“A love for tradition has never weakened a nation; indeed it has strengthened nations in their hour of peril.” (Churchill) There are 10 National Holidays, but 4 stand out in my mind as days that especially define America: Independence Day, Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving Day, Momorial Day. The others are significant, too, but think today about these 4, particularly the 4th of July, a day to celebrate the history of a great nation, not perfect, but in the process. ;-) Jack
FROM SHARIN'SHARON: So true, especially for the 4th of July when our country has such documents as the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Thanks for posting this on your blog, Pastor Freed. And Happy 4th of July!!!===JACK: I remember a time when people used to decorate their cars with flags on the 4th of July. A house next to our church has little American flags placed on the perimeter of their lawn.
FROM GF: Have a happy and healthy July 4 weekend! Don’t let the politics bug you!===JACK: When I was a child my father lit a cherry bomb. When it exploded it kicked up a stone which hit me near the temple. There were on emergency rooms those days, so I was rushed to the doctor's home where he stitched me up on his front porch.===GF: Memories…… They are a large part of life and shaping us into who we are.===JACK: The doctor said, "A little bit closer to the temple and there would have been a different outcome."
FROM FACEBOOK LIZ: (picture of Betsy Ross flag)===JACK: I like the 50 star flag, but I like Betsy's design best.===LIZ: me, too! i fly the flag every day. my next will be a betsy ross. or a gadsden... ha!===JACK: I seem to recall that it's always lighted (rain or shine, too?).===LIZ: no, it’s not lighted... i am not a believer in flag etiquette, necessarily. it is a symbol, not to be worshipped. i support a person’s right to burn the flag... “skycloth” itself stands for that right. but i do wish the disrespect would go away... it hurts a great many people, and is meant to be divisive. all history is flawed. personal histories, too. all we can do is learn from our mistakes. americans differ from other countries in that we want to help the world... it is both our strength and our pitfall.===JACK: Maybe it was your father who krpt the flag lighted...or maybe not. ===LIZ: nope. he used to fly it only on holidays when i was a kid.===JACK: I guess that it was some other vet!===LIZ: you know, he might have had one on the front of the house, now that i think of it... and it would have been lit by a post light on a sensor.
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FROM NORM'S BLOG: Parades are a way to pause and celebrate holidays in your hometown and in our nation. I organize the 4th of July Parade in my home town of Milford, Michigan. I march, as a veteran, in the Memorial Day parade and I work as a volunteer in the Christmas Parade, which always takes place Thanksgiving weekend. We don’t have a parade for Veteran’s Day. We also have parades for the start of Little League Baseball, and the local high school homecoming. Obviously, we love traditions in Milford. Sadly, the Independence Day Parade on the 4th of July has been declining in both attendance and participation for the last few years. What used to be a parade with 70-80 participating groups is now down to about 50 groups marching or riding in the parade. The viewing audience is also down a bit. It seems that the same reasons that are causing the decline in church attendance effects the parade on the 4th – people are just too busy with other things to do. ===JACK: IMO, parades were organized for a celebration of an "immediate" event. They seem to have morphed into a kind of entertainment event. I'll attend/participate unless there's something better top do. Also, IMO, this year's D.C. 4th of July event seems to have become a political event rather than one that is celebratory of our country's independence.
FROM DISC JOCKEY CS: I have a few questions.
I am having a conversation with someone at work. My question is this.
Does God interfere with free will?
Does God control everything?
If someone dies or gets cancer is it because God picked that person or does God just let life happen?
I would appreciate your insight.
===JACK: These questions have complicated answers and deserve face to face conversation, but as a starting point (IMO)...Free will is free will. God does not take back what he has given...While God "can control" everything, he has not created a world of robots. So, we have a world where there is good and evil. Choices are ours to make. "Grace" is also of God's creation and is a way of escape from the messes that we have made. And...I do not believe that God causes cancer to come to some people and not others. It's one of the puzzles of life...and one day we'll find a way to solve that puzzle, as was done with polio. Having said that, I got polio when I was 16. At that time, I saw it as an evil. In retrospect, I now see it as a blessing, because it changed my life direction. I believe that, because of polio, I am a pastor today.
FROM HAWKEYE GEORGE: Thanx, Jack. Have a joyful 4th tomorrow!===JACK: One 4th of July event I enjoyed as a child was lighting sparklers. Nothing says, CELEBRATION like running around with a sparkler and making circles and ;laughing. What ever happened to those days? ===GEORGE: believe we are in Step 8 of the eight steps to the rise and fall of a democracy, first written in 1776.===JACK: I think that your example is a takeoff of the sociological theory of the stages of the rise and fall of civilizations. Stage 8 is...Dependence back to Bondage.
FROM BLAZING OAKS: As a retired teacher, I like John Dewey's (educator & reformer) insight: "Democracy has to be born anew every generation, and education is its midwife." We have to have an informed constituency to make it work. Judging by recent elections, most voters don't take the time to really study and weigh issues! That being said, I do value our democratic way of life, and am so thankful to live in a nation that has had high ideals, and emphasis on human rights, though far from perfect!===JACK: As I recall, Civics was not a popular class in high school, nor was English and History. So, what can you expect?===OAKS: I think history was fairly popular; at least well-tolerated! Most of us didn't use what we learned in Civics as we married and raised families, I guess, so that info became hazy. Doesn't it seem there's a paucity of any kind of good leadership in our elected officials today? Or are the past leaders just more glorified, since they're gone on? It's hard to be optimistic about USA's future these days! Illinois has been in a crunch for the past several years! ===JACK: I do see a lack of a basic lack of "Civics" understanding in the world today...and a lack of "civility" and "honesty" among elected leaders.
FROM TAMPA SHIRL: Yes it is a very exciting time to be alive!===JACK: If by, exciting, you mean "not knowing what's coining next," you've got that right. Government by the seat of the pants creates more than a thrill.
FROM HONEST JOHN: Revelation of St. John might dispute that "in the process"....so would Reinhold Niebuhr. Once a nation begins it usually is in the process of self destructing.===JACK: I guess it's the same way with the human body. When we're born, we begin the process of dying. In the meanwhile we can make some personal improvements in the life situation...the power of positive thinking!===JOHN: We need to be both...positive and realistic...one or the other leads to stalemates such as we are now witnessing in America. Good heavens! We agree on something. Great to see. === JACK: A realavist usually finds a way to agree.
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