07/04/2007

"Executive Mansion,
Washington, November 21, 1964.

Dear Madam,

I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.

I feel how weak and fruitless must be any word of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.

I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.

Your, very sincerely and respectfully,

A. Lincoln"

Independence Day. I've had thoughts mulling all day about freedom, about America, about war, about liberty. The quote above, a letter from Abraham Lincoln to the mother of a soldier (both mothers in my life are now mothers to a soldier) was composed during the Civil War, but the line which I bolded speaks to me. "...the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom." This sums up how I feel when I take the time to reflect on this nation. Solemn pride. I hope America keeps fighting for freedom. I hope the American flag flies over a country that somehow balances on the tightrope between morality and freedom. It requires delicate balance. You see, we need both, but there comes a point (we see it all the time nowadays) when a little freedom must be sacrificed to maintain morality. I wonder, which way will America go? Where will She end up? Yet, I have a solemn pride when it comes to the history of this Nation.

It has been, quite literally, years (maybe as long as 8 years) since I have said that Pledge of Allegiance. I am thankful to live here, don't get me wrong, but I do not pledge my allegiance to this United States of America and the Republic for which She stands, primarily, I suppose, because I do not find Her to be "one nation under God." If I did, perhaps I would place my hand over my heart and recite this pledge. But, I don't think the America that I live in is the same America that my ancestors knew, loved, and were willing to die for. I miss that America. It is a nation I have never known.

I've known a 'Happy Holidays' nation and a 'gay rights' nation. I've known a post-Roe v. Wade nation and a pop culture nation. I've known a nation whose Presidents lie, cheat, and steal--and are pardoned all. This is my America. This is the reality for my children. Or worse.

So, here's where I land this fourth of July. I am grateful for the sacrifice of men and women long ago that allows me to live in a place where I can tell my children that there is one God, and that there is such a thing as truth. I am not persecuted in the way my Brothers and Sisters are in the far corners of the world. But, seeing what America has become and wondering what lies in store, I have to put my hand over my heart and pledge allegiance to the only thing that will not let me down:

"I pledge allegiance to the Lamb, with all my strength, with all I am.
I will seek to honor His command, I pledge allegiance to the Lamb."

No more costly a sacrifice was ever laid on an 'altar of freedom', than the sacrifice of the Lamb.