Patriotism
Forwarded via email from Commander Gilbert
 
This says it all!
 
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma School officials remove "God Bless America" signs
from schools in fear that someone might be offended.
 
Channel 12 News in Long Island, New York, orders flags removed from the
newsroom and red, white, and blue ribbons removed from the lapels of
reporters.  Why?  Management did not want to appear biased and felt that our
nations flag might give the appearance that "they lean one way or another".
 
Berkeley, California bans U.S.  Flags from being displayed on city fire
trucks because they didn't want to offend anyone in the community.
 
In an "act of tolerance" the head of the public library at Florida Gulf Coast
University ordered all "Proud to be an American" signs removed so as to not
offend international students.
 
 I, for one, am quite disturbed by these actions of so-called American
citizens; and I am tired of this nation worrying about whether or not we are
offending some individual or their culture.  Since the terrorist attacks on
September 11, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of
Americans.  However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled in New York
and Washington D.C.  when the"politically correct" crowd began complaining
about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.
 
I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is
seeking a better life by coming to America.  In fact, our country's
population is almost entirely comprised of descendants of immigrants;
however, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our
country, and apparently some native Americans, need to understand.
 
First of all, it is not our responsibility to continually try not to offend
you in any way.  This idea of America being a multi-cultural community has
served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.  As
Americans, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language, and
our own lifestyle.  This culture, called the "American Way" has been
developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of
men and women who have sought freedom.  Our forefathers fought, bled, and
died at places such as Bunker Hill, Antietam, San Juan, Iwo Jima, Normandy,
Korea, Vietnam, We speak English, not Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese,
Russian, or any other language.  Therefore, if you wish to become part of our
society - learn our language!
"In God We Trust" is our national motto.  This is not some off-the-wall,
Christian, Right Wing, political slogan- it is our national motto.  It is
engraved in stone in the House of Representatives in our Capitol and it is
printed on our currency.  We adopted this motto because Christian men and
women, on Christian principles, founded this nation; and this is clearly
documented throughout our history.  If it is appropriate for our motto to be
inscribed in the halls of our highest level of Government, then it is
certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.
 
God is in our pledge, our National Anthem, nearly every patriotic song, and
in our founding documents.  We honor His birth, death, and resurrection as
holidays, and we turn to Him in prayer in times of crisis.  If God offends
you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home,
because God is part of our culture and we are proud to have Him.
 
We are proud of our heritage and those who have so honorably defended our
freedoms.  We celebrate Independence Day, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and
Flag Day.  We have parades, picnics, and barbecues where we proudly wave our
flag.  As an American, I have the right to wave my flag, sing my national
anthem, quote my national motto, and cite my pledge whenever and wherever I
choose.  If the Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don't like Uncle Sam,
then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet.
 
The American culture is our way of life, our heritage, and we are proud of
it.  We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we
really don't care how you did things where you came from.  We are Americans,
like it or not, this is our country, our land, and our lifestyle.
 
Our First Amendment gives every citizen the right to express his opinion
about our government, culture, or society, and we will allow you every
opportunity to do so.  But once you are done complaining, whining, and
griping about our flag, our pledge, our national motto, or our way of life, I
highly encourage you take advantage of one other great American freedom, the
right to leave.
If you agree, pass this onto other Americans!!
It is time to take a stand!!!
 
Merle Scoggins
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Submitted,
YNCS Don Harribine, USN(Ret)