Today, Lady Liberty was insulted by a 5-4 vote to uphold a grievous law. By doing so, politicians have been allowed to trash her house and mock the high cost paid for their freedom to do so. However, this is not the end, because those of us who treasure freedom are not going anywhere and I offer this thought as some encouragement.
2012 marks the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. Critics back in the day called it “Mr. Madison’s War” because they didn’t believe in the cause. You see, among other things, the British were widely practicing “Impressments” on the high seas by taking American merchant sailors and forcing them into British naval service. Our people saw that as a breach of our sovereignty, forcing the leaders to act. Towards the end of the war, the battle atFortMcHenry in Baltimore Harbor resulted in a perilous night of steady bombardment. Throughout the darkness, the question lingered of whether the fort would hold, or fall like Washington D.C. had. Yes, the capital had already fallen under the hand of the same British commander, General Ross. The Americans had much to be concerned over while anxiously awaiting daybreak, but then…there it was…Old Glory. Frances Scott Key was so moved, he hurriedly scratched down these lines:
“O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?”
The Founding Fathers understood freedom; that it was endowed to us by God and they valued it greatly. There have always been irritants to freedom, from the Tories in the beginning to those unconcerned over British impressments in 1812, so we must always stay diligent. Our ability to speak freely and raise our children as we see fit is vitally important. I encourage all who read this to pray for God’s direction personally, and nationally. Be informed and vote so we can prove to still be “…the land of the free and the home of the brave!”
By the way, check out the last stanza Mr. Key penned as he summed it up:
“O thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!“
cchrisholland 