Apparently, I need to make clear the year we actually gained our independence - 1776, and that it was from England. It turns out, many of our young people are unaware of these facts. How this can possibly be, I don't know, but it is the sad reality, according to this Marist poll:
[snip] Only 58% of residents know that the United States declared its independence in 1776. 26% are unsure, and 16% mentioned another date.
There are age differences on this question. Younger Americans are the least likely to know the correct answer. Only 31% of adults younger than 30 say that 1776 is the year in which the United States broke away from Great Britain. (Emphasis mine.) 59% of residents between 30 and 44 report the same. Americans 45 to 59 — 75% — are the age group most likely to have the correct answer. Among those 60 and older, 60% report that 1776 is the year in which the United States declared its independence. [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)
There is no other way to say this - those statistics are appalling. Just appalling. Wow.
We are so fortunate to live in the United States, even with all of the major issues currently confronting our nation at this time. Even still, we have so much for which to be thankful. For those who gave of life and limb to secure our liberty, to those who sacrifice in service to the nation today, the deepest of gratitude for the keeping this land free.
We may disagree on politics, we may disagree on religion, we may disagree on any host of issues, but on this one thing we can agree: it is great to be an American, and we are damned lucky to be so. Each and everyone of us should surely know when this nation was founded, and from which country we rebelled. At the very least, we should know that much.
On this Fourth of July, may you take the time to reflect on how this great nation came to be, and give a word of thanks for being able to call the USA home. It's a mighty fine place:
Happy Independence Day (and happy birthday to my favorite brother)! Copyright © 2011 by Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy
2 comments:
Happy 4th, kiddo!
I just finished watching the little pet and bike parade that our subdivision has every year. It's just a tiny event, but neighbors all line up (most of us with our dogs who like to check out the eye candy marching in the parade ;-) ) We have a detective from our town who arranges a police escort with sirens blaring and a small group of kids who are in the neighborhood middle school marching band provide the music. The dogs are all dressed up, the little ones decorate their bikes, and the really little ones are pulled in decorated wagons. It's very Americana.
Also, when the parade was over I walked over to my house and decided to water the flowers and bushes and as a group of people walked by to go home, one guy said, "Nice grass." I guess that's a great compliment, but I sure miss the days when guys would walk by and say, "Nice ass." :-D Maybe that's what he really meant, right? :-D :-D
Getting old really really sucks.
Enjoy the day!
LOL abt the neighbor's comment. Yeah, this getting old thing sucks...
Gosh - are you saying you have a neighborhood chock full of Republicans or something? I mean, really - a parade in your very own neighborhood on the 4th? Yeah, I think we all know what that means... :-)
It sounds very, very cute, btw. We went down to the beach and waited for the F-16s yo fly overhead - pretty darn cool, I have to say. But before that, we saw tons of pelicans flying in formation - that was amazing. The water was beautiful, too. I love hearing the waves. And since my knee has taken a major step back, putting my toes in the water was abt all I was up to doing, but wow, was it nice!
Glad you are having a great day, friend!
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