Mike Bartell Special to Oracle 10/31/01
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma School officials removed "God Bless
America" signs from schools in fear that someone might be offended.
Channel 12 News in Long Island, New York, ordered 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 banned 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, if it was so superior, go home.
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.
Mike Bartell
Special Forces, Viet Nam Vet
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