Liberty's Last Stand

I love my country. I always have. I remember playing summer baseball at the YMCA in Irving, Texas - standing along the third base line with my hand over my heart facing the flag pole behind the fence in center field as the National Anthem was played over an old loud speaker. Even in the still summer heat of North Texas, it seemed that a breeze would blow just long enough to unfurl the Stars and Stripes to wave proudly until the last note had been sung. I remember feeling honored to have been chosen to read the Pledge of Allegiance over the PA system in our school when it was my class' turn to do the morning assembly. During the summer of 1980, I remember my dad letting me stay up late one night to hear Gov. Ronald Reagan deliver his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. I didn't know what any of it meant, but I knew that everyone in the room was electrified when he finished.

I grew up in a time when schools still taught American History and Government for students to learn to be good citizens and not simply to pass a test. By the time I finished fifth grade, I could name each of the Presidents and Vice Presidents from memory. I knew the Bill of Rights by heart and the other Constitutional Amendments in their context. I grew up loving this country and knowing what it means to live here. It is because of that knowledge and love that I fear for Her very survival now. I believe we are at a turning point in our nation's history.

Much has been made of personalities and proposals in this election year. We've heard all the familiar buzz words - "tax and spend", "liberal", "conservative", "pro-life" and "pro-choice". We've been bombarded with news stories about the candidates' friends and former associates; about their wives, husbands, children; about how many homes they own and which schools they attended. While all of these things are important, I believe they have served only as a distraction from the real issue of this election. This election is not about personality or proposals. No, this election is fundamental!

We have a choice that we have not faced since the Constitutional Convention in 1787. This election presents a fundamental choice between liberty and tyranny; between freedom to live our lives as we see fit or being forced to live according to government mandate. This election could very well determine the entire future of the United States of America and we will rise or fall together.

No matter who is victorious next Tuesday we will all share in the trials that will certainly come. We will be obligated to choose between a government that ensures our freedom to make a better way for ourselves and our families, or one that stands in the way of individual progress in favor of collective poverty. The roads have converged and we must make our choice.

Many of our fellow citizens seem all too willing to stand still and let Washington, D.C. provide for their every need. They are content to be told where to go and what to do so long as there is a paycheck at the end of the week. We have a dependent class who refuses to strive for a place at the table but waits idly for a handful of crumbs to be thrown their way. Rather than believing in their own unique ability to succeed, they have fallen for the lie that they can never be more than they already are.

This is not the America I grew up knowing. This is not the America where my mother - a single mother - worked hard to provide food and clothes for me and my sister and successfully raised two responsible, self-sufficient adults. This is not the America that gave her the opportunity to work her way up the ladder to become the director of billing for one of the largest hospitals in Texas. No, this is not the America I grew up knowing.

I still love this country. I always will. But, I believe that next Tuesday could very well be our last chance to stand up for what we have always stood for in the past. Will we choose fear over freedom? Will we choose selfish greed over solemn creed? Yes, I believe this could well be Liberty's Last Stand!