The Veteran’s View: By Dennis Mitchell Summerisfinallyhere! Thewarm sunny days are turning our heads and givingmecausetocelebrate. Who doesn’tlikeacelebration? Fireupthe grill or, if you are a more skilled cooker, getthesmokerrollingcoal. I’mnot talking about your old antique truck, that workhorse with a NTC Cummins or 1693 Caterpillar, but they too will look really cool in the parade on July 4th, rolling through any town in America, showcasingtheStarsandStripes. 249 years and counting – now that’s really something to stand up and cheer about. July is the month we celebrate the founding of this great nation, and it’s also a time when all of us should thank God for the many blessings it offers. We are protected by a very old and sacred document, one drawn up by some extremely brave and “noble” subjects of thecrown. Weoftenforgetthesacrifices they offered up when signing The Declaration of Independence – along with their name, they pledged their fortunes and, most importantly, their sacredhonor! That’ssomethingthatis greatly misunderstood today. “Sacred honor” was a staple of yesterday’s civil society – remember one of the 10 commandments said “Honor your mother and your father” – pay your respects to those who serve the greater society. Duringtheearliestdaysofour country, it was settled by people ruled and represented by a king from a faraway land. Ipurposelyusedthephrase“ruled by a king” not “governed as a nation” because the subjects of a kingdom do not have choices, freedoms, or liberties in their lives (not in who they love, what form of work they perform, or where theylive). Thismaycomeasashockto a few, but even the food they have to eat is regulated by the Royalty where it was often heard, “The best for me, the rest for thee,” meaning the masses. When I think of the choices I have had in my lifetime I must remember and give thanks to the men and women who madeitpossible. Thiswholeexperiment called America started with a handful of very smart and generous people who had hadenoughoftheking’sreign. They banded together using their collective power and wealth to overthrow the king’s rule and defeat his standing army. Then, went to work and formed a new government. Oneforthepeople,bythe people, and of the people – not to a ruler fromfaraway. Thisnewgovernment and its rules were a collection of the best practices and applications of law to thatdate. HereinAmerica,anyonecan achieve success to the fullest extent of their own personal efforts. This is the land of opportunity, a place where the roads are paved with prosperity and dreams can be achieved no matter where you called home before. “Americanism” is not a religion or a sect, it’s a mindset – it’s what you believe in your heart and is protected by sovereign bordersandastrongmilitary. It’stofight for the rights of others protected under theprinciplesofourConstitution. The Preamble to the Constitution starts with “We the people of these United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Whatfollowedweretheactual laws and rules that our government must still adhere to today. In the modern era, our military has becomethestrongestintheworld. Not by sheer numbers, but by veracity and might. Formorethan50yearswehave had an all-volunteer military, much the same as in the time of our independence when everyday citizens, shopkeepers, farmers and anyone else who believed in liberty joined in to extinguish tyranny. That means every one of our current active duty personnel have stood in front of an officer of the court or a military liaison acting on behalf of the commander in chief, our president, and took the oath, “To protect this nation and it’s people fromenemiesforeignanddomestic.” As a United States Marine, I took the same oath, and it does not have an expiration date. IpledgedonmySacredHonor,and as long as I am living, I will uphold that pledge I made so long ago! Recently, there has been talk and controversy raised over immigration and the people who come to this land to seekabetterlife. Americaisalandthat welcomes all people who “legally” come here hoping to become an American citizen–thatmeanstoassimilate. To blend into the American way of life, not to hold allegiance to their former land or its leaders, but to promote and prosper thisland. Theprocessforbecominga legal immigrant is a long and sometimes 52 10-4 Magazine / July 2025 AMERICAN PRIDE!
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