Thoughts On Independence and the 2012 Election

I’m glad to be an American with a choice of who I can vote for. No matter how stupid someone else might think that my choice is, no matter how stupid I might think that their choice is, we can still make our choice known. I’ve heard people say, and I’ve said myself, that the founders must be rolling over in their graves over the nasty way that these campaigns are run these days, and the mistrust and lack of cooperation there is between the parties involved, but that would just not be true. The truth is, the states battled with each other over independence and whether to totally break from the British Empire, or to continue be a subject of the British Crown, but with a greater say. The declaration almost did not happen. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware were still holding out from signing such a radical document. There were many maneuvers between the colonies, but the reluctant colonies did come around, and the document was signed on July 4th, 1776. This would not be the last time that there would be differences of opinion as to which way the nation should go. All throughout our history, there are differences of opinion, sometimes violent differences; yet, here we are, 236 years later, still a nation.. and a bigger one at that. We don’t have to agree on everything. It doesn’t make you any smarter if you are a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent, it just means that we see things differently. We need to remember that, in the final accounting, we are all Americans. This country was not built by one party, it was built by several. Standing and pointing fingers at each other does nothing but inflame a situation. We can all agree that the process works, the majority rules (Most of the time), and that problems will eventually be worked out if we just learn to work together. We all vote for who we think is going to improve this country’s economic position in the world. We vote for the person who we think will make choices that are less painful to us. Whoever we elect, he is the President for at least the next four years. We need to learn to respect that.

  Tomorrow, as I sit with my family and contemplate the event which forged this union, I will remember to respect all Americans, regardless of party, regardless of choice, and I will remain grateful that I was born free in a free country.

 Happy Birthday, America, may you last for a thousand years as a Beacon Of Freedom.

Semper Fidelis!