I disagree with that sentiment. I believe without a doubt the United States of America is not an experiment, at least not anymore. We’ve had 247 years to get things right, and yes, we still have some issues. We’ve gone through some dark times, such as slavery, the American Civil War, battles with natives/indigenous people, expansion to the West, the dust bowl, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Conflict, natural disasters, and man-made disasters… the list can on forever.
But we are not an experiment no longer because one element… one aspect… one fundamental principle that has held true for the red-blooded patriotic American, which is the majority, is that we have freedom and liberty. Freedom and Liberty which has been fought for time and time again, but also freedom and liberty which is our God-given right.
Yes, I just invoked God into the conversation. There are many people that will deny that our forefathers were Christian men and women. Yes, the Revolutionary War really began as an idea that we the people at that time wanted representation. Colonists would pay taxes, however, the English Monarch denied representation to the Americans. Although the war broke out due to unfair treatment from the Monarch Government and military, the Declaration of Independence was finally written and Thomas Jefferson penned some of the most powerful and necessary words for the colonist and for us in the future.
These men were God-fearing. In the Declaration of Independence, there is a sentence written, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” This one sentence tells us all we truly need to hear. These men who signed this piece of writing knew without a doubt that they and eventually us were provided by The Lord Almighty freedom, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Now we find ourselves in the early 21st Century and probably more divided than ever before, even during the American Civil War. The Federal government has continued to tear down the true American dream. For over two years now, we have seen the degradation of American society. Of course, it really started many years ago, but for some reason after a knee-jerk reaction to a pandemic, which by the way… I know COVID was real and it did contribute to over a million deaths in the US, and where we live we saw the height of those deaths from October 2020 through January 2021.
However, from 2020 to the present tense, we have seen American society quickly eroding. I don’t have to give you stats, because if you watch the news, you’ll see a nation that is tearing itself apart. Some say that we have always been tearing ourselves apart… and maybe that’s true. But I still have hope our nation will not fall into the wrong hands… who’s ever those hands may be.
Former President Trump once said, “If you want freedom, take pride in your country. If you want democracy, hold on to your sovereignty, and if you want peace, love your nation”
Should we not be proud of our nation? Do you want a self-governing nation? Why would we not love our nation? The truth is many more people are becoming reluctant to want these things. I could go on and on and on about how I believe it’s one political party’s fault versus the other. Let’s be honest… it’s both. To them, it’s about power, about arrogance, about selfishness. No… not all are that way, but there are a lot.
What this nation needs right now… is God Almighty! We need to wake up and see that He is everything. In the Book of John 10:10 Jesus tells us, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” The Lord wants us to have that abundant life, of course, only through Him can that be truly attainable. We need revival folks. A true outpouring of the Holy Spirit to get things back on track.
I’m reminded of a quote President Abraham Lincoln said in the early parts of the Civil War, he said, “Let us diligently apply the means, never doubting that a just God, in His own good time, will give us the rightful result.” I have hope that The Lord will give us another chance.
Happy Independence Day!
