Telling Your Story
July 4, 1776. The day we declared independence from a tyrannical government. The date the Declaration of Independence was officially born, signed by 56 members of the Second Continental Congress over the next six months.
Written by Thomas Jefferson and edited by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston before being presented to the Congress, it is one of the world's greatest documents of all times.
We know the outcome: war, victory, a freed nation, followed by the battle to form states.
Two hundred and forty-four years later, 2020, it looks like we are staring down the barrel of another enemy. Only this time the enemy isn't a country, it looks like this time, it is an enemy from within.
The enemy—anarchy is its name. This enemy is out to erase the fabric of our culture, the very definition of a free America by removing every remnant of honor, history, tradition and sanctity of the country that most of us love, cherish, respect and honor.
There are those who wish to burn down the American system, the American way of life if they don't get what they want.
And they seem to have a fairly good start on dismantling America. This morning I watched a video of a statue of Francis Scott Key being torn down. Francis Scott Key! Do they even know what they are doing?
How did Hitler rise to power? One thing was to erase the country's history. Statues and monuments were removed.
Sound familiar? It sounds downright terrifying to me. It is happening right here at home.
Just as shouting "fire" in a crowded building when there is none, is not freedom of speech—our First Amendment right, destroying monuments and demanding the removal of our nation's history is also not freedom of speech. It is literally our country under attack. It is destruction of the peoples' property. Tagging with graffiti the statues and monuments that symbolize the sacrifices, fortitude and determination of our collective ancestors is nothing short of criminal and should be treated as nothing less. By the way, who is going to pay to restore these commissioned works? You and me, the taxpayers? The perpetrators? Anyone? Or will they be left to decay in a junk heap, never to be returned?
Will freedom continue to ring throughout our country as we know it or are we looking in the rearview mirror of our country as we know it?
Patriots, it is time to stand once again before tyranny takes over. We live in the shadow of greatness and some of the greatest patriots to walk the earth—the founding fathers of the United States of America. Let's continue to let freedom ring!
Bev Berens is a freelance writer and FFA parent from Holland, Mich. She can be contacted at uphillfarm494@yahoo.com.