-bulletin note from Sunday, June 2, 2013
This season of the year is a red, white, and blue time. Memorial Day is closely followed by Flag Day, June 14th and Independence Day, July 4th. Historically, its been a time where the spirit of American patriotism runs high. Some would like that spirit to be replaced by a what they call “Multiculturalism.” It’s a pretty sorry state of affairs when a public school textbook on American history may devote a paragraph to George Washington, and a page to Fidel Castro. Here’s the main problem with multiculturalism: There simply are no other nations whose foundations were so predominantly Biblically based as was our country, so the cultures of those places reflect a lack of any godly influences. When pagan cultural influences are encouraged and celebrated rather than those from other places desiring to become integrated into the fabric of the American ideals, it leads to divisions, as those who demand to retain their own foreign culture separate and isolate themselves. I’m glad to see that there are many who have come from other lands who don’t take that path, though. Some of the most All-American people I know have come here from somewhere else. The Ituraldes from Cuba are among our most ardent defenders of the American flag! They sing “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” with a Cuban accent!
The British Armed Forces were the greatest military power in the world in the 1770’s. The American colonies had no standing army. By even the most optimistic assessments the Americans hadn’t the ghost of a chance to stand against the will of the British. The birth of this country is conceded to be miraculous by any measure. This nation was born of a praying people. Ronald Reagan said, “The image of George Washington kneeling in prayer in the snow is one of the most famous in American history. He personified a people who knew it was not enough to depend on their own courage and goodness; they must also seek help from God, their Father and Preserver.”