I’d like, first of all, to shout out two big Happy Birthdays! Today is Smuffy’s birthday and he has always been proud to share it with the good ‘ole USA. This year is extra special because it kicks off a full year of celebration of our country’s 250th year as a nation.
It’s so easy to fall into the habit of asking, “What are you doing on ‘the 4th?'” Every month has one of those, after all. I hope you truly celebrate the independence of our nation with the kiddies, the grand-kiddos, the cousins, in-laws and others that you love and I hope that you remember to refer to it as Independence Day.
Yes, Smuffy is my Yankee Doodle sweetheart and my Yankee Doodle joy. (That’s something you’ll only get if you like old musicals.) I think Smuffy must have been nearly twelve years old by the time he realized the whole nation wasn’t having one big wing-ding all on his account.
When I married Smuffy, I had to get used to the fact that we would be up close and personal with fireworks. As I’ve said before, his guardian angels (and there must be a squadron) have to take care of things while I look the other way and hum the national anthem. I thought this fascination with things that go boom might temper through the years, but it seems that his son-in-law and now grandson are just as apt to blow things up as Smuffy is.
Each year, I give thanks that we come through it with all our fingers and toes and have survived celebrating the fact that we live in the finest nation on earth. Let’s celebrate with July’s First Friday Freebie!
Several times, I’ve offered this Freebie for the month of July and I found myself pondering lately if I wasn’t overdoing it. Then, it hit me – of all years, this is the most appropriate gift –
The U. S. Constitution
Nobody’s perfect. Nothing this side of Heaven is perfect. But the U.S. Constitution is as near to a perfect document as has ever been crafted by humans (and, I believe, with Divine Guidance). It is, in fact, who we are. You can’t love America without loving the constitution! It literally tells you who you are as a citizen and how the government is designed to protect you and yet leave you to express your own opinions, pursue your own goals and worship as you please.
Most of us studied it in school, but, let’s face it – we did it to pass the dreaded Constitution Test, not because we were overly fascinated by it.
I’d love to send you these three copies of the U.S. Constitution –
Give this little booklet another read! Look around the world at all those other countries – don’t you wish they had our freedoms? If nothing else makes it onto your summer reading list, make it this little forty page book. There is something special about being an American citizen and I think Ronald Reagan said it so well in a 1988 speech: If I may quote Ronald Reagan from a 1988 speech –
“”America represents something universal in the human spirit. I received a letter not long ago from a man who said, ‘You can go to Japan to live, but you cannot become Japanese. You can go to France to live and not become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany or Turkey, and you won’t become a German or a Turk.’ But then he added, ‘Anybody from any corner of the world can come to America to live and become an American.'”
There’s a copy for you, one for the kiddies (whether they be children or adults) and another for the grandkiddos. If we do not teach the generations to value this precious document, we will lose it!
To enter to win all three copies, “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “I love the USA!”
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