Soap Box

It�s hard to even imagine what the first people who came across the ocean to settle America felt when they touched down on the coast of a land mass where there were no maps or charts, no friendly villages to take respite in, having no idea about the length and breadth, the weather patterns the friendliness or hostility of the native population, or even if there was one.

Yet here we are, well over two hundred years later in that very same nation that spans a huge part of a continent, is tied together by super highways and railroad tracks, with mega cities, small towns and villages coast to coast.

When you stop and consider how a people - armed only with their primitive tools and their unshakable faith in God - established those first settlements, and the adventurous souls who headed out to open the West, the patriots who later won their right to exist, fighting the most powerful army on earth with guts and squirrel guns, you have to acknowledge that there is an unquenchable spirit of independence in this nation, a self-reliance that refuses to be kept down regardless of the circumstances.

We�ve seen this in Texas the last few days, a �We�re all in this together� pervasive attitude as Americans from all over showed up with water, food, boats, trucks and an unbeatable spirit of, �Let�s get this done, whatever it takes.�

We will see much more of this in the weeks and years to come as the proud and capable state of Texas gets back on its feet and begins rebuilding their homes and businesses.

The people who showed up in Texas to help out, in many cases, left their own jobs and families and made the trip at their own expense or whatever their friends and neighbors wanted to contribute to the cause.

They saw a need, they took action, no spotlights, no fanfare, no sound bites, just helping out a neighbor in need, just the way God intended us to.

Folks, no matter who the media chooses to publicize, the mobs of unruly protesters coming head to head in violent confrontation, the self-serving politicians who talk out of both sides of their mouths, the race baiters and rabble rousers, this is but a microbe of America.

The real America is what we�ve seen in Houston and Port Arthur and Beaumont and dozens of inundated little towns and communities, the guys from Oklahoma navigating their bass rigs through flooded neighborhoods rescuing families from the homes they�ll never be able to move back into, the guys from North Carolina in their monster trucks defying the waters in their high wheeled vehicles, hauling in supplies and hauling out stranded flood victims.

It�s the churches, schools and businesses who have opened their doors and their hearts to people who have lost everything but the clothes on their backs, but are grateful to have a meal and a dry bed.

In the weeks to come I�m sure there will be political preening and posturing as local and national politicians try to make political hay out of the situation, but folks let�s not fall into that trap, because that ain�t the real America either.

We saw the real America come together in Texas, we�ve seen it before and we�ll see it again, every time there�s a catastrophic natural or man-made tragedy, every time there�s a war to be fought or a danger to be dealt with.

They�re the ones who show up where there�s a hungry family, a child without a toy at Christmas time or a sick farmer with an ungathered crop.

They�re the ones who stand up every time �The Star-Spangled Banner� is played, vote every time the polls open, work hard, pay taxes and raise their children with respect for people and property.

The elitists tend to scoff, to call them rednecks or those people in flyover country, but who shows up there�s trouble?

It dang sure ain�t the elitists.

God bless the men and women of this country who fall into the category in this quote which has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln:

�The Lord must love the common people -- he made so many of them.�

What do you think?

Pray for our troops, our police and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

� Charlie Daniels

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