I watched the rally on the internet on Saturday.
Yes, there were a lot of "Christians" there as speakers. And yes, they were asking, in some cases TELLING, people to walk with Jesus. Some were saying to walk with God.
But I think what I took from it more than anything...was that the Founding Fathers built this country on FAITH...HONOR....AND CHARITY....on all of them ...not just one thing.
Here's what I got out of it...
FAITH....in God, yes...but also in oneself, in one's family and neighbors, in our Country and in our leaders. It didn't necessarily have to be a "Christian" God, but in a Higher Power than ourselves. That there is an Entity above all, that has control. And that we have to have the FAITH in that Higher Power to get us through whatever adversity there is. But even more so, we had to have faith in ourselves to make the right decisions in life. We had to have faith in our families and friends to be there ...to provide aid, comfort, care when we needed it. We had to have faith in our country AND our elected leaders to do what is right for all, not just a few, to protect us from our enemies within and without.
HONOR...to honor God, yes....but also to be honorable ourselves. To honor our families and friends, to honor our Country. Honor is truth and integrity and respect and responsibility. To know what is true, to not lie or twist facts to fit the situation, to stand up for what is just and right. Integrity to not only talk it, but walk it. To not cheat, lie or steal to attain power. To respect ourselves, our family, our teachers, our leaders, our military...OUR COUNTRY. Responsible for our actions...not blame it on someone else. But look at the examples we see everyday! Politicians saying "it ain't my fault!" Teachers who have sex with their student...."it ain't my fault!" Murderers ..."it ain't my fault!" Why should we expect any different....when we daily see our President "it ain't my fault!" and to be fair...Obama isn't the first to do this....just the most obvious.
CHARITY....not just tithe to a church...but to help someone who needs it. Not just monetarily, either. The elderly couple down the street who have trouble keeping their lawn mowed, snow shovelled, or a ride to the grocery store. The kid from the "wrong side of the tracks" who doesn't have a father worth two cents, and a mother who works all the time....to mentor the kid, teach them right from wrong, teach them that an education is important in order to aspire to be something other than a drug dealer or pimp on the corner. To give not just money, but oneself's time to an organization that needs help, a school, the local pound, a hospital or nursing home, the library.
All of these things ....we, as individuals, a neighborhood, a city, a state, a country, used to do.
When someone's house burned down, neighbors built it back up or built a barn for a neighboring farmer.
When the snow was rooftop high, or a storm had blown buildings down, people got out of their houses and helped each other shovel out, cut down trees, repaired roofs.
Fathers coached Little League, Moms were Girl Scout leaders, bake sales were held for the church choir to get choir robes, for the school to get playground equipment, for someone's sick kid.
We had faith that our elected leaders would do the right thing, not because XYZ company gave more to their campaign or political party than LMNOP. That they were people who truly wanted the job to do the right thing, not because they had more money than they knew what to do with and they wanted even more POWER.
We honored others views, their religion, their right to raise their children properly. We honored our elected leaders because they were worthy. WE HONORED OUR MILITARY, BECAUSE THEY WERE THE ONES WHO WERE WILLING TO DIE TO KEEP US SAFE.
We HAD respect. Not only for ourselves and our country....but we had respect, maybe based in fear, or jealousy or admiration, from other countries.
We took responsibility for our actions, if we didn't ...then there was a parent, a teacher or principal, an employer, judge and jury...who took action to see that we did.
Yes there are individuals who still have all these traits....those of us here. Many of us in the country still do. But we have let those who do not, HAVE CONTROL OVER THOSE OF US WHO DO.
We...as a country....need to go back to regain what has been lost....before it's impossible to get back.
That's what I got out of Saturday's rally.
