What does patriotism mean to you?

REVISION: July 5, 2007
I found a zLounge thread addressing the freedom issue of USA, so I am linking the two together for continuity.  I added a tidbit on how my 4th's CELEBRATIONS went, too.              
                                                                                                                                                     
I notice that way too many Americans have become too complacent about what it means to be free.  FREEDOM requires a healthy dose of PAYING ATTENTION to what the "powers at  be ( & to be!)" are up to. 

Vigilance and being the "Good men who do something" is an important part of keeping this republic intact and that means free. 

What we preserve for ourselves, we preserve for the world.  Is not that a sobering AND exciting  thought?

We're on a fast slippery slope ride down  from our world leadership responsibilities, and many nations despise us for what our government officials are up to.  They rightly think we should be interfering with that which we don't agree with, albeit, I think many Americans are naive about the actual state of our affairs.  Few foreigners can comprehend that aspect.

How many citizens, do you think,  really grock that corporations, with an agenda which radically differs from the common good we hold so dear, are running this country and negatively influencing our policies?  How many comprehend how the breaking down of our anti-trust laws lays coldly at the roots of our current growing economic  instability, and the huge drift between the rich and poor that is evolving as the middle class is siphoned deeply into the poverty zone?

I am an involved American citizen.  I've played a part in many local affairs that have stood up and said, "No" to local shenanigans; and each time, we prevailed!  It was lots of work, but my freedom is worth it! 

I get how Spirit requires freedom; this is not an option, so we must ask ourselves in a soulful manner, how can the Spirit be free if we are politically enslaved and our social order is in disorder??

This is the type of stuff our Founding Fathers were addressing in the drafting of the fine documents which have made this country GREAT.  Yet, the erosion of these documents is approaching a tipping point that we had better get more responsive to. This is not wolf-crying, it is a humble citizen who is Paying Attention talking on a day that celebrates our responsibilites of being a freedom loving and preserving nation.

We  DO need to make calls to our capitols and voice our concerns again and again and again.  It does matter because each call is considered representative of a much larger number of people. 

Calls DO make a difference.  Sitting in on hearings and task force meetings, and "cornering" officials as they run for office, and insisting that THEY CALL YOU BACK, is how I've made an impact where I live. 

The VIP thing here is that if I can be effective, You can be effective, too.  Doing something is the key to that effectiveness!

Enjoy this wonderful Independence Day for it is something GRAND and worthy of celebration. 

                                                                
                                                                            



Let us stay attuned to its meaning and recognize that as those fireworks are set off and those brilliant stars are shooting in they sky that they are sparking you and me into actions that make our freedom alive and ongoing!  WEI absolutely DO Matter.

This is the political response+ability portion of Be the Change Zaadz is about.  Is it not???

Today IS a GOOD DAY for such dialogs.  Without such dialogs, these celebrations are in jeopardy of a long life.

All To Love,  Sharon