Since Papa managed one whole post last month, it should be easy to bury that number. My thought on the eve of the 4th of July is that tomorrow you each take a few minutes to reflect on the meaning of America. My hope is that you might wish to read more about the founding as well as the ensuing years. It seems fashionable in this day of activists trying to control the narrative that America is actually a bad country because many faults can be selected from the past. I would suggest that overcoming such faults and achieving a great nation is more worthy of acclaim. America was founded on princple. It cut itself off from Poo Bahs on the concept that all men are created equal. I know, I know that in 1776 slaves and women not voting existed. It may have taken years but many 1776 concepts changed through the years. Why? Because of the principle.

There have always been Americans fighting for that principle. And, just like today there were many who disagreed in politics. Democrats, especially in Georgia, wanted to take land from American Indians. A negative mark in American history yes. Yet, the Trail Of Tears legislation only passed by four votes. Read uneducated Davy Crockett’s summarized remarks. Jump forward 30 years and the southern democrats wanted to protect its slavery economy. Civil War. But, for many years prior there had already been strong forces trying to abolish slavery. Friction of ideas was very real in those years. Think about the number of soldiers who died for the principle. You may also want to re-read the Gettysburg Address. Years of a somewhat failed reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow laws, Ku Klux Clan and segregation provided plenty of turmoil and mistrust between states, political parties and Poo Bah wanna be’s.

There is a certain steel to America’s personality. Lots of that is probably due to the relentless and often messy expansion west. The 20th century was no cakewalk for America. Wars, immigration disputes, a depression to endure and resolve, rights fought for and won, assainations, riots in streets and into this century the wild jibber-jabberish of the internet. (Part of me wonders what Jefferson, Davy or Abe would think of the rough and tumble politics of 2026 when name calling means the President’s hair color.) Hope springs inside me that you will move forward in a positive manner in a country I know remains the best ever because it still tries very hard to live up to its principle. Look around the world…the alternatives are not better.