Independence Day
Today is a day to reflect. I know that most of us will be partying, waving flags, eating hot dogs, etc. But there are a lot of people out there that don’t have any idea why today is such an important day.
I don’t want to turn this into a political platform but more of an individual platform. It seems today that people are lazy. They want everything for nothing. The land of Walmart, McDonalds, Monsanto. The land of the free is slowly turning into the land of the greed as our rights slowly get stripped away. While most Americans are shopping for that ‘deal’ today, remember what Independence Day is. Today is the day that we Adopted the Declaration of Independence back in 1776. We are still a young country. We aren’t even close to the Romans and that didn’t last. The Declaration of Independence is an ‘idea’ and so far has been the best idea that history has to offer. It’s not perfect, but it is fair, honest and provides plenty of room for growth. Our founding fathers made this so.
Why did they make this so?
Because they never again wanted oppression. They never again wanted to be ruled, taxed or governed as they had been by the British. We fought. Blood was spilled and we eventually won our independence. Now we are finding ourselves coming close to what the British had done to us. So how do we stop this and win back our power?
Let me tell you a story…
Most of you know me in this virtual world as a Long Haired Rock n Roller. It is something I am proud to be. To me, getting on stage and singing to you is what I love most, knowing that I’ve touched you in some way and quite possibly made your life a little better. I am proud. I am also a proud Marine. I earned this title. I went to Parris Island when I was 17 and graduated from there out of the civilian world and into the world of the Corp. Those of you that haven’t experienced this will have no clue what I’m talking about or what it feels like. There was a time when I looked at civilians as weak, unaware and selfish. To a certain extent I still feel this way. Like most Marines we became part of the few and the proud, at first because we wanted to serve our Country but after going through bootcamp we learned to serve ourselves. We knew that we, individually and collectively as Marines that we were the change.
The Marine Corp changed my life.
When I write, and I sing, I do so with those Marine Corp values still in the back of my head. I write and I sing to change the world. Yes, to change the world. I want each and every person to look at themselves, as I look at myself, and I want them to see the power that they have, or can have, if they believed in themselves. I want them to see the change that they can be and how we can end all wars, all poverty, and all famine if we saw that we can each make this change. You see, we Marines know that we can do this. It might sound pompous but its the truth. We have been labeled ‘Jar Heads’ and we jokingly call each other this. The truth is we are not even close to this. The term was created because they said they could fill our heads with anything and we would follow. Not true. Some of the most brilliant minds out there are Marines. Some of the most disciplined and the most compassionate.
So what am I getting at?
Look around you? Do you like what you see? Do you complain about it to your friends or your politicians instead of doing something about it yourself? Become active in your community and learn what is going on in your own back yard. If there is crime in your neighborhood, fight back. If there are drugs, fight back. My Mother taught me this initially then the Marine Corp instilled it in me. We are not Victims unless we make ourselves so. Once we all become self sufficient instead of expecting someone else to take care of it the better off we’ll be. I knew a guy that was a street cop in NYC back in the 50’s. He carried a billy club. That was it. No gun. He didn’t need it. Today cops carry more than what I carried as a Marine. Why? Because they are scared. Why are they scared? Because we, the Sheeple don’t have any respect for anything, let alone ourselves.
Lets remember Independence Day. Read it. Know what it says and what it means for us today.
Peace,
David
