patriotism?

I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.


I love this song.
It seems like no one in America loves their country anymore. That's a huge exaggeration - I should say mostly. Or hardly any teens, that is.
I talk to kids back home in the states and they don't have anything good to say about it at all. They blame President Bush for everything. They say they're ashamed of him and of their country, and if they're Texan they'll even say they're ashamed of their state for having been where this president was from (imagine a Texan saying that!?)


There are protests against the war instead of people supporting it. Although they're entitled to their opinion and protests, that shouldn't be ALL you hear about. Mothers campaigning against their own country, military, and president, because of their son dying in a war....does she forget what he was fighting for and that he believed in it?
The only people (living in America) that I know who truly show respect and love for it are my cousins (Navy brats like myself) and people from church. That's really sad! What happened to "I'm proud to be an American!"? What happened to supporting our military? - Whether you completely agree with what they're doing or not.
Because, granted, our government and its actions are FAR from perfect. No one could say otherwise. But they do their best...to guide our country and try to help other countries.
I personally know many Iraqi people. They are happy that America is in Iraq, that Saddam was overthrown, that their father and cousins and families back in Iraq are safe from his tyranny - or that he was punished for what he did to their brothers.
There are two sides to everything. But in many cases people fail to look at them.

In addition, the freedoms that make America and many other countries what they are, are the result of Christianity...but we're reverting to those things. Feminists loathe Christianity - yet the reason they aren't still under the ancient Roman law of Patria Potestas, wearing a face covering, being cremated with dying husbands, forbidden to speak in public, or having their feet tied in half, is because of Christianity. Why they can vote. Why we can do so many things - is because when America and other western countries were being founded, they were being founded on Christianity...and Christianity says that men and women were created in the image of God. Equal. But with very different roles.
Christianity also brought about the value of life (end of exposing, abandoning, killing, and aborting babies, gliaditorial shows, slavery, etc), and actual morals.
But now, abortion is largely legal. So is homosexuality. Feminists are going to extremes. Euthanasia is promoted. Our country[s] are going back to how they used to be....and you can tell.
Buuuuut that's a different subject.


Newspapers are filled with rebellions, protests, demonstrations.
Kids have "I hate Bush" posters on their myspaces.
They have it on bumperstickers.
They talk about it on TV.
They write songs about it.
They blame everything on President Bush.
They scorn soldiers.


This is generalisation...but it's still there. And I can't help but notice, cause it's so strange and sad.
I've never considered myself a very patriotic person at all. I don't know a whole lot about politics. I've always enjoyed traveling and living in other countries. I love Dubai; it's already home. But America is where I'm from and I'm not ashamed of that...though it's made a lot of mistakes, so has everyone, and there are good points too.


Why can't people see how what Mr. Bush stands for is good? What America stood for is good? ....or used to be. Why can't they see that even their little protests are making it revert to the place they would NOT fight for?

I love a lot of songs...I love music in general. And as I've said, Navy brat though I am and American though I am, I've never thought of myself as a seriously patriotic person. But nothing gives me the same chills as hearing The Star Spangled Banner.

There aren't many things cooler than seeing hundreds of people crying together at a 9/11 memorial service (not the fact of what it is...just that they're actually united, together!) or praising God at any simple worship service. Or seeing my uncle, Commander of his fleet in the Navy, in his uniform, saluting the flag, and saying "One nation, under GOD!" Under GOD. Maybe that's why it's changing....people don't like that. They take it out...they take it our of everything...and it's the foundation for everything. They're so blind.
America is just as much a mission field as anyplace else. And it needs it just as much as any place else. But people there tend to think they have everything and that they are everything and that they don't need anything immaterial.
I might not live there now...I might not live there again; who knows. But America is my country, by golly.


God Bless The U.S.A.
by Lee Greenwood


If tomorrow all the things were gone,
I'd worked for all my life.
And I had to start again,
with just my children and my wife.

I'd thank my lucky stars,
to be livin here today.
'Cause the flag still stands for freedom,
and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

From the lakes of Minnesota,
to the hills of Tennessee.
Across the plains of Texas,
From sea to shining sea.

From Detroit down to Houston,
and New York to L.A.
Well there's pride in every American heart,
and its time we stand and say.

That I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I wont forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.

And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.



I posted this on my myspace and got an interesting response from a Kiwi friend, saying he knew what I meant and "Though I am proud to be a Kiwi I'm not necessarily proud of New Zealand" and that made a lot of sense...sort of what I'm trying to say.
That is, I'm proud of what the country was once built on and stood for, but definitely not all the decisions it makes now and the hypocrital and immoral people. I'm glad President Bush is against abortion and euthanasia and is a Christian, but I also think he could be more proactive in that. (again, I don't really know a whole lot about politics)
So, though the foundations and forefathers of America stood for something good, so much of that has disintegrated...which, strangely enough, is what the people who DON'T support America like! It's so mixed up. There was a great quote related to this in a book I'm reading, How Christianity Changed the World, that said -
"Christian ideals have permeated society untl non-Christians, who claim to live a 'decent life' without religion, have forgotten the origin of the very content and context of their 'decency.'"
-Josiah Stamp

They complain about silly things and do stuff about it, but we don't do anything. That's the sad part.

blah.

I typed up a nice, really long post the other day and saved it as a draft and of course....it's disappeared.

We've been having crazy fun times at youth group and had a guest speaker last week who spoke on purity. It was very good.
The trouble with my back had been because I danced for so long and then stopped really doing anything for exercise. That made it easy for it to get strained, and as a result the muscles in my back were all torn and inflamed. It was really painful, and made my back not quite straight at times. Now I'm dancing again and have had 6 sessions with the physiotherapst and am doing much better.

Daddy flies a lot and is enjoying it I believe, as he is also home a great deal. He goes to all sorts of places and sometimes brings back things for us...last time it was an awesome little table from Casablanca Morocco.

There's an artist on myspace whose music is very nice. Her name is Elissa Mielke and she's a young girl, model, and independent Christian/folk singer. She writes and sings and plays her own songs and they're pretty cool...
Her site

This is my favorite song by her:

Give me a chance

Give a minute

This is your day but I don't know

How you should spend it;

Give me your hand

I've got some money,

At least I think I do

I'll buy us a coffee

And you will

Say something funny;

And your eyes will get small and happy and laughing, and so distracting, and attractive

And I will be

Hopeless

And I will be helpless

And I will be smitten, absolutely taken with you, taken with you

And I will be hopeless

And I will be helpless

And I will be smitten, absolutely taken with you, taken with you

I won't want to be but I know you'll see right through me

You get to me

Give me a chance to show you how I'm worth it

I might be too sensitive

But I'm working on it

So don't you go before you're sure now

I think again I'll miss you somehow

So that you will be

Hopeless

So that you'll be helpless

And you will be smitten, absolutely taken with me, taken with me

Hopeless

and I hope you'll be hopeless

I hope you'll be smitten, absolutely taken with me, taken with me

Hopeless

You will be helpless

And you will be smitten, absolutely taken with me, taken with me

In some small way I think you see

What you really mean to me

I can try but I can't hide the truth

I'm so into you.


-I Will Be -Elissa Mielke