It’s America’s 250th birthday today.
And like a lot of thriving things, it needs care. But we never know how much for how long. We just have to keep a watch on it. When it rains, you don’t need to water your outside plants. When it’s dry, you need to help them with water. During winter, it’s best to put them inside near a window so they can receive sunlight.
I’ve had many furbabies over the years before that term was a thing. You must check on the water and give them food. When their teeth become too rough to eat dry food, you have to use canned or softer foods.
We’re always supposed to adapt and change. It’s in our nature. But what’s so funny is how people like the word “change.” Then we did “progress.” But even progressive is seen as a bad thing. People want to live a comfortable life never having to deal with many obstacles.
That’s impossible. People are going to get sick. Couples will marry. Others will divorce. People die every day. And we don’t know how, when or where it will happen a lot of the times.
I’ve often been critical that we keep having people who are closer to natural death in power. Reportedly, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has been in the hospital since June 14. Some have theorized he has died or is in a vegetative state where he won’t recover. Yet, at 84, he still holds an elected position that serves no one as is ill.
We are constantly evolving. During America’s Bicentennial, women were still new to getting credit cards or home loans in their own names. It was only the second Presidential election in which 18 year olds were allowed to vote.
A few days ago, the Supreme Court voted on the birthright citizenship, something that is already in the U.S. Constitution. Yet three Justices felt the rules shouldn’t apply to some. It sucks we have to have the Courts decide on this. But it’s proof we can’t take it for granted.
People are going to constantly question the laws of this land and if they can tweak them to serve their own purposes. A man was fatally shot in Florida. He was black. The shooter who hasn’t been identified yet is a black woman. Video footage shows him repeatedly walking up to this woman as she attempts to back away from him.
Florida has Stand Your Ground, a law I’ve always felt has a lot of grey area to it. If someone is aiming a pistol at another and that person is unphased, it’s easy to presume he still aggravated the situation and the woman feared for her life. Yet people are saying she should’ve fled or called 911.
But at the same time, law enforcement has shot unarmed people saying they feared for their life. So where does the line draw? Why did Kyle Rittenhouse cross state lines and put himself in a violent position and still get acquitted?
“A republic if you can keep it” was spoken by Benjamin Franklin after the 1787 Constitution Convention. You can’t turn a blind eye if there is something you don’t like. They say “Love America or get out!” That’s like saying if your car gets a flat, leave it on the side of the road and get a new car.
When your home needs repairs, you repair. When your kids are sick, you help them get better. When your parents are ill, you help them get better. No relationship is immaculate. You work to make things better. And even if the work doesn’t produce the results you want, you worked for it anyway.
My mom was a dental hygienist for over 40 years. When she started, she needed little accreditation and shadowed another dentist. But over time as regulations changed, she had to go to school. She didn’t throw up her hands and find another job. She made good money and she had a family
Earth is over 4.5 billion years old and human existence is only a fraction. That means this 250th anniversary is only a fraction of that fraction. It might seem difficult for people who were born during segregation and the Jim Crow era where being a white heterosexual man was all that was needed.
But I don’t want to live in a society where I get special treatment over others especially if I didn’t earn it or deserve it. What people say they want when they talk about making America great again is an era that really didn’t exist for a lot of people including white people.
For a group of older Americans that call younger people soft, they seem to whine more and expect everything handed to them. I seriously doubt a Boomer who boasts of making $10 a day back in 1959 bagging groceries or carrying golf bags would do all the work they expect people to do now. Also, $10 in 1959 is close to about $12.50 an hour today.
You get the happy, tranquil and serene times as a reward for making it through the difficult troubling times. And for a country that was founded on the principle of telling a leader “No, we’re going to do it this way” it really sounds hypocritical when they say you can’t criticize one President or political party when they are in charge but they do so when the roles are reversed.
Inalienable rights are 24/7 and the door swings both ways. We don’t serve under a king or a dictator. Our elected leaders work for us. But we need to get more people in office who know what work means.
That’s how you keep a republic.
Happy July 4 and be safe!
Zane Says 